Our Little Angel Is Back!

Look at that wild hair! Believe it or not, it looks so much like Lexi's hair when it finally started to grow.
Alayna sits really good in the Bumbo seat. She can easily last for 20 minutes, but sometimes even longer. It's so nice.
Here Alayna is reaching for her toy to get it to play music again. She is really coming around and understanding the "cause & effect" to particular toys. Alayna does the best with the ones she is familiar with.

Alayna doesn't really like to lie on her side, but this is such an important skill for her to grasp. It allows her to play with a toy with her free arm and it helps her get into the sitting position.
More practice....I have to take advantage of those moments she is in a good mood and will tolerate it.
Sitting all by herself! Okay, I have to be honest...it is only for seconds at a time...but it is still a great start. She still likes to sacral sit like she is in this picture and not fully extend her postural muscles. And of course, her hand in her mouth is a big distraction.
And then this happens!!! She falls backwards or to the side and doesn't try to stop herself. We continue to work on putting her hands down to the side to catch herself, but it hasn't clicked yet! Still very little defense skills.

Iowa City Visit

On Wednesday, Alayna and I headed to Iowa City to visit Dr. Manaligod in the Department of Otolaryngology. The plan was to do a hearing check in the audio booth and then see the doctor to check on her tubes. Well, I knew the hearing test was probably not going to go good. Why, you ask? Alayna has been crabby for the past month. She hasn't been sleeping well, her therapy sessions are miserable, and she just hasn't been her happy self. I was right. We went in to the hearing booth, sat down in the chair, and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. The hearing specialist was on the other side of the glass and tried to get Alayna to look at the speaker that had the sound coming out of it. Alayna wouldn't even open her eyes and cried the entire time. I told them we could try again, that my primary concern was her ears and the tubes.

So, we headed back to see Dr. Manaligod. Alayna's left ear was my big concern because it had some yucky discharge coming out of it. And not to mention that both tubes were clogged at last Friday's pediatrician appointment. A different doctor came in to check out her ear and it needed to be cleaned out. It took two nurses and myself to hold Alayna still enough for the doctor to do what he needed to do. It was like "roto-rooter" for the ears. He used extremely tiny vacuums, kind of like what you would expect to see at a dentist office, to get the job done. This may sound sick, but I couldn't believe the amount of fluid I could hear coming out of her ear. Poor baby cried the entire time and continued to cry after the procedure was over. I literally wanted to pull my own hair out to give myself something to cry about too! Her left ear definitely had an infection in it too. To make a long, stressful story short Alayna was given a prescription for Ciprodex ear drops and set up for another hearing test on September 3rd.


Our Angel Returns

When I say that Alayna's behavior and demeanour did a 180 degree change overnight, I am not kidding! The very next day we had a new kid in our house. She slept through the night (and has ever since that day) and her PT session the next day at Comprehensive Rehab went the best it has for a very, very long time. It was awesome and both of us were smiling all day long. I could not believe it. I'm convinced that her left ear had been bothering her for quite a long time. I'm also beginning to wonder if her severe hand-biting about 2 weeks ago was attributed to her being in some pain. Let's just summarize by saying it is so nice to have sweet Alayna back.

Things We Are REALLY Working On

There are about three things that I am bound and determined to get Alayna to do as soon as possible. After having the "not so pleasant" car ride back from Iowa City, I am being very aggressive about getting her to hold her own bottle. It would've been so nice to just hand her a bottle and allow her to feed herself. She is doing exceptionally well with this new task. The only thing is she drops it every once and awhile and doesn't realize that consequence. It is cute, she really gets proud of herself and likes to have that freedom of doing it herself.

Another thing we continue to work on is holding and drinking from her sippy cup. She is doing much better about not spitting out the juice and swallowing it. I've noticed a huge difference since her ears have been opened up! And lastly, I'd love to see her hold a Zwicker toast stick or a bitter biscuit and eat it. Lots of work to do!!!

Possible Fundraiser/Trivia Night

You know this world has some pretty nice people in it. My mom works with a lady that is willing to head up a fundraiser for Alayna. How nice is that? It is such an overwhelming feeling to know that so many people care about Alayna and want to see her accomplish all that she can. And knowing that this person is willing to take on such a big task to benefit someone she really doesn't even know makes me speechless. I just wanted to put the bug in all of your ears to let you know that if you are interested in helping out Alayna, be planning a trivia table! We are not quite sure of where and when this will be, but I'll keep you all posted. Alayna is in need of a stander and braces right now and her therapy will be an ongoing event throughout her life. So, we would really love to see an "Alayna fund" created for her future needs.


Continued Support

I just wanted to say thank you again for all of your support. I read each and every one of your comments on the blog even though I may not comment back each time. We continue to travel on this journey, and even though it may be tough sometimes, your support and Alayna's smile and laugh make everything seem alright. God Bless you!