What I fear most

Elizabeth has the most amazing personality, when she was in NICU I always asked what the personality of a preemie would be like. I was afraid she would be mistrusting and a nervous child after being subjected to so many painful procedures and from being left on her own in her isolette. Elizabeth has such a happy disposition she sings constantly and always is so happy. Today at 6:15 I awoke to 'Momma it is a beoootiful day the birds are singing good morning to me'. I told her it may rain today and she said 'no it is a beoootiful day today Mama'. Later on in the day I decided in my madness that we should practice drawing in shaving cream, Elizabeth loved this activity as she loves to get her hands dirty/messy and seeing that she had just barfed (fell down the stairs and cried) she would be clear to work with an activity that does not taste good. After we were done we went to the sink to clean up and Elizabeth was not listening and got in trouble and sent to time out which she told me 'thanks' for putting her on time out, she sang happily on time out and thanked me when I said she could get up. Both Ivan and I have a hard disciplining her as she does not mind time out she sings happily on the step and we try so hard to be stern but when she is smiling and singing you cannot help but laugh. We often have to leave the room to stop laughing and will come back when we have a straight face. We are so thankful for her disposition she makes the hard days fun we are also so thankful that she does not have temper tantrums as we would never stop cleaning up barf (crying still = vomiting). I do also fear that over time her personality will change and that there will be a time that she will not be so happy and carefree. Recent posts by Kathryn, Jackie and Dave mention bullying and this is something I fear so much for Elizabeth. I know there will be a day when Elizabeth comes home crying because someone has made fun of her because she is different and my heart is going to break in a million pieces because I cannot protect her forever and the reality is that ignorance and cruelty still exist. We can raise her with praise and love and hope to instill as much confidence in her as we can but when she is made fun of because of her differences these things will not matter it will be the harsh words of a bully that will be etched in her brain. My biggest hope is that she will always have her easy going personality and that no one will ever take it away.

Conductive Education

Elizabeth has mastered a new skill, climbing on the coffee table. After spending March break in Conductive Education Elizabeth learned how to pull herself on to the table. At CE Elizabeth was given activities for her to be more aware of her body and to learn to stop slow down and for her brain to tell her body how to move. Elizabeth doesn't normally stop she barrels through things leading to falling. Once meeting Elizabeth they right away picked up on the fact that Elizabeth does not stay still she is always on the move trying to find balance. By providing sensory feedback Elizabeth was able to sit on a bench fairly still to concentrate on a task. Elizabeth did not enjoy the start of the program as the children would have to undress and then redress this is still a huge task for Elizabeth and she becomes very frustrated, all the classes are heard crying during this time. We would like to try this again in the summer but the 1hr drive each way is a bit much to do each day and requires either Mom or Dad to be off work. Elizabeth did not mind the drive and she happily watched her DVD's as we drove. There will have to be a time when we should discourage her new skill but at the present we love it, if she could only transfer this to getting on the couch.

Toilet Training

We have finally began toilet training, we have tried for brief periods in the past and have not had luck but we decided when we got home from Disney we would try again. It is kind of funny that a large part of my job is to provide support to parents in toilet training their children who have special needs and I have not yet trained my daughter. I feel like such a hypocrite at times giving parents all the tips that I have not yet tried. We have have been working on it for a week and each day Elizabeth is doing better and better. Following the teaching I provide to parents; look for readiness signs - Elizabeth in the past couple months has been telling us when she has just gone and that she wants to be changed, children must have dry periods of 1 1/2 - 2hrs which has been happening in the past couple months and for bowel movements they should be predictable and regular - we are not there yet. We have been putting Elizabeth on the potty every 1 1/2 - 2hrs for the past week and today she was dry the whole afternoon and even told me 'Mom I have to pee and time is running out!'. In the beginning she sobbed every time we put her on the potty because she couldn't pee and would not come off the potty until she peed (which in the beginning was a drip) she would push, squeeze and choke until almost throwing up. I was so worried that this asking too much of her and maybe I should leave it. We spent a lot of time in the bathroom reading book after book, I felt like were spending all day in the bathroom and even resorted to sitting on the potty in front of the t.v.. Now Elizabeth asks us to leave so she can pee and then yells out 'I peed you forget to get me a treat' (something sugary). We are so proud and amazed how well she is doing. As the soy milk and the 3-6-9 oils have been making things a bit on the loose side bowel training maybe awhile but the fact that she is peeing on the potty is pretty cool.

We are back from our whirlwind vacation. We have spent the last week in Florida in Disney world and have all had a blast. We had a pretty rough start, despite Elizabeth being quarantined at home for a week before we left she got sick 2 days before with vomiting, high temps and hallucinations. We got the okay to fly from the Doctor and a script for antibiotics and we were off. Elizabeth really is a great traveller she loves flying and is pretty good on the plane. We stayed in the Disney resort and visited a park a day. Elizabeth loved the character dinners and had her meals with Cinderella, Little Einsteins, Mickey, Tigger and all the other characters that live in Disney. She has shown us what a little daredevil she is as the scarier and faster the ride the more she loved it, her favourites were Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan and Finding Nemo. She slept like a trooper in her own double bed. It was my biggest fear as she does sleep well in different places, our last vacation we were contemplating selling her as she slept nil. She enjoyed the fireworks and the parades and would stay out until the late hours with no complaints. She loved playing in the sand at the resort and even went for a swim. Of course it was not a vacation without her normal barfing episodes and we do apologize to the poor man sitting beside as we were trying to shoo a crow away from eating her barf (they eat barf as well as seagulls). She showed her love for shopping as well and was the bearer of many trinkets from the Disney stores. I am proud of shopping skills, I have taught her well "Dadda will you buy this please?" was heard frequently. I should have bought shares in sanitizers before we left as we went through wipes, sprays and gels to keep her healthy, I was washing her like a crazed women after each ride. It was so amazing and magical to see her delight as she experienced the same wonders I had as a child. We can't wait to go back.

Tagged

Okay thanks to Jacolyn and Melissa I have been tagged.
Here are the rules;
1. Link to your tagger (or taggers) and place these rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself some random some weird
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as their blog
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Here goes;
1. I have no sense of direction, it is really sad. I get lost and can never figure out North/South and East/West, I really could get lost in a shoe box. When people give me directions I nod my head in understanding but I take in none of it. Funny thing is that in a mall I have no difficulty getting around to find the stores I am looking for.
2. I would love to drive in a demolition derby. It would be so cathartic to drive a big clunky car into others and to leave them in my dust.
3. I once flew out of country for a date. It was beyond disastrous.
4. I have a real stroller fetish, I check out and size up strollers as they pass. I long for a Silver Cross pram to parade down the street.
5. Gingerbread Lattes with whipped cream, the $5 is so worth the sweet rush of sugar and caffeine.
6. I was a bit of a bully at school, despite my 5ft (then 85lbs) frame I really caused others a bit of agony, I don't know how I never got my but kicked.
7. For those of you who know the story 'Welcome to Holland', I sometimes really don't like Holland. At times it just plain sucks!

I tag:
1. Patty
2. Korrina
3. Abby
4. Shannon
5. Shannon

Okay the last 2 have already done it, so I know it is not fair but I have run out of bloggers.

Happy Easter!

Elizabeth had a great Easter and was so excited about looking for eggs that the bunny had left, she didn't know whether to stop and eat them or to look for more. By mid-morning she was flying high on sugar from chocolate and jelly beans. Mommy also had a good Easter as I got to go on a girls night out and spend the next day shopping over the border at Target. It was the second time being away from Elizabeth for a night since she came home. Daddy and Elizabeth had a great time together going to Gymboree and McDonalds. I don't think she even noticed I had left.

Click here to see how Elizabeth has grown over the years.

Fun in the snow.

Elizabeth has been enjoying the mountains of snow that have been continuing to fall on us here. Last Saturday we experienced yet another snow storm which had then entire city in a standstill. Elizabeth has a discovered that snow is edible and has ate her weight in snow on many occasions. We can be heard yelling from the driveway "Elizabeth only eat the white snow, do not eat the yellow or brown snow". We have made mountains, tunnels and snowmen galore and have discovered a morning in the snow can equal a wonderfully long nap in the afternoon. As the snow is beginning to melt Elizabeth has discovered puddles can be just as much fun and loves to stomp in the puddles and drown her parents.

Busy and Proud

It has been a whirlwind the past 2 weeks. As Elizabeth is almost 3 corrected we have been visiting all her many Dr's some new and some old. Her first appointment started with her Orthopedic surgeon, she was quite concerned with Elizabeth's gait and unsteadiness and was very upset that we still do not have an MRI and a diagnosis. We have now been put on the urgent list and she also referred us to a Metabolic/Geneticist as she wants to make sure something has not been missed with Elizabeth. It was really nice for a Doctor to be genuinely concerned and going out of her way to help. Next was the Feeding Assessment clinic and to meet a new Gastroenterologist. They recommended a change in Elizabeth's reflux meds and a video-swallow assessment to rule out aspiration. Elizabeth had her yearly eye check and did so well, last year ended up with Elizabeth vomiting on the not too friendly Doctor. I was so proud of Elizabeth who read the letters across the room precisely. No glasses yet but probably in the future for short sightedness. One week after the referral we met with the Metabolic/Genetic Dr. he also does not know why Elizabeth has the difficulties she does as this is not something found with prematurity. He ordered some blood work to rule out other reasons for her ataxic symptoms and we will see him to review her MRI. Elizabeth was a champ during her blood work I was almost in tears, she cried initially and then was very interested in watching the blood and counting the tubes. Lastly we met with her Audiologist for her ear checks, we have been concerned as she is changing the letters in some of her words and has lost some of the sounds she had previously. Her Lt ear tested the worst we have ever seen but it also showed congestion so we are not too sure how accurate it was. She still has a loss in the high frequencies but quite minimal. Elizabeth does so well listening with her headphones on and putting the pegs on when she hears a beep.
It has been a crazy 2 weeks and still more appointments to come but Elizabeth wows me at how grown up she is and what a great girl she is. When she wakes up in the morning she asks 'Momma where are we going to go today?'. I can't wait to say nowhere, we are staying HOME.

Now that she's 3

A well needed update is overdue. Elizabeth is feeling much better from her latest illness and is now fully recovered, no more shortness of breath or hacking cough. We had tried Slippery Elm that was recommended by Kathryn, it can help rebuild the cilia in both the respiratory and gastro-intestinal tract and it really seemed to lessen her bought of pneumonia.

As for language and hearing Elizabeth has been discharged from the Infant Hearing program. Elizabeth since she was 4mths old has had a teacher from the school for the deaf come and work with her twice a month. On her last assessment Elizabeth's language is falling in the scale of 48-54 months which is amazing. It was kind of sad that she was discharged as her teacher was one of the first professionals in Elizabeth's life and we really enjoyed the visits. She still attends bi-monthly Auditory-Verbal therapy and there we are working on articulation and improving her listening skills. We go to have her hearing checked next month and on each visit her hearing has improved. Through a private SLP we are working on oral motor skills and Elizabeth is learning to lick and blow objects which really have been a challenge for her.

Elizabeth still attends physiotherapy 1-2 times a week and we are working on her balance, improving her trunk stability, walking up stairs and awareness of her body and her surroundings while walking. We recently returned her walker as Elizabeth no longer uses it, it would be nice if she used it on her wobbly days but it cannot go as fast as her, therefore she leaves it behind in her dust. She walks independantly in smaller areas and holds our hand while we are out as she is not balanced and is not ready for uneven surfaces. Daddy has made her a balance beam and boxes to step on and we make obstacle courses which she enjoys.

With her occupational therapist we are working on self-help skills (dressing) and improving her fine motor skills. We really have noticed how important her positioning is and through lots of trial and error have discovered that she really needs a supportive chair to help allow her to complete fine motor activities.

Elizabeth contiuues to be a hard worker and enjoys seeing all her therapists. Now that she is older we all have to be creative and find ways to keep her motivated and for her to have fun while working as it such a big part of her life.

The Inevitable

We knew it would come and we are really lucky that Elizabeth had lasted until February before she got really sick. Elizabeth has been battling a cold for the past week which had the appearance of RSV. Every night I would listen to her chest to make sure it was clear as she had high temps and a congestive cough on Friday when I got home from work, Grandma was quite concerned as Elizabeth was very restless, short of breath and her cough was even worse. When I listened to her chest I heard crackles in her right lung so off we went to the hospital. After nine hours of waiting they confirmed what I had told them nine hours earlier that Elizabeth had pneumonia in her Rt. lower lobe. Elizabeth really didn't enjoy the x-ray this time as they pinned her in a tube like contraption, last time she happily called out cheese when the took her x-ray. Elizabeth was so good she hardly complained despite feeling very unwell and staying out until 3:00 in the morning. She is now on the mend on antibiotics and her puffers, she still gets out of breath quickly but is beginning to catch her breath enough to boss us around and has started walking again. Every time she gets sick she goes right back to crawling as she is so off balance. She again is enjoying the opportunity to watch all her t.v. shows, having breakfast in bed and getting out of therapy (she missed 6 appointments last week). Hopefully she will be better by Valentine's day, they are having a Valentine's dance at her school and she has already chosen her dance partners (Owen and Cormick, she really has a thing for blonds).