Little house and a GREAT day

Meredith had an amazing day today! This morning Linda Collins from Perkins School came by to work with Meredith. She has given us so many good ideas on ways to grab and keep Meredith's visual attention. Today she brought by a "little house" she called it, for Meredith to play in. Last time I saw Linda, she described it to me, and I thought it sounded really odd. But after seeing how well Meredith responded to it today, I can't say enough about it! Linda explained that children often like to play in comfy small spaces (tents, cardboard boxes, forts) because they feel safe. So this little house is an acrylic cube that we set over her and it's got holes drilled all around so you can hang whatever toys you want. It blocks out extra visual and auditory stimulation in the room, making it easier to the child to process the sights, sounds and movement of the toys in there. The small space gives the child a sense of spacial awareness and kids like to hear the sound of their own voices in the enclosed space. Linda hooked up all kinds of neat toys in there: a slinky, a whisk with a bell inside it, mylar paper, bells, a duck hanging from a bouncy spring. Meredith responded beautifully to it. She was smiling away, reaching way up high and having a ball. She looked at and played with every single toy in there. Her legs were kicking all around and she was very active and happy. Our day continued on a high note with Meredith ALMOST ROLLING OVER. Toward the end of our appointment, Meredith was laying on her back while I talked with Linda and Sue. A few seconds later, I looked over and she had turned fully onto her side and was playing with her new favorite bracelet. She stayed like that and played for a while. I couldn't believe it! She continued to do this all day today going from flat on her back to swinging her legs up and over and getting herself all the way onto her side. We've seen her go from her side to her belly so we know she can do what it takes to get the rest of the way over. We watched her like hawks because we thought today might be the day. It wasn't, but she is so, so close. Linda left the "little house" with us and all the toys she brought over. We will definitely be using this a lot! Very happy day today in the Lewis household : )

2 year checkup

This morning Meredith saw the pediatrician for her 2 year check-up. She weighed in at 22lb 10 oz (4th percentile), was 31.7 inches long (6th percentile) and her head measured 42cm (not on the chart, but in line with her own growth curve). We updated her on Meredith's overall development: Meredith has shown improved eye contact and tracking, much more arm usage and reaching/grabbing, she seems more engaged and watches more of what's going on around her. She is still not rolling or sitting independently, but is getting stronger, kicking around a lot more and seems to be taking notice of her feet. She does not mimic any behavior yet, but we thought we might have seen a wave the other day. We've been working really hard on that one : ) And she's still working on self-feeding. If I wrap her hand around a small piece of food, she'll (sometimes) try to bring it to her mouth. She still really struggles with coordination, but seems to be making small gains there too. Dr. Gifford was mildly concerned about Meredith's weight. She is proportionate, but quite small. The past few months, her weight has gone up a little, then down a little, but she has only gained one pound in a year. Dr. Gifford thought that since she is moving around a bit more and she lacks a lot of muscle, this could explain it. She'd like us to come back in 8 weeks for a weight check and talk then about going to see a Nutritionist. She wants to make sure Meredith is getting all the nutrition she needs for development. We are not too concerned since she eats wonderfully and a wide range of nutritious foods. And she's far from scrawny! But I guess seeing a Nutritionist couldn't hurt. Dr. Gifford was also able to recommend a new Orthopedist for us. I have 2 names to check out and both are supposed to be great. We are looking for a doctor that will be able to offer us a bit more direction regarding equipment as well as keeping an eye on things like Meredith's spine.
Last week we saw the Developmental Pediatrician who thought we could be more aggressive with Speech Therapy. Currently she gets ST once a month. The ST looks at how she takes a bottle, how she moves food around her mouth, etc. because these are all the muscles eventually used in speech. She still makes mostly vowel vocalizations, but the Developmental Peditrician feels Meredith could benefit from learning some very basic sign language or other modes of communication. Tomorrow we talk to the Early Intervention team about the possibility of getting more Speech Therapy. She got 2 shots today and she really tried to hold back the tears. Huge pouts after shot number 1, but shot number 2 put her over the edge into full blown crying. She was a champ though and recovered quickly. Next Pedi appointment is not until age 3!

Couple pix from the Cape!

Vacationing at the Cape

We are happy to report, we finally are on vacation - yaaay!!!! Greg, Meredith and I are at the Cape, where we will stay through July 4th. We are so happy to be here, savoring every minute. We planned to arrive Friday night, but got a bit of a late start due to a sick baby and a minor car accident. No one was hurt, it was very minor, just a real bummer of a way to start a vacation. We were able to get in to see the pediatrician before we left to rule out ear infections or anything else serious. Meredith has been drowsy and a little sick (vomiting), but seems to be on the mend. She's still quite tired, but has not vomited since yesterday. She's snug as a bug, set up in a big girl bed with bed rails attached since she's not a big fan of the pack 'n play. She looks so tiny in there! She's still doing well on her Keppra, though she has had a few "breakthrough" seizures. Since she is sick, we wonder if the seizures she had last weekend were due to this oncoming illness (sickness can often trigger them). A mom on my support board posted a link to a video I found fascinating. Its about an advanced kind of EEG that looks more closely at brain activity resulting in a more accurate diagnosis. The test is called a "Digital EEG and Evoked Potentials Assessment" (DEEP). This doctor points out that all these brain disorders are diagnosed without ever actually looking at the brain. An MRI will give you a picture of the physical structure and an traditional EEG will measure activity in one part of the brain, but there is no standard test that goes further. She compares this to diagnosing a heart issue without ever looking at the heart - makes sense. I emailed our neuro to see if this test is available at Children's Hospital. I thought the video was really interesting, if you would like to see, here is the link:

Our other big news is that we have decided to accept the invitation from Children's Hospital for Meredith to be part of a medical study on Microcephaly. Meredith, Greg and I will each give a blood sample, then the study begins. The study has been going on for 8 years and could continue for another 10. They will only contact us if they come across new concrete findings. The study includes families from across the globe with specific interest placed upon families in the developing world. Since many of these families are larger, including many more children than a "typical" US family, the familial gene pools are greater, providing more scientific data to observe. Hopefully our contribution to the study will one day provide more information for children like Meredith.

Birthday Smooch

Meredith gets a generous birthday smooch from cousin Ellie...

Meredith turns 2!

Yesterday, we celebrated Meredith's second birthday at our house with family. We had a wonderful day and even though Meredith had been so drowsy all weekend, she managed to stay awake through most of the party! Here are a few pictures : )

School pictures are in!

I have absolutely no idea how they managed to get 8 babies to look at the camera at the same time - amazing! They came up with a clever solution for Meredith's "park scene" - she's sitting in a dressed up Bumbo.