Drooling

Sorry, I realized I didn't follow up after our appointment with the Plastic Surgeon about the Drooling.

Turns out the surgery to “tie off” the salvation glands is not as simple as the geneticist made it sound plus it is permanent. He also gave us an alternative to inject Botox in the gland to paralyze it for 3-8 months, but he couldn't guaranty the Botox wouldn’t get in her facial muscles and therefore affect her appearance.

I did some research and the conclusion is that you shouldn’t take such dramatic steps until you give the child enough time to get control of swallowing (after the age of 6). The dentist who saw her a few weeks ago agrees that it’s a little dramatic right now. We should give her time to develop mentally. Considering her feeding/swallowing age is around 12-18 months, we should give her till her developmental age to see if she can get control of it on her own. I read that lots of kids still drool up to 2-4 years of age.

Teeth and Eyes

Well, its been an exciting week around here. On Sunday night, while I was visiting our next door neighbor, Sadie lost her balance and fell out of a chair. (She was trying to sit with Shebli and Shelbi wasn't so happy about the idea =) Bill called me frantic and of course I came running home to find Sadie's right front tooth half way out. The left front tooth wasn't as bad. We called every dentist we knew and the pediatrician's office. As a result...the emergency situation was under control and we would see her regular dentist in the morning.

On Monday morning we saw the dentist. He told us to watch for discoloration in the next week to 10 days. We are on day 3 and they really look pretty good considering. I'm crossing my fingers they will stay white and be ok.

Today, we went to Sadie's annual eye appointment. It has been 3 years since she had her strabismus corrective surgery. The doctor said her eyes are very healthy and the surgery has held up well. (Sometimes it has to be redone). Her eyes will probably be dilated for the rest of the day. Those blue eyes react strongly to the drops.

Strawberry Picking

Today Sadie's class went strawberry picking! We decided to drive separately so Shelbi could come too. We got to the farm around 9:15. Both girls loved walking and running down the rows of strawberries. We all had a good time eating and picking. Shelbi was a much better eater, but she really enjoyed putting them in the basket too.

Sadie loved carrying the basket around. She did a really good job walking over the rows and picking too! We had a great time. Oh, daddy went too. Unfortunately, we didn't hang out with her class to much because their bus was an hour later getting to the farm. Both girls are napping now, so exhausting picking fruit!

Plastic Surgeon

This week we see a Plastic Surgeon. The geneticist has recommended we explore having Sadie's salivation glands tied because her drooling continues to be excessive. Many days she will wear approximately 4-5 shirts. She will no longer wear a bib and truly it's not age appropriate since she's 4 years old. The main concern used to be the socially acceptable factor, but there are questions about if she might be losing too much fluid to stay hydrated. Plus family and friends accept it about her, but I'm sure other people might find drooling a little gross. I understand that! It doesn't bother me, but I don't want her to lose fluids either. We go on Thursday...I'll keep ya'll posted!

Good Things

Ok, after venting...I'd like to add some good things Sadie can do...

• She now lifts her legs (while leaning on me) to put her foot in her pants leg.
• She can pull a pull-up up if it is up to her knees already.
• She willingly puts her hand up to push her arm threw a shirt sleeve.
• She is clapping to indicate yes.
• She randomly will Sign "more"
• She is eating better on her appetite stimulant...haha we should all be so lucky to need that
• She is more able to walk up stairs with a hand rail and even step up a curb unassisted.
• She's attempting to use silverware at meals.
• Her receptive language has really grown in the past 4 months.
• She will bring her cup if you ask for it.
• She will go get a book...sitting to listen to a story is a whole different thing haha
• She will climb the swing-set and go down the slide unassisted!!!

Shebli is saying new words everyday...

• She saw the mailman earlier today and she pointed to him and said, "mail"
• I said, "oh how nice" and she immediately started saying "nice"
• I told her Sadie didn't mean it, and she said, "mean"
• diaper
• knock knock
• door
• Sadie is now called ssssssss instead of tata for sister...so cute!
• cheeee is cheese

Parenthood is amazing!

Disclaimer Ha Ha

Just for anyone who is reading this, this blog is meant to inform the reader about what is going on in our life. AND how it affects me, Sadie, Shelbi, and Daddy....That includes me venting and also sharing good things too. Just wanted to say that! =)
Thanks for your interest in Sadie and life with a disabled child!
Lisa

High 5 for Shelbi

After a long stressful day...I'm thinking back on my last post and would like to give kudos to Shelbi for the sweets words she says...

Of course Mommy and Daddy
Daisy (dog)
TaTa = sister
Joyce (neighbor)
Nanny (grandmother)
Memaw (grandmother)
Jack
GaGa (Meghan)
NeeNee (Nicole)
bus
door
box
diaper
wawa (water)
up
down
on
off
spicy (so cute)
bless you
I love you
more
no
home
duck
mooo (cow)
baba (sheep)
buck buck (duck)
dog
ostrich (so cute)
help
ooooooohhhhh (open)
uh oh
bye bye
ruffffff (barking sound)
doll
damn-it (opps she copied me today)
please
giraffe
sit
juice
baby
ball
cup
booby
ouch
booboo (cut/bug bite)
bug
me
toothpaste
pee peee
poooo (poop)
green (signs it too)
blue
A (points to it too)
B (points to it too)
points to letter C
ABCs (just those 3 letters)

today she copied a bunch of words, but I'm drawing a blank

She also knows a minimum of 150 signs (me too) thanks to watching Signing Time with Alex and Leah.



I love you sweetie!