t minus 5 weeks

I followed up my 35 week appointment with another ultrasound today. Because of Riley's prenatal stroke, they wanted another look at Kendall now that she's almost full-term (37 weeks). Since Jonathan and I were tested for any genetic clotting factors (negative), I wasn't too concerned. I was more interested in getting confirmation of whether or not Kendall was still in breech position as she was two weeks ago. My midwife said it was difficult to tell from feeling around my belly.

I had tried the ice and music method this past weekend. I put an icepack on the top of my belly and music at the bottom of my belly to entice baby girl to "head" south. My midwife had a few other tricks that I could try, but due to my C-section, they won't attempt an external version (turn a baby manually). So in order to have the option of a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), she had to turn and soon.

We were relieved to find out that Kendall is head down..Thank you, Jesus. So I guess what I thought was her head must have been her bum. I'm thankful to have one less thing to be concerned about.

We also found out that Kendall's estimated weight is 6 lbs. That means, I'm on the way of delivering an 8 lb baby if Kendall arrives sometime after 39 weeks. Oy. Maybe I should put this girl on a diet now.

Just kidding.

The ultrasound technician also said she has a head of hair on her (as Riley and I did as newborns), so we're pretty excited about seeing those beautiful locks next month. We're going to need a frequent user card at Snip-Its if her hair grows as fast as Riley's does.

We got a facial shot showing her cute little chubby cheeks to share with you:















Looking forward to seeing you soon Kendall girl!

Mama

a diagnosis...finally

Back on Jan 11, we shared our concerns about Riley's speech delay and our hope for a diagnosis in April when he was scheduled for an evaluation with a Speech & Language Pathologist at Children's Hospital. There was a 4 month wait list, despite having 13 SLPs on staff. So when CH called me Tuesday afternoon with a cancellation, we were able to see his SLP the next day. Her name was Katherine and she used toys and play to assess his expressive and receptive language skills. Riley was his normal, friendly, curious, sometimes very focused self. He warmed up to her quickly and though he got distracted often, he was able to be redirected back to the task at hand.

After the assessment, she brought us back in to her office for a summary of her report. We were greatly relieved to hear that she did not think that he had a motor planning disorder, such as verbal dyspraxia. Rather, she diagnosed a phonological delay which was impacting speech production. This is a part of the expressive language delay in which the typical explosion of speech that occurs at around 18 months and again at 30 months hasn't happened yet. With 80 single words and a few 2-word combinations, he doesn't have the vocabulary of a child his age.

Phonological development is the gradual process of acquiring adult speech patterns. All children make pronunciation errors (called phonological processes) when they are learning to talk like adults. These predictable phonological deviations are the way that children simplify the articulation of words. Some examples would be deleting the final consonant (saying "boo" instead of "book") deleting syllables (saying "nana" instead of "banana") or substituting one sound for another (saying "wuv" instead of "love"). All children use phonological processes and these are usually eliminated between the ages of 3 to 5.

It was important to us that Katherine used the term delay instead of disorder when describing Riley's problems with speech production. Children who are delayed use speech patterns typical of a child who is younger. In other words, they continue to develop, but at a slower pace. A disorder would mean the use of speech sounds which are not appropriate for any aged child -- an atypical developmental pattern. At 2.75 yrs, Riley's using speech patterns that are typical of a child under the age of 2. Also, his intelligibility is quite a bit lower as he's using more phonological processes when he does speak.

Another related issue that had been identified by EI is oral hypo-sensitivity. Riley's not an extreme case, but he has exhibited some of the signs of decreased oral sensation such as:

• drooling and putting non-food objects in his mouth beyond teething age
• stuffing his mouth with food
• pocketing food in his cheeks
• biting on fork/spoon/straw when eating

When he was still drooling last November, we bought him an electric toothbrush to help increase his oral awareness and the drooling stopped within a month or so. The other symptoms still remain so this issue will affect his ability to articulate his sounds correctly too. An OT patient of Jonathan's recommended a couple more tips for us as well. One was to use a toothbrush to "wake up" his mouth prior to eating and another was to use a variety of oral massagers, vibration, and textured materials/objects for stimulation. We plan to incorporate these things into his "home therapy" in the coming weeks.

While no one can predict how successful speech therapy will be in overcoming Riley's speech issues, Katherine said there's reason to believe his prognosis is good. We left CH feeling very encouraged.

I can't close this out without saying how incredibly grateful we are that God has placed us in a city that is world renowned for it's medical research and expertise. One of my friends commented last week that had we lived elsewhere his arm seizure and stroke may not have been diagnosed so quickly, if ever. Because of that experienced NICU nurse who "happened" to be helping me with Riley's first nursing, we have had our son under watchful care since then. His neurologist recommended EI at 18 months and referred us to the SLP at 30 months. How many kids don't get the help they need because they lack the close observation that Riley has been so fortunate to have? We are blessed and lucky, thanks to our sovereign and loving God who gives us all that we need.

Shelby

flu busta experiment

It seems like everyone is sick right now. I keep finding facebook and blog posts of parents who have illness running through their families. I guess it's that time of year. I recall Riley's two bouts of flu occurring around this time.

With all the swine flu hysteria that seemed to be generated by the media last fall, we decided to take a more natural approach. We had been reading reports in the news that researchers have found a correlation between low Vitamin D levels in the winter and susceptibility to the flu. The "sunshine vitamin" works as a hormone to regulate hundreds of genes, some of which are involved in the body's defense against viruses. Vitamin D seems to have a particular benefit in fighting respiratory illnesses, like influenza.

Since the natural sources are sunlight and fish oil, I bought Riley some flavored cod liver oil and a Vitamin D gummy vitamin to supplement the multivitamin that he already takes. Since the Omega 3's contained in the fish oil also help to fire up the neurotransmitters of the brain, we noticed an almost immediate increase in Riley's attempts at speech. So he got a double benefit from the fish oil in addition to its immunity-boosting powers.

So far, he's flu-free and with the exception of some mild sniffles here and there, he's been cold-free this season. I'm not discounting the fact that he got some of my disease-resistant genes, but I can't help but wonder if the supplementation is helping. We try and keep his sugar levels low -- mainly fruit -- as refined sugar is well known for suppressing immunity for hours after consumption.

So here's Riley's recipe for keeping flu at bay so far this season:














I found the fish oil (Nordic Naturals) and Yummi Bears at Whole Foods, but recently discovered I could save money by buying the Vitamin D at Target. You may be wondering if he resisted the 1/2 tsp of fish oil. Not a bit. I was offering him kefir (a yogurt-like milk drink) to chase it down, but have discovered that he doesn't really need it. The strawberry flavor is enough to mask the fishy aftertaste, I guess.

(Riley pretty much drinks kefir instead of milk and since it has the probiotics to keep his gut healthy, I think that has helped too.)

As for me, I'm taking 1 tbs of straight cod liver oil (can you say yuck?!) and found if it's best not to breathe when swallowing and to immediately drink a couple swigs of kefir. I don't suffer the aftertaste that way. So far, I've just had some nasal and throat congestion this season, but nothing too annoying, other than finding that my voice isn't in good shape.














Jonathan has survived without any sickness so far this year as well. This was his arsenal:














Maybe one of all of us will still succumb before the season is out (there is a good two months left!), but I figure we've done what we can to try and keep our body's defenses high. I'll be curious when Riley heads off to preschool next fall and is in the company of more kids on a daily basis. I guess that's when we will really put these supplements to the test.

Shelby