Nightswimming*

(Actually, day swimming.  But if I write Nightswimming then the REM song starts in my head and I love having that song playing in my head, so I'm keeping it.)

We've had two days of oppressive heat & humidity here . . . what better day to re-join the pool?  As a suburb girl, I'm a fan of the outdoor summer pool---but here in our neighborhood the indoor one turned out to be cheaper (and it has longer hours, and includes a gym membership----how is that even possible?) . . . regardless,  we'll be hanging out (indoor) poolside this summer.

Before we could leave for the pool I told Maya "We have to take Parker out to go potty" and I went to find my sunglasses . . . when I turned around, she was holding the leash!

Is this what you're looking for, Mom?

Parker!  Stay still!  Don't eat the leash!  We have to get this on so quick . . . mama said she's takin' me to the pool!

Who cares if the leash isn't on?!  Let's go!

Fun times were had by all at the pool.  I took some pictures on my phone to text to Dave (in a sharing-the-cuteness way, not a you're-at-work-and-we're-at-the-pool way):

This was "Maya, make a silly face!"

This was "Maya, smile!"  Maybe we need to work on making a smiling face.

The most amazing part of the pool visit was this sign:

 3 FEET DEEP

We were hanging out by the stairs and Maya was furiously pointing at it and making noises (the girl loves letters).  Just for kicks, I took her over and said Where's the E? and she pointed at one of the E's. 

Where's the D? Got it. 

Where's the P? Right again.

Where' the 3? Pointed at it, and then held up 3 fingers (like we taught her for her birthday).

Holy crap.

She's such a little sponge, just constantly soaking things up.  I haven't been doing any sort of focused letter stuff with her, other than watching Leapfrog Letter Factory once or twice a week and singing the song from it.  I haven't been showing her the letters (and certainly not the numbers).  But I will be now :)

 Daddy, when I'm done swimming I get to wear a pretty dress and pink sandals!!!

I tried to get a picture of her in the dress when we got home, but all I got were a bunch of shots that look like this:

She's too quick :)  (How great is that to say?!)  It's not quite running, but it's some sort of if-you-walk-any-faster-you'll-certainly-land-on-your-face pace, and I love it.  I love the fact that sometimes I have to do a few little joggy steps to get to her :)

And a quick post-hospital update . . .

True to form, Maya's still a little off from the anesthesia/hospital experience.  I feel like biologically it shouldn't last this long, but it seems to always take her a solid 2-3 days before she's totally back---she's taking longer naps, going to bed earlier, and trying to quit her therapy sessions midway through by employing the I-just-need-a-hug tactic on her therapists (with varying degrees of success).

As for me, I've spent the past two days exchanging dozens of emails with a good friend who happens to be a pediatric research audiologist in LA.  I made sure to get a tiny bit of data on Tuesday that I could feed to her, and based on that she created a graph to teach me the basics of hearing threshold data.  When I wondered about the reality of hearing aids, she sent me pictures of the pediatric aids from her center.  When I asked about the process of making Maya's hearing aids, she sent me a detailed play-by-play of how they create the new hearing aids where she works, what to expect at the appointments, and the brand and model number that her coworkers recommend based on Maya's case history.  When I started to struggle and question the validity of the findings (more on this some other time, but considering that we've already had one ABR that I don't trust, how can I be 100% certain of this one?) she consulted with some more people on her end and passed along the consensus of their thoughts.  Since Tuesday we've traded 22 emails, several of which included pdfs that she made to teach me about things. 

And she's another one of my internet friends. 

Another one that I've never met.  

We did have one telephone conversation a few weeks ago---helping me figure out if the sedated ABR was a good next step or more-than-what-was-necessary.  But other than that, she's a message board/Facebook/email friend.  Seriously, I'm so happy to live in this age of internet networking---where I can meet intelligent, wonderful women who have a great impact on my life.  

Thanks, Amy :)

The Adventures of Maya and Daddy

Today we went swimming, and Maya loves it so much that I could upload a trillion pictures of her smiling like a loon . . . but here are a few . . .

Oh Daddy, I love the pool . . .

Hi Mom!

Throw me higher!

Wheeeee!

 And, in other super cute news, Maya learned how to give kisses :)  Can I get a collective "Awwwww!"

Today was Maya's triumphant return to the swimming pool! We've had a lot of stuff going on recently, combined with weather issues, stuff we're practicing at home, and several colds/infections over the past few weeks (months?). But today she was back, and having a great time with her dad:



Here, Maya is practicing how to kick. Dave is practicing how to smile.

And I'm not in the pictures because I had to stay home and clean the rat cages.

Just kidding---I was there . . . I took the pictures! But I couldn't resist putting up this stylish picture of me cleaning cages. (The mask is because the critters sometimes make me sneeze.)

We took some fun pictures during the snowstorm, but I need to find the camera cord and upload them.

Things I do, 2 awesome updates

My life in pictures:

I'm a great eater of baby foods :) This is one week's worth of jars (M-Sun), plus I eat a lot of yogurt and mashed potatoes! I'm struggling to progress to thicker textures, but we're working on it.

I go to the park! At the park, we do physical therapy-ish exercises, crawl around, climb on stuff, and swing!
My pants get super dirty from crawling around. Everyone else at the playground can walk, so I look ridiculous in my constantly blackened pants. Mommy wonders if people think that she doesn't wash my clothes.I'm figuring out how to climb and chase the big kids!

A few times a week, I go swimming :)

And when I wake up from my nap, I like to turn on the mobile and gather my book, baby, and bunny all together:

I like to sit in my giant egg. Ok, just kidding, these are from a trip to Central Park Zoo that I took with Mom & Grandma. I love the penguins and the petting zoo!





And every day ends with a fun bath with my daddy. He's the best bath giver in the world. Then I get all wrapped up like a little flower.

And . . . . DRUMROLL, please . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 giant milestones this week! On Thursday, I babbled my first consonant babbles. I now say "Mamamamamamama" whenever I'm tired or agitated :) It's super cute and mom & dad are psyched that I'm making more noises.

AND this morning I stood up----all by myself!!! All of a sudden mom & dad looked over and saw this:

I'm getting big & strong :)

Maya's Medical Summary & Upcoming Appointments

Background
Maya's been having a bunch of health issues, which people know about to varying degrees . . . this isn't because we're trying to keep things secretive, but because there's so much going on that it's hard to remember who I've told what to, and who has time to send a million emails about stuff?

So here's the summary thus far:

-She's super allergic to cats. So Layla, my lovely cat who's been my faithful companion for the past 7 years, had to go :( My sister took her in and she now lives with a dog and 2 other cats (one of which could be her stunt double).

Mom! What the hell?! Are you trying to kill me?!

Layla and her new buddy, Tucker

-Her adenoids and tonsils are way too big. They are probably going to have to come out sometime soon.

-She's behind on most of her milestones (sitting up, rolling around, etc). She'll probably have some type(s) of therapy starting with in the next month 1 or more times a week. It will be great for her to have someone come and work with her, but it means that I have appointments for 5 different evaluations in the next 2 weeks (along with already scheduled ENT & allergist appointments).

-And she still doesn't really eat. But we now think that some of that is probably due to the adenoid issue, so hopefully we'll be able to move ahead with fixing the feeding stuff soon.

Upcoming Appointments
-Monday, 3/16: Developmental pediatrician evaluation & ENT
-Weds, 3/18: Physiatry evaluation & Feeding evaluation
-Mon, 3/23: Allergist
-Weds, 3/25: PT Evaluation & OT Evaluation

(For the next two weeks I'll be working on T, Th, & F to get these appointments in)

My thoughts

So it's going to be a pain to get around to all of these assessments and what not, but right now I don't feel like any of this is so terrible. She'll need a lot of practice (therapy) before she eats. She'll need a lot of practice (other therapies) to push her physical development. But she's pretty much the happiest baby around :) She's gone swimming now. She laughs a lot, which is pretty freaking cute.

Hello Toes!

Hopefully a month or two from now we'll be appointment free (other than adenoid surgery and PT/OT) and in a more reasonable pattern.


The End

So I'll try to keep this updated after appointments, and with other fun things in general. PLEASE COME HERE to get the information straight from the queen's mouth (I was going to say straight from the horse's mouth, but honestly, that clearly doesn't work here). The more that news is passed from person to person to person the more overdramatized it tends to become.