Milestones...

If Spring is all about change and new beginnings, then we're starting this one off on the right foot. It's only Tuesday and we're already having a busy week, with a lot more activity to follow. But before I get into this week I want to post pictures of our first spring change...we painted the kitchen! After realizing that we would have absolutely no money to do projects on the house this year, we decided something just had to be done about the brown and pink walls...so we took the plunge (and an entire Saturday) and painted the kitchen. We are very happy with the result!

Now, back to this week...

Yesterday was Lexi's last day of gymnastics. She's done very well, and has enjoyed it very much, but this particular gym is very expensive and I haven't been thrilled with how they've handled a few situations, so we are off to try something new...(more on that later).

After gymnastics we headed over to North Andover Pediatrics for Zachary's 4 month visit. Dr. Martin is thrilled with how well he is doing, and marveled at how strong, and social he is. It's always nice when the doctor is impressed with the baby. She's happy to see that he's able to hold himself up so well on his tummy, and his head strength is amazing. She is certain he'll be sitting up, rolling, etc. before his 6 month visit. Zach's growth spurt has slowed a bit, but he's still doing just fine. Here are his stats:
Height - 26.5 inches - 90th %ile
Weight - 15lbs 5oz - 55th %ile
Head - 43cm - 70th %ile
Despite some heavy rumors that NAP is throwing patients out who are not 100% vaccinated on schedule, Dr. Martin continued to abide by the deal we made at the beginning, and he only got two shots yesterday (he won't get hep B until he's a bit older, and he also won't get rotavirus). I am thrilled because I really do like Dr. Martin, and was feeling frustrated that I was going to have to leave another doctor I liked because of a lousy practice.

Later in the afternoon we had an appointment with Lexi's orthotist. He is thrilled with the progress she is making in the braces, and feels that she just needs to be in them a bit longer. We agreed that braces in the summer won't work, so he has offered to make us a custom arch support to fit inside some sandals...free of charge. I really like these guys. :)

Tonight, Lexi and I are going to her very first swim therapy class that her PT teaches. She and I are both very excited about it. It's basically physical therapy in the water, with other kids. We have to pay out of pocket for it, but I think it's going to be a great class, and I really want her to catch up in gross motor so that she can keep up with her peers in preschool...

...and speaking of preschool...Lexi begins on THURSDAY!!! I am so excited and anxious at the same time. We've been talking about it non-stop since we decided to send her in April, and I can't believe this week has already arrived. Of course, I will update with pictures of her on her first day of school as soon as I can. She's going to New England Montessori which is a Montessori School with Traditional influences. It's a beautiful school, and she already knows one of her classmates, so I'm sure she'll settle in very quickly.

Ahren and I continue to run around like mad, but we are having so much fun watching the kids interact and enjoy one another. We're exhausted by the end of every day, but always looking forward to what tomorrow will bring. Bring on Spring...we're ready. :)

IIIIIIII'm Movin' Out!

So, apparently Lexi has had it with 56 Harold Street. We thought the addition would make things comfy enough for all of us to live here happily for a few more years, but Lexi has decided the space is no longer adequate. This is our conversation on the way to Yaya's last week:

Lexi: "Well Mama, pretty soon our little house will be too small for me, and I'm going to have to move into a bigger house."
Me: "Really? You're moving out?"
Lexi: "Yup. I'm moving into a big house."
Me: "But Daddy and I will miss you!"
Lexi: "That's okay, because I'm going to move into a house next to yours so that I can come over and visit you all the time."
Me: "Oh, okay. Phew."

A few minutes pass...

Lexi: "Mama, are you watching out for houses with two roofs?"
Me: "Two roofs?"
Lexi: "Yes! Houses with two roofs! Oh, there's one, there's one! We can live there! Okay Mama, keep looking!"

Well, she's a smart girl...she must know it's a buyers market. Ahren and I are already making plans for her room. He's thinking game room, I'm thinking a little mini spa. :)

Smarty Pants

Today at Physical Therapy in the pool with Debbie:

Debbie (pointing to the ceiling): "Look at that Lexi! Look what's up on the ceiling!"

Lexi: "yea..."

Debbie: "What is that?? Isn't it weird? It looks like ribbons dancing on the ceiling"

Lexi: "yea..."

Debbie: "What do you think it could be?!?!"

Lexi: "Well, maybe it's just the refrection of the water in the pool on the ceiling..."

Debbie was pretty amazed. There's not a thing wrong with this kids brain...just her legs that don't always work the right way. :)

Done With MRIs!!

Yesterday Lexi had an MRI basically as a follow up to the untethering surgery she had two years ago. When we last visited Dr. Raffalli (her neurologist) in January, he still had some concerns about the stiffness of her legs and wanted to check to make sure the cord had not retethered, or we had missed something the first time. We felt pretty confident that she was fine, but we’re always happy to double check just to be sure (remember, we thought that we would find nothing on the first MRI…). This time we decided to scan the brain and spine because we hadn’t done the brain the first time, and that always bothered us and remained sort of a question mark.

So, yesterday Ahren, Lexi and I travelled (very early) into Children’s Hospital for the MRI. She was incredibly brave and handled all of it very well. The last time she had the MRI she was able to drink the sedation drug, but this time it had to be administered via an IV. She did not like having the IV in her hand at all, and who can really blame her?? So, they started the drug and she seemed to drop off pretty quickly. However, when we put her up on the table it was clear she wasn’t completely out yet. She fussed and squirmed while we tried to get her to relax. They administered the second dose in an attempt to get her to calm down but that too was ineffective. They started the scan, but after about ten minutes came in and told us that she was just moving too much. So, we switched to another drug (the same one she’d had the first time). They were able to give her up to four doses, but again, after each dose went in she continued to fuss and move. We were all very concerned that we’d have to come back another day and do it under general anesthesia. Finally, after a half hour and every drop of medication they could give her she settled down enough to get the scan done. All in all, we were in the MRI room for two full and stressful hours. During the scan I sat in the chair praying, while Ahren stood guard over Lexi, reporting to me after each test whether or not she had moved. We were both extremely relieved when the nurse came in and told us they had successfully completed the test.

Once the test was over we went to recovery. We were in there for another two hours as, after all those drugs, it was extremely difficult to wake her up. We tried about 4 different times, and were finally able to get her to open her eyes about half way. She guzzled some juice and snacks (her first thing to eat all day!!) and then fell asleep again. At that point we were finally able to take the IV out, the cardiac monitor and blood pressure cuff off, and take our sweet, sleepy angel home!

She was drowsy and dizzy for a few hours after, but after a good lunch, some juice, and a little Poppy time she was her happy little self again. A huge relief to all of us. It was an incredibly difficult day…it just never gets easier seeing your daughter have to go through such torturous tests…but in the end all is well.

Dr. Raffalli’s office called this morning to let us know the everything in the scan was completely normal!! There is no evidence of retethering, spinal cord deformity, or brain abnormality. She is 100% NORMAL!!! YAY!! What an enormous relief.

Additionally, what’s even better news is that we have finally found a physical therapist who sees Lexi as a whole person!!! She recognizes that every single one of her problem areas is interconnected, and she is working (quite effectively) to make ALL of Lexi work better. And the best part about it is that Lexi thinks it’s fun! She has no idea that she is working when Debbie has her riding the bike around the hospital, or playing on a new scooter. She even looks forward to doing her daily exercises, and often does more than she even has to do. It’s so overwhelming that after three and a half years we finally have someone who has given me real hope that Lexi will be keeping up with the other kids in no time.

As a matter of fact…after just three weeks of PT, Lexi has made tremendous gains in her ability to do things at home (use the potty herself, get dressed by herself, etc.) and she is like a new kid at gymnastics!! She has so much less fear, and so much more strength – it’s really tremendous. You can so clearly tell that her balance and core strength has improved in just three weeks, and that has given her so much more confidence.

We’re just simply bursting with joy.

Miss Independent

This morning Lexi used the potty all by herself. I don't mean that she successfully used the potty - she's been trained without accidents for 6 full months. But this morning she actually went into the bathroom, did NOT freak out that the light wasn't on, opened the lid, got herself on, peed, wiped, got herself off, flushed, pulled up underwear and pants, and came back. ALL BY HERSELF!!! And there was no screaming or whining! NONE!!!
This may not seem like such a big deal...it's an obvious next step once one is able to do each step independently with a parent standing by...but there have been days when I was sure I would be escorting Lexi to the potty until the day she got married (when her then husband would need to take over the unfortunate task...). This has mostly been due to the fact that if I am nursing Zachary then suddenly my once perfectly happy and independent little girl has a crisis of some sort..."Mommy, I am SOOOO thirsty and I cannot wait until you're finished feeding Zachy!" "Mommy, I need to use the potty and I need you to come with me because my tummy is telling me that it can't hold the peepee or poopy any longer." Or, the biggest crisis in the Lippman household, "ACK!!! A HAIR A HAIR A HAIR... mommy mommy please get rid of the hairrrrrrrrr............" (Yes, she is still afraid of hair, and I still can't figure out why). Any suggestion from me that she handle said problem on her own typically only delivers a string of incomprehensible whining that typically involves counter suggestions of using my one free arm to hoist her suddenly boneless body onto the toilet and to then contort myself in a way so that Zachary can simultaneously nurse and watch Lexi ("The Big Girl") use the potty. Up until the last couple of weeks I've been going along with these silly requests in a dual attempt to show Lexi that I can still be her Mommy even when Zachary needs me too, and to keep the mind numbing whining to a minimum so that I don't toss myself out of the nearest window. But lately I've been telling her that she needs to wait, and I will help her when I'm done. So, when I heard the pitter patter of her little feet heading in to see me this morning, I was prepared for the whine fest I was sure was about to ensue.
It began, "Mommy, I need to use the potty because my tummy is telling me that it can't hold in the peepee and poopy any longer."
Me - "Okay, can you go by yourself?"
Lexi - "Okay." OKAY?!?!?
She gave up that easily?? Well, surely she will discover the light is not on and fall into a puddle of sobs by the bathroom door until I rescue her... I listen...<pitter patter....toilet seat goes up...no whining or yelling...time passes...toilet seat falls down...toilet flushes...
Lexi - "Mommy!" (uh oh...here we go!) "I accidentally flushed the toilet before I wiped, and now I can't get the wipe to go down!"
Me - immediately throwing out suggestions, "Leave it there, I'll flush it later" "Just try flushing again"
And a second later she is standing next to me, "Don't worry Mom...I did it."
Me - "Okay, let's pull up your underwear."
Lexi - "I already did that mom...I'm just getting my pants....there. Done."
And there you have it folks. She can now use the potty all by herself. I'll start packing her bags for college...