Bluestocking Biddy

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Sunday, December 18, 2016

On Friday we had an appointment with the paediatrician to check up on Maren. She had gained almost a pound over three weeks, which is great news. She is catching up to where she ought to be.

The paediatrician asked about developmental milestones, and we mentioned that she is talking a lot. Last weekend we were in Toronto visiting Jeff's family for an early Christmas, and Maren has not stopped talking about it – she says "Ella" (her three-year-old cousin), "Lola" (the dog), and "Ah-ah" (auntie Allison) several times a day. She mentions others as well, but their names are harder to say :-) She also says "ha-pah" (airplane) and points to the sky.

The paediatrician said that she must be very smart because she is "not supposed to be doing that yet." Out of curiosity, we tried to make a list of the words that Maren can say. We started the list on Friday and came up with what we could, but somethings were left off, and then it seems like she learns new words every day. Since making the list she has started saying "Santa" all the time, and keeps asking for her "cah" (cards), which were part of a Christmas gift from her uncle Ray and auntie Shuo and cousin Elliot. Here is the list we came up with:

Words Maren says Dec 16 2016

Noodles
Oatmeal
Banana
Apple
Pear
Milk
Cracker
Yogurt
Cottage cheese
All done
Ball
Boot
Book
Cat
Paper
Hippo
Owl
Hat
people
Man
Mama
Dada
Peanut butter ball
Hot air balloon
Car
Airplane
Truck
Duck
Bear
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Carrot
Pants
Baby
Goat
Pig
Eye
Chin
Cheek
Arm
Elbow
Bee
Bib
High chair
Water
Bird
Bug
Nose
Mouth
Teeth
Diaper
Block
Turtle
Chair
Egg
Hi
Bye bye
Yeah
No
High five
Backpack
Daycare
Veggies

Jeff tells me that after toddlers reach 50 words, they have a word explosion. I think we have reached that stage. It is hilarious and tons of fun :)

Sunday, December 04, 2016

Less worry

We are starting to feel better about Maren's eating. She has been on the appetite stimulant at the lowest dose for about ten days, and so far it seems to really be working. She is still a toddler, and therefore her behavior is at times completely unpredictable and inexplicable, but overall she is eating much more. She is regularly asking for food, which she really never did before, and having three regular meals and at least two snacks every day. It is a huge relief. After about five days, Jeff and I both noticed that her cheeks seemed a bit chubbier already. We met with the dietitian last Monday, and she looked over our three day food log (started the day that we had started the appetite stimulant), and said that Maren was eating all the right things. We don't go back to the pediatrician until December 16, so we won't get her weight again until then, but I am certain that she will have gained weight by then.

Yesterday I took several videos of Maren, just because. Here is one that I took without her knowing, showing her improved walking skills:

She is a pretty cautious baby. The other day she noticed that the gate at the top of the stairs was open, so she said "uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh," and tried to close the gate. She is not a big risk taker, so she might be slower than some to start running around, but that makes life easier for us :-)

Meanwhile, her language is exploding. Many of her words don't sound much like the words she is trying to say, but some of them are close to perfect. Today she started saying "tur-tle," and it is really funny to hear a very intelligible word when most words are only understandable based on context. One of these days we are going to have to make a list of all the things she says, and how she says them. Right now she is a lot of fun :-)

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Lightweight monkey

This morning we caught a few photos from Maren's bath. Just seconds earlier she had been smiling at the monkey in the mirror, but it is nearly impossible to catch that on camera :-)

This past week we went to see a paediatrician for the second time. I have been worried about Maren's weight gain for quite some time. When she went for her nine month check up in June, she hadn't gained any weight since I last weighed her a month prior. In early July, I convinced a doctor in our family doctor's office to refer Maren to a pediatrician. Here in Saskatchewan babies don't go to the paediatrician unless there is a problem – everything is generally taken care of by the family doctor. Since it was considered a low priority case, we did not get an appointment with the paediatrician until November 2.

We saw the family doctor a couple of times before going to the paediatrician, and even had blood work done twice. Maren continued to not gain weight, but the blood work came back totally fine, so we were told not to worry. When we finally had our appointment, we were told to try feeding her higher calorie foods, and come back in three weeks. We have tried over and over again to feed her high calorie foods, but she just doesn't eat that much.

By the time we came back for our follow-up last week, Maren had not gained weight for six months. She has continued to get taller, and is meeting all of her developmental milestones, so all that is good, and her blood work is good. However, at this point the paediatrician let us know that she is worried about Maren's lack of weight gain. I was actually relieved to hear her say this, because I have been worried for a long time and have felt like no one else seemed to think there was a problem. So at least now there is someone else paying attention.

The doctor prescribed an appetite stimulant, which is actually just an over the counter antihistamine that has a side effect of increased appetite. The prescribed dose is lower than is generally used for antihistamine use of the drug. We have the drug for three days, and so far it actually seems to be helping. Maren is eating quite a bit more, and more high fat foods.

At this point we are hopeful. We are seeing a dietician tomorrow, and will have a follow-up appointment on December 16 with the pediatrician. Fingers crossed that this solves the problem, and that there is no new problem discovered!

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Exercise and a little bit more

First, I have re-uploaded the video of Maren walking, because apparently it did not work. You are all too polite – liking the blog post without being able to watch the video, and not saying anything about it :-)

I have been doing my best to get outside most days. In the past, that was quite tricky – walking is too much of a challenge for me to go out for a walk most days, and it has been hard to find an alternative that works for me and is also convenient enough to go out for a quick twenty minutes or half hour when that is all the time there is. But my new tricycle has been working really well. It really feels like the equivalent of going for a walk, and is easy enough to go out on that we are able to go for a tricycle ride as easily as for a walk. When I say we, I mean either me, Jeff, and Maren, or just me and Maren. When it is just the two of us, I put Maren forward facing in the carrier, and wear her like a front facing backpack. It works well.

One slight downside to going out on the tricycle is that it does attract some attention. A lot of men men, a few women, and actually most children, think the tricycle is very cool, and ask me where I got it, etc. However, unlike with some things, like my scooter, I don't feel the need to explain that I have a disability, and that that is why I am riding a trike. Sometimes I do, and I did feel the need to explain at first, but I am getting better about just saying "thanks" when people say "that thing is awesome!," or something similar.

Not too long ago, I was riding the trike with Maren. There was a family out in front of their house raking leaves – a mom, a dad, and two kids who were probably about six and three. The dad said in a thick Indian accent "Oh I like this! We should get this! It is exercise and a little bit more!" There are times when I feel down about the fact that I can't go for long walks. But riding the trike is fun. There are lots of people that I pass who are walking, who wish they were riding my trike. And when I wish I was walking, it is good to remember that the trike is "exercise and a little bit more" :-)