We don't have a check-up with her pediatrician this month but she weighs about 17 pounds. I'm not sure how long she is, though.
I've set up an appointment with a physical therapist who specializes in babies for Thursday at 9:00 am. There is not ONE single physical therapist in a 20-mile radius of my home who works with babies AND is contracted with my insurance company so I spent the entire day a couple of days ago figuring this out and finally finding one about 25 miles away. It was very, very aggravating. I got a little more information about Kylie's "condition" when I talked to a lady at another physical therapist's office. I think she said Kylie has low reflexes and stiff ankles. And the week before last, her pediatrician told me she thinks Kylie has increased muscle tone, which can be caused from being premature (and this increased muscle tone leads to the stiff ankles and low reflexes, and the stiff ankles causes her to stand on tip-toes). I think it's called hypertonia, and it could be a type of cerebral palsy. Her pediatrician also put in a referral for Kylie to see a neurologist (I am assuming to test for cerebral palsy, among other things) but I'm not sure if we are supposed to see the neurologist now or after we see the results of physical therapy so I'll have to call about that. I'm really nervous. I have read a lot on the Internet about parents in the same situations so I have hope that it can all be fixed. But of course, that worry is still constantly in the back of my mind.
Moving on...Kylie has started reaching for things outside of her reach. She has learned how to go from sitting to leaning on her hands, bringing her legs behind her, and then falling over onto her tummy to get whatever it is she is reaching for. A couple of weeks ago, she rocked back and forth on her hands and knees and then fell on her tummy. She is a very mobile baby already and is into absolutely everything so I cannot even imagine how she's going to be when she learns how to crawl. She rolls all over the place and sometimes scoots on her tummy.
She doesn't pull up on things but if I stand her up, she will hold on to the couch and stay standing.
After a few weeks of not trying bananas anymore, I tried again the other day, and she loves them now! But now she's acting like she doesn't like sweet potatoes, which she used to love! So I'll give the sweet potatoes a break, and we'll try them again in a couple of weeks.
She is becoming more efficient at holding her bottle. We use the drop-in bottles so the bottom is open. She holds the end of it (while playing with the liner) and can pretty much feed herself. Sometimes, though, she drops the bottle too low and sucks air so I have to push it back up.
On a different note, I talked to my academic advisor at school, and we manipulated my schedule so that I will graduate on July 4 (Chris' birthday!) instead of the end of September. The more I think about continuing with the master's degree, the more I don't think I'm going to. I spend so much time doing schoolwork that I feel like I don't have much time to relax. Sometimes I have to skip out on activities so I can do homework, and I don't like that. Plus, as I have said before, I won't be finished by the time Chris gets out of the Marines so I'll be working full-time, going to school full-time, and taking care of a toddler! I already have a hard time so I am not sure I'd be able to juggle all that.
To help me lose weight, I've been eating 5-6 small, healthy meals a day. I worked out in the gym on Thursday but I didn't go to the gym Friday or yesterday. I do plan to go today, though! Since I started on Thursday, I've lost 2-3 pounds!
You can kind of see her standing on tip-toes here.
I stumbled on your site a few weeks ago and have been enjoying your journey with your daughter. I have three children and all three have recived PT along with OT and Speech. Their issues vary from learning diffrences for my boys, 12 & 5 and more severe issues for my daughter who is 9. With all three we went through Early Intervention, a program that is not means tested (at least not in NY) and provides services to babies from birth to 3. Because I'm obessive I checked on the web for California and typed in Early Intervention and got into the website. It seems that CA has a similar program to NY (there are federal guidlines so all states have something, but each program may differ, I do not know) My children recived their services through the program. My youngest needed PT very early so I started with private therapy through our insurance but moved into EI. I don't know if you looked into this yet, but it can be very useful. Good luck and thank you for sharing your story, I enjoy your blog.
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