Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Poor baby...still

Maria's second cold actually got pretty bad. At one point she had been coughing so much her throat was sore and she wouldn't drink. She's getting better now, but she passed it on to Cathy who developed a full-blown sinus infection. Needless to say it is not easy to get in to a doctor at this time of year. An added complication is that through all this Maria's cutting her two upper canines.

She appears to have had a growth spurt. I noticed that in her stander her chest strap is now a belly strap. We haven't had a chance to measure her, but I'd guess it's a good two inches. She also has her first pair of shoes which we sometimes use when she is in the stander.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Poor baby...again

Maria's sick again. She got over her last cold and a few days later got another one. This one doesn't seem as bad as the last, but it's messing with her eating/sleeping/drinking so it's not fun for her. Or her parents who are up all night with her.

She continues to learn new tricks. She has a sort of flying saucer toy which spins and plays music when she pushes the big green button and she's always loved it. Recently it was next to her and her flailing arm hit the button. She listened to it play then immediately reached out and hit the button again and again...never looking at it, of course. Her whole attitude towards toys has changed as she's realized that she can make them do things.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

New tricks

Maria had her physical therapy evaluation yesterday and met or exceeded most of her goals. Even with the traveling and being sick she has made real progress the last few weeks. She's finally over that cold she had.

Maria has some stuffed toys which, when you squeeze them, vibrate and play music. She loves them but can't squeeze hard enough to activate them herself. Yesterday she accidentally rolled onto one and activated it. She was very still while it played then once it stopped she started squirming around until she managed to start it, then was very still again. She did this several times. It was obvious that she realized she had made this thing work and was able to figure out how to do it again. She's doing more of that cause-and-effect stuff lately.

It's still hard to tell whether the new hearing aids help. They certainly don't hurt and they stay in even if she thrashes around. She's been more vocal since getting them, and I *think* she seems more aware of voices. I'm a biased observer so I try not to read too much into some of the things I see. The audiologist did say that she was responding to sounds as low as 60 decibels and maybe as low as 45. The speech therapist pointed out that is a critical range because 60 decibels is the average level of conversation.

Maria continues to get credit card applications in the mail. I think Cathy should send one in. They ask for date of birth and occupation ("baby") so it's not like she'd be defrauding them. And if Maria actually gets one, well it's never too early to start building credit :)

Thursday, December 08, 2005

New Hearing Aids

Maria got her cool new pink and purple hearing aids this morning. Check 'em out (click on the picture for a larger version)

It's only been a few hours, but I think her hearing seems better. It might be just wishful thinking, but she seems more aware of sound and even her own voice.

She's feeling better from her cold, though she's still phlegmy. She's got more energy, though still isn't eating that well.

Her upper body control is suddenly a lot better. Her biggest problem now seems to be balance. She has gotten good at supporting herself on her arms while sitting and making subtle shifts to her position, but then she loses it. She used to slump to the side when she'd sit. Now she falls to the side which is a subtle difference but shows she's learning to be upright. In fact she's started getting fussy when she's not sitting up. She still can't sit up on her own, say in the middle of the floor, but we can sit her on the couch and she can stay up for quite a while. She starting to learn to manipulate things with her hands while still retaining her balance with her trunk.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Poor baby

Maria's been sick this week with some kind of unspecified yuckiness. Cathy took her to the pediatrician yesterday and she said everything is fine. The only disturbing thing is that she coughs so hard she throws up, but the pediatrician said that is common in babies. She had a fever on Sunday and Monday, but none since.

We went to Albuquerque last week for Thanksgiving. Maria did well on the long trip, sleeping and chilling out in her car seat. She was a big hit with the relatives, of course. It would be nice to get out there more often, but it's a long drive.

Maria's new trick (before she got sick anyhow) is that she can stand while leaning against things. For example, I stand her up against my legs, take my hands away, and she can stay up for quite a while. Her legs are much stronger and if she could just get the balance thing under control she could stand on her own. As usual, she's very close to sitting up on her own, but not quite there yet. I've seen her show more interest in the crawling position now that the crawler has shown her that she can move in that position.

Cathy and I have both noticed that when we kneel down next to her she smiles. I don't know if she can tell which is which, but at least she can see that someone is coming to play with her. Also, the other day I was holding her and she was fussy, then Manolis started talking to her from behind and she instantly calmed down. So her vision and hearing continue to improve. We haven't gotten her new hearing aids yet and haven't been using the old ones for fear she might have an ear infection.