Hearing Test and Developmental Followup

This past weekend was the Town Wide Garage Sale event in Forest and I was out bright and early to get the good deals. Daddy and Addy however, took the opportunity to sleep in and enjoy a lazy Saturday morning together. Addy is really sleeping like a dream these days, and goes about 8-10 hours straight through the night and waking up around 8-9 am in the morning. A mother's dream!!! There was some great deals to be had that day, and we loaded up a few in the back of the Jeep to clutter up the house even more. Hee Hee.

On Monday Mim came down and went to St. Thomas with us for Addy's Hearing Test, that was a followup from the NICU. Addy had passed her original hearing screening in the hospital, but Preemies of her size and gestational age are at high risk for Hearing Loss so she needed to be tested again. Poor Mim had the task of keeping Addy awake for the 1 1/2 hour drive, as Addy needed to be able to sleep once we got there for the testing to be done. Mim did her job well and as soon as we got in the dark room and Addy had her bottle she was out like a light. Addy had probes placed on her forehead and one behind each one of her ears, while earphones were inserted in her ears. The earphones relayed both base and high pitched sounds into Addy's ears and the probes measured brain activity to see if Addy recognized the tones. She passed with flying colors and then proceeded on to another hearing test that is completed on all term babies when they are born. Addy was successful yet again and now will not have to be tested until she is one year, where they will test to see if she hears a sound and then turns in response to a picture flash related to the sound.

On Wednesday morning I was awakened by Greg at 5:00 am informing me that we had Raccoons in the house. In my sleep stupor I scrambled downstairs where we discovered one adult female hanging out on the eavestrough and another upstairs in our add on storage/attic room above the den!!!!! Wonderful!!! We discovered that they had climbed down the chimney, in through the den which is being remodeled, up through the insulation and into the storage/attic room, and along into the roof trusses that run around the house. Well needless to say the traps were set that morning and Addy and I were off to her monthly checkup with Dr. Stare.

Dr. Stare was very pleased with Addy's progress and did not seem to concerned with Addy's minimal weight gains. She advised that as long as Addy is eating and taking in food and even having minimal weight gain, that is fine. Better than a weight loss. Dr. Stare advised that Addy's head, length and developmental growth seemed on track, with only minimal concerns about Addy's desire to not use her upper body or abdominal strength. These were problems however, that had been recognized by the Occupational and Physiotherapy team from Pathways at our last appointment and we had been given exercises to complete in hopes of increasing Addy's use and strength of the muscles in these areas. We discussed Addy's constant issues with bowel movements and advised Dr. Stare that we had removed Addy's iron supplement and that as a result she was having regular bowel movements on her own. Dr. Stare advised this was great and suggested we get a blood test done on Addy to just test her iron levels and see where we were at.

We returned home that evening to find that sadly no raccoon captures had been made and that they were still living freely in our home. We left Greg to tend to the critters and Addy and I then trekked off to a Car Seat Clinic to learn the ins and outs of all the new car seat rules and when Addy would be required to change to a booster. All these things that you just don't know. The clinic was great and Cst. Jones ensured we had Addy buckled in properly and securely and gave us some tips for our next purchase. Well much to our surprise we were the lucky draw winners and we walked away with a brand new booster seat that night!!!!!! This was the only good news however, because when we returned home that evening we quickly learned that not only did we have two adult raccoons living in our attic, we also had a litter of babies in the wall underneath our bedroom window. Yes that's right crying all night underneath our bedroom window!!!!!! So unfortunately our Raccoon saga continues with loud music playing to try and have mama Raccoon move her babies, and a trap set with salmon in the attic!!!!!! Good thing is Addy is oblivious to all this and adjusting well to sleeping downstairs with mommy till we get the critters removed.

On Friday we returned to St. Joes Hospital for Addy's second Develpment followup clinic since she left the NICU. Jamie and Donna met with us and were very impressed with Addy's growth and development. They worked her hard and had only some minor suggestions for exercises, which again go back to Addy's limited use of her upper body and low tone of her shoulder, upper chest, neck and upper back muscles. All in all they advised that Addy is on the right track and moving along in the right directions. We then met with Dietician and Nutritionist; Cindy whom we discussed with Addy's issue of weight gain, and her constant struggle with bowel movements as a result of her iron supplement. We advised that we had stopped Addy's iron over the last month and as a result she was having regular type bowel movements and doing them on her own with out assistance from a suppository. Cindy quickly suggested however, that we get Addy back on her iron as it was vital to her brain development, since she had such a low birth weight and early gestational age at birth. We had no idea that this was so relevant and advised right away that we would get her back on the supplements and deal with the pooping issue as we had to, her brain development was much more important at this stage. Cindy also suggested that we remove Addison from a formula supplement in her breastmilk, to a protein powder supplement that would assist her with her muscle and tone development, as opposed to calorie intake. The hospital is so on top of things and so great to us, we cannot ever thank them enough for all they do and all the followup they are giving Addy to ensure she has the best start in life. On our way out we made a quick stop at the NICU unit and dropped off a bag of Addy's preemie clothes for the unit, to pay it forward a little bit for all the wonderful gifts and care we received. Lucky enough for us one of our "Core Team" nurses; Deb was working so we had a wonderful catch up visit with her!!!! Addy was a little cranky at first and had some tears but she quickly settled down and fell fast asleep after she said her hellos. Deb was so happy to see Addy and commented on her great progress!! But we have to say Deb she would not have made it where she is today without you, Lisa and Kathy. You guys worked with us very hard and gave Addy such wonderful care. Thank you, thank you, thank you. These ladies are truly amazing people!!!! Can't wait to visit again soon.

New Classes and Meeting Some New Friends

Well these last few weeks have been quite busy and full of new things. Unfortunately our computer decided to hit the fritz, so I have been unable to blog and keep everyone posted on Addy's progress. My apologies especially to our faithful followers (Nannan, Mim and Joyce), thanks guys for being so patient and still keeping us in your thoughts and wanting to know how Addy is coming along.

Addy is doing wonderful and amazes us everyday at just how far she has come along. She loves listening to her daddy talk, and is quite intrigued with him when they have their story time and seems to follow along with him in the books. Every morning she wakes herself up after about 20 minutes of eye rubbing, grunting and tossing her head back and forth. Then suddenly those beautiful blue eyes open wide and we say hello and her face is just one big smile as she throws her arms over head as if to say "Hello world and another beautiful day begins". How can you not be affected by that, pretty impossible to not start my day with a smile!

On Tuesday the 06th Addy and I attended our second class at the Early Years Center called Infant Signing. It was a great program that gave us the basics to get our baby started with signing as a form of communication and learning. I had previously purchased a great book on Baby Sign, but this class was a real booster to get us started and working on it with Addy. We start with one word and do the sign continually over the week with Addy so she associates it to the object and the sign will be implanted in her memory. Then the following week we add on another word and so on while continuing with the sign already presented to Addy. Of course we started with "Milk" as our first word and have quickly moved on to words such as "Drink", "More", "Bath". Addy just stares at us like we are crazy but we know someday she will amaze and just start doing the signs. This may be very helpful in the long run in case Addy does end up having some issues with her vocal chords that may affect her speech.

On Thursday the 07th we began our four week class of Infant Massage, which Addy absolutely enjoys. She obviously gets this from her Mommy who enjoys the "Spa" life as a good little getaway for kicking back and relaxing. Addy just lays back and takes it all in and smiles away at the instructor, while mommy works hard and massages away. She really does well in this class and I can tell we will benefit and use this at home as well for those fussy days (which are really few and far between for Addy).

We finally hit the cottage the following weekend and got some good work done inside and out for the big rental on the May 24 weekend. This was Addy's first big over nighter up there and she did wonderful. She really is taking in all the sights and sounds of the outdoors and has some wonderful sleeps in her stroller in the fresh air. The weather was even warm enough for Addy to enjoy some sunrays, while sporting her mandatory sun hat and Baby Bandz sunglasses. What a DIVA!!!!

Sunday was an emotional day for me, my first Mother's Day as a new mommy!!!! What a wonderful feeling~I was so excited and so happy to hear those words, really brought tears to my eyes thinking back to the tough road it took us to get here. Thanks to all the well wishers for my big day. We travelled up to Chatham for that day to see Mim and the family, as it was her big "moving out" day from our old house at 202 Tweedsmuir. I took an emotional walk through with Addy and told her about all the good times I had there growing up since I was three years old. Memories that will stay with me forever. It was kind of a bittersweet goodbye for me to bring Addy to the house for the first and last time. It was like an ending to one era of my life, while the new one with her is just beginning. Here is a pic of the gang having one last drink at the basement bar. Cheers to many, many, many, unforgettable memories.

Last week Addy and I kicked it up a notch and took some long awaited day trips down to London to meet up with some old and new friends for lunch and a few quick stops for some shopping. We met with mommy's friend Andrea and her son Curtis, and had a wonderful visit, before Andrea sadly has to return to work as her maternity leave is just ending. Booo Hoo! Then we met our new friends Laurel and Story (who is also a graduate from St. Joes NICU last Feb-June) and had a wonderful afternoon visit and walk downtown London. For those of you who may not remember Laurel and her husband Matt did a wonderful fundraiser for the families in the NICU last Christmas and we received a very wonderful and generous gift from them and Story. It was wonderful to sit down and talk with Laurel and pick her brain since she is a mom that has gone through all this, she had some wonderful tips and words of advice that helped alot. It was so wonderful to meet Story and see how fantastic she is doing, you would have no clue looking at Story that she was a 25 weeker and just over a pound like Addy was. Laurel was very kind to ask me on as a committee member for this year's fundraiser and I gladly accepted. So be prepared everyone we will be reaching out for your support in the near future to help some new families for this Christmas season.

So all in all we have been having some great fun getting outside and enjoying the weather and just plain enjoying life!!! Addy is coming along good in her growth, a little slow on the weight gain some weeks, but all in all she is growing!!! She is just around 13 1/2 pounds and fitting nicely into her 3 month outfits now!. Even though Dr. Stare had some concerns with Addy's vocal chords, she seems to be babbling up a storm these days and getting out some good, loud noises. Addy can hold her head up well and we have been slowly getting her into her exersaucer to explore new toys and sounds. She loves to be in a standing position but the poor wee thing though has such short little legs and arms, her feet dangle beneath in no where land, and her little arms can't reach far enough to grab the toys. Nothing that a little prop up pillow won't solve. We try to ensure that we continue everyday with Addy's exercises to strengthen her shoulders, neck and upper body. She sticks out and grunts along as we work her out hard for hopes of some improvement. We have noticed lately that she has started to kick some with her legs and has finally really discovered her little hands, which quickly go into her mouth. She still greatly enjoys her daily baths and kicks and giggles while in the water. We hope this is a good sign to come that she will enjoy the pool and lake waters of the summer that are just around the corner.

Family Visit and Reuniting with Old Friends

Well as the month of April came to a close, Addison received her last Synergis shot for the RSV season (respiratory syncytial virus). We are so excited as this means that we can officially put cold and flu season behind us and venture out into the real world. We kind of have already but I guess this is the official okay from our doctor that we are good until November. I was able to have my scrapbooking girls over for a great "girl day" and Addy joined in the fun. We got some great projects done and had some good laughs. Our dear friend Carol has the majic touch and got Addy to coo up a storm, babbling away to her. This was wonderful to hear after having received the news of concern for Addy's voice from our doctors a few weeks ago. Addy did very well and even got out a few loud ones including a sad little cry, where we are all sure she said "Mama" in her tears!!!!! Greg was not there though so I guess we cannot claim that one official yet. We know it though Addy, you said it girl.

On Friday the 01st of May we went for a visit down to my mom's place, so Greg could do some work and Addy and I were going to have a wonderful visit with our dear friends from the NICU. We were going to see Addy's boyfriend Deecon and his mom Jennifer whom we shared our 3 month journey through NICU with. We were so excited to catch up and share our thoughts, concerns and stories. Jen and Deecon arrived and it was sooo good to see them, we really miss our family (nurses and fellow parent and their children) that we made through our journey. Deecon looked absolutely wonderful and is such a big boy. This was our first time seeing little Dee without any tubes on his little face and he is sooooo cute. Jen and I talked each others ears off and she made me feel like I was normal and not a crazy mom on this planet. The kids hung out and took each other in, Deecon couldn't keep his hands off Addy it was so good to see. Sadly they had to go but we vowed to make this a date at least every couple of months to keep in touch!! Thanks guys. We continued our visit with Mim, Aunt Danielle and the boys and Great Aunt Betty and Uncle Les. By the end of the evening Mim got some great news that she finally sold her old house, which is the one that Danielle and I grew up in. A bittersweet moment actually as we know it has been a big stress on Mim trying to keep up both places, however we would be finally leaving and closing the doors on a big chapter in all our lives. We will be heading down on Mother's Day weekend to do the big move and say goodbye to alot of good memories. Brings a tear to my eye right now.

Around 4:00 pm the next afternoon, Cousin Maria and Peter came down and spent the night. Addy was so excited to see them and we were excited for them to see her, as they had been unable to see her since their hospital visit at Christmas when Addy was only about 3 1/2 pounds. The minute they arrived Addy was in their arms and she enjoyed every minute of it. We had such a wonderful visit and cannot wait till they come again. It gave us a chance to really get to know Peter, who is wonderful and so good to Maria who is so dear to us. I am not sure but I think over the day and night they were there I am pretty sure Maria said to Addy "I Love You" at least once every 5 minutes. Ha Ha. This is why Addy has her namesake. Love you guys and hope to do it again real soon.