I've been really slack about the blog, but I do have some updates about Kinsey.
She was really sick last month and we thought we were managing it at home ok, but after a couple of days we ended up taking her to the hospital and it turned out she had Pneumonia! I got really scared at first because I remembered the nurses telling us when she was a tiny baby that pneumonia could kill her, but then I remembered that was because they were afraid she would aspirate (from the cleft palate) and get it that way. Plus pneumonia is always more dangerous for babies. Anyway, we caught it early and a couple weeks of antibiotics cleared it up quickly. But as a result of this latest illness, Jamie and I've become more vigilant t in our efforts to keep that poor girl healthy. We've switched her diet to include even more fruits and vegetables, she's now getting healthy doses of probiotics through a supplement and Kiefer, and we've added a multivitamin back in too. We're being even more careful about wiping down surfaces she comes in contact with when we're out and about (I'm already super neurotic about this) and washing her hands more frequently. Let's hope this all helps!
After this latest sickness, we're also working on getting some more equipment at home: a reliable, hospital-grade pulse ox machine to track her oxygen levels when she's needing it (right now we just have one of those finger things from Walgreens and it's really hard to get a good reading on her). And the dr at the hospital recommended a Therapy Vest to help "shake" the fluid out of her chest and lungs. They used it on her while she was in the hospital and so we're working on getting one to have at home too.
A couple of new and exciting things for Kinsey: first of all she's not really wearing bibs anymore! We stopped putting them on her when she was home for Christmas break and noticed she was doing really well without them. So she's generally not wearing them although I do still pack a couple in her school backpack in case she needs one and we do usually still put a bib on when she eats. She still occasionally insists on "sucking" on her thumb or holding a toy in her mouth and soaking herself in the process, but typically if she does that for a little while and gets wet, she stops and her clothes dry off and she stays dry the rest of the day. So it's still a mixed bag, but at least it's progress!
She's also recently become more helpful with getting dressed. She knows how to put her socks on by herself (although it usually takes her a very long time). She's understood for a long time how to help put her arms through her sleeves, but now she also helps with pulling her pants up. Most times I put her pants on her legs while she's laying down, but I only pull them up to about her knees and then stand her up to pull them up the rest of the way and now she will bend down and try to help pull them up. Again, progress!
Kinsey's the most amazing big sister I've ever seen! She's so loving towards Winnie and she likes to try to play with her. Now Winnie's really starting to react to her - she watches her walk around the room and smiles whenever Kinsey comes over to her. It's SO sweet watching them play together and I'm sure it will only become more fun as Winnie gets older.
Here are some pictures from the past month: https://kinseyandwinnie.shutterfly.com/pictures/51
Monday, February 15, 2016
Friday, January 1, 2016
Happy New Year!
I've been terrible about keeping the blog updated lately and even though this is the beginning of a new year, I'm not going to resolve to be better about it because I just know that won't happen! Most of you are on Facebook and see all the updates there anyway, so the blog has become pretty redundant - except for the few details I share here that I don't post on Facebook. Anyway, I will continue the blog, but just know and understand that the posts will be random and fewer than before :)
Overall 2015 was a great year for Kinsey. She's learned a lot of new things and changed a ton, but most significant of all, she became a big sister . . . something she's just great at! At the beginning of the year, I started a Memory Jar and tried to remember to add notes to it throughout the year. Of course, most of them ended up being about Kinsey (these are through the summer, after that I slacked off):
* Kinsey loving the splash parks
* Kinsey and Jamie playing peek a boo in the house construction
* Watching Kinsey "swim" by herself for the first time
* Kinsey going up the stairs on the playground by herself
* Kinsey laughing at Teddy (the hamster) on his wheel
Here's a link to some of the pictures from the last month or so: Pictures
Something new that has just happened is Kinsey is doing much better with her drooling! In fact, she hasn't worn a bib since she's been on Christmas break! She's definitely not done wearing them yet - she still drools a ton when she's too busy to pay attention to it or sticks a toy or thumb in her mouth, but she's improving and progress is always a good thing!
Kinsey got new glasses again recently - we went back to the old wire frame style because the newer ones she had just didn't stay on her face well. She has learned to push them up when they start falling down her nose and will even put them back on or hand them to one of us if they fall off. She doesn't seem to chew on them anymore, so that's really good too.
We're also working on getting Kinsey a new hearing aid. The one she has is nearly 5 years old now, which means it's pretty old technology. In fact the audiologist can't even hook it up to her computer system to program it anymore. Unfortunately insurance and medicaid don't cover hearing aids for some ridiculous reason (and her hearing aid costs $5000), but the company that makes it has a program that they will basically grant you the hearing aid if you have medicaid. You have to jump through a bunch of hoops and it takes about 6 months, but it will be worth it when we finally get it!
We're looking forward to tons of fun with Kinsey and Winnie this year and hoping for a few less hospital stays (Kinsey is getting sick less frequently, but last year every sickness landed her in the hospital instead of just one)!
Overall 2015 was a great year for Kinsey. She's learned a lot of new things and changed a ton, but most significant of all, she became a big sister . . . something she's just great at! At the beginning of the year, I started a Memory Jar and tried to remember to add notes to it throughout the year. Of course, most of them ended up being about Kinsey (these are through the summer, after that I slacked off):
* Kinsey loving the splash parks
* Kinsey and Jamie playing peek a boo in the house construction
* Watching Kinsey "swim" by herself for the first time
* Kinsey going up the stairs on the playground by herself
* Kinsey laughing at Teddy (the hamster) on his wheel
Here's a link to some of the pictures from the last month or so: Pictures
Something new that has just happened is Kinsey is doing much better with her drooling! In fact, she hasn't worn a bib since she's been on Christmas break! She's definitely not done wearing them yet - she still drools a ton when she's too busy to pay attention to it or sticks a toy or thumb in her mouth, but she's improving and progress is always a good thing!
Kinsey got new glasses again recently - we went back to the old wire frame style because the newer ones she had just didn't stay on her face well. She has learned to push them up when they start falling down her nose and will even put them back on or hand them to one of us if they fall off. She doesn't seem to chew on them anymore, so that's really good too.
We're also working on getting Kinsey a new hearing aid. The one she has is nearly 5 years old now, which means it's pretty old technology. In fact the audiologist can't even hook it up to her computer system to program it anymore. Unfortunately insurance and medicaid don't cover hearing aids for some ridiculous reason (and her hearing aid costs $5000), but the company that makes it has a program that they will basically grant you the hearing aid if you have medicaid. You have to jump through a bunch of hoops and it takes about 6 months, but it will be worth it when we finally get it!
We're looking forward to tons of fun with Kinsey and Winnie this year and hoping for a few less hospital stays (Kinsey is getting sick less frequently, but last year every sickness landed her in the hospital instead of just one)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)