The Emily Show

Emily saw the doctor last week and we were given the go ahead to start on rice cereal. She is a champ! She opens her mouth and sucks down the cereal ~ with very little coming back out. It's like she knows what she's doing already. She took to nursing so well...I remember thinking I just needed to get out of her way and let her do what she seemed to already know.

Our trip to the Pediatrician went great last Monday. We learned that Emily, at 27-inches, is above the 95th percentile for length. However at 12-pounds even, she's below the 25th for her weight. She eats well and sleeps well so we aren't concerned that she isn't getting enough. But, the doctor did want her to start the cereal to see if we could bulk her up some.

Emily turned four months on Christmas Day ~ already! We talked about Christmas with a new baby early in the year... time certainly flies. A year ago today we were just starting to wonder if a baby might be in store for us. We had no idea!

Today was Emily's appointment with the specialists who came to evaluate her muscle tone. She hasn't progressed like our other kids did in putting weight on her legs and holding up her head, and after mentioning some concern at our 2-month check up, our Pediatrician recommended we be seen. We were impressed with how thorough they were and are really glad to have finally met with them.

We've learned that Emily does in fact have a low tone to her muscles. With that diagnosis we've been given muscle stimulating and muscle building exercises to help her catch up. They are easy things that we'll be able to do while we're holding or playing with her. Things like rubbing her feet and putting pressure on other big muscle groups. These kinds of activities will stimulate her muscles and tell her brain to fire them more often, helping them to grow.

We'll see a Developmental Specialist monthly for the next year, as well as a Physical Therapist as it might be necessary. They come to our house, which is wonderful. This program is run by the state, though our insurance will pay what it will. It is otherwise free to us.


During the evaluation Emily just talked and talked and TALKED to both of the ladies that came. They were quite enamored and complimentary of her social personality. Any setbacks she may have are physical and not intellectual. They are things she will outgrow with our help. I got a little clip of Emily talking tonight. Multiply this by about an hour and you'll get what we had this afternoon, and what we hear often around here. She is such a doll.
So we're glad to be moving forward with knowledge and some perspective. Early intervention is a step in the right direction and such a blessing!