by Sarah | Oct 10, 2008 | All About Molly, Autism, Failure to Thrive (FTT), IUGR, Russell-Silver Syndrome
When my blog was closed for a couple of weeks I received an email from a new visitor. Her daughter was FTT and they were looking at a possible RSS diagnosis, among every other measure being taken. She asked me for our story and shared hers. Since her last email I’ve been busy and my brain still isn’t functioning so I hadn’t gotten back to her yet…but I thought I’d start to try to answer her question here. Starting at the beginning of our special needs journey that we’ve gone through with Riley. From the beginning…
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For the most part, my pregnancy with Riley went smoothly. I had minor issues with morning sickness (hello Saltines!), and some major skin issues (hello ringworm, dry skin, and excema!). Otherwise, things went well. She, and I, grew normally until around 20 weeks. That was the first time the ‘huh‘ factor came into play. I started measuring just a little small.Â
It wasn’t a panic inducing moment by any means, just a ‘huh‘ and a ‘we’ll monitor it’. My doctor loved excuses for extra ultrasounds (he likes to keep Mama’s happy by letting them see their babies), and he guessed that the small measurements may produce cause for a third trimester ultrasound.Â
As the weeks progressed I continued to measure small, and so I received another ultrasound at about 32 weeks. The ultrasound determined that Riley was small, too. Not a whole lot, but a week or two behind. Still not reason for panic, but reason for monitoring.
For my 36 week checkup I received another brief ultrasound. Riley was growing, but was still showing behind. My OB told me to keep drinking plenty of fluids and he’d check us again in a couple of weeks.
At 38 weeks I was already 2 cm dilated, and my measurements were still small. A final ultrasound revealed that in the previous two weeks, Riley hadn’t grown at all. She still looked healthy, but now looked about 4 weeks behind.Â
My (wonderful!) OB looked between Archie and I and said, “Well, we have a diagnosis of IUGR, probable low birth weight. It’s a medical reason to induce, would you like to go now?!”Â
It took one look and two seconds for Archie and I to say, “YES!!” We drove home from the doctors making calls, picked up our bags and drove the three minutes from our house to the hospital. Idiot me didn’t eat before we went in…but that’s a different story.
I was hooked up to the IV and monitors, where it was discovered I was contracting. At three minute intervals! I had no idea. They started the pitocin, and within half an hour I DID know I was contracting.Â
Long story short, eight hours later Riley pushed herself out (yes, you read that right, I didn’t push…AT.ALL), and came out blue with a nuchal chord (around her shoulder). Luckily, she immediately started screaming and pinking up, but the nurses scooped her up and took her away anyway…there was no instant holding.Â
She was born 6lbs 7oz. She was long and skinny, with a popeye effect…but she was beautiful and fair. She took to breastfeeding like a champ and was released from the hospital in the normal amount of time.
The first three months were wonderful. She was small, but grew on the curve. She fed constantly, but would not sleep lying down. It was our first hint of trouble, but we didn’t realize it. I just let her sleep in her carseat. It propped her up at the right angle and she was too small to roll out.Â
The first three months were magical…she’d fall asleep in my arms, she was tiny and cuddly and totally lovable. We didn’t know what a hectic world and stressful life we were about to embark on…we just saw oru beautiful fair princess staring back at us…
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For sake of length and sanity, this is to be continued :DÂ Tomorrow, I think.
by Sarah | Dec 10, 2007 | Autism
And replaced my baby with some talking, jabbering fool!!! Not to mention a BIG girl!!
Molly TALKED at preschool!! SHE TALKED!! ALL WEEKEND she’s been talking!
Pants, Tights, Dress, Santa (sun), Mommy, Diego climb tree, belly, shirt…just for starters!!
And then there’s the JABBER she’s been doing. Just talking our ears off!!
She listens and allows me to bargain with her. She has taken much more interest in solids (good), but therefore ignores important nutrition giving bottles. Today (twice) she was refusing the sippy cup, and I bargained with her, “Do you want to go night night?” “No!” “If you aren’t going night night, you have to drink your milk.” She took it both times!!
Last night at the company party she ended up with my plate in front of her and fed herself all night…mashed potatoes and HAM (she LOVED the ham!!)!!!
It happens so fast when it does happen…it catches me so off-guard!! She is SUCH a big girl suddenly! I swear the aliens took the whispy silent creature that was my daughter and replaced her with a lively little thing that is showing me just how MUCH knowledge she absorbed in her internalized silence. The girl is smart as a whip…I think we’re going to be in TROUBLE!!
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Coming tomorrow – The BEST Christmas Cutout Cookies ever made (I’ll proved recipes at Side Dishes, too.) And the next in the line of the Geek stories…Mama Geek!!
Posted NOW over at Side Dishes – My review of Sci-fi Channel’s Tin Man. (short version-95% loved it, 5% not so much)
by Sarah | Dec 3, 2007 | Autism
We KNEW Molly was smart. Just KNEW it. But, as I said before, it’s like there’s something blocking her from expressing that intelligence. But now, bit by bit, she’s showing us just how smart she is!! This weekend was a grab-bag of “Tricks” for her…for example:
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We have an advent calender with removable numbers (In the shape of stars…). Every night when it’s time to change the stars, she sits on my lap. I ask her to take off the star with the “3” on it (or two, or whatever number). Without hesitation she takes that number off. I give her the new number, I tell her what it is, I sign it for her and she puts it on the post (little tiny wood posts the stars have holes…tough to line up…).
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We were reading a book called “pop pop pop pop pop pop”…with a monkey finding different colored balloons. She accurately picked out “red” “Blue” and “yellow”!!!
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She has an ugly little baby doll she got from the hospital. She can take the clothes off of this doll. I went to get her out of bed and she was holding the doll, the clothes were on the floor and she pointed down and said, “Pants!”
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She is asking for pants or shirt, describing getting K dressed.
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She is stringing some words together. “Ball with stars”.
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I’m now OFFICIALLY Mommy!!!!!!!!!!!!! She said it several times over the weekends.
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There was one other thing she did that literally floored us…but off the top of my head I can’t remember. And that bothers me. I should’ve blogged it immediately!
Anyway, more on the Story of Me coming up later today! I won’t be online tonight because DH and I are relatively engrossed with the SciFi channel miniseries, “Tin Man”. I REALLY like it! (some of the special effects aren’t so grand…but it’s sci fi channel) The story itself is VERY sound so far!
by Sarah | Nov 29, 2007 | Autism, Therapy
*Operation Santa – Stage 1 is complete. If I may say so myself, it was a success! In order to prepare Molly for pictures with Santa, I took her and the other kids today to the Santa’s Snowglobe nearby. We played in the ‘waiting room’ part for a while…crept our way closer to where Santa was. Finally got close. Every time I said Santa Molly would look up at him and smile. She wouldn’t get too close, but we got within a couple of feet. We’ll go again tomorrow. Next week when it’s picture time I may have to have her on my lap, but I think we’ll get close.
*DH’s Christmas List – I’ve asked him to make me a Christmas list because we are actually getting gifts for each other this year. Among those things on his list is…Vomit Bags (he finds the word vomit funny), a 2007 Dodge Charger w/ Hemi engine (yeah, that’ll happen), and sex. Hmmm…maybe I SHOULD get him the Charger *giggle*
*Christmas Cookies – I just may go overboard this year…I printed out quite a few recipes last night…but I still don’t feel I’ve found THE recipe yet. Maybe THAT will be my contest!!
*Shoe Obsession – IT’s gotten worse. I can’t even take off her shoes to change her diaper. If she were potty trained this wouldn’t be an issue…but…um…WTH do I do now?
*ON THE CHARTS!! – Molly and K had their nutritionist appts today! For the first time since she was 8 months old Molly is back on the charts for weight!! She’s only in the 4th%ile…but she’s on the charts!! She didn’t grow in heighth at ALL this time (very strange for her), but her height to weight ratio is still off…but who cares…she’s ON THE CHARTS!!
*A break from PT is NOT allowed – ever again!! Due to illness and Thanksgiving it’s been almost a month since K’s last PT appointment…and let’s just say that today was NOT successful. We aren’t doing THAT again *headdesk*
Overall a good day, despite the crazy way it started!!
by Sarah | Nov 28, 2007 | Autism
Molly has obsessions. They come and go, only return again and be greeted like a long lost lover (you’ll see I’m not kidding).
Her first notable obsession was the Backyardigans…but not JUST the show. We’re talking down and dirty love with the DVD case. She carried it EVERYWHERE. Took it to bed with her. It got to the point where we had to sneak the cases away because she’d played with them so much the actual title pages were ripped and worn – and in some cases the plastic of the case was half ripped off. We now have NO DVD cases of kids shows…all kids shows are on a spindle and locked away for their own safety.
From there we moved onto cars. She had toy cars and she would line them up in a perfect little line and carry them everywhere. This was a very short lived obsession…
Because she found her Dora doll. Oh, Dora was BIG. Dora was carried EVERYWHERE. Dora was chewed on as much as Molly’s fingers. Dora was LIFE.
Then she learned the word “STAR”. Dora still had a place…but STAR was the shiznit. STARS can be seen EVERYWHERE. On common commercials, on signs, and on fabrics that Mommy finds at the fabric stores.
For some reason stars faded…but so did Molly. She became very introverted again and we lost our little girl for a while (this happens from time to time…she gets vibrant and full of life…then disappears into her own little world).
Now it’s Christmas. And a whole new world has begun. We now have TWO simultaneous obsessions…
The first is STARS! They have returned! With Christmas in the air, stars can REALLY be seen everywhere. There’s one on top of our tree…ornaments have stars. She has picked an ornament with a star that she carried with her to daycare today. She KISSES the star on the ornament regularly! STars are once again the shiznit…
But the other obsession…well…
I bought ‘new’ shoes at the resale shop the other day. They are shoes I’ve wanted to buy from Target since last year, but never did due to cost, etc. So, when I saw them at resale in her size I grabbed them.
SHE WONT TAKE THEM OFF!! If I take them off she throws a MASSIVE fit. Even if I explain that it’s just to change clothes/diaper, whatever. If I take them off and leave them on the table…she PUTS THEM ON.
She goes to bed with them. Yes. I let her wear them to bed…you try putting her in bed without them!
Tomorrow we discuss Molly’s hidden intelligence…
by Sarah | Nov 21, 2007 | Autism
According to the teachers/therapists Molly had the “Best day ever” at day care! She still wasn’t a conversationalist – but she made tons of choices. She picked what mat she wanted, her name, what treat she wanted. The OT said she let her do the oral motor exercises and everything. Apparently it was a very very good day…
Then she came home and has turned into a holy terror. Yay me. *thunk*
