BIG steps!

No, Annika is not walking yet, but I feel like so much has happened since November! I will try to keep it short.

Annika has been scooting around the house since the last time I posted. She started out cawling the day we got home from the hospital, and by Christmas Break, she was pulling herslf up and walking around furniture. For Christmas, she got a walker, and has been busy with that ever since! Sometimes she'll stand by herself in the room, but no physical stes yet. I'm guessing 2-3 weeks.

We've had a long winter as far as keeping her healty goes. Since October, she has had 5 ear infections. As of now, we are waiting to meet with an Ears, Nose, Throat Doctor to see if tubes will help. Because of these ear infections, she has been off and on anti-biotics all winter, which have both suppressed her appetite and given her constant diareha. Because of these 2 things, her one year appt. showed a loss of weight for an already tiny peanut. To remedy that, we've been feeding her in the middle of the night if she wakes up. We know it is not best practice, but at this point the doctor said we should do whatever we can to get her bigger. Needless to say, we're ready for spring!

A major change for us, which may not seem so large to others, is that Annika has begun taking some solid foods. We started out with "puff' crackers (crackers that dissolve). She loves these, and they were a great way to introduce something other than formula. Next, we moved onto yogurt melts (dried yogurt that also dissovles). These are much more flavor-filled, so she is still getting used to these. And just last night, I was going to attempt some more baby food, and for the first time ever, she ate a whoe (small) jar of babyfood! For many this may seem like a normal step, but we've been trying off and on for 7 months for her to be able to even keep any in her mouth! I'm convinced that the puffs were a good route to take in teaching her how to move food back to her throat.

Annika's next surgery has been scheduled for April 19. She will have a follow-up surgery May 10 to remove the retainer he puts in initially.

I promise to post pictures soon!