Kimi Update - 11/12/11

Kimi continues to make progress - slow, but steady.

Walking: The doctor prescribed metal twister cables - and, yes, they are as bad as they sound. These are leg braces that connect to her AFOs, forcing both feet into the correct position. Their thinking is that forcing her feet into the right position will motivate her to walk more, strengthening her hip muscles, which will, in turn, force the hip displacement back into place, resulting in her feet staying in the right position without braces. She tolerates them and they are a pain with diaper changes, but we are hoping they are just temporary and that they accomplish the goal.

Talking: We have a new speech therapist who is working wonders! Kimi is now initiataing some speech, rather than simply imitating it. This past week, when I came to pick her up, she came crawling to me saying "Mama, Mama" sort of under her breath! That's the closest she has come to actually calling me, "Mama"! She is beginning to sing a little also. Last Sunday, in my three's Sunday School class, she held onto a chair and did the motions with the other children to "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes". Precious!

Eating: This morning, I was able to get her to eat some baby oatmeal!! She balked at it, though. I kept giving her bites of strained peaches to help her deal with the previous bites of oatmeal. The texture of the oatmeal was very difficult for her ... but she did it! She ate about 4 tablespoons of oatmeal (with milk and a little sugar), a whole jar of strained peaches, a whole container of yogurt, and a full cup of milk! She feeds herself with a spoon, if it is something she likes. She is also eating strained vegetables, now.

Potty-training: We have a urodynamics test scheduled for this Thursday to determine if she has bladder control. The week of Thanksgiving marks 6 months since her "big" surgery on her spine, so its "time" to find out about this. We are seeing some signs of control, but its hard to know for sure until she has the test done. If she has no control, we will need to learn how to do cathing and enemas, so she can be "socially continent". We are praying we get good results from the test, as working out cathing during the day while I am at work will be extremely difficult, not to mention when she is ready for school.

Other development: Kimi can dress and undress herself, loves her baths, brushes her teeth (sort of), can get in and out of bed and up and down the stairs all by herself. She can ride her tricycle. She does have a temper, and shows it when she is tired, hungry or when foods with texture are put in front of her. She LOVES her big sister, Elizabeth, and often plays alongside her. She also especially loves our son-in-law, Chris! She loves to page through books. She scribbles with crayons and can button buttons and line up and zip zippers. We are still hoping she will be ready for Kindergarten by August, 2013 - which would put her one year behind other children her age.

Other comments: How blessed we are to have little Kimi in our family! We are so thankful for her and love her SO much!

Other news: Our oldest daughter, Rachel, is expecting TWINS! She learned yesterday that the babies are sharing a placenta, so are IDENTICAL twins!! She is due in May, 2012. We are thrilled. This will make 15 grandchildren for us!