Named Lilith Winter (the Winter is in honor of her Great Grandmother's maiden name), Lily is now 16 months old and a pure bundle of joy. I have NEVER seen a happier child. And I know, at this point, most of you are rolling your eyes and thinking, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, typical Grandma talking here" but it is true. Many, many people have told my daughter that Lily is such a good baby. In fact, I often warn my daughter.
"You know, Lily is NOT like a typical baby. Don't think ALL babies are like this. Your next baby (whenever that will be) might be a wild child!"
Lily loves to play peek-a-boo with Grandpa's hat. We bought Lily her own hat. Here are a sequence of photos that show some of her personality with her red hat on.
Lily is constantly jabbering. She does say about 20 words, not including the words that she parrots from everyone. She can say the normal Momma, Dada, hi, bye. Also kitty, doggie, luv ya, nigh-nigh, gamma, among others. The other day I taught her "yellow", but she says "el-lo". I was feeding her green beans and she smushed them on her highchair and said, "don't like!"
As soon as Lily hears music, she starts to wiggle. Her head bops from side to side, she lifts her shoulders up and down, and wiggles her body back and forth. She really likes Bob Marley!
Lily wasn't progressing in the crawling/walking department as well as she should have been. I was getting concerned, as were her parents. My daughter, Jessica, mentioned it to her pediatrician a few times, and the doctor said, "Oh, let's wait a few months." I would get angry and tell my daughter that she needed to get another opinion. Lily wasn't crawling at a year old; she wasn't on her knees and rocking. She couldn't stand up; in fact, she wouldn't even put her legs down if you held her by her arms. Something was wrong.
My daughter took Lily to another doctor. She examined Lily and didn't see any outward problems. She recommended that Jessica bring Lily to Easter Seals for evaluation. Long story short, Lily has low muscle tone throughout her body, her trunk being the weakest. The low muscle tone extends to her jaws which has created problems with her chewing and swallowing. She gagged and choked a lot while eating.
Lily now receives both physical and speech therapy through a State program. She has shown great improvement these past few months. She can stand for a minute or two while holding on to the coffee table, or up against the couch. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks and has crawled a couple of inches. She does get around by doing the "army crawl", too.
Her eating has improved with different exercises such as sucking through a straw, biting from a sandwich, and eating from a bigger spoon.
We love this little girl with all our heart. We pray that she grows up to be a strong young woman.
How can you not love this adorable little human being?
oh...she is precious! smiles.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, Pat, She's Perfect! What a little DollBaby!!!Lololol
ReplyDeleteAnd Very Photogenic!
hughugs
What a precious, beautiful girl!! The first pic with the red hat reminds me of you.
ReplyDeleteHope she grows out of the muscle weakness and that it becomes just a memory of her childhood.
Oh she is so darling! I am so glad that she got to the right Dr. There is much more knowledge nowadays; with her plucky personality and the love surrounding her, along with the therapy I just know she'll be fine!
ReplyDeleteOh she is so cute!!
ReplyDeleteYou just brightened my day!
B xx
You can see the love and joy on her face...what priceless photos ;)
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute baby! I especially like the pic 4th from the bottom. What a great shot!
ReplyDeleteSo precious! She has grown a lot! Glad she is getting therapy. I am sure she has everyone wrapped around her little finger!! You sound like me when I get started on my little (and big) grands!
ReplyDeleteShe's adorable! I imagine, based on that smile, you had a fantastic and fun visit with her!
ReplyDeleteshe is precious! i'm so glad that your daughter sought out further opinions. that's sort of what was going on with Isaiah. He was nearly 3 and not talking and not social at all. we insisted on being referred to other specialists and as such, he got a PDD-NOS diagnosis. without that, and the early intervention, i don't think he would be doing nearly as well as he is.
ReplyDeleteShe's a beauty!
She is the cutest little girl I have seen in a long time.
ReplyDeleteWith all the advances they have now, she will be the perfect toddler before you know it.
She's precious, and those dimples should get her anything she wants! Love all those shots with her red hat. =D
ReplyDeleteOf all the pictures on all your posts, these are the BEST! How can you stand to be away from her at all? Praise God for such wonderful family times together.
ReplyDeleteI have a Lily about the same age.
ReplyDeleteCute kid.
Yours too.
She is so precious!! Love her smile.
ReplyDeleteShe is absolutely adorable, Pat! What a lucky Grandma you are! I hope and pray all is well with this little peach. I'm so glad the problem was found early.
ReplyDeleteHi, Mom! Great post about Lily, and wonderful pictures as usual! Thanks so much for always being there for David and I during these past few months with Lilith. Her therapies continue to be hard to watch, but you've always been a great shoulder to lean on for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd Lily absolutely adores her Gamma and Gandpa! Thanks so much for watching her this past week! I don't know what we'd do without you!
Love, Jessica, David & Lilith
What a doll. She is a real keeper. I can sure see why you are so proud. She has really grown. I remember her pictures from last year. Have fun and enjoy all those smiles and baby kisses!
ReplyDeleteLike Rae I remember the photos from last year, she has grown quite a lot. Lily is adorable. Hopefully the speech and physical therapy will help her to continue to improve until her condition is just a memory.
ReplyDelete