She has come so far.

It has been 1 year, 3 months and 3 days since Nika left her baby home in Russia ... forever. Sometimes I forget how far she has come. Until I look back on the memories.

Like a video I have of her greeting us when we were there visiting her on trip one. She was such a baby.



Or a video I have of her taking her first steps at age two when we were there visiting her on trip one. She had so far to go, but was also doing so well given her circumstances.



Although she was walking regularly soon after we brought her home, her low muscle tone has always left a lot to be desired. We often ever-so-lovingly referred to her as the drunken sailor, because that is pretty much what she looked like when she walked.

And she still looks like that when she runs. Hands flailing, body swaying, feet all over the place.

We have been working hard in physical therapy and at home on strengthening her core ... basically to help her with balance. She used to think that jumping consisted of throwing her hands up and then falling to her butt. I honestly didn't think she would ever grasp the concept of how to jump.

But she has. She is getting it. And not only that, but she now has enough strength and balance to stand on one foot.

She has come so far.

When we brought her home from Russia, she obviously did not know a lick of English. She is still learning but she has come so far. She follows direction well and she is learning to say more and more words ... or approximations, thereof. She chatters all day long ... I often wonder what she and Chicky are saying to each other ... they have the most adorable conversations with each other.

So yeah, Nika has come so far. She still has so far to go, but we love progress!

{Another} Payton Update

We had appointments with the GI and ENT today. She weighed 18 pounds 9 ounces, which was a little less than she has weighed in the past. I'm hoping it was just a difference in scales. Her length is 27 1/2 inches long.

The GI told us we could quit giving Payton the Zantac before bed as long as she continues to sleep soundly and does okay without it. So, we now will just give her Prevacid in the morning. We follow up with the GI after Payton's first birthday to see if we can try to ween her from the Prevacid. Reflux is such an ugly thing!

We went to the ENT as a followup to an ear infection. The infection is gone, but both ears still have fluid. So...next Thursday Payton will be getting tubes in her ears to help drain the fluid out of her tiny ear canals. Hopefully that will lead to a healthy winter season. They also did a pre-op hearing test on her, which showed mild to moderate "hearing loss", which really just meant that there was fluid and she is basically hearing under water. So, we are hoping that her speech takes off after getting the tubes. She babbles all the sounds that she should be, but consistently she really only says dadadadadadadada. What about mama?!?! :)

We also had PT today and the therapist was blown away by Payton. It had been longer than normal since she had seen her due to scheduling conflicts and Payton has really blossomed since then. She is now getting up on hands and knees and crawling more than an army crawl. She basically gets up, leaps forward and then starts the process all over again. She also showed her PT that she can cruise furniture...her PT about fell over when she did that! She is doing excellent in the gross motor area...we are so proud of her!! As far as fine motor goes, she is doing good with that too. She has had the pincer grasp down for a couple months now and is self-feeding. She still gags a bit on table foods or lumpy consistency, but we are working on that.

Here is a video of her crawling...

Payton is 9 months old

Payton had her 9-month checkup today with the pediatrician. She weighed in at 19 lbs. 3 oz. and measured 27 inches long. Her weight was a little less than last time, but the doc wasn't too concerned since it could have just been due to the difference between scales.

Developmentally, Payton is doing okay. She has been sitting like a champ for months now. She is not crawling on all fours yet, but she definately is scooting a bit on her belly (i.e. army crawling). We are working hard with her to get her on all fours and hopefully she will figure out soon that those legs can get her places! And she is clapping!

She is eating mostly 2's food, but can deal with 3's as long as it isn't too chunky, otherwise she gags a bit. We will slowly be introducing her to table food and see how she manages. A month or so ago, we also started her on a straw and she was able to slurp the water right up that straw, so that is awesome for her!

Thrush {Yeouch}

Payton (and Mommy) were diagnosed with thrush today. Mommy has been hurting and we finally figured out why! LOL. So off to the doctor we went to get some medication. Poor Payton's little tongue is full of little blisters...that darn antibiotic caused this!!

Also, while we were at the doctor, I asked them if we could have a swallow study done on Payton. I have had some concerns that she may be aspirating, but it is hard to tell because she also has reflux. They agreed to give us a referral, so we will be having a video swallow study done soon.

Payton weighed 19 lbs, 9 ounces today at the doctor!

Our appointment with Payton's geneticist

We had Payton's six month appointment with Dr. Lewanda (geneticist) today. She was very impressed with Payton and the things that she is doing. She commented that she is SO social, her eye contact is great, she smiles all the time and her motor skills are looking great. Oh, and she weighed in at 17 pounds and was 26 inches long, which is awesome!

Payton is 5 months old

Payton is five months old today and is doing awesome! She is growing so fast, we can hardly believe it. When we learned of her diagnosis, we didn't know what the future held for us. So far, it has held nothing different than having a "typical" child.

Here are some of the things she is doing:

She holds her head at a 90 degree angle when on her tummy.

She tracks objects with her eyes.

She puts pressure on her feet by standing assisted.

She rolls over quite frequently.

She smiles at us all the time.

She explores with her mouth.

She puts her hands together.

She sits unassisted while leaned forward for seconds at a time.

She brings her hands to our face when we lean in close.

She holds objects in her hands and transfers the object from one hand to another.

While these may seem like silly things, they are great achievements for a child with Down syndrome. Simple things like holding their head up can take months, even years with some kids.

And most importantly:

She is loved by her mommy.

She is loved by her daddy.

She is loved by her big brother.

We feel blessed that Payton is doing as well as she is doing. We have been truly amazed by our little girl and we can't wait for what the future holds.