Because I don't know if her first mom (or first mom's family) even knows about this blog, I never update on LF here until I've had the chance to update her first mom, well, first. I know some people (and y'all know who you are :p) won't understand that, but I truly both love and respect LF's first family and really try to think about what I would want and how I would want to be treated if the shoe was being worn on the other foot. It's nice, though, because I don't feel like I have to do anything out of "obligation".  I value the relationship LF has with her first mom/first mom's family, and I value the relationship *I* have with them as well. I'm very, very lucky to be able to consider them all a part of my family. LF's first mom will always be both her first mom and her mom. I happen to be lucky enough to be LF's mommy. And really, two mothers who love you more than anything in the world? Yeah, LF's got a pretty sweet deal. 

That said! Let's talk Little Flower for a bit!

My big girl will turn ONE next month. One?! Really?! As of today, she weighs eighteen pounds and one ounce. She is still receiving DT-V 1x a week and OT 1x a week. PT is also still set at 1x a month, but we need to schedule with her new therapist (those on fbook know why we need a new one--not going into it here). Her OT, whom I adore beyond all that is reasonable, is SO amazing with LF. I can tell LF is really starting to trust S. (the OT) and really gets a lot out of the therapy sessions. And S. seems very impressed with my LF! Just this week, in fact, she voiced how impressed she is by all LF can do--the way she's really working on keeping her head up, her core strength, and her mobility overall. Yeah! Love S. So glad she's LF's OT!

Not crawling yet, but still the Most Mobile Baby in the World. I mean, this girl gets around! The house is officially on baby-proofing lockdown. LF is sporting two top teeth now in addition to the two bottom ones. SO glad those things finally came through since they were bugging her something fierce. :/ Poor baby. Glad she's feeling better now, though. And they're really coming in handy now that we're working on "table food". I mean, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do with only four chompers, but she gives it her all.

Went to her new optho who confirmed LF's eyes are as healthy as possible. No change in vision (she still *might* be able to see bright light from extreme darkness), but we weren't expecting to hear anything different. I'm really glad to hear she has such healthy eyes, though! And she didn't even fuss when her eyes were dilated. Blinked a lot for sure, but didn't care either way about the drops.

LF has her head CT later this week, so she had to have a quick "pre-scan" well visit. We couldn't get in with her regular pediatrician so we saw another doctor at the practice and all went really well. LF received a clean bill of health. She had to get a "toe stick" for a hemoglobin count (which came back fine, btw) and couldn't have cared any less about the whole thing. No, really. No fussing, no crying. Maybe some annoyance that her foot was held still, but nothing beyond that. My brave girl! So all is set for the CT scan.

I did find out something awesome, though--no IV sedation for the scan! I knew she had to be sedated, and we were initially told it would be IV sedation. Ugh. The very thought of it makes me feel ill (if you know the back story to the last endo visit, you probably know why). But today we found out it would be inhalant sedation and I am SO relieved. It's painless to her, for one, and it wears off rather quickly. So a big YAY to that!  And the results will be in her neurologist's hands by the time our appointment rolls around at the end of the month. I'm still hopeful she won't need surgery, but I realize she probably will. But until I know for sure, I refuse to stress. Refuse!

Last good thing: her endo said she had a few "minor elevations" in some of her levels but nothing that required any medication--just the standard follow-up-in-a-few-months routine. And he agreed to the less invasive bone age test--just the x-ray-so more good news there.

So a big happy dance for all things Little Flower! Speaking of which, it's just about time for me to dip into her room with a couple of "late night" ounces. She usually doesn't eat this late anymore since we're up so early, but she went to bed early tonight, so...yeah. Just a little something to sustain her, you know? Don't want her waking up hungry in the middle of the night.

Tomorrow I'll try to squeeze out a Bear and Beauty update as well. And maybe just a random update of nothingness, too. We shall see...

xo