Overjoyed

Anna and I spent most of Tuesday at Cook Children's for her check ups. We saw ortho in the morning, enjoyed lunch with my friend Amy, and then saw neuro in the afternoon. We had two great appointments and only good news! The ortho appointment was made after taking my concerns about Anna's feet and legs to the new OT. The ortho seems to think the problem is actually with Anna's hips, not her feet, and that it will correct itself over time. He said he thought we already had enough to worry about and that he would not add to that list of doctors and worries. I really liked him and would not hesitate to use him again if we needed to but I honestly hope to never have to see him again. We had lunch at the Bluebonnet Bakery and i had the most delicious chocolate cupcake for dessert- the best I've ever had! Then it was off to see Dr. Hernandez. I was so glad I opted to go back to him rather than seeing Dr. Marks. It wasn't that I didn't like Dr. Marks, he was fine and seemed knowledgeable enough, but I just really clicked more with Dr. Hernandez. He showed me Anna's MRI and the "cyst" that the nurse and Dr. Marks had told me about. Turns out it isn't actually a cyst at all- it is just a hole in Anna's brain. It is small and of no consequence. It is just a spot where the brain tissue didn't come together. It is an "incidental finding." He said the mylenation pattern is much improved from her previous CT where he said her whole frontal lobe was not really mylenated at all. He said he felt Anna was doing well and that we are on the right track. He seemed surprised that she is doing so well. He encouraged us to start the intensive therapy as soon as possible and to see if we can get her in a gymnastics or tumbling class to help with her coordination. I told him that Kenneth and I do not know how much longer we can stand Anna not sleeping without us having a mental breakdown. I am not asking for pity but imagine how tired you are with a newborn getting up about every 3 hours and then imagine doing that for 17 months because that is where we are. We are so exhausted! He said we should try melatonin first and I told him that I had already tried that. He gave us a much larger dosage range and said to try it for a few days but that if it doesn't work to call him back and he will call her in some Clonidine or Periactin to help her sleep and in turn help us sleep. he was so kind and understanding and I am so thankful for that! we are using 6-9mg of melatonin a night and so far she is only getting up once now instead of every few hours. we are overjoyed and feel like new people- so refreshed. Tomorrow is the PE awareness walk. Kenneth has to work but the girls and I will be going. Carly is excited to get to help raise money so other kids 'won't loose their mommies in the hospital for a long time." She is such a sweet girl! I love my kids so very much and am so blessed to be their mom on this upcoming Mother's Day. I will take some pics to post of the Mother's Day gift my sweet Carly made me at school. On this upcoming Mother's day please also remember those who have lost their babies- they are still mothers, too. Well, I need to get to bed so I am well rested for the walk. I typed this quickly and did not proofread so please forgive the errors- I know they are there! Goodnight.