BROOKE'S BLOG: Seriously Overdue

Happy New Year! This should be an exciting one for our family!

Brooke is still seizure free on the ketogenic diet. She is doing so well. She can sit, with someone close by, for about 10 minutes at a time. This is tough for her, but she finally seems motivated to get upright and experience the world from a new perspective. She is rolling consistently. Ryan plays this tickle game with her that makes her laugh hysterically. She'll roll away from him onto her side/stomach and roll back when she wants to be tickled. A lot of laughing - sometimes to the point where the laughs get a bit too hysterical and turn into tears. The scene is great to watch. She's doing well with water therapy and her water therapist is now her Physical therapist at home once a week as well. The PT has put Brooke into a pediatric gait trainer (walker for little ones) two different times over the past few weeks. Brooke looks great in it and seems to enjoy it. I've only experienced it through pictures so far, so I look forward to the day I can get down to Easter Seals to watch Brooke walk!!

Only negative news to report is that the bug is not sleeping well - but what's new there, right?! This has never been her forte, except in the very beginning when we desperately needed her to wake up to eat. Because of the High Fat nature of the Ketogenic Diet, the meals and bottles she consumes create a ton of gas and bloating. So...she wakes at least two times, sometimes more, in the middle of the night with loads of gas. We burp her - she'll burp a few times - but we also have to 'vent' her, which is where we release air out of her stomach through her g-tube. It sounds crazier than it really is - perhaps it doesn't sound that crazy to all of you, or perhaps we're just so used to it by now. We basically just hook one of the tubes up to her g-tube and hold it in the air while the air bubbles travel out. Most of the time, there is so much air, that you can hear it release. You can also see Brooke relax as it goes. Thank goodness we can give her that relief. Needless to say, we're all a bit tired from this nightly ritual.

Pregnancy is going great. Supposedly, this nugget in the wings is Big. Do you hear that?! Big!! We are so thrilled that everything is moving along smoothly. I do have twice weekly non-stress tests that I go to and every other week I have an OB appointment and a Perinatology appointment where the perinatologist does an ultrasound to make sure fluid levels are good ect. Only 9 more weeks to go now! Baby girl likes to kick a lot, especially when Brooke is laughing in my lap.

Here are a few pics from Christmas.....

Brooke on her favorite Christmas Toy - her radio flyer pony - she's learning how to make it bounce on her own.