Two weeks ago we took away Amelia's walker because I felt like she was relying on it too much and not wanting to try to walk on her own. Over that time we have done a lot more holding of her hand and walking her around the house. For about a month or so every time she would sense that we were trying to get her to walk on her own she would arch her back, throw her arms over head, fall to the floor, scream until her face turned red, clench her fists, and kick her legs. (I'll never forget the day the first time her therapist saw this, she thought she was having a seizure!) Anyway, yesterday was just like any other day except this time she decided she wanted to do it. She took two or three steps and then four or five and then up to six steps. She did this about a dozen times over the course of the hour. She was giggling and smiling and thought walking was so much fun. We have been practicing constantly since then.
I think I reported that she can crawl very quickly up the steps now. Well, she can also go down them just as quickly. She also understands the concept of door knobs. She knows if the door is closed she is supposed to reach up and do something with it. She just doesn't know what that something is yet!
She has an appointment in a few weeks to be fitted for orthotics for her feet. She has pronated feet and it will help keep her ankles straight, making it more comfortable for her to walk. I have also been investigating these shoes from Skechers called Twinkle Toes. Her cousin Addie had a pair of them and I have been lusting after them since their last visit. They have rhinestones on the toes and they light up. They also cost a small ransom, so I am on the lookout for a sale on them. I want her feet to be as fancy as possible when she finally gets to walking. I am hoping the orthotics won't be forever. But they might be.
On another note, I read on one of my preemie blogs about a research study that they are recruiting for. It is a study on the lung capacity of adults preemies with BPD. There has been no research done in this area before and I am very interested in seeing the results of course. The man helping with the study is a former 25 weeker himself and one one of the first babies to receive surfactant. He has BPD and is a marathon runner! See, all Amelia needs is some fancy new shoes and she'll be off to the races!
P.S. We just got back from the pediatrician and Amelia has a retracted ear drum. It is always something. And it was our last appointment with our doctor. She has now 0fficially graduated from the High Risk Infant Clinic. We are selecting a pediatrician and an ENT in the Memorial City area so we will be a lot closer to home for doctor's appointments. We still have one doctor left in the med center and then our days of cruising all the way down there are done!
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