Now for the good news!

"Mom, this baby is a miracle." Those were the words uttered by Sydney's neurologist at our last appointment. It was our first appointment with him but he did receive her medical records in advance so he basically decided what to expect before he even saw her. When he walked in the room, she turned her head around to look at the door and he said, "Is she always that alert? Is this the baby born at 26 weeks?" He did a thorough physical exam and tested her neurological development and was very impressed. He said based on the amount of fluid that was on her brain, he didn't even expect her to be meeting milestones for her adjusted age, much less her real age but she's doing everything she's supposed to be doing and then some. Her motor skills are sharp, her reflexes are great , she has perfect head control and she's vocalizing. She spent the entire appointment just chatting and squealing away.

He said if no one told him she was a preemie he wouldn't know just by looking at her and he's had 25 years experience. He said based on her size, he would just assume she was an average 5 month old. I can live with that. :laugh: I am always thrilled when men of science call her a miracle because I know it's hard for so many doctors to say. He also asked me what we were doing because it was obviously working and I told him we were praying. He said, "Wow. Well keep on doing that." Go God!

I did tell him that my only concern was her extreme gag reflex and he said most babies do gag a lot when they become fascinated by their hands but it's more severe in micro-preemies who have had to endure feeding tubes down their throats 24/7 for weeks on end. Vomiting is a very common problem among preemie parents everywhere. When I look at the blogs of my friends, it's a recurrent theme. He said he's happy that she IS eating and swallowing because some babies have difficulty even with that. During the appointment he told me that he didn't think she needed any therapy for anything else (wow!) but he wanted her to see the occupational therapist for an evaluation to discuss tips and tricks to combat the gagging. It's his belief that she will merely outgrow it but of course, we don't want to ignore it.

The Atlanta neurologist also recommended another MRI in about one month, to check the fluid on her brain and check her eyes again. Based on how much they had to drug her the first time around, I was DREADING it. If they had to drug her like a horse when she weighed 7 lbs, then would have to drug her like an elephant now. It took her a week to get over being sedated like that and she stopped breathing a few times along the way too. He said if she had even one sign that suggested that she was regressing or not developing, he would be ok with an MRI but now he's not comfortable with drugging her like that to find out what we already know. He said as of right now, she's advanced for her adjusted age and only behind for her real age because physically, she's not the size of a 7 month old yet. A lot of babies with stable hydrocephalus do outgrow it as their brains mature during the first 12 months of life and a cranial ultrasound will work for that too. He also confirmed that she definitely can see and he didn't notice anything serious with her vision. Of course he wanted to make sure I was comfortable with not doing an MRI and I was thrilled! As it was getting closer to the time the first neuro recommended we get the repeat test, I was getting more and more anxious. There goes God - teaching me to be anxious for NOTHING again.

He does want us to keep our appointments with the ophthalmologist and of course he's going to watch her development closely. He says he typically sees babies with neurological issues monthly but he was so happy with her, he doesn't need to see her again for 4 months when she becomes more mobile. If I have any issues or concerns then of course I'll contact his office.

I am just always so blessed, humbled and amazed after all these doctors visits. Thank You Jesus.

The BIG news of the day: SHE SAT UP FOR 2 WHOLE MINUTES THIS MORNING!!!!! I'll take a picture later.