Life as Normal

After the initial surprise of Taylor's diagnosis and the flurry of activity arranging her doctor appointments, we've settled back into our normal routine. Taylor is feeling better and has finally conquered her ear infection. I took her into the doctor this morning to confirm that she is all clear. We're thrilled that she feels better and can have a break from antibiotics (and really yucky diapers).

Our first big parenting dilemma since her diagnosis revolves around sleep. Since her ear infection lasted about three weeks, Taylor has fallen off the wagon in a big way regarding her sleep habits. Before, she was doing really well - she would fall asleep on her own and typically sleep through the night (with maybe a binky plug once or twice). With her discomfort from her ear infection and our increased sensitivity, she has been held A LOT the last few weeks and now we're in a sleep-deprived mess. She's ended up in our bed the last few nights after I was getting up with her 8-10 times a night. She also is fighting falling asleep for her naps and her schedule is all messed up. Oh my.....so, this week-end she will be "re" sleep trained. Helping children learn to sleep is always hard, because it typically involves crying, and my heart wants only to cuddle her. My head, however, knows from experience that it only gets harder as the months go by and she (and the rest of us!) really needs to sleep. So, fun times ahead for the week-end:) It's also step one in treating Taylor like a "normal" kid. She isn't sick, so we want to treat her like we would the other two as much as possible. We're confidant we can all get back on track quickly.

It's amazing how we've returned to our normal routine. We still have moments of melancholy, but for the most part - it's life as normal. We've tried to put everything in the back of our heads until the next round of doctor appointments and we receive our therapy plan. I spent a lot of time the past few days gathering medical records from every doctor/hospital she's ever seen to share with the various specialists - quite the process of approval forms, stressing our urgency to receive copies quickly, etc. Otherwise, we're just playing with and cuddling Taylor as usual.

Taylor's cool new trick that David loves is the "High 5". She hits your hand if you hold it up for her. She also really loves hand-movement songs - like "Itsy Bitsy Spider", or my own unique "Twinkle Twinkle" hand movements. Now if only we can re-conquer sleeping we'll be in business.....