Evalynn at 1 Year

I think the fastest way to have a year go by is to have a baby. I feel like it just flew by and I really am in shock that Evalynn is now a year. We have continued forward with her ECI therapy and have also met with her pediatrician post ECI evaluation. I don't really feel like we have any answers as to why she is slow to develop...and in someways that's great. If we knew why, that would mean we would know for sure that something is not right with her. Between her therapists, pediatrician and Curt and I, we feel like the next medical step we should take is getting her vision tested. There are a couple signs that she may not have the best sight. She can for sure see, but she doesn't hold eye contact well. She also seems to loose sight or interest if an item she is looking at goes too far into her peripheral vision. The biggest concern is if she had a vision problem, it may be why she is so insecure about the world around her. She just seems so unsure of the world, being out of Mom or Dad's arms or not feeling securely held by her parents or in an unknown seat. Between the pediatrician and the therapists, this month we have heard all sorts of terms such as special needs, Aspergers, autistic, vision problems, neurological problems, and the terms we we've heard for several months now of cerebral palsy and chromosomal abnormalities. It's been an emotionally hard month to hear these terms used to give explanations for your kid. Ultimately though, I feel pretty confident it isn't autism or Aspergers. I still just hold to the hope and my intuition that everything is just a result of being in the NICU for two weeks. I still think that it is a pretty good chance of that too. The pediatrician is ready to move towards getting her to a neurologist, but isn't pushing at all. I'm not quite ready to go yet. If something were actually wrong, I do think it is better to know. However, if nothing is wrong, I'd really hate to subject her to tests and lots of doctors. She just hates people so much, so that makes it extra hard. As far as therapy, she is doing slightly better. She now allows her two therapists to get on the floor with her. She still gets nervous if they touch her or if they get to close but she is acknowledging them with smiles and is curious enough at their computers that she is okay getting near them to touch their computer screens. At her appointment last week, we played ball with her and she did so well. She even got super talkative, happy and animated. We do a lot of strength training and make her stand assisted on her legs bearing her own weight. Lately I've started to feel like she has a desire to move even though she just can't seem to figure it out.

Here is a more complete list of what she's doing at one year:

1. She is trying to get up on her knees when holding onto something. While she can get some air under her bum and get some weight on her knees, she cannot get one of her legs out from under her.
2. She loves books. They are probably her favorite "toy." 
3. She can sit and in the sitting position she can turn herself in circles on purpose. She does tend to scoot herself backwards some while sitting, but she doesn't do it on purpose or realize she's doing it. 
4. She loves hair. She laughs when I shake mine. She loves when she gets a chunk of it in her hands. She loves running her hands through my bangs. She will even play with one strand of hair stuck in her hands. 
5. Her favorite non-book toy is probably a ball. She really likes rolling the big soccer ball back and forth. She will also pat it.
6. She is more talkative this month than in previous months. I would still describe her a pretty quiet though comparatively.
7. She is more and more tolerant of being tickled. 
8. She loves to cuddle with Mom and Dad.
9. She lights up when Dad gets home. She loves when he comes and picks her up.
10. I feel like her tolerance for not being in Mom or Dad's arms is worse this month than previous. It just seems to get worse and worse. She starts screaming at even the motion of being put down. 
11. She side sits like a pro and changes which leg is tucked in and which leg is to the side easily. 
12. She's doing much better with a spoon and even better with a fork. 
13. She loves all table food. We don't even attempt baby foods anymore and rarely any smooth foods. 
14. At the beginning of the month she started to travel by rolling. After three or four days of doing really really well and giving me hope of her enjoying being on the floor more, she stopped. She hasn't rolled to travel around the room in probably three weeks now. 
15. She uses her big toe to slowly inch her way forward when she is on her belly. If she wants something that isn't too far out of her grasp, she will reach for it and slowly get there so she can grab it.
16. She still has yet to put anything in her mouth at all.
17. She has slowed down on how much she sucks her fingers. Consistently, she really only always does it in the car seat. Even in her sleep to sooth herself, she's cut way way back. 
18. She still grinds her teeth.
19. She grabs her toes now on purpose.
20. She is more tolerant of Ruger and is starting to be more interested in him and happy to have him around. 
21. She doesn't respond much to pain. If she does start to cry after being hurt, the instant I pick her up, she's over it. 
22. She cannot sit herself up. She can't pull herself up. She can't crawl. The only thing on that list that I feel like she's making any effort to learn is pulling herself up on to her knees...not her feet. 
23. She is happy to just watch people as long as she's being held by Curt or I. 
24. She likes when we click our tongue at her. 
25. At her well child appointment two weeks ago these were her stats:
1. Weight: 20 pounds 10.2 ounces          68th percentile
2. Length: 29.25 inches                           64th percentile
3. Head Circumference: 17.75 inches     60th percentile