Developmental Visits and Vacation Pictures

Shelby Frances enjoying her first dip in saltwater:

Lulled to sleep by the sound of crashing waves!

Our sweet girl:
So, we had a couple meetings with developmental groups last week before we went on vacation to Gwynn's Island. The first group was Early Intervention Program (run by the state of NC), and they came to our house with a pediatrician, a physical therapist, and a case worker. The second group was the Olsen Huff Center (part of Mission Hospital). They both said largely the same thing: Shelby has good muscle tone, and is progressing nicely in a lot of areas. She holds her head up well, and grasps objects with both hands. She also makes a lot of different cooing/gurgling type noises which impressed the EIP folks.

They both said they did notice a slight imbalance between her sides (with the left being weaker), but it did not sound too major. The Early Intervention people recommended physical therapy once a month, and the Mission people said once every two months. I took it as a good sign that she needs it so infrequently. They also said the imbalance is something she could completely overcome even without PT, but that PT would be kind of a preventative measure.

The main concern or issue now is her eyes. She seems to be a little behind in terms of how well she focuses on and tracks objects. I will say that in the last week it really seems like she's focusing on our faces more frequently, and for a longer time. She still has the nystagmus, which can be caused by: reduced pressure, increased pressure, damage to optic nerves, non-clinical seizures, or it may not be a big deal at all. Interestingly, Tiffany's aunt Dearing found out that if you cover her eyes during one of her nystagmus episodes, she quits doing it immediately. Don't know what that means.

I think largely because of the eye issues, both groups recommended we see a neurologist. So, we are getting an appointment set up, and they will do an EEG to get an in-depth analyses of her brain activity. This appointment has me a little nervous, because I think we will get a lot of info from it. We hope it's good. Anyway, we will update after that appointment. In the mean time here is link about EEG's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography