From the beginning

There has been so much going on in the last 5 months, so I will try to make a quick synopsis and then hopefully keep everyone updated at least monthly! Rhae now weighs 9# 6oz. and is 19 3/4" long! She started her Pamidronate infusions back in May. This is a 4 hour IV treatment that we get every 8 weeks. It is a biophosphonate, similar to Fosamax (the one most people have heard of), and it increases her bone density, therefore decreasing her risk of fractures as well as her bone pain. We had our 3rd treatment last week. Things have really gone well for our little miracle. When she was 21 days old, she broke all 3 bones in her right arm, and 1 bone in her left arm. Until today, we thought that was all that had been broken since birth. We went to the doctor today for a lingering cold and had a chest x-ray done to rule out aspiration pneumonia, and there they were...several fractures we didn't know about in various stages of healing. There was one in the humerus bone (top part) of her left arm, and at least 4 ribs on the left side. We couldn't see all of the ribs. There is also a questionable compression fracture in one of her vertebrae in her spine. How in the world all this happened and I didn't know it is beyond me! I swear, the little girl is strong as an ox--nothing like her mother! But, none of that has slowed her down. She loves hands...doesn't matter who's they are, hers, mine, yours, anybody's...she's just fascinated with them. She'll hold hers up and look at it like it is the most amazing thing she has ever seen. Mandy and I get tickled because she'll move her fingers like she is counting. I can't help that my children are so smart!! :) She had been trying to roll over up until about 3 or 4 weeks ago. That was about the time she started having pain before her treatment was due, and also about the time I began to question some fractures (little did I know then...). She is beginning to hold her head up some when she is on my shoulder, but still does not have very good head/neck control and no trunk control, but we're getting there. We started physical therapy this week and I love our therapist. I think she is going to teach Rhae and me lots of stuff! She did let us borrow this really neat floor chair that is adjustable for me to try to start feeding Rhae in since she has started to show some interest in foods. It's great because I can recline it and don't have to worry about her head and neck. She seems to like it and looks like such a big girl in it! So far, we've had bananas, applesauce, and sweet potatoes. I don't think she likes the fruits too much, but they are very sweet tasting. She ate some of the sweet potatoes tonight and seemed to enjoy them a little more, but was just feeling so bad from her upper respiratory infection that she just had no desire to finish. She giggles and coos a lot, and is very good about fussing at you if she is mad! I wonder where she gets that from? She is reaching for things and really beginning to hold things very well with her tiny hands. She grabbed her rattle today, and for the first time, actually knew what to do with it. She would throw her arm up and down and just smile when she heard it. She would stop long enough for me to tell her what a big girl she is, then start back! She also saw her feet for the first time today! She's been holding her legs up, but actually caught a glimpse of her foot and just sat and looked at it! It was so funny, because she got so still, and then you would see her move her toes, then stop, then do it again, so I think she realized it belonged to her! Unfortunately, her little arms are too short to hold her feet, but I guarantee you, she''ll find some way to get ahold of it soon! Well, I guess that about gets everybody caught up. I can't think of anything else major that has happened. Oh wait!! She watched her first Alabama game 2 weeks ago and really watched it. She and Halle sat in their bouncy seats in front of the TV and she never took her eyes off the game. She even cheered once when they made a good call! She's going to fit in just fine with this family full of sports nuts! Ok, NOW I think I'm done. If I think of anything else, I'll come back and write some mor, not that you haven't read enough already!