Saturday, November 21, 2009

Gwyneth Update

Gwyneth had two appointments at Duke this week...the first on Tuesday with her special infant care doctor, the second was with her pulmonologist on Wednesday. The short of it is that everyone was incredibly happy with her progress.

We had been a little concerned the past several months that Gwyneth had only gained about 1 1/2 lb. since about June, but it turns out that the reason is she's also grown about about 4 inches during that time...she's now 30 inches tall!

She also had a psych/development exam...the doctor reports that her development is kind of all over the place. She is very advanced for her age in some areas, and very delayed in others, which means, she averages out to about your normal 22 month old. The biggest "issue" the doctor observed is that Gwyneth knows in her head how to do things, but she's having trouble communicating that to the rest of her body (walking, for example)...but, that will come with time and is nothing to be concerned about.

It is very obvious that the glasses and ear tubes have helped her tremendously, as we're seeing her learn and discover new things more quickly. We're very excited to see what the next big step for her will be!

Nate

18 comments:

mom2LEAA said...

What great news about Gywneth, she looks wonderful. Glad to hear Tricia is home and feeling well enough to go out.
Thanks for the update,
Cindy

Anonymous said...

Yeah for Gywneth. Continued prayers for Tricia. Destiny

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for sharing your family with us! I am so thrilled to hear the good news about baby G. She is darling!

Kristen said...

Awsome! Thank you for sharing the updates with her! Its so wonderfully to hear how she's doing. Grow baby grow!!!

Melinda said...

That is a great update! Good job, Gwyneth! I hope Tricia enjoyed the movie! :)

Laurie in Ca. said...

I just love that she is doing so great Nate. She is one tough cookie for sure. Continued prayers for Tricia and her health to improve perfectly.

Love and Hugs, Laurie

Kroosreads said...

I'm so glad that the appointments went well for her--it's so interesting how each child is created by God to develop in different ways!

Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...

I'm glad she's doing so well. :)

Sandy said...

Thank you for sharing the update! She is one special little lady.

My Diabetic Sweet Life said...

That's great news and how exciting to see the changes from the glasses and ear tubes so quickly! Thanks for sharing the update :)

~j~ said...

Gooo Gwyneth!! Great to hear the updates on your precious one. She is absolutely adorable and those recent fall pictures of her nestled in the leaves were once again priceless images of her beautiful life.
Thank you Lord!

Lisa said...

Wonderful new's, Praise God she is doing so well, I am glad the tubes and glasses have made such a difference for her. Continued prayers for the GIRLS and for you.

Anonymous said...

Glad to read she is doing well. Hoping they told you more specific information even if you choose not to share here. Try as I might, I just can't let you go on thinking that developmental data 'averages'.

But uneven development is not all that bad, and as you seem to be aware changes over time. Good to watch, good to measure, good to address what seems important enough to address - like ear tubes and glasses.

Blessings and wishes for a happy Thanksgiving. Barbara

CFHusband said...

@therextras

"Try as I might, I just can't let you go on thinking that developmental data 'averages'."

I'm not sure what you mean?

Anonymous said...

Hi, Nate,
From your post, "She is very advanced for her age in some areas, and very delayed in others, which means, she averages out to about your normal 22 month old."

Hence my comment that developmental data does not average. Often standardized evaluations or scales will produce a single number or several 'crunched' numbers. Common numbers are quotients or standard scores. Not averages.

'Average' misrepresents the meaning of the numbers - for instance if her gross motor 'score' is similar to a 20-month-old and her language communication 'score' is 24 months - that does not 'average' to 22 months.

Numbers might combine like averages if they are within the same domain - like cognition and language. But even in the 2nd year, isolation of domains is less than absolute.

Again, hoping the evaluators gave you better explanation, and just wanting you and your readers to be more clear on how uneven development cannot be 'averaged' to one number.

Since you asked....Barbara

CFHusband said...

@therextras

I'm sorry if you assumed that our medical team was giving us bad information...saying "she averages out to about your normal 22 month old" is my way of keeping it simple and positive...don't take it as a by-the-book medical explanation.

Scott said...

Wow, Nate and Tricia, I haven't posted in here for a long time. I've followed from a distance through facebook, etc. I'm thankful for your family!

Amy said...

Great news! I am so happy for you. My son was full term, but still had major developmental issues. When he was 18 month old his speech and cognition was at the level of a 8 month old. It is amazing what a few years can do. He is 5 years old now and is right on target. I give all th glory to God. The doctors said he had a 80% chance of being menatally retarded and he would always be in special needs classes. He is in Kindergarten now and reads at a fiest grade level. Just proves the master physician can heal anything when it is his will.