Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Who is who?
Here is our 5 month photos of both of the girls. Who is who?
Answer: Lexie above and Beth below! :)
Answer: Lexie above and Beth below! :)
Busy March
Between doctor and physical therapy visits, learning new skills, growing leaps and bounds and having a house guest, the Scheper household has been having a very busy month. Luckily we have some pictures to document the highlights...
First, Lexie and Beth have been working on their flexibility.
My friend's Grandson came to spend the week with us. Lexie and Brandon had a grand time!
Beth has moved into a crib and is now sharing a room with her sister. Thank you Carleen for lending us yours! I was amazed that this transition went a lot more smoothly then I thought it would.
Lexie learned how to use a pillow. Strangly, she thinks that they belong on the floor under the table.
Lexie has decided that it's fun to hold her sister. The scary thing is that I have caught her trying to do this without her mommy's assistance.
Mealtime also has gotten more interesting. We started Beth on cereal this month so now we have 2 lovely ladies at our table. It's been fun!
First, Lexie and Beth have been working on their flexibility.
My friend's Grandson came to spend the week with us. Lexie and Brandon had a grand time!
Beth has moved into a crib and is now sharing a room with her sister. Thank you Carleen for lending us yours! I was amazed that this transition went a lot more smoothly then I thought it would.
Lexie learned how to use a pillow. Strangly, she thinks that they belong on the floor under the table.
Lexie has decided that it's fun to hold her sister. The scary thing is that I have caught her trying to do this without her mommy's assistance.
Mealtime also has gotten more interesting. We started Beth on cereal this month so now we have 2 lovely ladies at our table. It's been fun!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Torticollis
On Monday Beth had her first appointment with the Physical Therapist at Children's. The PT, named Kathy, was very nice and comforted me by being so patient with all of my questions. The most important thing that we learned was that our little Beth does have a case of torticollis.
What is torticollis? It is a neck condition in which one of the 2 main neck muscles is shorter than the other. This causes the head to tilt toward the side of the short muscle and rotate toward the other side. Beth's case is mild to moderate and does not appear to be causing her any pain. They think that this might be why we had such trouble breast feeding. Apparently these same muscles are big players in the suck/swallow process.
Here are a couple of pictures that show you what it looks like in her case. Bear in mind that she has good days and bad days and as a mommy I have a really hard time taking pictures of the bad days. These are from fairly moderate days.
It looks like we will be able to treat this with weekly visits for a few months and then taper off to once a month after that. Kathy believes that within 6 months her condition will be resolved. We have a series of stretches and exercises to do on a daily basis and will be changing how we do everyday things like feeding her. For example, we will make the left side of her the "interesting" side with toys and such to encourage her to turn her head in that direction. She is already showing some improvement after only 2 days of work.
The doctors are not certain what causes torticollis but some think that position in utero or trauma during childbirth could be factors. One of the most interesting things I was told is that since it has become common practice to have our babies sleep on their backs, the rates of torticollis has skyrocketed. They don't think that it is the cause but that it makes it less likely that babies that have it will self-correct it because their necks don't get as much exercise. One other side note for Beth is that this may lead to her needing to wear one of those shape-correcting helmets for the back of her head. I really, really hope not.
What a pain in the neck!
What is torticollis? It is a neck condition in which one of the 2 main neck muscles is shorter than the other. This causes the head to tilt toward the side of the short muscle and rotate toward the other side. Beth's case is mild to moderate and does not appear to be causing her any pain. They think that this might be why we had such trouble breast feeding. Apparently these same muscles are big players in the suck/swallow process.
Here are a couple of pictures that show you what it looks like in her case. Bear in mind that she has good days and bad days and as a mommy I have a really hard time taking pictures of the bad days. These are from fairly moderate days.
It looks like we will be able to treat this with weekly visits for a few months and then taper off to once a month after that. Kathy believes that within 6 months her condition will be resolved. We have a series of stretches and exercises to do on a daily basis and will be changing how we do everyday things like feeding her. For example, we will make the left side of her the "interesting" side with toys and such to encourage her to turn her head in that direction. She is already showing some improvement after only 2 days of work.
The doctors are not certain what causes torticollis but some think that position in utero or trauma during childbirth could be factors. One of the most interesting things I was told is that since it has become common practice to have our babies sleep on their backs, the rates of torticollis has skyrocketed. They don't think that it is the cause but that it makes it less likely that babies that have it will self-correct it because their necks don't get as much exercise. One other side note for Beth is that this may lead to her needing to wear one of those shape-correcting helmets for the back of her head. I really, really hope not.
What a pain in the neck!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Beth's news
Did I say I'd post 2 times a week? Oops, I meant 2 times a month! LOL!
Well, we had Beth's 4 month appointment on Monday and the news is a bit of a mixed bag. Overall she is a very healthy baby. 14 pounds, 4 ounces and 25.5 inches long. The not-so-great news is that she was diagnosed with a mild case of torticollis. Apparently this is a muscular condition that causes her neck to want to pull one direction and her hip to pull in the opposite direction. The good news is that this can be treated with some physical therapy at Children's Hospital and it should only take a month or so. The doctor said that there shouldn't be any lasting effects. So...prayers for Elizabeth please! We will keep everyone in the loop on her progress.
On the bright side, here are some cute pictures we've taken recently...
Well, we had Beth's 4 month appointment on Monday and the news is a bit of a mixed bag. Overall she is a very healthy baby. 14 pounds, 4 ounces and 25.5 inches long. The not-so-great news is that she was diagnosed with a mild case of torticollis. Apparently this is a muscular condition that causes her neck to want to pull one direction and her hip to pull in the opposite direction. The good news is that this can be treated with some physical therapy at Children's Hospital and it should only take a month or so. The doctor said that there shouldn't be any lasting effects. So...prayers for Elizabeth please! We will keep everyone in the loop on her progress.
On the bright side, here are some cute pictures we've taken recently...
Beth lovin' her sister's dollys.
Beth enjoying the bumbo.
Does Gap need a new model?
Lunchtime is the best time.
Fresh from the bath and all ready for bed.
Now that it doesn't fit her anymore she has decided to like wearing the hat.
Water play
Tummy time
Jackson loves the dolly too!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Compare
Here is a little comparison for you...Lexie at 3 months and Beth at 3 months. Cute, huh?
Yep, they are definitely related!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Couponing
So, I have decided to join many of the fabulous moms that I know and start seriously couponing. I have always tried to hang on to the odd coupon I pick up here or there and I consistently pick up the ads for my local grocery store before a shopping trip but I have never really focused on collecting and using them judiciously. But a couple of weeks ago I happened to be standing in line behind a SERIOUS coupon user and watched her save over $50 off of her total. She ended up paying only about $75 for $150 worth of groceries. I tell you, I was inspired.
This kind lady let me chat her up while we were both packing our groceries and she gave me a few tips. One of them was to save my manufacturers coupons for when items are put on clearance...like after the holidays. What great advice! Today I picked up a Glade candle for only $0.33! Originally this would have cost around $4 but because it was a holiday scent Walmart wanted it off of their shelves. They were charging $2.33 for it and I had a manufacturers coupon for $2 off. This "holiday" candle is actually just apple cinnamon in a holder with a snowflake design on it...not a problem for me. Especially when it only cost me $0.33! I am really excited about this new (to me) way to stretch our family's money!
This kind lady let me chat her up while we were both packing our groceries and she gave me a few tips. One of them was to save my manufacturers coupons for when items are put on clearance...like after the holidays. What great advice! Today I picked up a Glade candle for only $0.33! Originally this would have cost around $4 but because it was a holiday scent Walmart wanted it off of their shelves. They were charging $2.33 for it and I had a manufacturers coupon for $2 off. This "holiday" candle is actually just apple cinnamon in a holder with a snowflake design on it...not a problem for me. Especially when it only cost me $0.33! I am really excited about this new (to me) way to stretch our family's money!
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