We left early Sunday morning for our 6 hour drive to Valdosta. The drive went pretty well. Delilah seemed happy watching Baby Signing Times and sleeping. I was expecting a much fussier baby, as she has some teeth coming in right now, but she did really well on the way down.
We stayed in Valdosta with our friends Monica, Michelle, and Alex, who used to be our neighbors in Alaska. (We wish Justin wasn't on TDY. We missed seeing him.) We have really missed them. Delilah was very happy to have some kids to play with. She was constantly laughing and crawling all over the place. Alex, who is 3, insisted on taking a bath with Delilah. They were so cute playing in the tub together.
On Monday morning we made the 2 hour drive to Gainesville for our 11:00 appointment with Dr. Miller. Delilah slept the entire way. Our appointment couldn't have gone better. Dr. Miller was beyond thrilled with Delilah's progress. She said we have been doing everything exactly right and shouldn't change a thing. We were relieved to hear it.
My main concern was her diet. Delilah eats what every other "normal" toddler eats. Everything is relatively healthy choices, like veggies, fruits and meats, very limited sugar. I was worried that I may be giving her too many carbs, like pancakes for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Dr. Miller reassured me and said she needs the carbs for development and not to change anything right now. We will begin sending her monthly weight checks, and if she sees a spike in weight we will re-adjust her dietary needs. But even then, she said we will only be making slight changes.
We also asked about toys related to food. Is it ok for her to play with 'fake' food and have a Play Kitchen? The answer, ABSOLUTELY. She will know the difference between the real and fake, and it's a great tool for her imagination. So happy to hear it. I couldn't imagine our house without a play kitchen in it. We really want her to have one like this:
Two reasons: First, it's retro and pink. Need I say more! The other (main) reason is it is not made of plastic. The plastic kitchens are nice but they are too light and she would constantly be pulling it on top of herself. Definite safety issue. This one is made of wood and is very sturdy. Unfortunately this isn't in our budget at the moment. Maybe I can save for her birthday. Until then I can make her some felt food to use with her new shopping cart she got from the Martins. I am seeing a cute little Grocery Store project in my future!
Oops, got a little off topic. Back to the appointment. The best part about our appointment was John finally meeting Dr. Miller. I know the diagnosis has been harder on him, mostly because he was deployed for so long and hasn't really had a chance to make any appointments. He had some questions of his own, to better understand PWS. Dr. Miller answered them all and you could just see the relief just wash over him. He is so happy we have such a knowledgeable and caring doctor on our team. We left the appointment very, very happy.
After the appointment we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel before heading back to Valdosta. Delilah did so good we decided to reward her with a treat. She has some baked chicken and baked apples for lunch. If you have ever had the baked apples at Cracker Barrel, you know how eewy, gooey delicious they are. Delilah loved them, and has the face to prove it.
The rest of our visit with the Martin's was very relaxed and enjoyable. Wish we could have stayed longer, but it's back to work for John and therapies for Delilah.
Our drive home was a bit tiring. Delilah was very cranky. She no longer wanted to be in her seat, but who can blame her. The final three hour stretch I had to sit in the back with her to try to keep her settled. Not an easy task. We were thrilled when we finally made it home. It's a good thing we don't have any trips to make in the future. We are road tripped out!
I think I covered everything. This is a pretty lengthy post. We will be having breakfast with Santa tomorrow, so I am sure I will post again in the next few days. Hope you are all having a good week!
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