EMA IS DOING GREAT!!!!!!!!!

OK, so we went to Vanderbilt on Monday, February 22. It was her first 3 month follow up appointment since her surgery in October.

Just to update those of you who didn't know...Ema started crawling at 6 months old. Yes, for those of you who don't have kids, that's early! She started pulling up at 7 months old and cruising shortly thereafter. Again, for those of you who don't know, that's early! She isn't walking yet, but that's next. She has started letting go and holding onto things with one hand. She is daredevil Ema!

So, back to all of her doctor's appointments. She went to see Dr. Tulipan, the neurosurgeon at Vanderbilt. It's hard to describe how nervous you get going to one of these appointments. I was "acting out" prior to her appointment (yes, that is my term, b/c I think it describes things quite well). In other words, I was just in a bad mood. It was because I was stressed out. I don't mean to get that way, but I did. It's so hard not to get nervous about going. No matter how well we think she's doing, there is always the possibility that there is something going on that we don't realize. So, anyways, Dr. Tulipan initially asked what she was doing, what milestones she had reached, etc. One of his questions was, well, I guess she's too young to be doing... Our answer was of course, well maybe she's too young but she's doing...It felt very good to say all of these things. I can't tell you how proud it made us and how relieved it made us. He seemed quite impressed with all of the things she is doing. That being said, there is still always the possibiity of the shunt malfunctioning, so we have to continue to see him. He wants to see us back in three months when she is a year old (THAT is a whole other blog...how can my little baby girl be turning 1!!!!). After her 1 year appointment, he will see her once a year. That is such a relief to us. We are totally out of the woods with infection of her shunt. Now we just watch for malfunctioning or for her to outgrow it. I can't help but to continue to worry, but Hunter and I did get some relief out of her good visit. While we were in the car in Nashville longer than we were in his office, it was nice to get good news.

Next stop...Ema's 9 month check-up with Dr. Stephanie...the regular pediatrician. A mere 4 days later.