Global Developmental Delays

In the fall, Ashlyn was diagnosed with Global Developmental Delays, which is a long term that means she is behind in many of her developmental milestones. The specialist confirmed that she was at least six months behind (she wasn't rolling over or walking, etc). Thankfully, all of her blood work and genetics testing came back normal, but that leaves a big fat question mark as to the cause for her delays.

The doctor wanted Ashlyn to begin physical therapy, speech therapy, and see a feeding team. With much thought and conversation with other therapists, we decided to start with JUST physical therapy so Ashlyn didn't get overwhelmed.

Ashlyn currently goes to physical therapy once a week at the children's hospital and HATES it!! She cries and doesn't let go of me, which makes it difficult for the therapists to do their job. I feel bad for Ashlyn AND the therapists so we are brainstorming what would be best for Ashlyn at this point. They want to strengthen her right leg and loosen up her hips so we are doing exercises at home to help with this.

Since the appointment with the specialist, we have seen some progress with Ashlyn. She is almost 18 months old now and has rolled over three times and has taken a few steps! We celebrated! We were hoping that after watching Ashlyn take a few steps that she would be walking by Christmas, but we don't know if this will become a reality.

The doctors also recommended that we teach Ashlyn some basic sign language and she has made some progress with this as well.

So, what's next?

Ashlyn goes back to the specialist in January so he can monitor and make note of any progress. Until then, we will still continue some sort of physical therapy and look into speech therapy within a few months.

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers for little Ashlyn!

A Long Road (An Update on Ashlyn)

We are a little emotionally drained at our house.

We are grateful that Ashlyn was able to get an appointment with the specialist this week, considering the waiting list is 5 months long!

To make a long story short, after a long day of of appointments and blood tests, the specialist confirmed that Ashlyn is developmentally 6 months behind. At this point, the doctor is unsure of the reason for this delay so he is trying to get some answers through blood tests.

Ashlyn will start 4 sessions of therapy, two at the children's hospital, and two at our home.

We might have a long road ahead of us and probably many ups and downs along the way. Obviously, our hope is that the therapy will help close the gap in her delays.

We are still feeling a little uneasy and overwhelmed, but we are just trying to take things one day at a time for now.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Heavy Heart

My heart is a little heavy today. Ashlyn went to the doctor for her 15-month well child check-up and the doctor feels that she is about 6 months behind developmentally. 6 months! Ashlyn has now been referred to a team of specialists to evaluate her delays.
I cannot help but wonder if I did something wrong. What did I NOT do, or what did I do? I guess this is just how a mother thinks sometimes.

My heart is aching.

Please join me in praying for Ashlyn as she is in the Hands of the Great Physician.

Our Little Turtle

I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried, but Ashlyn is 15 months old now and she cannot roll from her back to her belly. I find this kind of strange. We have been working with her quite a bit, we will lay her on her back and guide her arms and legs, but to no avail. We will try rolling her to her left side and also to her right side, but it makes no difference. If Ashlyn is on her back, she will stay on her back until someone comes to her aid. She is our little turtle.

(Ambria took this picture of me and Ashlyn)

A Few Steps Behind

Ashlyn had her one year doctor's appointment a few weeks ago and it didn't go as well as I had hoped. Although I was not surprised what the doctor had to say about Ashlyn's growth and development, it isn't always what you want to hear.

Mariah and Ambria were ahead on most of their milestones when they were younger. Ashlyn, well, not so much. She is taking her sweet time.

The doctor thinks that Ashlyn is 3-4 months behind on many of her milestones for a one year old. Socially, Ashlyn is doing well, but she is behind physically. Of course, she is tiny, she has never been on the growth chart. She formed her "own" curve on the chart but now has slipped off her curve a little. This is no surprise, both sides of the family are petite, but we will try to increase her daily calorie intake. She is having a few feeding issues and difficulty with food textures so we are working on this as well.

Ashlyn also has poor muscle tone in her legs. I am hoping she is just being lazy, and that she just thinks standing and/or pulling up is overrated. The doctor will reevaluate her leg muscle tone in a few months and in the meantime, we will work on strengthening those little legs.

Until then, we will just keep on keeping on with our Little Miss Ashlyn, who brings us more and more joy each day!