We have a scooter on our hands!

For the past couple of weeks Maddie has been scooting ALL over the place. That is her way of getting around and I am amazed at how she rocks her body back and forth to get around. One other new obsession she has is strings. I have had to stop wearing sweatshirts with strings because if I take it away or leave the room she flips out. The little things that intrigue her are hilarious! She is doing more and more each day and it such a blessing to see her figure things out! Here is a picture of Maddie on her new mat. You would be amazed how she scoots her little body all around this.Many times she scoots off the mat right into our bedroom. She is so happy that she has figured out way to get around and it is so cute! We Couldn't be more proud of her. I also wanted to let you know she will be getting a new prosthetic on wednesday. The RIC was able to make something much better, so I will post some pictures next week. In the meantime, we wanted to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!
We are thankful to ring in the New Year at home and not in the hopsital room, which was the case last year. What a difference a year can make!!!!!! WAHOOO!

Maddie has learned how to go from a lying position to sitting position!

I wanted to post this video to show you how determined this little girl is. She amazes us everyday! We are SO proud of her, and her determination will get her VERY far in life! GO MADDIE!

"ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH, MY TWO FRONT TEETH, MY TWO FRONT TEETH..."

Madeline's first tooth came threw last week just in time for Christmas! Lots of sleepless nights for all of us, but cute to see a little white tooth!!We are so excited for Christmas this year and will be spending it will my Mom's side of the family. A much different Christmas than last year, and we are so thankful to have Maddie with us this Christmas. Much uncertainty last year at this time. I hope you ALL have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

A Tree, Some Tea, and Two Little Miracles

Maddie in her party wear
The beautiful tree at the Drake HotelMaddie and Anneleise enjoying their tea:o) They were NICU friends across from each other at the hospital. We Mom's really connected and have stayed in touch. Now we are making this a holiday tradition with our girls:o)All of us together. A much better venue than the NICU:o)Our tea time has come to an end. See you next year!!!!!

We have such a joyful little girl, and she is the most special thing in the world. "Bye, bye, prosthetic," She says....At the Sheraton Downtown. She loved this Christmas tree!So mesmerized by all the different textures of the ornaments.

A few more updates on this process...
We have been back and forth, back and forth, with the RIC over e-mails. We have put our foot down and we are not going to put this thing on her. Bob has been great handling this process and looking out for his little girl. I am not sure yet if we will have to wait 8 months, or if we can somehow get them to not bill our insurance since we are going to bring it back. This seems to be a bit of a battle, but we are standing our ground and looking out for what is best for Madeline. She has been fine without it, so if there is something better we will try it, and continue to seek guidance.

Bob and I are VERY passionate about this, and if there are ways to better inform parents of children with limb differences, we will do what we can to get the word out. It is unfortunate we weren't aware of pediatric prosthetis, who exclusively specialize in upper limbs. But now we know, and will use our knowledge for the better.

Lots of updates this week...

If you would be interested in seeing a video of a myoelectric prosthetic on a 2 1/2 year old please copy and paste the link:

http://www.kidscanplay.com/DVD.mpg

This is the place in Houston, TX where Linda Bean is the leading specialist in pediatric prosthetics. In 18 months she made 600 upper limb prosthetics!

Bob and I are a quite disappointed with the prosthetic she currently has, so he is going tomorrow to see if he can "return" the prosthetic. Highly doubtful, but never say never. We thought it would be worth a try otherwise we have to wait 8 months until the insurance company will pay for another one. The cost of a myoelectric is $30,000. Will keep you updated as we work through this process.

On a lighter note, I wanted to see how much the prosthetic weighed, so this morning I headed over to the local marketplace and placed her arm in the scale. I weighed the hand (it screws off), then her arm, and then the whole thing together. I hope no one saw me because they probably thought I was a crazy lady. I guess you will do anything for your child! :o)

Well, I think that's all for now! Thanks you everyone for your Facebook Messages, phone calls, and emails. You are all so encouraging and supportive.

A God sent when I was feeling discouraged

We are thankful that Maddie could get her first prosthetic, but haven't been quite sure if there might be something better for her situation. As I was crying and a bit emotional this morning, I was talking to my mom on the phone telling her my concerns about the prosthetic. It seems heavy, bulky, and I have mixed emotions about it. And the fact that Maddie starts to cry now when I put it on her, SO not worth it! It shouldn't be this uncomfortable, and I will not put her through that.

So after I got off the phone, my mom ended up talking to this women, Linda Bean, in Houston TX who specializes in pediatric prosthesis. She found her on the internet. They are so much lighter in weight, not so bulky, they match your babies skin color, and are also myoelectric, which is amazing! Light weight, under a pound, and they can actually learn to open and close the hand in 2 days. WOW! I feel so much more encouraged than I have felt and that was such a God sent. They are based in Houston and make the prosthetic in one day, which is truly amazing. I have been researching their website for a few hours reading and watching the videos. So we continue to research what else is out there, and pray that Maddie will one day be able to make use of her left arm on her own. We wouldn't be eligible for another one for 6-8 months, but this gives us time to pray and research, and talk to other Mom's who have taken their babies there. I just wanted to keep you updated on the process and tell you where we are at...

The stories Linda was telling me where truly inspiring. What a rewarding job. I also have a couple of Mom's to call who have children with prosthetics from this facility.

If you think of us, please continue to pray for the Lord to guide this situation and that we would seek him in our decision making. I feel much more hopeful than I did this morning. Thanks again for keeping up with Madeline. It means a lot!

Pictures of Maddie's new arm:o)

I love in this picture how she was just studying her arm.Seeing how she did on her tummy:o) Maddie holding her favorite friend Sophie, the giraffe. We don't go anywhere without Sophie.When we got home we practiced a few things. She was so well balanced leaning on the chair. I put a watch on her arm so that she would be more aware of it:o)It was so cute how she could hold herself up with both arms.

Tomorrow is the Day!

Tomorrow we head back to the RIC where Madeline will have her last fitting and will be able to take her prosthesis home. We are still unsure of how she will react to it, but we are looking forward to what she be able to do with it. Madeline's P.T. had recently took a trip there so she would be educated during her PT sessions. She was very encouraging. She saw a video of a little boy who had the same length of arm as Maddie and the baby was able to crawl with his prosthetic. (I also recently had a dream 2 weeks ago of her crawling) That was so encouraging to hear, and we are praying Maddie will be able to do the same thing! She wants to GET GOING SO BADLY! It would be so AWESOME if this would help her move better. We would be so thankful if this would be beneficial to her. I will have more updates for you in the next couple of of days:o)