Good to Be Back

We’re home!
I’m sure some of you are wondering, “Home from where?” For those of you who don’t know, we spent the last month staying with Elijah’s Uncle Dan and Aunt Darlene in Wisconsin. We didn’t think that it would be wise to announce on the internet that we were living elsewhere (to try out HBOT) since that would be like announcing to the world, “Hey, no one is at our house.” Perhaps, we were being overly cautious (as the likelihood of some crazy person finding this website and figuring out where we live is probably slim), but now that we’re home I feel more comfortable talking about our little adventure away from home.

Elijah did such a good job being away from home for so long and having treatments two times a day. He seems to be so easily adjustable to new situations, which makes our lives a lot easier (seeing that we have to take him so many places!). We had a wonderful time with Elijah’s aunt and uncle, who so graciously let us live with them for the month. I have to admit we were a bit spoiled (with yummy dinners and good conversations) and had a great time, but we are happy to be back home again.

Sharpness
Yesterday Elijah did not want to take his nap. While that isn’t exactly a new occurrence, he seemed unusually fussy, so I thought I’d check his mouth for new teeth. What did I find, but new sharpness poking through his gums! He’s getting his first molar and he has hardly made a peep. Somehow I still get excited when I find a new tooth in that beautiful mouth of his and I’m even happier when they come through easy as this one has.

Sleeping Beauty…or Sleep is Beautiful
Last night Elijah slept through the night for the first time since…well, I can’t remember the last time he did that. He has been becoming a good sleeper and I’m so pleased. He takes two naps in the day, one of which usually lasts over an hour. This is much better than in the past, when I’d spend a half hour to try to get him sleep and he’d only sleep for a half hour. I had read a few books on sleep, but nothing seemed to help.

He started to take better naps while we were in Wisconsin. I’ve heard that HBOT can help with sleep, so perhaps that is what did it. Or, maybe he’s just developing. There’s no way to know either way. All I know is that I like sleep! I hope that the sleeping through the night becomes a new normal for us. That would be wonderful. Either way, Elijah has been only getting up in the night once. In the past, he’d need to be nursed back to sleep. These days, though, he just wants a snuggle and we happily oblige. I remind myself that he’s not going to be this little forever. He’s already getting so big!

Dr. Optimist
Let’s see…we’ve got Dr. Gloom, Dr. Positive, Dr. Nice Guy and now…introducing our optometrist, Dr. Optimist. It seems fitting, as it sounds similar to optometrist, right?

We saw Dr. Optimist yesterday and Elijah is doing well. He reaffirmed what we have already noticed...that Elijah’s eye sight has improved. He said that Elijah’s sight is what he would expect from an eight-month-old. At fourteen months old, that may seem like a bad thing, but we don’t really see it that way. Elijah continues to make progress and we’re so pleased about that. Dr. Optimist mentioned that he noticed Elijah’s eye is turning in less and that he could easily focus on the doctor. It was fun to watch Elijah look at the doctor, smile at him, laugh, and make noises. He’s so much more interactive than he used to be.

As for Elijah’s glasses, we’re supposed to have him wear them whenever we think that they may help. Dr. Optimist suggested that we put them on Elijah when he seems to be really trying to concentrate on things. At this point, it’s really up to us how much (or if) he should wear them. The thought is that perhaps they might help with his development, but as his brain heals and develops, the more his sight will improve. I’m making a mental pact with myself to have him wear them more, but we won’t beat ourselves up over trying to have him wear them all the time. For the most part, we don’t really see that they make much of a difference for Elijah and I’d personally rather his brain learn how to see without glasses.

Our OT
We’ve missed our OT over this past month and we finally got to see her today. Of course, she noticed all of the changes that have occurred with Elijah. One thing she said was that the tone in his arms is much looser. We all wonder if this is a result of HBOT. Since he is spending so much more time on his hands and knees, he is strengthening his arms and shoulders…which would make his tone better. So the question is, which is it?

Honestly, we don’t really care who gets the credit, whether it’s HBOT or development. Either way, Elijah is changing. We do think, however, that HBOT has helped. Yes, Elijah has always made progress, but it seems to me that he made even more progress this past month. Our OT is great. Right now I’m feeling really blessed. We’re starting to collect doctors who have nicknames that make me smile and we have a great team with Early Intervention with our OT as the front runner. Elijah is doing so well and he’s changing. It’s good to be back. Thanks to all of you who have sustained us with your prayers for the last month.

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