23 months with joy and love

We had some very busy days with lot of appointements. Vitoria is doing well, but last week we both got a cold. After the shock of last month, we were a little worried, so I took her to the pediatrician. She was coughing and mumbling a lot, I suspected that she had a sore throat. The pediatrician confirmed that she had laryngitis and pharyngitis and prescribed a syrup that helped a lot and coughing was over in a few days.
Luckily she has been able to eat and drink normally.

Two weeks ago we had schedulled an exam to investigate the causes of urinary tract infections. I scheduled it  two weeks before in the laboratory, but just getting there a nurse told us they did not perform that exam at her age. It was a surprise, because they had asked me her date of birth at the time of scheduling. I gave her antibiotic three days before the exam, and Marcelo missed a day of work to go with us, but getting there it was all in vain, they only perform this test in children over four years old. There was an unfortunate mistake from the lab! Then we must take this exam only in January and give her antibiotic again. :o(

We also went to a dentist who treats patients with special needs, Dr. Adriana Zink. I heard about her through her blog  (http://adrianazink.blogspot.com/). She has a very special work with autistic children, but has extensive experience with many other special needs and neurological disorders. She gave us great directions. She said Victoria's teeth are growing slowly, but right now everything is fine and there is no need of intervention. If she was not eating and losing weight because of teething, so it would be recomended a small operation to cut the gum around the teeth, but it is not the case. She recommended that in the most difficult days we give her a painkiller half hour before eating, and help her chew a teething ring or brush to stimulate. 

She also said it is very important to take extra care with hygiene of the teeth, strengthening the habit of brushing teeth early so that when she grows she continue collaborating in this activity. She said that Victoria is having a good "stomatognathic" development, ie, the whole structure of the mouth (jaws, teeth, etc.) and that it is very favorable that she breathes through the nose, she had a good positioning of the tongue, and a good control of saliva, among other things she mentioned. She also reinforced the importance of follow-up with a speech therapist, so that she keep on receiving stimuli and evolving. I did not know that this region of mouth may or may not have a proper development, but I was very happy to know that Victoria is well!

For all children it is important going to the dentist, and for children with neurological disorders, even more so that we can identify and treat early any problems or difficulties. The appointment was well worth it, the dentist was very helpful, asked me to send her the CT scan to check on the teeth and also said if I want I can send through e-mail photos of Vitoria´s teeth to see if everything is doing well - especially those molars that are taking too long to grow.

We also had to make adjustments to the orthotics and hearing aids that were having problems.

And finally, Victoria and I went in last Thursday to visit her grandparents Bruno and Alice, in Rio Grande do Sul (south of Brazil). Flying alone with Victoria was a great adventure with a few misadventures but thank God everything went well! Marcelo is coming tomorrow to spend Christmas with us. 

With such a rush, I apologize because I am not even able to respond to emails, I appreciate all the messages I have received from so many new friends, but for now I have only managed to read them.

Despite the cold and teeth, our beloved Vitoria remains beautiful, expressive, endearing, cute, making us more in love every day for this so sweet and kind baby girl!

And to our joy and gratitude last week she completed 23 months that have been lived with much joy and love!

These are some pictures taken with the beloved great grandmother Maria Victoria, who this month completed 93 years old!