Streeetch! Dec 31

We had a really good morning with the physical therapist! Baby Girl was awake and alert and didn't fight the stretching like she usually does when she's awake. The PT commented on how relaxed she seemed and how much more loose she was. While she was napping this afternoon she was keeping her arms stretched out really nicely and didn't fuss (much) when I was messing with her legs. You can see in the picture below how much more limber and relaxed she is!

We also worked with the speech therapist during lunch and, again, she was wide awake and alert the whole time! I wish I could have gotten a picture of her face while we were working with her - she would furrow up her eyebrows whenever the ST put a few drops of milk in her mouth with the pacifier like she was concentrating really hard on swallowing and sucking at the same time. She was able to take almost twice as much as she usually does with the dropper. She was still breathing a little fast so we didn't attempt to work with the bottle - that whole breathing thing just keeps getting in the way while she's trying to swallow! Her suck is getting more coordinated and the ST commented that her tongue seems more in control during the process as well.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. Since she's back off the oxygen I was able to change her outfit (finally!) to one that will work better with her casts because the sleeves are a little wider. Tomorrow we'll be recasting her wrists - each time will be a little bit more of a stretch. 

Please continue to pray for her feeding issues and that the casts will be effective in stretching out the tendons and muscles that will allow her wrists to straighten out. We also got two new neighbors - one with heart issues and one with brain troubles. Please keep both of them and their families in your prayers as well!