Not much has happened lately, but I always feel bad if I don't write for more than a week!
Scarlett has had a less-than-stellar week. She is really fussy, really agitated and irritable. She is taking extra naps because she exhausts herself with tantrums. She wants to be held a lot. This is all completely reasonable for just a typical kid, never mind one who is on chemo and teething, but it is not really like her. We never know which of the many reasons is causing her frustration.
Any time there is a change in her behavior like this, it puts me on high alert. I check for fevers every few hours, I check her eye responsiveness and check on her while she sleeps. I never hesitate to call the doctors if I feel something is wrong, but I have gotten pretty good at telling what is doctor-worthy. So far, nothing they can do anything about...but I'm watching.
She has started doing the strangest thing - grinding her teeth. It is the WORST sound ever, like nails on a chalkboard, and I cannot figure out how to stop it. I have tried to distract her, blow on her face, say "No!", give her more to chew on, but nothing is working. Her NP heard it the last two weeks, and she is concerned. Her Friday teacher heard it, and said not to worry. I looked it up, and apparently some babies just grind their new teeth (she has new molars coming in). Has anyone else dealt with this? It is so ANNOYING, and I am worried about her brand new teeth!
We were also introduced to a new concern her doctors/teachers/therapists have: visual processing, or how her brain interprets what she sees. We know her eyes and optic nerves are functioning properly, but we are not sure that her brain is really making sense of what she sees. She's too young to test, really, but inquiries are already in process to see if we can figure out what is going on. However, since three different people brought it up this week, I am guessing we will hear more about it soon.
All in a typical week around here! I am still not dealing with things as well as I could be, so its been a little harder than normal.
BUT, a teaser: I am working on a special project (or maybe a few...) for Scarlett's Valentine's Day surgery...fun!