Hi Wobbles ,
She is doing great, is very healthy and normal and we cannot believe how far she has come in the last 7 months , especially when I look back at the copy of her discharge summary and remember just how many issues she faced (see 01/11/2007 in her Diaries on
www.charlottelow.com)
She had just about every problem a baby could face born at 24 weeks , and slowly but surely we are still crossing them off the list.
We have started weaning her a few weeks ago and she is enjoying the food. We bought a very good book "Annabel Karmel - Feeding your baby and Toddler. The complete cookbook which covers all 4 stages. We had to start weaning as she was having 700/800 ml of milk (APTAMIL) and was still not being satisfied.
We are continuing updating her photo's and Diaries on the website , if you interested in seeing pictures , which go back to the very beginning.January's photo's should be up shortly, we are behind as she keeps us busy.
She started smiling a few weeks ago which was great.
She is also doing her bit for helping raising awareness of premature births and hopefully the work of the NICU/SCBU units, there is a new premature baby Diary on Tesco's Supermarket Baby and Toddlers Club which is about Charlotte. Samantha writes a weekly diary which goes up on the site. The Editor saw her website and emailed us to ask if we would do a weekly diary.
It is quite incredible when I hold the very first ventilator cap she had, (glad we kept it) and realise just how incredibly tiny her head was. You soon forget that in the beginning your premmie was literally the size of your hand, and I don't have big hands.
She has beaten the "Aneamia of prematurity" , (countless blood transfusions were needed), PDA (heart),ROP Level 2(eyes), Brain Meningitis, RSV (immune system), and just recently had the all clear on both her Metabolic bone disease and water on the brain (Shunt operation not required as it is sorting iteslf out). She gets her hearing aids fitted tomorrow but Piglet Low is doing very well . There is a high risk of cerebral palsy due to the brain csysts but we will deal with that if and when it happens.
What really matters is that she is a bundle of joy and we love her to bits. I would rather have her as she is, with whatever issues she may face, than have had her not survive, and none of the Doctors thought she would survive the infection.
sorry woffled on a bit
Thanks for asking after her
Alasdair,Samantha and Charlotte.