Rachel part 2...please read the post before this one, first.

These are just a couple of other pics of her birthday, or shortly after (for the 2nd pic)



I should mention that during my pregnancy, we had ultrasounds several times, due to different things each time. Once, they said her belly was bigger than her head, which would indicate the microcephaly was due to her development, not birth...BUT they said it resolved itself. Then I had to get more because of the enormous amount of amniotic fluid I had. They wanted to make sure she was fine, and it wasnt stressing her out any. Each time, they said everything was fine. So.......



What signifies her disability? Her head has only grown 2 inches in circumfrence since birth. SHe weighs 14 pounds and 15 oz. She isnt able to eat solid foods, unless you want to keep stuffing it back in again and again and again, and hope some of it just slides down her little throat. Her feet turn in like clubfeet, but they arent clubbed. She looks like she is praying with her feet, all the time. She stands on the sides of her feet if you hold her in a standing position. She can't sit unless you are holding her...she has no side control. Funny thing though...she has always lifted her little body up by the abdominal muscles and held herself in that position, much to everyone's delight. So, there is muscle, but not the muscle that keeps you sitting up. She just started rolling both directions, and has that down to a tee. She cant crawl, but does get on her knees to rock back and forth.



She is just now in the last month become interested in toys. She enjoys them, but if they fall, she doesnt really look for them. She is content to sit in a swing or a bouncy chair, or in her crib all day....we have to take her out and stimulate her continuously, or she would just stay there and not fuss. Sounds like an easy thing, but it is sad really. Her left eye crosses, but she is gaining some control over it...it only crosses now when she is tired, or preferring to shut down.



She coos, but doesnt make any sounds that have discernable consonants or vowels. She laughs, and makes me laugh until tears run down my face...its that cute!!



She has tiny ear openings, and they thought for awhile that she might be deaf...turns out that she had junk in them from birth blocking them. She finally passed hearing screenings, and all, but developed many infections. Had tube surgery at 5 1/2 months. They thought she had CVI which is where you really cant see, but the neuro opthomologist doesnt think so... neither do we.



She is jeckel and hyde. I have called her that from day one. One minute she is completely stiff and you cant move her legs or arms, then the next, she is as loose as a goose. One minute she is looking AT you, and interacting, the next she is off in her own little zone. One minute she is rocking back and forth and then next, she is just laying there, not acting like anything is going on. Just when they think they have her pinned down to a certain something, she does something else. Its almost funny. The docs even laugh about how she doesnt want to fit any mold.



She is just Rachel and I love her with all my heart and soul. I hold her and cry at least once a day, because I am so glad she is here with me, and that she is mine. They told me I miscarried her early on, and I didn't. They told me all sorts of things, and she is still here. She may not walk, she may not talk, but I know she loves me, and her daddy and her siblings, and she is going to do what she wants to do. And smile all the while. She is usually the first happy person I see in the mornings, and the last happy person I see at night. I am blessed that God gave her to me. Truly.