I realized I was no longer up to date with technology when I saw Meghan operate an Ipad...and she knew how to swipe the screen :)  Meghan's speech therapist brought an Ipad to one of the sessions and Meghan got to play with a couple different speech apps on it.  It was pretty neat!  Speech is going really good and Meghan has learned a couple new signs.  We are up to 4 signs that she will consistently sign...more, eat, puppy and book.  The signs that are there, but not yet mastered are - all done and drink.  The signs she uses the most......more eat :)  Go figure ha!  That's my little chowhound!  Luke and the daycare kids love doing the signs with Meghan, too!  She hasn't spoken any new words yet, but they will come!!

Yesterday was Meghan's orthopedic appointment at Gillette's.  It was a long day, but we got some answers.  Most importantly...Meghan is officially 20 pounds!!  This is a huge milestone!  Other things we found out... as of now, Meghan doesn't need SMO's for her feet.  She has strong enough ankles which doesn't qualify her as needing the extra support from SMO's.  She said Meghan should outgrow the intoeing.  If, by the age of 8, she hasn't outgrown the intoeing, braces or corrective surgery to straighten her feet may be an option, but for now we are good and will just monitor! We did however find out that Meghan has a condition known as Hemihypertrophy.  This is a condition in which one side of the body, or a part of one side of the body, is larger in size than the other.  Basically, one side of the body grows at a faster rate than the other side.  I'm still trying to get answers on this, but children with hemihypertrophy have an increased risk of developing stomach tumors - mainly in the kidneys...not something any parent wants to hear.  BUT...most children, IF they develop tumors, develop them before the age of 8.  After the age of 8, the likelihood of developing stomach tumors drops dramatically.  So...because of this, Meghan will have ultra sounds of her abdomen every 3 months to check for tumors until she is 8 years old.  She had an ultra sound yesterday and we are waiting on results.  Back to the Hemi diagnosis.  Meghan is right sided hemi.  Meaning the right side of her body is growing faster than her left.  Her right side of her face sticks out farther than the left side of her face and is asymetrical (has been since birth), her right leg is chunkier than her left leg, and her right foot is a little bigger as well.  However, her arms do not seem to be affected.  This MIGHT just explain why her right kidney always measured larger than the left during ultra sounds when I was pregnant with her. She also has a leg length difference.  Her left leg is shorter by 5 mm...which explains why she walks with a cute little limp.  Because her left leg is shorter, she needs to wear a shoe lift in her left shoe.  The lift brings her left leg height to be equal to her right leg when she wears shoes.  She will have orthopedic checks every 6-12 months to monitor leg length difference and her feet.  If her legth difference would get to 2cm or more, she would need some kind of a quick outpatient surgery to stop the one leg from growing so the shorter leg can catch up.  She was also referred to see a Geneticist.  The nerd that I am - I am excited to meet with a geneticist...something I have wanted for a few months.  We have added orthopedic checks every 6-12 months, abdominal ultra sounds every 3 months and a Geneticist to our list, but we will do what ever it takes!  All in all, it was a very good visit!

We are so excited for warmer temps coming this weekend and finally being able to get out of the house and play outside!!