Sleep Study

Well, the day finally arrived that we were able to travel down to Madison, WI to have a sleep study done for Taleigha (on Monday 12/12/11).  It was quite the adventure, to say the least.  It was a difficult day, but nothing that I didn't anticipate.  Taleigha was a little trooper, I must say, but I didn't really expect anything else in that regard either.  When we got there, it was right to business.  We were taken into a "suite" at the clinic and the tech started hooking Taleigha up to all of the probes that were needed for the study.  It seemed as though there were a million of those things.  Taleigha did great during this process.  Probably better than I, myself, would have even done.  She had the hardest time with the breathing sensor that needed to be placed just below her nose (like an oxygen tube would be placed).  She did not like that at all.  We couldn't get her to keep it on, so we waited decided that we would just wait until she was in a deep sleep and try to put it back on then.

After Taleigha was done getting prepped for the night, it was time to try and tuck her in.  It was so hard for me to see her at this point.  I knew that she wasn't getting hurt and that she was safe, but when she looked at me with fear in her eyes, I had a hard time holding myself together.  Daddy and I gave her kisses, and had to walk out of the room.  I just couldn't help but feel for her at that moment.  She's little, and she didn't understand what all of those probes were that were stuck all over her body... she was in a weird place / room, and she had to be left alone until she fell asleep.  She was scared.  I was feeling horrible.  Once I was outside of her room, I had to let myself cry.  I knew that this is what we had to do, but I just wanted to somehow make Taleigha realize that she was safe and ok, but I couldn't.  

Taleigha had a rough night that night, and with as much as I hated that, I was also very relieved that they were able to capture the kind of issues we face on a nightly basis.  I was awake all night, praying that we would finally get some answers as to why Taleigha might be having so many struggles while trying to sleep.  I prayed and I prayed.  When Taleigha did wake during the night, she realized that we had taped that breathing sensor under her nose while she was asleep, and she ended up ripping it off.  We tried everything we could to try and distract her from the sensor that we repeatedly tried to place back on her face, but nothing had worked.  Eventually, we had to make the decision to brace her arms so that she couldn't bend them.  This prevented the inevitable ripping of the sensor off of her face.  Again, it was so hard for us to see her so upset.  But, it was for the best.  She was able to fall back asleep, and the night eventually turned to morning.

In the morning, we praised Taleigha for doing such a great job!  Like I stated before, she was definitely my little trooper.  She was so happy to get all of the probes removed.  She ate breakfast, got cleaned up, and it was off for home!  Then, it was the waiting game.  A game that I know all too well.  We had to wait for the results of the study.

We received a phone call a few days later from Taleigha's pediatrician.  He stated that he had gotten the report back from the specialist and that there was nothing wrong with Taleigha "medically" that would be causing her sleeping problems (ex: heart problems, sleep apnea etc.), but that it was clear that she was dealing with some kind of sleep disturbances and was not able to get restful sleep.  The specialist had recommended some Behavioral Therapy and possible medication.  Her pediatrician had suggested that we contact the Developmental Pediatrician out of Madison that has worked with Taleigha so that that doctor could explain in more detail the results and what they mean.  I put a call in to that doctor and am currently waiting on a call back from her.

At this point in time, I don't know what behavioral therapy consists of, how it will help Taleigha in the sleep department, or what it even means.  I guess you could say, that I still feel just as lost as I did before the sleep study happened.  I am hoping that we will get more answers once we can finally talk to the specialist.  We have talked previously about the possibility of Taleigha needing medication to sleep, but felt that it was necessary to rule out any possible "medical" issues, which we have now done.  Although I am still quite leery about taking that step, I guess at some point, I will have to put some faith in doctors and believe that they wouldn't ask me to do anything that wasn't safe for my child.  It's definitely not something I am 100% comfortable in, but need to just do some research and maybe make a decision on this when the time comes.  

I know that God is helping me and guiding me, 

so I need to give it all to Him.

Holiday Memories

Posselt Family Picking Out Our Christmas Tree

Taleigha, helping Mommy make Christmas Cookie Dough!

Haha!  Let's just say she was excited!

Of course there would be flour everywhere! :)

Such a BIG GIRL!

Awwww. My Little Sweetheart!

K*I*S*S*E*S

Oh, We had FUN!

Taelyn was Mommy's Little Helper too!

            

              Good Job Tae!

            

                   Awww, My Little LoveBug!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, I had a wonderful day with my little girls!

We had so much fun making the dough for our Christmas Cookies!  I can already tell this is going to be quite the Christmas Tradition at our house... The girls helping Mommy!  It was always the tradition for me with my Mom!  It was very much worth the "extra" mess in the kitchen today.  I can't wait until we actually get to bake the cookies, and then decorate!  Yay!  I have a feeling, the girls are going to love that part even more!! 

 

~Memories~

Defying Odds

"I believe Taleigha forgot to read the 
book on what Cri Du Chat was supposed to be like!!!"

Someone said that to me a while back, and I can't even begin to describe how much that that statement still means to me to this day.  It still holds true as Taleigha is defying all the odds that were stacked up against her.  I am so proud of her.

Taleigha has made phenomenal progress!  Thinking back to one year ago this month, she had JUST learned how to "crawl" (or her version of it at least).  She was barely mobile.  She still had a hard time controlling her body, and because of her incredibly low muscle tone, she would fall over frequently.  Seeing my daughter now, makes me stop and stare, leaving me breathless.  She is taking several independent steps now.  She is really learning to walk.  In just a few short months, she has gone from being unable to stand on her own, to cruising around the house.  

I have to give an extra special thank you, once again, to the wonderful people at Habitat for Humanity.  I truly believe that if it hadn't been for them, Taleigha would not have made such incredible progress over the past two and a half months or so.  What I mean by that is this... We were living in a two story townhouse that was not accommodating to Taleigha at all.  She wasn't able to maneuver her medical walker throughout the house, and was very restricted in what she could do.  They went out of their way to help us by "changing" our living situation and got us into something that is more accommodating for Taleigha and our family.  The home that we are currently renting is a ranch style, [more] open concept layout that has allowed Taleigha to use her walker on a regular basis.  By her learning to use that device, she has gained the strength and knowledge needed to start taking steps on her own.


When we received Taleigha's diagnosis, with the flood of emotions, there came fear.  A huge part of that was the fear that we would never see her walk.  There were so many negative "facts" surrounding the syndrome, and only outdated and scarce medical information, that it was hard to avoid the "what if" thoughts that seemed to constantly enter our minds.  With each passing day, however, Taleigha is proving that she has a determined spirit, and that nothing will stop her from reaching her highest potential.  She is our miracle, and I can't thank God enough, for letting me be her mother! 
There is true inspiration in that little girl.
I am so proud and happy to say that I have seen my daughter WALK!

I can't even begin to say enough about my second little miracle either.  Taelyn is such an incredible blessing in all of our lives.  She doesn't even know how much she has done for her Mommy and Daddy, and especially, for her big sister!  Taelyn has a way of lighting up an entire room with her smile.  She has a contagious giggle and a sweet personality.  Tae has grown up so fast.  She is walking all over the house now, and at times, she thinks she can take off in a run, which usually results in a tumble to the ground!  It won't be long and she will be running everywhere though.  I am so proud of her.  She is signing now, along with Taleigha.  The girls are already best friends.  Seeing them interact with each other is such a beautiful sight.  Tae has taught me so much about life.  She is my love bug, and I thank God for giving her to me.  
I honestly cannot even remember what my life was like without her. 

Having the girls so close in age, was a decision I would never take back.  Most people didn't know the reasons behind us having a second so close to the first and a lot of people really didn't understand it, (especially because Taleigha was special needs, and our life seemed a bit on the crazy side already), but there was a lot of thought behind it.  There was more than just one deciding factor in the decision, but one being that I knew, after having Taleigha, that I was facing a hysterectomy, and with that, I knew that we needed to try to have another child.  Things aren't always easy, but when I look at my beautiful daughters... and see what they have given, not only to each other, but to me as well, I can't help feel like the luckiest Mommy in the whole world.  
They are the two best decisions that I have ever made!

 hope . faith . inspiration



{At times} "I get caught up in where I think we need to go, how far away it seems, and how long it will take to get there. I need to just stop for a minute and take a good long look behind me to see how far we have come and appreciate the hard work it took to get here. If we made it this far, surely we can make it." ~HOPELights (on facebook).