Here is a message from Erik and Dawn:
"Today, Dawn's 81 year old grandpa, Jim Morlock (Analise's great grandpa) and Dawn's dad Bill and Dawn's stepmom Bonny came to visit Analise and us as well. They brought a great chile rojo and other goodies for lunch. Grandpa Morlock said he was coming to see Analise even if it was only to see her through a window. He is an incredible person to the Morlock family. I can sit with Jim for hours and listen to all of his incredibly detailed stories about his life in the Navy on the USS Buck DD761 or his love for his family and horses. His wife of over 60 years, Margrette Rose, whom he married on October 14, 1950, passed away two days before Analise was born due to complications from Alzheimer's. We were unable to attend the funeral services 2 weeks ago due to Analise's surgery. She, as well, was and is a remarkable, caring person that will be deeply missed. Analise's middle name, Rose, comes from her Great Grandma. While Grandpa Jim held Analise, he never took his eyes off of her. He kept reminding us that "everything will be alright!!"
Analise is still doing well. She likes to practice her singing by screaming and crying when she has to stop eating and during different parts of the evening. She actually sleeps pretty well during the night. Dawn and I are getting a little more sleep each night, with one eye open. And for all of those people that said we wouldn't be getting any sleep once the baby was born, you were right, I was wrong (that's hard for me to admit)!! Analise is a typical newborn in most ways.
The following describes what we have noticed while doing our exercises with Analise:
- Analise’s arms, from the shoulders down, still do not move, but her range of motion is getting better each day with her exercises. Her fingers can almost go to full flexion. Her wrists only come up to neutral (they don't move up past the straight position). Her hands can almost get to full supination (turn over at the wrists to show the palm). Her elbows can bend around 110º (which is excellent for a newborn with arthrogryposis) and we can bring her hands to her mouth to mimic the actual things she should be able to do. We can get her arms to reach above her head, very slowly, and massage the top of her head with her hands. We also can spread her arms then make her hug herself.
- Analise's legs can move freely on her own. Her feet are still turned in. From all of the research we have read, she should have a good outcome with her feet. There is a special casting procedure called the Ponsetti method that has great results. We noticed her knees bend to about the 100º mark on her right knee and 90º on her left. She loves to keep her legs straight, as she did in her first sonogram pictures. Her hips appear to be in good condition and can also move freely, maybe she'll be a great salsa dancer.
Luckily, arthrogryposis is not a progressive condition, meaning her movements will only get better with time, not worse. And the way she looks right now will be the worst, although we think she is incredibly beautiful. Hopefully she will not have to have any corrective surgeries on her limbs, but that's where the orthopedic evaluation on Tuesday with Dr. Hurley comes in.
Dressing Analise is sometimes a challenge. But we found that the best way to dress her is with the clothes we have that have a large neck. We pull the large neck over her legs and up her torso. We then feed the arms in through the openings and BAM!, she's dressed. She better not get the Cuban butt or we are in trouble. ;-)
Analise will always have the scar on her stomach from her 2 major surgeries that she had in the first 11 days of her life. The scar should get lighter with time. She pees and poops regularly which is good!!!........and bad (so often?? and do all newborns hate being changed like Analise???) Also, does anyone know of a good dermatologist? Analise has terrible acne already ;-).
Analise’s breastfeeding has improved greatly and she is eating more often (every 2-3 hours during the day and 3-4 hours at night). She sometimes drinks so fast that she gurgles or spits up and sometimes sounds likes she's congested. We will continue to monitor that.
Analise loves the mornings and usually wakes up well rested and happy. It's hard to put her down during those times.
Thank you for all of the phone calls, donations, gifts, thoughts, prayers, well wishes, and anything else you are throwing our way. We hope to see everyone soon and/or more often. Analise is SO loved and we appreciate it so much.
We Love You,
Erik, Dawn, Kaley, Kyle, Kassandra, and Analise
P.S. Kick some butt at the soccer tournament this weekend Kassandra. We don't miss any games, and it's killing us to miss this tournament but play hard and score lots of goals so we can tell Analise. Have fun!! Kaley and Kyle, maybe you guys can yell and scream like I do (in a positive, loving manner) to get her going. We love you!! XOXO"
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| Great Grandpa Jim finally gets to see and hold our Sweet Analise Rose!! |
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| Grandma Bonny and Grandpa Bill |
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| Day 28: Analise Where did that BLUE pacifier come from?!?! |
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