Hey Grandma Titi! I'm 3 weeks old!!!!

We have finally made it to THREE WEEKS! There is a lot that has gone on in this household. 'Somebody' has decided to start sleeping all day and is awake for most of the night. That does go with our 'former' sleep schedule. It was just my daughter and me when we would sleep til noon on weekends and at least nine during the weekdays. Ahhh what a change. And I am positive there will be more changes to come. The constipation she was experiencing has 'hopefully' come to an end. See, I was told that she has acid reflux. The pediatrician gave us the medicine she needed and because of the reflux that cleared up, her constipation went away. Thank goodness she can now lay comfortably in her swing and has stopped making those painful-looking facial expressions. Shaddow finally met her first hand. We have been leaving her blankets and spit-up rags out in the open for weeks so that he can smell her scent. Shaddow is a very, very good cat with an awesome disposition. We are very lucky to have

him. He did, however walked up to her swing (while she was in it) and smelled her hand. We watched him closely to see what he will do. What he did next surprised me. He started smelling her hand then rubbed his face on her hand. That means that he accepts her into his 'group' of 'fellow felines'. lol We took a picture of him during his meeting with her...then casually walked away. I believe we are still in the 'danger zone' for an infant. Every little fever or jolt that she has makes me jump. She is also trying to focus with her eyes. She seems to know both her parents. And the other day my daughter was holding her, I called to Victoria and she turned her head in my direction. I hope that means something.

Autism Spectrum Disorder: A success story

It has been identified that about one in 88 children have been born with autism spectrum disorder according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Statistics show that over 2 million people in the United States alone are affected by this. This proportion of people with autism spectrum disorder in expected to increase from 10 to 17 percent annually due to the fact of wider awareness and proper screening although there is still a mystery why the continued increase still haunts us. It is not fully known how this horrible disorder manifests but with current research showing that it is likely due to a complex combination of genetic predispositions and environmental factors that have influenced early brain development. Either advanced ages of either parents at the moment of conception, maternal illness during the pregnancy, extreme prematurity or very low birth weight. Fortunately not every child develops these types of neuro-developmental disorders. The effects of maternal immune activation involves the strength of fighting infection and genetic predisposition. 

My sister had given birth to a child with autism spectrum disorder in 2000. We were so happy to welcome a beautiful little boy in our family. All ten fingers and ten toes were all we needed. As he grew, things were different...like that angel was battling something inside of him that we could not figure out. My sister went to doctor after doctor, administering him medicine that I couldn't even pronounce. It seemed that my sister was going stir-crazy trying to find what was the matter with her son. But my sister *did* find out what was wrong with her son. Like so many other loving parents, my sister did not give up on finding out what was affecting her son. I am so proud of her for that. After so many trials that family has been through, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the both of them.

Today he is a marvelous student, awesome musician (he plays the clarinet in his school marching band) and is a wonderful individual that will prosper as he goes into his teenaged years. This is a success story.

http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2013/10/14/infections-during-pregnancy-may-increase-autism-risk/