Baby Torchia's News

Hi everyone,

I cannot believe I am writing this, but Lila is going to be 1 year old in about a week! Our "miracle baby" continues to amaze and amuse us everyday. She has definitely developed a personality and compensates for her tiny size with her very BIG voice! She loves to scream at Brody every time he takes something from her or does something to her when we are not watching. Lila is on the move all the time - a very squirmy baby who does not like to be held still unless you are brushing her hair. She is crawling all over the place and is cruising along furniture. Lila is a very nebby little girl and is into everything, and everything she is into goes into her mouth! She is not walking yet and we are getting physical therapy every other week to work on some toe-curling she has been doing while standing. The physical therapist was just here and we are going to start taping her feet to prevent her from curling her toes and rolling her feet outward which affects the quality of her balance and stance while she is upright.

Lila and Brody both had ear tubes placed in early April, Lila because of her chronic congestion and fluid in her ears, and Brody because of recurrent ear infections. Lila continues to be a congested mess and the ENT agrees that she is probably going to need her adenoids taken out in the near future. He would like to wait until about 18 months at least, so we will see.

Other than the constant cold and runny nose, Lila is doing amazingly well. She has shown us no issues with her gut, transitioned easily to table foods and whole milk, and is tolerating everything very well. She is a very independent little girl and only wants to feed herself, which is fine by me because she feeds herself a lot! We can't wait to watch her dig into her smash cake next week!

The blog posts have become farther and fewer between each post and I think this will be my last one. I am going to have the blog printed in a book and give it to Lila for her birthday. Obviously, it will mean nothing to her right now, but I want her to know what an eventful journey she had into this world and how many people loved and cared for her before she even knew them. Thank you again to everyone for all your love and support over the past year and a half. We love you all!

And no post would be complete without some pictures of Brody and Lila, so here are a bunch from the past few months.

We took the kids on the incline during Tom's lunch break. Brody was "not a little bit nervous" according to him!

Brody at the Children's International festival with Steely McBeam right before Steely stole his hat!

Brody being Brody - he was very concerned about the rocket balloons we were shooting off

With Grandfather - thinking he is hysterical because he was copying him

The obsession with the helmet continues - this is how I found him during a nap one afternoon...

Wearing one of his many pairs of "cool dudes"

His "scary face" (I actually think he looks pretty scary in this picture between the gash in his forehead and the face!)

Again, thinking he is hysterical - Brody is the funniest person he knows...

Loving on Lila

Now for some Lila pictures:
The "9 month chair picture" (I take a picture of the kids each month in a chair we have in our living room)

"10 month chair picture" that Brody had to join

"11 month chair picture"

I think she has the "car gene"

We're teaching her young - already driving a Porsche!

At the "beach" - a.k.a. "sand volleyball pit"

Easter morning with her basket

Thank you again from all of us, especially our beautiful baby girl...

Hi everyone,

It has been a VERY long time since I last updated, but we have been busy as usual! I cannot believe it has been over a year since we found out we were having a girl and I really cannot believe how far our little girl has come in that time. To really emphasize Lila's year, here are some photos to illustrate her journey:

Immediately after birth with her intestines packed and wrapped:

Morning after surgery (2nd day of life):

Right after coming home (28 days old):

Day before her umbilical hernia repair (almost 6 months old):

Our happy little girl today (almost 9 months old):

"Bikini-ready!"

Lila continues to amaze us everyday and we are so lucky to have her here and healthy. She had her umbilical hernia repair back in December and recovered really well, very quickly. We were home from the hospital 7 hours after arriving and she even tolerated tummy-time that same night (I didn't put her on her belly - she rolled onto it and did not seem to mind). She continues to do well with feeding, although volume is still a bit of an issue. She very quickly decided that she had had enough of the tasteless babyfood we were offering her and wants what is on our plates instead (I don't blame her!). I have been pretty liberal in offering her food, but she seems to tolerate it well with no reactions or increase in reflux. She seems to be a high-flavor kind of kid, but I'm okay with that and will offer her all the spicy, salty, sweet food she wants! Lila is holding steady between the 7th and 10th percentile on the growth charts, but, again, she is on a curve (an upward one) and that's all we care about.

We do have an early intervention physical therapist coming out in 2 weeks to evaluate her. I'm a little concerned about her lower body development - she's not weight-bearing on her legs as much as I think she should be and her toes are very often curled inward. Lila qualifies for services based on her gastroschisis diagnosis alone, and I figured it can't hurt to get some extra help if she needs it. We'll see what the PT thinks after her evaluation if we will continue with therapy services.

This winter has been pretty rough on both Brody and Lila with chronic congestion and multiple ear infections that we can't seem to kick, despite 4 different rounds of antibiotics. We had a visit with an ENT who wants to hold off on tubes for a little longer to see if the fluid that is in both of their ears clears up on its own. Our kitchen was damaged with the big snow storm from a leaking roof so we will be replacing a damaged wall, cabinets, countertops, door, and maybe a floor in the next few weeks. Brody is still mad that the walls aren't "bleeding" anymore, but I'm sure he will enjoy watching all the construction (and I'm sure he thinks "helping") when it starts.

Other than that, we are all doing well and anxiously waiting for spring to arrive. Brody says he has, "had enough of the snow," and I agree! He was out riding his quad today and can't wait for the snow to melt so he can go, "to the pool and the beach." I hate to break it to him, but I think he might have to wait a little longer. Brody continues to amuse us daily and we are always amazed at what comes out of his mouth. Yesterday as we were walking down the stairs he told me, "Oh, mummy, I'm so proud of you - you didn't step on my hands!" Oops! He is just such a literal little boy (a lot like his dad). He wanted us to play ring-around-the-rosie the other day and Tom and I were feeling a little lazy and told him to play with Pudgie (the dog) instead. Brody proceeded to inform us that, "I can't." ("Why not, Brody?") "He don't has no hands!" Thanks for setting us straight Brody...

Thank you again for all of your support over this past year. Lila has come so far this year and we are so proud of her. We're looking forward to seeing what the next year brings!

And now some more pictures of what we've been up to the past few months...

"Rastafarian Brody" teaching Lila the correct way to bang the drums:

A small sampling of the ridiculousness of our attempts at a Christmas card picture (I took over 300 pictures):

Lila looks like she sees a bear...

Brody looks like I have threatened to beat him...

Yes, that is Brody's toe...

Lollipop stuck to the face...

The only picture of 300+ where they were both looking at the camera:

And here I just thought Lila looked so cute!

Brody being Brody:

This is how I found him one day - he turned his car over by himself and that is a screwdriver he is using to "fix" the wheel

"Helping" daddy shovel...

Talking baseball strategy with his Uncle Craig

Brody got so mad when anyone tried to help him hit the ball - I think it was killing Craig not to fix his batting stance. Brody wants to be big so badly...