Sai Kishore is 10 months old now ...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Sai Kishore's Pictures : 6 months to 9 months

eating beetroot puree - @ 6.5 months

In his K's kids car - @ 7.5 months

In his K's kids car - @ 7.5 months

Sai Kishore loves books ...

Excitement is what I see in his eyes every time I take out a book to read with him...
In the above video he smiles and squeals on seeing his favorite touch and feel book. This video was taken when he was 4 months old.

6 months - 9 months - a 3.5 min read

6 - 7 months :

• Said 'baa' for the first time
• Started playing with his pacifier
• Started sitting for 45-50 seconds when placed in the sitting position

The shivering that occurred when he was in his 5th month repeated itself. This time the episode lasted for 5 minutes. The moment the shivering ended he looked comfortable as if nothing had happened.

Those shivers resembled 'shudder attacks' which are neither common nor uncommon in infants below 1 year. 

A few times he twisted and turned himself as if he was cramping due to dehydration. This was different from those shivers and was same only in the fact that he was still fully conscious and responding.

During this period he had nearly 10 attacks of both types together. Those attacks were only a minute or so in length. It looked as if he had no control over his body when the attack occurred.

7 - 8 months :

The shudder attacks were continuing. When we asked his pediatrician about those attacks he said that they were not seizures and that we needed to consult a neurologist to know more.

Half way through this period the shudder attacks completely stopped and instead , all of a sudden, one day he started to bob his head. The head bobbing went on for a week and stopped abruptly.

It was this period that we started to question our beliefs. Was our baby boy really free of medical issues? He started to show delay in achieving his milestones. The boy who was achieving all the required milestones way ahead of his peers was starting to lag.

I had my own theories for what was wrong with him. I strongly felt that we could almost always tell what problem someone has with their brain by observing what he/she is not able to do and we can correct it to some extent by proper stimulation. Say for example, if someone has a problem with posture and balance and is unable to co ordinate his movements , it is highly likely that his cerebellum is damaged. So, if we try to stimulate his cerebellum, his posture and balance might improve.

I found that Glenn Doman , whose method of teaching I was following for Sai , had worked with a lot of brain-injured children and all his learning methods were a product of the research done with brain-injured children. I contacted the IAHP( http://www.iahp.org/ )and they were polite enough to answer my questions. Finally, they suggested that I read the " What to do about your brain-injured kid" book by Glenn Doman for a complete understanding.

The book was an eye-opener and it cleared most of my doubts. The main reason I liked the book and believed in it is that the theory I had and the idea of the book coincided. For more on my views regarding the book and therapy click here

We bought the ' Fit baby, smart baby, your baby' book, also by Glenn Doman and started giving him the exercises mentioned in the book.  Within 2 weeks of starting the program we were able to see so much changes in him both physically and skill wise. 

Seeing significant improvements after implementing the exercises, we bought the ' How smart is your baby book?' in order to evaluate him as per the developmental profile designed by Glenn Doman. We found that our baby was lacking skills in the motor and manual areas. In other areas he was perfectly on time with his peers. 

8 - 9 months :

All the shudder attacks & head bobbing were gone for good. 

By the end of 9 months,

1. He was still not able to sit without support
2. He was not able to crawl in cross pattern
3. His left hand was not good enough with grasping objects.
4. He was not able to point at objects nor was he able to look at an object that was being pointed at.
5. He didn't take mini push ups.

Even though he met a lot of little milestones , the list of milestones that he did not meet was becoming longer . He had developmental delay. We had to accept the fact that he needed special care and attention. 

3 months - 6 months - a 2 min read

3 - 4 months :

• Started the Glenn Doman reading & math program when he was 3 months old.
• He loved reading different kinds of books- touch and feel books , puppet books , picture books and even sound books.
• Started to understand emotions through tone of voice. 
• Started demanding that we rock him to sleep and he wouldn't sleep otherwise.
• Head control - was able to raise head to 45 degrees and hold it steady
• Slept overnight for the first time
• Started rolling with ease

4 - 5 months :

• Started semi - solids.
• Started thumb sucking.
• Started blowing bubbles
• Was able to hold objects for more than 20 seconds when placed in his hand.
• Was saying words like 'a-goo','mm-aah' etc.
• Started lifting his bottom to push himself forward
• Started using rake grasp

One day , he started to shiver violently as if he was feeling cold . I wrapped him up in a blanket and hugged him close to me.
Even though he was shivering, he was fully conscious and was still responding. The episode ended in 2-3 minutes.
We thought that it was a SEIZURE. It had happened only once so we couldn't conclude anything out of it. It did not occur again in the next few weeks.

5 - 6 months :

• Started grabbing his legs 
• Started to understand object permanence
• Started trying to imitate facial expressions
• Started grabbing and pulling objects towards himself

WHAT WAS HE NOT ABLE TO DO BY THE END OF 6 MONTHS :

1. Passing things from hand to hand
2. Sit without support
3. Crawling in cross pattern
4. Mini push up

Since it was only 4 milestones that he had not achieved by the end of 6  months we were not much worried. We still believed he was completely normal except for the fact that he had a small head. Even his pediatrician was amazed at his progress and he said that it was okay if the baby was not able to sit unsupported by 6 months and that there was still time . So, we continued providing him a stimulating environment and did not worry much about milestones.

For his pictures from 3 - 6 months click here

Sai Kishore's Pictures : 3 months to 6 months

@ 4 months 22 days

@ 4 Months 23 days

This is how he sleeps!! - @ 5 months 22 days

playing with blocks @ 6 months

'What to do about your brain injured child' - book review- a 2 min read

' What to do about your brain injured child' book written by Glenn Doman is one of its kind.

The term 'brain injured' is quite comforting to hear ( consider mentally retarded.. it is not nice to hear.. is it?). An injury has a chance to heal ; the term 'brain- injury' gives hope to parents (who have hurt kids ) that their kids might heal. 

According to Glenn Doman, everyone is brain-injured. Brain injury is like a spectrum.We all have it to one degree or another. 

Once we complete reading this book we will start to realize that brain-injured people are human beings just like us. They might have extra needs but their basic needs are the same as ours - they need love, care and affection. They are smart but they do not know how to express it or may be they are not able to express it. 

This book gives a new perspective in treating brain-injured kids and even adults. Though these methods are not yet popular in the medical community I hope one day they will find their way through.This is not a how-to book; it is just a book that details out the journey of how Glenn Doman and his associates discovered this kind of a treatment and why it works.

The treatments given for brain-injured children at IAHP include

1. Masking - to enhance breathing 

2. Patterning - to help a brain-injured kid with mobility

3. Stimulation of the 3 senses- visual, auditory and tactile

4. Hanging from a bar & brachiating

and much more...

Not many of the above mentioned treatment methods are approved by the AAP as scientifically valid. Still, we can find many parents who have achieved success with their kids by following this program religiously. 

I personally liked the book because I was able to relate the concept of brain-injury and healing with the theory that I already had in my mind. 

If you are a parent of a brain-injured kid then this is a must read. Even if you are not going to follow this method for treating your kid it might be of use to gain some knowledge about brain-injury.

Note: I am not affiliated to IAHP in any way.

From birth to 3 months - a 3 min read

Birth - 1 month :

Sai Kishore was diagnosed with microcephaly & micrognathia during the 20th week anomaly scan.

At birth, his HC ( Head circumference) was 27 cm . Doctors were concerned that he might not able to feed properly due to micrognathia(small jaw). To their surprise , he latched on beautifully and had no problems in feeding.

After he was vaccinated , he got jaundice and it did not settle down. He was given photo therapy.The bilirubin levels were increasing instead of decreasing. Finally, we decided that we were not giving him therapy anymore and that we were leaving the hospital that day. Against medical advice we took him home. His bilirubin levels returned to normal after a week.

Since he was taken away for therapy when we were in the hospital , I was not able to feed him properly. I had to undergo so much pain postpartum due to that fact. Since he was fed from bottle when in the therapy room , he started asking for bottle and refused to breastfeed.I tried breastfeeding him whenever he wasn't very fussy and the rest of the time he would feed from the bottle, the milk I had expressed. By 3 weeks, I was exclusively pumping because he strongly refused to breastfeed.

He was named Sai Kishore on Sep 02,2014.

Milestones achieved - Month 1  : Grasp reflex, Giggling & smiling, visually tracking a moving object, light reflex, startle reflex, movement of arms and legs without bodily movement, Babinksi reflex. *

1 - 2 months :

• He started saying vowel- like sounds. 
• When put on tummy , he tried to move forward.
• He had his growth spurt at 6 weeks.
• When he was 7 weeks old, he started to bat at toys and started moving forward when he was in prone position.
• By 8 weeks he was able to give different sounds and he expressed himself a lot through facial expressions and vocalizations.
• He rolled over for the first time from his back onto his chest.
• By 9 weeks he started drooling. He was able to balance his weight on his legs. Social smile.

Milestones achieved - Month 2  : Cooing, batting at toys, lifting his brows, social smile, responding to voice and face, sucking fist or a few fingers.*

2 - 3 months:

• He started to understand cause and effect. He started reading books with me and he enjoyed it so much. His first book was ' The very hungry caterpillar'. He also loved looking at contrasting patterns.
• There was a short period where he was crying inconsolably for 20- 30 mins a day. He crossed that phase quickly.
• He started laughing.
• My breastfeeding goal number 1:  ACHIEVED. I had exclusively breastfed him for 3 months.

Milestones achieved - Month 3  : Laughing, Recognition of face, Squealing, Lifting head and turning side to side, bringing hands together,Following people across the room. Enjoys playing with people , aware that his hands and feet are his, hands open and shut.*

*  I have only listed out some of the important milestones. He met all the milestones for birth - 3 months on time. He was even quite advanced in a few sectors for his age at that time.

For his pictures from birth to 3 months click here

Sai Kishore's Pictures : From birth to 3 months

New born

First time in his gym @ 3 weeks

 holding his feeding bottle @ 4 weeks

The little prince in his throne @7 weeks 

" Look at my biceps" @ 7 weeks

@ 2 months

@ 3 months

To check out the milestones that he met during this period click here

An attempt at making him sit with minimal support

June 6 , 2015

Age: 9.5 months

Sai Kishore is not yet able to sit up on his own. He can sit unsupported for approximately 45 seconds if placed in the sitting position.

Aim: To make him sit with minimal support

Technique: Using a foam roller.

1. Placed his left arm over the roller and made him sit with a little support from the roller

2. He looked comfortable...

3. Oops! The moment he took his hand off the roller he lost balance and fell on the bed.

My pregnancy story - part 4 - a 2.5 min read

(19/04/2014) We decided to continue with the pregnancy. We opened up about the scan results to our families. They were not supportive of our decision.
Against everyone's advice , we wanted to go ahead and have the baby.We burnt our bridges by taking such a decision. No turning back... We knew deep down that it was a life-changing decision; but a decision that we would never regret in life.

(20/04/2014) 'Easter Sunday'. My birthday. An expectant mother could not have asked for a better birthday gift - gloomy prognosis for her baby - Genetic counselor: "Microcephaly is a neuro-developmental disorder. It has no cure.The prognosis for your baby is poor. He might even be a vegetable... blah blah blah ... ".  Despite the pressure and stress that we had , some kind of a hope returned.We felt strong enough to move forward.

(21/04/2014) That day was 21st April -  I turned 21 years old and my baby was 21 weeks old.

From April 22nd 2014 ...
We had so much hope that a miracle would occur and our baby would be born with a normal sized head.

After a month: Finally our families got convinced and started supporting us. The doctors too stopped asking whether we wanted to abort the baby. Everyone around me thought that I was committing the greatest mistake of my life. Some people think that way even now.

At around 32 weeks of gestation I had terrible pain and I thought I was going to go into labour. I was afraid that the baby would be born prematurely. Luckily, the pain subsided after some hours.

From Aug 15th 2014 ...
I started getting impatient. I wanted to meet my baby soon. I was in complete hope that he would be born normal. I was constantly checking whether I had any symptoms or signs of going into labour.

(21/08/2014) A google search can be a disaster at times. I suddenly started to itch all over my body. When I started searching about it I found that it could be cholestasis of pregnancy. Most of the symptoms matched and I was scared to the core. Cholestasis can lead to still birth. I started getting tensed and I was praying God to keep my baby safe.

(22/08/2014) (in the 39th week of gestation) The itching started becoming worse as time passed by. I was so badly wanting labour to start right then so that I could have my baby safe in my arms. Late evening , that day, I got a strong feeling that my baby would be born by that time the next day.

(23/08/2014) Around 2 am I started to get contractions. It was irregular and very mild. As time progressed the baby's movements became stronger. By 6 am my waters broke and I went to the hospital. The labour was approximately 11 hours.

Sharp at 5.07 pm : Welcome to this world Sai Kishore!!!

For one second I hoped that he would have a normal sized head. No. It did not happen. He had microcephaly and it was evident; but it did not matter to me even a bit... He looked beautiful.

Doctors thought that he might not even survive natural birth, To their astonishment, he fought his way through and survived.

He proved the doctors wrong.He continues doing it every day...

We are proud to be Sai Kishore's parents. He is our hero. We will always love him no matter what.

My pregnancy story - part 3 - a 3.5 min read

We were discussing the possibilities of why we were asked to have a repeat scan.It was at that time that a woman passed by and dropped a diagnosis card by mistake. I saw the word 'MICROCEPHALY' on the card. I picked it up and gave it to her. She whizzed away without even thanking me.

I told my husband that maybe she was the parent of the baby whose diagnosis was Microcephaly and that I felt sorry for her. I was explaining him why microcephaly could be such a big problem for the baby and what would probably be the prognosis for the little one.

After a few minutes , another woman gave us a sheet to fill out - ' GENETIC COUNSELING'. Why the heck do we need a counseling when we didn't ask for it in the first place?  I skimmed through the form quickly and tears welled up in my eyes. There was one question that broke my heart. ' Was MTP* advised?'. So there was something wrong with my baby or why else would I be asked to fill out some stupid form.The woman who gave me the form collected it back and asked us to go to the counseling room. 

*MTP -Medical Termination Of Pregnancy

In the counseling session , we were asked for our family tree, relationships etc. Specifically if any one of us had a small head running in our family. Once we answered all the questions we were given a diagnosis card- the same one that the other woman had dropped. It turned out that I was the mother of the baby who had microcephaly and not her. 

By that time I was trying so hard not to cry. We put on a strong face , took the diagnosis card and entered the scan room. 

The apathetic behaviour of the sonographer and the hostile environment of the place were adding up to my anger and stress . It was easy to read the sonographer's thoughts. Clearly she felt that she was wasting her time in scanning a 'subject' that was not going to be born. I promised my baby that I would give birth to him no matter what.Once the scan was over she just left the place without saying anything. 

Then came the genetic counselor. He was no different from the rest of the people working there. He explained us what the problem was, what we could expect and what was the best thing to do. He was not adept enough to answer our questions. Rather he was just regurgitating whatever he had prepared for this session. 

Heart broken , we left the room. I excused myself to the restroom just to cry out as much as I can. My dreams were crushed; it was as if my wishes and expectations were shattered to pieces. I came out as if I had managed to process the information in a matured way. 

Half way through the stairs , my husband stopped and turned to look at me. I was acting strong . Suddenly he broke out into tears. It was a day that I would never forget in my life ; it was the first time that I saw my husband, the strongest man I have ever known in my life , shed tears. Seeing him cry , I couldn't act anymore. That was one of the darkest days of my life.

We were not feeling strong enough to break the news so we hid the truth from our families. We had to decide what to do next. Were we going to abort the baby for whom we had grown so much love? 

Click here for part 4

My pregnancy story - Part 2 - a 2 min read

(6/2/2014) I saw my baby in the ultrasound for the second time and it was really an exciting moment. He was so cute- jumping and moving all around. The whole week I was reminiscing about it.

I was given tablets for nausea (they didn't work for me anyway).Back to my symptoms- nausea & vomiting didn't settle down, headache & lower abdominal pain continued, constipation was a new comer. As if that wasn't enough I had dizzy spells, short breath and muscle ache. Yet , the thought of my baby &  the anticipation of seeing him in the next scan session made me strong enough to handle all those pregnancy aches.

As I'm writing this,  I feel that people will think that I am whining. Everyone talks about how good pregnancy feels, how special being pregnant is, how wonderful the experience is and so on; but the painful side of bearing a child- no one talks about.

Yes, not everyone has to go through so much discomfort during pregnancy; but that doesn't mean everyone has it the easy way. Some have to endure so much during this period that they definitely deserve a salute just for the sake of bearing a child and giving birth.

Coming back to my story,

(27/2/2014) Third ultrasound - The baby moved his hand like saying 'hi'. Wow! Such a special moment.

New set of tablets for nausea ( didn't work). I lost weight because I couldn't even eat a scant amount of food due to severe nausea . Even if I managed to eat a little , I vomited it within few minutes .

Without the support of my husband I couldn't have managed even the least bit of that period.I take this chance to thank him wholeheartedly for being such an awesome , understanding and supportive husband.

(12/3/2014) I think I felt my baby kick- for the first time. I wasn't sure though. After 2 weeks, I started getting regular kicks from the baby. I was eagerly waiting to see him do all those flips in the next ultrasound session.

(17/4/2014) My husband and I entered the ultrasound room with so much expectations.  The sonographer was not impressed with the measurements of the baby and we were asked to have a repeat scan. When we questioned her why another scan was necessary she had a grim expression. She finally opened up that the HC(Head circumference) and BPD ( Biparietal Diameter) were not meeting the requirements.

We were so confident that they would have not taken proper measurements since the baby was constantly moving.

THE BOLT FROM THE BLUE

(18/4/2014) It was 'Good Friday'... We were in the waiting room for the repeat scan.

Click here for part 3

My pregnancy story- a 2 min read

My pregnancy wasn't what one would call a wonderful experience. I was facing problems right from the start,even before the pregnancy test showed positive - Severe acne  (for the first time in my life) , terrible headaches , mood swings, lower back ache to name a few.

On observing a lot of symptoms pointing in the direction of  "Hey! You are pregnant", I took a home pregnancy test. Guess what? It showed negative. I had a strong feeling that it was a false-negative.
I decided to repeat the test a few days later.

( 25/12/2013) Pregnancy test - positive. I couldn't control my excitement. I was going to become a mom. I cannot put into words how lovely the moment was.

My first appointment was scheduled for 10th Jan 2014 and my doctor was not available before that.

I had so much trouble concentrating , even on trivial matters.I often had dizzy spells and awful pains in my lower abdomen. My family urged me to have a checkup as soon as possible in order to rule out ectopic pregnancy, and not wait until Jan 10th.

So there I was sitting in front of an obstetrician, who I would say was least interested in listening to me ( wrong choice of doc - my mistake ). Then happened the ultrasound in which she couldn't locate my baby's heartbeat. She blabbered about my baby and that if she didn't get to see my baby's heart beat 2 weeks later , at the next appointment, she would advise D&C for me. Wow, how considerate.I was deeply hurt and started crying the moment I left the hospital. The only gain from that visit was that I ruled out ectopic pregnancy. I vowed to never go back there.

(10/1/2014) Saw my baby's heartbeat in the ultrasound. The baby's age was corrected based on his CRL- from 8W 5D to 6W 4D. The doctors weren't concerned about the correction of age. They said that these kinds of things do happen and that it was nothing to worry about. Feeling reassured , I left the hospital with a good feeling that finally my sufferings were over.

My acne was gone, my headaches were not that terrible and most of the other symptoms were also subsiding.

A week later, I started experiencing nausea and cramping . I felt sick and wanted to lie on the bed all day. I wasn't able to distinguish between nausea and hunger. Acne was back, headaches started getting terrible and I couldn't sleep at night. I started vomiting many times a day and it was draining me out.

Click here for Part 2