It seems like yesterday, but a year has passed by.Happy birthday Sai Kishore !!!

Cure for microcephaly - Part 2

I was wondering whether a combination of stem cell therapy and 3D printing could cure microcephaly - Stem cells to grow the brain and 3D printing to re-adjust the shape and size of the skull once the brain has grown.

I thought of this after reading the following news  3D printing saves a child's life from hyrdocephalus and a few other research papers regarding microcephaly like this one - Gene mutation in microcephaly

I wrote this two-part post just for the sake of sharing my idea and getting some honest feedback about how viable this idea is. I am not a medical student so I do not know much about all this stuff. If there are any medical/ scientific errors in this post please let me know.

After so much reading and researching, I found a few links that actually support my idea.This might remain an idea forever or it might become a treatment option in a few years or maybe decades. There are a lot of different opinions among people regarding the use of stem cells for therapy and in many places it has not been approved of.

For example I found a German website that claims to treat microcephaly using stem cells - Stem cell therapy for microcephaly.

On the other hand , the following links caution us about the false claims regarding stem cell therapy-  link 1 , link 2.

I also found a link that states that microcephaly can be cured through 'in-utero gene therapy' - In-utero gene therapy rescues microcephaly

In the process of searching for information regarding stem cells, I also came across other therapies apart from the standard early intervention program that can benefit a person with microcephaly( and any other brain related injury or insult).

Alternative therapies : 

HBOT- Hyberbaric oxygen therapy - out of which some people have unbelievable improvement while some do not show any positive signs of changes- success story link 1

Aromatherapy - Frankincense oil has the power to heal even traumatic brain injuries.Essential oils and brain injuries , frankincense oil benefits

Music therapy - where the patients are made to play an instrument or to listen to music.

Massage & reflexology

I request anyone who intend to give therapy to their kid to analyse the pros and cons of the method, study the method in and out and then decide whether it will benefit their kid or not.

Thank you for reading through the post. Do you have any information that can be added to this post? If so, please leave a comment below.

Cure for microcephaly - Part 1

According to most of the medical sources I have read through, microcephaly is a permanent condition that is incurable. It is said that the size of the brain cannot be increased but the functionality of the patient can be improved via therapy.

'Impossible' does not exist, at least in medical science. What once was thought to be impossible is possible now, say , growing mini brains on a petri-dish! Who would have ever imagined such things 50 years back?

Link 1

Link 2

Some medical researches are held unethical and against nature , like cloning. Some people treat stem cells in the same way.Cloning and stem cells research are related but not the same.

Cloning is a process by which a genetically identical copy of a gene, or an entire cell or even an organism is produced. A stem cell is a cell in the body or in an embryo that has the capability of turning into many specialized cell types and it can be used to treat diseases and repair body parts.

There are different types of stem cells ranging from the embryonic stem cells found only in the earliest stages of development to adult stem cells that remain in our bodies through out life. Each type of stem cell has its own strengths and drawbacks.

There is a lot of debate going on regarding stem cell therapy. Considering from where an embryonic stem cell is taken, people have strong views about how against nature the process is. Not all stem cell research involves the creation,usage and destruction of embryos.

Click here for Part 2

Current goal: Teaching Sai Kishore to sit independently

I am an INTP. For those of you who do not know what it means you can refer to the picture below for an explanation.

16 personality types - MBTI

Being an INTP is tough. Only 3% of the whole world's population is INTP and female INTPs are even rarer. This makes it tough for me to relate with people around me. 

There are lots of advantages being an Introverted intuitive perceiving thinker. For example, INTPs are strong in logic, quick learners, idea generators etc. 

Coming to the drawbacks, INTPs are very curious- curious to the point that they keep on learning new things and forget to perfect what they have learnt. When in one angle it is good not to keep doing the same thing over and over, this constant jumping around results in less productivity.

I have been trying a lot not to do this jumping around when it comes to SK. Most of the times, I start with listing out what I have to do. Then I try to get as much information as possible regarding the to-do list. When scouring for information I find something new and start searching about that and completely forget what I had intended to do. 

In that process, I will have surely learnt something new; but what about my to-do list? I am in such a position where I do not have time to build my knowledge. I have to concentrate more on my to-do list and try to accomplish them step-by-step, one-by-one.

That's why I decided to make a step by step action plan for my to-do list.

So, here comes the first goal... Making SK sit independently.

Step 1: Making him push up on his arms. 

Step 2: Strengthening his core.

Step 3: Getting him to sit when propped 

Step 4: Muscle memory technique to get him to sit up on his own.

I have not set any deadline for this because I do not want to rush my baby to make milestones happen.I just want to help him in the process. 

I had enrolled in the WTD course provided by IAHP that was to happen on June 28th and unfortunately it got postponed to October. I am waiting to attend the course; meanwhile I just cannot keep my baby idle. He demands us to keep him entertained. So , I decided to take things into my hands. I will keep doing things in my way until I attend the course and get an action plan to work on. 

The above 4-step technique is my husband's idea and yes , he is an INTP too. 

Do you know what personality type you are?  If not you could find out yours here: http://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

There are many other websites out there that provide the same test. Feel free to cross check your results with a few more websites before coming to a conclusion about your MBTI personality.

How I started teaching my baby using flash cards...

How I found out about Glenn Doman and his method of teaching:

I stumbled upon brillkids.com when I was randomly surfing the internet about brain development in babies. After reading through all the information I felt a little overwhelmed. For some unknown reason I felt compelled to try it out with my baby. The methods listed in the website were Glenn Doman's method and Shichida's method.I went with the Doman method.

Why I chose Glenn Doman's method:

1. Flexibility - you do not need to start from the first if you have missed a few days of the program.

2. Fun - The method promised fun for both the parent and the child.

Flash card method: 

Before jumping into the teaching stuff , I wanted to check whether he liked to look at flash cards. So, I made a trial set of 3 cards ,in big red font on a white background and flashed it quickly in front of him. He looked at the cards intently and smiled. I thought to myself "Oh well! It works. Or may be it doesn't. I will need to make more cards in order to know whether this program works."

I have been using Glenn Doman's method for the past 6 months to teach my son words and numbers. 

Whenever I show him the cards he smiles broadly which encourages me to move forward with this method. The only drawback in this method is that the method is against testing babies since testing kills fun. Glenn Doman says "Never test your baby". We just have to assume that he would have learnt the words or numbers or whatever that is shown in the cards. 

So far, I've showed him a lot of English words, dot cards for numbers and pictures( encyclopedic knowledge program). Making the cards is time consuming and requires a lot of effort from the side of the parents. 

Flash card- sample 1

Dot cards- for math

Flash card- couplets- sample

Does it work? 

It is too early for me to comment about the results. I do not know whether the method works. Moreover, I do not care whether it works; as long as he smiles whenever I show him flash cards I will keep doing it. 

I hope that when he starts to speak I will come to know whether the program has worked or not.

Opinions:

'Teaching young babies'

Some people are totally for it and some are totally against it.

There are researches that support early learning and claim that they work; and of course there are researches which claim that these methods are a waste of time. You can see a lot of YouTube videos where kids less than 3 years old are reading books and identifying pictures. On the other hand there are a lot of newspaper articles which say these methods don't work. 

You need to decide for yourself whether this is the kind of method you want to use to teach your baby. Trust your parental instinct - because a parent never does the wrong thing for his/her child.

Do you want to follow this method of teaching with your kid?

The founders of this method claim that this works well if you start early.For more information you can visit the iahp.org or read the how to teach your baby to read book.

I have uploaded the flash cards that I had made for Sai in the free materials section. Instead of trying to make everything on your own, just download the ready made files with a single click and save your precious time.

You can also visit domanmom.com & classicalmommy.com for many more free materials. 

The only suggestion I can give is - Do not concentrate on the results. The moment you start concentrating on results , the fun part will vanish.

What do you think about using flash cards to teach babies?

*Update- 1/03/16* The flashcards do work. Though he is not verbal yet, he chooses the right word when offered options and he can even do math( dot cards). I would definitely recommend this method for teaching young kids.

The Developmental Profile

What is the developmental profile?

A developmental profile is a chart to measure the development of a child. It is broadly classified into 2 categories - Sensory & Motor - which is further classified into 6 categories - 3 under sensory & 3 under motor.

• SENSORY: Visual, Auditory & Tactile
• MOTOR: Mobility, Language & Manual.

These 6 categories are divided into 7 stages as per age (from birth to 6 years). So we have a total of 42 boxes in the developmental profile.

click here to view the developmental profile.

In simple words , sensory skills are receptor skills and motor skills are expression skills.

Sensory:

Visual : eye sight and its efficiency

Auditory: hearing and its efficiency

Tactile: Feeling (through skin) and its efficiency.

Note: Skills of Smell and taste are not taken into account.

Motor:

Mobility: Movement and its efficiency

Language: Speech and its efficiency

Manual: Use of arms and hands and its efficiency.

The 7 stages( divided by age ) are assigned the VIBGYOR pattern for colors. The 1st stage is colored red. The 2nd is Orange, the 3rd is yellow and so on till the 7th stage . 

The developmental profile is easy to use and it helps us compare a child's neurological age with his chronological age, determine the rate of growth of a kid and so on. 

For more information: 

Read the 'How smart is your baby ?' book by Glenn Doman

Visit http://www.iahp.org

Thank you for reading this post. Do you have any information to add to this post? If so, please leave a comment below. 

Microcephaly

What is Microcephaly:

Microcephaly is a clinical finding which is characterized by the measurement of head circumference (HC) less than 3 Standard deviations below the mean for age and gender.

The above statement is the generally accepted definition of microcephaly.

There does not exist a uniform definition for microcephaly. Some medical reference books refer to this condition as less than 2 S.D below the mean and some times even less than 4 S.D is considered.  

Microcephaly is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Unlike other defects , this condition is most often not a primary malformation. Instead , the underlying cause can vary widely, ranging from chromosmal or genetic abnormalites to environmental factors.

MRI of an individual with Normal brain( left)  Vs  a patient with Microcephaly ( right)
source: wikimedia commons

Classification:

Microcephaly has many different types of classification. The most common methods followed are- 

1. Based on the time of onset

2. Based on associated malformations

No particular classification is complete and most of the times many other factors are also considered in determining the reason for microcephaly. I have not gone in-depth with the classification (in this post) because it becomes too complicated to chart it out.

Click on the image to see a bigger picture

Click on the image to see a bigger picture

Do you have any other information to add to this post? If so, please comment below.

Sai Kishore is 10 months old now ...

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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