Maia loves our dogs. She REALLY loves them!!
Thank goodness she does...because they're always bothering her!
One of their favorite games is a chase game. Romas or I have to carry Maia around and chase a dog - generally we chase Budva. If you know our dogs, you know why Budva is the better choice!
So we run around the room chasing Budva. And Maia laughs.
And laughs.
And laughs!
Have a look:
Adorable, isn't she?!?! Yeah, we think so too! Did you find yourself laughing along with her? Each time I play this clip I find myself laughing too.
Did you see how the video ends abruptly? Did you hear her choke? She's been having problems choking since she was born. We think it's because of the acid reflux (something comes up from her stomach) but it happens 2-3 hours after she's eaten as well.
We talked to her pediatrician (who is absolutely AMAZING!) and she recommended an at-home evaluation (one of the perks of Army life). A Speech and Language Pathologist comes to your home to do a developmental evaluation and discuss any concerns you may have about your child.
Amanda came to the house and assessed Maia developmentally. Maia scored near-perfect scores in every category!! (But we already knew she was a smart little girl!!)
We wanted Amanda to watch her eat. She almost always eats ravenously - it doesn't matter if she ate only 2 hours ago - and she is almost 100% guaranteed to freak out when there's nothing left for her to eat. We hoped Amanda would get to see one of those freak-outs and prayed that Maia would not disappoint! Mostly though, we wanted Amanda to see her choke. We wanted her insight and suggestions.
Maia choked BEFORE she even ate. We were getting her bottle ready and she choked. Amanda had a few suggestions for us and said she would also consult with the doctor about what she saw.
The next day she emailed saying she had spoken with the doctor and they both thought it would be best if we brought Maia for a barium swallow study. They want to see if the choking is actually caused by her reflux or if she is possibly having trouble swallowing because of a physical problem in her throat.
German hospitals apparently do not conduct these tests, so we will be referred to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center here in Germany for the procedure. Neither Romas nor I want to put poor Maia through any testing, but watching her choke multiple times a day isn't great either.
We are still in the referral process so we do not have any more information yet. Hopefully we'll learn more soon.
...
Just to reiterate...is she not the cutest?!?
I know we're a little biased, but she's just so darn adorable!!!!
I loved the video she is so cute and I love this website it makes me feel a connection to my family so far away , your family is beautiful , enjoy these years , she will be fine and you will start to get grey hairs lol. Love from long island , cousin maryann
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