Annabel Leigh Villadiego

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Happy 23 Months, Annabel!

Annabel is 23 months old today, yay! Just one more month until she is a whole TWO YEARS OLD! So we celebrated today by going to the doctors office to get her last and final RSV shot for the season, woohoo!

She has been all smiles today! Does she know that Mom and Dad are getting super excited about her special day coming up? In the last two photos, doesn't it look like she is dancing?

Monday, March 21, 2011

Stinky and Her AFO's!

AFO=Ankle-Foot Orthotic. Stinky's new leg braces! We just got them in today. These braces will help restrict ankle movement when Annabel is in her stander. They will also provide support during her physical therapy with general weight bearing and sitting up, etc. We will slowly begin wearing the braces for a little bit each day until Stinky gets used to them. Then we need to find some new shoes that will fit over the new braces..that makes Mom excited, because buying new shoes is always a good thing! Once we have the shoes, we are set for April 9th. That's the day we are meeting with our physical therapist and our rehabilitation specialist to begin working in the stander! We can't wait!

Below: Stinky is modeling the brace in the first photo, super cute! The second photo is just a close up so everyone can see the cute pattern that we chose for the braces. The last two photos show Mom's hands holding the braces: truly some of the smallest AFO's ever made!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Friday, March 4, 2011

March is Trisomy Awareness Month!

Spread the word!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Stinky's New Shades

Annabel is very sensitive to sunlight. We finally ordered some special sunglasses for her and they are just her size! Now we can't wait to go outside and play!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

More Teeth! More Smiles!

Poor Stinky...she has just cut tooth number eight! They have been coming in one right after the other and Stinky has told us all about it! We've had some sleepless nights and crazy days and on top of that...she caught a nasty stomach virus, too. But the pics below show Stinky having a good time despite it all...

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Little Girls-Big Chair

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

About Annabel

Our beautiful daughter Annabel was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) 4 days after her birth. By no means has this been easy. We've had to say "goodbye" to the life we imagined with our first child while accepting the reality that the time with our daughter will be far too short. Despite it all, we love our little angel more than words can describe and our goal is to provide her with comfort and love and appreciate every moment we can spend with her.

Thank you for visiting her site and please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Background on Trisomy 18

Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, is a condition which is caused by a chromosomal defect. It occurs in about 1 out of every 3000 live births. The numbers increase significantly when early pregnancy losses are factored in that occur in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy.

Unlike Down syndrome, which also is caused by a chromosomal defect, the developmental issues caused by Trisomy 18 are associated with medical complications that are more potentially life-threatening in the early months and years of life. 50% of babies who are carried to term will be stillborn, with baby boys having higher stillbirth rate than baby girls.

At birth, intensive care admissions in Neonatal units are most common for infants with Trisomy 18. Again, baby boys will experience higher mortality rates in this neonatal period than baby girls, although those with higher birth weights do better across all categories.

Some children will be able to be discharged from the hospital with home nursing support for their families. And although less than 10 percent survive to their first birthdays, some children with Trisomy 18 can enjoy many years of life with their families, reaching milestones and being involved with their community. A small number of adults (usually girls) with Trisomy 18 have and are living into their twenties and thirties, although with significant developmental delays that do not allow them to live independantly without assisted caregiving.

-www.trisomy18.org