Problem spelled different

Cora has been referred to the Devoss children's hospital for a neurological developmental evaluation.  This might help us understand why Cora is not gaining weight at the rate she should be and maybe even answer questions about the struggle it is has been.  I am on the fence still about this one.

I know that it will be helpful, but is it really necessary at this point?  Cora has gained in the last four weeks, not a great deal of pudgey rolling baby curves yet it is a gain of 13 ounces.  In the hisotry of the past months this is a definate improvement for Cora and is a sign that everything is finally coming together for this baby girl. 

She signs, laughs, babbles, plays, rolls, etc.  All the things that babies do.  A little behind physically? Yes.  A little behind developmentally? Yes.  And yet there are other areas that she is exhibiting a higher than expected ability.  Like the fact that she says "mama", can shake her head "yes" and "no" and has no problem signing "all done" when she is exhausted from the physical therapy and cannot do anymore in that session.

Do I, at this point, warrant a trip to Grand Rapids to the Devoss children's hospital and put her through more testing?  Or do I choose to just wait a little longer and see how things go?  I am not looking through rose colored glasses at this point with Cora, merely trying to decide if it is really truly needed or can it wait a few more months to see how Cora does with the weight gain.  I know, without a doubt, that in the future there will be more testing for Cora and there still looms that chance of another heart surgery.  (That mechanical valve threat still looms in my subconscious thoughts quite often.) 

For today I am on the fence and kind of steering toward a wait and see philosophy.  I have learned in my recent training that  one should see a problem as it really is and not make it worse than what it is.

Seeing the problem and expanding it means - Fear would have me running down there and have all the testing done possible to find out if there is a problem with Cora.

Seeing the problem as it is - She struggles to gain weight but she is gaining at a steady slow rate.  The mom in me wants this beautiful baby to continue to play, rest and eat as much as she can with limited poking and prodding.  After all, poking and prodding is all she's known for the first part of her short life.  This past 2 months has given her an idea of what a babies life is usually like. 

If Cora deserves anything, its knowing that a babies life is filled with love and fun.  Not poking and testing. I truly want to bless Cora with an  inspired life and sometimes that means making a hard choice (that might go against professional advice) and seeing a problem as it is....and not worse than it is.