I can't believe Maggie turned 5 today! My baby girl has grown to fast too quickly. I will never forget when I found out I was pregnant with her. Cory was off at basic training for the AF and I went in for an ultrasound to check my tubes and things otherwise girlie after I had an ectopic pregnancy 2 months prior. As they were examining things, they looked at my uterus and there was this little peanut with a heartbeat. That little peanut turned out to be Ms. Maggie.
The entire pregnancy was a whirlwind and she grew so fast. Before she was even born she took a trip cross country and just grew perfectly. We arrived in Washington in July and soon the day came for the ultrasound to check how she was doing. The wonderful ultrasound tech (please know, that was sarcastic in my head) said Maggie was a boy. My blood pressure started to get a little hinky around 6 months and so the normal precautions were taken. (partial bedrest, lots of fluids and lots of monitoring). They did several more ultrasounds and discovered in fact that Maggie was a girl, not a boy. (Thankfully we bought mainly gender neutral things for Riley and continued the tradition for Maggie.)
Her due date was November 28, 2004 and was growing just like clockwork. Her stubborn nature kept her in a breech position and she pretty much refused to turn headdown. As the weeks passed my blood pressure continued to rise and they decided that it was time for her to come on November 20, 2004. I was pretty ok with it as I did not want her to share her birthday with the anniversary of her grandfather's passing. At 6:55pm on November 20, 2004 a healthy Maggieann Parker Flynn Burton arrived via c-section weighing in at 7lbs, 1oz and 20inches long.
She was perfect with dark brown hair and green eyes. We came home before Thanksgiving and she breastfed like a champ. She pretty much pitched a tent at my boob for the first few weeks. Mama's girl from the start. As she grew and grew we started noticing she had some different behaviors. As she got older (around 8mths) she started having less and less eye contact. She didn't enjoy things the same way she used to. She didn't sit up till she was around 10months. She didn't crawl on all fours until 18mths. She didn't walk until she was 2. Of course we did all the normal early intervention services and things continued to slowly progress. Maggie was Maggie and she was content. She didn't cry and whine like some non-verbal kids. She pointed and used sign language. She was contently Maggie. By age 3 we had her evaluated for processing disorders and genetic testing done to make sure there wasn't a medical reason for her challenges.
Yes, Maggie has some joint issues and is exceptionally flexible. It effects her balance and her running. (She kinda looks like she just got off of a horse) She had early intervention services that came to the house and had several appointments every week to give her intensive speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. She did slowly make progress but she still lacked progress. She was seen again and evaluated for Autism. Maggie was diagnosed at just passed her 4th birthday. Thankfully that diagnosis opened up another HUGE door for more therapies and services. We're still working out the balance between therapies, sleep, vitamins, diets and school to find the perfect balance that brings out all of the beautiful things that Maggie is. She's a little girl that LOVES music and laughing. She loves movement and nature. She's stubborn and quirky and determined to please. She wants more than anything to make the people that love her happy. She is fascinated by water and bubbles. She loves to read stories and get hugs. She is love in human form. She is joyous and dedicated to her sisters.
When she was born and before she turned 6mths old we saw all of that beautiful potential in her eyes. We're not sure what triggered her autistic characteristics to become more obvious and I'm not going to spend hours, days, weeks or years of her life trying to find that reason. (We personally believe that Maggie was born with a weaker system and that a combination of environment and immunization overload brought out her autistic side.) What is most important to us now is figuring out how to put that autistic suppressor back into it's box and bring out the Maggie that I know is still in her somewhere.
Today, she turned 5 years old. She's accomplished things that took her sister more time to accomplish. She is potty training, feeding herself and writing her name. She is riding a bike and helping herself when she needs it. She can open her lunch box and set her food out at school. She is amazing with computers and loves arts and crafts. She can put a juicebox straw in without assistance, she can feed herself yogurt and her favorite foods are strawberries, corn flakes, tomato soup, and spaghetti o's. She devours carbs and fruits.
I look at my girl and I am truly amazed at how unconditionally she loves and devours attention. She's obsessed with monkeys. She loves furry and soft things. She is just an amazing individual that I am so blessed to be in her life. The powers that decided to bring her into the world must have been taking pieces of stars and clouds when they made her. She just sparkles and loves to be surrounded with beauty. And she is just that, surrounded with beauty. My baby is 5 years old today and it truly is just the beginning of watching this amazing young girl on her journey. Happy Birthday Maggieann!
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