Health Update

This past Monday Sophie was 6 months old! We can't believe how much she's already grown - time really does fly. On Tuesday she had her checkup with the doctor and he said she's doing great. She weighs just over 16 pounds and is 26 inches long. She also had to get another round of shots :( Next time Loren is definitely coming so I'm not the only one who has to watch.

Sophie also had to go to the hospital on Thursday for some tests. When we got back from Hawaii last month she had a really high fever for a few days. We took her to the doctor and after some tests he told us that she had a kidney infection. We were able to give her medicine to combat the infection, but were told there was a chance that something was wrong internally that would make Sophie prone to bladder and kidney infections. So, we went to Primary Children's on Thursday where she had an ultrasound and a VCVG test. Everything looked fine in the ultrasound, but the VCVG showed that she was having some problems. She has problems with reflexing, i.e. some of her urine flows back up to her kidneys, instead of all going down into her bladder. We will probably have to give her low-dose antibiotics for a year and then she will likely grow out of it, so to speak. We were hoping that nothing would be wrong, but this isn't extremely serious so we are grateful for that.

In other news, Loren and I are doing well. We are enjoying the more relaxed pace of summer and love watching Sophie grow. She is such a happy baby and has just learned how to sit up and is starting to try and crawl. We are looking forward to the Fourth of July and would also like to wish a very happy birthday to our nephew Gavin. Happy 4th bud!

Wellesley Woes

Ever since we got married, Loren and I have been planning on moving back to Boston to finish college. The time is finally drawing near and we anticipate moving in late August. Loren will be returning to Harvard as a sophomore studying computer science and I am set to be a junior at Wellesley, majoring in history. Our well-laid plans have, unfortunately, hit a major snag - Wellesley's financial aid policy. They only recognize students over the age of 24 as being independent from their parent's household. This means that even though I am married and Loren and I filed our own taxes this year, Wellesley still views me as dependent on my parents and so when assessing my financial aid application, they will also take into account my parent's financial situation. In all likelihood, this will result in little or no aid being offered to me to help pay for my education and may bar me from returning to Wellesley.

I find this extremely frustrating and saddening. I realize that my situation is unusual when compared to my classmates, but I thought an institution such as Wellesley would be be able to take that in stride and make accommodations for me. Loren and I want to be considered as an independent household and we have worked hard this past year to save our money and prepare to return to school. It seems to me that Wellesley should make a change in their policy and recognize married students, no matter their age, as independent and treat them as such. By not doing so they are not truly recognizing my marriage and not granting me the same status as the federal government does. Wellesley claims to want a diverse student body, but they only want certain kinds of diversity, not the type that I would bring as a wife and mother. The purpose of financial aid is to allow all students to attend, regardless of their financial situation. The hard truth is that $38,000 (and that's not including room and board) is too much for my parents to pay by themselves anyway, even if I weren't married. They want to help, but it shouldn't be their responsibility to pay for my education anymore. Unless we can work something out, Wellesley will lose a student and demonstrate that they are unwilling to help those in need who want to attend Wellesley, but just can't make it on their own.