Picture

Josh is now standing. This is Josh and Cristien... Cristien is locked in the "baby cage" and Josh is outside!

Life in Holland

I got this from a preemie mom's blog and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. What a beautiful analogy. Her Blog is titled "Life in Holland" and documents the trials of her preemie son Dane. Take a look!

Here is the explanation of her blog. She read this and thought (like I did) This is my life in Holland! (although luckily Josh doesn't have any disabilities).

Welcome to Holland By Emily Peri Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability-to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip--to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The flight attendant comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed us in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would have never met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around...And you begin to notice that Holland has windmills...and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, "yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things...in Holland.

yesterday

As of yesterday, Josh can now pull himself up in the play yard. From laying down to standing up. Whoo hoo! Before this, he was just climbing up Dave and I. Now he is really on his way. As I was checking my mail this morning he did it again and is now watching me and the TV from a stand. Too funny!

Ped Update

Well the pediatrician thinks he is doing well. He is 19 lbs (gained 1/2 lb in 2 weeks) and 29 inches? He is one pound away from being on the charts for his actual age, and in the 5th percentile for his height (yay on the charts!!). He is also on the charts for his head circumference (I think she said 10th percentile). He is delayed for development, but we know that and is the reason why we are working with PT/OT. Ashley (PT) is happy with his progress. He is making his goals all the time. He is almost pulling himself to stand, and we have to work on his "dismount" lol... basically teach him to sit on his butt when he is falling back from standing. He is a crazy, busy baby and so stinking cute if we do say so ourselves! I will try and get some video so that you can see. If you want to come and visit, just call us. Now is the time since RSV and Flu season is over!

Mesage from Josh

m, . ,mm ,jm l +699/...........ml ,m....8'..+s00............. 56/-0..mm9 m,99 ooimmmmmmmmm51 22o*********"= i0p/" nh67m uygfngfgfgfgghghgg bv*&{L

I don't know what it means, but he typed it!