Josh had his 6 month evaluation with his Physical Therapist. He is still lagging with gross and fine motor skills. She is putting him at 7-10 months. While I had hoped that he would be a little further ahead, I am happy with his progress. She did say that he is progressing at a normal pace which is a good thing! Last weigh in he was 19 lbs 9 oz. We are still having some issues with chunky foods. He won't eat any level 3 foods that have chunks of vegetables. His pulmonologist said that this could be because it's smooth and chunky which is an aquired texture. He will eat toddler foods like the spaghetti rings but has a hard time with the chicken and stars (the chicken isn't soft enough). He likes bread and pasta. So we are on our way, but it's slow going.
They say that between 2 and 5 the 4 month delay won't be such a big deal. I am thinking it will be more toward the 5. He is pulling to stand more often (like ALL the time!!) but not walking yet. We are in trouble once he does. He's already into everything in his walker! He really is an amazing baby and I realize that so much all the time. There are so many other babies who haven't fared as well as Josh has. Talking to other mom's has always put it in perspective for me. I have always considered him my miracle, however, I am seeing more and more just how fortunate we are that he is doing so well and that the only problems we are having now is some feeding issues (Which aren't major) and some developmental delays which we anticipated anyway.
Life as a preemie mom really is different than having a full-termer, don't let anyone tell you differently. I don't take any of his milestones for granted. Every thing he does is a major accomplishment as most other preemie mom's will agree. While we aim toward "normal", we know that life in many cases is never "normal". But what is normal anyway? It's all in your perspective of things and how you define what normal is.
Anyway, now that I have gone off on a preemie mom tangent, thanks for reading... what did you all think of the poem below?? I loved it, but no one commented!
Birthday Ticker
3 comments:
Without your preemie mom rants where would I be? Don't stress over the development delay his progress is steady and that in itself is fantastic!!!! Joshua is a MIRACLE. Everytime I come to your page and see the pics and think what our boys have gone through. *sigh* Until you live it it's very hard to understand. Is he wearing his b'day jacket yet? Hope it's fitting ok. Big hugs from Jay. We love you guys.
If you consider that even though he's 'technically' 18 months old.. but his adjusted age is 14 months.. but then subtract that since June when he came home to November of last year he struggled to breathe, gain weight and just survive..Thats 5 months of just trying to be healthy... you have to realize that although he's a few months 'behind' on some things.. he's really actually doing A-OK for where he is and what he's been through.
The poor guy missed out on his infancy with rolling around, sitting up, playing on the floor.. he was on oxygen and was weak for a while there.
I know its hard when you compare him to Cristien..but Josh never fails to hit a milestone.. he does get to it..but in his case..he finally didn't come into his own until November of last year and since then? Holy cow..its been leaps and bounds.
He's doing great, he'll continue to build strength in his legs and core to provide him the balance he needs for walking and crawling up on hands and knees and he'll be into all your cabinents or trying for the stairs in no time! hahah LOL (warn the Cat now to make himself scarce!)
Joshua has surpassed SO many odds that yes.. he is a miracle. 24 weekers don't usually accomplish all our little man has so far. He's really a healthy boy. Thank God.You go JOSH!!
Thanks Chele. You know I try not to compare the boys, but I do. I TOTALLY know that Josh is doing well and know that he is meeting his milestones in "normal time". Ashley is pleased and as his P/T she would know. Am I concerned? No, not really. Do I get jealous sometimes? Yes. It's only natural to compare him to other babies his age even though we need to adjust! We really put him about 6 months behind because of the growing issues he had when he came home and if that's the case, he is right on Cristiens heels!
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