Genius Ideas

There are times in my life where I feel woefully out of it. You know the feeling when your friends all know about some cool new product, and have for a while and you are just finding out about it. This week I have found out about a few new products in the kid/baby/toddler department. Fairly new (I think) products that are pretty cool.

This is really smart - for toddlers learning how to feed themselves. Bowl with a suction cup on the bottom so it doesn't move when feeding. Thanks Sarah for that tip!

Anyway, I know there are LOTS of other products out there, that are brilliant in their conception. Tell me about them!

Also, I am in the market for a front-facing car seat. Nick will be 20lbs (fingers crossed) soon, and we get to FINALLY move out of the rear-facing car seat. Ideas, thoughts, things to stay away from?

More...

It seems like time keeps going faster and faster. The older Nick gets, the faster time seems to go. Which is difficult, because that is when I want it to slow down the most. He is growing and changing so much lately. I feel like he is a moment away from walking, and knowing him as I do, I know that he will go from walking to running in an INSTANT. That being said, let me fill you in on a few changes in the last few days.

Today, we started back on our ECI (physical, occupational, speech therapy). We took a little break during the holidays, but are now back in our bi-weekly schedule. Since he has been in it for 6 months, we did an evaluation, re-assessed our goals for him, and determined where we would like him to be in 6 months.

The best part about the evaluation is that he has caught up a lot, and in some areas even surpassing his age. There are a few areas of evaluation they look at. First, ECI doesn't adjust for prematurity after the child turns 1, so in their eyes, he should be testing at the 14 month level. That being said, Mandy, our wonderful ECI therapist, says that she still feels that they will have a little developmental delay, but as long as he doesn't test below his adjusted age (11 months), she isn't worried.

On to the results, in cognition he rated at 14 months, communication was 12 months; motor: 11 months (because he isn't walking); adaptive/self-help: 14 months, and social behavior: 15 months.

So, we are working on the communication and motor. Neither are testing below his adjusted age, so she wasn't too worried. The walking will come in time, and for the speech she gave me some things to try.

He has been trying to imitate me more and more, which is good. I have been really trying to work on sign language. We are starting with two signs, "more" and "all done". Tonight at dinner, he made the sign for "more". It was very exciting. Signing usually helps kids learning to speak.

All in all, I am happy with the results. The social behavior score is pretty funny. I don't think I needed a test to tell me that my child has above normal social scores. He doesn't consider it a successful grocery shopping trip unless he has waved at 10 people, smiled and a few more and made at least 3 people come up and talk to him. There is no such thing as "in and out" anywhere with him. He makes friends everywhere he goes.

What Nick Has Been Up To:

Thought I should let Nick show and tell you a little of what he has been up to:

"I learned to say 'buh-buh' and wave. I don't really do it when someone leaves, more just when the mood strikes me. And no matter how many times my mom tries to get me to say it when she goes to work, I am just not going to do it"

"I love to help my mom with the baby gates. Hey, I am helping right?"

"I love my puppies! Sometimes they try to get away, but with the baby gates up, they can't quite get away fast enough. I crawl as fast as my little legs will carry me to them. Then I use them as my own personal mountain to climb over. I love my puppies!"

"Still loving my puppies, even when they go play in the backyard. I watch for them and talk to them through the door."

"And of course I am just up to my own general cute smiles to always keep me out of trouble"

Breakfast of Champions

We went out to breakfast. I thought Nick would eat a few bites of eggs, maybe a little biscuit. Instead, he proved that he prefers my food WAY more than his own. He ate a pancake (the whole thing), half a piece of french toast, some bacon, some sausage, a little scrambled eggs, a little biscuit and some hash browns. Needless to say, after we got home, he took a 2 hour nap!

He didn't eat the pancake like this, but I wanted a photos with the pancake that he loved so much. I cut it up in little bite for eating.

A Little Sick

Nick took it upon himself to make sure I didn't get too comfortable in the whole, not visiting the doctors office for 3 months. He has had a runny nose, cough, congestion for a week. I figured it was just a virus, but with his lungs, you can't be too careful. So, off to the doctor we went. She said he seemed great. Just a bit of allergies, and a touch of the cold virus. He should be good as new in a few days. The good news is, no congestion in the lungs. Just have to try and dry him up before it moves to the lungs. No big deal.

Other than that, he has been great. Lots of playing, crawling and pulling up. LOTS of pulling up. Everything is his personal pulling up assistant. The coffee table, the entertainment center, the dining room chairs, the couch, the dogs, me. It doesn't matter. He wants to stand all the time. The biggest issue is that his brain is further along with this than his body, and he frequently lets go and expects to still be standing. He can let go with one hand and he has started walking around furniture. It won't be long before he can let go and stay standing!

This photo totally makes it look like he is wearing a baby toupee!

Preemie Clinic Weight Check

Nick had another Preemie Clinic appointment this afternoon. This was his "gain weight or else" appointment. I had really hoped that he would weigh in at a hefty 17lbs. Unfortunately, he didn't quite make it. Although, he wasn't far off - 16lbs 12ozs. Not too bad.

The docs wish he had gained more, but felt that this was a reasonable enough gain, it put him back on the curve where he was before he tapered off a bit. So, he is back on the curve, 5% in weight. Still a small percentile, but on the curve no less. He had a good jump in height and head circumference. He is 28 1/4 inches long. That puts him in the 45th percentile for height (when adjusted for age). They were very happy with that.

So, the final decision was: No Preemie Clinic until he is 2! YEAH!!!! The confidence in his abilities to grow with out constant monthly monitoring is awesome. He will still be followed by his pediatrician, as well as the formula study crew, and if they notice a problem, we can re-evaluate the situation. For now, we are on our own (so to speak) and it feels great.

That Point

I have finally reached that point. You know the one where your half-hearted attempt to baby proof is no longer cutting it, and you realize that you have to "get serious". I just spent the afternoon crawling around on the floor, and taking my knick-knacks off the coffee table. I have secured wires, covered outlets, put up baby-gates (the dogs are NOT digging that one). Despite all of this, I am sure that Nick will show me the holes in my baby proofing attempts when he wakes up from his nap. I swear, that kid could be in a room full of baby toys, and find the one thing that is not baby appropriate.

I have been trying to get a good photo of him with all of his teeth -all 4 front teeth. My attempts have been futile. The minute the camera comes out, the mouth shuts. I will continue to try. For now, here is a photo I took this morning, with a little tooth action!