More

I have been trying to teach Nick sign language. I personally, have seen babies and toddlers use sign language to communicate. It is wonderful. They usually pick up the sign language before actual verbal ability and can effectively communicate (with in reason). We have been working on "more" and "all done". Nick has mastered "all done". Especially at dinner time. If he is done, he will do the sign for all done, and means it. Once he has done this, I can rarely get him to eat another bite.

The sign for "more" has been a little slower. I have seen him do the sign, but have not seen him use it consistently. Yesterday, we were sitting during therapy. His physical therapist Mandy has been doing some sensory exercises on his feet to get him off his toes, and ready for walking. She was sitting with him, put a towel over his feet and was rubbing them. She rubbed his right food for a minute or so. I have never seen my child so still. He just sat there and let her rub. She stopped to change feet. Before she could restart on the left foot, Nick did the sign for "more". Guess he does know the sign - and he likes his feet rubbed!

Nick has really been working on the walking thing. He uses his tonka truck to push all around the house. He hasn't yet learned to steer- so we often have crashes, usually into the dogs.

Not Much

Sorry it has been a bit since I posted. Not much has been going on here. Nick continues to protest to the "baby food", opting instead for food that he can feed himself. His assertion of his independence is a great source of joy for me, but frustration as well. If he is this independent now, what will happen in 5 years, or 10 years? Help! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore watching him grow and learn, but how do you convince a 14 month old to eat when he would rather play in his food - and don't even think about trying to feed him. That will get you a clamped mouth, and furrowed eyebrows.

He is learning new tricks and words it seems almost daily. His favorite "bye" with a hand wave has now been replaced with "hi". Every morning, we spend a few minutes of him pointing to things, I give it a name (door, window, dog etc) then he waves and says "hi".

Still pulling up, getting closer to walking. However, he has learned the art of climbing. The dogs being his favorite "step stool" of choice to get on the couch. He tries to climb anything he can get his feet on top of.

Just a little of what we have been up to. Tomorrow Nick gets his (hopefully last) RSV shot of the season. I am crossing my fingers for 20lbs so we can get out of that rear-facing car seat! Think heavy.

What Happened to my Baby?

The other day Nick was sitting in his high chair pleasantly eating his gnocchi (more on that later), when I noticed... he is starting that morph from "baby" to "toddler". I know it is inevitable, and I am happy to see him grow and thrive, but I guess I was just caught off guard because I wasn't looking for it. I just saw him sitting there, and bam, he looked like a toddler to me. Sadly, I didn't grab the camera to capture this moment, but I will post photos soon.

Gnocchi - this is the chosen food for now. Nick is transitioning in his food as well. He pretty much refuses all baby food. Even the 3rd foods with some texture. I think he prefers to feed himself ("independent" would be the understatement of the year!). Anyway, trying to find soft foods that he likes, has enough calories, and that he can easily chew with his 4 teeth is sometimes a challenge. I have tried other pastas, but he didn't eat them well, especially if I had to feed him. I saw the gnocchi in the store, right size, soft, caloric rich, why not. He loves them. Warm them up with a little butter, and he goes to town!

I didn't take any photos of Nick the other night when I had my little moment of "Oh my, I am on the cusp of having a toddler", but we did have a little "hair fun" after bath time. His hair is SOOOO thin (thanks for that Tiffany!), so I don't want to cut it, but the top is getting pretty long. I apologize for the quality of these photos - I took them with my camera phone because it was the first thing I could get my hands on, and I knew he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to grab my camera.

I don't style his hair like this everyday- just for fun. This is what he looked like 2 minutes later....

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!