Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Caleb is crawling like a pro now. He never crawls on his belly anymore. He does not sit still for very long now. Phil and Ella were trying to play chess on the floor last night and Caleb was really enjoying helping them.

Last week was a good week. The kids taught Caleb how to clap and now he will wave at the drop of a hat. Maeve is teaching him to climb stairs. She said that she is a good "trainer". Caleb is almost as much fun as a puppy.

Caleb had a fever on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, but as of Wednesday morning, it is gone and he is feeling much better. He threw up twice on Sunday, so my guess is that it was a stomach bug.

I was thinking about Caleb not talking and was trying to remember when the other kids started talking. This weekend, we hauled out the video tapes and watched each kid at 1 year. None of them were talking much and they all looked and sounded exactly the same. Come to find out the speech delay isn't heart-related, just genetic. Caleb is babbling constantly now, but still doesn't say any real words and I am not the least bit concerned!

I have now stopped pumping, but still have a store of frozen milk, so Caleb should make it to nearly a year with primarily breastmilk. Not bad for a baby that has only nursed for one and a half days of his life.

Monday, July 18, 2011

I don't have a picture today. I meant to get one tonight, but Caleb was too tired after playing in the pool to beat the heat. Caleb still hates a bath, but he loves the swimming pool. Maybe I need colder water! I will try to get something posted tomorrow.

Caleb is now officially 11 months old. It is hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since he has been born. Time flies when you're having fun!

Caleb had a great week. He had his appointment with his occupational therapist on Tuesday. She was very happy with his progress. Based on her assessment, he is about on track in all areas with the exception of verbal skills. He makes sounds and makes noises to get your attention, but he doesn't say any real words. I am not real concerned because there are no other red flags to signal a problem. Our other kids were not early talkers, they just seemed to talk continuously once they get the hang of it. She also mentioned that he would probably make a little more progress once he got teeth. I guess your tongue likes to play with your teeth and helps to get you talking.

Caleb had his appointment with the pediatric cardiologist on Wednesday. He was very happpy with his progress as well. His oxygen saturation was 85 to 87%, right where they want it. His blood pressure was good and his heart sounded the way it should for him. He doesn't go back for four more months!

The cardiologist asked me what the pediatrician thinks about Caleb's weight (he was 15 pounds, 12 ounces at the appointment - 16 pounds, here we come). I told him that the pediatrician would like him to weigh more, but that because he was doing so well developmentally and he is still growing, he would just like to wait him out. The cardiologist agreed. I was worried that the weight was going to be a bigger problem and was very relieved with his response.

Caleb has gotten the hang of crawling on his hands and knees now. He uses the hands/knees crawling much more often than the army crawl now. He is also waving and pulling himself up to standing all the time. Several times he has found himself standing up and is not sure how to get back down. Maybe that will be next week's trick.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Caleb had another great week. He is crawling like a pro and is pulling up frequently. We have even caught him standing up while trying to get toys out of his toybox. We have seen him holding on with only one hand and at one point, he was leaning against the toy box and not holding on at all.

Caleb's therapy appointment is Tuesday and his cardiologist appointment is Wednesday.

We have scheduled Caleb for a Neurological and Developmental assessment at U of M on August 1st. He was part of several research studies during his first surgery and as part of the studies, they assess his development at one year of age. The tests are non-invasive and will give us a good idea of where he is developmentally. The Big Three are excited about giving Caleb the test we have to do at home to fill out the written assessment portion. Nothing like performing experiments on your little brother!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Caleb has learned a new trick since last week. Now he can pull himself to a standing position on his own. The other night, we laid him down for bed and he was crying in his crib. When I went back to check on him, he was standing up. He has done it several times since. He has even pulled himself up using my pants.

He has also started to do a little more crawling on his hands and knees. He starts with the knees, but if he is planning on going very far, he drops to his belly and scoots away. He is getting pretty fast and no distance is too far now.

We have really been pushing Caleb to eat. He still gets about 24 ounces of milk per day and lots of solid foods. We give him finger foods several times a day and then offer baby food, applesauce or yogurt. It looks like our efforts are paying off. I weighed him yesterday morning and he was 15 pounds, 8 ounces. Now if we can keep making this kind of progress to store up some weight before he begins walking.

This week is pretty slow, but next week, Caleb has his occupational therapy appointment on Tuesday and a cardiologist appointment on Wednesday. Hopefully, we get a good report on his heart and everyone is happy with the progress he is making.