Family,
And a good Sunday afternoon to you (yet again) on this Sunday afternoon, where the munch is passed out for nap #2 - 90 minutes and counting. It's been another great week for Team Taylor, and another
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| Happy 9 month, Munch Munch! Mommy and Daddy love you!!!!! |
The big day was actually Wednesday, but since I was traveling and the munch had gone through a few (slightly) fussy days, we waited until Saturday to get the 9 month picks. It was funny - K actually had no desire to eat the sticker this time (until the end, that is), but for the first time in 9 tries she was NOT excited about posing for a photo shoot. JT and I now approach the photography in a paparazzi fashion, with 2 cameras going constantly amid shouts at our subject, requesting she look this way. And whilst it wasn't our best effort, I am pleased with the shots we got. :-)
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| Pre-photo stretching routine. |
First - the facts: she's grown 2 more inches, putting her at 26.5 inches long (20th percentile). She now weights 19.5 lbs (65th percentile). Lastly, her head circumference was in the 10th percentile - still the cutest little bonehead ever! :-) Also, because she was ahead of schedule for her shots, we didn't have to get any sticks this go-around (or "ouchies" as the doctor calls them).
In terms of motor skills, the good news was that her head didn't droop during the appointment (neither the sudden drop that sent us to the ER nor the tilt that sent us to the PT), and she did a terrific job sitting up. The Peds wasn't concerned there, nor was she concerned with any of her eating habits (she said that she's growing nicely and that we're ready to start meat and stage 3 foods). However, the doctor was a bit concerned on some of her other motor skills. The fact that she hadn't crawled didn't concern her - it was more that she hasn't made an active effort to pull herself up or do any "cruising" - walking along furniture.
We talked about the PT work and that we were seeing improvement, and so we both agreed that it was most likely due to the prematurity. She told us to keep the final PT appointment in January (scheduled for Friday, the 3rd) and to let her know if K did not show continued improvement over the next month. Honestly, I think we'll be totally fine, as the last 1-2 weeks have been meteoric in terms of her progress. Within the last week she's started moving from sitting to a crawling position (only to the sides, but she can definitely do it), and her turning has been much better. Also, we've started standing her at the table (holding her, of course!), and she's already showing stronger legs and a better understanding of what it means to stand on her own. We obviously have tons of exercises to do with her, and we are performing them diligently when she's awake - poor thing is EXHAUSTED by the end of the day! I maintain that we'll be fine in a month, so no concerns from the Bull at all. Kids progress at their own rate, and she seems happy, alert, and inquisitive, so I have no concerns.
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| Sammy the Bull pointing at the camera, since we now point at EVERYTHING when talking. |
The other slightly alarming discussion was around her 9 month autism test. I struggle to call it a "scientific analysis," as basically you just fill out a form with your responses and then the Peds tells you whether or not K passed. Apparently she failed by a point (no idea what the scoring system was), and the concern was largely around language skills. K hasn't said a word yet (which I would never have expected her to), and to date she's really only used 2 syllables - ba and da. Well, apparently that's behind where she should be, as most kids should have mama and dada in their repertoire, as well as being able to babble with 5 or 6 consonants. Again, I'm not worried, but we were told that we'd need to check it again at 1 year to ensure progress was being made. The good news is that this weekend alone she's added 2 new consonants, so as I've said before - progress is coming fast and furious. At 1 year she needs 1-3 words aside from mama and dada, and I am confident we'll hit that. We talk to her all the time, and now we're making much more exaggerated, demonstrative gestures (a lot of pointing for example) to further encourage her understanding that speech is our method of communication.
On the whole, it was not the glorious report I was hoping for, as the doctor showed a bit more concern than I was expecting. That being said, I really am not worried about K's development, as I treat the milestones in place very much as rough guidelines - especially for a premie. Also, as I've said in previous blogs, I'm not sure what else Jenny or I can do. We read several books daily, we do exercises with K multiple times daily, and we are certainly attentive parents. I think that we just have to keep working with her and showing her love and support. This weekend alone she's already added clapping to her repertoire, and she can stand longer at the table than at any time previous.
Jenny is more concerned than I am, but like me she's confident that everything is fine. I think her concern is probably more around the motor skills, whereas mine is more around the language and cognitive development. However, the rule is that, unless both of us are worried about something, it is NOT an issue. That should hopefully alleviate some of the concern. :-)
Oh, and side note from the Peds. K has had bumps on her body for the past month or so, as well as a red spot on her cheek. We have slathered lotion all over her multiple times daily, but to no avail. At some point I commented to Jenny - "I wonder if that's karatosis polaris," a skin condition like eczema that I had as a child. Well, sure enough, we're in the Peds asking about it, and the doctor says, "That's karatosis polaris - it's hereditary." THAT'S RIGHT, SPORTS FANS. So far Sammy the Bull has passed down both his tongue and his skin condition - 2 for 2. That frustrates me, but the bigger concern is that I fear this pattern could lead to me giving her the worst part of my genetic makeup - high blood pressure. Jenny is 88/58, whereas I'm 135/78 medicated. Fingers crossed the worst thing she got from me was a surgery when she was 8 days old and a few bumps that will randomly show up (but hopefully vanish once she's older as they did with me).
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| K loves her "trackin'" - just like her daddy. |
On the parent side, we are getting a bit more flexible in the routine. Baths are still every other day, but Jenny's now working from home 1-2 days a week, which makes our lives MUCH easier. It really is great, as it allows us to sleep in a bit a few times a week, meaning we can let her stay up a bit later or amend her afternoon schedule as necessary. I know that's Jenny's happier, as this way she gets a chance to feed the sneetch and spend more time with her during the week. All in all, it's been a win-win, and I am SO GLAD she's been able to make that work.
Ok, that's it for this one - a bit more serious than most, but serious topics call for serious words. But don't worry - Team Taylor ain't skeered. :-) The munch is happy and healthy and we love her to bits - can't really ask for anything more.
Feels good to be caught up - chat next week!
Love,
Sam and Jenny
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