Aaron: 6-12 months

Here are abbreviated journal entries from the second half of Aaron's first year of life:

6 months

So about that visit to the cardiologist. We didn't get the chest x-ray done because their computer system messed up and we ran out of time, but we did get the echo done and see the doctor. His heart is still the same as it was 6 months ago. He still has a tiny VSD and still has mild aortic regurgitation. The doctor said there is a 1 in 10 chance that he'll need an aortic valve replacement before he is 18 years old. Hopefully he won't need one until he is a full-grown adult because then the valve they can use (the adult version) should last a long, long time. The child version isn't as long-lasting so children who have valve replacements usually need another replacement later on in life. That means not one, but two open heart surgeries. But, the doctor said that Aaron's valve is 99% fine – just a tiny bit leaky – so he's a long, long way off from needing a valve replacement. We'll take him back in another 6 months for another echo and chest x-ray. The doctor is going to monitor him frequently like this just to be on the safe side. They measured him at 26.5 inches and 16 pounds 3 ounces – if that weight is accurate, then he put on nearly a pound in a week! It would also bump him into the 30th percentile on weight. I wouldn't be too surprised though because he is really enjoying his solid foods.

7 months

Aaron said his first words this morning! Da. Da. Da. And he said Bleh and Ba. I had him sitting in my lap facing me and was saying Ma Ma Ma and Da Da Da to him. Several minutes after I had stopped he suddenly started saying Da Da Da over and and over. It was soooo cute!

He still isn't sitting on his own yet, but he's getting better balance. Still not a huge fan of tummy time either, but slowly improving. We're still working on his legs and getting them straight at the knees. I think our PT wants to try an air splint next because the Kinesio Tex tape hasn't worked. He may need casts on his legs later on.

(Notice his thumb is still held in the palm.)

7.5 months

We just received Aaron's 6 month evaluation reports and are a bit discouraged by them. According to the inventory that our OT uses, Aaron scored the following delays (N/A means that he didn't have a delay)

1. Personal-Social N/A
2. Self-Help/Adaptive 50%
3. Gross Motor 50%
4. Fine Motor 50%
5. Motor Total 50%
6. Receptive Language N/A
7. Expressive Language 50%
8. Communication Total N/A
9. Cognitive N/A
10. Overall Total 30%

I need to dig out Ada's 6th month evaluations to compare, but I'm pretty sure she never had a 50% delay in ANY area, and certainly not in the language department (she was on the very early end of the spectrum when it came to that). She usually hovered around 30-something for her physical delays. Abe and I were not anticipating these results. We thought he was doing pretty well, especially his thumbs. Are we just forgetting what it was like with Ada? Are we just too busy to have noticed? Am I in "Mommy denial"? If I had seen it coming, I think I would have handled it better yesterday, but it was quite a shock.

Part of the problem is that Aaron still isn't a huge fan of tummy time. At the visit, they gave us a big wedge to use for a while for Aaron's tummy time and he likes tummy time much better on it. And by that I mean, he now tolerates tummy time for up to 3 or 4 minutes and bears weight on his arms and keeps his head up for the first minute or so of that time. That's a big improvement. He especially likes it if we put the wedge right in front of the mirror in his room (the mirror is the closet door so it runs all the way to the floor). He'll push up on his arms and smile and laugh at us and himself in the mirror for a few minutes before he gets too tired to hold his head up and then starts to cry. We're trying to increase this time little by little each day.

He leans toward me if Abe is holding him now but isn't quite reaching for me yet. He can get his toesies in his mouth when he lays on his back and he likes to do this a lot. The PT said this is good for his abdominal muscles. He loves to shake his head back and forth really fast (like when you shake your head "no" but only super-fast). He cracks up at this and if I do it too. He gives the best little baby hugs when I pick him up out of his crib. He wraps his little arms around my neck and/or grabs my hair and then buries his face in my shoulder. It's ADORABLE.

Abe and I have been doing everything the therapists have instructed us to do right from the beginning, but now we really need to be more intentional about doing it more frequently throughout the day. Some days are harder than others, especially if we're out running errands, but regardless, we need to really focus in on getting plenty of tummy time in each day and stretching his legs. We're also starting to put arm floaties that kids use in the swimming pool over his legs as a make-shift air splint. Our PT said this will warm the muscles and help give a nice, long stretch to the muscles. He looks so funny, but cute in his little floaties. :-)

I was discouraged when we got the results back. Partly because I wasn't expecting them and partly because I'm just frustrated that he isn't doing better. I wish I could just snap my fingers and fix it. I'm a fixer type person. But I can't. I have deal with it instead and that's harder. But it's what my baby needs and so I need to stop whining and just do it. To quote Yoda, "Try not. Do or do not. There is no try." Ok, I usually don'tquote Yoda but I saw this quote recently and thought it was appropriate! :-)

(Click to enlarge -- notice his thumb is out of the palm in this photo.)

8 months

Yesterday our PT came over to see Aaron. She said he's doing much better at bearing weight on his legs - and I agree. She said she does see some improvement in his legs - that she can now get his legs straight to 10 degrees instead of 15. We're working toward 0.

She wants to try a pediatric DYNA knee splint. He'd wear it twice a day (one knee in the morning, the other at night) for about 20 minutes at a time.

If we do not see improvement after one month, we would talk to the pediatric orthopedist and probably move on to casts. The casts would probably be worn for a couple of days, then adjusted and worn for a few more days.

I'm glad we're seeing some improvement. I'm glad we're going to try the brace, as intimidating as it looks - especially for my sweet little baby. We're eager to try something more to start seeing better results. I hope the brace will be effective and that he won't mind having it on.

And best of all, Aaron rolled from his back to his tummy for the very first time yesterday and while our PT was here! We were so excited!! Once he got onto his tummy, he got mad and flipped back over right away, but it's a start.

She guesses that he may never crawl. He may learn to stand and walk and skip crawling altogether since he is so sensitive about being on his stomach. Ada was army crawling by 9.5 months. I don't think Aaron is anywhere near army crawling.

(Trying to sit up on the couch... notice he is able to bear weight on his hand for balance, though he holds the thumb in his palm, and notice his long, thin feet.)

8.5 months

I took Aaron to his 9-month well-baby checkup this morning. He weighed just 16 pounds 13 ounces, sliding him down into the 10th percentile for weight. His height was 28.5 inches - 60th percentile. His initial head circumference measurement had him off the top of the charts so the doctor redid it himself. His measurement placed him well below the charts. So he tried again. This measurement put him right at the 75th percentile - same as last time.

The doctor said that since his height and head circumference have held steady and only his weight is falling, we know he is continuing to grow - he's just getting skinnier and skinnier. He doesn't want to see his weight fall below the 10th percentile though so we're going to try adding some extra calories into his diet. So for now the plan is to nurse before a meal, feed the meal, and then nurse again offering the other side. Hopefully he'll nurse the second time. He is usually pretty clear after eating his meal about when he is finished. He purses his lips together, turns his head or pushes the spoon away indicating he is full.

The doctor also did a blood draw today to check him for anemia, just in case. We don't think that is the problem, but this will rule it out.

He also wrote a prescription for the DYNA splint order. Hopefully it will be in by the end of the month.

He said his heart sounded good. The murmur was faint.

Our OT was here earlier in the week and said she is worried about his gross motor development, but assured us we're doing everything right and encouraged us to keep doing tummy time all the time. We don't let an hour go by when he is awake that we don't put him on his tummy. He is getting better, but it is slow going. I keep waiting for a developmental growth spurt, but it hasn't happened yet.

10 months

Aaron has learned how to wave bye bye now and to clap his hands (he learned how to clap at 9 months of age). He still nurses about 4 times a day, sometimes 5. We have his leg splint now and it is going well. He wears it about 2 hours a day. His left leg is almost to a zero (good thing) in just 2 weeks of use. He doesn't roll much and is nowhere near crawling, but he does like to rock on hands and knees with support under his chest. He still doesn't like to be on his tummy. He still can't sit on his own, but that is getting better. He can hold it for several seconds but topples easily still. He is starting to sit a little straighter. He has said mama, but only twice. He says dada and baba and pa and some other sounds. He seems to have grown a lot recently. I'm guessing he may close to 18 pounds. Right now we're treating him for pinkeye and he has a cough that wakes him up at night. Hopefully he will be feeling better again soon.

10.5 months

Aaron is sitting! It happened very quickly that all of a sudden he figured out how to sit. Now he can sit for 15 minutes or more at a time. I still put a pillow behind him in case he falls backward though. He has been sick the past few days with a high fever and a rash and an ear infection, but the worst is over. He had a cough and runny nose for several days prior to the rash. At the doctor visit yesterday he weighed 18 pounds 5 ounces.

11 months

Aaron (aka "Mr. Man") turned 11 months old yesterday. My baby! Only one month left until his first year of life has hurried by. We received his latest evaluation on Saturday in the mail. The report states that Aaron now has a 60% percent delay in his gross motor skills and still has a 50% delay in fine motor skills. In all other areas though he is caught up, which is great. It's disappointing that his gross motor skill delay has increased (up from 50% at 6 months). More and more is expected of babies as they age in terms of what they have to be able to do on the "test." Aaron is improving though, that's the good news. He can sit pretty well now. If we put him on his hands and knees he can hold the position for up to 10 seconds or so before lowering his head to the floor and curling up in a little ball. He still isn't rolling much, though he has, on occasion, rolled onto his tummy from his back. He can't get into a sitting position or out of one (except by way of falling backward). He can't pull to a stand and he can't crawl in any fashion when he's on his tummy.

He can (and does) say Mama, Dada, Buhbuh (for bye bye), bababa and papapa. He can sign for "more" and he can wave. He can clap and undestands the words clap, more, his own name, and bye bye when we say them. He can clap two toys together and bang them on a table. He likes to knock down little towers of blocks that I build for him and laughs hysterically when I say "boom!" He can lift rings off a stack of rings. He loves to be tickled. He adores his big sister. He loves to snuggle and rest his head on my chest. He loves to be carried around everywhere. He is still afraid of some strangers, especially men. He enjoys a variety of foods and is self-feeding several types of table foods. He gets sooo happy when he sees us come in to pick him up out of his crib - he waves both his arms really really fast and thumps his legs on the mattress in excitement. He's been sleeping through the night for some time now, but recently has been waking up once a night for about a week or so which started when he got sick and I think has developed into a habit (but it may be a growth spurt). He has just two little teeth on the bottom and no signs of teething any more right now. He loves his little blankie and is starting to become attached to his pacifier (that also started during his recent illness). He loves to smile at the "baby in the mirror" and to bang/knock on windows and mirrors. He is fascinated with our cat. He will play happily on the floor by himself, until he sees you walk by without picking him up. If you do that, he gets mad and will instictively push out his lower lip in a pout and start to cry until you come get him or manage to redistract him with a toy. Sometimes there will be no distracting with a toy and he will insist that you carry him around on your adventures through the house. He is still nursing about 4 times a day.