Six Month Check-up

I can hardly believe he is six months old! Sheesh...time flies.

Everything went well at his check-up. He's still tiny :) They adjust all his percentiles for his prematurity so that he stands a chance of making it on the charts, and he's there, but just barely. He is 11 pounds, 13 ounces (less than 5th percentile, but a huge gain from last month!), 24.25 inches (50th percentile), and his head circumference is 40.25 centimeters (a nice, healthy 10th percentile). While you imagine most kids with hydrocephalus' heads to be more in proportion with a basketball than a pinhead, he's obviously on the smaller end of the spectrum. The kids with larger heads are generally (but not always, hydrocephalus really doesn't follow many norms) the ones who are diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus in utero or right after birth. His fontanelle is sunken (though not as bad as it used to be) and his skull plates overlap each other...which makes for a pretty funny looking melon. But to us, it's a healthy one, and he'll grow hair to cover it all up :) He got the go ahead for his shots, finally...we are definitely behind on those, but are making up ground now. Poor guy is a little out of sorts, but nothing we can't handle ;)

Developmentally, he is only meeting his two month milestones, so he is significantly behind. Really, though, I wouldn't expect anything less, and we are thankful that he is making progress on his own curve. We could care less how slow his progress is, as long as its there. We see him get stronger everyday :) He is definitely a very social little guy...he'll chat up anything that comes his way, its adorable. He still isn't a fan of noise (in general...we're working on it), and is still pretty jittery and stiff. But, I think he's gotten better and our physical therapist has had some great suggestions for helping with this. We're still working on head control, but he's gotten much better since he's been home from the hospital. He also has some issues with tracking objects...but again, it's gotten better than it was, and hopefully will just continue to do so! He does a great job of grabbing for toys, and has recently started trying to get his fingers in his mouth...dare I hope for another thumb sucker? I would certainly appreciate the good nights sleep that thumb suckers usually give their parents!

His iron levels had come back up to a great point, so we'll be able to stop giving him iron in a month or so. We also got the go ahead to start rice cereal as soon as he can hold his head up a bit better...such a big boy thing to do!

And since its been awhile...here's some recent pictures :)

Playing with his favorite toys



MACPACKS :)



They each had this little note taped to them:

When our son was born two months early, we were thrown into a world we wished we never knew existed - sick babies, scary days and sleepless nights suddenly became our reality. In the midst of trying to spend as much time in the NICU as we could with our littlest guy, we still had the normal busyness that life with four small kids and a job bring with them. To say we were overwhelmed is an understatement. What made it easier on a daily basis was the kindness that was shown us. The tangible gifts--meals, gift cards and the like--made life simpler for sure. But what truly lifted our spirits and sustained us was the thought that went behind each kind act.
These Macpacks represent the kind thoughts and prayers from people all over. Hopefully they make your long day go by a little faster, and you know that there are people who are hoping to make this rough time just a little brighter.

Jeff, Taylor and Mighty Mac