Sleepy Baby

Colt has been one sleepy kid the last two days, we must be hitting a growth spurt! The top picture is his new signature face now that all he does is chew on his finger. Colt's teacher came today and she thinks his neck is getting much stronger, and we started working with him on the exercise ball at home. This is a busy week full of appointments: tomorrow the Braile lady comes for a vision session (which we are all much less worried about since he's really started to act like he sees fine), Wednesday we have physical therapy and Thursday we have the eye surgeon. The next two weeks will look very similiar and we'll be off to more appointments!

Ahhh...the joys of parenthood

Colt must have had a sour tummy today, as right when I handed him to Kreg this evening he puked all over himself. And I mean ALL over himself, covered head to toe in puke....and Kreg was covered, and he handed him back to me, so then I was covered. It was pretty awesome. Poor guy! As soon as he got it out, he was back to being happy after a bath.

Hysterically Funny

I've never been able to make Colt laugh like this.......I was getting ready and I thought I heard Colt crying so I came out to find him and his Dad doing this....apparently a very funny thing in Colt's eyes :)

Therapy

Here's Colt at physical therapy today. He was working that head control today on the exercise ball and the swing. The swing is supposed to make him work harder to stabilize the neck muscles. Therapy always poops him out, it really is a lot of work!!

High Chair

Colt had his first meal in his new high chair, it finally came yesterday. I resigned myself to finally ordering one, as I have been feeding him in his bouncy chair the last few months. High chairs take up so much room, so I didn't want to get one until I had to. Yesterday, while feeding him he decided to get the bouncy chair going so fast that it was like an olympic sport trying to get the spoon into his mouth. So no more feeding in the bouncy chair now that he's figured out how to make it bounce so fast. It may need to be retired completely very soon.

No Stopping Him Now

This little rolling machine can't be stopped. He's literally on a roll, hee hee. I am trying to get this little booger back on a nap schedule, since he has decided 30 minutes is a long enough nap for him. Just when you think you have things figured out, they go and show you that you don't! Welcome to parenthood, right?

Pet the Puppy

Colt has really taken an interested in the wild little dogs that are always flying by. He decided to reach and touch the pup!

Trying So Hard

Here's Colt during our session with his teacher, he's trying so hard to hold up that head and is already showing some improvement from last week. Yesterday he rolled from belly to back three times, so he's now rolling every which way. There's no stopping him now!

Sleepin' on the Job

This is Colt yesterday at the pool, he's on this nap-refusal kick again so he's been getting himself to the point of exhaustion. I don't know what to do with him, he just will not sleep during the day. I hate the cry-it-out approach, just because I feel like he's been through so much and I cannot stand seeing him upset. He really gets himself worked up, rather than fussing and eventually falling asleep- he gets so pissed off that there are tears and full blown screaming. So I give in like a sissy, and he gets to stay up. I know that can't go on forever, but hopefully we'll get back on track soon. I think the medicines and allergy thing threw him off last week, his schedule went out the window with that whole ordeal.

Pooling It

Pool day at my brother's house today. Colt was so good all day, he was a trooper with the nasty heat wave that followed us into Orange County.

16 Appointments...Long-winded

In the month of July, Colt has 16 appointments for various things. Crazy, isn't it? We have 8 in-home early intervention visits, 2 eye visits, 1 eye doctor visit, 1 high-risk follow-up NICU visit, 1 pediatrician visit and 4 physical therapy visits. We have to start physical therapy weekly now. I am a little sad about that, because I thought we were going to be discharged from PT- instead we have to start therapy. He has thus far only been evaluated monthly but he's at the beginning stages of what might be a developmental delay so we need to nip it in the butt.

You have to be 30% behind in a category (ie. gross motor) before they call it a true developmental delay. He isn't really behind that much yet, but she recommended starting therapy because I am so freaked out about basically everything. So it will be good on the one hand, to address it so that hopefully it never actually becomes a delay. His head control is behind for his adjusted age, but she said it may be due to his hatred for tummy time. I don't force him to do it, even though I probably should have. So it may be my fault that he's behind. I only made him do it for a few minutes a day. But now we're going to pump it up to 10-15 minutes at a time, several times a day or as much as he'll tolerate well. He really has started trying hard within the last week, so it's a very good sign that he is trying. They would be very concerned if he wasn't even aware that he should be able to hold the head up. She checked all of his muscles and he has full use of them, so he just needs to work them more.

He can do the pull to sit, but then flops forward. She said this isn't as concerning as it would be if his head fell backward. She was very optimistic on his progress in all other areas. He's rolling with ease, moves all arms and legs evenly, has full range of motion, no lingering infant reflexes, etc. We watch all of the warning signs every month and he's sailed through them all, but the head control is beginning to lag so we'll just suck it up and work hard to get him on track. I feel bad for having to push him so hard, but I know this is what is best for him in the long run.

This video shows why tummy time doesn't accomplish much. He's too busy trying to crawl with his legs, and too busy eating his hand with his arms. So now I have to put him on a wedge, hold his butt down and spend some time holding his arms under his shoulders to force him to do the work. Poor kid! But we're determined for progess.

Vision Check

Today we were visited by a specialist from the Braile Institute to check his vision. While they are not eye doctors, they do specialize in ways to encourage eye development. She told us that he looks right on track for his adjusted age of almost 5 months, he tracks very well and uses all fields of his vision. He did really well at the visit, he went 45 minutes in tracking games before he pooped out. That's a long time for a baby! She said she's not a doctor and can't say for certain but she wouldn't think he needs glasses at this point. We go see the eye surgeon next week for a check-up to determine medically how his eyes are healing and how well he can see (I am interested to see how they tell that). She's going to continue to monitor him twice a month for awhile, and will bring cool lighted toys and activites we can do to stimulate and encourage eye development. We also watched a tiny bit of Baby Mozart today. He seemed to like it, but we just did a little 10 minute session. The eye specialist said those are good in short stints to encourage eye movement. The photo is of him being mesmerized by it.

We go to physical therapy tomorrow to get checked out again! His head is a little floopy still, so we're going to see if we need to start going to therapy for it or if we will just continue the monthly check-ups.

He's all clear of the rash and back to his normal happy self :)

Couch Potato

Here's our little couch potato getting propped up on the couch..trying to learn how to sit! Tomorrow the eye specialists will visit to check him out and see what we can learn about his vision! He almost rolled from belly to back today, he's soooooo close. Now he'll be rolling every which way. He's also started to scoot across the floor a few inches, a mini-army crawl.

For Fun

This preemie song has great words....I love it!

You got wires, going inYou got wires, coming out of your skin
You got tears, making tracks
I got tears, that are scared of the facts
Running, down corridors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I've seen christmas lights, reflect in your eyes
You got wires, going in
You got wires, coming out of your skin
There's dry blood, on your wrist
Your dry blood on my fingertip
Running, down corridoors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
First night of your life, curled up on your own
Looking at you now, you would never know
I see it in your eyes, I see it in your eyes
You'll be alright, I see it in your eyes, I see it in your eyes
You'll be alrightAlright
Running, down corridors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I've seen christmas lights, reflect in your eyes
down corridors, through automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
First night of your life, curled up on your own
Looking at you now, you would never know

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LQC-JHA4sRw >

If you want to hear it, this is the link. It's played to a You Tube video of a 25-weeker preemie. I bawled watching this, Colt had all the same GAP preemie outfits that Evan did. He had the same NICU crib, the same Kangaroo Care pictures, it is all so familiar!

Almost All Better

Here's another cute picture from this weekend. Colt and his great Grandpa look quite a bit alike.

He's almost all clear from the rash, we have a few strays lingering around. I think we'll stay on the steroids one more day. All this medicine and uncomfortable-ness has knocked his sleeping schedule for a loop....this mommy needs a nap!

MUCH Better

Colt is doing much better today, thankfully. Whew! It was a really rough day for him yesterday. After about the eighth hour of crying, he finally fell asleep and I had freaked out enough to call the doctor again because the hives just looked so bad. His ears were swollen and bright red, hot to the touch and he was pulling on them. His poor little face was covered in raised welts. He was just miserable. He wasn't nearly as angry about the rash (I don't think) as he was about how the benadryl made him feel. The doctor called him in some steroids and a prescription like benadryl. Those seemed to help a lot, and he got about 6-7 hours of sleep last night which was good. We went in to see the doctor first thing this morning and it had cleared up a little bit. He was feeling a lot better. She thinks that this flare up was due to something he's allergic to which would be "exposure." Like someone's detergent or perfume. He's only got the rash on his face, arms and legs where they were exposed. So we won't know what it was unless it happens again. Now that we know he's allergic to something we have to pay attention to what he's around in case it happens again, so we can figure out what caused that type of reaction. He'll stay on the steroids and the other med for a few days until the rash is completely gone.

This picture was from lunchtime today, and this is his new face he makes while he is eating. I have no idea why he does it- but it cracks me up!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! Here are two of the cutest kids on the planet, who love their Dad very much!

Today, on the other hand, has been an absolute nightmare. Colt woke up covered in hives (I'd post a picture but he looks like a leper). He's been screaming for the majority of the day which has been awesome, and I am pretty sure I have lost my hearing as well as my sanity. He's had some sort of allergic reaction, to what- we don't know. Can't think of anything he's come in contact with that is new and could cause this. But he looks really, really bad. Big huge hives all over and is really pissed off about it. It's terrible because there is absolutely nothing I can do to help him, and it takes me back to those crummy hospital days where I have to sit back and watch him suffer (all part of being a parent I suppose). The doctor said to give him benadryl which I think has added fuel to the fire, because now he will not sleep. He doesn't have a fever or any other symptoms, which to the doctor makes this not a big deal I guess....but to me, I have been freaking out all day. I may try to get him into the doctor tomorrow, if this continues, there has to be something they can do to help him. Yikes!

4 Generations

Colt got to meet his great grandpa today! We went out for lunch with him to celebrate Father's Day and to capture a 4th generation photo! Colt also had his first dip in the pool this afternoon and he liked it! The rash looks a little worse and this evening he seemed out of sorts, but all in all he's still doing great. He's very excited to spend his first Father's Day with his wonderful Dad.

Picnic at the Park

Today we had a picnic in the park for lunch... we had a really nice time. Kelsey, her best bud Keiley and Colt had fun playing together.

This morning we went to the doctor and Colt is caught up on height for his real age, almost caught up in weight and head size (the head thing is hard to believe, I think it's huge now). But that was good news for us that he is almost there to the size he's supposed to be for his 8 month age. He still acts like a 4 1/2 month old, so he isn't caught up in development, but we don't expect him to be. Oddly enough, he has a viral infection. The doctor was very cavalier about it, so I guess it isn't a big deal. Just a little bug he caught somewhere that shows up as a rash and some tummy troubles (which he had bad yesterday). But he seems to feel much better today, just looks a little odd with the dots all over. She said there's nothing we can do but let it run its course, which should take 3 more days. I just thought it was teething until he woke up with the rash this morning...all the normal teething symptoms: drool, diarrhea, wicked diaper rash, biting, cranky. Hope he feels all better tomorrow! We're off to meet up with Kreg's Grandpa.

Goofball

The little goofball has been out of sorts since last night...don't know if he doesn't feel good, but he's just fussy and seems to have a bit of tummy troubles. So we're just taking it easy and being lazy today, staying out of the heat.

Peace

Priceless.....

Colt is such a light sleeper during the day that his naps often get cut short by just about anything (phone, dogs, etc). My mom decided she'd try to put noise canceling head phones on him and see if he'd sleep longer. He only slept like 30 minutes, which is normal during the day lately, so I don't know if they helped but they sure were cute!

Chatterbox

This is the chatterbox talking away....he talks to his toys, to himself, to me....he's really pretty noisy these days. And the laughter continues, I am loving it! He thinks patty cake is hilarious, as well as peek-a-boo. He also smiles when the dogs bark now. I love that he's discovering all of these new things around him. Most of all, his hands are still the most fascinating things he has ever seen. Colt's teacher came today and we started getting him to bear some weight on his legs. We're still working on the head control. He doesn't fall backwards anymore, but forward now....so we're working on that.

Giggler

So barking is now pretty hilarious in Colt's book, as is playing peek-a-boo. Here's a little belly laugh for you to enjoy!

Pool Day

Not quite ready for the bumbo :)

We went to the pool at our friends Bryan and Joanne's house today. Colt was all dressed for the occasion (but still isn't too impressed with the sun, so we basically sat in the shade all day). The bottom picture is his girlfriend Stella, she was so cute with her death grip hug on him. He wasn't so enthused about it, but that's what happens when you don't nap all day!

Friday

Here is Colt with his teacher, he really seems to like her. He's really showing an interest in sitting up, although he is still not quite ready. He's almost got enough control of the head to start trying the bumbo. If you don't know what that is, it's basically a sitting chair that helps babies sit unassisted before they can actually accomplish that. I may try it again today and see how he does, the last time he wasn't quite ready.

Next week we see the doctor again, and we see the eye specialist at the end of this month. Colt's teacher also arranged for an eye specialist to come to the house to check him out and see how he's doing. He really seems to be doing well with his focusing and tracking, and showing an improvement in the distance he can see (but what do I know). I'll be anxious to hear what they say about it.

The San Diego Blood Bank called to see if they could use Colt in their advertisements, which is kind of cool. So in two weeks we'll take him down there for a little photo shoot. Speaking of giving blood, thank you to those of you who did give blood on Wednesday at the blood drive!!

Too Grown up for Naps

Colt had something to prove today...that he is apparently too grown up to take a nap! Ha, yeah right. Here is Colt's favorite place (the bathtub), he could seriously sit in there all day....he loves it. He could be screaming bloody murder and as soon as he touches the water- instant silence.

Visitors!

We had a visit from Kreg's Aunt Gloria, Uncle Rick and Auntie Linda today! Colt was happy to see everyone! Kelsey also came over after school and Colt was really happy to see her.... he hadn't seen her in a week! So there were lots of giggles and kisses betweeen those two. Kelsey had an assembly this morning where she was showered with awards for being such a great kid, namely for making honor roll all year!

The bottom picture is of Colt taking notice of the dogs....he's only just started to be interested in those fast moving hairballs!