Time flies

Well, it has been a long time since my last blog. Sorry for the random photo twist, I can't figure out how to turn it. That's Sam and Aaron at the zoo, us with Andie in DC.

This month has been so crazy. Shortly after my last post, Matt's grandmother died. She had been ill with cancer but it still seemed to come suddenly. The "spitfire" older woman is such a cliche, but she really did have a lot of chutzpah. Ironic choice of words in speaking of such a devout Catholic! So, we packed Sam off to Bubbe and Saba's house, and packed Aaron up for his first roadtrip to pay our respects. He did very well on the road---so well that I regret not taking him sooner so she could have met him. I also wish he could meet his Gold great grandparents, but I don't think we are ready for that trip to Europe! Matt and I enjoyed the time together, despite the sad occassion, and the one-on-one time with Aaron.

Anyway, right after that, we went to visit Aunt Andrea in DC. A wonderful time was had by all- and again, Aaron proved to be a surprisingly good traveler. Sam, of course, LOVES hotels, planes, subways and all things having to do with travel. Not to mention his love for Andie and "Shawnie". He experienced room service with Bubbe and Saba on this trip---the kid will be accustomed to the finer things, he better earn some dough! My mom and sister and I went to see Tina Turner. She is an inspiration. She has beaten the odds with such class and verve. We bought the tickets shortly after seeing Tina on Oprah months ago. I remember the day so clearly- Aaron had a pretty good day, and we were dancing around to Proud Mary, and I was laughing, really laughing, and I couldn't believe I could laugh again. So, I will never forget seeing her with my mom and my sister.

Aaron continues to amaze. On Thanksgiving Day, he walked behind a push toy at least 10 steps. I think he wanted to keep up with his cousins. He is now clapping, when you say "YAY" and waving like crazy. His 5th tooth, a lateral incisor, is now in. He looks so cute with that big grin! We went to see the developmental specialist last week. It was mostly a good visit. She called him a miracle repeatedly. Doctors don't throw that word around. I should know :) She thinks his muscle tone is now normal in his arms but he still has tightness in his thighs. She noticed that he doesn't like to sit, probably it is not super comfortable for him. I disagreed at first, but after watching him, she has a good point. He often kneels or sits sideways. I think he has been so active, I have slacked off on stretching, but since that appt, we are stretching lots. This was the first time that he scored LOW rather than MODERATE risk on the test assessing neuromotor development! I was SO excited to get out of the MODERATE word. He was a little behind on speech, expressive more than receptive based on her questionnaire to us. I am trying not to read too much into that. She thinks at a year, we should switch from mostly PT to mostly speech therapy. There was also lots of weight/eating discussions, which I will spare everyone for now.

With how much Sam talks lately, maybe he just can't get a word in edgewise. I swear, one day I am going to write down all the Sam quotes for the day, and just type them in verbatim. He is so cute and funny and precious right now. We went on a "date" last night to dinner and to see Madagascar and we had the best time. Age 4 is flying by and I just want to stop the clock.

Here are some recent videos... Aaron pushing his cart with Sam's encouragement. They are playing "together." PLEASE turn down the volume, I am speaking in an especially annoying voice in the beginning. It is about 2 minutes long.

The wave

Well, I should document all the latest Aaron news. He now has 4 teeth! I decided a long time ago not to write in a baby book about him for now, so I am going to try to record that kind of stuff here. He is standing up against everything. He likes the dishwasher and the dryer especially. He also likes to pull up and stand "face to face" against anything that reflects, and give himself kisses. He is even starting to cruise a few steps here and there.

Pam, our WONDERFUL physical therapist came this week. She now comes about once a month. She was really pleased with his progress. We now have "big boy" exercises to do, working on climbing and cruising, stand up and sit down. I have to work on finding time between chasing him and feeding him to do his exercises. Of course, we WILL do them. Aaron will exercise, me hmmm...not so much.

Most exciting, as referenced in the title...Aaron is definitely waving hi. He has done it a little for a month but tonight he clearly and repeatedly waved to my mom and dad. Won't wave to mommy of course. That's OK, I'll take it. It was beautiful.

Gratitude

With thanks to my dearest friend, who wrote about me and the boys on this topic. We have had a good couple of days. On the advice of Aaron's doctor, I am trying to chill about his feeding for a few days. Because of that, I have specifically decided NOT to write down how much he takes (this feels funny because I have done that since the day he came home from the NICU, every day for 7 months) and also not to talk about his feeding amounts with anyone except for Matt. (Because Matt is trying to do more feedings, also doctor's orders, I think we have to talk about it). So, I will blog at the end of this little experiment and let you know how it goes.

Anyhow, so I have been trying to celebrate the wonderful things we are beginning to know about Aaron. To wit...

* He is fearless. He is so brave and persistent.

* His laugh is adorable.

* He is already starting to play "chase" with Sam. I so look forward to all the games they will play in the future.

* I love how he snuggles in the crook of my arm. Even in the middle of the night :)

* His beautiful new toothy grin

* His zeal for exploring everything

I could go on, little man, you are a delight and I am mostly grateful to be the mom of TWO wonderful boys.

More worrying...

Here is a photo from Aunt Andrea's visit, Aaron being a sweet little snugglebug with A senior! (she calls him little A, but I will refrain from calling her Big A! Love you sis!)

Well, I debated about what to write about the difficulities we have been having as of late. I have decided to record how we are doing and how I am feeling now, so that HOPEFULLY it can all seem so overblown and remote in the future. Like how I use to worry if Aaron would ever sit unassisted, etc.

Anyway, Aaron weighed in last Friday at 16 lbs 13 ounces, a 7 oz gain in 2 weeks. It put him at the 13th percentile for weight, 90th for height. All in all, it was a nice gain, compared him only gaining 1 oz in the prior month. I really think it was due to the Duocal caloric supplement recommended by the allergist. So, I was ready to exhale and stop worrying so much about his eating. He was taking around 28 ounces a day, plus some solids, not great, but some. Since THE DAY of his weigh in, he has basically stopped taking more than 3 ounces a feed. (Before this, he was routinely taking 4-6 ounces, albeit with a lot of encouragement) He has a tiny cold, so maybe that will go away and his eating will get better. However, a big part of me fears that he has just now decided to stop taking his bottle. I worry that I pushed him too hard and caused his dislike of the bottle. I just don't know what to do. The feeding specialist won't return my calls, but initially had encouraged me to be persistent with his bottles. I am getting so tired of trying to coerce/coax him to eat every 3-4 hours. The only slight bright spot is that he seems to take solids slightly better lately (maybe because he is starving!) He really seems to like this "yogurt" made from coconut milk. At this point, I would feed him pina coladas if he would just take them! Again, maybe I am just worrying for nothing and he will turn the bend and start eating enough to grow. I feel like he just HAS to. So Aaron, if you are reading this when you are 10, and you are now big and strong and chunky, have a good laugh at your worrywart Mommy, OK??? And have a special treat snack with my blessing...

Say what?

Well, Aaron had his repeat hearing test today. He had passed his test as a newborn, but because of his history, he had a 6 month follow up, which he did not pass. They thought it was likely more due to behavior. Today, we repeated that. He passed the part of the test that does not require cooperation (beyond not crying, which he couldn't do last time). That means that any hearing loss would be mild at most. The second part of the test required him to look toward tones of varying degrees of intensity. He did better, but still didn't pass. I think he was bored by the "reward" of a flashing stuffed animal they get for looking to the sound! Due to that, he will need a visit at one year old.

His eating is about the same, maybe slightly better. I think he is teething, because he has not slept more than a 3 hour stretch all week and I see 3 little nubs on top.

Funny Sam story.... he pushed me after I had the audacity to beat him at basketball tonight ( I usually let him win, but he was ripping on the girls team, and my feminist leanings kicked in!). He actually surprised me enough to knock me over and Matt really got after him. He had story hour taken away, which was very upsetting to him. However, after he calmed down, he changed his tune, saying that he needed a "break" from story anyway.Anything to end up in the right...can't imagine where that comes from :)

Feeling defeated

Aaron in the forbidden exersaucer, but just for a few minutes, out in the yard!
Sam still wears M despite the humiliation that is this season.

It has been a very hard week. Aaron's eating continues to be a struggle. I have had to start getting up in the middle of the night to pump again, but MAYBE it is helping and he is eating a tiny bit more of his bottle. However, he gets less interested in baby food everyday. I just don't see how he is going to grow like this. I keep waiting for the day that he turns the corner, but it is so frustrating. He seems to like to feed himself (though he is too young to really do it successfully) so maybe if we can just hang on a little longer...

I just don't have any more ideas left. I always felt I could get him to eat if I just tried hard enough, was enthusiastic enough, etc. Now, I am starting to think I just have to see what he does without all the prodding. But, it is so hard to watch him stop after 2 ounces. How can MY KID not like to eat?? We seem to have opposite problems, my weight goes up as his goes down.

We are weighing in again Friday. Fingers crossed.

Fabulous 4 year old

This is a recent letter excerpt from Sam's teacher...

I'm writing this note to let you know how helpful Sam has been at school lately. He is always a very good listener. He has been working very hard at cleanup time especially. He tries to keep the children motivated during this difficult time of day. He has shown tremendous leadership with the younger children and is setting a fantastic example of how to behave...
His problem solving skills are also developing. When there is a conflict, Sam is always calm and uses his words. He also shares a lot of ideas about how to solve other problems in the classroom. He always treats other children in teh room with respect. He is a very good boy who makes good choices. We really enjoy having him.

We are so proud. It has been a trying time for Sam with all the attention focused on Aaron lately and he seems to be handling it really well.

Here are two golf videos. The putt was awesome but his celebration is just too much. Listen to my dh in the background. Too cute.