That's what Dr George, our pediatric neurosurgeon, said to me last Thursday afternoon after reviewing Miller's CT scan. He said MP's brain is growing and developing and there's no new injury, no evidence of hydrocephalus. The past 6 months have been a 'wait and see' period and Miller is doing great. The doc says he would expect a child 13+ weeks premature to have some developmental delays simply due to the fact that he wasn't done cookin'. So outside of the fact that he had a grade IV IVH, we're told that they'd expect him to be in a 3-6 month old range right now. With the IVH, well, nobody knows. In the beginning there was a lot of talk about CP, but right now we're just not seeing anything. It doesn't mean he won't ever be diagnosed with at least a mild case, but we'll cross that bridge if we ever come to it. ::big sigh of relief for now::Miller just turned 8 months on the 23rd of December. Holy smokes. Time does fly. He's also 5 months, and according to Dr. George, he's 3-6 months. Whatever. It'll give you a headache if you think about it too hard. We're not even really focused on his age anymore. He does happen to fall somewhere in the 4-6 month range developmentally, and maybe an occasional sprinkle of 7 month old behavior here and there. The main thing is that he is changing and developing everyday. So our newest approach is not to worry unless he seems to stay the same for awhile, or show any signs of regression.
Here are some fun things he's doing now:
-Laugh/cry when he sees Momma or his bottle. He also does this if you ask him if he wants his momma or his bottle.
-Eating babyfood...no love for carrots, I'm afraid. He'll eat the sweet potatoes if they're warm, but he just spits the peas out. I think we've finally found something he inherited from his momma.
-Rolling over (still not back to front but we're close) and playing on his side.
-Sharpening his fine motor skills by grabbing dad's nose, or momma's whole face, hair, etc. Oh and toys too.
-Grabs on to dad's huge hand from a horizontal position and pulls himself up. He'll also pull himself up to a stand whether he'ss laying down or sitting.
-Ooching on his belly...not crawling, but not sitting still either. He's a man on the go!
-Learning to sit on his own...this will be awhile still but he's getting a lot better at it.
-Plays independently...but not for very long.
-Mirror time! Miller loves him some Miller. This is actually the secret weapon when he's cranky.
Can't forget social behavior...this kid can smile and he does it all the time. Especially at nurses. And my phone. In fact, if I get my phone out he spontaneously smiles. That's why I never post any 'serious' pictures. I can't get them anymore.
I was too nervous in the doc's office to remember MP's height, but he's taller. He weighs 16 lbs. And still no teeth. Poor little man.
He also loves to stand and bounce, and several games have been promptly invented from such behavior.
That's about all that's happening right now with Miller. We're still desperately trying to get our house together but we're under a bit of construction and waiting on furniture and such. We love our new 'hood though and can't wait for it to warm up a bit. Happy New Year!
