Sack o' potatoes

Cayden has broken the 10 pound mark!  As of yesterday, he weighed 10 lbs. 3.5 oz.  Seems he is finally starting to pack on the weight.  The home health nurse who came to check on him yesterday said he is at about the 25th percentile in weight which is a significant jump from the 10th or so percentile he's been hovering around up until now.  That is what we want to see!  She also did a developmental assessment called an ASQ (Ages and Stages Questionnaire) for 2 months, his "adjusted" age.  Surprisingly, he is way ahead of schedule on gross motor development.  He is also right on track for fine motor and personal/social development.  For communication and problem solving, he is at the upper end of the "provide learning activities and monitor" region, which is absolutely fine. 

We also had our first session with the new and much improved occupational therapist, Amy.  She spent about an hour down on the floor with him, working on his three main exercises:  tracking with his eyes and head, bringing his hands to his midline, and holding his head up during tummy time.  He did well and got quite a workout.  She even commented that he was "showing off" a time or two!  Now it's our job to work on these exercises every day until we see Amy again next week.

My favorite development over the past couple of days is that Cayden has started cooing.  He really responds and engages when you get up close and talk to him.  It just melts my heart!

Jason just got his schedule for the month of May and it doesn't look good:  he only has 10 days off all month (he was told he would always have 12-14), and his trips are all four and a half or five days gone with a day and a half or two off in between.  He is not looking forward to it and neither am I.  The only exception is a stretch of four days off during the time of Cayden's hernia repair surgery (May 9th.) 

On Monday, Cayden has his 6-month well-child check up, so we'll see what the pediatrician has to say.  Our big hope is that we'll be able to get a monitor to do a room air challenge to see if maybe he can come off of his oxygen.