Letting go

Cayden seems to have had a surge in developmental achievements here lately.  He switched from army crawling to regular crawling a couple of weeks ago and hasn't looked back.  You have to watch that little guy - he is FAST!  Sometimes I'll set him down on the floor and try to make my way over to close off a baby gate at the top of a set of stairs but he crawls faster than I can walk so I end up having to run and trip over him to get there before he goes headfirst down the stairs.

He's just starting to cruise the furniture (where he pulls himself up onto his feet then moves along the edge of whatever it is he's holding onto) and today, during his OT session, he let go two different times for a second or two each time.

We had a visit with the Tri-County home health nurse yesterday.  She's been coming once a month since Cayden came home from the hospital almost a year ago.  She weighs and measures him, does a quick physical exam, and assesses his gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and communication development periodically with a questionnaire called the ASQ.  Since her last visit, he gained almost two pounds!  His weight is up to 21 lbs. 10.7 oz. and he is between the 25th and 50th percentiles for his adjusted age's weight and height.  He is meeting all of the goals for his adjusted age and she's thrilled with his progress.  So thrilled, in fact, that we decided it's probably not necessary to have her come any more.  I've always looked forward to her visits just to have that monthly reassurance that he's doing o.k., but now we're letting go of that security blanket. 

Cayden will see Dr. Rosenberg at the Special Care Clinic on Friday this week for his 15 month check up and vaccinations.  We haven't been there in over two months, so I'm sure they're going to be impressed with how big he's gotten!  After this visit, I don't think we'll have to go back until he's 18 months old, so that'll be a three month stretch without any medical check ups. 

While it's so exciting that we're finally getting to the point where we no longer have to be so concerned about every little thing with Cayden, it's hard to get used to the idea.  I know he's doing well and will continue to thrive and gain ground on his developmental achievements, but after 15 months of having every little thing scrutinized, measured, debated, and basically decided for us, it's hard to let go of that professional guidance.

We've settled into a routine where Cayden eats all three meals with us in his high chair and he's eating pretty much everything we do.  I don't think I've found a food he won't eat!  We're still working on getting him to use a sippy cup, and for now, we're giving him three bottles of milk a day, one after each of his meals.  When we give him the sippy cup with his meal, he gets so distracted with it, he doesn't eat.  Once he gets the sippy cup down, that'll be another big milestone.

Cayden has a new favorite pastime:  picking his nose.  One finger, two fingers, one hand or the other, that boy always seems to have a digit up his nostril!  I'm sure he'll be the one we have to take to the ER to have a marble or something removed.  But he's still cute.  See for yourself: