Cayden: Two steps forward and the March for Babies

Cayden took his first couple of steps! He first did it a couple of weeks ago during a physical therapy session, where the therapist was trying to encourage him to 'cruise' between the main part of the couch and the chaise part that comes off of the main part at a 90 degree angle. He turned toward the chaise, let go of the couch, and took one, then another unassisted step toward the chaise before grabbing hold of it. There were two therapists working with him that day and we all looked at each other with wide eyes before I finally said, "Did he just take his first steps?!" and ran to get the video camera. Of course after that, he didn't do it anymore.

About a week later, he did it again, this time in front of me and one of our nannies, in the kitchen. I grabbed the camera (which happened to be right there on the kitchen counter) and switched it to video mode, ready to capture the moment, but he just plopped down on the floor and played with a dust bunny or something.

He's been getting a lot of practice by using his 'walker'. We have two kiddie chairs - the plastic outdoor type - that are stacked together and hanging out in the living room. They just so happen to be the perfect height where Cayden can grab hold of the arm rests and walk around, pushing the two chairs all over the smooth wooden floor. It cracks me up! He really MOVES when he uses them, and he looks like a little old man pushing his bright red custom walker. I have a video of it that I'll have to see if I can upload here. (It's uploading to YouTube as I type, so once it's done, I'll try to put it on here.)

Of course I can't wait for him to walk - it will be such a huge milestone for him! But what will make me really happy is if he waits about 10 more days so that Jason will be home and we can all celebrate the event together.

In other news, both boys had a wicked case of some sort of stomach bug that lasted two full weeks. Thankfully, it ended a couple weeks ago, but it was pure hell for 14 days. My Grandma Lena came to visit smack in the middle of it, and for the first few days of her visit, they couldn't enjoy any of the yummy goodies she brought with her (BRAT diet only for those poor boys!) Nonna did a wonderful job comforting both boys and I'm so glad she was here to help us through that tough time.

Cayden has been showing interest in using a spoon and loves to try. He might actually get some food in his mouth if you help him get it from the bowl, but given free reign over both the spoon and the bowl, what you end up with is a giant mess!

He hasn't had a bottle in a couple weeks now and has been doing all of his drinking from a sippy cup, so that's exciting! I am SO happy not to have to wash all those Dr. Brown's bottles and parts anymore! AmyJo, our occupational therapist, said today that he's closing the gap on his fine motor skills to the point where he's almost caught up to where he should be for his actual age and may not need these services for much longer. So what that means is that he's doing things a typical 17-18 month old would do (his actual age) and is way beyond what a 14 month old (his adjusted age) would be doing. Now we just have to work on his gross motor skills...

Which reminds me...a couple weeks ago, the physical therapist mentioned that it looks like Cayden is still weak on his right side and may need braces for his legs to help him learn to walk properly. We have a meeting with an orthotics specialist on May 14th to get her opinion and then if needed, have him fitted for leg braces. I'm sad that he may have to deal with this little inconvenience, but if this is the only thing he has to overcome, I'll be thrilled. Given where he started in life, I'm amazed this may be all we have to deal with.

And finally, some exciting news! The March of Dimes March for Babies was this past Saturday. Our team raised over $1800 thank to the generosity of friends and family. A big thank you to those who donated on behalf of Team Cayden Ferguson! We had a beautiful day (despite what early weather forecasts were saying) and it was so nice to see some friends and support a great cause.