Happy 6 Month Birthday, Sophie!

Six months ago today our life changed dramatically. Of course we knew change was coming, but little did we know how quickly Sophie would come and how much our life would be different.

It's hard to believe Sophie is 6 months old. When most parents say that, they mean they can't believe how much their baby has changed. We mean the opposite. Sophie doesn't even seem like her adjusted age of 4 months. A month ago her developmental pediatrician (Dr. Ellis who saw Sophie in the NICU), said Sophie was like a month old in some respects. She has taken great strides in the last month; she smiles and giggles often, and has much better head control. But she still isn't doing a lot of things that Owen was doing at a younger (adjusted) age, like sitting, grasping toys and eating solid foods. Of course this is all to be expected, given Sophie's health issues, but still frustrating. It is hard to "exercise" Sophie's physical and intellectual development when we spend so much time on feeding, and when her temperment is so fragile. She can easily go from laughing (she laughs at her hiccups and when we hold her up to stand on her feet) to crying in a split second. I am hoping her physical, occupational, and feeding therapies will help speed up her development. Maybe I should be thankful - most people fret how fast their babies grow up. :-)

Sophie has thankfully shown some improvement in her nippling. She has really only shown an increase in quantity when we give her a medium flow nipple (took over 3 oz a couple of times), but overall I get a sense that we are turning a corner. We are now trying to get her to a more "normal" feeding schedule (cutting down the night drip and speeding up the time it takes to eat during the day), and trying thickeners in her milk with various nipples. I am trying to get the help of a feeding therapist through the AZ Dept of Developmental Disabilities, which has taken a lot longer than I was hoping.

Owen is dealing with all of this pretty well. He has a Berenstein Bears book about a new baby at home, and we sometimes have to remind him how the book teaches that babies need a lot of attention. Owen is enjoying the new grass in our backyard, playing with all of the different types of balls he has, including a t-ball set he got for Christmas. When he is "playing tennis" or "playing baseball" it really just means he does whatever he wants with those balls. He is not very open to suggestions on how to swing the bat or how to play a game. It's the same with indoor games. He got a few board games for Christmas (Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory). He will play along with my instructions for a little bit, but fairly quickly he changes the rules and does his own thing. If you don't let it frustrate you, it can be very amusing. And I guess you have to start somewhere. :-)

Another thing I find amusing about Owen is how he never says "I don't know". Any time you ask him if he knows something, he will tell you "yes". But then when you ask him for specifics, he just repeats the question back at you. "Do you know who that is in the photo?" "Yes." "Who is it?" "Who is it?"

Now if you were to ask me what the next 6 months will bring, I would definitely have an answer. "I don't know!"

From O So January 11

From O So January 11