"MOM!"

This morning, while sitting at the highchair eating oatmeal, Liam looked at me and said "MOM!" I almost cried, I have been waiting SO long for this. Since then, Liam has been saying many "momomom" chains, and I love, love love love it! Liam has been much more verbal since starting in the toddler room. He makes different sounds and is babbling a lot. I love to listen to his baby talk.

This morning, Liam's first appointment was with the NICU pediatric rehabilitation clinic. This appointment is where Liam will be assessed by a physical therapist, and then the results will be sent to the NICU doctors, and we will meet with them in March. I really appreciate the efforts of our follow up program to put the entire picture together. At Liam's 6 month follow up, he scored a 95% on his skills at that time. Today, he did amazing as well. There were a few things the therapist pointed out that I never would have even thought of, such as the way he sits in a W, with his knees in front of him and his feet bent backward behind him off to the sides. The therapist explained this would be something to watch, as Liam should be sitting in many different positions, in order to use his core muscles. The therapist also set up an obstacle course for Liam which he aced. First, Liam kicked a ball around the hallway, which helped show how fast he could go, and how coordinated his movements are. Liam then had to walk over an uneven surface, where he struggled a bit, before showing off his strength by climbing "uphill" on an incline while holding the therapists hands. After that, Liam even was able to go up and down some steps (while holding hands)! Liam even attempted to walk on a beam, this skill didn't go so well- however, the therapist was showing me what he is now capable of with assistance, and will be able to do independently on his own in the next few months. So proud of our little man! While our therapist said Liam was doing phenomenal, she advised that it would be best for us to have Liam monitored monthly if possible, since the next few months are huge for his development. With this great report, I whisked him away to our next appointment.

Now we met with a speech therapist for an evaluation. These evaluations are painstaking. It is so hard to score your baby on what they do or don't do. Babies skills change all the time, they come and go, they "take breaks" at times when their is other monumental stages of change occurring. Liam waved "bye bye" consistently for a month or so, but this stopped a week or two ago and we haven't seen him wave since. Justin and I both got to be at this eval since it took place at Liam's daycare, which makes me so happy because we can both put our input of the last few weeks. It might sound crazy, but some days the difference in what my husband and I see in our son is like night and day, depending on who takes him in the am or pm, meal time, diaper time, play time, etc. There are days when I am getting ready to go to bed thinking about the constant crying and tantrum throwing that I say something to my husband like, "Oh my goodness I hope tomorrow is better!" My husband will look at me and say, he was great with me today when I had him. Because of this, it is always helpful to have the input of both parents to complete the evaluation. When the therapist asked us if Liam waves bye bye, we looked at each other, and just told the truth. We know he can- but neither of us has seen him do this in at least a week. Right now this development has gotten tucked away for the moment so he could focus on something else. I also made sure to share Liam's background with his ear infections and tubes, etc. After the eval, we were told Liam was at an 8 month speech skill set and that Liam will qualify for therapy. We were told that these evaluations are not completely accurate at this age due to the variability in the scoring. The speech therapist does not feel that Liam is going to have any trouble meeting his full potential with a little extra help! We have complete confidence that our son just needs a little more time. Although he was born full term, being on so many medications, including Fentanyl, Versed, and Phenobarbital during the first week of life took time away from him developmentally. In addition, Phenobarbital is a very strong medication, and Liam was on this for roughly 4 months to prevent seizures while his EEG's were still abnormal. I can only imagine what this would be like for a baby. We were reassured multiple times that there were no negative effects from the medication, but in my heart I felt as though it must be like pulling a blanket over your head! Our little man has truly been through so much, and I know with time he will reach full potential.

I have come down with an awful cold, I tried to get some extra sleep last night after not even being able to get anything in me but warm broth and choking down some mucinex. Today, I was completely wiped out and my throat was hurting SO bad. When I heard my baby boy say MOM it was all I needed to get through the day, I have now officially learned what people mean when they say moms have superpowers. If I didn't have my little man I probably would have spent the day in bed, I really felt so terrible.  After two am appointments, running back to work, somehow purchasing $200 of groceries on my lunch hour, and then covering the que until 9- this momma is WIPED. But I wanted to share my amazing news with you all! Until next time, stay safe and warm! xo