Today Liam had his third NICU check up. I was really apprehensive on how he would be scored today, seeing as how last time we were there, he was way above and beyond his actual age scores. Of course we think he is developing great, but these doctors are suppose to be hypercritical to see just how good they are doing!
First off, we saw the hearing specialist, and unfortunately we will have to go back and have his hearing checked again because they couldn't get an accurate reading. This could be caused by the congestion he's had for a while, and if there was any fluid on his ear drums caused by it. So nothing on that today. He's been above average in the past tests, so I'm not worried.
Then we were visited by the nutritionists who was beyond impressed that he is still bf'ing at least 4x a day! She was absolutely thrilled by my commitment, and gave me the ok to slowly start the weaning process! (you have no idea how much this excites me!). He's growing great, and his diet is right on for what his body needs! So flying colors there!
Then the developmentalist came in, and over an hour watched him interact and play, read to him, sang and played games all while evaluating him in his social, cognitive, behavioral and motor skills development. Overall he did really good, and still came out average or above for his actual age. The scores range from 85-115. Although he didn't get as many perfect scores this visit, he is still doing super and the areas where he received lower scores were mostly on his motor skills, like walking, bending down, sitting, etc. He sits in a pose called the "W" position, and although it seems it's not affecting his hips now, it could later, so we need to work on correcting him when he sits like this. As far as walking, he does know how to, up to 15 steps, he just doesn't want to. So he was given lower scores on these areas but based on 14 3/4 months actual vs. 12 3/4 months adjusted. These are also things we can work a little harder with him on at home. His social development was 113, and they think a lot of this stems from Jaxon! :) He shares, and is eager to mimic and so kudos' to big brother!!
Next we saw the physical therapist who continues to be impressed with the fact Liam doesn't have typical stress factors that someone born in his situation should have. She also recommended us correcting his sitting position, and taking a push walker and weighting it down so that he is using his hips correctly when walking. I was advised to put the "walker" away as its aiding to his tippy toe walking, but assured her that he's not in it to learn to walk, but more or less for "cars" in the house w/Jax, and for very short periods only. Lol, she still said to put it away for a while! But that is also because I WANT Liam walking, so the more heavy pushing he does the faster he'll do it!
Finally, Dr. Bharti saw us. He was one of Liam's pedi's in the NICU. He raved at how big Liam was (lol yeah right!) and how far he has come. He did want to see Liam again in 6 months, so not completely done with these clinic's, but only to see where he scores after he is up and walking.
All in all, it was better than I anticipated so I'm happy. It took almost 4 hours, so the boys were both beyond controllable, tired, hungry and bored, but I still treated them to dip in dots for behaving as well as they did! :)
The best part was Jax started to push my buttons while the developmentalist was in, and I didn't care, I gave Jax three options including finding a bathroom and after I gave him my mom look" she said "good job mom! Giving choices is perfect!!" :)
Liam weighs 18lbs 7oz and is 29 3/4" long!
While on the subject of NICU babies. I am reminded very graciously how blessed we are to have our Lucky Liam, and how good he really is doing. He may be stubborn and want to do things his way, but I'll take it!! There are so many other babies out there who are not nearly as developed as Liam is, even at an older age. I never know how to act when I meet other babies who are clearly in a worse off position than Liam is. Of course my heart aches for the parents who must be faced daily with the normality's of other children, but I hope they are equally blessed with their precious ones, and don't have moments of regret or feeling sorry for their children. It's definitely hard to witness a baby who is 4-5 months older than Liam, smaller, and failing the simplest tasks. So please always remember there are families out there who may have it "worse" than you, and to always appreciate your own children for who they are and what they accomplish!
Very proud of my littlest!!!
Shylah
