So the last entry was exactly a month ago today, and there is so much to tell! Caden seems to be such a little boy now, no longer a baby that I can just snuggle with any time I want, now it's up to him. That being said, there is a new development that fully makes up for any sadness I may feel at the loss of infancy, and that is "hugs on demand". For the past couple of weeks Dave or I can say "hugs?" to Caden and he will (usually) stop what he's doing, smile, and reach in for a nice cuddle :) it makes our day...
It's been a couple of weeks since the OT was last here, and let me tell you she will be impressed when she comes next. About 2.5 weeks ago Caden was coming along with trying to pull up on things (with great effort) and kind of playing while kneeling, both things that the OT wanted to see advancing for the next visit. Well, next time she comes Caden can show her how he: pulls up to standing with ease, stands and cruises around his crib and playpen, can sit back down from standing, can kneel for quite a while and play with his toys, easily transitions from laying on his belly to sitting etc., etc. The only thing I think still needs some work is his crawling, which continues to be kind of a commando shuffle instead of a hands and knees full crawl, and he still somewhat drags his right leg rather than bend it (who knows why, but I'm assuming it's some sort of compensation for his right arm/side). I'm hoping we will get our physio referral soon otherwise I'll have to take matters into my own hands and find my own.
As you can see, the boy's got a lot of teeth! We are currently up to #9 (including 2 molars) with #10 likely making an appearance in the next week or so. Teething has been relatively painless thus far (for us), with just a couple of night wakings requiring Tylenol. As you may expect, with teeth comes biting, every so often we'll get chomped during a hug, or even just out of the blue-Caden's like a little shark, he comes at you with his mouth open, all cute, but then he sinks his teeth in...hopefully this phase doesn't last long!
His eating is continuing to go well, and I've cut down a bit on the breastfeeding in preparation for weaning before he starts daycare. He doesn't drink too much from sippy cups though, so I'm hoping that improves soon and I can relax a bit and know he's getting enough fluids before I cut him off completely from the boob ;)
On that note, I did start him on whole milk today-I figured it's almost time anyway, he's not drinking much, and maybe he'll like the taste and drink more from the cup than he does when it's just filled with juice or water. We'll see how that goes, so far so good!
We have been continuing with the lymphatic drainage massage which I have been performing daily and bringing Caden to the RMT bi-weekly to have done. Since we have been doing this daily (with one or two missed days here and there) his right arm has maintained it's decreased size and swelling, and the skin continues to be soft and pliable as opposed to the puffy tightness it had been prior. I will admit that I haven't been bandaging the arm as often for compression, this is due to the fact that when I do apply the dressing Caden does not move or use that arm nearly as much as usual, and I don't want to limit his development or ability to play. We also received the revised night time garment which fits well but does take some getting used to, so we will be slowly integrating it into his routine.
Over the past week or so, Caden's "full-hand point" has been refined into the one-finger point. He loves having us carry him around the house as he points out various things expecting us to bring him over to them, all the while chatting or grunting. It's definitely become a game and I'm fully aware that he's got us trained :)
We've started another session of "creep, crawl and toddle" at he Early Years Center, where we are also doing a "Baby Picasso's" class. During the last couple of classes Caden has turned into quite the little ham; pointing, "singing" along with the music, yelling to get the other kids' attention and flashing his toothy smile at whoever will take notice. I'm hoping these experiences help to get him semi-prepared for daycare, I guess we shall see...
I can't believe that in two weeks our little boy will be 1 year old. He is truly the love of our lives and I can't believe how much he has shown us about what it means to be a family, a fighter, and the best gift any two people could ever hope for. I will most definitely be doing another post closer to his birthday about what I've learned and the love I've experienced over the past year...
Finally, I'm including these pics that I took while Dave gave Caden his first taste of a Popsicle a few days ago...enjoy :)
Popsicle pics are awesome. Especially the last one.
ReplyDeleteAs for the biting, you have to bite him back. All he knows is that it gets a reaction from you which he likes. He doesn't understand it hurts. Until that is, you do it to him. Everyone I know who has had to deal with a biting child bit them back with a firm NO and it ceased. Just a thought.