Sprik Space: 2009

Sunday, December 27, 2009

1 year old

We made it... Connor is officially a one-year-old!

While the first 4 months of his life in the NICU painfully dragged, the past 8 that he's been home with us have truly flown by. Each day has brought new surprises, new discoveries, and new ways for our hearts to grow.

First things first, he.won't.stop.growing!

LATEST STATS

Weight - 19 pounds

Length - 27.5 inches

Head Circ - 46 centimeters

GROWTH CHARTS

Adjusted, he is about 9 months old, which puts Connor in the:

Weight - 50th percentile

Length - 50th percentile

Head Circ - 70th percentile

Unadjusted, on the growth charts for a 12 month old, Connor is in the:

Weight - 5th percentile

Length - 5th percentile

Head Circ - 37th percentile

Since birth, he has grown exactly 8 times heavier and is exactly 2 times as long!

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Medically, it's been another relatively quiet month for Connor.

He had a routine eye exam in November - everything checked out perfectly! No need for glasses at this point, and his ROP issue is still under control. He'll continue to be checked every 6 months regarding his ROP, but that's to be expected.

Yes, he's still wearing the helmet... though obviously, not as much as he should be, as evidenced by all of the photos below. :( (I'm a bad momma.)
He's supposed to have it on 23 hours per day, and I would guess that we average about 19-20 hours per day.
During one of his helmet adjustment appointments at about the halfway point of his treatment, their prognosis was still a total of 3 months in the 1st band. (Yes, they're still talking about a 2nd band, which may not be for us.) This means we shouldn't plan on it being over until the end of January.
Connor has handled the helmet well, but to be honest, I have not. He's harder to snuggle with it on, and I'm tired of getting clobbered in the face with it. I hate the way it makes his head smell, no matter what we try to combat the stench.
He doesn't get out much nowadays, but in general, people respond pretty well to it. During our recent trip to Arizona, everybody knew his name (obviously), and one flight attendant and TSA agent even stopped to ask thoughtful questions about why he was wearing it. As his mother, the rude stares and even ruder double takes still bother me, but from now on, rather than letting it get the better of me, I think I'll just say to them, "He's CUTE, isn't he??"
BUT, we have seen great progress in the overall shape of his head.
Just ask me when it's all over if I thought it was worth it. ;)

Somebody adorable passed him a little virus, so after suffering just a runny nose in Arizona, he came home and developed bronchiolitis. (He tested negative for RSV.) Our pediatrician prescribed albuterol and a nebulizer, and we're down from 3 breathing treatments a day to just 1 now. The whole time, while he's sounded horrible, he's never run a fever or lost his appetite, and has been a happy little camper.

We're also happy to report that he's finally outgrown his gastric reflux and we're officially off of Reglan! Yippee YAY! This means he's only on 2 meds now - an antibiotic and vitamins. Easy.peasy. :)

All kinds of firsts this past month...

While we were in Arizona, Connor began clapping, and will clap on cue if we say, "Yay, Connor!" He also began feeding himself, using his thumb and index finger to pick up finger foods (pencil grip), and holding his bottle. He began babbling with the letter B - boo's and ba's. And once, he even shuffled his feet forward to walk, with Mommy holding his hands!

Just over Christmas, Connor finally mastered the wave! He seems to prefer the flailing arm and hand variety, not quite "elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist". Sometimes he'll open and close his hand, too.

Lately he's been making lots of new sounds... he's got a full range of motor boat and engine purrs, and he loves to blow messy raspberries, much to our chagrin. Each day is full of giggles, screeches, and singing (and that's just Connor).

Just in the past 2 weeks, Connor's increased to 3 solid meals per day, with 4 bottles of formula. That's a lot of time spent eating! He loves his puffs, cheerios, yogurt melts, and dried fruit - he can't get enough of snacks. He also began eating gourmet Gerber MEAT meals this past week... so far, so good! We're also really looking forward to starting whole milk at 15 months.

Developmentally, his pediatrician says he's right on track with his adjusted age of 9 months. We'll take it! YAY, Connor!

And now, his monthly photo album:

Not.quite.yet! But, we're practicing!! - December 16, 2009

December 21, 2009

Super Sitter! - November 24, 2009

Letting it all hang out... - November 25, 2009

Shoes?!? What the...?!?! - December 1, 2009

Balance gets better every day - November 27, 2009

Teeth! - December 21, 2009

December 5, 2009

I just love watching him think! - December 16, 2009

Smug. - December 8, 2009

Nap with Daddy - November 27, 2009

December 9, 2009

December 16, 2009

Loves to play "catch" - November 24, 2009

Loves to blow raspberries... just imagine meal time. :( - December 8, 2009

"Yay, Connor!" Can't.stop.clapping! - December 16, 2009

You can see his first year in pictures here.

His monthly monkey mug shots can be seen here.

Just FYI, this marks the end of my monthly memes,

giving "scheduled" monster-sized updates on Connor's progress.

Not to worry, I'll still post all the news that's fit to print,

along with copious pictures for the grandparents.

(Sprik Space might be morphing from an all-about-Connor blog,

to a little more of everything blog, as ever-elusive spare time permits, of course.)

November 26, 2009

Now that Connor is a year old,

both Brian and I are ready

to put this tumultuous year behind us -

we are so grateful for getting through it,

and excited for our future together as a family!

Father and son - November 24, 2009

We'll never know or understand why

Connor joined our family so early

and had to have such a rough go of things.

But, we do know

that we're so much stronger than we ever knew possible,

and that we have a loving Heavenly Father

who was there for us each step of the way.

This time last year, Brian and I can honestly say

we didn't know if we'd have Connor with us now.

We thank Him every day for the joy

that this little boy has brought to our lives.

Birthday Boy - December 16, 2009

We would also be remiss not to thank

all of you, our family and friends,

for caring about us, sending well wishes,

and praying for us and our little MIRACLE over this past year!

Your support helped to carry us when times were rough.

From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!

Sunday Sustenance

"As the teachings of the Savior are consistently obeyed, life will be beautiful, the future secure, and there will be capacity to overcome the challenges that cross our path."

- Richard G. Scott

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Adventures in Arizona

With all the stimulating conversation Connor engages me in, my writing skills are seriously sub-par these days. (See, even that last sentence was a.w.k.w.a.r.d.) So, I'm just going to post a "picture essay" of the highlights of our family vacation to Arizona. Enjoy!

Playing with Grandpa Rogers