Nico's list of words is growing almost daily now. He has begun saying "Maya" now. It's an upgrade from "mama" to "my-da" to "maya." He also says alright, up, down, milk, and no. He shakes his head no and says it sweetly. It's hard not to smile, even if he is rejecting his food. He is saying sit, oh no, bubble and milk.
He likes to climb up and down the stairs and is wanting to be independent more and more. He is also doing very well with his shape sorter.
Maya learned to do a handstand against the door last night. She was very pleased. I know she is looking forward to being back in gymnastics in the fall. She has also been working on her cartwheels. She wants to help around the house, with dishes, etc. Last night she helped set the table. She also is wanting to show her independence more and more. It is amazing how fast they grow and how their personalities develop!
Galveston and Nico's first time at the beach
We enjoyed a sunny afternoon at a pocket beach in Galveston today. Nico had no fear of the waves and crawled right into the water. Both kids had fun digging in the sand and looking at the crabs and shrimp Daddy found for them in the seaweed.
Great progress!
Nico has begun to walk. He'll take a few steps at a time before he sits down. he took at least 8 steps Tuesday morning. Wednesday night he also stood up in the middle of the room all by himself for the first time. What huge progress this week has been! When we manage to get a video, we promise to post it.
** here it is:
** here it is:
18 months
I have a confession to make. In January 2009 I posted Nico's MRI results, with all the medical words. And all that jargon didn't make enough sense to most people. It hardly made sense to me. As we have gone to our neurology appointments every 6 months and worked with the occupational therapist and physical therapist over time the words have come to have more meaning to us.
Nico had a stroke because of the blood clots in the placenta. This caused permanent brain damage. He has a small hole in the right side of his brain and a much larger hole in his cerebellum. Even as a preemie in the NICU, stem cells don't repair the holes. They will always be there. What the brain can do, though is rewire its processes to move information around the holes. This might take a little longer for the information to travel around and create a response, but the job will still get done.
Nico's hands and arms don't seem to be affected at all. His speech is on target and he is very responsive socially. His right leg is affected. It is weaker and it is much harder for him to use. He seems to have less positional awareness of what is going on with that foot. This is why every week we have a visit from a physical therapist. We do stretching exercises and strengthening exercises. We climb up and down the stairs, forward and sideways, working on strengthening that little leg.
I am hesitant as I post this. I don't want people treating Nico like he is "special" even though he is. I hate how when someone is different it makes that awkward situation where many people avoid the subject altogether or even the person, because they are uncomfortable and afraid they may say the wrong thing. So if you're reading this and that awkward feeling is creeping up, please ignore it. Everything is the same as it always was. This just answers the questions of why Nico is 18 months and not walking yet and why we have a physical therapist. It explains why his little foot drags along sometimes. It also allows me to try to stop being afraid to say anything.
Nico had a stroke because of the blood clots in the placenta. This caused permanent brain damage. He has a small hole in the right side of his brain and a much larger hole in his cerebellum. Even as a preemie in the NICU, stem cells don't repair the holes. They will always be there. What the brain can do, though is rewire its processes to move information around the holes. This might take a little longer for the information to travel around and create a response, but the job will still get done.
Nico's hands and arms don't seem to be affected at all. His speech is on target and he is very responsive socially. His right leg is affected. It is weaker and it is much harder for him to use. He seems to have less positional awareness of what is going on with that foot. This is why every week we have a visit from a physical therapist. We do stretching exercises and strengthening exercises. We climb up and down the stairs, forward and sideways, working on strengthening that little leg.
I am hesitant as I post this. I don't want people treating Nico like he is "special" even though he is. I hate how when someone is different it makes that awkward situation where many people avoid the subject altogether or even the person, because they are uncomfortable and afraid they may say the wrong thing. So if you're reading this and that awkward feeling is creeping up, please ignore it. Everything is the same as it always was. This just answers the questions of why Nico is 18 months and not walking yet and why we have a physical therapist. It explains why his little foot drags along sometimes. It also allows me to try to stop being afraid to say anything.
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