First off I want to wish Brodee a very happy 8th birthday!! Even though we don’t get to see him very often, we love him like crazy and are very proud of the sweet young man he has grown to be!
Secondly, Theo is 21 months old! Time for an update!
This month has been very busy (I’m pretty sure I say that every month). We started the month by renting a house in Chicago for a week with Luke, Andie, Porter, Kenna, Ryan, and my parents. Thanks mom and dad for watching Theo so Luke, Ryan, and I could attend Star Wars Celebration!
After we got home from SWC, we focused again on Theo’s therapies (he has 23 appointments a month) and doctors appointments.
Theo’s had some big victories this month: he sat in his feeder seat for two hours straight, he’s playing with his toys more, he took multiple bites of baby food off of his Olábaby spoon (and didn’t freak out about it), he has been sitting in my lap (which is HUGE because he doesn’t like to sit up, be touched, or held), and he stood in a stander at Physical Therapy! He is so strong!
[Working on tummy time]
[Watching Clone Wars while sitting in his feeder chair]
[Listening to soothing music]
[More tummy time]
[Watching videos and taking baby food on his Paci]
[Sometimes Theo "plays opossum" (possum? opossum?) and pretends to be asleep to get out of the feeder chair]
[Look at those teeth!]
[Theo thought it was so funny to shake my hand]
[Sitting with Ms. Becca at PT]
At then end of April, Theo's Feeding Therapist came for a visit. We sat him in his feeder chair and fed Theo prunes on his Olababy spoon! He didn't enjoy it, but he didn't freak out either. He even chewed and swallowed!
[Sometimes Theo sleeps on the floor while he eats]
[Working with the HeadPod]
Theo is very strong, but he doesn't have proper control. Our PT thinks that Theo will have an easier time holding his head up if he is already upright (makes sense... gravity can be pretty brutal). Theo's been in the stander twice and even though he HATES it, he is standing and holding his head up! We just need to keep working!
On April 29th, Josh, Theo, and I spent the day at the Children’s Hospital. First we saw Dr Lin with Neurosurgery. He’s concern about Theo’s lack of development and is referring us to a Pediatric Behavioral/Developmental Specialist (what’s one more doctor?!). He has no plans for any further surgeries, so we will see him for a check up in six months. Next, we saw Dr M the GI Specialist. Theo is still having bad acid reflux, so we are increasing his dose. He did break into the 50th percentile for weight so Dr M is very happy about that!
We are almost done weaning Theo off of his Phenobarbital. He hasn’t had any seizures (YAY!), but he is struggling with sleep due to withdrawals. Hopefully once he is weaned he will go back to being a good sleeper!
Theo also had his first official haircut this month (if you don’t count the partial shave the Neurosurgeon gave him before brain surgery)!
[He started crying when I had to lift him up so Josh could get the back of his head]
[So handsome!]
We are looking forward to seeing how much Theo improves this month!
Josh has been working a lot and when he's not at work he is working on his Jeep or doing things around the house. I don't say this enough, but I love and appreciate this man so much! He works so hard and he is an amazing father!
[Mowing the lawn]
[Piles of paperwork at the office]
Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, passed away on April 30th. He was at Star Wars Celebration, but had to cancel his appearance one day due to health concerns. I knew he was sick, but his passing was still sad.
I'm trying to stick to my diet but I cheated when I went and saw Endgame! Oh well!
