Josh had an eye appointment last week. It showed that his right eye is now mature while his left eye continues to have signs of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage 1. Our eye doctor said that it can take time for the ROP to resolve but it is a good sign that it has no progressed. So we will cotninue to with our eye appointments every 2 weeks at least for a while longer. It is definitely nice that we are able to dilate his eyes at home prior to his appointment, this helps to speed things along.
Josh also had an occupational therapy (OT) consult last Monday. We were thankful he was able to see the same OT that he saw in the NICU. We were hoping that she would be able to give us ideas on how to improve his suck to help with his breastfeeding. Unfortunately the news was not too good. Although Josh has a a good suck and latch, he does not suck like a traditional baby. Instead, he has compensated for having a high arch to his palate (from being intubated for so long) by adapting his suck. Basically, he bites down and pushes his tongue outwards (instead of pulling inwards with his tongue). She gave us a few exercises that we can do with him that will help Josh to be able to hold onto a pacifier better and will help with eating when he is able to eat solid foods. We will have to go see an OT again when he starts eating ot learn how to feed him so that he doesn't push all of the food out of his mouth.
Because of his prematurity, Josh qualifies for a program called Early Intervention. It helps children newborn to 3 years old to meet developmental milestones. We will have a developmental assessment done in the beginning of May to see what services Josh might need to help him meet his developmental milestones. The best part is it free and most therapy is done in the home. We are looking forward to doing what we can to get Josh on track with his development.
Josh is having more awake times during the day, sometimes not napping at all during the day. He is going 8 hours a night between feedings pretty consistently now. Our doctor said this is ok as long as he continues to gain weight, which is doing quite well. Mommy and Daddy are enjoying getting some extra rest at night. Josh is becoming quite the social butterfly. His smile lights up a dark room! Although we haven't been too good about catching it on camera, he loves to just smile and coo, especially in the morning. He is quite the little sweet heart. We are also starting to get some little giggles, which are very sweet. Mommy and Daddy are both looking forward to getting to hear many more giggles in the near future.
Prayer Request:
- Josh continues to gain weight well
- Josh continue to be healthy and not get sick
- Josh's mouth and palate heal so that he can suck normally
- Josh's ROP in his left eye resolve quickly and that there not be any long term complications
- Josh is completely off of his apnea/bradicardia monitor
- Josh continues to gain weight well (10 pounds 7 ounces!)
- Josh is sleeping longer at night
- Josh is having good awake times and his smiles are amazing!
(Josh and Mommy having some fun outdoors - check out his hat!)
(Josh sporting the cool baby shades)
(Josh and Poppi)
(Josh helping Mommy plant some flowers near the front door)
(Josh not quite sure if he likes sitting in his bumbo chair)
(Josh and cousin Noah - Don't they look like twins?)
(Daddy and Josh before Josh's baby dedication at church... isn't he cute!)
(Mommy and her little man)
(Josh showing off his cool shades while waiting to go to church)
(Josh chillin and and controlling the remote already)
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