Yes I know. I am horrible at updating anymore, but that is really a good sign if you think about it. Life is in full swing around the Kirkpatrick household and we couldn't be happier! I actually can't believe it has been 2 months tomorrow since I have updated anything. That's so hard to imagine it has been that long and it only seems like yesterday since I wrote the latest entry.
We did have another appt in FW in June. We went to see the eye Dr. and everything there checked out just fine. They said Kadin was a bit far-sighted, but that it was normal for a baby his age. Dr. Norman also said that he couldn't tell anything had been a problem with Kadin and that he truly is a miracle child! Yeah, just what I wanna hear !!!!! Every time we go to the Dr. we realize more and more just how blessed we are and have been with Kadin's progress in his life. We encounter so many families that have seen sooooo much with their children already. Don't get me wrong ... we have seen a lot of turmoil and troubles with Kadin, but it seems like it is nothing compared to what we learn about the struggle of other family's with their babies. We are extremely blessed!!!
Kadin is doing so well. He is still in occupational therapy but even the therapists say that he is more like a 7 month old (he is 8 months old) than the adjusted 4 months that he "should be" for being so early. He is pushing 14 pounds right now so he is healthy at that ... He loves his bottle and is reaching for it now, will hold it for just a few seconds but more like is just touching it while he feeds. He loves apples and cereal, bananas and cereal, and just like his daddy, is NOT much on the veggies! He is not sitting up unassisted or anything like that, but we are working on it and frankly, as long as he is taking it at his own pace, I'm not worried about it ... he is still progressing every day.
Kadin is also very much a happy baby. He isn't smiling at us because we smile at him, he is smiling because he is happy. He laughs and giggles, babbles all the time ... he LOVES his voice. He loves to make noise. For awhile I was concerned that he wasn't crying when he was hungry, or crying for any reason, but that has all changed, lol ... HE CRIES! I think it was just a matter of discovery in that area, but he's doing just fine at letting me know his needs and his disapprovals!
Finally ... he is rolling over and getting on his stomach, holding his head up, and looking all around. When he first started being on his stomach (of course) he could not hold his head up, we were working with certain neck and back muscles to strengthen him because he favored one side a LOT. It has misshapen his head too and it was feared he would have to have a special helmet to reshape it. Our appt for that CT scan and visit to the specialist is scheduled for July 28th, but the therapist that just came to the house said that according to her experiences, Kadin's head is not meeting the requirements to be fitted with a helmet. I have noticed that in the past month, his head has continued to take on a new shape (a normal one!) the more that he is not laying on his back and turning his head to that favored side. He now likes to lay on his side and flip flop around in the bed when he sleeps, so his head is getting fair coverage on all sides !!! YAY! Guess we will see .....
I'm concerned about the way that he vomits sometimes during a feed. It's as if he gets choked and out it comes. Even in Wal Mart ... all over himself and all over me. It's ok ... he's not in the hospital hooked up to tubes and machines, so momma can handle ANYTHING that he has going on! I just want to make sure there isn't anything going on with his little tummy that causes him to give his feeds back ...
It is so hard for me to believe that Kadin is almost 9 months old. It just seems like yesterday we came home with him, at 4 months old (newborn size!). Life has been so full and busy around here that the time really has passed rather quickly. For awhile, my mind had been preoccupied with several other things and I feel like I was just going thru the motions of some aspects of life, but with my children, I soaked in every moment I could, and still do. I am so proud of the progess that Kadin has made and how my older children have been so instrumental in his development. They carry him around, particularly the 7 year old, my daughter doesn't let him cry, so anytime he is a little fussy (even when I have put him down) she is right there picking him up to soothe him ... and my oldest son, who hasn't really spent much time with Kadin except the last few weeks, has been very helpful without me even asking for his assistance ... he will take Kadin to the couch to "watch tv with his big bubba" and has even fed him a bottle or two. Awesome awesome children I have ... I am so very blessed. Now if we could only get my husband a local job so that he could be here also ... family is just not complete without Daddy!
I just wanted to update for a few minutes since it has been so long since I have done so. I am going to add a couple of pictures on the site, so I hope you enjoy them. If you are on myspace or facebook and reading this, the pics are actually on my blogger acct so you may have to browse to that site to see them ... it is http://kadinsjourney.blogspot.com in case you don't have it.
I will try to blog more often and add more pictures ... Blessings to all ...
Leslie
