Macsen has exploded this week in new things he is doing. It's funny because he just popped his first top tooth - 4 bottom teeth including 2 molars that were not fun - and now finally 1 top tooth. He has started imitating animal sounds - like the monkey that circles over his changing table and a dog barking. He also will sign "bird" for the one on his changing table mobile (we spend a lot of time on there:) and "all done." He has also started making adorable noises that sound like he's talking without words - mainly when I think he is trying to say "Thank you." He is doing super silly things too of course - like using his spoon (covered in chocolate yogurt) to brush his hair (caught it on video) and putting things in his mouth and calling me to come get them out. It's a game he made up where he puts increasingly larger things in his mouth and mumbles something resembling "Mom" and I have to come and accept the item and say "thank you." Then he will get a slightly larger item until he has worked his way up to something pretty big - say doll furniture- and I have to come and get the dangling dining room table out of his clenched lips and say "Thank you."
His early intervention therapists visited today and he interacted with them the whole time. He likes to include everyone when he plays so for example if you give him a ball he will throw the ball to one therapist and when she throws it back will turn to the other and wait until he has her attention and then throw or hand it to her. He's very deliberate and insistent so even if one is writing something up he will wait until she takes the ball. He is pulling to a stand really well now and cruising on the furniture. He can also let go and transfer to something else if it is close enough. The physical therapist said he is at about a 10 - 11 month old's level in gross motor skills. He is improving everyday so I'm not super worried about it - he likes to play standing up, I don't think it will be long before he's balancing on his own. His sisters take him for a "walk" everyday around the house and he's started using things - chairs, foot stools, boxes- as make shift walkers - the real walkers we have for him are way too slippy on our wood floors - dumb design.
The great news is the therapist thinks he is WAY ahead on his cognitive understanding of language. She was very impressed she could talk to him and he understood and responded. He still doesn't really talk so to hear he is on track - or even better "advanced" - in his understanding is such a relief for me. She said she would just suggest something to him and she could see he was trying to do it - after only 1 time - pretty good for a 14 month old.
We also had to show the therapist how Macsen eats - she has been helping us work with him. And he impressed her - dipping his carrot stick in the puddle of humus and mostly getting some his mouth. He also took a few ml's of baby puree from a baby food pouch with a silicon straw attachment. She is trying to help him use a cup - he likes to tip it and get water in his mouth but then thinks it's awesome to not close his mouth and just let all the water run down his chin. So we worked on pushing his jaw closed around the cup and telling him to "close your mouth." Took him a few tries and he got it.
I hate to jinx us but I also think he is sleeping a little better (when he's not producing new teeth.) He'll wake to eat maybe 2-3 times/night instead of the 6+ times we've been dealing with for his entire existence. Some mornings I wake up and feel almost human :) Looking forward to the day when I am getting several hours of straight sleep at a time and my brain starts turning on non essential centers again - those not required for survival but sorely missed like creativity, wit, patience, memory... did I say creativity. Not sure if serenity would be one of those centers but it is also missed - sometimes I feel like my emotions are so close to the surface any sort of turbulence and they are flying around the room, uncontrolled, hitting people in the eye and leaving me feeling unhinged. Sleep should help that right?
More great news today - our buddy Weston Keeton, who has been waiting for 2 out of his 7 years for a heart/lung transplant at CHOP, far away from his home in Tennessee - just got the gift of life today - a double transplant. A grieving family, mourning the loss of their own child gave Weston, a stranger to them, this precious, incredible gift. It's going to be tough to adjust to these new organs and he'll needs lots of prayers. You can follow Weston here
https://www.facebook.com/groups/prayingforweston/
And here's a video of Macsen being silly
