lions and tigers dragons and bears Rhys, oh my!

Happy Halloween! From our fire-breathing dragon.


Who is also a roaring lion.


We couldn't decide which costume we liked better so we dressed him up in both!

Do you remember Rhys's Halloween last year?


Poor little man was not digging it. He's grown a bit, wouldn't you say?

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Rhys had PT again last week. His therapist hadn't seen him in a month and was ecstatic at his progress since his last visit. He is getting there slowly, but surely. We are trying really hard to keep him off his back (from lying on the floor), but our options are limited. He loves his jumperoo and constantly weight shifts from foot to foot, which is great for him and his muscle strength. We also purchased him a walker. Yes, there are a lot of differing opinions about walkers, but given Rhys's situation he really needs one. While physically he isn't where he should be, his cognitive ability is more advanced and he needs this freedom to move around on his own. His PT agreed and thinks it is a great idea. She did suggest though that we get him hard-soled shoes to wear while in the jumperoo and walker to help with the potential of tip-toe walking. She also thinks it might help him get a little traction for forward movement. While I am a firm supporter of barefoot or soft-soled shoes for babies first learning to walk (as is our PT), Rhys is in a different boat. So, I'm on the hunt for hard-soled shoes for him. The boy has never had a pair of shoes on in his life so I am curious to see how he reacts to them.

The Pediasure transition is going great. And, surprisingly, Rhys has allowed me to transition him from really warm to slightly chilled bottles. I can't tell you how great this is for me... there have been too many occasions to count where Rhys was starving but refused to eat when we were out and about running errands because I couldn't get his bottle warm enough. Rhys seems to love the Pediasure. Though I haven't tasted it, it smells incredibly sweet (think melted ice cream). He has been eating about 20% more in his day time bottles, and gets really angry if you take it away before he is done. We've only tried the vanilla so far, but they have several other flavors he might like. Cost wise it seems to be maybe a bit less expensive than his formula, but only because Rhys has never taken much volume of milk. Instead of switching cold turkey, I added a little Pediasure to his formula for a couple of days. That went great so I switched him over. In each bottle I now add a small amount of whole milk to the Pediasure in an effort to keep it from being so rich. Maybe that defeats the purpose of the higher calories, but I am afraid full strength would be too much for his tummy to handle.

We've started working on the honey bear cup. I have only tried it once, and Rhys did better than I expected. Rhys is much more receptive to a straw and regular cup than he is his sippy cup. He wasn't quite sure what the honey bear was, but he did grab the straw and pull it to his mouth a couple times so I thought that was a great start. I really need to be consistent with it and practice with him several times a day. Hopefully he will get it because Mom and Dad are tired of holding his bottle!

Rhys also saw the eye doctor last week. I was a little afraid of what she'd say because even though Cody and I make Rhys wear his glasses, it isn't 24/7. Unless you've tried to keep a cannula or eye glasses or other such something on an infant/toddler you just can't imagine the constant struggle. She did give me a pair of "No-Nos" to use to keep Rhys from pulling off his glasses. They look like a shin guard and velcro around the elbow to prevent the ability of bending the arm. I haven't tried them yet, but I know they will do the trick. Anyway, she said Rhys's eyes are "straight as an arrow" (referencing his sometimes lazy left eye) with his glasses on. We've only seen Rhys's eye cross once since his first eye appointment last May, and as I've mentioned he is without them a decent amount. She said it may be that his eyes have learned how to focus properly with the help of the glasses and if that is the case there is a possibility of losing them in a few months. I'm not sure how no glasses would effect his far sightedness though, and it didn't occurr to me to ask until we'd already left. I have no doubt his doctor is aware of this though, for she remembers every single detail of Rhys and every other baby she's seen in the NICU. Her memory is the most amazing thing I've ever seen.


Today I am: 1 year, 3 months, 2 weeks and 1 day old.
Adjusted I am: 11 months, 3 weeks and 2 days old.