Swimming

Nick went swimming for the first time last weekend. He did not enjoy it. The first time in the water he closed his eyes and was either falling asleep or closing them in hopes that the big bad bathtub would go away. We took him out and he was happy. Mark tried a few more times and each time Nick protested. The only part of the pool he like was when our friend Misty put him on her legs and raised them in and out of the water.

Speech has been going well. He responded better to all of the ling 6 sounds this week. We are supposed to work on him looking for sounds now rather than just showing us he heard them. We want to see him look around and find where the sound came from. We are also supposed to play music and make him dance then turn it off and say "I don't hear it." Then turn it back on and say "I hear it" while pointing to our ear. We are looking for him to show us he notices when the music is turned off and on. His therapist said he is around the 3 month age range for his hearing. That is great because he hasn't even been activated for 2 months. It has been a better week with him leaving the implant alone. Hopefully he is getting used to the sound and it isn't as scary.

PT was a scream fest this week because he hadn't napped. When this therapist was doing her paperwork Mark put Nick in his crib and he fell right asleep. He lucked out on OT, his therapist has food poisoning so it was canceled.

All the paperwork has been submitted for his "corner chair." It's a chair his OT wants him to have because it will support his head unlike any chair we could buy. It also has a table so he can play while he is sitting in it. Now we have to wait on both insurance companies and Medicaid to either pay for it or deny it. Baby Net should pay for whatever isn't covered. It may be a few months before he gets it. http://www.pediatriceshop.com/seating-special-needs/activity-chairs.html

Bad Blogger

I haven't blogged lately because nothing is going on. Nick doesn't have any doctor appointments until September. He has had his weekly PT, OT, and ST. He is doing well in all therapies. He is now responding to all 6 of the ling 6 sounds we have been working on. He still doesn't like his implant. He gets so mad when we turn it on but calms down after we distract him with something. He is constantly pulling the implant off so it really is a challenge to keep it on. He is making a lot more sounds when he keeps the implant on. We have been practicing with a sippy cup which is a huge mess. He will hold it and put it in his mouth but then he holds it upside down with his teeth so it spills everywhere. We will keep trying. Finger foods are still horrible. He doesn't even want to touch food. He will put anything in his mouth if it isn't food but as soon as he tastes something he spits it out or gags.

Long Time, No Update

Nick and Grandma T.New bean bag chair.

OT

OT

OT

Please don't brush my teeth.

This is what I do with my froggy when my diaper is being changed.

Nap time.

Going back to my last post to start the updates. Nicholas saw his audiologist for a mapping session of his cochlear implant. She made four new settings which are louder than the first four. We are still turning him up each week but can extend that if we think he isn't tolerating it. He had a hard time going up to level four with the original settings and a little bit of a hard time with level two with the current settings. He is getting used to it and we can try three later this week.

He also had appointments with the GI doctor and pulmonologist. His GI doctor took him off one of the meds that was for healing the little holes in his esophagus. He also increased to dose of his gall stone medication because he has gained weight. He was happy with his weight gain too. He wants another ultrasound of his gall stone but nothing is scheduled yet. The pulmonologist said his lungs sound great. He still had chronic lung disease but will eventually grow out of that. The doctor said that if he were to biopsy his lung tissue and compare it to another child's who wasn't born so premature Nick's lung tissue would look different. Nothing to worry about though. He said he should qualify for Synagis again this year and doesn't have an appointment until October for the shot. Nicholas also had his monthly port flushing appointment and speech and OT. This week is just the three therapies. He actually doesn't have a doctor's appointment until his port flush in September.

Grandma T came to visit for the week. Nicholas showed her all his tricks like pulling his CI off and putting everything in his mouth except food. We also had professional pictures taken. I'll have to scan and upload those.