Tuesday, December 8

Six Month Well Visit

Bryce had his six month well visit with the pediatrician yesterday morning and got a clean bill of health. Of course, he's really only at the development level of a two month old since he was four months early, but he had to have his six month shots regardless. Needless to say, that has not been fun. He's been pretty grumpy ever since and needed a couple doses of Tylenol for the immunization induced fever. Otherwise though, Bryce is doing fantastic.

The neurosurgery follow up visit last week went well. The CT scan showed what I felt confident it would, that Bryce's shunt is working well and his little head is healthy as can be right now. We'll have to go back in six months for a fast acquisition MRI and if everything still looks good then we'll switch to the annual check up with them. Bryce will have to follow up with them annually for the rest of his life but as long as we only have to make that trip once a year we'll be happy!

Sleep has been quite the challenge as of late. Bryce still needs extra calories and nutrition for his preemie catch up growth but unfortunately the nutrient and calorie dense formula is harder for him to digest. This means that despite the prescription laxative he's on pooping is not a regular occurrence and is usually quite an ordeal for poor baby Bryce.

On a happier note, Bryce showed me the first sign of a genuine smile on Sunday morning. We were lounging in bed and I was singing to him and he cracked a big smile at his momma. Needless to say, my heart melted and my eyes welled up. The truth is that with everything Bryce has been through and all the things he is so high risk for (Cerebral Palsy, developmental delays) there was never a guarantee that he'd smile. But what mom doesn't wish for this for her children? Every time Bryce does something that other parents often take for granted that their children will do I am encouraged to have more and more hope for Bryce's future.

If he can make it through everything he has already and still find it in him to smile then who knows what else is in his future.