Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 11 months

Aiden is over 11 months old now and weighs 15 lbs - 7oz. He has been doing great. He rolls over frequently now and jabbers quite a bit. He does say "da-da" but does not yet associate the word with his daddy.

He is sitting up better but still requires some assistance. Tummy time is becoming more enjoyable for him. He will play with objects while on his tummy. He doesn't crawl, but he is getting closer. Standing up and walking are still out of the question.

Aiden is now eating some baby food. His favorite is sweet potatoes...

We enjoy getting Aiden outside and taking him for walks around our house, the Arboretum, or on the farm. He loves being outside.


Aiden gets quite a bit of loving from his grandparents as well...


This week we took our first family vacation to Destin, Florida. We stayed at a condo right along the beach. It has been really nice, and we are dreading the return back home.

In one of those proud daddy moments, I took Aiden swimming for the first time in the swimming pool and the ocean. He clung to me scared to death with his face buried into my chest when I took him into the pool the first time. He got more comfortable as time went by and finally began to look at the water and move his hands around in the water. Every day we have taken him swimming. He seems to like it now. He even gets excited when we put his hat on,which is the signal that we are taking him outside to the water.

We drove to Pensacola to visit the National Naval Aviation Museum - home of the Blue Angels. The museum was really good and definitely worth the drive. Our WWII veteran tour guide was the highlight.
Aiden's birthday is just around the corner (June 15th). We haven't made the final plans yet. I'm sure it will involve food, cake, people, and fun.

I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the warmer weather. Keep Aiden in your prayers.

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 10 months

Aiden has had a busy few days. We took Aiden to church for the first time on Easter Sunday. He stayed awake through the music, but he fell asleep when Pastor Casey started preaching. I'm not sure why?! :) It was great to bring Aiden to church. Everyone at Bedford Acres has been extremely supportive throughout this past year, and they seemed excited to see him. It was a joy to share the miracle of Aiden's healing on the day that we celebrate the greatest of miracles - the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

After the Easter service at church, we went to Grandpa and Grandma Murray's house to have the annual Easter Egg Hunt. The grandkids made quick work of finding the seemingly hundreds of Easter eggs. Aiden didn't pay much attention to the eggs, but with the help of mom and dad, he managed to get a few into his Easter basket.


Our little slobber monster got his first tooth this past weekend. He has been slobbering constantly. He requires a bib on at all times and a stack of clean bibs readily available for replacements.
Today Aiden had his 6-month NICU Graduate Clinic appointment. They performed the Bayley development exam to test his verbal, cognitive, and motor skills based upon his adjusted age. Overall Aiden performed well. On a 100 point rating scale, Aiden scored a 90 on cognitive, 94 on language, and 88 on motor skills. Scores above 85 are considered in the normal range. The good news is that he does not require any early intervention programs at this time, and that he doesn't have to go back for a checkup for 6 months.

For weight, he is 14 lbs - 13 oz, which is in the 10th percentile
For height, he is 65cm or 25.6" long, which is in the 25th percentile
For head size, he is in the 50th percentile
All of this is based upon his adjusted age. For his actual age, he doesn't even really register on graph (bottom of the 3rd percentile curve). The nurse pointed out that the important thing is that Aiden has a growth curve, and his growth is starting to catch up to the "normal" curve. She said that it will take 2 ~ 3 years to catch up to the normal curve.

The main task for us coming out of the NICU appointment was to improve Aiden's strength and motor skills. Most of the exercises are related to tummy time in preparation for sitting and future walking. Aiden will have a MRI scan on his head which is typical for a micro-preemie for precautionary measures.

Aiden got to see the familiar faces of Dr. Desai (below-1) and Nurse Tracy Robinson (below-2) at the NICU Grad clinic. Also Nurse Sara Fick (below-3) came to our house for a visit a couple of weeks ago. They all seem to think Aiden is doing really well. Nurse Tracy said it is mainly due to "excellent parenting" (her words, not ours). :)


Aiden is currently eating some cereal. He does fairly well with it, although most of it ends up in his clothes. He enjoys holding the spoon and hates it when we take it from him. We can start him on other types of baby foods this coming week.

Aiden is so much fun. We absolutely love him to pieces. His smiles and laughs make our hearts melt. With the warmer weather out, we have been getting Aiden outdoors as much as possible. He seems to love it.

I hope everyone is doing well and I hope you had a great Easter. We are certainly blessed.

Keep Aiden in your prayers!

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 - Smile For The Camera

A month has passed by since the last post. Aiden is getting bigger and stronger every day. He also is becoming more demanding, requiring more attention. He notices when we are not in the room and finds ways to get us to focus on him. Screaming is one of his most popular ways.

Daddy got to experience one of Aiden's firsts while Lisa was at a friend's house. Aiden rolled over for the first time on February 23rd. He rolled over from his back to his belly. He doesn't really like being on his belly, so he just got mad when he did it.

Aiden's last eye appointment went very well. He does not have another eye appointment for three months. Dr. Howell said that we no longer have to be concerned about retinopathy with Aiden...Yeah! As you can see by the photo below, Aiden sees fairly well. He enjoys surfing the internet with his daddy. Aiden is getting ready for his E-trade commercial audition.

Aiden's last 8-month check-up with Dr. Hambrick went very well. He weighs 13 pounds 5 ounces. His length is 23 3/4 inches. Dr. Hambrick said we can start him on a little rice cereal. If that goes well he can start on other baby foods in a month. He also had a follow-up appointment with the kidney specialist. He said that Aiden's kidney reflux issues are probably resolving as he grows older. In six months, they will do a renal ultrasound to confirm that it has resolved. So far, we have no reason to be concerned about any medical issues.

Here is Aiden on the changing table. He loves taking off his clothes and getting a diaper change. He just recently started grabbing his feet.

Here is Aiden hanging out with Kieran (left) and Lane (center) during the Super Bowl. Yes, they are all watching the game. The acorns don't fall too far from the trees.

Here are a few pictures of Aiden smiling:



Attached is a video of Aiden on the diaper changing table. I love trying to get the giggles out. He is focused on the camera but I got a few out of him. I apologize for the poor video quality.



I hope everyone is doing well. We are really enjoying Aiden. We are learning every day. We keep looking for an owner's manual, but luckily Aiden seems to be fairly patient with us.

Take care and keep Aiden in your prayers.