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!

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