Health Update....

This post is for all of you that followed Jackson's progress in the NICU and might be wondering how he is doing "health" wise since coming home. We have been following up with his pediatrician, tummy surgeon, and optometrist since leaving Lebonheur a month and a half ago. Since leaving the NICU we have gotten used to having a week full of appointments and then a week off- this has been our week of appointments for sure. We went to see the tummy surgeon on Monday after not seeing him for a month. This has been strictly to follow-up in regards to his surgery and the surgeon said everything looks great and we won't have to come back for three months! He even called Jackson a little fat kid- music to his mommy's ears! We saw Jackson's optometrist on Wednesday and got great news there too! One of his eyes is fully developed and looks great- the other is maturing nicely and she doesn't need to see him for a month (this might not seem like a long time, but for a while we were seeing her every week) and she thinks that will be the last time he has to have and in depth exam! Who knew eyes don't mature at the same pace? Today we had a developmental follow-up at Lebonheur. We met with a developmental pediatrician, speech therapist, physical therapist, and dietician- all at the same time. I kind of felt like we were both on trial. I was worried Jackson would be tired and not very active since it was first thing this morning and he usually naps after his first bottle- but oh boy was he a little ham for all of the doctors/therapists. He just smiled, giggled, and cooed the entire time. This really was a great appointment for me because I have struggled- after hearing many different opinions- trying to figure out if I need to be treating him like a 2 month old or a 5 month old and I finally got my answer- a 2 month old. They said that Jackson's age will self-correct by the age of 2 so I really don't need to be pushing him to eat cereal, sit up, etc. After evaluating him they said that his speech skills are well beyond that of a 2 month old- he shows quite a few characteristics of a 4/5 month old. His motor skills are right on track for a 2 month old and they gave me literature so I will know exactly what he should be doing and when. We also got an updated weight- 9lbs 11oz!!!!! The dietician said he is gaining over an ounce a day- I believe it because he weighed 9lbs 7oz at the surgeons office on Monday! We are about to hit double digits- I wasn't sure we would ever see the day! So all in all we are extremely blessed and still cannot thank everyone enough for all of their thoughts and prayers for our precious little man.