10 Months
On Saturday, Hugh turned 10 months old. All I can do is scratch my head in wonderment. How is he ten months old already?!?! Seriously, it feels like just yesterday that we were in NC waiting for approval to bring him home.
Hugh's last ten months have really passed by quite quickly. Sometimes when I look at him, I don't think he's changed much since being a baby. Then other times, I see the progression. Here are the pictures of the last ten months...
This past month was a busy one for us. We took Hugh to the orthotist to be casted for AFOs (ankle and foot orthotics). His PT is concerned about how his ankles turn in and she wanted more stability for him. Unfortunately, there are a few insurance-related issues and we're not sure how to proceed. The bad thing is that they're only good for about six months due to his feet growing. They'd give him support, but we're not sure if it's anymore support than a good sturdy pair of shoes can also give.
We also took Hugh to the pediatric neurologist at the suggestion of his Babies Can't Wait evaluation team and his PT. The doctor did a few tests and examined him. He said he wasn't able to tell if something was wrong or not, but he wants a MRI just to be sure.
I feel a little unsure about the MRI. My instincts say that he's okay. I haven't seen any tremors in quite some time, he's not clinching his fists like he had been, and he acts totally normal. I think because of insurance issues, we're going to hold off until January for sure, but even then, I'm not sure if it's necessary. We'll see.
Hugh has four teeth and another is coming in. He has his bottom middle two, and the top two! He's been complaining a lot over the last several days and I'm almost 100% certain that it's teething-related.
He says "dada" but he doesn't associate the word with Steve (yet). Still no "mama" but I'm working on it. We do baby sign and he's not doing any signs back yet. He doesnt' wave or say bye-bye, which his PT thinks is a speech delay.
Sometimes I feel really stressed with having people tell me all these things that my kids aren't doing. It's hard enough to parent, and then add to it people adding to the list of things your kids cannot do... and it's a lot to take. I just want them to be happy, healthy, and to know that they're loved. However, I also want them to meet milestones and to show progress with achieving their milestones.
It appears that Hugh is following in his big brother's steps. Literally. Gus took his first step just a few days before turning 10 months, and then started officially walking a week or so into his 10th month. Hugh took his first step on Saturday... the day he turned 10 months. It's quite outstanding and it's amazing to see how tenacious he is.
Hugh loves to explore the house. He's a fast crawler and can get around really quickly. He loves to be wherever Gus is. Sometimes it annoys Gus, but usually, Gus likes to be near Hugh too. Gus does NOT like to share his things with Hugh, and we've been working on this with him. My dad said that right now everything that is Hugh's, Gus thinks it's for him... but soon enough, when Hugh is a bit older, he'll want everything that Gus has. :-) Paybacks.
We are not planning on having a big birthday party for Hugh like we did for Gus. We may do something small for him with some of his playgroup friends. I plan on doing a cake-smash session with him and I'm excited for that. We plan on doing a mini-party for him in North Carolina. His birth mom will be able to spend time with us, and my parents will also be there. It should be fun to celebrate him turning one!!
I don't know how he'll do with eating cake though... he's only able to eat pureed foods right now. Any time I give him something that's more than just runny and pureed, he gags and throws up on himself. It's quite scary. He can't eat puffs, or Cheerios, or yogurt melts... he gags. Certain foods (oatmeal for one) also make him gag and throw up. His PT is worried that he needs feeding therapy. :-/
Anyway, that's the update for this month. I'll be sure to post again next month with more wonderful news about our baby boy!!
