Our little buddy is a superstar! He’s been working hard at getting bigger and stronger, so he’s celebrating by graduating from THREE different doctor’s this week! I’m so excited by this news, I can’t really find the words to describe it. It’s like a big weight has been lifted from my shoulders! What a great way to celebrate his (almost) birthday week!
Drum roll please…
No More CranioCap!
His head is looking stellar. Nice and round and all grown-up looking…check out that comb-over. He’s a hipster from the start.
No more Occupational Therapy!
For the past 3 months, Jax has been in weekly therapy to help him learn to eat textured foods. This week, Jax had a breakthrough!
When we started, we could not put solid food to his lips without him gagging. He also wouldn’t touch food. This type of aversion is suspected to be from being on the ventilator for 36 days. I get it. I wouldn’t want anything that reminded me of that plastic tube down my throat, either!
Now that we’ve gotten over the hump with crunchy textures, we’re starting on soft foods. It’s going to be the same progression, I can tell, but I don’t think it will take him as long to master it since he has practice now.
Since he is making such good progress, he’s officially graduated from his weekly occupational therapy appointments! He still has a ways to go, but he’s a quick learner, so I have a feeling he’ll be eating “what’s for dinner” very soon!
No more Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) follow-up!
Jax’s eyes have been a big concern. Many preemies, especially ones with the need for oxygen support, suffer from ROP. We were lucky that the Avastin injections and the laser surgery helped stop the disease from spreading and causing his retina to detach (which would have caused blindness). Yesterday, we saw our ROP specialist for the VERY LAST TIME! She said his eyes looked “great!”
Jax will be seen in about 6 months by his pediatric ophthalmologist to assess the need for glasses. Because of the ROP, the injections, and the surgery, the chance that Jax will need glasses is pretty high. But. We’ll cross that bridge when we need to. For now, we will celebrate! (This picture was from last month, so that’s why he still has the helmet on!)
So today is an awesome day! It’s a great way to kick off our vacation week. I’ll be taking the next week off from blogging so I can finish packing, wrap my head around the fact that Jax is almost ONE year old, and give myself some pep-talks so I don’t cry all week. I hope you all don’t forget about us while we’re gone! We’ll be back next Friday with a special post for Jax’s birthday. Aren’t you excited to see the year in pictures?! See you next week, then. 🙂
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An Early Start 
I know people say that first birthday can be hard. I’m already planning (bracing) for it. Hugs to you! I am continually impressed with the milestones Jax has reached. He’s such a cute little guy. I love his smile. All of these graduations are great, but to graduate from the ROP doc…that’s huge. We live in a blessed time that they can prevent blindness. So happy for you guys!
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Thank you, Leslie! I’m not going to lie…the last few weeks have not been easy. I keep reliving that day in my mind – that terror, I could do without. But then I look at Jax giving me a goofy face and laughing his little butt off and I just take a deep breath and say thanks! When is your little one turning one? Do you write about it? (When I click on your profile, I go to an instructional design blog – is that you?)
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So I guess it’s been 165 days since I logged in. That blog was a project once upon a time. This one is mine: tonyandleslie.wordpress.com.
Our twins’ first birthday was in October, and I was ready for it. We planned a trip so we were with family on the anniversary of the hard days. What I wasn’t ready for was November and December and reliving all of the other days.
Hopefully I’ll be back in the blogosphere for awhile.
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Ah – yes, of course! I thought that I recognized your profile picture. I’m glad you’re back! Sander and Kadri are getting so big! I love the video of Sander spin-kicking. Jax likes to do those evasive maneuvers, too! 🙂 We planned time with family over Jax’s birthday, so that was a nice distraction. I agree that the next few months were just as difficult, reliving all of the NICU events and scares. I hear that time heals, so hopefully next year is easier on both of us!
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Such great news…..I share each and every blog with my niece Ashlea. She absolutely loves Baby Jax and applauds each and every ounce of progress as I do. What a week to celebrate all the mountains that you all have climbed to get to this point. We pray each night that you will always find the time to applaud all the pluses that are behind you and look forward to all that lies ahead. Enjoy your week and we will await your return.
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Thank you, Kathy! Thanks for being such a strong supporter of Jax and of our family!
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