drum – An Early Start

Yesterday, Jax had his second NICU follow-up appointment. Any baby who spends time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is followed closely for any signs of delays or concerns. The follow-up appointments are done in a clinic at the hospital, not in the actual NICU. Usually, there is a 6 month, 12 month, and 2 year follow-up, depending on the hospital and the kid.

nicu follow up clinic

Jax’s first NICU-follow-up appointment was when he was 10 months old (6 adjusted). He was right on track at that appointment. So, since I haven’t done a “nuts and bolts” type of update lately, here are some highlights:

Actual Age: 16 months, 20 days; Adjusted age: 12 months, 21 days
Weight: 27 pounds, 5 ounces (75% on the standard growth chart!)
Height: 32 3/4 inches (75% on the standards growth chart!)
Head circumference: 18 5/8 inches (35% on the standard growth chart)

They did the Bayley Scales of Infant Development assessment based on Jax’s adjusted age of 12 months and he nailed it! Basically, Jax is smart. 🙂 I’m so proud of him!

Cognitive Score = 15 months
Gross Motor Skills = 11 months
Fine Motor Skills = 15 months
Expressive Language = 12 months
Receptive Language = 11 months

While he is a little bit behind in some areas, there is not a big cause of concern because he’s so plugged in with therapy and services. We will continue with physical therapy to help with his gross motor skills. We’ve also added a speech therapist to his Early Intervention team to help with his language development.

Overall, the doctors were amazed at Jax’s progress for a 23 weeker! I’m pretty amazed, too.

I read a quote yesterday that said “Never remove joy from a joyous occasion.” That was fitting for me. Sometimes I catch myself waiting for the other shoe to drop.

By writing that I’ll probably get a lot of people commenting about how I should be thankful and glad that Jax is doing great (and I am), or how we should feel lucky that he’s even alive (and we are), or that so many other people have it so much worse (and we know that and support everyone, no matter where they are in their journey).

But why were we the lucky ones? I mean, how can Jax be doing so well for such a small guy at birth? When will we use up all of our luck? What is in store for his future?

These are all things that I think many parents feel at one point or another as their kids grow and learn. I think for me, it’s just my way of never taking a healthy child for granted. Sometimes, though, I need to take a deep breath and remind my self to stop worrying about the future and celebrate the here and now.

Like Jax does.

Check out this video. My favorite part is when Jax points to me almost as to say “Hey, mama – it’s fine. Yeah, I know!”