Scrub a Dub Dub

Enjoying his bath!

Bright eyes

Huh?

Hurray for Bath Time! I think we have a water baby in the works, because there is one thing that Joshua definitely loves and that is bath time. I think its a combination of figuring out what is going on and the warm water feeling good. Baths are also a miracle because it wipes him out and makes him sleep really well for the night. By well I mean 4 hours instead of 3 hours!

We had a visit from ECI...Early Childhood Intervention. Basically they come to your home and assess the cognitive and physical development of your baby. As a preemie, the Neonatologist thought it would be a good idea to have them come out to assess how he is developing. As we expected, he is behind in certain areas but right on track in other areas. As far as physical development, he is doing good. When Joshua was in the NICU, he was always handled and given attention with his head turned to the right. With that lack of movement, he has continued to prefer that side, and the left side has become a little stiff. The physical therapist is going to come out twice a month to work on stretching his neck muscles so he has full range of motion. We also are going to work on lifting his head midline when he is on his tummy. He is a little behind here, but he is a trooper!

Cognitively, they said he is right on track or ahead in some areas. He reacts to our voices and has started smiling when he feels happy. He reacts to loud noises and tracks things in his field of vision. He cries when he is hungry and poopy, and he loves to grasp on to mommy and daddys fingers. He makes all sorts of baby noises especially in his sleep and when he has his binky. Our goals here are to continue to stimulate him with voices and sounds.

We had a doctors appointment last Thursday, and he weighed in at 8 pounds and 7.7 ounces. The weight seems to be distributed in his belly and cheeks because he still has chicken legs, but the rolls are on their way! We will continue to update everyone on his progress in the next couple months, and hope he will catch up soon! Much love from Team Altman.