Well it's been awhile since we posted an update, the year just got away on us somewhat! However Nate continues to do really well on the health, growth, and physical front. We are really very lucky!
We have had no major illnesses of bugs that have required any recent stints back in Starship - although to be fair, we are still pretty vigilant about keeping him healthy. We did have a few chesty coughs over the course of winter and those are always more challenging for Nate, as not only does he find it hard to clear any mucous, but they also tend to linger for a couple of weeks at a time. But all in all, he fared pretty well overall, as you can see from some of the recent shots....
We have still had a few Starship appointments though....ongoing hearing checks as he adjusts to his new hearing aid in his right ear (mild to moderate hearing loss in this ear), respiratory as part of the ongoing checks on his sleep apnea (he still uses an Airvo with nasal prongs airflow to help him sleep), and he still has some future appointments to come early in the new year.
At 21months, he is still sitting at 50.5cm diameter on his head (which is still on the 91st percentile), and weighs in at 12.7kg which is now on the 75th percentile for his age, given a recent growth spurt. He has a height of 84.5cm, which has slipped back a bit to the 40th percentile for his adjusted age. However given the recent weight increase, Anna (our district nurse) now expects a height growth spurt to come - we certainly hope so!
He also continues to get stronger with his physical therapy - he still attend weekly sessions with Ildi his conductor at conductive education, a variety of different playgroups such as wiggle and rhyme, jumping beans, and also a fortnightly developmental group. He is a lot more confident with his walking and getting around, loves to show off his stamping, and will squeal and merrily chase who ever will run around the kitchen with him. He especially likes to double back around the kitchen island to surprise whoever he is chasing! Especially Grandaddy!
We think the combination of different physical activities has really helped him here. It's also really helped socially, and he interacts a lot more with other kiddies when he is around them which is pleasing. Next year in January we also start weekly swimming lessons for the summer, so we are hoping that that will help even more with his low muscle tone (hypotonia). It's really great to see all the progress here!
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| Nate at Jumping Beans |
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| Nate at Conductive |
Speech remains our main challenge now, as at 21months Nate doesn't speak beyond 1-2 words. Inspite of almost weekly speech sessions, we haven't seem a heap of progress here, although we have heard a wider range of sounds, the occasional randomly spoken word, but a greater use of makaton and ASL signs to communicate. I really hope we are going to hear him speak clearly one day, but it's hard to know whether that will happen. We know of some T9Ms who speak, while we know of others who don't. There is no real way of knowing whether that is on the cards for Nate or not. However on the upside, he can communicate (sign language) when he wants to eat, drink, have a nappy change, a shower, bottle, bed,/nap, wants his dummy, sees a cat or a baby, watch TV, play ball with one of us, open a toy or a lid for him, bounce a ball, throw a ball, or chase us around the kitchen. He can also indicate when he wants one of us to come and play on his mat with him (no words, but lots of sounds and grunts!), and makes great car brrmm brrmm sounds, the occasional moo, and ooh ahh monkey sound. So really what else is there in life?!
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| Helping unpack the groceries! |
Lastly, his personality and mood continues to delight us all. He really is a happy little chap, in fact a real cheeky monkey at times, and we all just delight in his company. He has a new Nanny with Auntie Helen (his half sisters' mummy) and he just adores her! It's wonderful to have someone as special in Helen in his life, as the bonds are just so much stronger for everyone in this modern blended family of ours. We feel very fortunate to have so many who love him - and knowing that he has more connections in life than just Robin and I, helps to ease some of our concerns and fears that we have for his future. It doesn't take all of them, but it's a start! X
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