Cole's 4 Month Check-up

Yesterday was Cole's 4 month check-up. I can't believe how fast it's gone by...especially this time around. Some people have asked me if I have felt guilty not being able to spend as much time with Nathan since Cole came. It's actually quite the opposite; Cole gets the shaft a lot, because Nathan takes a lot of attention. I love him just the same, but can't seem to give him as much attention as I gave Nate at this age. Poor Cole. Cole was rolling consistently from his tummy to his back at 2 weeks old, but has since stopped and still hasn't rolled from his back to his tummy. Nathan was doing these both by 3 months old and I wonder if it's because I can't spend as much time with him. I know that everyone says not to compare your children and that every child is different.....but you can't help but to wonder. Jay and I both say that Nate was one to physically be ahead of the game, but the one to be delayed in speech and that Cole is going to be the one to probably be talking up a storm by 12 months and to not be ahead physically as Nate always has been.

Needless to say, Cole got a clean bill of health! He weighed in at 17 pounds 3 ounces and is 25 1/2 inches long (Nate was 17 pounds 2 ounces and 26 inches at this point). His umbilical hernia that he had is almost completely closed. Cole also got the okay to start solids. So yesterday, he was given cereal for the first time. He seemed to like it a bit more than Nate did. I think he might like it even better once we add some veggies or fruit!!

Evaluation

Nathan's Early Intervention Core Evaluation was completed. I was very pleased with the evaluators that came and with Nathan's behaviour. Nathan does normally point to pictures in books, but wouldn't do that yesterday. He loved all the toys they brought with them....he kept trying to dig into their bags to see what else they had. Needless to say, Nathan qualifies for the program. Surprise, surprise, he has at least a 33% delay with communication. His fine and gross motor skills are age appropriate. His social and adaptive abilities are mildly delayed, but they correlate that with his communication delay. The team comes back on October 4th to complete the plan (goals, how frequent speech therapy, etc). Speech therapy will begin there after. I will have to say, that the last few days, I have Nate say "duh" when pointing at a duck or a dog. I guess it's a start!

Tiring Week

Since Labor Day week, the boys have not been sleeping well due to the colds they both had. Subsequently, Jay and I haven't been sleeping well either, with the exception of Sunday night in which both boys slept completely through the night!! Thank god they did, because Jay and I decided it was time to upgrade Nathan to the toddler version of his bed. Nathan hadn't been trying to climb out yet, but we figured it was time regardless. We think he actually liked the security of the walls of the crib. Anyway, Monday night we converted his crib to the toddler bed and Nate had his first night sleep in a "big boy bed". It took him about an hour to stay in bed and fall asleep, but he never played with his toys. He just kept running from his gate to the bed and vice versus. Needless to say, it's been a tough week so far with getting him to sleep at night and down for his nap. On top of it, Cole has been not sleeping well either! I have a class tomorrow and Friday to take for work and Jay has taken the two days off. He said this morning that he will get up with the kids the next two nights! I am actually looking forward to that!! Each nap and night-time running gets less in time, so hopefully the stigma is wearing off. We will see!

Pudding Painting

I forgot to post this pic last week of us pudding painting. As much as Jay (as well as many others) hate Kate from "John and Kate Plus 8" on TLC, she had a great idea to do pudding painting with the kids. At Nate's age, kids naturally want to eat everything that's on their hands, so why not. Nate did enjoy the painting....as well as the eating!

I forgot to post this pic last week as well. Let's just say I was tied up breastfeeding Cole in the office/playroom. Now that we have taken down all of the gates on the main floor, Nate has pretty much free reign of the house. I could hear him in the dining room, but couldn't tell what he was doing. Once I found him, I realized he is now tall enough to reach the baby powder from one of the built in shelves in our living room! OOPS!!

After a few attempts at the doc's office yesterday, they finally got the bloodwork. Hopefully, they got enough blood for all of the tests. This pic was of the boys in Cole's crib before the appointment. Cole idolizes his brother already!

Immunologist Appointment

Well, yesterday was the day to bring Nate for the appointment regarding the low antibody. What a joke!! You pay $40 for the specialist co-pay and they don't do half of the work. The doc said essentially the same things that our pediatrician said....could be big thing, could be small thing. He now needs blood work and stool specimens completed, but I have to bring him back to my pediatricians office or an outpatient lab service to do so. We have an appointment today for the bloodwork and we go back to the immunologist in 3 weeks. Another joke about the office is that you are not allowed to close the exam room door...how do they expect me to keep my toddler contained. I was told it is because they have to be able to keep an eye on the patients getting allergy shots for reactions. Well, 1) my kid wasn't getting the shots and 2) isn't that a privacy issue. I mean anyone could walk by and hear half of your medical information when speaking with the doc. On top of it all, you are also not allowed any food and drink!! Once again, how do you expect me to contain my toddler....snacks and drinks is one of the ways to a toddler's heart! I guess we will wait and see!

As for Cole's first cold...he still has it. His cough seems to be getting worse and now Nate and I have it too!! Jay is anticipating getting it any day now!

Early Intervention Appointment

So, just as an update (again), the Early Intervention Coordinator came over on Tuesday. I was surprised that she was here for about 1 1/2 hours. She asked just about everything about Nathan from the womb to now. Thank goodness Nathan was napping so I could focus on remembering milestones, history, etc without getting out his baby book. Cole sat contently on my lap during the meeting. Needless to say, we are all set and his eval is on September 22nd. I did not realize though that they will be evaluating him from all angles (not just speech). The team (speech pathologist and psychologist) will evaluate: physical, cognition and memory, social-emotional, etc. I will have to say I am a bit nervous!! If he qualifies for services (which I am sure he will), therapy should start soon there after.

In the mean time, we enjoyed some time away from home this past week. The kids and I (with the help of my lovely mother), went down state to my Aunt's house to see my cousin and her husband from California. Jay stayed home, had a night to himself, and went for a ride on his motorcycle. We had a good time and lucky for me, the kids were pretty good. I was nervous! It was Cole's first time sleeping anywhere away from home. I know he's pretty adaptable, but I just didn't want him waking up during the night screaming and wake everyone up....which he didn't. He does have his first cold though....poor little guy! As for Nate, the trip was the first time for him to sleep in a "big boy bed". I was of course sleeping with him though, thank God, because he would have ended up on the floor several times. He slept through the night still, so what more could I have asked for. Although, what a bed hog!!