Baby Bear saw the pediatric cardiologist this past week. Dr. Kim was so happy to see him looking healthy. For those of you who don’t know, Dr. Kim is the one who originally diagnosed Baby Bear’s condition, Transposition of the Great Arteries, on the day he was born. He continued to be the lead cardiologist on the team of doctors who met daily the first couple weeks (even on weekends) to figure out why Baby Bear wasn’t improving even after they created the hole in the inner wall of his heart). I remember the first time Dr. Kim saw Baby Bear on the sixth floor (out of the severe ICU) after he’d been off for a couple days. He looked so excited and you could tell that he didn’t know if he’d be able to save our little guy. Baby Bear even showed off a bit of his new walking skill for Dr. Kim.It was really tough to get Baby Bear to lay down for the thirty minute Echo of his heart and the surrounding veins. Fortunately, the technician and nurses were wonderful and very patient. One nurse stood above him blowing bubbles, while the technician and I sang songs. He still spent most of the time screaming and fighting us, but the technician was able to get all the footage she needed after two sessions (with a little snack break between).
Dr. Kim pronounced that Baby Bear continues to do well. The pressure in one of his veins is still too high, but it hasn’t increased since his Echo at six months and there hasn’t been any narrowing. Thus, Dr. Kim said everything seems to be doing fine. We’ll go back and see him in another nine months to get checked again.
As I mentioned above, Baby Bear is walking. At least he is stepping a bit. He still prefers to crawl since it is faster and he’s a bit nervous about walking without holding on to anything. I think he just takes steps accidentally when he is too busy to notice he’s doing it. He’ll be so intent on getting to me or holding something while moving that all of sudden he’s taking steps. Typically, when he notices he’s walking, he either stops and lowers himself down to the floor or he gets to his goal and holds onto it.
The introduction of milk is slow going. He’s not a big fan of whole milk. He’ll drink it best first thing in the morning, but prefers water. I don’t want him to dehydrate himself, so I’m not to the point of giving it as his only option all day. He has cheese with his lunch and dinner to make sure he’s getting enough fats. French fries are his favorite food and he will insist on eating them instead of anything else if he spots any so we have to be careful when eating in restaurants.
He’s acquired some annoying communication methods. When he is done eating, he starts dropping food onto the floor. While our dog loves this, Mommy does not. When he is hungry or wants more food, he bangs on his tray. If you don’t give him food soon after he starts banging, he begins his screech owl impression. Screeching is one of his favorite and most annoying methods of communication. Sometimes his shrieks are happy, other times angry, but always LOUD.
Baby Bear’s loves to put and take things into and out of containers. He also enjoys dancing, climbing, and playing ball. He could spend hours throwing, catching, and rolling a ball with Momma. Another activity he enjoys is driving vehicles around. Anything that rolls is fun.
Sister and Brother love to “help” Baby Bear walk. Unfortunately, Brother tends to drag him more than aide him in his walking. Sister tries to force him to walk (while holding his hand) which causes Baby Bear to screech and go limp. When we explain to Sister that Baby Bear doesn’t want to walk and is upset, she rolls her eyes (yes, rolls them like a teenager when she’s only seven) and says, “He loves me and wants to walk. You don’t know him like I do.” Yeah, the screaming is out of joy...right?
Today Baby Bear joined us for his first trip to NW Trek. We just love going there. Except for the tram ride, it is all outside so the kids can jump, skip, dance, run, and yell all they want. Plus, days like today (overcast) are great ones for seeing lots of the animals. My dh had originally taken the day off so we could go to Wild Waves. It would have been our first time as a family. (The last time I went was the summer after eighth grade). Unfortunately, the weather forecasts predicted thunder and lightening storms, which means most of the water slides and roller coasters would probably be closed. So, we changed our plans. Fortunately, the animals were out in abundance. We even saw all three moose including the new male that they have. What a great day with the family!
Here are the three kiddos at the entrance with the big moose statue.
Baby Bear loved getting to touch the horns and antlers.
Ready for the tram ride.
We had to pass Baby Bear back and forth often to keep him happy.
Look how big they are! (I guess they look small next to all those animals).
Baby Bear didn't enjoy traveling in the stroller, so Daddy let him ride on his shoulders.
Mommy and the kiddos compare their hands to bear paws.
Brother and Sister show off their smashed pennies. Brother picked the bear and Sister picked the bald eagle.
No comments:
Post a Comment