Where'd My Baby Go?!

Looking at Addie these days I can't get over the fact that I have a little girl now.. Where did my baby go?! Here are her most recent stats and accomplishments:

Age:  16 months

Weight:  17.5 pounds!
Length:  27.25 inches long!

PT / OT: 

• She is trying SO hard to become mobile.. She is rocking back and forth on hands and knees AND loves to stand and bounce. It's a race to see if she walks or crawls first. She's my little multitasker! Most kids do one or the other.. She's trying to conquer both simultaneously! My fingers are crossed that she's mobile for Christmas. ..that's my Christmas wish this year. I will take anything. ..cruising, crawling, inch worming...just mobile. This is such a HUGE hurdle for her, but I know she is going to get it. I heard the most beautiful words this week from her PT. She watched as I demonstrated Addie's stepping skills if I hold her up and bear most of her weight, and she said "she will walk one day". "SHE WILL WALK". I haven't said it out loud to many people, but I have been terrified that she may not walk. There was a point towards the end of our NICU stay when her legs were soooooo stiff. ..it makes me shudder to think about how bad they were. I remember sitting in Market Square on an escape from the hospital, watching other children run and play in the fountains and trying not to cry behind my sunglasses. ..wondering if my baby would ever be able to do that. Well, my baby WILL WALK. We're not there yet, but she's going to get it!

• She just learned to roll her princess ball to me, so we are spending lots of time rolling the ball back and forth. She thinks it's hysterical!

Vision:  We're increasing patch time from 6 hours to 8-10 hours.. BOO!! We're adjusting to the increase pretty well, but it wasn't the news we were hoping to get at her last ophthalmologist visit. Oh well, stay calm & carry on as they say!

Hearing:  Hearing aids are going ok. She's incredibly dexterous with her fine motor skills and can have them out before you can blink. So, we're basically just wearing them when I can focus entirely on her and keeping her distracted. It's a challenge, but she does seem more verbal with them in, so I'm trying to get them in as much as I can. She can now very clearly say "Bye-Bye" and "Momma". I can understand "Up", "Ball", and "Bubble".

Speech:  Feeding is.. Going. I will say that she's starting to occassionally put a food item in her mouth. She prefers hard items like chips or Baby Mum Mum's (rice husks), and if a piece brakes off in her mouth she freaks out a bit, but just to have her put food in her mouth by choice, sort of on purpose, is nothing short of AMAZING.

Her leg muscles are getting tighter as she walks more, so I've stepped up the hip flexor stretches to try to keep her limbered up. We've started the process of getting her fit for ankle braces to try to help with her severe overpronation. She basically walks on the inside of her left ankle, so the braces will help that. Her right is a little better but still requires bracing to correct. I'm excited that we are to the point we can help her but dreading it at the same time.. Who really wants another complicated accessory to deal with? I am staying positive, though, and lovingly refer to her as my bionic baby. :-) She's my little rock star and will be super cute with her hearing aids, patch, and ankle braces on! At least we avoided the helmet (her head is looking a little better, thanks to my lack of sleep at night as I wake up to roll her to her left side frequently..Totally worth it!) and don't have glasses.. Yet!

She's moving into a great stage - she's showing more and more of her amazing personality every day, babbling and talking more and with greater expression. She's more interested in physical play (rocking on her hands & knees, standing, tumbling after a toy, clapping, sitting, standing and bouncing) than playing with her "baby" toys. She's developed a love for paper.. Crinkling it up, tearing it, crumbling it.. Our Pottery Barn catalog will never be the same now that she's ripped through it. She can blow through an entire roll of toilet paper in no time at all, and it's so fun to watch!

I'm so, so proud of our girl... She never ceases to amaze and inspire.

Discovery time - she loves to flip any and everything over to see what's on the bottom.

 

"Crawling" up my pillow on the couch, trying to reach something she probably shouldn't.

 

This is just too cute - fall clothes look great on her!

 

Play time in her lady bug patch - this was between knocking down my block towers.

 

She loves to play in her walker while I fix her formula, my coffee, etc. We're encouraging her to play with food items so she can get comfortable with them, so the end result is a child who doesn't eat, but puffs and juice are everywhere. It will be worth it in the end. Every tiny step is progress!

 

Teething on the bottle of shark teeth her grandad brought her back from the beach. They make for a fun rattle / chew toy.

 

This girl isn't laying down unless she has to now, and I just thought it was a cute picture. Thanks for the shirt, B!!

 

Posing with her princess ball.

 

 

Standing in her walker! She goes back, back, back until she hits something, and then she stands up and throws all the food items, teethers off her tray. My girl has a process, and I love it.

 

Look at me!! Ready to move. ..if only I could figure out these silly legs!

 

Sorry this one is blurry! I loved her standing up in her jeans and tennis shoes, though!