15 Month Checkup

Colton had his 15 month checkup today! Here are his stats:

Weight: 23 lbs. 7 oz (60th percentile)

Height: 30 3/4 inches (33rd percentile)

Head: 18 inches (20th percentile)



These percentiles are for a typical baby. He's still killin' it in the weight department! Woohoo! We've been doing feeding therapy for several months now and Colton is doing really well. We are trying to cut back on formula and introduce milk. He still gets a morning and evening bottle. Colton is doing great drinking from a straw cup. We are trying to transition him from sucking with his tongue to sucking with his lips. All babies suck with their tongue because of a nipple...but as they get older, they learn to suck with their lips, keeping their tongue in their mouth. The Honey Bear Straw cup is great because we can adjust the length of the straw. The longer the straw, the more he sucks with his tongue. So at therapy, we work on shortening that straw so that he really has to use his lips to suck. Sucking is so good for the muscles in his face and mouth. We want those muscles to stay toned. Colton is now eating soft solids and can eat squeeze pouches. Our goal is to eat a protein, starch, and fruit/vegetable for meals. Colton can eat small bites of turkey, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, toast, carrots, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, yogurt, applesauce, oatmeal, puffs, grilled cheese, meltables, etc.... I am SO pumped that he's able to eat a wide variety of foods. He does not gag on foods like he used to. Progress!!!!!!!! Now, Colton does not self feed. We are really working on that. Most babies put everything in their mouth...and they are supposed to...not Colton! Which you think is a good thing until your baby doesn't even want to put food or utensils in his/her mouth. Yesterday at therapy, we got Colton to put a veggie straw in his mouth, sucking off the salt. Yay!! It's a start! His therapist also put vanilla pudding all over his tray to let him play and explore and he did take a graham cracker stick dipped in pudding and put it in his mouth. Baby steps! He is a really good eater...and I'm thankful that he's at a healthy weight.



Colton's face here cracks me up. He loves to babble. He can do the following consonants: M, N, B, D, G, and W. My favorite sound he makes is "Whoa!" He gets those lips pursed like the picture above and says it over and over...especially when he's excited about something like a dangling necklace. If you are wearing a necklace or stethoscope or lanyard, watch out! That kid loves things that dangle. Colton is very expressive with his face and his voice. He makes all kinds of faces these days and loves to make his voice high and low and loud and soft. He woke up early the other day so I put him in bed between us and kept telling him he was with "Mama Dada." I repeat things a lot for him and a few minutes later he said "Mama Dada." He can say both separately but I've never heard him string them both together. I was very proud of him. His babbling is progressing. He's starting to sound like he's speaking a language. He's really trying to communicate. He also likes to mimic, if he's in the mood. He was in the driveway the other day with our neighbor and she would pat her mouth while making noises...when she'd stop, he'd do the same thing to his mouth. They kept going back and forth. It was so sweet! I'm so thankful for the help with "therapy."



Colton is going to start doing 3 hours of PT each week. We've gotta get that kid moving more.

Think about this: You are all warm and cozy in your bed and the alarm goes off. You hit snooze so you can stay in bed just a little longer....but eventually you have to drag your body out of bed and get the day started. It takes so much energy to do that.

Well....that's how Colton feels all of the time. Because of his low tone, things are hard for him. It's a lot of work to move that 23 lb. body around. So...Colton is pretty content to just stay on his tummy or sit on his bottom. He has to REALLY want something to put forth the effort to go get it. And if it's too far way, forget about it. It's not worth it to him. Bless his heart. So finding what motivates Colton to move is a challenge. And that changes from day to day. Sometimes I get out the vacuum because he likes that dangling cord and I want him to try to move. He can army crawl if he really wants to...and he's getting more curious...so that helps. He's starting to move more and more...which is good because we need those muscles to get stronger. He does not get into 4 point yet (hands and knees crawling position). We practice that at therapy a lot. Colton moves like a 7 month old mainly because he can't do 4 point yet. Because I have to carry Colton around so much, I am constantly tight. My neck and shoulders always have knots...and my lower back is sore on a regular basis. But I have some pretty awesome biceps. If you see me this summer, don't laugh at me for being Rambo....seriously! I'm ready for Colton to start moving more so that I can get a break. It's hard out in public with a 15 month old that can't stand up and hates the stroller.



So...Colton's growth is looking pretty good...except for his head. Today, we noticed that his head hasn't grown since his last checkup. Our Pediatrician said that she wants to refer us to Neuro-Surgery just to check to make sure his growth plates haven't already closed. She said that normally kids whose growth plates have closed at an early age have a really funny shaped head. His head shape doesn't look funny....so she said she's not too worried. But she is being a little cautious and would like to have it looked at. We are waiting to hear when that appointment will be. If his growth plates have closed, he won't have room for his brain to grow; therefore, he will need surgery to fix it. We are praying that that is not the case. I'm just hoping that his head will start to grow more in the next few months. She said she's not too concerned, but definitely wants to have it looked at just in case. So please pray that Colton doesn't have any issues with his growth plates.

We head to the heart doctor on Tuesday for his annual checkup. We are hoping that the small holes from his ASD are the same size or smaller. It would be wonderful to hear that the holes are closing up on their own. If they aren't closed yet, they will just wait another year or two to see if they will keep getting smaller. Prayers for that appointment would be appreciated, as well.

Colton is doing really well. He couldn't be getting any more help. We have been blessed with a great team of people that are helping us navigate this new life. Everyone has been so positive and supportive. I haven't had any negative experiences. And it's amazing to me how many people are drawn to Colton. Everywhere we go people talk to Colton and comment on him or his glasses. Yesterday, 6 different people in Walmart stopped me. One lady said..."You know you have a jewel with this one. They are the most precious people." She's right. Colton is such a precious little guy. We just adore him.