A Long Awaited Appointment

I started this post last week and got sidetracked! We have a bunch to post, but we've been super busy...
Back in August when we got the confirmation that we had an appointment with the developmental specialist, the date seemed so far off. Of course the months have flown by, and finally this past Tuesday we met with the doctor from KKI. Before I was pregnant I always said I was going to probably be a neurotic parent regarding my child's milestones. My profession lends itself to these thoughts, and all kids reach milestones at different speeds. Since Chase came so early we end up looking at the 3 month range between his corrected and chronological age on developmental charts.

Since I'm familiar with the facility and services-heck they are one of our competitors:) I knew what to expect going into our appointment. After we had the required meeting with the social worker and answered lots of questions we finally got to meet the doctor. Chase at this point had already scoped out the room, tried to grab every medical instrument within reach, and ripped up a good portion of the paper on the exam table.
The doctor couldn't have been more down-to-earth and the evaluation went great! Ultimately Chase is pretty much where he should be developmentally and the doctor had no concerns. Although we already pretty much knew this, it was awesome to get the info from an expert:) His recommendations were pretty much "read to him daily and enrich his day with language". Done, no problem. Chase loves books(eating them especially) and you all know I like to talk.

So finally here we are-we've made it to our last specialist and hopefully our last appt. until Chase's 1 yr. well visit in June. He'll require one more set of follow up exams toward the end of the year, but otherwise that's it!

Just for the heck of it here's the rundown: Neonatologist(daily while in the NICU), Neonatal Nurse Practitioners and Physician's Assistants(daily while in the NICU) Developmental Pediatrician(lots),Pulmonologist(2x), Respiratory Therapist(daily while in the NICU), Pediatric Opthamalogist(4x), Cardiologist(2x), Occupational Therapist(1x), Speech Therapist(1x) and last but not least the Developmental Specialist(1x). All before he's 10 months old.

Giggle Monster

Here's a new video for your viewing pleasure. Chase has turned into a little giggle machine when he isn't a fussy little boy.

More New Friends

Sunday was a pretty busy day for Chase and I. While Daddy did work on the house and studied, Chase and I went to brunch with new friends and later in the day met a brand new little "peanut".

In the morning we of course had to introduce Kelli, Donovan, and Olivia to Clementine for breakfast, and I wanted to let Chase try grits for the first time. Not surprisingly he gobbled them right up. Hmmm, you think it had something to do with the fact that I ate them a lot while I was pregnant? I'm thrilled that he continues to try new things and doesn't seem to be a picky eater-yet. We had a great time at the restaurant, and Olivia loved reading to "Chasey". Kelli prepped me that having a 5 and 7 yr. old out to eat could sometimes be a challenge, but the kids were awesome. It doesn't hurt that the restaurant has a kids' section, and that the owner's son was there to play superheroes.

Since I'm not around typically developing kids that often I'm always amazed at what comes out of their mouths sometimes. I spent most of the day entertained by the brutal honesty and banter from the two of them, and we had a classic "out of the mouths of babes" experience as we were walking back to the house. As many of you know we live in an older area in Baltimore, and they've been working on doing a revitalization around our neighborhood. WooHoo- two new places are opening this Spring! Sorry I digress...anyway as we were walking home the kids spotted etched into concrete the statement "Jesus died for us" The next comment out of their mouths(I'm not lying) was something to the effect of "He died right here on Harford Rd.? Is this where he is buried?" After a joint laughing fit, Kelli turns to me and says "See what you have to look forward to?" She managed to explain to the kids that "No, Jesus wasn't buried on a street in Baltimore".

Needless to say I laughed a lot that morning:) I unfortunately didn't have my camera with me so this picture didn't turn out great, but Olivia is the cutest thing and wanted to help out with Chase in any way possible. She even tried to carry my heavy diaper bag(I still overpack) when we were leaving the restaurant.

Continuing our day out, Chase and I next visited with our "brand new" friend Riley. She was finally giving her mommy and daddy a few moments of peace during our visit, so we just hung out while she slept. Chase showed of his pseudo crawling skills, and scooted himself in circles and backwards to wedge his legs under their couch while I shared some new mommy stories with Kelly. He is actually starting to move all of his limbs independently of one another instead of both legs and arms at the same time, so we know he'll be getting into things very shortly! It is kind of nice to take advantage of being able to put him down since at the moment he doesn't get very far:)

Riley woke up toward the end of our visit, and I felt terrible that Chase and I had probably stolen a perfect nap opportunity from her mommy:( Thanks for letting us visit, I promise Hamilton burgers soon!

Finally Chase looks like a giant next to someone!

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!!

Mommy was trying to get a pic of my teeth, but it didn't work so well. So Daddy needed to help!

I love raspberries on my belly!

Spinning in circles on the slippery floor!

Figuring out that Daddy hasn't nailed all the baseboards on yet

I had every intention of writing this post last night after Chase went to bed, but we ended up all falling asleep super early! It might have something to do with the fact that the little man's top two teeth are coming in now, and he's been waking up for the past week or so numerous times a night. After our heavy traditional Irish dinner and a stout we were all wiped out:) Chase wasn't only celebrating his first St. Patty's Day, he was also celebrating his last Synagis shot(s). We've just about made it through the RSV season with only one little cold!

Happy Birthday Aunt Zandy!

Z and Chase celebrating

Making her foul shot

Best seat in the house

Last week was Aunt Zandy's birthday, so on Saturday we went up to watch her championship game for basketball and celebrate. Chase did surprisingly well at his first indoor sporting event. He has already been exposed to Daddy cheering during hockey and football games, but we weren't sure how he was going to do in a gymnasium full of yelling fans, whistles, and buzzers. Although the girls didn't win their game, they played really well and had a great season. Aunt Zandy got to show Chase off to all of her teammates and share her trophy with him.

Afterwards we headed back to the house for pizza and presents. Chase figured out he loves balloons, and he showed off his scooting skills!

Chase's first time with a balloon. He thought it was hilarious!

Chase and Scrappy staring each other down

9 months and Counting!

Just woke up and concentrating on standing by myself

Sitting in my Great-Great Grandpa's chair

My Zoolander face

Taking advantage of some warm weather. Gotta support the team, it's a game day!

Look how big I am!!

Yesterday Chase turned 9 months old! On Monday he had his scheduled checkup and everything looks good:) He weighs 15 lbs. 10 oz. and is 27 1/4" long. Although he is still pretty small the doctor didn't have any concerns about his growth. He had to get his final Hep B shot(tears) and blood drawn(shockingly no tears), and all of his labs came back normal. I had a bunch of questions about allowable foods, and really there are only a few restrictions at this point. Now that he has those two bottom teeth, we were excited to try new things. So far this week we've added mac and cheese and bison to his repertoire! Chase still doesn't have a great pincer grasp, but we also need to be better about practicing. When he does pick up small finger foods they often get dropped or stuck in his fist before making it to his mouth. Summer is of course enjoying cleaning up after him.

Speaking of Summer-Chase has been especially interested in watching her lately and now enjoys reaching out to "pet" her and grab her ears when she is next to his exersaucer. She is very patient with him and generally just moves away when she's had enough. He hasn't tried to chomp on her ears yet, but I'm sure if he gets the opportunity he'll try!