The Journey We Are On.....

The overall theme of this past week was COLD! Ethan and I did our best to stay home and out of the nasty weather. Is it bad that I’m already looking forward to spring? On Monday our dietitian, Jen, came to our house. I am so thankful that our Early Intervention (EI) support team comes to us. This is so wonderful, especially now that it is winter. Ethan weighed in at 15 pounds and 1 and ½ ounces! He was 26 ¼ inches long! Jen was so pleased with Ethan’s progress – his weight is in the “average” range now. We are hoping that if we can keep him healthy and eating that he’ll be able to make it to 20 pounds by his first birthday. We’ve got seven months – I think we can do it. Since Ethan’s weight was so great, Jen even suggested that we could stop fortifying Ethan’s milk with the soy formula. I decided that instead of completely eliminating the formula that I would simply decrease it and see if Ethan continues to gain weight appropriately. Well, I guess Ethan must have known we were talking ...

Last week was not necessarily very eventful but it sure was stressful. I’m still battling the cold that I must have caught Thanksgiving weekend and Ethan caught from me. He seems to be feeling better this morning, but still seems rather tired. If I could make up the rules for the universe, one of them would be to make it impossible for moms to get sick. It just isn’t good when we don’t feel well, especially when others in our house our sick too! Monday we had our home visit with Ethan’s Hearing Specialist, Julie. Julie works out of the Illinois School for the Deaf’s Champaign office. She will meet with Ethan twice a month for the next few months and then her visits will increase to once a week. Julie was so excited that Ethan had gotten his hearing aids and was thrilled to hear that he has begun laughing! His laugh, although he doesn’t share it with us as much as I wish, is still contagious. Julie understands our commitment to seeking any means of communication for Ethan – American Si...