Jacob's Page - December, 1998
Since we are now in January, you will see one large update for the month of December, which I compiled from email correspondence between myself and the preemie-l group over the last few weeks.
Here is Jacob in early December:
This month brought several steps forward and many steps backward. However, we did end up with a net-profit in the end.
Jacob weighs about 21 lbs and in remains in the 5th percentile (25th corrected) for height and weight. He crawled at 9 months. He climbed onto the playtable and stood up at 11 months.
"Look Mom, I can climb up on top of the table"
Jacob climbed the stairs (and other things) at 11 months.
"Mom, this is fun, but a Labyrinth might be more exciting"
Jacob took his first 3 steps at 11.5 months old (but still is not walking yet -- his week long cold and week long reaction to formula set him back). We think he might will be diagnosed with Asthma soon, since he has shown an increased need for oral albuterol. His resistence to colds is extremely low. We run from cold to cold here - both kids had flu shots too. Jacob appears bright and does particularly well in gross motor skills. His oral skills, specifically speaking, is more on the conservative side. He said his first word - "bird" recently. He can (we think) distinguish "mama" "dada", but sometimes we question whether he knows! He tries to copy sounds occasionally - "hohoho", but no other words yet. He has a terrible temper anytime you try to touch him or hold him down to change diapers. Preemism or a boy thing OR, his fathers childhood disposition (hmmm). He is also very affectionate when he's not crabby. We love him to pieces.
An excerpt of his first birthday celebration -- 12/24/98
Well, here we are, and it's late on Christmas Eve. Today is my 32 weekers, Jacob Paul's 1st Birthday. I can't believe it's gone so quickly. In a strange way, I felt this was the best day with both my kids in quite a while. We awoke to 3 inches of snow. Here in south Jersey, this is a rarity. We played all morning, and then just about 12:00pm we piled into the car to finish Christmas dinner shopping. It was a crazy afternoon, as I was awaiting the afternoon's party.
"Wow, is this all for me?"
Jacob's disposition was less than desireable much of the afternoon, so I did not have great expectations for the party. We sang "Happy Birthday" with tears in our eyes! We sat to eat cake, but of course, Jacob's feeding issues prevailed during the celebration. Jacob ate nothing until we were about done. Then, while I was holding him, he reached over and stuck his hand in the cake and stuck frosting right into his mouth on his own!
"This cake is great! Why did I wait so long to try it?!""
I couldn't believe it, since he is seldom eager to put any food except crackers/toast into his mouth. However, that moment put the biggest, warmest smile into my heart. I felt so happy and proud of the accomplishments of my now one year old son! OH, and yes there were presents, but his heart was focused on spending time with Mommy, Daddy and Savannah, and making sure we were there to help him push around empty present boxes and walk with his mower! I truly believe the first birthday celebration is more for the parents than the kids! We are so thankful for both our children. God Bless!
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