Zach's Follow-Up Dentist Appt

Hey guys, Zach had his follow up dentist appt today, for them to check the enamel and also put another coat of fluoride on his teeth. He freaked out pretty bad when we laid him down for the dentist to check his teeth (which i pretty much expected) but he had a very good report on his teeth! No cavities, and the Dentist was surprised at how well the enamel has held up over the last 3 months and didn't mention anything about getting caps like he did last time. He just mentioned the biggest problem now is the color (which we can live with) and said that when he gets older and starts going to school they can probably whiten them.

Also good news is that his canines that just came in (the top ones) are actually a little yellow at the tips, but then are WHITE at the tops!! WOO-HOO!! So he said that there might be hope that his back molars we are waiting for could come in healthy and white also!! woo-hoo!! He said those teeth form later in gestation, so its possible that is was after Zach had gotten over his really bad infections at that point, so it didn't affect them while they were forming! And because of that he said there is a better chance that his adult teeth might be fine as well!! yea!!

Afternoon walks :)

So yesterday we (Zach and I) decided to start taking afternoon walks :) We jsut basically walk around the grounds of the Condo complex, through the grass, looking at all of the trees, and bushes, stopping to touch all of them of course! :)

He is still walking really well, all over the place, and its a whole new world of possibilities, and things he can get into!! :) Also a new world of places to hide his favorite toys. THe other day i opened up the little cupboard with the cookies sheets in it and laughed when i found a couple of his prized Hot Wheels in it :) I guess i found his new hiding spot :)

He has also had a bit of an explosion with his vocabulary! he is now repeating almost every word after we say it! He is also now a pro at his new favorite saying of "Ooooh yeah!" Its too cute to see!! He has also perfected saying "JT" (my brother who jsut moved up here) and procedes to say it quite a bit!! And now anytime a football game comes on TV he sees it and says "Baaallllll!"

Zach has his follow-up Dentist appt tomorrow morning, so hopefully it goes a little more smoothly than last time :) I'm sure i'll have lots to say about it tomorrow!!

Here's a video of Zach saying "JT"

He's really excited to be seeing so much of his Uncle! :)

Catching Up :)

It's been a while since we updated, and there has been a LOT going on lately!! First off, A week ago today Zach had his Neonatal Follow-up clinic, where he has his round-robin visits with all sorts of specialists, who are tracking his progress, offering any advise of people to refer us to, tracking his weight and growth. All kinds of fun stuff!! So we got there at 8:15 and were there until after noon!! What a long day, but also such an exciting one! I remember Zach's first follow up clinic we went to, which was for his 6 mo adjusted age, and I remember seeing all of these other kids running around, former preemies who were now 2 and looked like jsut any other kid, and I remember thinking to myself, someday that will be Zach... he will get off this darned oxygen and grow all big and you will never know he was such a sick tiny baby for so long... Well my friends, that day has definately come!! He was one of the older kids there, and he was walking around, playing with the toys, looking like any other 2 year old :)

It was a great day! First we started off seeing a Pediatrician, who gave him a VERY thorough up & down. She was so impressed with how he is looking, and we did talk about his teeth. Zach had his first dentist appt about 3 months ago and the dentist diagnosed him with Ameleogenesis Imperfecta which is basically that the enamel in his teeth is defective, and pretty much non-existant. There are also pits & grooves in the teeth, which is why they appear yellow, because you are basically seeing he inside of the tooth that the enamel normally would cover. When I told the pediatrician this, she laughed a little and said, "That's not what it is, its from his biliruben levels being so high, as well as the many infections he had" also she said (in her own opinion) that it shouldnt affect his adult teeth!! WOO-HOO!! i figured that was what it had to be, but the dentist didnt agree with me... Anyways, he then saw the general nurses who weighed and measured him, completely naked he is now 25 lb 7 oz, and 33 inches long!

Then we saw the Developmental Psychologist, who had a whole series of tests and interacting scenerios for him, to asses how his reasoning skills are developing as well as all sorts of other developmental things. We were in there for a good hour, which was amazing Zach did as well as he did, he was so focused, and didnt start to fidgit at all until the very end when she was telling me the results! She said that his main problem is Gross Motor development (which we already know), his walking is at about an 11 month old level and other than that he did really well with the tests, much better than she was expecting! After that we saw the Nutritionist, who was a little concerned that his weight had fallen off the curve (which confused me because at his 2 yr appt he was right on his curve, so i dunno, lol) But then she saw how he scoots and said, no wonder!! That scooting (combined with the walking he does now) is burning a LOT of his calories!! So she gave us a sheet with all sorts of ideas for "Power Packing" his foods, and getting as many calories in as possible, so we are working on that right now! Over all it was a great, very positive appt, and we are going back on the 3rd of Oct to see that Opthamologist, and also the audiologist.

Now, fast-forward a week, and Zach is walking about 3/4 of the time, and only scooting about 1/4 fo the time. He has also learned how to stand up on his own, without holding onto anything!! He's a walking fool now!!

Zach also started his Kindermusik class today at Kids on the Move (the place where he gets his Physical Therapy through). He did pretty ok considering it was his first day, and that class is of about 8 kids, all 2 yr olds, and pretty loud (which we all know he doesnt do so well with). But he did really well, he only cried about half the time, and that was at parts where it got pretty loud. He did love the different musical instruments they had, and loved the music itself, so we're pretty excited to keep going :) It goes through the week of Thanksgiving, which its pretty exciting. They also use a lot of signing, so it should be an extra help as well for him to see the signs being used from more people than just mommy.

So here's a video of Zach standing up on his own :) Also carting around his blanket, which he somehow got out of his crib, and has been dragging around behind him all afternoon :)

Random funny things :)

So there were a couple random funny things today that were too great, I have to share :)

First, Zach had never, NEVER been attached to any particular blanket until last December when he was admitted to the hospital for a respiratory infection. We had come to the ER thinking they would check him out, make sure things were OK, and then go home... but no no, they admitted him. So of course we didn't have any of his blankets with us, so the hospital has come blankets that people make and donate, and they gave one to Zach which he LOVED. he to this day still LOVES it and sleeps with it every day. Well today i did a load of laundry and realized i really needed to wash Zach's blanket, because it had been a week or two and it needed it. SO i washed it, and it wasn't dry by nap time, so i got out another blanket, to which he gave a not so happy look at. So this afternoon laundry is done and i bring it out to the living room to fold it, and Zach was playing on the floor next to me, so i threw his blanket over him. The kid squealed with excitement it was too funny! Then all he did for the next 15 minutes was laugh at it, scoot around it in a circle, lay down and roll all over the floor with it. It was adorable! He really loves that thing, i hope we never lose it!!



Second, I was watching Ellen this afternoon (yea new shows are back!!) and she had the Jonas brothers on, and that dang stupid pop music apparently got stuck in my head because later tonight i was giving Zach his bath and here's how the conversation went:

Me: (in the bathroom with Zach) started whistling whatever song it was that they were playing on the show

Joe: (from the kitchen) "I cant believe your whistling a Jonas brothers song

Me: realizing that was what I was whistling, and started to laugh and then said to Joe "Well I don't think that's any worse than the fact that you knew that was a Jonas Brothers song"

well.. as I typed it, it didn't seem to funny.... but it was pretty funny at the time....

2 year old messes :)

Zach is making quite a few changes lately!! First off both of his bottom 2 canines have come in, and now his 2 yr molars are coming in as well (poor guy!). Also he is eating some new foods, which he wouldn't eat before. Apple slices, eggs, and pudding :) he has really taken to the pudding (who could blame the kid!) and surprises me how much he loves eggs now!

So we just have a few fun messy pictures of Zach :)