Liam is 6 months old!

Liam is officially 6 months old. Time is flying by extremely fast. Everyone tells us if we blink for too long he will be grown and boy are they right. It has been a while since we last posted so we thought we would update everyone on how he is doing. We have had our first Christmas, Valentine's day and big snow since our last update.

Christmas Smiles

Liam's First Christmas

Liam is doing great and is gaining weight by the second it seems like. Our little boy was 3 lbs when he was born. Preemie clothes were too big and swallowed him up. That is not the case these days. The last time we weighed him he was 16lbs. He is still rather short for his age but is getting rather pudgy. He finally made the growth chart at 1% the last time he was at his pediatrician. We have a feeling that he is higher than that these days. 

He has recently started eating oatmeal cereal. He hated rice cereal so the doctors told us we could try oatmeal. So far so good. He is a very happy baby. He greets us every morning with a big smile on his face. Liam laughs, coos, and screams with delight all the day long. He will flirt with anyone that gives him any attention and is becoming quite the ham. He still only cries every now and then. Does this mean his teens are going to be horrible?!? Recently during one of our warmer days he went to the park with his big cousin Carter. He still loves bath time, walks and his dog, Spence. His new favorite thing is his baby jumper. 

Carter and Liam

We are in the process of getting Liam a new physical therapist. Hopefully we will get it squared away soon. He is meeting most of his marks developmentally but still needs to work on some others. We are hoping things will move in the right direction once his new therapist starts. He loves his babysitter and we feel very lucky to have Meme take care of him everyday while we are at work. 

We have been to Duke every month since we have been home from Philly. We will be making the drive in a couple of weeks for Liam to see the eye doctor. We will then go back in April for his spina bifida clinic with the four specialists. We will split that visit up and spend some of the time at Duke's Hospital for he is in need of more testing. Those days are extremely long but we all make it through and cough it up to being a normal part of our lives now. We will do whatever it takes for Liam to have everything that he needs.

Mommy and Liam at the last Duke appointment

The orthopedic doctors at Duke have mentioned to us a couple of times about Liam having surgery on his left foot when he is school age. His foot is just growing too much now for it to be done in the immediate future. His left foot has been misshaped since birth. The tendons in his ankle are so tight that it's affecting the development of his foot and lower leg. He will have surgery to loosen the ankle tendons. At the last visit they also told us that he no longer needs to wear his right AFO. He still has to wear his left one and will likely have to for the foreseeable future.

As far as neurology goes he still has not needed a brain shunt. The neurosurgeon says he has gotten more fluid on the brain but it is still relatively stable. She says that if we make it to the one year mark then we will probably be home free on not needing a brainshunt. His back scar from his closure surgery after he was born has healed very nicely and is not as red. It is still very noticeable but we are the only ones that actually see it on a daily basis.

The urology doctor is pleased with how Liam is doing so far at this stage in the game.  The developmental pediatrician and urologist wants to start a bowel management and urinary plan when he is two years old. The goal is by the time he is school age he will be able to be be self-sufficient so he won't rely on us for this bathroom needs and have the stress of incontinence during his school-age years. The goal is to make him self-sufficient for a successful life on his own.

Our little ham

We have placed Liam in God's hands from the very beginning. The good Lord has taken such good care of us and has given us peace and patience through all of our adventures. We are trusting Him through everything. Please continue to pray that Liam meets all of his developmental marks and does not require a brain shunt.