NICU Follow Up/Development Appt.

Today Robinson had his NICU follow up which checks his development and how well he is doing on his milestones. For preemies, they need to make sure that they do not need physical, speech or occupational therapy if they get behind on milestones. Obviously, you want to catch it quickly so that you can correct any issues. They have Robinson go to USA for the appointments every 4 months to re-evaluate.

Today was a little more intense than the last session. He had to sit across a table from a doctor and they brought out various toys and watched what he did with them and looked for certain things. He had to be able to pick up 2 block with his hand and then a third and put them down together; get the blocks out of cup and underneath a shelf; grab a rope; shake a bell; stack the blocks; pull pins from holes; point to items in a book; turn in different directions to sound; point out Mommy and Daddy; feed himself cheerios; crawl; stand; cruise; laugh, and talk.

Robinson did fantastic! They said he is completely caught up to his actual age (12 months) for all of his major milestones and is even ahead of the game of some gross and cognitive skills. She was really impressed that Robinson gives "kisses" when asked- open mouth, right on the lips! haha She said he was amazing and that you would never know he was a preemie. She actually thought she had read his chart wrong and couldn't believe that he was a 26 weeker.

They were also really impressed with his size. Robinson weighed 21.9 pounds today!! Seriously! I couldn't believe it...I think she was off on the height and head circumference b/c Robinson wouldn't hold still and according to the nurse's measurements his head and length would've shrunk from his 9 month apppointment! haha....she wasn't too thrilled with me when I just point blankly said "well, that can't be right, I know he hasn't shrunk". hehe....I measured his head and length when we got home and I think his head is around 46 cm and length is about 29 inches- but I'll be happy when we go to the pediatrician in a couple of weeks and get a confirmation on those. I remember their numbers were off when we went at 4 months, so I always trust my pedi's office more so than others.

Lastly, we had to go through his history over the past year and they seemed pleasantly surprised that Robinson has not had a hospital visit, antibiotics, any illness- not even a trip to the doctor that wasn't a check up! It was a very good visit and very good day...I will continue to pray that our little man gets stronger and healthier every day.

We love you Robinson!

Birthday Boy!

I can not believe that Robinson turned 1 year old today! This year has flown by and I can't believe how far we've come- We are so proud of our little guy. I just wanted to share some pictures from his party we had this weekend. We were originally going to throw this big shin dig and invite everyone we knew! haha But we finally came to our senses and realized it would be a little overwhelming for the little man, so we just had family over for cake and ice cream on Saturday. We had a wonderful time and it was perfect for his 1st birthday.

I loved his outfit I found him

The Cake

The Smash Cake

He was NOT a fan of cake- Robinson does not like sweet stuff, he'd much rather have his veggies...Rian said he gets that from me!

Family Picture

With his Poppa Jim

In his new Batman PJ's
After the party, my parents babysat and Rian and I went to a friend's wedding Mobile- it was so nice to have a night out with friends- but we were home by 9:30 pm because I missed the little guy!

4th of July

I am so sorry for the long delay in blog posts. We have just been so busy around here with my Dad's birthday, Father's Day, the 4th and drum roll please, preparing for Robinson 1st birthday!! I can NOT believe that this time next week our little man will be one year old. Where has the time gone?


Like I said, though, we have been really busy getting out of the house, visiting with family, etc. and having a grand time this summer. Robinson is *this* close to walking, I can just feel it. He's also trying so hard to talk these days and belly laughing a lot more. He's learned to 'wrestle' with you on the floor and has the best time laughing rolling around with you. This is a fun age for laughter!


Eating is getting better. He's back to loving his bottle (so I think the teething is what was bothering him before). He's taking about 24-28 ounces per day and he's getting better with the table food. He'll feed himself with puffs and cheerios and pieces of chicken. He likes cheese, blueberries, peaches, apples (soaked to make them softer), bananas, any kind of bread, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and he's getting better at pasta. The only hiccup is that it takes him FOREVER to chew some of this stuff, so he still doesn't eat enough of table food to constitute a full meal and giving up the puree, just yet. I think within the next few weeks, though, we'll make great improvements. Robinson has shown time and time again that he does things on his own time.

We have yet to find a sippy cup that he just loves. He'll drink out of them, but not more than ounce or so...he gets bored with them. I have to admit that's it's frustrating as a mom too. They either are so slow flow that it takes too much work to get any out or they just come pouring out and he chokes....I mean, isn't there a medium flow or faster flow sippy cup??! If you have any suggestions, let me know. We've tried 4 different kinds as of right now...I've heard good things about the Nuby ones, but I don't know if Robinson will like them since they are a straw....he has one that is a straw and he refuses to even try to drink out of that one. It's all trial and error...we'll see! :)

Here are some pictures from the 4th- I was so busy chasing Robinson and visiting, that I didn't take many pictures. I promise to do better as his birthday party!!

Robinson with Uncle James - who by the way is no longer an intern. He passed his boards and is officially a Family Medicine Resident- wooooohoooo!

You know I always have to get a close up of our handsome boy...

Kissing his cousin, Preston. He just adores him :)

Robinson and Preston

Robinson with his cousins, Peyton and Preston