While there are some things he may not be able to do because of his PRS, there's also the factor that, because he had to start holding his head up earlier on in order to breathe, he's a pretty strong little fella! I remember his first appointment with his pediatrician, after we came home from Riley, and she made the comment that his PRS doesn't seem to hold him back at all. And, from what we've seen so far, it certainly does not! He's been rolling over for about a month now. And the past couple days, he's able to position himself in crawling mode. I still think we have a bit until he actually gets moving, but he definitely watches his sissy's every move and I know he's dying to go wherever she goes. I'm trying really hard not play the comparison game, though, because I know every baby is different and, just because he might do one thing early on, does not necessarily mean he'll do everything that way. And even if he does, does it really matter? Is there really a difference if he starts walking at 11 months or 18 months? Society sure has it's way of making us feel awful when someone mentions that their baby did this or that, and ours isn't even close yet. "Us" and "ours" meaning, as a whole, not saying Jose and I in particular. I think it's just such a relief, after reading so much about how PRS babies tend to be delayed in their development, that he doesn't seem to be showing signs of that. In fact, ever since he had his jaw distraction, I feel like he's almost a "normal" baby. I hate using that term, but you know what I mean. Aside from his cleft palate (which I often forget he has) and g-tube, he's just like any other five month old baby. I'm a little nervous about his palate repair, as they say that's the hardest of the surgeries, in terms of recovery, but turns out Holden has a lot of people pulling for him and I'm so very grateful for that!
A few other things about our little guy, as his personality is starting to come out more and more... He's super smiley in the morning, making it nearly impossible to leave the house each day. I literally go back to him like four times, before I'll actually walk out the door. Aurora was that way too and now she's about as pleasant of a morning person as her mama. Holden really does just love to be held all day, every day. I'm sure this developed both while down at Riley, as we'd hold him any chance we could, and also while he had his NG-tube. We held him all the time because that damn thing made him so uncomfortable. Even when we'd hold him, he'd cry, but I think he at least felt a little comforted. Now, I think he's just so used to being held that it causes confusion when we try to put him down, lol. #bossbaby He loves to get out and explore so we'll go out, mostly when Jose is off, just because it's a pretty big production to do it when it's just me, but I like to take him on walks, or even just sit out on the porch with him. Especially when it's raining. I think he loves that too because he always falls asleep! We help him pet Zoey, which he loves, but we just have to make sure he doesn't pull her fur like he pulls my hair! Zoey is so good with him, though, and I don't think we could've asked for a better dog to be around kids. Holden really loves Aurora so much and just stares at her in awe, most of the time. I hope this continues as he gets older! He likes to play in his little activity jumper thingy quite a bit, which comes in handy when I've been holding him for hours at a time and my arm is numb. Just about anything and everything goes in his mouth and he's been drooling quite a bit. If I remember correctly with Aurora, the teething seemed to start early on (like around 3 months), but it wasn't until about 6 months that she actually started cutting teeth. He still loves bath time! Still loves to pull my hair. He's also discovered his little toes and tries to put them in his mouth any chance he gets. He also loves ceiling fans and light fixtures. Every time he sees the light above our kitchen table or our kitchen island, it's as if he's never seen it before. He gets so excited!
You guys. I just love this sweet little boy so very much! We all do. He is like the piece to our family that we never knew was missing and now that we have him, it's hard to remember what it was even like before. We love, love, love you Holdy Man! To Mars and the stars!
PS We have had a few experiences with how people react when they realize Holden has special needs (feeding tube), and I'm not going to lie, sometimes it stings a little. I totally understand and welcome questions. I actually don't mind talking about his condition, like at all. Most of the time, I'll actually start the conversation. If people notice his scars and say something to the effect of, "Oh, what happened there?" I am all about educating them. Most people are genuinely just curious and have simply never heard of it. After all, before Holden came along, we hadn't heard of it either. But, when we're feeding him out in public, and someone approaches us and asks,"What's wrong with him?" it's extremely hard for me to respond with anything other than, "Well, nothing is wrong with him, but wtf is wrong with you that you think you can start a conversation like that?" I really try not to be overly sensitive about it, but we've literally had someone at a restaurant (that worked there, mind you) stop at our table and just stare at him, while we fed him. Pretty sure even Holden wanted to ask her if she was going to be alright. Anyways, I guess sometimes people might not mean to come across the way they do, and I'm certainly no stranger to saying things the wrong way, but the first time it happened definitely caught me off-guard. Especially when you see all the progress he's made and other people seem to focus on the one thing that still makes him different.
Holden's last time drinking from a bottle...
And his first time eating baby food! (sweet potatoes)
