Early Intervention Assessment

Zach had his EI assessment today. They put him through a series of tests where they held him in different positions and tried to get him to follow lights and noises. He did very well, except he wouldn't follow the light. I think he just doesn't like it. But he responded to everything else the way they wanted. He scored average or above average in all areas and off the charts in motor skills. They were impressed that he is already reaching for objects and holding onto the rings on his playmat. They told us that because his Torticolis seems to be improving with stretches, he doesn't qualify for EI unless his pediatrician writes a letter saying that the condition was congenital, which it wasn't. They were also impressed with how vocal he is.

He was so good during the whole assessment too! I think he thought the evaluators were there to play with him. He was smiley and giggly and let them do whatever they needed to do. He only started crying at the end because it was getting close to naptime.

Oh and guess who rolled over twice on Saturday! Yep, rolled over at 3 months, 2 days old. Except how he won't do it again and throws a fit when we try to get him to do it.

Three months old!

Today Zachary is three months old! I can't believe it! He's growing so fast and getting so smart. He's a really happy baby and only really cries when he is hungry or tired.

So what has Zach been up to?

He has been sleeping in his crib for about 2 weeks now. He sleeps really well, only waking up once most nights. He usually sleeps one 5-7 hour stretch and then another 4-6 hour stretch. Last night he slept all night from 8pm-7:30am!

We got him a new playmat for playing and tummy time. He doesn't like tummy time much and usually melts down after only a few minutes, but he loves lying on his back and playing. He swats at and "talks to" the hanging toys. Sometimes he even grabs the rings hanging from the toys!

We had his first appointment with Early Intervention for Zach's torticollis this week. It was mostly just paperwork, but the staff member explained a little about the program. If Zach qualifies, he will be in the program for a year and will be eligible for all their services, including meetings with a physical therapist and occupational therapist if he needs it. He has an appointment for his assessment next Wednesday and they will show us some stretches that will hopefully help. His neck already seems a little better, but he still favors the right.

Oh, I almost forgot! We got Zach his first pumpkin! He loved it! He thought the pumpkin was hilarious.

2 month doctor's appointment

We had Zach's 2 month doctor appointment on Friday. He is now 10 lbs 14 oz and 22.5 inches tall. He's gained 4 pounds and grown more than 3 inches. Great news!

The not so great news:

Zach's head is flat on the back, which means that we need to do more tummy time so that it will hopefully round out. The doctor didn't seem too concerned. He has Torticolis, which means that a muscle on the left side of his neck is tight, preventing him from turning his head to the left. The doctor told me a few stretches to try and is referring us to Early Intervention. They will come to the house and teach us more stretches. Also, he is a little bit cross-eyed so we got a referral for a pediatric opthmalogist. The doctor is pretty certain that all these issues will resolve easily, but is being proactive, which I really like.

Zach got 3 shots and an oral vaccine at his appointment. He liked the oral vaccine and the Tylenol they gave him before the shots. However, the shots, not so much. He did the silent scream and the nurse had to blow in his face to get him to breathe. Every time. Poor little guy. He cried all the way to the car, but fell asleep and stayed asleep in his carseat for over an hour after we got home. First time I've seen him cry real tears and it was so so sad.  He was fussy and sleepy all day Friday, yesterday, and today. No fever though.

Who does he look like?

I've been playing a fun little game lately. While I was pregnant, Zach looked just like Todd in all the ultrasound pictures, so I have been trying to find a little bit of me in him. We played around with some old photos to see who he looks most like.

 

First we found this one.Todd is on the left and Zach is on the right. He definitely looks a lot like Todd. Almost everyone talks about how much he looks like a Strauss. 

But then I found this one! That's me on the left and Zach on the right! Yay! He looks like me!

2 months old!

On Thursday Zach turned 2 months old! He is getting a fun little personality. He loves music and will "dance" if something he likes is playing. But he can't fall asleep with music on because he gets too distracted to sleep. He is still sleeping in our room, but we plan to transition him to his crib in a few weeks. However, he is sleeping really well! He usually wakes up only once at night. He sleeps for 6-8 hours, then wakes to eat and goes back to sleep for another 4 hours usually.

 He loves the giraffe that hangs from his bouncy seat and sits and "talks" to it and swats at it. They are BFFs. One time, he was in the seat and babbling away at it and then he started to cry. The next thing we knew, he had punched the giraffe and sent it swinging! I couldn't help but wonder what the giraffe had said that was so mean!

We packed up his newborn sized clothes on Thursday night and he is in 0-3 month sizes exclusively now. He still wears newborn size diaper covers though. He is exclusively cloth diapered and we love it.

His head control is really good, even though he hates tummy time on the floor. Usually if I put him down on his playmat, he tries to push up for a few minutes, then just lies facedown on it and goes to sleep. Or pretends to sleep so he doesn't have to do tummy time! I have a video of him doing tummy time, but I can't find it on my computer. It is on Facebook though. 

As long as he isn't sleepy or hungry, Zach is the happiest little guy. He gives us big smiles and giggles all the time. He loves baths and any time he gets to be naked or just in a diaper. My favorite part of the day is when he has just woken up and I am getting him dressed. He stretches and kicks, all while smiling and giggling at me. I love it!

Just for fun, here are some outtakes from our 2 month photo shoot:

Whoa! Whoa! I'm falling over!!

Oops, I fell over!

Pat the lion!

Hehehe

Zach's 2 month doctor's appointment isn't until October 5th, so I will update with how much he has grown and how he did with shots after that.

One month doctor's appointment!

Today Zachary had his one month pediatrician's appointment. He did great! He now weighs 8lbs 14oz and is 20.5in long. His head is now 15 inches around. He has a heat rash on his shoulders and chest, but the Dr. said to just put powder or Vaseline on it to keep his clothes from rubbing on it. It doesn't seem to bother him. He did really well at the doctor and we were told that he seems to be doing really well and is a healthy boy!

Zach has been learning all kinds of new things lately. He has learned to smile, to laugh a little, and to reach for and swat at his toys. He loves sitting in his bouncy seat and "talking" to the stuffed giraffe that hangs from it. He "aahs" and "coos" at it. It's really really cute.

One month old!

Today Zachary is one month old. I can't believe how the time has flown. The first few weeks were pretty rough, but we had a lot of help. Todd's mom came up for the birth and helped get the house ready for Zach to come home. My parents came when he was a little over a week old and helped us immensely with the house, the dogs, and learning how to be parents. When they left, Todd was home for a few more days and then he went back to work. Zach and I have gotten into a little bit of a routine. He wakes up twice at night usually, maybe 3 times. He naps in the morning for a few hours and again in the afternoon, with some cat naps throughout the day. He's been pretty fussy this last week but I think he's going through a growth spurt. He's very close to outgrowing his newborn clothes. In fact, I think we have to retire the outfit in today's picture because it is supposed to be pants and looks like shorts on him. He has just started to coo and is very close to smiling. Yesterday he started trying to bat at the animals hanging from his bouncy seat. He can't grab them yet, but he's given them a few good swats. He sees his doctor for his one month appointment on Friday.