Happy Birthday Dylan!

Today (Saturday) marks 3 months for Dylan. It's weird...it doesn't seem like it's been that long, yet it feels like it's been so much longer than that, too. It's hard to explain.

Dylan continues to do well. His appointment last Wednesday was a bit of a letdown though. Not because of any bad news or anything like that- in fact there really wasn't any news at all. Barbara and I thought we were bringing him to get an MRI. Instead, we had a consult with a neurologist who ordered an MRI. That appointment still hasn't been made, as we are waiting for the office to call us back with our day and time. The neurologist didn't really have anything new to add to the discussion. He mentioned the possibility of developmental delays from the ventriculomegaly after viewing the first two MRIs, but also mentioned how well things were looking on the third MRI that was done. This was all stuff we already knew. Oh well. We'll get his MRI done as soon as they can schedule it, and then we are scheduled for an appointment with a pediatric neurosurgeon to review the results. Don't worry though- there's no reason for any surgery. It's just that the neurosurgeon is the one best qualified to examine the MRI and give a prognosis. So... we'll wait and see what he has to say. Barbara and I are both confident that Dylan is just fine.

One big development that is likely more exciting to Barbara and I then to you folks reading this: Dylan is sleeping through the night, most of the time. As long as he eats a decent amount before we head off to sleep for the night, he stays asleep until around 5 or 6 am, which works great for us. I'm usually awake at that time anyway, to get ready for work, so it's no big deal to change a diaper and let him have another bottle before I head out for the day.

Speaking of feeding, Dylan continues to put all the milk we're giving him to good use. As of his appointment on Wednesday,he weighed 11 lbs, 15 oz. I'm sure by now he has broken the 12 lb mark. I'm not sure of his exact length right now, but he is definately growing longer, not just plumper. He's outgrown his newborn outfits and is now wearing 0-3 months. When we stopped up at the hospital to visit with his care team from the NICU, they were all impressed with just how big he's gotten. We don't notice it as much, I guess, since we see him every day, but even Barbara and I can see the difference. This is going to be one big kid.

Dylan has also just started to explore the many different sounds he can make. While he's not exactly babbling yet, he's finding that he can get a reaction when he fires off an "ooooohhhh" or "aaaaaaaaahhhhh" towards Mom or Dad. It's really neat to watch how he is learning new things every day. Although sometimes, when we think he might be interested in something new, he appears totally unimpressed.

We were visiting Barbara's parents after the doctors appointment on Wednesday, and we thought he might like to meet the horses. Barbara took his hand and helped him stroke the nose of one ofthe more docile horses. Dylan rolled his eyes, looked at his mom and sighed. It sure seemed to me that he was doing his best to say, "and why are you making me pet this smelly thing?" Maybe next time, I guess :) Strangely enough, the horse had the same look on his face, too.

Anyway, that's all I have time for now. I'll be back here next Sunday, unless there's anything special to report.

Here are some more recent pics to hold you over...