Hop To It!

Welcome back to this month's installment of Dylan's Den!

There's quite a bit to talk about, as it's been a while since my last posting.
Overall, Dylan continues to do exceptionally well. He continues to learn new and interesting things every day and perfect how he does other things, as well. One of his new things is his ability to get around in his walker. If you put him in his walker, watch your toes. He'll be rolling over them any minute. Dylan is especially fond of chasing the cats and trying to grab the dogs while they lay on the couch. Luckily for the dogs, Dylan can't really reach past the side of the walker very far. He has managed to get a hold of Bosco's tail once or twice though. Bosco is our Italian Greyhound. Dylan seems to really like both him and our Jack Russel, Kelly.

Dylan also has begun experimenting with some interesting sounds he can make. He does this sort of half growl, half talking thing where it sounds like he's speaking through a computer synthesizer. I can't do it justice by describing it, but take my word for it, it sounds... odd. He also seems to be making the connection between "da-da" and me. I'm not saying he is outright calling me da-da, but he does say it when I come into a room sometimes. Barbara is ah-da, apparently. He says that and looks right at her. We're encouraging him to talk a lot. Whenever he is in the mood, we're having conversations back and forth. I wonder just how much he understands. Sometimes, I think it is a lot more than we give credit for.

Dylan also got to meet the Easter Bunny. He wasn't as impressed as he was with Santa. I think that Dylan may have thought the Easter Bunny was just another one of his stuffed animals. Still, we got some great pictures.

Barbara and I have been encouraging Dylan to try new things, as much as we can. One of our favorite pastimes is to sit Dylan in front of a new toy and watch him try to figure it out. Just the other day, Barbara put together a little sports center for him that has a mini basketball net, a baseball to hit and a football rattle. At first, Dylan seemed a bit confused with the small basketball. He has never tried to pick up something round before, so this was a new challenge for him. He tried to grab it several times, and each time it would roll away. Finally, he pinned the ball against his leg and sort of rolled it up his chest into his hands. After he got a good taste and decided that this was something he wanted to play more with, he soon figured out how to pick it up with both hands, right to his mouth.

We'll work on actually putting the ball in the basket another time. It was just fun watching the gears turn in his head as he tried to figure out how he was going to pick the ball up.

One last thing that I almost forgot to mention- Dylan is now working on his third tooth. This one will be his upper front tooth, on his left side. It's been playing hide-and-seek for over a week now, and it's turning our normally happy-go-lucky baby into a bit of a fussy boy at times. Even so, Dylan at his fussiest is still pretty darned good. At worst, he'll get a bit whiny and sleep a bit more than usual. Otherwise, it's not really that bad. Of course, that's easy for me to say... it's not me who is cutting the tooth.

Anyway, that's all I have time for now, I'll post back with another update next month!

"March"ing ahead

Welcome back to Dylan's Den!

Tonight, I'm writing to tell you once again just how wonderfully Dylan is doing. As of his last visit to his doctor on Thursday, he is 24 lbs and perfectly healthy. This places him right where he should be for a child his age, without making any adjustments for the fact that he was 10 weeks early.

Dylan has also graduated to eating Stage 2 jar foods, which include larger servings and a more varied selection. He is also now getting to experience Cheerios, every baby's favorite toy/food. He is managing to pick them up and eat them on his own, but he hasn't yet mastered using just his index finger and thumb yet. Having something small to try and manipulate, like the Cheerios, is a great way for him to learn that bit of dexterity.

With St Patty's day coming soon, Dylan is looking forward to his first green beer. Somehow though, I think we are going to stick with his formula. Also, Barbara has been telling him all about the Easter Bunny, so he's looking forward to grabbing a hold of his cotton tail and long ears :)

I also wanted to throw out a mention that Dylan's birthday is coming up soon (May 23rd) and that if any of his nurses or doctors from the NICU would like to come to his party here in Ocala, please email Barbara at babyfundsales@aol.com.

We'd love to have you here for the get-together.

Nine Months already?!?

How did nine months pass by so quickly? And how did my little boy get so big, so fast?

It sure seems hard to believe that Dylan is 9 months old already. And boy, how things have changed. Heck a lot has changed even since my last post here.

When I last posted, Dylan had just started to cut his first tooth. Well, not very long after that, his second tooth came in, right next to the first one.

It may be hard to see, but there are two little teeth hanging out there at the bottom of his mouth.

Dylan is also learning to sit quite well. He can't quite reach a sitting position without either pulling himself up or by getting some help from Barbara or I, but once he is sitting, he can balance himself really well. He usually braces himself with one arm, but just over the course of the last two days or so, he has started staying upright without using his hands at all. He's loving that, because it gives him both hands to play with whatever toy you may have nearby.

Dylan has also been growing quite fast, as I'm sure you can see from the pictures. So fast, in fact, that he has outgrown his original infant car-seat and graduated to the next size.

Our little boy is also coming very close to getting out his first words. He has recently started babbling da-da-da-ba-ba-ba for long stretches. We even think he may have gotten out a few ma-ma-ma's. I think it's going to sooner rather than later that he fires off a da-da or ma-ma and actually means what he says.

Anyway, that's about all I have time for right now. As things change, I'll be sure to post here about them, at the first chance I have.