I know, I know... it's been a while since my last post. But that's because everything has been such smooth sailing that I didn't really think it would be all that interesting to read about.

Still, today was Dylan's first Thanksgiving, and that only comes along once. Of course, he had his own special outfit to help celebrate:


Dylan tried some mashed potatoes and some gravy. Neither was exactly a huge success, but then again, we've only just begun experimenting with food other than his bottles. He has had a few mouthfuls of Gerber carrots, but even that didn't go over too well. That's okay though- it's still kind of early, given his adjusted age and all. He'll get it when he's ready for it. Until then, we'll just have fun watching him smear jar food all over his face.

It's all part of the learning curve for him. And the learning curve is something that came up in a conversation with his physical therapist a couple of weeks ago. After some discussion and after seeing just how well he is handling his toys and himself, his therapist and Barbara and I all agreed that it wouldn't be productive to continue seeing her on a weekly basis, especially since there isn't anything that the therapist is doing with him that Barbara and I aren't already doing at home. And since we are able to do things on Dylan's timetable, when he is ready as opposed to her schedule, it is typically more effective.

In the couple of weeks since we started the PT, Dylan has learned to control his head pretty much all of the time. He still get's lazy occasionally, but even then he doesn't completely lose control of his head- he just let's it hang a bit. He still has a bit of trouble lifting it from a flat position when he is laying on his back, but we work at that daily and he get's closer and closer to doing that himself every day. He also is grabbing with both hands, shaking rattles, manipulating toys to face the direction he wants them to (typically in the direction of his mouth) and can even hold some of his heavier toys over his chest like a bench-press, without our help. It's pretty impressive to see the development as it happens over just the course of a few short weeks. He's even starting to hold himself upright when in a sitting position. It will still be a while before he can pull himself up to that sitting position on his own, but if we put him there, he can maintain it without help for 30 seconds to a minute sometimes, before he wobbles a bit too much and topples over. We're scheduled for a follow up evaluation to make sure the home therapy is progressing well, sometime in January. That will give the therapist an opportunity to get a look at Dylan's progress and give us any pointers we may need or help us move things along in another direction if necessary. So far, so good...

Dylan also has a doctor visit Dec 4 for his 6 month battery of shots and his Synagis vaccine. Syangis is a vaccine againt a common virus affecting preemies and other high-risk babies. It can be pretty nasty, so we make sure he is protected against it. You can learn more about RSV here: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/rsv/a/1006_synagis.htm

After that, it's all about Dylan's first Christmas. We're already preparing with a couple of special Christmas outfits for the little guy, as well as plenty of holiday cheer. More on that soon, as details (and pictures!) become available.

Until then, look for updates to the blog on something more like a monthly basis, at least unless something especially noteworthy happens. With that, here's one more picture from today...

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has come and gone, and Dylan seemed to enjoy it. I know Barbara and I certainly enjoyed dressing Dylan in his costumes and taking lots of pictures while we showed him off to anyone nearby.

Although the Giraffe costume won in the poll, by the time we went to dress Dylan in it, he had outgrown it. So, we went with the runner up costume, the clown. I must say, Dylan makes quite the cute clown. I was quite impressed with how well he endured being dressed in his costume, visitng people all over town.

First, we stopped with his Nana at her job to show him of there. Everyone made an appropriate fuss over just how cute he is, especially when he's wearing a getup like that.

Then we took him to Grandma and Grandpa Levine's house where they had ample opportunity to fawn over him. And for good measure, we took him to visit a few other friends nearby.

We took plenty of pictures of the clown costume and even got a few of him in some other Halloween-y outfits. Enjoy the pictures...

Back from the doctors

We're back from the visit to the neurosurgeon with good news. After a thorough review of his previous MRIs, medical history and an evaluation of his current progress, the neurosurgeon delivered a diagnosis that he is very comfortable with: Dylan is a normal, perfect preemie.

The absence of any significant developmental delays, the normal head growth, and just general good progress that Dylan has been making all lead to what Barbara and I were expecting- Dylan is just fine. It was good to hear it from a professional, though. Of course, there's never a definate way to say that Dylan may one day end up with some sort of delay, but there is no reason to think that this would be the case. So... hopefully the myriad trips to Gainesville for various doctor's appointments are behind us and we can go to just the normal amount of worrying that any parent has to deal with.

In other news, by the time you read this, Dylan will have eclipsed the 5 month mark. Yep, he's 5 months old now. He is also 25 inches long and weighs 18 lbs. It's hard to believe that the baby that now takes two hand to hold and even then only for a short period of time before I begin to get tired is the same little guy that I once held entirely in one hand. He's growing so well...

The neurosurgeon today mentioned that he is almost completely "caught-up" to other babies his age. He is definately ahead of where he would be expected to be if he had gone to full term. Developementally, he is somewhere between a 4 month and a 5 month old baby. That's pretty impressive considering that he should only be about 3 months old right now. Of course, when it comes to Dylan, I am a bit easily impressed.

Dylan is progressing well though, even if I am easily impressed. He's more and more talkative every day, babbling to both his Mom and I, his toys, the cats- whoever or whatever happens to ne nearby. And when he babbles, it really seems like there is a purpose to it. Sometimes, it's almost as if he is picking his words before he lets out a "Gooooooeeeeey" or "Ahhhhhhgooo". Occassionally, when he feels that what he has to say is very important, he winds himself up by pumping his arms and then belts out with a loud exclamation of "AAhhhhhhhhhhoooooo" ot something like that. It's quite entertaining, actually. I hope to get some of this on video and get it posted to the blog soon. I'm actually typing this from Barb's computer this week, as mine is torn down for some major rebuilding. Hpefully, I'll have that finished soon, and when I do, I'll make it a priority to get some fresh video posted of the little guy.

Anyway, that's it for now. Remember, if you haven't already voted, let your choice be known for the Halloween costume. Also, I would encourage anyone interested to subscribe at the bottom of the page for instant email alerts when the blog is updated.