He's Unstoppable (almost)!

I get a little teary-eyed when I realize how independent Matthew is becoming. He prefers to feed himself, and will only tolerate spoon-feeding for so long. He can sit up from laying down or crawling. He loves to walk around the room with assistance, and has started reaching for other people/objects while walking. I think we're seeing the beginning stages of independent cruising! This morning he was climbing up the steps while my mom and I watched, all ready to catch him if he needed us. If I don't have the gate up at the top of the stairs and he decides he wants to go down, he can get to those stairs faster than you can blink. I have been trying to show him how to turn around and go down the stairs safely, but so far he prefers to try going down head first. Luckily I have caught him every time so far. He pulls himself up to onto his knees and sometimes gets himself into a squatting position, but I have yet to see him stand up on his own. Something tells me I will not have to wait long. :)

(Several hours later...) I was right! Here is proof - he got up on his feet and started climbing the stairs without help!

Lots of Good Stuff

Last week was a marathon of crazy, but we survived, and are thoroughly enjoying the last day of our much-deserved 3-day weekend.

On Thursday I had an appointment with a midwife who, thankfully, I really like. She and I see eye-to-eye, and I suddenly find myself feeling much less anxious about this pregnancy. I did not realize just how much anxiety I had until it went away! :) The midwife is incredibly supportive of my desire to have a VBAC, and she said so far everything looks great. We were not able to hear the baby's heartbeat at this appointment, but I am not concerned since we saw it on the ultrasound at 8 weeks, and it is still a bit early to find it.

On his pediatrician's recommendation, we took Matthew in for a free infant screening at our family eye care place. The optometrist was fantastic. Apparently eye problems are very strongly linked to genetics, and the fact that I am blind in one eye means it is quite likely that Matthew would have the same problem. If we catch it early, we can hopefully correct it. Fortunately Matthew does NOT have vision problems. He can see as well as expected out of both eyes. One eye is stronger than the other, but it is not a concern at this point.

Matthew also had a checkup at Shriners Hospital this week. His doctor is very pleased! Not only are his labs showing wonderful improvements, he is CLIMBING the growth chart for height, and his weight is keeping up wonderfully. All this shows his medication is working. He had to have blood work done again at this appointment but he is one smart kid. He made such a fuss that they gave him TWO prizes (books) when he was done. He is not even a year old yet, and already knows how to work the system.

This weekend he has started crawling on his knees. Before this he was doing a creeping/army crawl with his belly on the floor. He still does this from time to time, but he is spending much more time on his knees. In the nursery at church he started pushing a toy and walking behind it. And the past few days he has stopped to snuggle with me when it wasn't feeding time. I rarely get cuddles because he is so active - constantly go, go, go! So this is a special treat.

My baby is growing up! (sniff)