Everett you are 3 months! Updated 4pm Saturday the 12

My Darling Everett! You make life perfect. We're leading a very sleepless life, but our time with you has been so much better at home! You're such a good baby. Anyone that comes over mentions they don't even realize that a baby lives here since you don't cry much at all. When you do, it's serious and sad. It breaks my heart when you cry, so thankfully it's not often. Sometimes when you have tummy troubles or you get overtired, or when you don't want to be in your car seat, you get extra sad. 

You're doing many new things these days and it's so fun to see. You are enjoying tummy time a lot more and you hold your head high. You even lift your legs up, your head and core are getting strong. You don't leave your arms under your chest for long but when you do, you have perfect positioning. You reach for toys in front of you and grab everything in sight. You're not rolling yet but love when I help you. You like to sit up and LOVE to look around. You're now turning your head both ways and tracking all the time, that was hit or miss a few weeks ago. You blow raspberries sometimes, you smile A LOT, talk and give some loud shouts when you find your voice, almost scaring yourself. We have lots of long conversations, you're quite the conversationalist and you tell all sorts of stories with much emotion, usually serious and end with a happy tune. You LOVE to grab something so if there's not a blankie in  your reach you grab your onesie, if there is no onesie you'll grab your skin and pinch, sometimes even your face and eyes, outch. You play peek-a-boo with your blanket by accident, everything in your hands goes over your face, you usually pull it down but not always. You still get startled in your bath but like the water, pool included. You love it when your sissy plays with you or is bouncing around in your presence. When she's not in your face you're searching for her loud voice. You give me lots of warning before you need something and are very patient when I'm tending to your needs, or getting ready to. You love to suck on your hands, my shoulder, anything you can get your mouth on, OTHER than an pacifier...I don't get it, I'm about to give up completely with the pacifier, I really wish you would take one, it would help your sad times a lot. I think it might be due to all of your negative oral experiences with it when we were trying to get you to eat well since you used to take it. :/ Maybe you'll end up finding your thumb.

You now eat what you want when you want and I let go of even keeping track. You're gaining weight well so I wanted to force myself to let go of the numbers. You went through about a two week period of not sleeping. Mommy and Daddy were beat. Aunt Tiffany came to stay with you for a night so we could get a full night's sleep and that started better habits. Thanks Aunt Tiffy for making miracles happen. The last few nights you've been up every 3-4 hours to eat and stir lots in between but get yourself back to sleep. When you were up a lot, I knew it's because you're uncomfortable from your reflux, you like for me to turn you from one side to another and you'll go back to sleep but you wake anywhere from every 20 minutes to every 45. It was a long two weeks, hopefully those days are over. I hate to even write it down, but last night dada took a night (thanks my love) and you slept from 9 to 4 and ate, then got up at 8. I'm jealous my kids always give their best to dada, but glad peeps are sleeping. Today no one got up until 7:30, small miracles make life grand. 

Stats:

NDSS chart: (National Down Syndrome Society)

Length: 23.5 - 75%

Head: 37cm - around 50th%ile

Weight: 13lbs - 90th%tile

Average chart:

Length: 14%tile

Head: 7th%tile

Weight: 23rd%tile 

Doctor updates: Other than your well visit at your pediatrician we went to the cardiologist. You had a great checkup, I'll add pictures of your appointment stat. You were such a good boy and all the nurses fell in love with you, within moments, those around you simply adore you. I get it of course! ;) All checked out great with your heart. The PFO was closed and the doctor said to maybe get it all checked out when you are a teen. Next we went to the eye doctor to see why your eyes quiver and you have congenital nystagmus. I was really scared at first since they said it was brain related. I thought it was a muscular thing since it has improved since I noticed it. She said it's not something that can improve, I disagree. I don't think it'll go away completely but I do think it's possible to improve. Your eyes used to quiver really fast, now when you're not focusing on an object...for example, when you're drinking from your bottle, your eyes shift left then right, then left then right, back and forth over and over. If I peek my head in front of your vision, you'll focus on me, but they do pull away slightly, you pull them back and focus. I feel like you must get really dizzy, but the doctor said no. Must be you told her. ;) I don't know how doctors know these things. Needless to say, she said you have a mild case of it so that's good. Some people can't read or function in everyday life since they cannot focus. She thinks the most you will do is hold your head to one side or tilted to focus. She can tell you're already compensating for it which is good. She can tell you can and do focus, she said you follow well and your vision is fine. I don't believe this has anything to do with you having Down syndrome. We do need to go get an MRI next week of your brain to make sure it's not sitting too low putting pressure on "things" and/or you don't have a tumor. Yikes. The doctor didn't think it would be highly likely but wanted to rule it out. So, I'm hoping that after that appointment, we have great news and can call it quits with the doctors. 

Your therapist from "Early Steps" came this week for the first time. She taught me some new "moves" for you, to help strengthen your body and your mind. She'll come once a week to work with us. It was great. Many things I knew, but we learned a lot too. All of these things are great for all babies, I wish I would have done all of this with Clara too. I've been on the phone trying to get things straightened out with your physical therapist, we should be seeing her 2x a week. I called insurance, doctor and PT and they all blame each other saying they've done what's necessary. Clearly not, or we'd be approved and going. We've been waiting a month. Hopefully my pushing has helped, we'll find out Monday. I waste so much time on the phone doing other people's jobs. My hope is after this coming week, we have therapy sessions to look forward to and that's it. Wouldn't that be magnificent?! 

Here is this silly boy in action:

More Everett

Birthday fun:

Fresh out of a birthday bath, I love your eyes, cheeks, hair, soft skin...

Happy baby

Aunt Lisa hit the nail on the head, my hunk...

Clara was a little cra cra

My sweet boy