Lions and Lions and Lions....OH MY!

NOTE -- i have tried to upload photos for the last two days and can't get it to work!! Hopefully I will soon - for now enjoy the reading material :)

So apparently every child in Chicago wanted to be a Lion for halloween! We took Cameron and Miller to a Halloween event in Lincoln Park yesterday and I have never seen so many Lions in my life! Or yuppies for that matter as Matt so quickly pointed out! But Cameron was by far the cutest Lion!
There was trick or treating, brats and contests - it was very fun and a beautiful day. Cameron saw his first celebrity while there - The Chicago Cubs' very own Kerry Wood (he's a pitcher for the non-sports fans).
We jammed all the Halloween fun into one weekend with a visit to the pumpkin patch (also known as a parking lot on the corner of Ashland and Wellington) on Saturday.

Prior to all the Halloween celebration Cameron had a busy week - Monday we had our appt with the NICU follow up Clinic, it was very long with various people coming in to see Cameron. They pointed out some additional exercises we should be working on with Cameron, overall they feel he is doing well considering his history. Which makes me question so is he behind? But I really think he's developing well, we know his weaknesses and we are working on them.

Wednesday was a visit to the Pediatrician - Cameron is now 14lbs 2 oz and 25.5" - he is officially off of the preemie chart! What a milestone! His head is now tapering off in growth so that is good as well.

Cameron got his first dose of Synagis, and it's only $1600 a shot - what a bargain! Seriously though it's worth it to lower his chances of ending up back in the NICU.

Cameron can now pretty much hold his head up on his own, he is much better with tummy time and has discovered his fingers - in fact sometimes he gags himself! And watching him try tp get his whole fist in his mouth is pretty funny - he certainly works very hard!!! We are very proud of him.
xoxo mom and dad

Happy Boy!

Cameron is such the smiling guy we can't get over it! Looks like he's going to be quite the flirt...he does this adorable thing where he smiles so wide and then gets all shy and turns his head into his shoulder.
He also working very hard on "tummy time" so that we can get him to lift up his head on his own. He is making some very good progress. Overall Cameron is on track in terms of development for his Corrected Age of almost 3 months but we are working with his therapists to close the gap and aim to get him up to his gestational age of 5 months. PT comes every Friday and we had the first appt with Occupational Therapy on Tuesday. Mom learned some new exercises to work on with Cameron. It's very hard to remember all the things we need to do with Cameron; anyone who knows me knows that I like a schedule and specific instructions so I'm learning how to manage getting in all the "therapy work" every day with Cameron - it's hard! And I will admit sometimes it's hard to hear all the things that Cameron is "NOT" doing that they'd like to see him doing, but we keep it all in check and are very proud of how far he has come!
This coming Monday is our follow up with the NICU Developmental Clinic, so it will be interesting to get feedback from their end.
Today Cameron got his eyes dialated, he didn't mind it too much. Right now we've got a good report on the eyes which is great. Hydrocephalus often can affect the optic nerves. So we will follow up in 6 months for another check. We are very happy and relieved to get a good report for now!
Next week will also be another check in with the Pediatrican and the first does of Synagis.
We are pretty sure Cameron is going to be a Lion for Halloween! We'll be sure to post some photos. For now enjoy these of him working on his tummy time, trying on his winter hat and spending some QT with mom.
PS - I want to clarify in the last post the 2nd photo is not Cameron, it's his friend Charlie. Some people were amazed at how big Cameron was - he is, but he's not at the 6month old size yet :) Charlie is a cutie!!!

Thriving is a GOOD word...

That's how the pediatrician described Cameron at our check up last week. We are so pleased to hear that Cameron is indeed thriving!
He weighed in at 13lbs 3 oz and is 24 3/4" - which is great. He's even on the chart for a true 4 month old (albeit in the low end of the percentiles) but the fact that he's even on that chart is great thing.
We also got the report back on the Kidney ultrasound, the dialtion is stable, still at a Grade 2 and his blood work looks good. We are now going to see the pediatrician every month vs every three weeks - another graduation milestone. Cameron will also get the monthly Synagis starting Oct 22nd to ward off RSV hopefully. Mom has had a nasty cold for over a week, and miraculously Cameron has remained healthy (even without the synagis). let's all knock on wood together!!
So it's been a good week for Cameron and we are so happy with all the good reports.
Cameron had a fun weekend with a visit from Annie the Nanny (aka our friend Anna from College) and his buddy Charlie came over with Emily and Jeff. Charlie showed Cameron how to roll over and hold a beer bottle, I don't think Cameron picked it up just yet but he'll get there, well at least the rolling over part I hope!!

On Sunday Dad ran in the Chicago Half Marathon and Cameron and Mom got up at 6am to cheer Dad on! Cameron was very excited about the event! Dad did great, finishing in an hour and 40 minutes - his all time best, we were very proud of him.

Mom has been doing a lot of research on Dandy Walker and we're considering entering a research study at the University of Chicago. One thing I have learned is that it is so often misdiagnosed. I want to make sure that I am the expert on all elements related to Cameron and his situation and to be honest the Dandy Walker thing is something I have just not gotten a full explanation on so that is our next project now that I feel we have the Hydro under control.

Of course we have not been without some sort of drama, Miller sadly had three cluster seizures this past weekend so we had to rush him off to the Vet, he's back at home and ok. They've increased his meds -- I swear if it's not one thing it's another!!!

We have NO Doctor appts this week - it's a miracle!
xoxo Mom and Dad