Doing Well, Especially His Mouth!

Zachary had a very successful trip to the spinal defects clinic yesterday.  All of the "major" medical conditions that Zachary is dealing with (i.e. his shunt, bladder, bowels, and feet) were given passing grades.  His head has shrunk slightly, a direct result from his shunt revision, and he appears much more proportional.   His feet are progressing wonderfully.  It's incredible how much they have moved and corrected to this point.  As for his bladder and bowels (always the favorite topic of discussion!), we did not have a renal ultrasound performed before the clinic, so the doctors did not have images to analyze.  However, after asking a few questions, and using our records of his catheter amounts, they are fairly confident that Zach is doing just fine.  We will have to continue the catheters, but only twice a day, and the possibility of discontinuing them in the future still exists.  

The majority of our day yesterday was spent with the physical therapy personnel.  They examined Zachary and gave us several new methods and exercises to use to further his development.  We also set up Zach's new therapy sessions that will take place weekly starting in June.  Now that he is out of the casts, and is able to be without his shoes for an hour each day, we are anxious to get him started with therapy, and on the road to crawling someday soon!

Zachary is continuing to enjoy Aunt Peg's presence, and he has been talking nearly non-stop so far during her stay.  Many of the specialists yesterday mentioned they believe he is very near to cutting a tooth.  With that and all the "talking" (i.e. fingers in mouth, lots of goos and gaas, drool everywhere) Zachary has become a bit of a bib and clothing drencher!  His voice has grown considerably louder, and he enjoys reaching for and grabbing many of his toys now.  

The rest of the week should be fairly quiet.  Zachary and Aunt Peg have no major plans (although Zachary's Jewish Grandma Doris is coming Friday!) and the weather is shaping up to be very pleasant as well, so we're hoping for a fun weekend! Thank You to all of you who have called and asked about Zachary's clinic yesterday, and  we appreciate all of the prayers and well wishes we continue to receive.  May God continue to bless our beautiful baby boy.  Love to you all - Brian + Kimmie