9 Months Update

Today is 9 months since Gotcha Day. Things keep evolving but they feel good and I really want to share how we are doing.

Sleeping
This is one that has "kept us awake" for a long time! Our sweet boy first scared us with his night terrors, then waking up at 3 am wanting to "hang out", and now the new thing is: SLEEPING WITH US! I know, even with Carol suggesting that from the beginning, we fought it, but he really wants it, so he gets it! You may think we are suckers, but I think this is a good thing for Diego. You see, when Diego just came home he was struggling with "who are these people and why should I trust them" and was not ready for so much physical proximity. We brought him to our bed few times, and he really didn't want to be there, kept pointing to the door, so we had to take him back to his crib. During our trip to Ecuador (7 months after coming home) we tried because we thought he was kind of scared of the new surroundings and it really helped him to calm down and sleep well. It was funny how happily surprised he looked every morning to found himself laying between us and I guess he liked it. After Vancouver, he added a little thing: SLEEP ON TOP OF ONE OF US! My theory is that after napping during the flights (we did not buy a seat for him) he liked the feeling of someone else's body heat and now when we transfer him to our bed (around midnight when he wakes up) he starts laying on top of whoever picked him up and then he rolls to the middle of the bed. The few people I mentioned this ( the OT evaluator, etc) reminded me that even though he is almost 2 years old, emotionally he is younger and he may need this as the little babies do. How are Mark and I doing with this need arrangement? Well, some nights are tough when he moves a lot, but we are getting used to and the smile we get in the morning is just priceless!

Eating
Finally the speech therapy started 3 weeks ago and one of the things she suggested is to "back off"! So, I am keeping the meals to 20 to maximum 30 minutes and when he says he is done, he is done! Diego's dentist confirmed that his first molars are totally out, so he has the "equipment" to chew, we just need to keep helping him to develop muscle in his mouth to chew. He has increased the list of food he eats (chicken, fish, pork, tamale, quesadillas, bean soup, ravioli, noodles, cookies, pancakes, hummus, among others) but the portions are still small. He also gets "distracted" quite easily, so we still have few toys handy to "help" him eating. But so far, so good! He still continues eating his daily avocado (good brain food) and we reinforce his diet with fish oil, a protein supplement, probiotics, echinacea, and his homeopatic stuff.

Growth
When Diego came home he was at around 20 pounds and in the 5 percentile for weight and height. Now he is somewhere between 27 and 28 pounds and reaching the 40 percentile for weight!!! As a geeky engineer, I have plotted all his weightings in the weight and height growth chart and based on my "projections" if he continues growing as he has, he will be at the 50 percentile for weight when he becomes 2 years old, which I think is quite amazing! So proud of you, Diego!

Development
He was evaluated by the AZ Early Intervention people when he was 15 months and 18 months, when he qualified for speech and adaptive delays. Things took a while to finally get started, but at every evaluation I was given a lots of good tips of games to play and toys to use to help him with some fine motor skills and feeding issues. Well, last week the developmental specialist asked me bunch of questions and at the end she told me that Diego's gross motors skills are on target, the fine motor skills are just couple of months behind, and that his comprehension seems to be quite good! They also ruled out any sensory issues! In the communication department he is a bit behind; at 22 months he has about 25 words and knows about 15 signs; so at least we are able to communicate and get the message across of his wants and needs. I know we still have some ways to go, but I am just amazed and so proud of Diego and how much he has learned in these past months!!!

Attachment
Hopefully after I say this things won't change, but in the attachment department we finally have no big concerns about! Our Diego knows who we are, trust us, enjoys our company, looks happy, and most importantly, LOVES US, as he tells us every day: "I-te-te". That's his word for "I love you", and he melts my heart when he says that to me looking at my eyes and with a big smile!

So we are ready to celebrate our first Christmas as parents of Diego. Even though I know he doesn't get why we have the Christmas tree, what are the ribbons in the presents about and what's the deal with the snow man, I love that he is in our lives and that we can celebrate baby Jesus birthday together!

And now pictures!

having fun with finger painting

checking out the Christmas Tree and his stocking

with his favorite Illini hat and scarf

at the park with mama

little Mohawk

with his new friend Elmo

Have a wonderful Christmas and may your 2009 be full of blessings!