Changes and more changes

We have been traveling. Right now we are in Colombia, the weather is beautiful, and the baby is enjoying every second of it. The baby is doing great. He is now starting to walk, he cannot do it on his own, but if he can hold himself to the sides of his play pin, or if he holds our hands he can just go!!!!!

He is now saying a few more words, Ta-ta, Da-da, and Pa-pa, ma-ma is no where to be heard. If i tell him say ma-ma he says pa-pa, and if I say not pa-pa, ma-ma he looks the other way. I will keep on trying until I finally hear it.

He also learned to give kisses, if I say give me a kiss, he will smack his lips. He is really funny though, he does it in pairs, he cannot give me one kiss, it has to be a minimum of two!!!! He just melts me every time he does it, and usually a big smile will follow those great sweet kisses.

Eating wise we are still not doing great. He does not seem to want to eat anything. I have to work harder on this though, hopefully sooner that I know he will be eating. The baby had been acting really weird. He would cry during and after feeds, so I went online to see what could it be, but could not find a thing, called his pediatrician, and again they had no answer. They thought it could be the flu, and then finally, while I was reading the news, I realized that the milk he takes had been recalled. I changed brands, and tried a different type of milk, instead of giving him soy based formula, I tried AR  formula, a special type to help with reflux, but he did not take it well, and got kind of sick, so we had to go back to soy, we just switched the brand from Similac to Nestle, Enfamil makes his stool too liquid, and then we end up having accidents everywhere, so this was not an option!!!!!

We also bought him some party supplies for his birthday, I cannot believe that in a month he will be one. Time just flies. A year ago I was just wondering how he would look like, and hoping he would be fine. Today I am just grateful that I have my little man, and that he is doing so so well!!!!!

I like to move it!!!

This week we had my cousin visit from Australia. She got to meet LJ, and it was also fun to catch up. During the first two days it was hard to get out because the weather was just nasty, but then the last two days were just amazingly beautiful.

We went to therapy, to eat cupcakes, to the Downtown Aquarium, to the museums, we just had so much fun. I also took my cousin to therapy with us so she could see what it was like. Jorge loves going to therapy, he thinks he is playing, so he has a blast, and he gets lots and lots of attention from all the ladies.

Jorge has been eating a bit more, not too much, but more solids at least. He seems to like pudding, and I also gave him sweet condensed milk, and chips, and anything he would want to put in his mouth even if it is non healthy, and fattening! He takes some stuff, I guess he is not yet aware of what he is missing out of.

He learned to stand up on his crib, and is also starting to give a few steps with our help, but he is also very hyperactive all the time, and is sleeping less and less. He has been waking up at around 10 o'clock at night, and decides that he wants to play. We try to ignore him, but he just starts throwing things at us, so that we will look at him, and at the end he wins us over, and we just give in. Last night he decided it was a good idea to babble, and scream, and bang his toys against the crib at 4:45 o'clock in the morning. I could not even open my eyes. His daddy decided he would try and put him back to sleep, it took him like three attempts before he finally went back to sleep. I slept through the whole thing  . . . . I am starting to think I am overstimulating this kid.

He is doing lots of different things. I love for him to show everyone all his tricks, so he has decided that when he sees someone that's not me or Jorge, he just does all his tricks at once, and then pretends we are not talking to him. I am thinking he is trying to tell me to stop embarrassing  him. I do not want to imagine what he is going to be like when he is a teenager  . . . lots of fun huh??????

He has mastered his crawling and sitting, and says Da-da, and Ta-ta all the time, all day long. He can also wave hello or bye, and plays games with me. He understands when I tell him to stand up, and then if I tell him to fall down, he will just follow my instructions. I am just so in love with him!!!!!!!

I am growing too fast!!!

I can clap!!!!!

Jorge has been achieving more and more of his developmental milestones. Today he learned to do something new. He can now standup on his own while using his crib rail as support. We are super excited to see how much he has improved in the last week, but now we need to get our apartment baby proof ready. We have nothing, our electric switches are exposed, he can open our kitchen cabinet doors. He can basically tear up this place.

His crawling is getting better, I think it hurts his knees a bit. They always end up really red, and he seems upset sometimes. I am glad he learned to crawl. Everyone kept emphasizing on how important this step was, so if he decides he is done, I think I will not worry too much, but instead encourage him to begin practicing his walking.

We also are super happy because we gave him a piece of chicken nugget, and he chewed and chewed until it was completely gone. We have been giving him finger food so he can decide whether or not he wants it, and the fact that he has control over the situation seems to be helping. He has been eating more. I use to force baby food in his mouth every day, but I decided to let it go a bit, it seems to create stress on him, and it does the same to me. He will eat when he is ready, and there is no need for me to push him so hard.

I am just very proud of my little boy, and of every person that has worked with him. It is all the team work that has allowed him to come this far. I also have to pad myself in the back. I never thought I would be able to care for a child with special needs, and here I am the proudest mother in the world. I have learned to understand that he will not always have good days, but instead everyday Jorge will let me know what he wants and how he wants it, and I just need to be there for him.

When I first learned about Jorge's condition, I felt lost, I could not understand why this was all happening, and then a very special person had a message for me. He said "Special babies seek special parents". Today I feel lucky that Jorge chose me. I now feel special, because I have such a wonderful son, and finally understood what Father Pedro was trying to tell me. God was not punishing me, he was rewarding me!

I now we still have a long way to go, but every little smile of that boy is the fuel that keeps me going!!!!!!