Just a quick update on Mr. Peter Bear. On Sunday Peter turned 4 months - it's amazing!! He seems to be making such progress lately that it is so exciting to watch. He loves to sit on our laps and blows bubbles. Well, sometimes he just down right spits on you. But hey, when you're a baby that is cute. He smiles a ton and when he's really into it, he will lift his head towards you and say "gggghhh". Sarah, Peter's physical therapist, was thrilled to see what progress he has made as he seems to be picking up momentum. His head control has come such a long way, he keeps midline so easily, he brings his hands together and holds on to toys. His tracking is not perfect, but he is doing so well at it - he really took huge strides after we received the swing with the mobile. He loves watching the animals go around and talks to them! He reacts to sounds and will follow voices. He is so well tempered and has adjusted to being part of a loud family. And....drum roll.....the most exciting part of our update is that his feeding has improved!! Yeah Peter!! Oh my goodness are we grateful. It felt like we had hit a plateau there for a while. He was consistently in the 400ml's per day range and on a bad day dropping to the upper 300's. He is supposed to be at 720ml's per day. Well, we have consistently been in the 500's for about a week now - and one day even hit 610ml's. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. Now, teething appears to be cramping our style a bit, but Peter is still trying to work through it - pretty much taking all of his feedings during the day. Leaving just the 11pm and 3am as one's we struggle with. I am hoping we can talk to Dr. McCaffery about increasing how much we give him during the day so that it is ok if he takes less at night - thus still getting his caloric intake. If we could get rid of the tube it would be sooooo exciting!! What I have realized in my very, very, very weary state is that Peter is teaching me faith. He is teaching me in a very real way that we don't give up, we trust in what we can't see and that our prayers get answered - just not always in our time frame. But, when pure of heart like Peter, then we smile knowing that God is taking care of us. Doesn't it take babies to teach us how to really trust?....I think of how much they trust us - to feed them, change them, cuddle them, and catch them when they decide to fling themselves in whatever direction. They've never really met us before, they don't have a plan B just in case -- they love us and trust us unconditionally without proof that we are worthy of this. If only we could keep this faith as we grow and become weathered by things of this world. Anyway....I ramble yet again! I hope y'all are doing great and enjoying the last days of summer. Thank you for journeying with us. And just in case you missed my very long ramble last time - my update did go over two pages. So read the bottom one first. I know some of you wondered why I started in mid thought and ended oddly. Hopefully if you read the first page the second will make more sense. And if not, please forgive me, I can't think of the last time I got a good night rest. One day! HUGS!! catherine
