day 16 {a month of thanks}

Day 16: Today, I am so thankful for not only a happy, healthy preemie son, but also for a developmentally on-par little dude!

Today Kieran had a NICU follow-up to check his development. They do one at 5 months adjusted, 12 months adjusted & 24 months actual age to chart his progress and make sure he's not behind developmentally. Because he is supposed to be 5.5 months, he should be meeting milestones based on that adjusted age at least, and I'm happy to report that he is doing just that, and more!

An occupational therapist had him play with toys to check fine motor skills, and then did some listening/cognitive exercises. He also played on a mat to show off his gross motor skills, and despite holding on to his feet the entire time, still managed to roll around and show them what he could do :) While the testing went on, the occupational therapist wrote down scores for him on something called the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. They tallied up the scores and came up with the following - keep in mind that 85 to 115 is the "norm."

Cognitive Score - 110

• Age equivalence: 6 months

Motor Score - 124

• Age equivalence - Gross Motor: 6 months
• Age equivalence - Fine Motor: 8 months

Language Score - 100

• Age Equivalence - Expressive Language: 5 months
• Age Equivalence - Receptive Language: 5 months, 10 days

So, as you can see, he's right on par with his adjusted age for everything, and even "caught up" in fine motor! As for height and weight, well, he continues to be a big, healthy boy there, too! He weighed 20 lbs and was 27 3/4 inches long, which means he's still 50th percentiles for his actual age and off the charts for adjusted age, woohoo! The RN who did his measurements was SO excited to hear that Kieran was breastfeeding and remarked that he didn't even look like he was born premature. I happen to agree with her! What a long way he's come from 2lb 10 oz, hm? I am so proud of my AMAZING son!