15 Months is 1 Year
Micah turned 15 months old yesterday and today we are approximately 8 days from his original due date, which would make him one year old in "corrected time." Corrected time is the kind of age we'll have to keep up with for at least another year. At 2 years of age, most doctors and therapists expect to see that most kids are caught up in size and development to at least 25% of their peers. Micah, as you know, is doing GREAT developmentally. We're practicing more words, especially Parts of the Body, and getting Micah to take more independent steps. However, Micah is still freakishly small. That's the diagnostic term that our pediatrician and I use when referring to Micah, freakishly. Don't get flustered. It's a very loving term the way we say it.
At the 15-month check-up today, Micah performed very, very well. He's a big fan of going to the doctor because he gets to be the center of attention every time someone walks into the room! Basically, it totally rocks to be Micah Neal. And, Micah's pediatrician is a big fan of him. The summation of the report today was, "except for that being small thing and the plagiocephaly, he's normal." Wahoo! My kid is normal! It thrills me to my core to hear our doctors and therapists say that! Really, all parents want and even believe their kids to be exceptional. But, all we've been shooting for these past 15 months is "normal." Now, of course, we know that Micah is in reality exceptional, without question. The fact that he is normal developmentally is ridiculously exceptional. Dr. Leonard marveled over and over again today at how small Micah started out. He is -- by far -- her smallest birth weight baby ever. Dr. Leonard praised the miracles of Micah's lack of CP or brain bleeds or any other dozens of problems we could be experiencing right now. There is no reason for Micah to be this healthy except that he was born at the best possible facility with the best staff available to fight with him for his very life and because of your generous spirits continually lifting him up in prayer to the Great Physician. Dr. Leonard's last words at our visit were "14 ounces." The facts are these:At 15 months old, Micah weighs 15.5 lbs and is 28 1/4 inches long, an improvement of only 4 ounces but 1 1/2 inches since his check-up three months ago. That's not nearly enough weight gain, but we load him up as best we can. Micah eats 16 oz of high-calorie baby food and 15 oz of (amplified) formula each day. He just won't sit still or sleep long enough to allow any of the calories to stick! We're working with a nutritionist (and have GI on standby), but Micah started out very small (Ha!) and has had issues with weight gain since he lived in my belly. Dr. Leonard's final assessment was, "He's going to be small. Really small. This might just be the best we can do [to help him gain weight]." Okay. We're good with that. Micah's plagiocephaly (malformed head due to laying in hospital) is a 7 on a scale where 6 is the highest acceptable number. His head has grown by 1/2 cm in the last three months, causing there to be very little change in the shape of his head. This odd shape is mostly noticeable from behind and even then you have to know what you're looking for. Micah no longer sees a cardiologist because the two holes in his heart closed on their own without medical persuasion. Micah has a pulmonologist and gastroenterologist on standby, but no longer has scheduled appointments with either of them. Micah has an endocrinologist who monitors his thyroid levels and the dose of his medication for hypothyroidism, a symptom of his prematurity. His dose of Synthroid hasn't changed since he was first diagnosed at 3 months old. (Good job, thyroid.) Micah's appointments with the physical and speech therapists continue at only once monthly visits to monitor his progress and keep him on track developmentally. In 15 months, Micah has had 2 colds. The first one lasted 2.5 days. It almost killed me. The second one lasted 8 days and I survived quite nicely, don't ya think? Micah is not without issues still, but is far healthier than a 14 oz, 15 weeks early preemie should be! Later this month we're going back to the eye doctor to check on the status of Micah's ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) and his overall vision. We're anticipating a prescription for glasses at that visit. Now everyone has Micah's medical history and can be as impressed with our "magic baby" as we are.
