Turtle Steps: Noah's Progress @ 15 months

Milestones...Inchstones...Baby Steps...Turtle Steps.....

The second I find myself disappointing because Noah has not been able to figure something out, or learned how to do something on his own, I take one look at my phone's photo album and I am back to reality.  It is amazing how far one little baby can come in just 15 months. 

So many times I have to pull myself back and remind myself that Noah is on his own pace in this world.  One that I am not used to and will probably take me my whole life to truly get comfortable with.   Patience isn't a big enough word to describe what Noah teaches us daily.  I have had to step out of my own box to squish into Noah's little one.  Sometimes it gets stuffy in there and sometimes I just want to bust out and go for a run to reset things. 

Noah's progress is slow...turtle step slow...but it's forward moving and that makes me one happy momma.  I am so proud of all the steps he has learned and taken on as part of his every day life. Many times once he gets something it takes a few weeks of repetition and then as long as it was repeated enough within those weeks he has it for good.  Then...that hurtle or milestone or inchstone or whatever you want to call it is never really thought of again.  It's like removing a winter coat from your body.  It wasn't really too heavy to carry but once it is removed you feel like you can breathe a bit better.

Here are some wonderful things Noah is doing these days that have shocked us, made us cry tears of joy, have helped us go about our days a bit easier, and are no longer ever thought about because he has taking his turtle steps in new directions....moving forward.

Noah is currently 15 months old.  He is 31 inches long and only 22 pounds.

Not showing are his brand new amazing chewing abilities.  I don't take pictures of these because frankly they are kind of just gross with smashed food all over myself and Noah :)  He is now chewing veggie sticks, pulled BBQ pork, orzo pasta, sticky rice, small curd cottage cheese, and his new found favorite peanut butter!

He has full head control now and sit propped with a hugga bebe pillow

He loves to move backwards in a walker but we have stopped using this much because it provokes back arching.  It has however taught him how to reach for items.

He is slowly learning how to hold onto things.  Big steps in his fine motor skills. 

He is so much more alert these days visually and will watch his favorite cartoons for a few minutes

He can suck and chew on his fingers, he can bring both hands in midline, he is now clenching his fists and looking back and forth between the two of them.  He can hold on really tight to items like toothbrushes and pens.

He has total control of his binkie and can move it from side to side in his mouth without dropping it.  He has also acclimated to the cold weather and find it funny when a brisk breeze blows on him.  He is also now a fan of sledding. 

He is getting a stronger core and learning how to support himself with his hands without throwing himself backward. 

He can sit independently for a few minutes with only a little support now instead of total support as in a baby chair. 

He is starting to push off and up on things and keeping his head upward a majority of the time which shows he is getting stronger muscles in his shoulders and neck and chest

he is pulling his hands in front of him more often than throwing them behind him which is a step in the right direction

He sleeps really well and when he does wake up nightly he never cries and will fall back to sleep on his own after a few minutes.  Though...he still isn't a fan of his puppy licking him all the time :)

He smiles all the time these days, he laughs out loud, he babbles and does the A-Goo and BBBB sounds now.  Finally...a closed lip sound...progress!  

He loves books and pictures of babies and I think he will forever be fond of beaded necklaces. 

His daddy can still make him laugh no matter how sick or sad he is.  This shows he is bonding and correlating with certain people.  Cognition progression.  

Still on baby formula but he LOVES savory foods.  Not a huge fan of sweets yet. 

Working on rolling over and so far he is half way there.

So determined to use his arms and hands.  We are inching our way there and I am sure the next time I do an update post I will have a picture of him without arm braces :)

In addition to the pictures Noah is no longer feeding tube dependent and has not had any seizure activity in more months than I can even remember.  We won the battle with his infantile spasms and he overcame his aversion to touch as well as oral stimulation.  He no longer bawls every single time our dog barks or when we might sneeze a bit too loud and....he is already on his fourth haircut!

Noah is amazing.  He is our little champ. He  deserves some kind of Blue Ribbon or Gold Medal for all of his accomplishments in such a short amount of time if you think about it.  But for now some blueberries and vanilla yogurt will have to suffice. :)