Baby Steps

Today I took Parker to his 18 month checkup.

EIGHTEEN. MONTHS.

EIIIIGGGHTTTTEEENNNN MOOOOOOOOOOOONTHS!

 *note to self, clean powdered sugar donut residue off carseat straps*

I am not entirely sure how this happened.  But it did.
His appointment went great- we were told we are far beyond "normal" in all categories.  He is THREE FEET TALL, which projects him to be way over 6 feet when he's grown, and 75th% for weight.  NICU whaaaaaaaaaat? She told us that we don't have to come back for 6 months.  This is exciting news for us!!

She asked us if we have been to visit any other doctors since our last visit, and for a second I couldn't remember when our last visits were... You see, we don't go to the doctor much anymore.  Why?

Because we got DISMISSED by Parker's surgeon.  As in, don't call us, we'll call you.

After Parker's CT angiogram over the summer, Dr. Parker informed us that the mysterious shadow/possible CCAM has completely resolved itself, his double patch is holding up beyond perfectly, and that barring some catastrophe, he probably will never see us again.  He'd like us to still get chest xrays every 6 months, send them to him for review, but he won't call us unless he needs to.

On our slip of paper that day, we were qualified as "NORMAL PEDIATRIC CARE ONLY."

It's hard for me to put into words exactly what that means for us, or for any CDH family.  Our surgeon has been our point person/overseer of Parker's care since before he was born.  And now he's turning us over to the normal baby doctor.  For good. I told Dr. Putnam today that I still spend a part of each day looking for things to worry about.  I filled out his developmental checklist today, fully expecting to have to bubble in "Not Yet" for many items. But that wasn't the case.  He scored at or above the normal range in everything... even fine motor skills, which have been a bit behind since the beginning.  We go back to the developmental clinic in December (we'll go once or twice a year 'til he's 5) for a full workup, but for now, nobody can find anything that is even remotely a concern.

And so, to celebrate, I did something that I couldn't bring myself to do for 2 years.

I bought Parker a baby book.

It's nothing fancy, it's nothing magical.  But it's a real big step forward for me.  When you spend half of your pregnancy planning a possible funeral for your unborn baby, baby books are just not anywhere in the scope of reality.  Even after he was born, I just couldn't do it-- as hopeful as we were, and as confident as we were in his medical care, there was just too much opportunity for the other shoe to drop.  Once we got sent home, I knew it was something I needed to get, but I always found a reason not to.  Now, it's time.  He's here to stay.  And he deserves a baby book, doggone it!

It's not that his life isn't well documented.  I will always have this blog as a chronicle of our Pnut adventures, and I am seriously considering getting the first year printed and bound for him.  I suppose it goes with the "normal baby" classification- he needs a normal baby book full of normal baby milestones, mixed in with a healthy dose of "you were never normal" milestones.

I have so much catching up to do- both in his baby book and on here.  So prepare to revisit our summertime adventures, beach trip, Halloween, etc.  In the meantime, as I take baby steps towards being a "normal baby mommy", please enjoy some of Parker's first "normal baby steps" from the last week of August.  *and Jeremiah's sliding skills*