A New Year

As 2011 begins, I am seeing our son's continued growth. Ayden allows us to pick him up under the arms, which is something we have never been able to do. I hold him on my hip, rather than cradled in my arms. We throw him into the air and fly him like Superman. He has restarted his crunch moves, indicating to us that he is ready to sit up on his own. He sleeps most of the night on his side, rather than on his back. Ayden has long since been interested in his feet, but I saw him actually put his foot to his mouth for the first time today. And he loves hands, anyone's hands, and now he finally has discovered his own!

I'm using my foot as a microphone.

I'm Gumby. Dr. K thinks I'm double-jointed.

As far as his physical development, I'm not sure how much he weighs now, but I can assure you that he is heavy! I never thought that he would outgrow his size 3 month pants, but he's officially in 6-9 months now. He has a long torso like his Daddy, so most of his clothing is 9 months, and it won't be long before he is wearing 12. Bryan and I had to buy him all new pajamas in 12-18 months with the expectation that his length would require them soon. Ayden also has more hair, and it's darkened. His eyes remain a beautiful blue. He has his single tooth on the lower middle part of his gums.

Ayden talks quite a bit, saying "Dada" and "Mama." He also says various consonants, such as g, b, and h. I read books to him almost daily, and he continues to exhibit excellent focus. Ayden loves Phineas and Ferb, but he has been known to watch a football game or two. Recently, he was introduced to Rudolph, as well as Alvin and the Chipmunks, and I believe they too were a hit. (Ayden likes tv in general; he is his father's son.) He interacts more with his toys, and he will occasionally switch a toy from hand-to-hand.

In addition, Ayden has been held by both sets of grandparents and his uncle. He has finally played with his buddy Jude. He's been a busy socialite!

G-Daddy tells me we are "bonding."

Some struggles continue to be reflux, overnight gassiness, morning head congestion, and teething. Because of these discomforts, Ayden doesn't sleep very well past midnight. In addition, we haven't made tons of progress on the feeding issues. He won't suck on the bottle, though he will allow me to at least put the bottle in his mouth. As far as solids are concerned, he likes his sweet potatoes, and he also enjoys pears. He will tolerate carrots and peaches. He's not a big fan of squash or applesauce (yes, applesauce). Still, he doesn't eat enough of any of it to constitute taking away a liquid feed, so he is still being fed every four hours per tube. Even though we aren't huge fans of the feeding tube, the fact that Ayden still has a tube may be a blessing: We don't have to coax him to take his many medications.

Peaches

Bryan and I are constantly trying to brainstorm ways to make Ayden feel better. We are looking forward to Ayden's cardiologist appointment at the end of the month. Dr. Kavanaugh plans to get rid of the Monogen formula, which should relieve some of Ayden's tummy issues and maybe the reflux and feeding issues. I'm not sure what formula will take it's place, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Once we see that Ayden's lymph system has indeed healed, Dr. K can begin to get rid of the many medications that Ayden currently takes. Decreasing his medications could help with his tummy and reflux.

But no matter the day-to-day difficulties, Ayden recovers like a champ. He has the best open-mouthed smile or head tilt grin. His joy permeates our home and encourages us in spite of the exhaustion. Ayden is amazing, and I am honored to be his mommy. I look forward to continuing to be a part of his life journey!

The eight tubeless photographs were taken by Jordan Elam.