Kinley is 9 Months!

I have been meaning to post on all of Kinley's latest achievements, but somehow time just seems to slip by me. A couple of days ago Kinley celebrated her 9 month birthday and we could not be happier about the progress she continues to make.

First of all, she is gaining weight again! She didn't gain any weight from 7 months to eight months, so I was a little worried about that. Last Monday she had another round of RSV shots and she weighed 16 lbs and 13 oz! That is a 9 oz weight gain for last month. We will take it! Kinley only has one more round of RSV shots this season. It will be nice to have that all done with. We are really looking forward to the end of cold/flu season so that we will feel more comfortable taking Kinley out to more places. We are all getting a little cabin fever. Next Tuesday Kinley has her 9 month appointment with her pediatrician, Dr S. I am just excited that Kinley will not need any shots at that appointment. I think she is beginning to associate that office with shots and I don't want that. We will be asking Dr S if he thinks Kinley continues to need the services of the Special Care Clinic at Children's Mercy or not. It will be nice if we could get rid of some of Kinley's appointments.

Also on Monday Kinley had a visit and evaluation by her occupational therapist from Infants and Toddlers of Johnson County. I am happy to report that Kinley met all her feeding goals! We did however fall behind a little in gross motor skills. We were so focused on feeding, that we lost track of some other developmental milestones. It was determined that Kinley's gross motor skills are closer to a 6-7 month old. Her feeding skills are also closer to a 6-7 month old rather than a 9 month old because she is still depending on bottles more than baby food. Kinley's fine motor skills are a little better, estimated around the 6-8 month age. Considering where Kinley started from, we are overjoyed with her progress to this point. I am sure that with a little more focus on gross motor skills and continued work on feeding skills Kinley will make up the difference in no time. She was approved for 6 more months with Infants and Toddlers.

Wednesday Kinley had a visit from her friend at Parents as Teachers. Kinley was in such a good mood for her appointment and really showed off. Kinley was able to get toys out of a clear plastic container, played patty-cake, played catch and was able to grasp a little toy ball in each hand and hit them together. She got an A+ report from Parents as Teachers and they said how impressed they were with her progress just from the last visit to this visit. That was so nice to hear. Kevin and I also got some new ideas of toys and games to play with Kinley. We really enjoy Kinley's visits with Parents as Teachers.

On the home front there have also been some changes. First of all, Kinley is now back in her own room! She is also sleeping in her crib without the Tucker Sling. Kevin and I are very excited about this achievement. If you remember, Kinley used to sleep in her crib, but in our room. She also had the Tucker Sling, which is a device that allows us to elevate the head of the crib for Kinley to help with her reflux symptoms. We were told that she is doing so well with her reflux that we should try letting her sleep on a flat mattress to see how she does. She didn't like it at first, but now she is doing really well and we have not noticed any change as far as reflux symptoms go. It is so nice to have Kinley in her own room sleeping like a normal, healthy baby. She looks so peaceful when she is sleeping. Kevin and I did have to go out and buy a video monitor before we moved Kinley into her own room...yes, we are those parents.

Also, the massive spreadsheet that Kevin and I have been using to track Kinley's oral intake ever since she came home from the hospital is on hold. We have not logged her intake for the past couple of days and it was an adjustment for us to begin with, but it is nice not to have to worry about each bottle and each bite that she puts into her mouth. Kevin and I decided that since we are pretty much done with the NG tube and Kinley gained weight last month there was really no need to track her intake that extensively anymore. If Kinley starts to fall behind in the weight gain department we might start a new, abbreviated version of the original spreadsheet, but for now we are enjoying being a little more "normal" without the spreadsheet.

Another really nice development is that Kinley is finally getting over her "stranger danger" a little. Last weekend she let both sets of grandparents hold her for an extended period of time with crying. She will also go to other family members and friends without a fight. She looks a little hesitant, but doesn't cry nearly as much as she used to.

As you can tell, last week was pretty busy, but for the most part all good news. I know I have already said it a few times, but we are so happy with Kinley's progress and can't wait to see what tomorrow brings for her. She is such a joy!!