November 23, 2015 "11 months!"

My sweet baby is getting older!! As I started collecting details about Rayden's milestones I could not believe how far he has come this month alone!

-Weighing in at only 21.2 lbs. That's only gaining one pound this month.

-Rayden now has four teeth! He is grinding them a lot though and it just makes me cringe!

-His ability to eat other things has grown by leaps and bounds this month. He will eat little pieces of anything I give him. Rayden is delayed in fine motor skills. Children with fine-motor skill delays have difficulty using their small muscles, so that tasks like grasping food with their fingers are tricky. We have been working on his ability to pick up little things with his fingers and thumb not his entire hand. We started with the Gerber Graduates Wagon Wheels because they were larger than Puffs. He likes Puffs and Wagon Wheels but his absolute favorite snack are Gerber Graduates lil' Crunchies. He can pick them up with his fingers now and it just tickles us to death!

-Rayden is also delayed in gross motor skills. When it comes to gross-motor delays, the trouble is with large muscles and mastering skills like walking, kicking, hopping, and climbing stairs. We have been working with Rayden on sitting up by himself. His therapist has been showing him how to push himself up from the floor with his arms. One day (Nov. 10) it just clicked and he went from belly-to-sit over and over and over like it was a new trick! Now he is sitting himself up from a crawl position very quickly.

-Although Rayden is getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth now, he will not four point crawl. He can go ALL OVER the floor but it's more of an 'army crawl'.

-His newest tricks are shaking his head 'no', and clasping his hands over his head and looking at us with puppy dog eyes.

-Rayden is so vocal. He tries so hard to communicate. He has been saying "momma" for a while now, although he doesn't associate it with me yet. This past week he started saying something that sounds like "dada".

-He absolutely loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! When we turn it on his face pure lights up! He will watch the 'hot dog' song over and over.

-I KNOW Rayden understands us now. We've been playing peak-a-boo with the burp cloth and blanket for a long time but early this month Rayden did it on demand! I asked him if he wanted to play peak-a-boo and he grabbed the burp cloth and pulled it over his face and started giggling. After a second or so he pulled it down with a smile and big eyes! I could hardly play through the joyful tears. This simple little game just assured me that he IS LEARNING!

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-My mind often drifts back to when the doctors told me they saw 'minimal brain tissue' on Rayden's MRI scan before he was born. Through their multiple apologies they assured me that he would have 'major learning deficits' and may never be normal. This month is FILLED with proof that they were wrong and My God is showing his power through Rayden's life! He absolutely amazes everyone, including his doctors. I can't wait to see what God has in store for his life and I'm so thankful He chose me to be Rayden's mom. 

November 16, 2015 "First pair of AFO's"

Since Rayden does not have any feeling in his feet or ankles he will need support to be able to walk or bear weight on his feet. An AFO is a device that supports the ankle and foot area of the body and extends from below the knee down to and including the foot. This device is used to control instabilities in the lower limb by maintaining proper alignment and controlling motion. A plastic AFO is a custom fabricated, molded plastic device that encloses the back of the calf and bottom of the foot. It can be fabricated with or without ankle motion and can cost around $1,000 a pair. They normally last about 6 months. It can be worn inside a shoe, but in Rayden's case we are just wearing them AS SHOES. We chose a Superman themed AFO with red insoles and blue straps. 

Rayden still wears his Wheaton Braces at night to hopefully prevent clubbed foot from returning. He will wear his AFO's during the day to practice bearing weight, the beginning stages of walking!!!! The AFO substitutes for weak dorsiflexors during swing and, more importantly, for weak plantar flexors during stance. At first Rayden did not seem to like the AFO's. I believe it's because he was not used to wearing anything on his feet during the day. It didn't take long for him to get accustomed to them. 

October 31, 2015 "First Halloween"

SUPER-RAYDEN!!

Rayden was Superman for Halloween. (Thanks Mrs. Jennifer Williamson for the cape and Mrs. Denise Boggs for the toboggan.) Rayden was able to dress up twice this year. One weekend before Halloween we took him to a trunk or treat. On Halloween night we took him to just a few select houses (family and close friends). He enjoyed seeing everyone. 

Although he doesn't know what candy really is right now, he loved being able to take it out of his bucket all by himself. 

A neighborhood friend has had a puppet stage on her front porch every Halloween for as long as I can remember. Every year when Justin and Alex were growing up we took them to her house. The puppet, named Witchy-Poo, would talk with each child and give them a bag full of candy. This became a tradition every Halloween. This year Alex reminded me that Rayden HAD to go see Witchy-Poo! He loved her right away!