Parker Takes His First Steps

Ever since we found out we were pregnant with Baby Grant we became very focused on Parker learning how to be mobile. I knew it would be impossible to carry two babies around! We were already involved in Physical Therapy and were so excited when Parker crawled on October 27th at seventeen months old.

Here is a short video of him crawling for the very first time. Funny story: I was washing dishes and heard a new sound coming from the play area. Honey was reading on the couch and I asked him what that sound was. He looked up and said - "It's Parker, he's CRAWLING!" And we instantly got it on video… (The sound I heard was his hands hitting the carpet with each crawl.)

After that the focus changed to getting him to walk. And if you're a regular reader you know about Parker's Wheels and how much they have helped... Not to mention how much fun we have had with them!

Well, on Thursday, April 10th, exactly two days before Grant came home from the NICU, Parker took his first steps unassisted! Here is a quick (7 second) video of his very first steps:

Since then we have practiced walking with him every chance we get! We are so excited about this big step for our Parker Bear and can't wait to see where those precious steps lead our boy!

Parker's Wheels - A Physical Therapy Update

“You’re in trouble now!”

As I heard her words I turned to see my neighbor smiling from her driveway. My husband and I smiled at each other. I looked down at Parker before I called back, “Yes! Finally! This is the kind of trouble we have been praying for!”

Parker was moving as fast as he could, squealing with excitement down the middle of our cul-de-sac street. Only he wasn’t crawling, which is his usual mode of transportation.

He was walking.

Parker’s physical therapist has loaned us what we have affectionately nicknamed, Parker’s Wheels.

Parker’s Wheels have been such a wonderful addition to our routine.  Since he started crawling in October at 17 months our baby boy has been on the move! He cruises effortlessly between furniture, climbs up the stairs several times each day, and crawls like a little maniac all over the place! We have enjoyed watching him explore his new found freedom.

Now with his wheels, Parker is walking on his very own! The wheels have boosted his confidence and allowed him to experience what walking feels like.

Parker asks to get in his wheels several times a day and we all love when the weather in nice enough to get outside and let him really go! When the wheels were new, Parker had to learn how to steer and we were frequently helping him manuver and getting him un-stuck. But so quickly, he has mastered going wherever he wants to go thanks to his wheels!

We know it is only a matter of time before he takes off on his own! GO PARKER!!

Parker Lately: 16 Months

At this time last year, I had been a mommy of merely four months. That was before I knew about the speed of life once you become a parent. Before I understood how time becomes more and more precious the faster and faster it speeds by.

Last year, Parker's "first-day-of-school" was so far away from me that it wasn't even a fleeting thought. 

But this year, with sixteen months of mommy-ing under my belt, sixteen months to learn that you can't blink, I saw all of those first day of school pictures again. The ones the nervous and happy mommy's post of their too-excited littles on FaceBook and Instagram.

Smiling on the front porch. Crisp, new backpack in hand. Lunch neatly packed. Shiny shoes and combed hair. 

And as I looked this year at each child one year older, and I looked at Parker, who turned 16-months on September 12th, and I realized that we are not so far off from that day. In fact if we put our little boy in 2-year-old school, that will be us at this very time next year!

While time is flying faster and faster than ever before, it is becoming more and more fun with each passing day! Parker is such an absolute delight to us and watching the world through his eyes creates more joy than I ever knew possible.

Here is a little update on Parker, lately, at 16 months old!

Parker Bear weighs 22 pounds 13 ounces and is 30 inches long. He fits into 18-month old clothes comfortably, and has since turning about 13 months. I am so thankful that the growing-every-other-month period is behind us! I love that he can wear his clothes more than one time before I have to pack them away.

Parker loves his mommy but now? Parker also loves his daddy! I know he has always loved his daddy but these days he wants to go to him and be around him more than ever before! I know it just makes Honey's heart sing when Parker reaches for him and wants his daddy to hold him!

When Honey is on his way home, he will text me and when I hear him come in the door, I'll ask Parker, "Who's here?" and Parker will turn his little head as far as he can to see the back door, looking for Honey to come in. When he sees his daddy he immediately wants to show him whatever toy or book he is playing with and wants him to come play too. 

At night time after he's all ready for bed, Parker and I always come say night night to daddy but before Parker would not want anyone to take him from me. Now, he willingly goes to daddy for a night night hug and kiss! It is so sweet! I love seeing him form a special bond with his daddy!

Parker is growing and changing and learning every day! Here are some things he is doing these days:

• Swaying to music. Probably the *cutest* of his new tricks is his "dancing". Parker loves to sway to the music of his toys or playing form our iPad. He has a "rock band" toy and will dance to that music every.single.time. We love it!

• Putting things in and out. Parker loves his toys that have pieces that go in and out. He loves to put the shapes in the cylinder and pull them out again, or put the music balls in the helicopter and pull them out again. He has totally gotten the hang of these types of patterns. After we show him one time, he wants to do it again and again. In fact, the other day Parker was playing next to our coffee table and there were two remotes in a cubby of the table right next to him. Parker pulled each one of the remotes out, looked at them, then put them back into the cubby - as though that in itself was a game!

• Babbling. I never knew I would love the sweet sounds of a baby babbling so much! Parker's favorites are da-da-da-da-da, ma-ma-ma-ma-ma and ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. He also does doe-doe-doe and lots of oh-oh-oh-oh-oh's. I love getting him to "talk" to me and letting him "read" his books to me. When he needs to get our attention he yells out "ah!" to hand us something, or have us help him get something, or even if he sees something that he wants us to see too. All the talking and communicating has been such a fun development these last few months!
• Trucks. Parker loves, loves, LOVES trucks. The bigger the better! Whenever we hear the trash man, mail man, or bus driver coming down our street, we run outside to get a better look. Usually the truck drivers are (thankfully!) happy to see Parker and slow down to wave and let him get a good look at their ride. We also stop to watch construction sites whenever possible so Parker can see the big dump trucks and bull dozers. When he sees trucks he gets so excited, calling out OH-OH-OHHHH!!! And "jumping" in our arms with his legs and arms both going so fast. It is so fun to see him get so excited!

• Wagon Rides. In the evenings we often go on a "wagon ride" together. Parker riding in his little red wagon, Honey pulling the wagon down the walking trail, and Cash and I walking alongside them. Parker loves wagon rides! He is so cute pointing out birds, dogs, other families walking or riding bikes. We love this time together as a family!

Parker loves to laugh. It is so easy to get him to laugh! Perfect strangers can always get a smile and giggle from our happy boy. He loves to play little games with Honey and I, and just loves laughing with us. Sometimes even if Honey and I are talking and we start laughing about something, Parker will take the opportunity to join right in on the laughter even though he doesn't really know what we are laughing about!

And of course, not new, but Parker loves books. So much! He loves to be read to and he loves to read. He is such a sweet little bookworm! 

Happy 16 months sweet boy!! We love you more than we ever imagined possible!!

Parker Lately: 15 Months

Parker Bear turned 15-months on Monday, August 12th. (Ack! He will be turning 16 months this Thursday, I am slightly behind on my updating!)

It is nearly impossible for me to put into words just how much I love being his mommy! The joy and laughter he has brought into our lives in indescribable! I truly never imagined that being a mommy, being Parker's mommy, would be so incredibly wonderful!

There is so much to share about what our 15-month-old boy is doing these days! It seems he learns something new each and everyday.

First of all, words! Parker Bear has learned so many new words! He isn't saying any just yet but he sure does know many of the words that we are saying! Here are some of the words and phrases that he has down:

• Mommy (looks at me)
• Daddy (looks at Honey)  
• Are you ready for a good nap (gives a little whine and reaches for me, he's always ready for his nap!)
• Let's go get a clean dry diaper (puts his arms up, he knows that I'm going to take him when I say that)
• Nurse (since we are weaning I only say this when we are going to nurse. Otherwise Honey and I say "N".)
• Fan (looks up to find the ceiling fan)
• Wave (waves his hand)
• Truck (says OH OH and jumps excitedly while waving!)
• It's bright, bright, bright out (covers eyes)
• Milk (reaches for or drinks from milk cup)

And of course these phrases he has known for a while:

• Where's Parker? (hides behind hands and then dramatically SURPRISES us!)
• Clap (claps hands. Sometimes claps feet.)
• Cash (this is the FIRST word he learned!)
• Can Mommy have that please? or Give that to Mommy please. (Hands over whatever he has)
• Pop your paci (spits paci out)

He has made some changes over the last month or so. Here are some highlights:

• Rolling over. This is huge! Parker started doing this right around the time he turned 14 months. He loves to roll from his belly to his back where he laughs and laughs while his arms and legs are  just going in the air so fast! Then he will roll back to his belly only to quickly roll back onto his back where he laughs and wiggles again.
• Waking up an hour earlier. Parker now wakes up at 8 am. He still goes to bed at 9 pm every night but is only getting 11 hours a night instead of the 12 he used to get. He is still napping twice a day - about one hour in the morning and an hour and a half in the afternoon.
• Trying new foods. We always let him sample whatever we are eating and if he likes it then he has that along with us. But I always have food I know he likes on hand and about half the time he prefers something tried and true instead of the new foods he is sampling. He loves pancakes, taco meat, chicken, burgers, grilled cheese, banana, any kind of squash, and sweet potato. He does not like avocado or shredded cheese, two things most babies love. Go figure! He also has a serving of baby Greek yogurt after lunch and dinner. On two occasions he has had a 4-oz protein shake as part of his meal and he? Thought it was a milkshake. Both times he cried when it was all gone!

• Weaning from nursing. Speaking of eating, we are slowly weaning Parker from nursing. In June, before we moved to Kansas, we had already weaned from the 3 pm nursing leaving us with 4 nursings every day: upon waking (8 am), after each nap (12 noon and 5 pm), and before bed (9 pm). Well, we are down to only nursing once a day - first thing in the morning! That nursing is very serious. In fact, Parker is not ready to smile or play until after he has nursed. And that is still a 15 minute nursing each morning. 
• Communicating. Parker has just advanced so much in the way he communicates with us. For now his communication is probably only understood by mommy and daddy but he is learning little ways to let us know what he likes, doesn't like, wants or needs. If he is done with something (paci, sippy cup, a toy) he hands it to us as his way of saying "I'm through with this." If he doesn't want something we are handing him (usually food, but sometimes a toy or his paci) he gently pushes back at our hand to say "No thank you." And if he wants something he makes a noise like "Ah ah ah" and points at what it is as his way of saying "I'd like to see that please." Of course we say the words that we want him to eventually say as we communicate back to him. But for now it is so amazing to watch him develop his communication patterns.
• Standing. Parker LOVES to stand up! He loves to hold our thumbs and balance on his feet. He loves to stand next to a low surface, like the couch, and play with toys there. He loves to play with some of his standing-up toys for as long as he can until his little legs get tired. Standing up is always one of his favorite things to do.

And Parker's most favorite thing ever? Cash Dog. Anything to do with Cash. He looks for Cash before all naps and bedtime to pet him and tell him goodnight. If Cash walks into the room Parker excitedly says OH OH and reaches out for Cash. Cash is the big hit around here and is most certainly Parker's favorite. No matter what else is going on, Cash is the one that is always guaranteed to get a smile from Parker Bear. As for Cash? Well, he loves Parker Bear right back. I love that these two have such a special connection. They are going to be the best of friends!

Sweet Parker, you have grown and changed so much in these last few months! Your daddy and I are so thankful to be with you every day to watch you learn and experience the world around you. You are our sweet, happy baby boy, full of personality and bringing joy to everyone you encounter. What a blessing you are to us each and every day! Happy 15 (almost 16!) months Parker Bear!

Let's Get Physical... Therapy

"Your baby is cute! How old is he?" "Thank you! He's fifteen months." "Oh I bet he's crawling all over the place." "No, actually he's not crawling. Or walking."

I have this conversation a few times a week. No, Parker is not crawling or walking like other littles is age. But Parker has started Physical Therapy. And we are excited about it!

Our pediatrician in Tennessee recommended physical therapy to us at Parker's one-year-well-check because my sweet, happy, curious, loving little fifteen-month-old baby boy has not started to crawl, or pull up, or walk. Our pediatrician was not concerned about this whatsoever during the first year of Parker Bear's life as his growth pattern will differ from "normal" until he is 24 months old as a result of his premature birth.

Although he is not attempting to make himself mobile like other babies his age, our pediatrician called Parker "advanced". She said that babies progress in different areas at different paces. Parker might not be attempting to get mobile but he is certainly the most social baby she has ever seen! She called him "socially advanced".

It's true. Parker doesn't just stare at people. He engages them. He wants to make eye contact and smile and wave and give a high five. He doesn't have a fear or even an indifferent attitude towards people that many babies his age have. Instead he wants a connection with every.single.person he encounters from the waitress at the restaurant, to the girl at the checkout line, to the guy hooking up our cable, to the person in line behind us at the post office.

Yes, he's social. Even perhaps socially advanced. But he's not mobile. And the recommendation for physical therapy is a means of early intervention to ensure we take the correct steps to get our boy moving.

We asked questions. Does he have to crawl before he walks? Should we continue to encourage standing? All of which I address a little further in this post.

Ultimately, Honey and I agreed that physical therapy sounded like the right step. But of course as our Army life goes, we received this news three days before our movers were coming to pack up our home. We weren't going to be able to get an appointment with a therapist in Tennessee! Our doctor sent us along to Kansas with a letter explaining her recommendation.

Armed with her recommendation letter, several cups of coffee hot tea, and one million deep breaths later, I had Parker booked for an appointment with a renowned physical therapy office in downtown Kansas City, a location that is 50 minutes away from our home on Fort Leavenworth.

First Parker and I went to the center, called the Infant Development Center, to meet the director and have a one hour evaluation with the therapist. Parker thought it was playtime and had a wonderful time playing and exploring. Our time was spent discussing specifics about Parker Bear and watching him do some exercises. The therapist will use what she learned from the evaluation to build her plan for our appointments going forward. She recommended that we meet for 30-minutes each week, every Wednesday afternoon.

I feel like this is a good time to get the *sympathy part* out of the way. What do I mean by that? Well as I mentioned earlier, Parker has started physical therapy and we? Are excited about it! Recently as I was sharing this (with someone I hardly know), they frowned, said awww, followed by I'm sorry. I wasn't prepared for this reaction and it caught me off guard. What were they sorry for? Sorry that we are able to find the help we need to get our baby boy mobile?

At first this response irked me. This apology, by an almost stranger, for something good in our lives. Then I realized, people don't know what to say. This person didn't really know how to react because I hadn't yet said if this was a good or bad thing. People need a little help sometimes. So now? I say every time we talk about this new chapter of our lives, Parker has started physical therapy, and we are excited about it! In other words, don't apologize. Don't glance sympathetically over at Parker. Don't tilt your head and attempt sympathy with me. Instead? Give us encouragement! Give us a positive response! And if you have questions, please ask! I realize that this is different. I realize that this is not the normal experience. But it is still good.

Well now that I got that out of the way, let me also answer a few questions about his therapy. These were our questions to the doctor (and physical therapist) and these questions have come up with family and friends.

Does he have to crawl before he walks? No, he doesn't have to. However crawling teaches a lot about balance and coordination. Missing the opportunity to crawl means learning about balance and coordination later - and on two feet - when it is easier to learn about them on hands and knees.

Why is he not crawling? According to his therapist, all babies develop "patterns". The steps he would need to take to start to crawl are not part of Parker's "pattern". His content attitude and happy demeanor have not helped. He is just content where he is.

Does he stand? Parker loves to stand! We will pull him up to play with some of his standing-up-toys and he just loves it! He loves to play with toys standing up next to our couch too. He has very good balance according to his doctor.

Does he cruise? No.
Does he pull up? No.

What does he do in physical therapy? As you can see in some of the pictures, he practices building strength in his arms and his core. He is beginning to learn new "patterns" which will lead to crawling, scooting, whatever eventually becomes his mobile method.

Is therapy uncomfortable? No! Honestly I was afraid that it was going to be uncomfortable or even painful but it is neither! Parker thinks that therapy time is play time and it is wonderful! He doesn't really know that he is "working". His therapist is so tender and loving with him too. I am so pleased with how she handles us!

So what's next? We will continue to attend our weekly therapy sessions. Parker's progress is being monitored by his physical therapist. We will do our "homework" at home. And then we'll see what happens.

Thank you for reading and for supporting us!