sitting like a big boy

Gabe has been working on sitting up lately. He's been really doing well. He no longer likes tummy time and immediately roles over onto his back...little stinker. Feeds are going a little better. I have an appointment scheduled with GI to see if we can do anything else for the reflux besides Prevacid. We'll also be seeing the Speech Pathologist in the Down Syndrome clinic more frequently for the feeding stuff. We saw ENT last week and they will be sedating Gabe in May to look deeper into his ears. They'll put in tubes at that time if they see fluid which they are expecting.

Justin turned 30 on Monday. Gabe got him some UK gear..go cats!

How can you not love that smile!

Cute pictures of the week

This week, Gabe went to swim class. He was happy to be in the water because he's soooo big

I know this looks upside down, but I was at Gabe's head when I snapped the shot. This is him benchpressing a wooden spoon. Good PT work Gabe!

Gabe was being very giggly and cute after bathtime I couldn't resist. I think he just liked being naked.

He also blows rasberries now. Gotta be careful or you'll get a spray of babyfood your way.

I haven't posted in a long time. Our computer crashed, so I'm typing this from a really old and slow laptop. Gabe has had a low grade fever on and off for the past day. He's fine with some Tylenol and there are no other symptoms. He had his repeat flu and H1N1 shots this past week and I think he's just having a little reaction to them. He hasn't wanted to eat much today, but I'm giving the little guy a break since he's not feeling well...good thing we have the Gtube as a safety net...now I sound like our OT.

7mo, 3 wks, Gabe's first word.

On Friday, Gabe said "dada". He's babbling like crazy now. And, just tonight, he signed "up" when Justin went to pick him up. We did it 3 times and he kept lifting his arms up. It's very cute...now if we could just get this feeding thing down.

Seven and half months...Gabe rolls over.

That's right! On friday Gabe rolled over back to belly by himself. Now, he's doing it all the time. He still gets his arm stuck at times, but when he manages to lift his head up, he looks so proud. We started PT on Friday with Mr.Dan. He taught us how to work on Gabe's core muscles. Gabe now bench presses a spoon to build up his pecs...it's hilarious.

A Tuesday full of Appointments

This past Tuesday, Gabe had a feeding eval, an appointment with the Down Syndrome Doctor, and a hearing test with audiology. The feeding eval went well. The speech pathologist actually said he did better than she anticipated. She tried a low flow cup and he did really well. She then tried a regular cup and he coughed and gagged, but the low flow cup is promising. He ate well and she said what he had was more of a coordination issue. He can move his mouth, he just needs to learn how to use all the muscles together to draw the food back and swallow larger amounts. Overall, it was very positive. The appointment at the Thomas Center with the doctor was fine. She said he was looking good and answered some of my questions. We then went to check Gabe's hearing. He is cooing and making noise, so I wasn't really concerned about his hearing, but he dose have narrow ear cannals which is common in Down Syndrome and it should be checked more frequently. Gabe failed his hearing test. He has some fluid in his ears which is making his hearing alittle muffled sounding. We have an appointment with ENT and we'll see if he needs tubes. I was pretty sure tubes were in our future.

Gabe has enjoyed the snow days home with dad.

Beautiful Blogger Award

Thanks to Aimee at Aimee's Bowl of Cherries for nominating me for the Beautiful Blogger Award. This blog has been one of the best ideas I've had. Thanks to all those who read my ramblings. Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated me for this award

2. Copy the award and place it on my blog

3. Link to the person who nominated me for this award

4. Share 7 interesting things about myself

5. Nominate 7 bloggers

Here we go!

7 interesting things:

1. I am a nurse at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. I've worked there for 8 years now, 7 as an RN. I took my nursing boards the week of my 21st birthday. I've always wanted to be a nurse. I work in an Endocrine/Diabetes Clinic.

2. I was very sick as a child....mainly as an infant. I was 3 months premature and weighed only 2.2lbs...I got down to 1.9lbs. I had many complications, PDA, bacterial spinal meningitis, RSV, jaundice, gavage feedings, etc. I had PT as a toddler and had casts on my legs. When Gabe was so sick I kept telling myself that he hasn't been through anything I haven't been through (other than the Gtube). We have matching scars from heart surgery (except mine is horizontal). I was pretty tiny.

3. I can play music. I took 8 years of piano lessons and taught on and off for 2 years. I taught myself a little guitar in college. I don't really like playing in front of people. I'm a little out of practice because I've been so busy, but I really need to get back into it. I miss being good.

4. I am addicted to the Food Network. I watch it all the time. I really like to cook and thanks to my mom and the Food Network, I think I'm pretty good at it. Justin sometimes makes fun of me for watching Iron Chef.

5. I love to be outside. Oh how I am craving Vit. D in this yucky grey month of Feb. I missed not being outside much this past summer. I can't wait for the weather to get warm again. Gabe and I will be going to the park and going on walks and haning out in the babypool out back. Hopefully Justin and I will get some hiking and canoeing in too.

6. Growing up, my family had theme week once a year. That week, my mom would make mexican, italian, german, chinese, etc. for dinner every night during the week. Each night was a different ethnicity. We played music, ate, and drank that country's cuisine. It was great. I've had theme week once since Justin and I have been married, but I think I'll have to keep it up at least once a year.

7. Justin and I met 6 years ago at a bar called Soupie's listening to an 80's cover band called the Rusty Griswold's. We try to catch them live in action about once a year. They're so much fun!

I'd like to know more about:

1. Bo and Geneva at Hudson Bradford
2. Stephanie a A Beautiful Life

3. Amy at The Fledge Farm
4. Erin at Gabriel (I give you a pass if you don't do this since you are due any day)

5. Jenni at A Little Something Extra For Us

6. Sasha at The Wonder of Wysdom (I know the Stevenson's put you down for this as well and I believe you've been nominated before, but just in case I'm wrong, I had to put your name down. Your blog is very heartfelt and you have given me great support the past 7 months)

7. Andrea at Baby Dreams (this is not a DS blog, but it is a great blog of our close friends and their journey of having a family. Gabe can't wait to meet his new buddy!)

A blog post isn't complete without Gabe. Check out the new pics of little man! Just ignore Justin's guiness pajama pants.

Everyone loves pictures!

Gabe had lots of immunizations/vaccinations this week. He is doing well and has really made strides this week. He totally impressed the OT on Friday with his tummy time skills.

It's a winter wonderland outside and Gabe got to put his hands in snow today....he'd rather have his hands in his mouth. I promise Gabe's highchair is not outside on the deck in this picture...we had the blinds open in the breakfast nook so it just looks like he's outside...we brought the snow inside for him to play with.