3 Months

We were out of town for James' 3 month birthday and I didn't feel like bringing the large monkey with me just to take one picture. So here is a picture on his birthday without the large monkey.

And here is a picture when we returned to show how much he has grown.

Dani still loves to have her picture taken with her brother.
James is still developing well. This month he has developed mostly social and verbal skills. He was very cuddly and interactive when visiting Nana and Papa. I loved showing off his smile which came so easily. He also laughs a lot more and his ticklish spot is becoming more sensitive. He uses a variety of vowel sounds, initiates conversations, and takes turns talking.

He is extremely expressive when talking. If he is hungry, he will often talk to me with a sad face and a sad tone. At times his bottom lip comes out, but he's not crying he's just telling me his sad story. Other times he will smile and talk mixing up some of his "statements" with chuckles. Sometimes he seems quite serious as he tries to say different sounds.

James has started grabbing more often. He likes to grab my hair already and reaches for toys quite regularly. When I feed him he likes to rub my hands or try and hold the bottle himself. He can sit with support, but does not like being in the bumbo for more than a few seconds. He also doesn't like to be on the floor, but prefers being in his bouncer since this allows for better interaction. This month I've not been as good at putting him on his tummy on the floor. I will need to give him more floor time to work out his arms when they are not in restraints.

This month his sleep has not been as good as it was earlier. He prefers being held and with people. He has been spoiled and I've slept with him on the couch for many nights. If he wakes up and doesn't see me, he will yell (not cry or scream, just yell "aaa!" loudly). I was a lot more disciplined with Dani's sleep than I am with James'. With his surgery coming up soon, it's hard to be motivated to work on getting him to sleep alone. Perhaps in a few months I'll try more.

Since we visited doctors weekly this month, here is my monthly medical update. This month has been a lot more relaxing than the last since we have seemed to get good news from the doctors. Though the Neuro, ENT and Plastic Surgeons don't agree on when to fix his meningocele, at least three of the four Surgeons he has seen feel STRONGLY (and I felt this way all along) that he does not need a cranial bi-partition to move his eyes closer together. One less risky surgery!!! They have ordered more imaging studies to come to a consensus on what to do with the meningocele. We hope to do these at the same time as his first surgery which is less than 2 weeks away. After seeing Genetics there are no obvious genetic links, though they did suggest some tests to rule out a few things. They were pretty impressed at his communication skills since he was obviously trying to talk to them while they were assessing him. James will be having his first surgery in less than 2 weeks. He will have his lip repaired, his ears will get tubes, he will have another hearing test to see if he has any hearing in his right ear after the tubes and he will have another MRI and a CT scan. It will be a full day. I hope everything goes smoothly and quickly. Any prayers given on his behalf are appreciated.