Well technically as I type this it is one year and one month later, but you guys get the idea. Emmett’s first birthday party went amazing! I was super worried about it because Emmett can get pretty upset when he is overstimulated. He did great at the party besides getting a little tired towards the end.
To be honest with everyone February will never be my favorite month. I could tell I was extra emotional and Emmett’s birthday was bringing up some bad memories. The memories on Facebook hit me hard. One day a memory popped up where I was simply asking everyone to pray for Emmett as he had been admitted to Riley Hospital because he was very sick. People may not think this simple post could trigger such emotion for me, but it did. It did because I remember desperately typing it in the sleep room at Riley as they were putting Emmett on ECMO. I remember the reason I posted it was because people were still congratulating me on my previous post, which was an announcement that Emmett had been born. I could not handle one more comment on that post. I also typed it because I literally did not know what else to do. All I could do was pray and all that others could do was pray. It was a tough time.
Emmett was discharged from Riley on March 7th. So finally the Facebook and timehop memories started to show things that normal parents probably see. I started to get emotions that normal parents get while seeing these pictures. Slowly I went from post traumatic stress type memories to Awww look how little and cute he was. SO thankful to be in the month of march.
So now if you made it though all that I will give you all a little update on Emmett Jude!
So of course I have to tell you all Emmett Jude is WALKING! Emmett started taking steps and really he is all over the place now. He has the cutest walk of all time and I am totally not biased at all Lol! I seriously cannot keep up with this little dude! He is walking all over the place and loves to climb. He has no fear (but you all knew that already).
Things we are working on:
Speech- Emmett is behind on speech. He makes noises but does not really say anything close to words (no mama, dada, baba, etc.) We may receive a first step referral on this and start working on it soon. We have had his hearing tested and he can hear thankfully!
Feeding- Emmett has always done well with his bottles and sippie cup, but when starting solids we noticed some gagging. We started up appointments with speech therapy to see feeding specialist. Gagging can be a normal response but Emmett was showing signs of some oral aversion and sensory issues with the food. After going to feeding therapy appointments we discovered many of his issues were sensory issues. He does not like how the food feels in his hands or mouth. He is 13 months old and still refuses to touch food BUT is improving.
Some things he will eat: baby food (his favorite are the pouches), Gerber graduate meals, applesauce, yogurt. ALl of this is from a spoon. The only thing he will self feed are puffs, yogurt bites, and goldfish. He will not swallow these, only suck on and spit out!
Emmett has weekly occupational therapy appointments and feeding appointments with speech therapy!
Emmett LOVES bath time and the water. Swim classes may be in our future. Emmett has discovered a love for Mickey Mouse and books. His little personality is the best and he does have some attitude to go with it! He loves his blankies and still loves to cuddle with us somtimes THANK GOODNESS. I love watching this little boy grow and thrive. It has been a seriously tough year, but amazing things have happened. Hope you all enjoyed this little update, I know it was long.. and if you made it to the end Thanks for reading!
Xo
Courtney
Have you tried sign language with Emmett? We wanted Aubree to start speaking too, but she wasn’t crazy about the idea… I had taught sign language to some of the students with disabilities in Kansas… and I thought why not so I started out with simple signs and she didn’t seem quite as frustrated. She caught on quickly, mind you I was still saying the words as I was signing them. I would hear her whispering words I had said and signed, to herself once in awhile. She slowly began to talk while she was signing the words to me… Eventually she resorted to just speaking. I don’t know that it would work with Emmett, you should follow the guidelines his doctors are giving you. I just thought why not try because Aubree was so upset that we didn’t know what she was feeling, etc…
It was so great getting to see Emmett at Colleen’s while we were there, he’s a very handsome guy! Take care, Love you, Aunt Mary
Aww thank you! I agree he’s pretty Handsome! We are trying some sign but he’s not quite catching on .. he is pretty stubborn! He will sometimes do sign “more” if he’s in the right mood. I will keep trying thanks so much for the advice!