15 Months

Chronological Age:  15 months and 24 days

Adjusted Age:  12 months and 9 days

Weight:  20 pounds!!! and 3 ounces

Height:  28.25 inches

Each month, I try to write an update about what Samuel is like....mostly for my own benefit.  I know that there will come a day when I won't remember what he liked to eat, how we spent our days, or the excitement about all the new things he was doing at this age.  Thankfully, I'll always have these monthly summaries to remind me.  :)

Samuel is walking.  Not functionally walking....but he is taking steps on his own.  So far he is up to 9 steps in a row.  He lets go of furniture and stands in place while playing with a toy.  He also lets go to come to us or walk to nearby furniture.  He can't stand up without using something for support yet, but I think that day is quickly approaching.  He spends a lot of time on his knees or squatting while holding on to something.  The fact that he is taking steps is a HUGE relief to me.  Although the threat of cerebral palsy isn't completely diminished, I know that it's not as likely now that he is walking.

He has made a lot of progress with his speech.  He babbles constantly....and jabbers occasionally.  We hear a lot of "doh-go", "gock", "bababa", "dadada", "gog", "gak", "bug-ga", bada", and so on.  He has a few words in his vocabulary, which he sometimes uses in the correct context.  He says, "bye-bye", "daddy", "dada", "baba", "mama", "go-go", "nana" (which means 'no'), "hi", and "dog."  He's REALLY into imitating right now.  He'll try to echo almost anything and is usually successful at getting the first two phonemes (if I asked him to say 'cat' he would say 'KA!'.)

Eating is still hit-and-miss, but it's getting better.  He drinks from his bottle 4x a day.  I was concerned that he is still needing the bottle until his pediatrician told me not to worry about it for another six months because he's so small.  He drinks out of a sippy cup, straw, and open-mouth cup frequently.  He loves the homemade baby food I've been making - which is a lot thicker than the store bought stuff and tastes better.  He seems to be doing a smidge better with table food.  (Cheetos are one of his favorite as you can see from the picture.)

Samuel is still sleeping all night (thank goodness!) but has been waking up every day at about 5:45am.  I think he's trying to kill me!  He takes two 1 hour naps during the day.

There is no doubt that Samuel is a daddy's boy.  He lights up when Michael walks into the house.  If Michael ever leaves the room without him, he BAWLS.  This morning I put him in bed with us and he crawled over to Michael, put his head on his chest, and rested there for at least 10 minutes (something he never does with me.)

Most of Samuel's days are spent moving... moving... moving... moving.  We finally broke down and bought a few baby gates.  He loves playing in his ball-pit, pulling things out of cabinets, and just generally being mischievous!  He hates loud noises, having his teeth brushed, physical therapy, bedtime, diaper changes, and being told 'no!'

I can tell that he's making progress (in all areas) since beginning therapy in March.  Speech reevaluated him and it looks like he is right on track in Expressive Communication for his adjusted age.  However, he is significantly delayed in Auditory Comprehension....where he scored at a 9 month level.  He's doing very well in PT (obviously, since he's walking now), and OT seems to be coming along too.

For those of you who know us, you know that we've never liked the nickname 'Sam' - so we've decided to use 'Charlie' as a nickname since Samuel's middle name is Charles.  Some friends of ours call him 'Sammy-P' which I find very endearing, but reminiscent of an African-American '80s rapper. 

I love this age.  LOVE it.  He is so funny, so smart, and so beautiful.  I can't wait to see what he's like in another 15 months (not that I'm rushing it!)