Big Milestone Progress

CHRONOLOGICAL AGE: 2 DAYS SHY OF 1 YEAR
ADJUSTED AGE: 8 MONTHS


What a difference a year makes! In the last week, Truman has made huge strides developmentally. He has:

• Learned to sit. As of this weekend, he can sit for short periods all alone. He also seems to be getting the knack of adjusting his balance and shifting to avoid falling.
• Made big strides toward crawling. He is getting on all fours, rocking on all fours, and even falling forward. He has picked up an arm a few times, but hasn't figured out how to move it forward yet. He is pivoting in circles, scooting, and rolling to get to the places he wants to go.
• Learned to kick and splash in swim lessons. As of this past Saturday, he finally figured out that he should kick when he's under water and began splashing his arms as well. He also has progressed up to four seconds of holding his breath underwater.
• Taken a record bottle of 8 ounces. In other eating news, Truman has now tried: rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, green peas, pears, avocado, and yogurt. Once we get through carrots and squash, we'll start on the stage II foods and try some of the mixed flavors.

In other just general fun, he has really started to notice the cats and tries to play with one of them. Fortunately, she is a very patient cat and lets him get a few tugs in before she runs away. And, this morning, Truman demonstrated the need to babyproof when in a matter of seconds, he pulled a vent off the wall and stuck his head inside.

An unfortunate developmental skill -- "That's mine." Here, Truman demonstrates his inability to share with his friend, 7-month-old Ethan.

Here, Truman shows off his underwater swimming skills.

Look ma, no hands! Truman sits for his grandparents.

Truman shows off his teeth in this photo.

In other developmental news, his OT last week commented that he needs to improve on visual tracking (apparently his is jerky rather than smooth) and needs a speech evaluation due to his excessive drooling. She thinks it may be a sign of some sort of oral manipulation deficiency. She says he also needs to work on his fine motor skills, specifically his pincer grasp with his thumb and forefinger. We'll discuss these things at his one-year evaluation next week.

--Kara