Brody is 5 months old today.
Where has the time gone? It seems like one minute we were sitting in the Dr’s office waiting for him to confirm my pregnancy, and the next minute he was here. Time hasn’t slowed down for us. In between the appointments, the surgeries, and recovering from them I find myself wondering how Brody can stay as happy and content as he has been.
I've even wondered how as his parents, we have stayed as happy and content as we have.
It’s not that I don’t thank God every day for allowing me to be Brody’s mother, there are just days (weeks) where we are completely drained. I am so focussed on how I can be a better “care taker” for Brody that I often forget to celebrate all of the milestones he has achieved.
For some parents milestones in your child’s life could be laughing or cooing for the first time. Seeing your child rollover from front to back. Feeding your child new and different food and seeing how they react differently to the fruits and vegetables.
Brody has different milestones.
Don’t get me wrong, I think every parent should celebrate the milestones their child achieves. It’s just some parents have more to worry about than their child rolling over, or trying new food for the first time.
When Brody was in the NICU we used to get excited about him drinking 5mL of breast milk (okay, sometimes formula) at a time. At 5 months, we are celebrating that Brody can drink up to 2 ounces from that same bottle that used to give him so much trouble.
With Brody’s chromosome deletion Dr’s are concerned about him developing epilepsy. We have made it 5 months with zero seizure activity.
Along with the epilepsy, Brody’s Dr’s are concerned about him having thyroid issues. This week we are celebrating positive lab results regarding his thyroid!
We have been so overwhelmed with appointments, surgeries, and recoveries that we have forgotten to celebrate these milestones. The message I want you to carry on from this is:Celebrate what you can.
Find something to celebrate. Every child, cleft or not is different. Every child will hit his or her personal milestones at their own speed and on their own time. The worst thing I could do as a parent right now is push when Brody does not need to be shoved.
He may not be rolling over, or trying different food but he is loved.
