End of Chapter 1

This is the end, for now, of Bobby's blog. I haven't updated it since before Christmas, largely because it started to feel like a chore, but I thought it needed one final post as a sign off.

Really, this feels like the end of our first chapter with Bobby. The chapter with two open heart surgeries and 13 hospitalizations. The chapter where we agonized over his every milestone.

The last few months have been so different. Learning has become much easier for Bubs. It used to be that every step was initiated by the mamas and required endless repetition before he mastered the new skill. Now, he's figuring some things out on his own and understands what we're teaching him much more quickly.

Oh, its not without trials. He started eating purees and then just stopped. Now we're restarting the feeding process with grown up food and it's a slow journey. While Bobby's been blessed with good health for the last few months, we still have the most difficult of his heart surgeries looming ahead about a year from now. He's got some habits that make his mamas a little crazy - staring at lights for much longer than he should, hitting his head, and some other sensory issues. But as crazy as they make us, his therapists assure us that they are normal for a child that's had low sensory input like Bobby has - meaning very little tummy time and no crawling.

Mostly though, its good news. He's scooting everywhere now, a process that also has increased his upper body strength exponentially. He's growing well - he's even got a little extra chub on his tummy, hopefully waiting to kick off a growth spurt. He loves daycare, loves his teachers, and enjoys interacting with the other children. He's about to graduate to an older room where he'll get more stimulation. He's trying to pull himself up - one of those skills we didn't introduce to him - its his own desire to be mobile that motivates him. He's not got a lot of language yet, but he is fully capable of expressing himself. And he definitely understands a fair amount of what we say to him. He's started to stand up for himself around other children and sometimes he willfully misbhaves.

He's full of laughter and wonder. Given what we've been through in the first chapter, its amazing to spend this time with him now. As we move on, I want to say thank you to all of the readers of This Bobby's Life. Your support has been invaluable!