Another Good Appointment

Yesterday, Colby had his 6 month Neonatal Follow Up Appointment. The Neonatal Follow Up Clinic at Vanderbilt follows babies that were in the NICU and are at high risk for suffering from developmental delays. Since Colby had the seizures at birth and because he is a "heart baby" that will face several hospitalizations due to surgeries, he meets the criteria.

I was very nervous about the appointment yesterday, mainly because I had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be not bad at all, though. It consisted of the doctor asking us tons of questions about Colby and what he can or cannot do yet. I was surprised at how difficult it was to answer some of the questions. She was making us really think! There are 3 different areas that they assess...motor development, cognitive development, and language development. Each area has a checklist where she marks off the skills that he has mastered. By the end of all of her questions, our heads were spinning!

After scoring his three checklists, she gave us the good news. Colby is right on track with motor development and cognitive development, and he is at an 8 month old level for language! We suspected that this was the case, but it is always nice to hear it from the professional!

Colby will be followed by the clinic until he is 3 years old. He will go back at 12 months, 18 months, 2 years, and 3 years old. Each time, the doctor will examine him and go through her checklists. At 2 and 3 years old, though, he will actually have to perform the tasks for her. I am so glad that they are following him so closely. It is nice to know that if he does ever start to fall behind in any of these areas, we will catch it very early and provide him with the appropriate therapies.

Jason and I were shocked to discover that this clinic at Vanderbilt provides this service for free! They receive grants from the state to cover the costs, and they even provide travel vouchers to help families with travel expenses getting to and from the clinic. We are so fortunate to have a facility like Vanderbilt!!

I also wanted to mention that the inevitable has finally happened...Colby has his first little cold. After my initial panicking and being upset with myself, I took him to the pediatrician to make sure it was only a runny/stuffy nose. Fortunately, it is! Dr. Hudson said he seems to be handling the cold very well so far. Please pray that he fights off this cold quickly and does not get any sicker. The last thing we need is an illness to set us back now. This is definitely a good reminder to me that I cannot protect him from every little thing, even though I would really like to!