Monday, October 7, 2013

October Riley update

Riley went in for his huge checkup the end of September. Because he was born premature we had the option of enrolling him in various studies that will track his progress until he turns 3. We decided to do it because the research will help with other preeemies and also because it gives us a chance to see how he is developing. He has these checkups every 6 months and he does a regular physical plus a psychological evaluation where they play a bunch of games with him that have to do with his coordination, he also meets with a dietitian, and has a hearing test. Each checkup is at least 3 hours and this time we were there for four...whew...a long morning but we found out a lot and were able to ask the doctors various questions, especially about his diet because Riley is such a yo-yo eater.
 Overall Riley is doing really great, he is excelling in all the psychological evaluations and is willing to try new things and doesn't give up! He was on the go throughout and the doctor said to not expect him to slow down! Babies born as early as he was are very busy and have a fast metabolism as well. That wasn't really a surprise to us because Riley is very busy and active all day (except while he is asleep!).
 His dietitian said we need to focus on mealtimes with him and to not allow him to snack. She said preemies are used to eating just until they feel full and then don't care to eat more until a short time later they are hungry again, from not eating very much at mealtime. We have been working on this with Riley, although I do want him to eat more so when he asks for food while it is not mealtime I give him a snack! He love the fridge and we are lucky he cannot open it on his own! ;) He does love a variety of food and loves trying new foods.
 We feel so blessed in how Riley is progressing in so many ways! He loves to play, especially with his puppies and especially outdoors. He loves to feed himself, say "amen" at the end of prayers, and is very social! So that is just a little update on our Riley! He is 22 months (from his birthday) and 19 months (from his original due date).

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