Well, what the doctors and nurses actually say to Reuben these days is, "You look so good!" But we think they mean that he looks marvelous.
Today Reuben had his nine month well baby checkup and Dr. Endres was just delighted with how he's doing. Reuben was his usual charming self -- laughing, babbling, snuggling with mama and dada, flirting with the nurses and doctor, and doing his monkey-boy impression as he tried to dive face-first off the exam table. There were no shots at the nine-month visit, and Reuben was glad for that.
One of his developmental changes is that last time Tai, the visiting nurse, was here to give him his Synagis shot, Reuben got VERY upset. It used to be that after a shot or other medical procedure he would cry for a few seconds but then shake it off. This time he seemed to remember what Tai had done. He cried so sadly and hard after his shot that I had to walk around with him in my arms for a few minutes. It took me a few turns around the room to realize that every time he could see Tai, he cried harder. Finally I sat down with him in the rocking chair and he snuggled up against me and looked out the window. He wouldn't even look at Tai (she stays for about 20 minutes after giving him the shot to be sure he doesn't have an allergic reaction to it.) I thought perhaps he was settling down for his morning nap. But as soon as he heard the door click closed when Tai left, Reuben sat up and looked around with his old bounce and wanted to get down on the floor and play.
Dr. Endres also referred Reuben for occupational therapy to try to help him get more enthused about eating. They haven't called to schedule it yet and we are getting very anxious! We're looking forward to it.
Reuben can now officially crawl - at least backwards -- and he can move back and forth between crawl position and a seated position. He also scoots around quite a bit on his behind. We got the gate up in the kitchen and will soon have to put one at the top of the second floor stairs. He keeps surprising me with the things he's learning to do. The other day I set him on the floor next to the laundry basket and turned my back -- when I turned back, he had pulled the basket over and pulled out all the dirty clothes. It's so fun to see him learn to do things like that! I wrote a while back that he had learned to take off his hat, but now he's also learned to take off mama's hat, and he thinks that's just about the funniest thing anyone has ever thought to do.
We would certainly never have wanted Reuben to be so sick, but his illness has had its blessings, too. One of them is that we get to spend so much time with Reuben. Since we can't take him places, we just organize our lives so that we're always here. We've been so lucky and blessed that Cornell has been flexible with my schedule and work arrangements, and also that my mom is willing to give so much of her time (two days a week) to watch Reuben.
I feel incredibly lucky that I get to spend most of my days with him. I never imagined how much joy I would get from being a parent, and just from being around Reuben. He is such a bright, cheerful soul and I think he passes some of that on to us.
Love,
Jonna, Eric, and Reuben
