8 Months {Davis}

So much has happened this last month! Davis has progressed leaps and bounds since we have been home, and we couldn't be more proud of him. For starters, Davis now has two bottom teeth! He's been teething for months, so it was exciting to see his teeth finally pop through. He is sitting up all by himself without any support, and he is getting better with tummy time. Our goal is ten minutes a day. Sometimes he makes it, but most of the time he fusses. We are working on ways to help him reach that goal, even if that means doing tummy time several times a day till he gets to 10 minutes.

Davis has progressed the most with his feeds! When he came home, he was completely tube dependent. Now there are days when we may only have to do 1-2 tube feeds, and that's really only to supplement what he doesn't take during bottle feeds. He gets 145 mLs a feeding, mixed with 75 ccs of rice cereal to thicken it up. That's pretty thick, and he has to work really hard to get anything out of the bottle, even with a level 4 nipple. We are hoping now that he's taking a bottle consistently, that we can get him another swallow study to see if he can safely swallow a thinner consistency. I think that will help him tremendously. He's also doing well with solid food. When we first came home, he was very aversive to the spoon, but now he has no issues with it being in his mouth at all. He will take about a tablespoon per offering. We are working on increasing the amount of solid food he takes per day.

This month, Davis went to see a kidney specialist to make sure his kidney function was what it needed to be. We know that due to everything that Davis has been through (heart failure, Berlin heart, bypass, ecmo), that his kidneys did have some injury. Thankfully, we received good news about his kidneys! The doctor said that if he were to compare Davis' kidney function with that of a "normal" baby, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Due to the medications he's on and everything that's happened to him, he is at risk of having kidney problems down the road, so they will continue to keep an eye on his kidney function, but as of right now, hes doing wonderful.

We have everything set up with Early Intervention, and Davis will begin seeing a physical therapist once a month. After his initial evaluation, we were told that Davis was at about the 5-6 month range as far as physical development goes, and he's right on track for everything else. What a miracle! Davis will also see his speech therapist once a month to help him continue to reach his feeding goals. We are so thankful for all the support and help we have in the Auburn/Opelika area. This truly is a great place to live and raise a family!

 Wild hair, don't care!

We joke he has the most hair of all the Boswell boys!

So thankful for this boy and his sweet smile!

Tucker and I can't take credit for all the progress Davis has made. We pray everyday that God will give us the wisdom we need to help Davis achieve his goals and reach these important milestones. And HE does! I'm in awe of HIS wonderful works.

Amanda