Toby Robert Conger

Well, Toby is almost 23 months old (20 months corrected) and just had his quarterly checkup at the NICU follow-up clinic in Tupelo.  Weighing in at 30 lbs., 13 oz., it’s quite amazing to believe that he ever weighed 2 lbs., 1.8 oz.!

The appointment went good, but not great.  The NICU follow-up staff is concerned that Toby is speech delayed because he isn’t talking (he only says a few words) and wants to schedule an Early Intervention or a speech therapy evaluation.  Mark and I informed them that we have been hearing him “babble” more and more over the last few weeks and his sign language skills are also expanding.  Right now Toby can sign eat, more, all done, milk and ball all on his own.  And, when he is watching the Baby Einstein sign language DVD’s, he can mimick the people in the video and sign even more words.  All of that said, the staff  decided to wait until his next appointment in January (which will be his REAL 2 year birthday (when he was supposed to be born if he hadn’t come early) to see if he’s progressed.  give him another 4 months which will be his adjusted 2nd year (when he was supposed to be born if he hadnt come early).  Other than the speech issue, Toby’s not considered to be in the preemie category anymore and is at or ahead of  “normal” full-term babies.

TOBY                                 DEAN

For all of you out there that think Toby looks just like his daddy, check out my brother’s picture when he was 18 months old.

Today we went to the scheduled medical followup – a.k.a. NICU followup.  All premature babies are periodically checked for the first 5 years of their life to track development.  We’ve got several of these appointments under our belt already (see previous blog posts) and today was like all the others.  He’s right on track in every area.  The next appointment is in September and they expect him to be speaking by then.  Right now he’s making lots of syllables and expressions, but few words.  No cause for alarm, though.

Stats: 27 lbs, 13 oz.; 33 inches tall; lungs clear; heart normal; blood oxygen saturation 100 percent.

Included is a recent picture (this month) from one of our trips to the food court in a nearby mall.

By the way, October will be his second birthday!

He’s really happy in it!

Well, the little man has become an expert walker of late and has learned how to take off his shoes and socks.  Latest stats: 16 months old, 31 inches tall, 27 pounds, and has enough blond hair to be messy after a nap!  While not saying words yet, he definitely knows how to communicate non-verbally.

Hope everybody had a delightful Christmas and heres to a healthy & prosperous New Year!

As of 5:07 p.m. today no less than 525,600 minutes have gone by since Mr. T was born!  (That’s how many minutes are in a year.)  He’s earned every one of them too.  Colleen and I are very proud to say that he’s a perfect little boy.  No issues, no defects, and lots of teeth!  So many teeth are trying to come in at once that his little sinuses have filled up and given him a couple of ear infections over the past few weeks.  Also, he’s crawling on his belly now, sitting up on his own, and standing up when anything he can pull up with is nearby!  He’s finally got some hair too!  Blond as the sandy beaches in Florida.  He’s even said his first word – da da.  Actually it’s da da da da da da!

Here are the birthday photos sans candles:

It’s been a little while since the last update and boy has Toby grown.  He is now 20 lbs. 13 oz. and 27 inches long at his pediatrician appointment yesterday.  His ear infection from last week has cleared up completely and he’s been sleeping through the night for 2 weeks straight.  Toby’s also broken through his first two teeth (the bottom front) and it looks like the tops should be showing up soon.

Toby also just got his first “professional” photos by Emmie Taylor McDaniel at A Thousand Words Photography.  Here are a few selections from his session.

Well, another month has slipped by and Toby is at 16.4 pounds, 25 inches in length, and is finally on formula and a bottle!  The pediatrician has suggested we start introducing diluted fruit juice as well as the occasional veggie.  Since he’s started teething, he really prefers his fingers!

Lots has happened over the past couple of weeks as most of you know, but we’re on the upswing now.  Every day brings a new outlook that we didn’t have before.  Keep on a prayin’!

Here are a few pictures we snapped (on a cell phone!) at the pediatricians office on the 28th.