17 and 18 months...oops!

Happy 18 months to my little ball of CRAZY!!!

grandpa pushing Mad in the swing

Maddox has had a great two months.

He went on a trip to Grammy and Grandpa Sherwood's for spring break with me and the older kids while Jeff worked. Aside from not sleeping almost the entire time we were there
and spending a few days with a stomach bug(we brought it from home), he enjoyed a nice relaxing time visiting family. He was surprisingly happy and enjoyed watching movies, going to the park,
watching Keyan and Tracen play the wii and PS3(thanks uncles adam and brett) and not having therapy or doctors' visits for a week. It was delightful for all of us.

After our trip to Missouri Maddox had an endoscopy done by his new GI doc in Dallas. The results showed a normal esophagus, stomach, and intestines, which is great news. Also good news is the fact that Maddox is now no longer using the feeding pump, but is getting 60ml syringe boluses throughout the day. This is a huge step for us and has given maddox a whole new sense of freedom. It has been wonderful! He still gags and retches occasionally, but overall is tolerating it well. The schedule can be a little intense for me since I give him three 60ml syringe boluses in an hour, spaced 30 minutes apart, and do this every three hours. For example, here is the schedule: 9:00,9:30,10:00am - 12:00,12:30,1:00pm - 3 etc...
It is almost like having a new baby and having your whole day revolve around feeding. It only takes a minute to push each feed through but it feels like I spend a lot of time mixing formula and filling and emptying syringes. It is a step forward and so we are happy. In fact as soon as Maddox recovers from his most recent cold and ear infection we are going to start weaning his tube feeds and really focus on oral feeding. He is doing so much better at putting food in his mouth even though he still gets next to no calories from it. His OT and dietitian think this is a great time to forge ahead. We'll take away one hour's worth of food through his tube, space the other feedings out and work on oral feeding in between tube feeds. This is a fairly conservative wean, so I'm told, and will give him a better chance of feeling hungry and being motivated to eat. We will try this for a couple of weeks and if he can handle it without losing weight then we'll continue to wean, otherwise we'll add in some more tube feeds. The kid is still 19 lbs and less than 28 inches in length, so growth is a major factor and we need to make sure that he can maintain what he has. We are definitely excited about this major step in the right direction.

Maddox is still not walking. He is so darn close though, and I know it is just a matter of him feeling comfortable enough to let go. He has stood for as long as five seconds by himself and has
even taken a step. He gets where he wants to go, has so much energy, and is so inquisitive so hopefully all that gets him closer to catching up soon. He throws EVERYTHING, and honestly has a pretty good little arm. He loves to wrestle and if any of us are caught laying on the floor he is quick to crawl on top of us. He really gets a kick out of doing it to his siblings and I'm often called to rescue them from their little brother. He crawls at lightning speed, crawls up the stairs, and is learning how to go down. He is cruising all over the house, pushes his walker-toy, can walk while holding only one of my hands, and makes messes much faster than we can clean then up. Basically he is your average one year old.


Maddox tries to say a few words, like binky, balloon, moo, teeth, mama, dada, all done, and hi. "Hi" is definitely the clearest and it is so cute to hear him say it. He uses a few signs, mostly please and all done. He definitely gets his point across and I love that he is really working hard to communicate. His fine motor skills are great. He plays with Mr. Potato Head and is able to put the different pieces in the little holes. He can stack two blocks, put shapes in a shape sorter, put puzzle pieces in their spot and is forever picking little tiny pieces of food,trash, stuff up off the floor. Only recently has he started putting some of those tiny pieces in his mouth.

Maddox was recently seen by his urologist and we discussed surgery options for his chordee/hypospadias .

(We've been chuckling about this picture. Apparently something is wrong when the puddle is behind you.)

We haven't decided on a date yet, but are planning on some time this summer. Sounds like a fun time for Maddox.
Maddox's heart was stable at our last cardiology appointment, and the bnp test, which tests for heart failure came back only slightly above normal range. Dr. Allender was very pleased. So if his heart isn't the culprit for why he isn't growing, then we assume that it is indeed his chromosomal defect and he will most likely be starting growth hormones in June when we go back to the endocrinologist. I'm not really excited about having to give Maddox a shot everyday, but I would like him to grow and hopefully reach 5'4" by the time he is 17. That is his projected maximum height even with the growth hormones, so I guess you could say that we feel some pressure to get started on the hormones to give him the best chance to get as many inches as he can get.


Maddox is a joy to have in our family. I am so glad that we are 18 months into this and not back at months 0-7. He is such a happy, goofy, cuddly little boy. I love his big toothy grin and his LONG eyelashes. He is determined, strong, feisty, has a temper, and fills my heart! I love my handsome baby!!