Five Months Home

I never intend on going a month (or more!) between blog posts but life has been passing by crazy fast. Octavia is 18 months old and has been home for almost 6 months! Now that the weather is warm, we have been spending more time outside. We like going to the park to play. The first few times Octavia was put in the infant swing, she didn’t last more than a minute but after going a few times with daycare and seeing another child her age love the swing, she began to like it. Now, she loves it and will throw a fit if I take her out of the swing! I recently bought a Lillebaby carrier to use when we go on walks and stuff. She loves to be in it and it’s so comfy for me! I only wish I had it when I was on my pickup trip, we might have gone on more walks since it’s so much cozier than the one I had with me then.

Octavia is as sweet as a honey bee, she loves to give me hugs and snuggle, and she thinks it’s the funniest thing ever when she can get me to laugh. She enjoys dancing to music and banging her blocks together. Oh, and she loves water! She gets so excited when I run bath water for her. She pulls herself up, walks along the couch and walks while pushing objects across the floor. Last week, Octavia had a follow-up appointment at the neurologist. Her blood work wasn’t back yet but he did check on her development. She is now 21.1 lbs. and 28.5”. In her first appointment home (on 12/22), she was 16.3 lbs. and 27.5”. Using the new Down syndrome growth charts, this puts her at the 50th percentile for weight and 18th percentile for length. At 13 months, she was in the 18th percentile for weight and the 38th percentile for length.

Standing!

She’s also cut three new teeth in the last week alone. All three of her new teeth are in the front and on top. She has eleven teeth now and she loves to use them (to eat). She doesn’t like it when I feed her anymore, she’d much rather take the food and feed herself. When she first came home, she was using bottles, even after she transitioned to solid food. She soon transitioned to the transitional sippy cups and now uses regular sippy cups full time.

Eating one of her favorite foods -- graham crackers!

Favorites
Meals: chicken and potatoes or pasta, spaghetti
Vegetables: peas
Fruit: bananas, applesauce
Snacks: Yogurt, graham crackers
Toy: VTech Connect And Sing Animal Train
Book: "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You" by Dr. Seuss

She loves to read!

For Mother’s Day, I got a pretty plant delivered to my work. For my first Mother’s Day, Octavia and I spent the day with my mom.

Mother's Day 2016: Not the best picture but she's a wiggle worm!

The whole adoption thing still seems so surreal. I feel as though Octavia has always been mine, always been a part of me, and to think she hasn’t even been legally mine for 6 months is crazy. In my heart, she’s been mine since before she was born. It was heartbreaking to receive the news about Zola last March but in all honesty, it couldn’t have worked out better. Zola has been home with her family for 8 months, is loved, and is thriving.