6 months later

Every wonder what Manny was like before we got him?

This video was taken during his hospital stay before his gtube surgery.

Look at those GORGEOUS EYES! 

He was 8 months.

(To hear the videos better, you may need to scroll down to the bottom right and pause the music playing.)

Pretty poignant to me to see just how little he could move.  His hands are stuck in "dystonia".  His hands do move a tiny bit but not much. And you can see his legs/toes move a tiny bit.  And you have to realize, this lady was working HARD to get his to laugh.  And this was the maximum movement he had. 

And now to think where he is now!  6 months later.  (See the video ... from about 3 weeks ago so he can do even  MORE things now!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbcSAVNSslM

He is holding his head independently (for up to an hour at a time).  He can spontaneously say about 20 words.  Mimics many, many words.  He can sign about 15 words. 

His his hands are not "stuck" any more.  He used to be able to hold a sticker, now he is strong enough to hold a cell phone.  He can get his hands to his face and rub his eyes or nose.  His shoulders are starting to get into the act. 

His legs can now use the push and pull movements (think bicycle).  He cannot support any weight on them (yet) but he has reflexes in them (he had NONE before). 

One of his favorite activities is pulling objects from a cup and putting them back in.  He can do a task like this for an hour!  He has a very, very long attention span. 

I could go on and on about how proud I am of this little guy.  Every day he does something new he couldn't do the day before. 

Looking forward to the day when he can eat by mouth, crawl and walk!