Progressing...Slowly

It is hard for me to believe that Camden will be 8 months old at the end of this month because I can't believe that 8 months has really gone by, and second because he doesn't really act like an 8 month old. I was reading  this post by my friend the other day about how she lied about how old her baby was in the moment. I chuckled a bit when I read it because I did the exact same thing not too long ago. Sometimes I just get so tired of people asking me the same question and getting the same Iooks. I used to try and explain but why should i have to? This is how the conversation pretty much goes with a stranger:

Stranger: Awwww what a cute baby... how old is he? 

Me: 7 months

Stranger: Oh really? He is so small!

Me: I know...thanks.

Then the conversation usually proceeds with them asking me what kinds of things he is doing developmentally. They really get the confused look on their face when I tell them we have been working hard on head and neck control. I used to throw in that he was a preemie and he has Ds, but I feel like I'm making excuses or trying to justify why he's so small, etc. I don't feel the need to do that anymore. He's just Camden.

With that said, let me update you on how he is doing developmentally. I have felt like we were at a standstill for a while because he was not doing anything new. I did get a little frustrated and started to blame myself for not working with him enough. Once I got over myself, I started to see what he is doing. He did stop rolling front to back a couple of months ago and still has no desire to roll back to front. We do exercises to try and help this, but he just doesn't seem interested. His head control is great these days. I don't really need to hold him in the cradle position or support his head much anymore when holding him. I can actually carry him on my hip and he will stay upright pretty much the entire time. This is a big change because he used to be a flopsy mopsy.

His sitting has improved greatly as well. He can't sit unsupported yet, but that's expected at his age. He does sit pretty well with support either in between my legs, in a bumbo, or just propped up. When he used to sit in his chair he would instantly start to lean, but now he can sit up for longer periods. When he gets tired though, he just starts to fold over.

We can actually use the highchair now!

The biggest thing he has started doing is bearing weight on his legs. Anytime we tried to get him to do this before he would either bend his legs up in refusal, or his legs would be like spaghetti and just fall to the floor. Now he will stand for a couple of minutes at a time until his legs give out. I have to hold him or support him of course, but this is a major improvement. The great thing is that he loves this position! He will laugh and smile the whole time. We are so proud of him!

I think the important thing for me to remember is that he will reach all those milestones, but at his own pace. Even though it may be slow progression...it is progression. It doesn't really matter how long it takes because I don't want to rush things. Like I always say, "one day at a time".