Malakai is 9 months!

Ok... so he was 9 months on Friday... my bad... But there is lots to update!

Malakai is just a super star these days! He has had a real spurt in expressive development. We just have to smile in his general direction to be rewarded with a wide toothless grin and a giggle! It is just so incredibly rewarding! He is also starting to make more definite consonant sounds like ‘ya’ and ‘ma’. He plays with more intent too, really manipulating his toys to do what he wants.

I, on the other hand, decided that he was ready to progress from first foods, such as butternut, sweet potato and fruits, to more interesting tastes... I went out and bought a whole lot of fresh ingredients and a cook book for babies and got started! The kitchen was chaos (note to everyone – I do not cook. My husband does all the cooking in the house. In fact, if he goes out in the evening, he’ll first come home and feed me... LOL!). So, making Malakai’s food was quite out of my nature – but I made my best attempt. Sweet Potato, spinage, peas and leeks; Chicken, cottage cheese, natural yoghurt & pear; White fish, sweet potato and orange juice were some of my attempts. Ok – so they didn’t all go down too well. When Malakai started to gag, I stopped. But he gave it a really good attempt and we’ll continue to introduce new tastes slowly. It has also been a bit challenging moving to bigger chunks of food – he takes them without any fuss, but he chokes very easily. So we’ll go slowly there and I have to really limit his finger foods because of any chunks he could bite off (those little gums are strong I tell you!).

Physically Malakai is getting stronger. He’s sitting more confidently, although he’ll just plop right over without notice – so he’s still got a nice big cushion to break his fall. But now that he’s sitting, he does not enjoy being on his tummy. As soon as his on his tummy he rolls onto his back and does a ‘sit up’ (lifting his head and legs clear off the floor) and holds the position – panting, moaning and straining. Over. And. Over. Again. I must say I am worried that he doesn’t crawl (and bum-shuffles instead) because I can’t keep on his tummy. So, I will discuss with his PT whether we should increase his visits from once to twice a week at this critical stage – because she is able to do things with him that I just can’t seem to get right!

I am pleased to say that Malakai has no seizures at all these days – I am relieved that it was the medicine causing them while being quite angry with the doctor for not realising it in the first place! But what is done is done and I am grateful that there was a relatively simple explanation and solution. As for Malakai’s reflux – it is a challenge still. We did a barium swallow and scan, which showed no physical abnormalities. So we are putting it down to low (internal) muscle tone. We have increased his daily intake of Gaviscon, hoping that he will outgrow the reflux in the next month or two. If this doesn’t happen, we have to do a 24 hour Ph test and then operate (a nissen). So, we are looking at all options and Malakai’s wellbeing and development is critical here.

Yesterday I was very sad and hard on myself for not doing more for Malakai. My husband brought me back to earth quickly though – I am doing my best with what I have. I work full time and only get to spend a short time in the mornings and evenings with Malakai, and with that time I am doing my best. Could Malakai benefit from having me home full time and stimulating him more? Sure. But he also benefits from an excellent medical aid (which pays for all his therapies), living in a comfortable home and a future that is being saved-for every month. These things all cost money. Money which my husband and I have to go out and earn. I have often wondered what was more important – but at this stage, with the global financial crisis, jobs disappearing all over the place, I need to play my part and be responsible to keep our family financially stable.

I wish that I could be home with Malakai more. I wish that I had more time with him. But I know that it will all be ok – it always is. As long as I stick to my two rules, firstly Stay in This Moment and secondly Let Malakai Lead the Way. The moment I don’t follow these rules I leave my peace and happiness at the door. It just isn’t worth it! So, for now, we’re ok. My little boy is probably the cutest little person I have ever met! We’re financially stable in a very unstable global crisis.

We have much to be grateful for. We have much to give thanks for.