Growth

In a few short days Micah has grown. I can't exactly put my finger on it but he has changed. His newborn clothes are tight and he isn't swimming in the 0-3 month old clothes we got from friends and family. We've been doing a few PT exercises each day (tummy time, jaw exercises and using the boppy pillow for assistance) these have really helped with his growth. This is what we are noticing these days.

Eyes
Micah has blue eyes. In the past few days I've spent more time looking at those eyes. And I suddenly realized they were blue. No longer do his eyes seem dark and unresponsive. These days they seem to have more awareness and interest in his surroundings. This is good news! In my spare time I've been trying to figure out how to help him "track" objects to strengthen his sight. With time this will get better - I am hopeful of this!

Coordination/Strength
Micah is now grabbing at my finger when I feed him or play with him. He has short fingers and a meaty palm (common characteristics of Downs kids) so it's harder to grasp things. But when he does try his grip is often quite strong. Yeah - this is noticable improvement. Once he gains a bit more strength and coordination he will probably give Kyle a run for his money in arm wrestling competitions.

Smile
A newborn's first milestone is their smile. At first smiles happen spontaneously, later they occur in response to a parent or family member's smile. Most kids smile around 8 weeks. Micah is 7 weeks right now and we're seeing a few smiles out of Micah. Yeah! There were too many frowns happening from him the first weeks (because he didn't have the muscle tone and his mouth would droop). We've been doing some mouth and jaw exercises and these seem to be helping.