9 month stats: Our little bean pole

This is our week of doctor visits. Yesterday, Cade and I went to his neuro appt. We went to Children's first to get a new picture of his brain. They tried to do another head ultrasound but his soft spot has closed enough that they couldn't get a good picture. So, we had get a CT scan. That didn't go to well since our child does not like to be confined. He remained calm until the actual scan needed to happen. Then, he started screaming a trying to wiggle free. I ended up giving him a bottle to keep him still enough to get the scans done. Then, we had to hang around for 2 1/2 hours before our meeting at the neuro office. That is along time for a baby. We went to McD's for lunch and then sat in Abbott's lobby for awhile and called Sean. Finally, Cade ate and then fell asleep for a little bit. We went to the neuro office early only to find out that the nurse practitioner was running late. Oh well. The good news that we received was well worth the wait. Cade's ventricles have completely shrunk. No more extra fluid. I think they were a little surprised but happy that his head circumference grew and the fluid volume decreased. Our baby is getting a bigger brain :) They did change his shunt pressure setting slightly so that he doesn't lose too much fluid. We don't have to go back in for another 6 months as long as he continues to show no signs of a shunt malfunction.
Today, we had his 9 month check with Dr. Stealy. Our little boy is still less than 15 lbs. Here's the stats:
Weight :14 lbs 11 oz (not on the 9 month chart, around 10th percentile for 6 months)
Length: 27 1/4" (27th percentile for 9 month, around 80th percentile for 6 months)
Head Circumference: 16 1/2" (not on the 9 month scale, around 10th percentile for 6 months)
Like the title says, he's our little bean pole. Never would have guessed that Sean and I would have a skinny baby :) but actually my Mom says Cade is similar to me as a baby.
He grew 3 1/2" in 3 months but only went up 1lb 9 oz in weight. He used to gain an oz a day and now he's lucky if he gain 1/4 oz per day. But, the doctor was not concerned about his weight. He just suggested we try 3 solid meals a day instead of 2 and start trying some meats. Basically try to up the caloric intake because Cade seems to burn alot. Dr. Stealy was really impressed by Cade's strength. Cade gripped his stethoscope and then his finger and the doc said "he's strong like an ox". We have known he was strong (how else would he have made it through all of his ordeals) but it was good to have the doc mention it too. He even called in a colleague to test Cade's grip :) The other doc was equally impressed. Another thing that the doc was impressed with was Cade's alertness and attentiveness. He said that there are alot of 9 month olds that are not as aware and trying to learn like Cade. Did I mention that Dr. Stealy is not one to make off the cuff remarks. He is very good at what he does and does have a sense of humor but would never tell you something just to make you feel good about your child. So, I took all of his compliments to heart. Cade is doing great!

On a more somber note, yesterday we learned that our friends lost their baby boy (Ty Gary Moore) at 34 weeks. They still do not know what happened and may never know but all of our thoughts and prayers go to them. We pray for comfort and strength through this unbelievably tough time.