Hip hip hooray! I am one today

In the month since my last post our little mate has come on in leaps and bounds (again)...he is ahead developmentally for his corrected age (8 months), pulling himself up on furniture and standing up already..... however is nowhere near standing unassisted, (which he is learning quickly), as he lets go with his 'look at me face' and plonks to the ground in a twisted ball of arms and legs. He has started puckering up to himself in the mirror and to some favourites of his....luckily these include mummy and daddy, yet Roary the lion seems to get most of his passionate affection.

His palate is developing nicely, and eats all that is given to him...and even some taken from mummy and daddy's plates. He has acquired a taste for Yorkshire puddings, funnily enough, and is doing extremely well with an assortment of finger food. His homework from the physio includes practicing sitting up, however he doesn't seem the least bit interested in doing it by himself.

Our last visit to the ophthalmologist saw Jensen's eyesight improve yet again, this time to 6/90 in both eyes, perhaps even 6/45. We have been patching his right eye for 2 hours a day for the past 6 weeks in order to strengthen his left eye and it has worked wonderfully. We are still looking at glasses and surgery at some point, but not to assist his vision, purely to correct his Strabismus (turned eye). This week we also had a vision assessment with Vision Australia. The results of that were greater than expected. When looking with both eyes Jensen has 6/45, with his right alone, 6/75 and his left 6/90. Obviously a much better outcome than expected by the orthoptist and occupational therapist, as they had to adjust their assessment resources and methods accordingly. In the end, Jensen could even see hundreds and thousands in the orthoptist's hand, and we are told that Jensen's vision is well within the normal range for his corrected age, which is just the best news ever! Another assessment in 12 months is all that is required, and of course to continue patching.

In other news..... This week our precious little baby boy turned one. Wow! What a milestone...

It's hard to believe that he has been with us for a year. It's hard to believe it's been a year since his shocking entry into this world, but I guess that's because we spent a good chunk of it in hospital with him, and without him. Of course that part of the year felt like five, but since we've been home together it's just flown.

One thing that got Phil and I through our time in hospital was the promise of having a massive party for Jensen's first birthday on Australia Day this year....so that's exactly what we did. For weeks we scoured local parks looking for a suitable venue, one we knew would be available, not crowded, and suited our needs. We decided on a BBQ brunch, knowing there would be more chance of reserving an area earlier rather than later, as BBQs are quite a popular event on this particular holiday. The next worry was the weather...it had rained and rained for days, off and on, with little pockets of sunshine and hope. The forecast was not looking good. We'd organised a couple of gazebos, and we had a roof over the area, but a party in the park in the rain.....not ideal! The night before the party, the biggest thunderstorm we've seen in a while was upon us and with it, downpours of rain. Our balcony was near flooding as we prayed to Jensen's angels....'we don't need sunshine, we just need no rain'.

What a cracker of a day it was....not only was it dry (some ominous looking clouds loitering around at times), but it was filled with sunshine and warmth, just like our boy and his angels beaming down on us. Phil set off at 7am to secure our spot and set about decorating, while I applied the finishing touches to the birthday cake and other tasty treats, and the birthday boy enjoyed his slumber. A small altercation with the Ranger regarding our choice of decorations, and the place looked beautiful....just how I had imagined...thanks to daddy.

The party went well, all seemed to enjoy themselves, and were filling their tummys with food and ears with conversation. A game of cricket and a sporadic frisbee thrown here and there and you have yourself a successful party. Not your average baby's first birthday party, with 60 guests, but we all know our Jensen is not your average baby, and there were some big celebrations to be had. It was lovely to see all of those that came, and especially nice to see some little friends from the NICU all doing well and looking happy. We've managed to raise another $500 for the NICU so thank you to all that donated. That's it for the parties for now I'm afraid, there won't be another such celebration until Jensen's 18th now....

For me personally, Jensen turning one signifies the end to a traumatic year, a year of new and frightful experiences, thoughts, and feelings I never again wish to experience. A year of uncertainty, nervousness, vulnerability, insecurity, and stress, yet a year of much joy, happiness, and laughter that only a child can bring to your life. For me it's now time to move on, and try to not let these memories dominate my mind any longer. To concentrate on my beautiful baby and my beautiful partner. To look after myself again, them, and us, and find my way back to the me I was before January 26th 2015....or at least try!

Happy first birthday our precious beautiful boy, mummy and daddy love you so very much xox

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