I'm nearly 9 months old now and I got to go back to the motor development lab again. Here's what they had to say:

Alison's 2nd visit to the Motor Development Lab.



Alison came in smiling and was excited to play. She was really in to bouncing and dancing -- even on the treadmill she "bounced" through her steps. Today she liked to take steps with both legs, but she did take alternating steps, especially at higher speeds. We checked her motor development as well -- she combines items at midline, uses an inferior pincer, rotates in sitting, takes nice weight on her legs, and in general looks great. We look forward to seeing Alison next time and will call to see if she is walking.

I've been able to sit by myself if somebody sat me down, or up as the case may be, for a long time now. But today I pushed myself backwards and sat up all by myself. Mommy was really surprised. She was watching me scoot backwards and the next thing she knew I was sitting up.

Today I crawled for the first time! I've been trying to move forward and I finally figured it out.

I got my first tooth today!! It's really hard to get new teeth and it hurts a lot. I wonder how long it will be before I get another one.

Today I got to do something really fun. I'm now part of a study on how walking develops in babies with Spina Bifida. Here's what the team had to say about my first trip to the Motor Development Lab:

Today was Alison's first visit to the motor development lab. She came in wide-eyed and ready to see what this was all about. She showed us how she moves her legs while we were trying to put markers on. Alison seemed to like the treadmill and she took some steps, more easily with her left leg than with her right. She liked the second highest speed, but not the highest. When we looked at spontaneous movement, she did a nice job of kicking her legs, again left more than right. Of course we got a few complaints because lying down wasn't as fun as "running" on the treadmill. Alison did beautifully today!

I laughed my first belly laugh today. Daddy really got me going!

I had rice cereal for the very first time today. It didn't really go to well. I ended up with more on me than in me. I think mommy is going to wait a couple of more weeks before we try it again.

Mommy and daddy bought a highchair so I could sit at the table with them while they eat, and I got to sit in it for the first time today. It's quite a different view of the dinner table.

Well, since I've gotten pretty good at rolling from my front to my back. I've been really trying to go the other way, and today I finally made it from my back to my stomach.

I laughed for the first time today. I laughed at Grandma.

Today was a big day. I don't like being on my stomach at all, so I finally did something about it. I rolled from my stomach to my back for the first time today. I did it a couple of times, too.

Today, I smiled for the first time. Mommy and daddy were so proud of me!

I came home from the hospital tonight. We all thought I was coming home this afternoon, but some things didn't go exactly as planned. The nurse had to work really hard to track down my neurosurgeon and have him read my CT-scan report to see if my ventricles were ok, and then she had to work to get a bili light for mommy and daddy to take home, since I still have jaundice. It all got worked out and I finally got to leave. It's good to be home!

I had my first bath today. I'm still in my incubator, so it was kind of hard for daddy to reach around through the arm holes and reach everything, but he managed it eventually.