Tuesday, May 17, 2011

We Got an Update

We requested an update on Joshua just before his first birthday in April, specifically asking for developmental information to be included because of his prematurity. We received it last week and I guess I have been mulling it over not sure what to think. We have only received the 2 updates we are allowed to request and one other email informing us our son had been hospitalized at the end of January for bronchiolitis. I know that some people haven't received any updates, so I am trying to be grateful that we received something, but honestly I was a little disappointed that more information wasn't given. Yes, we asked for developmental info to be included, but I wasn't expecting it to be the only info included. There was nothing about likes or dislikes, no info about his personality, no height and weight, and no pictures. It was a translated word document attached to an email from my social worker. Anyway here is what they sent us:


He eats boiled rice with ground vegetables and meat twice a day, cookies/crackers, fruit, pumpkin, sweet potato.

He falls asleep at 10 p.m., wakes at 5:00 a.m. for a feeding of milk, and wakes up for the day at 8:00 a.m.

He gets on his knees in order to crawl. If he’s in a hurry, he pushes himself on his stomach. He grabs onto the bed and pulls himself to his knees. If both of his hands are held, he tries to stand up. If he is put in a sitting position, he sits and plays for quite sometime.

Joon Seo is healthy and doing well. His development is slightly delayed for his age, but considering he was born at 30 weeks and at 1.48kg birthweight, prematurely, he is steadily improving. Tomorrow is Joon Seo’s first birthday. The foster family plans to give him a small party. If they prepare photographs, we will send them to you.

I love the part where it says "if he's in a hurry" - hey, my boys got places to go and people to see :-)

I wasn't expecting to hear that he was walking (though I was kinda hoping), so I wasn't completely caught off-guard by this update. However, I am a little concerned about his development and am frankly unsure of how concerned I should be or even if I should be concerned at all. But it seems like he is a little delayed even for his adjusted age.

We have now used up our 2 update requests, but given our son's developmental delays and the lack of height and weight info, I am hoping we have sufficient justification to make the case for another update in a couple months. Of course, I am always hoping we will be on the receiving end of a spontaneous update and/or pictures, though it has yet to happen. But I will keep praying for it anyways.

8 comments:

Deni said...

I'm glad you got some kind of update, but sad too for so little info and no pics. I love pics! And I'll tell you that for his adjusted age he sounds slightly delayed, but I wouldn't be concerned if I were you. There are so many good early intervention programs here and I doubt he's getting enough individualized special interaction to help those milestones be reached like you will be when he's home with you. Not that he's not being cared for, but nothing replaces a mother's love and effort in helping her child--you're gonna do awesome!!

A said...

i am intrigued as to why there is a limit on the updates you receive/can ask for...? praying he can come home soon!!!

Wendi Kitsteiner said...

I think his development sounds great. He is crawling and pulling up! That is great!!!!

Grace said...

oh, that's so frustrating, becky! did they give you the developmental checklist at least? i'm so sorry you didn't get more information and even sorrier that there were no pictures of your sweet boy :( but, it sounds like he's doing really well and i hope you get his first birthday pictures really soon!!!

p.s. my word verification is "cheeri". that makes me smile :)

Melanie said...

My younger daughter didn't walk until 16 months. And she wasn't premature or delayed in any other way, she just didn't want to walk until then. So I wouldn't worry about it. Kids develop at different rates as a general rule. Sounds like he's doing great!

Michelle said...

I think a lot of these children are delayed according to our standards. My mother in law is an OT and she assessed Maddyx after he came home (didn't start walking until 18 months) and she really feels because they are carried on the FM's backs so much they don't have the opportunity to develop their gross motor skills. Which makes perfect sense. Babies really need to spend a lot of time on their tummy's and working on crawling in order to develop their muscle tone. That said, once he's home you will have the opportunity to allow him to explore and really work on his crawling, climbing, etc. and he will be caught up with his peers in no time! I speak from first-hand experience on this one. You can always email me if you want more info about what we did with Maddyx. :) Hang in there! I hope you can get another update and some pics!!

Stacey said...

I can only imagine that you'd want AS MUCH information on your son that you could possible get. So glad you got this update, though, and were able to get a mental picture of what he's been doing. I think it sounds really good!

Christy said...

I hope you get some more info soon. Fortunately he'll be with you in just a couple of months! Wow! To me (reading it) it sounds like he's delayed for his age but doing well for his adjusted age. Everything they mentioned sounds fairly normal for a 10 month old, and not far off for a 1 year old. My kids didn't walk at all until 12 months and many don't walk until well after a year. No alarm bells from the description they sent. Rest in the Lord, He has Joshua in His hands! Prayers!