We saw his paediatrician for his first appointment last week. She is a nice lady and has told us the best thing we can do for him is to give him lots of tummy time in order to build his trunk and arm strength. Other than that she thinks he looks good and we don’t need to be doing anything else special for his development.

We also saw his family doctor last week as well just to check in. He really likes the look of Charlie and says that if he didn’t know his history, he would just consider him a regular old baby, given the way he presents. Although none of us have a crystal ball, he says that based on how Charles appears now, he will likely be able to walk unassisted as he gets older. This was a huge worry for us, so he’s given us much hope.

Charlie is doing all the NT baby things he should be doing. He’s lifting his head and looking around when on your chest/the floor and he is becoming quite vocal. He can kick his feet into the mattress to try to shimmy himself, and he’ll do it “standing” on mum & dad too. He’s just started smiling as well which is such a beautiful sight. Hitting all of these milestones on target bodes well for long-term success and we couldn’t be more excited and proud of our little man.

Our little tank is up to 11 pounds 8 ounces (at last count) and is in the 97th percentile for his height and weight. Declan grew the same. We make giants, apparently.

Charlie enjoys spending his days swinging, playing on his mat, being held constantly by mama/dada and listening to big brother sing to him. He’ll see the family doctor in a month’s time for his regular two month checkup and vaccines, and then the paediatrician again at 3 months of age. His follow up with the neurology department at Sick Kids is scheduled for August 9th, when he’ll also have a sleep-deprived EEG. His neonatal follow-up (which tracks milestone development), will be in early September.