MRI and milestones

Last week Isaac had a MRI on his spine and brain. It was a long MRI so he was sedated and the test last about 2 hours. His neurosurgeon ordered it to get an idea of how he has healed from his spinal surgery and to check and make sure his ventricles in his brain and everything look ok. We have been very fortunate that to this point, Isaac has not needed a permanent shunt placed in his brain. We constantly check his soft spot to be sure it is soft and his head measurements are taken often to be sure his head is not growing too quickly and possibly developing hydrocephalus. Isaac did very well with the sedation. He came out of it quickly, ate and we headed back home. It was a busy day, but we made it home just in time for dinner. I had waited about a couple days before calling for results and yesterday Isaac's neurosurgeon actually called me with the results. His neurosurgeon is great in explaining everything, wanting to know about Isaac's progress and taking his time in answering my questions. Isaac's doctor was very happy to hear about all of the exciting things Isaac has been doing (I'll list those in a moment). Overall, we have good things to report from the MRI. There are a couple of things that sound alarming, but I think they will be ok. His ventricles in his brain are a little larger than the last MRI. They are larger than a "typical" child's ventricles, but they could just be what Isaac's norms are. This can be common in children with various types of spina bifida. He will continue to monitor Isaac's progress in meeting milestones, the rate of his head growth and the ventricle sizes. Right now he feels everything is ok in this area, but we will go in for a check-up in a couple of weeks and he will have another MRI around his first birthday. The exciting news about the MRI showed that his spine is healing really well from surgery! Overall, I am happy about the results. I am happy that his spine is healing and I continue to pray that his brain will remain stable and working properly so that he will not need a permanent shunt placed in his brain.

Now onto his exciting milestones!

* Isaac said his first word- Da (he doesn't always say it often, but he knows what he's doing when he says it. He looks right at Dan, grins and shouts, "Da!") Isaac definately has Daddy wrapped around his little finger.



* Isaac figured out how to roll from his tummy to his back on his own! I don't have a picture of him in action, but here is a picture of his proud, "I did it", grin.

* Isaac had his first food, oatmeal. He seems to like it. He will take the spoon while I am holding it and pull it himself. He wants to be big boy! He also digested it well!

* Isaac is into exploring with his hands and mouth. He is all about chewing (I think little teeth will be in soon), but also, he is going a good job of manipulating little toys and handing the toys from hand to hand. Below is a picture of this awesome toy Isaac is borrowing from his PT. It entertained him for about 15 minutes today!