Getting to Know Dakota

So I'm getting to know Dakota a little better. He's eight months old, but he acts more like a five or six month old. I totally get that he was born 5 weeks premature, but I totally think everything about this is wrong. I think if he'd been living with people that cared about him and were knowledgable about babies and their growth, he'd have caught up by now. Five weeks is something that should have been able to be overcome within a couple of months. But here he is - small, no tonge control (spits out baby food), eating only about 2 ounces at a time, not sleeping through the night, not able to sit up on his own or roll from his back to stomach. It's sad really. The Depaul social worker is going to make a referral to Early Intervention, which I'm excited about because I really want some suggestions on how to help him get where he should be. I'm thinking it's going to require lots of tummy time (and crying) and giving him foods so that he can practice eating (which is frustrating and messy for me). I just want to be the best foster parent I can be for him so I'll take the crying and mess and frustration to help give him a better start in life.

In other news, I think Colby is finally starting to feel better. If he wants he can go to school tomorrow. Also, I'm feeling lots better. Carter now has a runny nose and a little cough, but he's resting lots so we'll see how he feels tomorrow. Now we'll just cross our fingers and pray that Dakota doesn't get this nastiness.