Rex - Forty-Nine Weeks Home

Today marks forty-nine weeks home and fifty-one weeks out of the orphanage for Rex  It’s been one year and this is my last regular developmental update, a then and now.  From here on out, I will post about Rex’s progress intermittently when I see fit.

Then: 12.76 kg  - Now: 16.3 kg

Then: 85 cm – Now: 91.5 cm

Then clothing size: 18 mo – 2T – Now clothing size: 3T-4T

Then: no communication beyond crying, raging, SIB

Now: 12 independent ASL signs, pointing, babbling, a few verbal approximations, eye contact, touch

Then: A little boy who recoiled from physical contact and affection most of the time.  A little boy who would crane so far away from us that we sometimes lost our balance trying to hold him.

Now: A child that chooses to cuddle, especially with his daddy, and who draws comfort from physical touch.  A child who gives hugs and high fives and makes eye contact. 

Then: A little boy who needed to be rinsed and soaped standing in a dry tub as quickly as possible and who screamed throughout the entire process.


Now: A child who hurries up the stairs at the mention of bath time and handles contact with water very well.  A child who has a blast at the splash park, too.

Then: A little boy who would wake several times each night, thrashing and hitting his head.  A little boy who woke violently every morning, screaming and auto-aggressive.

Now: A child that sleeps through the night peacefully and awakens happily.  A boy who gets himself out of bed to start playing or lies there, calmly cooing, until I check on him.  When he sees us, his face lights up.

Then: A little boy who raged when hungry or thirsty, who still drank from a bottle and could only finger-feed.

Now: A child that signs eat, drink, spoon, cracker, and finished to let us know what his needs are regarding food.  A child who drinks unassisted from an open cup, eats alone with a fork and requires little help eating with a spoon.

Then: A little boy who had just learned to walk and was very unsteady with poor balance and coordination.

Now: A child that runs and climbs incessantly and falls with a much lower frequency.  A child that can jump unassisted and navigate stairs up and down in various ways.

Then: A little boy with the fine motor skills of a baby.

Now: A child that can complete puzzles, open and close containers, push buttons, scribble, stack, etc.

Then: A little boy who was angry, closed off from the world, frustrated and unable to communicate.

Now: A child who is curious and joyful, who is learning and willing/able to communicate and who seizes the day.