What's New with Rex?

Rex has now been home with us for 14 months and I am happy to report that after four weeks of preschool he is doing very well.  We had prepared ourselves for a more difficult transition, but were blessed with things going more smoothly than expected. 

Rex seems to love it at his school.  He gives us no trouble getting ready in the mornings and then impatiently waits by the door to the garage, signing go.  Drop-off at school involves no tears.  On the contrary, Rex often waves bye to us before we are ready to leave the room.  He seems very comfortable in his surroundings and quickly finds a toy or an activity.

The therapists tell us that Rex now understands the daily classroom routines.  He is attentive during circle time and generally cooperative during his 1:1 therapies.  His speech therapist in particular writes glowing reports, but more on that in a minute.  Rex knows that he has to go to different rooms for various purposes throughout the day and he has gotten used to the schedule enough to fall asleep quickly at nap and know the meal times.  While we are so glad that he is thriving at school, we are also happy that he gets excited when he sees us at pick-up.  He sometimes is quite wired when he arrives back home, but usually can settle down within an hour.  And bedtime for him is earlier now because he is more tired, so usually by 9:00 pm, it’s just Craig and me still awake.

The most impressive progress we have seen with Rex over the last month is his communication.  He has learned a new sign, car, and is in process of picking up another one, cookie.  He has begun to sign little sentences like “finished music” and “car go.”  The latter is what he signed to me when I picked him up from school one day.  Rex has also started imitating sounds and syllables during speech therapy and his therapists, along with us, believe that he has a first spoken, purposeful word which is more than appropriate for him.  Listen closely.

The therapists have also been helpful in introducing new foods that I provide in his lunch box to Rex.  He now loves bananas and has added cashews to his crunchy repertoire.  He has allowed grapes, carrots, and apple slices to touch his mouth.  Next up for experimentation: fruit leather.  I am so thankful that the therapists are always ready and willing to work with me on improving Rex’s nutrition.

Rex parallel plays with his classmates and has recently developed an interest in many different vehicles.  I love watching him roll them along various surfaces in the house and enjoy taking turns with him rolling them back and forth.  Sometimes we load them, too, and make play dough or Lego deliveries to our most valuable customers.

Rex also had a check-up with his plastic surgeon and we were happy to learn that Rex does not need any cleft-related surgeries for another year.  The next step will be a lip and nose revision, but they can wait.  During the visit the surgeon actually asked us if he was looking at Rex's natural palate and if Rex only had a cleft lip.  When we told him that he repaired the palate a year ago, he said, "Wow, I must be a genius."  I guess it looks great.

Overall, Rex is doing so well and we couldn't be prouder of this hard little worker and love bug.