I had another rough day on Thursday. After our OT suggested we start doing play dates with other babies, I started worrying about seeing “typically” developing babies and then comparing Sol to them. I know, I should never compare my baby to another, but it is so hard not to. Especially when we know that he’s going to be delayed in some areas.

After I spent a few minutes tearing up and feeling rather down, Mike sat down next to me and pulled up videos of Sol from his first month home from the NICU. He was so teeny then! In the videos, he was barely able to hold his head up in tummy time and was certainly nowhere near being able to move it in a controlled way. He couldn’t put any weight in his arms, and his eyes didn’t budge from the left side. Now, just a few months later, he’s put on a number of pounds (we’re up to 14 pounds now!), can hang out in tummy time all day long, and is starting to push up in his arms (including a little on his right, weaker arm). He’s even sitting up in a supported position and he is trying his darnedest to look all over the place. That smart hubby of mine was simply showing me that no matter what any other baby Solly’s age can do, Sol has made huge strides in his recovery and will continue to do so on his own schedule.

To celebrate how far we’ve come, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite photos of Sol’s “newborn” photo session, which were taken about a month after Sol came home. (All photos were taken by Red Turtle Photography, a fabulous family photographer located here in DC.) I’ll provide a more in depth update this week when Sol turns 5 months old!