Henry at 15 Months

Henry had his 15 month appointment today. He weighs 24 pounds, 2 ounces and is 30 3/4 inches long.

When Abigail does something we don't like I tell her that my heart is hurting. Seems to work to get across what she did was wrong or hurtful. I now wonder if we say it too loosely around our house.

For today, my heart is truly hurting.

Henry still isn't walking or talking. His doctor has been watching things closely as he has been behind on all his motor skills (rolling over, sitting, crawling, pulling himself up, etc.). Today it was obvious he was more concerned then in the past appointments, the last being at 12 months. He asked me a lot of questions about things Henry is/isn't doing. It's difficult as a parent to tell the doctor "no" to a lot of the questions. No, he isn't talking. No, he isn't waving bye-bye. No, he doesn't say "mama" really. No, no, no! There were definitely something I could say yes to though. Yes, he crawls up the stairs. Yes, he mimics Abigail sometimes, like banging on the table! Yes, he is generally happy and shows affection.

His doctor told me outright for the first time "Henry is behind." Yeah, I know, but it hurts to hear it from the doctor, for then it's true, not just me comparing to my friends. We talked about next steps. He said it's hard to know when to move on to a specialist or therapy of any kind. He was more concered with the lack of walking than anything else. He mentioned Autism and my stomach fell (I really wish Colin had been with me!). He went on to explain that most autistic children show no affection, don't like to be touched or hugged and are generally withdrawn. He went on to tell me that from his observations and from what I've told him, this doesn't explain Henry at all. It doesn't - thank God!

So, here's where we are at. Henry will see a Pediatric Neurologist at DeVos in the future. We don't have the appointment date yet, but I guess most appointments are like 6 months out. The doctor suggested we wait and see how things are at 18 months and then make the appointment if necessary. I asked to make the appointment now, knowing we can always cancel it if things look better in 3 months. I'd just hate to wait 3 months and then have to wait another 6 months after that for an appointment. So, at this point we are just waiting to get an appointment scheduled.

I know that he is still young. I know that he is still within the "average" for many things. I know that someone has to make the average. I know that I shouldn't worry. I know that he will be fine. I know, I know, I know. But it still hurts. It hurts to look at my precious son and pray he will catch up and be fine with everything.

We would appreciate your prayers right now. Specific prayer requests include:
~That Henry walks in the near future
~That Henry doesn't get frustrated with me helping him learn to walk
~That everything is fine and we will look back on this smiling that he was just slower to walk - something I may be thankful for in the long run! :)
~That he begins talking.
~That God's peace come over me and my worrying attitude. That I just enjoy my son and not worry about the future. God is in control.

Thanks for reading our update. Thanks for your prayers.
~Bethany