6 Months and Counting.....

Has it really been over a month since I last wrote? Clearly we've been busy....growing! Last weight check was June 15th and Millie weighed 15 lbs and Ruby weighed 14 lbs 7 oz! We went to the NICU Neurodevelopmental Follow up Clinic for their 6 month check up. This is a screening clinic to make sure that the girls are developing the way that they should. We walked in the door and the Nurse Practitioner said, "well, someone's caught up!" While their growth has been amazing (Millie is in the 35th percentile as compared to typical 6 month olds and Ruby is in the 15th percentile), they still have some work to do with their development. Socially, they are right on track. Both girls are smiling, tracking well with their eyes, laughing etc. Physically they are a little behind (even compared to their adjusted age (3 1/2 months). They are holding their heads up pretty well, but their heads still lag some when you pull them up by their hands. They both will not put much weight on their legs at all. This is the biggest difference I see between the girls and how Jake and Emmett were as babies. At this point, I know both boys would bear weight on their legs and the girls will not. For this reason, the physical therapist that evaluated them put them at a two month old level of physical development. The physical therapist and the neurologist said that this was not a big deal, and that they should catch up with time. The neurologist said that she did not see any problems with tone which would indicate a neurological problem (like cerebral palsy). They gave me some exercises to do to encourage weight bearing. Part of me is not worried at all, but another part can't help but feel like here I am again doing physical therapy with my child. This is nothing compared to what we've been through with Jake, but just the fact that I am having to think about exercises everyday pulls at my heartstrings. Mostly though I am so thankful for their amazing development, and their smiles and giggles give me joy everyday. They also survived a recent bad cold with a lot of breathing treatments and nasal aspiration but NO HOSPITALIZATION!

The girls are on a great schedule now, and things have gotten a lot easier. The "breastaurant" is officially closed, which I have mixed feelings about. It was not a conscious decision so much as my body just quit producing much, and it was hard to pump as much as I needed to. I'm glad I made it 6 months, and it is a lot easier not to worry about pumping. I realized that with the exception of about two months between quitting breast feeding Emmett and getting pregnant with the twins, I have either been pregnant or breast feeding for the last three years. I think I deserve some new clothes (or at least some new bras!).

 Ruby and Millie try out the bumbo!

Jake did have a bad seizure three weeks ago. We had to call 911 again and go to Vandy. He was not totally out of it with this seizure, but his fingertips were turning blue and his breathing was shallow. We got the B team of paramedics unfortunately. They got to our house the fastest yet (17 minutes), but they were all on the older side, and when one of them tried to pick Jake up he started to drop him. I think he didn't realize how heavy he was, and Mamie (our nanny), La La and I all lunged for Jake, but he caught him at the last minute. I ran to get my stuff to go to the hospital, and as I was running out the door Mamie gave me Jake's diastat and said that she thought Jake was seizing again. We had given him one dose already. I got in the ambulance and told the paramedic that I thought he was seizing too, and he said, "yea, looks like it but there have been cut backs and we don't have Valium on the ambulance anymore." To give him credit he seemed frustrated by this and said this was one of the reasons he was going to retire soon. Thanks to Mamie's quick thinking (as usual), I was able to give Jake another dose of Diastat on route to the hospital. We ended up having to spend the night at Vandy because Jake had some weird apnea spells post seizure. He has never done this before, but he was very nauseated and I think he was holding his breath when he would get very nauseated and gag. He finally vomited and didn't have anymore spells. We have increased his Depakote, so he is now on the max dose. The main side effect I see is sleepiness. He seems a little slowed and out of it more than usual, and we have stopped giving him his middle of the night muscle relaxers, and he is sleeping to 6 am.

Lastly....who needs a swimming pool when you have a bucket! Emmett cools off in the oppressive summer heat we're having.