William and Aaron

Almost 10!

2021-04-22T00:08:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted! Time has flown again and William and Aaron are in 4th grade now and doing great. They're sweet and smart boys with big (and different) personalities. William is a super caring people-pleaser who works hard and will be prepared for real life someday. He wants to do, and does, anything we are doing, from making dinner to fixing cars. Aaron is a detail-oriented and chatty future engineer who loves Legos and Star Wars and especially the two of those combined.

Health updates: They really have no major lasting effects from prematurity and there hasn't been much to update in that respect. Since the last post, William did start patching his left eye for two hours a day to help with the strabismus and he has stopped as of January. We've had multiple opinions and the strabismus is not a good candidate for surgery. Right now his vision is 20/25 with glasses on, which will, unfortunately, prevent his future military pilot goals but ultimately shouldn't have an impact on his daily life. Both boys are in bifocals now and want contacts - we have an appointment next month to try them. Hopefully it works out as I think they will be better for sports.

We don't share a lot of daily life details on social media - we mainly use it to share pictures of the kids. I had started this blog to share updates about the boys due to their early birth and all of the medical issues - without many medical updates, there hasn't really been anything newsworthy to post.

So, why am I posting now??? Because William wants me to post! He knows his birth story and wanted to read the blog. He started reading it a while ago but hadn't finished it - he has spent his free time over the past week reading the blog posts from beginning to end. Tonight when it was time to read for bedtime, I found him with the computer on his lap, blog pulled up - and writing his own post. He found the edit button and started to update it himself! I let him finish what he was writing and Aaron added a bit as well (with William jumping back in). They also figured out how to add pictures from Google. I have not changed a thing from what they wrote below except to block out a face from one of the pictures that Aaron had selected. I let them know I would be adding an intro and then publishing tonight. I hope you get a kick out of their updates like I did :)

Updates from William & Aaron are below!

This is William and I know I have never posted and you might not read this but I want to say thanks for the comments and stuff they're nice and I'm doing fine. That was probably a run-on sentence but who cares. I have to get this approved by mom. Also, she is an awesome mom for doing this blog. I know she was just finding a way to tell people because it was hard for her to tell people. Here's a picture of me and my mom at the Jefferson in Richmond. I can do links.... with the help of mom. Within the past week, I read the entire blog I finished today. We got the game Life from the Easter bunny. I am doing virtual school I go back in the fall. It was Anna's birthday on the 15th, she is 13, wow. My birthday is in 67 days I have to go to bed now bye!!!!

Hi this Aaron and I am doing good. I have read most of the blog too but not all of it. I will also put so pictures of Allee and my family. Now, this is what William wants me to type: Hi I also have a hamster that I got in September named Lucas. I will also post pics of Lucas too. That is what William wanted me to type. Now back to me, I will post lots of pictures of us so you get an update.

Lucas!!!!

FYI Anna's best friend is right beside Anna

5.5 Year-olds, Kindergarten, and Happy New Year!

2017-01-09T23:42:00.000-05:00

5 Year Update

William and Aaron are great! I haven't posted an update in a while, so I thought I'd share a bit for anyone that doesn't see them on Facebook, or has found this blog through the preemie community.

William is a few pounds heavier than Aaron (45/42lbs-ish), but they're now about the same height again (William may have a slight edge, we haven't had official measurements in a while). They're both right under 45 inches...moving up in the world!

We've been released from all doctors now except our regular pediatrician, ophthalmologist, and dentist. All is fine on each of those fronts. Outside of the NICU and early days, we've been blessed with 3 pretty healthy kids. Aaron's eyesight continues to improve. His prescription for near-nearsightedness has become weaker every visit, which is great. William, however, is becoming more farsighted, so we're on a 6 month visit scheduled for him. His glasses correct his strabismus, and it's much less noticeable now with them off, but we may end up discussing patching again at his appointment next month. If he does need it, hopefully he will view it as a pirate costume and not an annoyance! Big sister Anna started her orthodontic journey this summer, with a palate expander and braces. William and Aaron will likely follow the same path in a few years. Aaron especially has a high and narrow palate, which was probably increased by intubation and not solely due to (my side of the family) genetics.

Regarding their personalities - most of what I posted when they were 4 is still valid :) They are both in-your-face energetic and social little guys with an insatiable curiosity for the world and 9000 questions all day long. They've continued to play soccer the past few seasons, and William is enjoying it more. He did try a dance class over the summer, but was intimidated by the little ladies in the lesson and did not want to go back :) Aaron still loves soccer and is very competitive. William is his biggest supporter, although he did get a few goals of his own this year, which was fun :) We'll keep playing soccer until they express interest in something else.

Aaron is our future engineer. He is very creative with his Legos and builds his own awesome vehicles and houses with no desire for assistance. While Aaron is very affectionate, and Anna is also very sweet, William is the all around sweetest of all three kids. He says "I love you" all the time without prompting, and gives little gems at bedtime like "Mommy, I'm going to hold your kisses in my heart so that you're with me forever". Some of the sayings that he comes up with make me laugh and melt at the same time. Anna and Aaron are both more independent. William wants to be with us, or with a sibling, most of the time, and wants to be involved with whatever we're doing, including cooking or folding clothes, so he's a great helper.

We did start them in Kindergarten this year, based on their June birthday. I know the trend these days is to give boys an extra year at home, but we felt that the right decision for us was to start them with their peers from preschool. We got lucky with a teacher who is very hands-on and activity based, and they love her. They're not at the head of the class but they met their fall benchmarks, and hopefully they will meet the spring benchmarks as well. I do worry a little, because I'm a worrier, but they've come a long way.

For anyone reading this whose baby has IVH, especially grade IV, I hope this is helpful. All journeys are different. Ours has been a fairly smooth one, and for that we are very thankful.

A couple of pictures

Spring 2016 Cowboys - Aaron on horse, William standing

Aaron's Fall Picture 2016

William's Fall Picture 2016

Christmas 2016 - Aaron, Anna, William

4 year-olds!

2015-07-31T10:14:00.002-04:00

The boys turned 4 at the end of June and they are GREAT. They have so much personality and they're turning into little boys and definitely not toddlers anymore.

In the past year, we've had eye doctor, dentist, and ENT appointments, but nothing super out of the ordinary. They did fail a hearing test early this year, which they have always passed in the past - Aaron had fluid in his ears, and William's ear drums were retracted, so the doctor suggested that another set of tubes would fix the issue for both of them, and we agreed to the surgery. They also had their adenoids removed. I had put off another set of tubes last year because I just didn't see a need for them at the time, but the failed hearing tests changed that mindset. The surgery and recovery were successful (but man did William wake up from the anesthesia fighting! He reminded me of his big sister after her first set of tubes...not fun!) They'll get another hearing test later this year, but we don't notice any issues with their hearing.

William is still ever so slightly bigger than Aaron - he's about 41 inches and Aaron is maybe 1/4 inch shorter. William is also a few pounds heavier at around 38lbs vs 35, but Aaron usually eats more :) They are both potty trained as of last fall. It was definitely a different experience than with Anna, lots of accidents for them, but eventually it did happen :) William still wears a pull-up at night because he sleeps so soundly, but I don't think that will last forever either.

The boys are both hams. They both loves cars and trucks and being outside. Aaron is generally happy-go-lucky and really Mr. Personality when you get him talking - he's super animated and with his facial expressions sometimes it's like he's really smug (in a cute funny way, not annoying, haha) about what he's saying. He has the longer attention span and will sit down to try to work a puzzle, and I can see him being more interested in the way things work. He enjoys the roller coaster type rides at amusement parks, but won't do the one that is darker a littler scarier. William is the opposite - he likes the scarier ride because it's smooth, but isn't a huge fan of the bumpier/slightly more thrilling rides. Aaron also has the hotter temper of the two, and is a little more assertive and physical - I also see a future in wrestling! Oh, and he can ride a bike with training wheels! We wanted to get both of the boys bikes for their birthday, and took them to the store to pick them out. Aaron was really excited and hopped right on one and took off down the aisles in the store. He didn't want to get off of it, we had to pull him off crying in order to get it to the parking lot :) William, on the other hand, ended up with a scooter- he couldn't quite get the turning of the pedals, and wanted nothing to do with it. He'll let us know when he's ready.

William has a great imagination and makes up stories and songs. He is very eager to please and is the more sensitive of the two - he has two baby dolls that are his grandsons and he takes care of them, which is cute. Speaking of his grandsons - William has an imaginary grandson. Not an imaginary "friend" but specifically his grandson, and his name is Mike, and he lives down the road from my parents. Mike is generally around somewhere. William is generally the more daring/impulsive of the two (he's the one I see climbing up the fireplace and trying to fly off one day), and also can be the grumpier one :) The boys really are best buddies. They look for each other at home, they play with each other, they are constant sources of entertainment to us and each other. They're not perfect and they fight sometimes, but generally speaking it's a really great relationship that I hope continues between them for ...eternity.

They are doing soccer in the fall. We signed them up last fall, and Aaron showed a lot of interest. William was more interested in sitting on the sideline and eating snacks, haha. We'll try again this year and see how they like it. William has expressed an interest in taking dance like big sis, but I don't think he would actually stay in the room the whole time for the lesson. If he's still interested next year, I'll sign him up if there's a class he can take at the same time as one of Anna's classes...managing activities for 3 kids and jobs for 2 adults is quite the juggling act.

Our goal for this year is to get them ready for Kindergarten in 2016. They will be on the young side for their grade, with their birthday in June (and due date in October, which would have been past the cut-off date for next year), but we do think they will be ready to start. Socially, they're ready. We talk about school, they're ready to ride the bus, they are VERY social, communicate well, etc. I do have some concerns about attention span and sitting still, but we'll see how this year of preschool goes. They know all of their shapes and colors, can count, can spell their names, recognize most letters (for me, anyway...apparently they don't always want to cooperate with their teacher, but we are hoping that more days of preschool for the upcoming year will help with this). My friend's son who attends preschool with them can spell all of the days of the week (pretty awesome for a young 4 year-old)...I asked my boys if they can do that too, as they had never mentioned this at home, and William can in fact spell "Wednesday" (of all of the days of the week, that's the one he can spell!). So, they're learning! We read together every night, and they love books.

We are going to Orlando for vacation in a few weeks, and will take the boys to Disney to see Mickey (they are really excited) and Anna to Universal to see Harry Potter and Hogwarts and Diagon Alley (she has started the 3rd book and is very into Harry right now...I'll be honest, I'm excited about that part too, haha). I need to put the boys in shoes with good thick soles and fluff their hair so they can meet the 42 inch minimum for a bunch of the rides ;)

I think that's all to catch up on for the past year :) Really, the boys are doing great. Generally, we're not very public with personal info on social media, except sharing pictures, so my goal with keeping this blog updated is to provide inspiration for other families facing some of the same things we did in the NICU. There is a light and a world at the end of the tunnel :)

Pictures/Videos

Disclaimer: Ignore any messy rooms, unfolded laundry, etc...life is always in progress!

Hopefully these links work!

Here's their performance from last night, it's goofy, their new song is "I love my meatballs". I'd shorten the video if I had time, as probably the first minute is sufficient...William does mention his grandson: https://goo.gl/photos/N2wcUuLwgHAvnnEM8

This one is from earlier in July, when Aaron caught his first fish and I was trying to get him on camera saying how big it was (true fisherman! I asked him and his immediate response was "This big" as he spread his arms out all the way): https://goo.gl/photos/QLUKK8npkWxXX7Rh8

Here's Aaron riding the bike for the first time (and William not that excited, haha): https://goo.gl/photos/Pq9AhnhNFNSA76TH8

I posted this one on Facebook back in March of the boys being hams, but it's cute: https://goo.gl/photos/9eaWZCw9MShtpUEaA

This one is also several months old from March, but it's a (long) 8 minute video of Aaron "reading" one of his books at bedtime, and William mostly patiently waiting for his turn. It's not super "cute" or funny but does show how well they're doing!: https://goo.gl/photos/wtC8k38f7u6b5CQK6

Tennessee Aquarium

William

William, movie star

Aaron & William

Aaron, fisherman

Aaron & William, playing together before bed

Aaron

Aaron excited about his cupcake

Three year-olds!

2014-07-21T15:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm about a month late on this :)

The boys turned three on the 27th of June. They are doing GREAT. We had a pretty healthy winter, with the exception of a stomach bug or two. We've only seen a few doctors since the last post:

- Dentist: The boys will need braces some day, but no surprise there. They have narrow palates and will probably need the palate expander in a few years to give the permanent teeth enough space. I'm sure the prematurity contributed to this, but I had one as well so it could just be genetic. Otherwise, their teeth are coming in fine and are not discolored.

- ENT: The boys have had fluid in their ears the past few check-ups, with no other outward symptoms of ear infections. Both have one tube from their last set of tubes still hanging in there. The doctor recommended another set of tubes and adenoids removed for both of them - however, given the fact that they were not in pain, no fevers, the fluid wasn't infected, etc, we decided to wait. I did not feel comfortable putting them through another surgery without real evidence that they needed it. It was a good decision (I think) as the fluid was gone at their 3 year check-up and everything looked fine.

- 3-year pediatrician check-up: Everything looks great - they are growing well, talking very well, running and walking well. William (32lbs) is about a pound heavier than Aaron now, and less than half an inch taller (37 1/4 inches), putting them both in the 50th percentile for weight and height. William did not pass the depth perception test, though. I'm not sure if this is was a fluke- holding up cards with 3-D pictures, the nurse asked him to "Point to the card with the letter E" and all three times he pointed to the wrong card. While he can recite the alphabet and knows several letters, I'm not sure that he understood exactly what he was being asked to do since he each time he did point to the blank one. The next eye doctor appointment is in October, so we'll find out then.

Their little personalities are staying true to the past :) William is such a love bug when he's happy (and a grumpy bear when he's overtired or hungry), and quite the little performer. Aaron is super smart and cute and makes me laugh. They are not potty trained yet but we're getting there (hopefully).

We've been very blessed/lucky/thankful for their outcome given the rocky starts. I still hope that their story is providing hope for other people going through similar situations with their preemies, especially with the brain bleeds. Have faith :)

A few random videos of their silliness:

William makes up his own funny songs...this one had more verses, but this is what I was able to get on video:

Anna is sitting here as if nothing is going on because she had to finish her dinner in order to get dessert :):

A few pictures from the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk:

William, Anna, Aaron

Reading together (Aaron, William)

Happy New Year!

2014-01-01T23:31:00.000-05:00

(If I had time to send Christmas cards this year, this would have been it!)

Updates
The boys have been released from Early Intervention - their assessments in September and October placed them in the 26-30 month range, and they were 27 months at the time. They are right on track! They will still be monitored every few months per my request, but we have no expected developmental issues.

William is wearing his glasses more consistently, which helps with the right eye that likes to turn in. We switched back to our original pediatric ophthalmologist who believes that we should continue with glasses before patching the left eye, now that he's in the right prescription :) He's still just slightly farsighted, but also has astigmatism, so he will be wearing glasses or contacts for life. Aaron is still solidly nearsighted, but his vision has actually improved. He does really well wearing his glasses.

They're both running, jumping, and speaking in sentences now. They can count to ten and sing their ABCs. They know many songs by heart, and their favorite is "Jesus Loves Me". William is still more of the wild man - very loving and full of spontaneous "huggies" and "I love you's", but also more prone to temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way and when he's overtired. He is also super independent and whenever we try to do something for him (even get his milk from the refrigerator), we are met with a cry of "No! I need to can do it!". Aaron is still more laid back and easy going and pretty much the model child :) I can tell he'll have the witty sense of humor when he gets older.

The boys are constant entertainment. They have their fair share of fighting already, but also love each other and wake up every morning talking to each other or singing with each other, and share the occasional unprompted "I love you brother" with a kiss. They have their own funny conversations and are fun to just watch.

Other than monitoring William's eye, we have no preemie-related appointments in the future. I'll update when I can to show their progress, or if anything new arises.

Happy New Year!

Bigger picture of the Little Men:

William & Aaron

2 Years Adjusted!

2013-10-05T23:42:00.001-04:00

Weight Check
Both boys are around 28 lbs

Updates
The boys were due October 5, 2011...we've come a long way since then.

The only doctors' appointments we've had since the last post were the neurologist and the ophthalmologist. The neurologist spent time with both boys and was not concerned with development for either of them :) At the last visit, he still saw the Babinski sign with Aaron, which is a potential indicator of upstream neurological issues when still present after age two. Aaron is now two...and it is gone. The doctor did talk to us about an increased risk for ADHD when they are older and a few other general preemie potential issues, but didn't see any indicators currently. As a result...we have been released from yet another specialist :)

Aaron's vision is holding steady at a very strong near-sighted prescription. He does really well with his glasses and asks for them when they aren't on. The eye doctor didn't see a need for action right now with William's strabismus. His right eye does turn in frequently, but he still didn't see it during the appointment and wanted to see if the glasses have any effect. William is wearing his glasses on a regular basis now (finally), and also asks for them when they are off. For the most part, his eyes are straight when he is wearing them. I do still see the turning in enough to foresee that some action - whether it's surgery, patching, or eye drops - will be in his future, but we're not quite there yet.

The developmental therapist through Early Intervention is still seeing the boys once a month. Their yearly evaluation is in progress now, and it looks like we may just be monitored going forward, but we'll find out next month. I don't want their services to be completely dropped just in case something comes up, but it does feel good to know that they are meeting all milestones of a full-term two year old.

Personality

No personality changes since the last post :) Aaron is still the more laid back of the two (actually, of all three), and William is the more excitable. Here are a few cute stories....

Within the last month William has really started to conversate- he has full sentences, not always grammatically correct, and most of which start with "I want": I want more milk please mommy, I want scoot up please, I want more crackers please, I want, I want, I want! At least he's polite about it :) He also sings - he will repeat choruses of songs and sings "Elmo and I know it!". I sang "Jesus Loves Me" to the boys last week for the first time in a long while, and he became very excited and made the sign for Bible and sang "Bible" and "Me! Me! Me!" along with me. I'm not sure if they are singing it to him in Sunday School or daycare, but it was super cute. William is also Mr. Helpful - if there's something he thinks he can do for you, he'll do it. This is more information that I need to share on the internet, but I'll share anyway because I think it's funny - if I say I need to go to the bathroom he gets excited and will walk me in there, try to pull down my pants, hand me toilet paper, flush the toilet, and then will pull out the stool to the sink and wash his own hands. We're not officially potty training yet but trying to give them exposure...he's not interested in doing it himself, but he understands the process, haha. He also tries to wipe Aaron's nose and change his diaper. William is also very loving. Anna started Kindergarten last month, and he yells after the bus "I love you, Anna!" after she leaves every morning. When he's in a good mood, he's great entertainment.

Aaron is definitely quieter, but he's more of the thinker. He seems to grasp and verbalize concepts faster than William even though he's not stringing the thoughts together in sentences the same way. He does have a few 3 word sentences like "I'll get it" and definitely has the vocabulary for things, he just isn't as vocal. He has the sweetest smile and really is generally an all around good kid who is easy to parent. The only thing that really makes him angry is when someone else has something that he wants :) The kids all have personalized place mats for the table, which are exactly the same except for the names. The other day, William brought Anna's place mat to his spot and put it under his bowl and cup that were already on the table. Aaron took one look at it, shook his head and got upset and pointed at Anna - "No, Anna's! Anna's!". He's so smart :) Also, we almost always grace before dinner at home, but one night when Stephen wasn't home I forgot...Aaron reached his hand out to me and it took me a second to realize he was saying "Amen? Amen?" reminding me to say the blessing...also super cute.

They are definitely interacting more with each other, and with Anna, these days. I watched the boys have a whole conversation with each other tonight that consisted mostly of random thoughts like "Anna, bus!" and "No more! All gone!" but they seemed to be enjoying the talk. They like to do things together around the house....like rearrange furniture and push the kitchen chairs across the room, sneak into the office and take all of the books off the bottom shelf and then look angelic when they tell me they're reading, open the few cabinets to which we allow them access and pull out every single thing in them....life with two two year-olds is fun! It actually is more fun now to be able to take them more places. They require an adult per kid just because they refuse to sit in the stroller and both are always on the move, usually in opposite directions when we're out and about. We have a busy fall - we've been to the State Fair, Field Days of the Past, Touch-a-Truck, and a reunion, all within the past month...and have the pumpkin patch, their great-grandma's 100th birthday party, and hopefully a few other things in October....very busy! Because of that, and because I don't foresee any need for any type of developmental update, it'll be a few months before I update again.

Pictures
Mostly random pictures taken within the last few months

What does the fox say, William?

Aaron gives the firefighter statue a hug.

Aaron & William

Aaron, our hired lawn help

Aaron & William

Anna - the obligatory Kindergarten 1st day photo!

William & Aaron

Cookie Monsters, William & Aaron

William & Aaron, waiting to walk Anna to the bus stop

William wearing my jacket

Almost Two!

2013-06-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

Weight check
Both boys are about 25.5 lbs

Developmental Clinic
The boys missed their appointment in March due to a snowstorm, so we were curious as to what the clinic would think of their progress. To be honest, this appointment is not one we enjoy. It's tough to watch people who don't know your kids judge their development in a purely clinical setting - sitting in just their diapers in a cold highchair, being asked by strangers to respond to commands. At this appointment, in typical toddler fashion, Aaron would laugh, shake his head, and just say "no!" to easy questions from the speech therapist that I knew he could answer. Thankfully, he warmed up after a while and proved that he can, in fact, talk. After each met with the pediatrician, speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, and almost with a dentist until we told him they have already been to the dentist twice, we were cleared to go- for good. I don't have the detailed assessment yet, but they both tested between 20 and 23 months for everything, which is perfect and amazing and awesome.

In related news, Aaron no longer qualifies to receive speech therapy - his vocabulary is exploding daily. Both boys will be monitored by early intervention monthly, but no services are needed at this time. Yay :)

Personality
For two little boys who look a lot alike (at least to people outside of the family), they are very different. Aaron is much more even tempered, laid back, and easy going. He is generally happy and easy to please...unless someone has something or someone that he wants. His little temper will flare quickly and often results in biting, which we are trying to stop. His attention span lasts longer than William's, and he loves to sit in your lap and read. He's also fascinated with anything with a wheel, and we foresee hiding the keys when his legs are longer so that the car doesn't disappear in the middle of the night :) You can tell he is always thinking about things and figuring them out. Don't get me wrong, I love all three kids the same, but I'd consider having more if they were all like him.

William, on the other hand, is the more demanding and harder to entertain. He reacts more instinctively- if he's hungry, tired, bored, or frustrated, he is quick to let you know and will keep letting you know until you fix the issue. Like his sister did when she was younger (and actually, he's a lot like Anna was at that age), he will bang his head on the floor when he's mad. He seems to be getting over that phase, which his forehead appreciates. When he's happy, though, he's super fun and energetic and loves music and dancing. He's also the sweetest, cuddliest, and the first to share. When we were at the Children's Museum a few weeks ago, he grabbed two baskets from the apple picking area and handed one to me. I started to put it back, and he told me "No!", grabbed it back, and walked it over to his brother so they could both use one in the rocks. I love the kindness. He has also just started to say "I'm nice!" which is really cute and funny. He is starting to wear his glasses more, but I still have a feeling he will need the surgery to correct the right eye crossing inward. His next eye doctor appointment is in a few weeks, so we may know more then.

They turn two in less than two weeks, which is hard to believe!

A few pictures...in no particular order, as Blogger isn't letting me rearrange them at the moment :)

William

Aaron

William

Aaron & William

William, Anna, Aaron

The baskets - William, Grandpa, Aaron

Aaron

Eight Eyes

2013-04-03T21:28:00.000-04:00

Weight Check
William - 24lbs 2oz
Aaron - 24lbs 4oz

As expected, William now has glasses to help with his eye occasionally turning inward. The technical term is intermittent esotropia, a form of strabismus. His is neurological based and not vision related - his eyesight has actually slightly improved since the last visit, and he is just barely farsighted. Because of his extreme prematurity and/or the brain bleeds, there are times when his brain isn't quite telling his eyes how to line up correctly. Luckily it's not constant, so his depth perception should be able to develop normally, although he is slightly behind Aaron in that area according to the ophthalmologist. The glasses should help, but probably not fix, the issue. At some point down the road we may discuss eye muscle surgery to correct it, which was mentioned previously by our pediatrician. I waited to post this until the glasses were received, so that I could post adorable pictures of the boys in their glasses together...however, William will not yet wear them. It took a good two months or so for Aaron to wear his consistently, so I expect it will take at least that long for William.

Other than that, no real news for the boys. They are making great progress with speech. William is putting two words together "not nice!" and Aaron is building up his vocabulary. Our speech therapist believes he'll be caught up to the expectations for their actual age by age 2. Developmental clinic was cancelled last month due to the late season snow storm and we're waiting to go back again until they're two. I'll keep everyone posted with their progress...until next time, here are a bunch of pictures :)

William

Aaron

Anna

Troublemakers

William...stealing Aaron's glasses

William, Allee, and Aaron

William

Aaron

William

Aaron

19 Months - with a video!

2013-02-03T18:09:00.002-05:00

19 Months

William – 23lbs 10oz

Aaron – 23lbs 2oz

(as of the middle of January)

The boys are growing and thriving. We moved this month to Hanover, and needless to say, we’ve been busy! It is quite an undertaking to move with three little kids. We did finish unpacking the playroom and kids’ bedrooms first, so that they have safe places to go while we finish unpacking the rest.

Everything went well at their 18 month check-up earlier in January. Our pediatrician is antsy for the boys to go back to the ophthalmologist – specifically William. While he has the better eyesight, one eye at a time (usually the right, but not always) will occasionally turn in (strabismus). With his slight farsightedness, this will happen because of difficulty transitioning from looking up close to far away. I pointed this out to the eye doctor in the fall, but he didn’t notice it and told us to wait until the next appointment and see what happens. Our pediatrician believes he will need surgery to correct it. From what I’ve researched, this surgery on the eye muscle is one of the most frequently performed eye surgeries and he would recover quickly. While I, of course, don’t like the need for any surgery or pain inflicted on my kids, he will get it if he needs it. We’ll find out in March. This really wasn’t a surprise, as you can tell even from some of the pictures I’ve posted on here that his eye will turn in slightly. The boys have had colds/flu/stomach bugs all in the past month or two (as has the rest of the family) and I am looking forward to nicer weather and at least a week of a healthy house! I am very thankful that we are still eligible for the Synagis vaccine, as I credit this for keeping them away from RSV.

With our jump into the next county, we have moved out of the service area of the Rural Infant Services Program, the early intervention branch that covers the Northern Neck area. Hanover County, as with most in the Richmond metro area, has its own EI service, which is one of just two in Virginia that are provided through the school system. The benefit of this is that the boys could fairly easily move into Hanover’s preschool program after they age out of EI, if services are still needed. The team from Hanover assessed the boys last week and determined that as of right now… Mr. William has no need for services, but will remain under their observation. He was a ham for the assessors and is really starting to progress nicely with language. He will repeat many words and is very, very social. He’s our rambunctious little wild and musical man J Starting next week, Aaron will be receiving speech therapy twice a month. He is starting to say more though, especially “Bye bye,” and school has heard him try to say “push” and “pull” (concepts they are working on there), which are new. He’s definitely behind William in the verbal arena, but he’s getting there. Aaron is more of the cuddler, who wants to sit in your lap and look at books or play, and is usually the more easy going one. He’s also more sensitive and seems to get his feelings hurt more easily, especially if a toy is taken from him, or someone else is in mommy’s lap J

Are all boys born with an innate ability and desire to wrestle? William is more of the instigator, but they will head butt each other and roll around each other bumping heads and laughing. It’s really funny and cute to watch, especially when Aaron is receptive to it instead of whining and pushing him away J I’m so happy that they have each other, and Anna to keep them in line J

We have another developmental clinic in March, and the next eye doctor appointment as well. I may not update anything until then just because there’s no “news”, so just know that they are (hopefully) happy and healthy until then!

Pictures

Aaron loved the snow!

William did not love the snow :)

William's "Cheese" face

Aaron

William

William, Anna, and Aaron (taken in November)

William and Aaron (taken in November)

Video!

Be warned, this is about 6 minutes of craziness that only family and close friends may appreciate, taken right before we moved. Although it ends with William in tears after falling on his bottom, no babies were harmed during filming of this video!

Developmental Clinic, Hearing test, and Neurologist visit

2012-12-14T10:26:00.002-05:00

Weight Check

William – 23lbs 2oz

Aaron – 22lbs 6oz

We've had three fairly significant appointments in the past two weeks, so I thought I’d post about those now rather than waiting until the end of the month. We will be super busy with Christmas and getting ready to move!

Developmental Clinic

We have been to developmental clinic several times now, but this is the first time we've done the Bayley Scale of Infant development. The boys were exactly 14 months adjusted the day of the test, so ideally they would score at 14 months for each category. They were visited by the occupational therapist, speech therapist, and physical therapist, and asked to do a bunch of activities like stacking blocks, point to certain items, and color with a crayon. Stephen was with Aaron during his testing, so I’m not sure exactly how he reacted. I was with William, who was being a little stinker the whole time. First of all, they undress the boys and sit them in a highchair in their diapers, which is completely unnatural for them. With William, they started by putting a bunch of toys on the highchair tray and asked him to pick up the baby, spoon, cup, ball, or book. He was first asked to pick up the book, and instead picked up the cup and ball, and was fixated on showing the therapist that he can put the ball in and out of the cup. Then, when the next therapist came in and showed him a book with pictures, he was asked to point at a picture of a book – he immediately looked at the book they had taken from his highchair and placed on the table, but wouldn't point at the picture of the book she was holding…I’m surprised he scored as high as he did with his lack of cooperation, but almost everything they asked him I KNOW he can do at home. Because of this, I take the results with a grain (or ten) of salt. The only score that I completely do not agree with is Aaron’s expressive language – he does say mama and dada, and a few animal sounds (and since the appointment he has been saying bye bye and hi), but he was scored at an age that isn't supposed to be saying any words at all. So they got that one wrong. However, we do agree that he could benefit from speech therapy, which we've already discussed with our early intervention program. He’ll be evaluated when we move to Hanover and start in their program. We will also have Hanover evaluate William for speech and occupational therapy based on these results, as it’s better to be proactive, but I’m not 100% sure they’re needed. After that test, I’m not completely sold on the value of the developmental clinic since they only see the boys for 15 minutes every few months – they surely can’t know my kids and everything they can do. The early intervention program seems to be much better for that purpose for us.

Here are the results:

Cognitive: William – 12 months, Aaron - 14 months

Fine Motor: William – 13 months, Aaron - 15 months

Gross Motor: William – 14 months, Aaron - 14 months

Receptive Language: William – 14 months, Aaron - 16 months

Expressive Language: William – 12 months, Aaron – 8 months

Hearing Test

Because they were born so early and had the brain bleeds, the boys are at risk for progressive hearing loss. As a result, we were expected to follow up with the audiologist every 6 months or so until they turn 3. The guidelines have changed, however – they just need to pass one diagnostic test and one follow-up before they are 2. The boys have now PASSED the diagnostic test and two follow-up visits, so they are good to go. We will still see the ENT because of Aaron’s tubes, but have crossed the audiologist off of our list. (Yay)

Neurologist

I am a huge fan of our neurologist. From day one, he has given the most realistic and grounded insight and advice regarding the boys' brains and potential future delays (or, in our case, probable lack of future delays J ). It is his job, of course. Based on the boys' activity and reflexes he saw in his office – standing, walking, playing, talking, he sees no real potential for future disabilities due to the brain bleeds. He will see them one more time when they turn 2, and then we should be able to remove him from our list as well. They may still have some issues with more of the fine motor dexterity based on the location of the brain damage – may not be future piano concerto players – but only time will tell.

William and Aaron continue to be happy, loving, playful little boys who seek attention and affection. We couldn't ask for anything better this Christmas!

William & Aaron

17 Months!

2012-11-29T00:23:00.001-05:00

We have several big appointments coming up in December, but there were a few to report this month as well. I thought all of the appointments would have thinned by now, but no such luck!

Dentist
We brought the boys to their first dentist appointment this month. We started taking Anna around 2.5 (excluding the time she knocked out a baby tooth!), but I read somewhere that the recommendation with preemies is one, or as soon as they have teeth. William now has 5 teeth and 2 more coming in, and Aaron still has 4. One of the concerns with preemies is a high palate due to intubation, but both boys seemed to be "normal," which is good. William's enamel is thin, so the dentist did comment that he may more easily chip a tooth, but that's common with little boys. He is also about 2 months ahead of Aaron in tooth development, so we'll get a preview of Aaron's mouth through William. I am already budgeting for braces in my head, as at least one of the three should need them given my history.

Early Intervention Assessment
No more physical therapy for Aaron! When he first started walking, one foot would slightly turn in and the other out. This seems to have corrected itself with time and the little man is now actually running. He is also wearing his glasses fairly regularly, finally. Because he is still lacking in the word department, we will have him evaluated for speech therapy when we move to Hanover. Since the appointment, he has started to repeat sounds more and I'm pretty sure he's saying "bye bye" and that he has said "woof woof".

William is walking more, but he does still qualify for physical therapy. His walking is not yet as fluid as Aaron's. He can go straight from crawling to standing and walking, and stop and pick up toys, he's just stiffer in the legs and I feel like he still holds his legs in a wider stance than desired. Nothing to worry about, though. He is really starting to repeat things back to us, which is fun, like "Night Night". Super cute. The coordinator is still concerned about his right eye crossing at times. The next eye doctor appointment is in March, so we'll make sure it's looked at then.

Synagis
We were approved for another season of the RSV vaccine, Synagis. I feel incredibly fortunate for this, although it does mean a painful monthly set of 2 shots which really breaks my heart for the boys. I did discover the healing power of the lollipop at the appointment though, which helped to put those pieces back together :)

Urologist
William had an extra follow-up from his circumcision and all is well. This isn't really noteworthy, just another appointment to cross off the list, and another doctor to hopefully remove from our repertoire for good.

The boys have been battling colds for the past few weeks thanks to the sudden leap into winter, which are hopefully on their way out. We may be absent from church until spring if this continues, as the nursery has a no runny nose policy. I'm a fan of the policy, but it does limit our participation.

Everything is moving forward with our new house - we close NEXT WEEK (still can't believe it) and will move in January, after the holidays and painting and carpeting.

Next month: We have hearing tests, developmental clinic, neurologist, and more shots. I'm very curious and slightly nervous as to what each appointment will bring.

Pictures

William

William walking

Aaron & William

Aaron

Aaron running

16 Months :)

2012-11-02T23:23:00.000-04:00

We've been busy!

The boys are now BOTH WALKING! Look out, world! Aaron is off and running. William is getting there - he's not covering long distances yet, but he thinks he can do it and gets frustrated when he falls. He's been watching Aaron for over a month and has a good model :) Aaron can walk, pause to bend down and pick up a toy, and keep rolling.

Their vocabularies are still about the same as last month, but they do babble a lot, are making more sounds, and communicate when they want something or are tired. William will sometimes sign "more" to me while he's eating, which is fun. We're doing the usual baby sign because it's what we do, not because we think they'll have any difficulty speaking in the future. Anna is especially enjoying the sign language, and it's a good thing I remember a lot of words from high school because she's picking it up well and wants to know more.

The boys love music and any musical toys, and now partake in our dance parties with Anna. When I sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" with the hand motions, William will do the "twinkle" hand motion and open and close his fingers, and will keep continue with his cute version of singing after I stop, wanting more. Again, super fun.

Aaron's glasses finally arrived. He is super cute in them...but won't wear them unless his hands are completely restrained so that he can't pull them off. Several people have asked why I didn't go with the Miraflex - while they are (somewhat) cute and I know they are virtually indestructible, I think the strap on the back would just give William something else to grab and yank. I opted instead for the Nickelodeon brand with the flexible frames and cables that wrap around the ear. If anyone has any tips as to how to get him used to the frames, please send them to me!

The boys definitely have their own personalities. William is more excitable and either shrieking with laughter or screaming because he doesn't have what he wants ... Aaron is usually very happy go lucky and laid back - when he cries his whole face drops and he looks like someone just stole his best friend :) I love, love, love to just sit and watch them play with each other. They already are learning how to share with (and steal from) each other while playing, and can make each other laugh just by looking at each other.

In other news, we put our house on the market near the end of September and had an offer that couldn't be refused in just over a month. My goal was to move before Anna starts Kindergarten next September, in anticipation of a long ride on the market, but we were very lucky! We have found a home in a nice neighborhood in Hanover on a beautiful lot and plan to be settled there early next year. If any of your kids will be attending RPES next fall, let me know so that we can arrange a play date :)

Pictures!

Aaron, William, Anna

William and Aaron...I just think this is funny

Aaron's glasses!

William & Aaron

William the turtle

Aaron the turtle

The pictures below were actually taken at the end of August, but I have neglected to share them. We responded to a request for a 4 year-old girl to model for a fall ad for Hildebrandt Photography in Ashland, and she decided to use the boys as well. Very nice pictures :)

Anna, Aaron, William

William, Aaron

Aaron, William

Anna

15 Months!

2012-10-01T14:29:00.001-04:00

Weight Check
William - 22lbs 8oz
Aaron - 23lbs 4oz

The little guy has overtaken William in weight and is off to the races! Well, almost...

The boys will be one year adjusted on Friday of this week - their due date was October 5th. Yay! They were baptized today, which was awesome, and I was happy to have our family and friends there to celebrate - as well those special people in the congregation who have been supporting us and praying for us over the past year and three months.

Medical updates: The boys were circumcised this month and Aaron had tubes put in. They both had the follow-up eye exam - William is still farsighted, Aaron is still nearsighted, and still only Aaron needs glasses. His eyes are almost as bad as mine were before I had Lasik. I do have the prescription now but still need to find a good place to bring him - which takes our insurance - to get the frames. Miraflex are supposed to be pretty much unbreakable, but I don't really like the look, and they were the only brand available at our eye doctor.

The boys have both been released from the pulmonologist, which is great. We do have everything started to get the Synagis shot (RSV vaccine) next month, and hope to not need the lung doctor again.

Developmental updates:

William continues to cruise around furniture, and is finally able to go from crawling to sitting. He was just going from crawling to kneeling, which was a minor concern. I feel like he'll be taking steps within the next month or two. He has the larger vocabulary of the two, and now also says Hi, Bye, and Boom. He's started to put things together well, like putting toy balls in a whole in one of his toys to make the ball go down the ramp. It's really fun to see those connections being made.

Aaron is TAKING STEPS. My little grade 4 brain bleed miracle whom we were told had a high chance of never walking, talking, etc, is close to walking. I'm so super proud of him, and at the same time still have the urge to go back and kick those doctors for ever telling us anything negative. (That's wrong, I know). I know they were speaking to worst case scenarios and making sure we were prepared for anything, and I do think it makes me more appreciative of every little bit of progress the boys make. Aaron is also babbling more, but not yet saying identifiable words other than Mama and Dada. They both are great eaters, and we are currently weaning them off of the Enfacare and on to whole milk.

Instead of pictures, here's a video taken about a week ago - it's probably about 3 minutes and 14 seconds of boredom for most people, but does show how far they've come :) Ignore me talking in the background! Aaron is the first one in the video, and on the left when they play at the table. William pushes the table across the floor, and Aaron walks along the couch, then crawls to me - you will see him take a little unassisted step at the very end of the video, from the couch to the little ottoman. It was taken with my cell phone, so the quality isn't great...but it's still my favorite video of the boys so far :)

14 Months!

2012-08-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

The boys are 14 months as of earlier this week! They are still amazing little boys :) They should be close to 22 pounds now, but we haven't had their weights checked in about a month.

They continue to become more and more mobile - both are cruising along furniture with ease, and will let go for a second and stand on their own. Aaron is super close to walking by himself - he likes walking with the push toys across the room, and seems to have a good sense of balance. William is getting there, he's just always been a little behind Aaron in movement.

They still babble a lot, and say Mama and Daddy, and possibly a Grammee and Grandma and Anna...but it's hard to tell if they really mean what they sound like :) I'm waiting for the speech to pick up more - they are on track, though.

They have their own little personalities. Aaron is super, super cute - he makes the funniest faces and has the cutest grin. He's more laid back and pretty much takes everything in stride. William is the pretty boy, and acts like a puppy :) He's very vocal when he wants something or isn't happy. He's also more of the mama's boy, for now at least. They love to make each other laugh, which is the best sound ever, and enjoy doing things like head butting each other for entertainment. Silly boys.

We had developmental clinic at the beginning of the month. Both measure at their adjusted age, with William slightly ahead of Aaron due to the better fine motor skills (he has a better pincer grasp than Aaron, who still does a lot of the raking motion when picking up small items). Aaron has better control of his overall upper body, though. Both of William's legs are still slightly tight, and his trunk, so we have stretches to do at home to help with rotation. The tightness in his trunk is keeping him from moving from a crawling to sitting position, but he has learned to go from crawling to a kneeling position on his own. It'll come with time.

Aaron is tighter in his left leg, which we need to stretch so that he can stay symmetrical. With the tightness just on one side, there's a chance that the other leg can get longer. Also, because he's stronger on his right side, his left foot tends to turn out and his right foot turns in (so they're parallel to each other, just not facing straight out). This may/should start to correct itself as he gets older and walking, and I've found it to be better since the clinic noted it at the beginning of the month.

We do have a few visits in September - Aaron, and possibly William, should be getting glasses on the 10th. Aaron is also getting tubes that week, because he has had a few ear infections this year, and we were able to arrange the circumcisions at the same time as the tubes so that Aaron only has to undergo anesthesia once.

So, we still have some things to work on and continue to have a barely manageable load of doctors' appointments between all three kids, but really...who could ask for anything better? We are so, so lucky that the boys are doing this well, and I know it makes me appreciate the quality time I have with them that much more.

Now that the boys are no longer under quarantine, we've been able to attend a lot of family functions this summer, which has been nice. I'm looking forward to next summer when the boys are running around and we're able to do even more :)

A couple of pictures

William & Aaron

Aaron & William

Aaron

13 Months

2012-07-30T15:51:00.003-04:00

Size
They were both just over 21 pounds, and about 28.5 inches at their one year check-up in early July, with Aaron now slightly ahead of William in weight and length

General updates

The boys are now 13 months – they’ll be 10 months adjusted this weekend. They are doing GREAT. They are both standing up and cruising along furniture and toys. They babble and make lots of fun noises, including “mama” and “dada” (although I'm not sure if they really mean "mama" and "dada" yet). William will sometimes repeat what you say to him, and he is very, very vocal when he wants something. If you have any type of food or drink he gets very excited and screams at you – you better give him some J William is more vocal at home, but Aaron tends to be more talkative around other people. We're still waiting for more real words, which will hopefully start to come soon. Both are very social, and Aaron is definitely the little flirt with his sweet grin.

We took them to the Children’s Museum in Short Pump this weekend with friends, to crawl around in the baby area, and they both are unafraid to go over to other kids and adults and seek attention. Aaron had the first tooth and now has the other bottom one coming in, but William now has more – all four front teeth started coming in at once. Aaron has started clapping now as well (William has been doing this for a while) – and when you sing “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!” – he claps! They’re fun babies! They love peek-a-boo, they love to laugh, they love to eat, and they love attention.

Health updates

Both boys had ear infections at their one year check-up, but were showing no symptoms. William’s went away, but Aaron has pretty much had one since March, so we have a consult for tubes for him in August. It would be nice to be able to schedule the tubes and circumcision together (have both heads worked on at once...he he) since both require anesthesia, but I don’t think that’s going to be possible. Anna has had two sets of tubes now and we know how much they have helped her, so I’m not worried about the tubes. Other than that, they have both been healthy.

Our early interventionist seems to be concerned about William's eyes turning in sometimes...the boys have an eye doctor appointment in September, so we'll see what he says at that time. At the last appointment, William's eyes were great and Aaron needed glasses. They'd both be cute in glasses :)

We have the developmental clinic at St. Mary’s on Wednesday, and I’m curious as to what they will think. Everything seems to be right on track with no issues – hopefully they will say the same.

Pictures

Aaron ...are you looking at ME?

William

Anna

Aaron & William...they won't look at the camera at the same time!

Aaron & William

Aaron

Aaron & William...trying to break into the play room

Aaron found a girlfriend at the Children's Museum

Aaron & William

Grandpa giving William away to a bear

Aaron ... Birthday Cake!

William.. Yummy!

William stealing Aaron's cake, after he devoured his own :)

Birthday Boys!

2012-06-26T22:48:00.001-04:00

Weight Check
Still just under 21lbs :)

The boys turn 1 tomorrow! I can't believe it! I thought about reflecting back on the events from one year ago tomorrow that have led us to today...and decided not to go there :) (It's all in this blog anyway) Here's where they are today:

William

Crawls on all fours
Pulls to standing
Cruises on furniture a few steps
Claps
Waves bye bye (sometimes)
Says "Da Da"
Eats baby foods and cut up soft foods like a champ, and prefers to feed himself

Aaron

Crawls on all fours
Pulls to standing with frequency and ease
Cruises on furniture a few steps
Attempts to climb stairs
Says "Ma Ma"
Can go from floor to sitting position by himself
Eats baby foods and cut up soft foods like a champ, will also willingly eat FROM the spoon (unlike his brother, who tries to attack/eat the spoon)
Cutting his first tooth!

Appointments from this month:

Audiologist: Hearing tests passed! It was also incredibly cool to see conditioning at work - with the hearing test used on Aaron, a toy animal clapped cymbals whenever the audiologist spoke. This trains the child to look at the toy whenever he hears a noise - there is a different toy in each direction, but with children so young they become conditioned to only look at the first toy. William tolerated the ear buds, so his test was different. Stephen sat with him on that one, so I'm not exactly sure how it worked.

Neurologist: Everything looks good! (okay, Aaron still has a Babinski sign on his left, but whatever...it doesn't matter even if it doesn't go away, he's perfect and mobile, and sometimes they can be present until age 2. At the last appointment, we were told to expect another MRI for Aaron, but we decided that it's not needed or desired at this point.)

Pulmonologist: Lungs look good, except they were getting over colds during their visit and therefore left with a round of antibiotics, pulmicort, and albuterol to be safe. We also want to make sure that we have as much documentation available as possible to support the Synagis shot (RSV vaccine) this fall, which can be hard to clear with insurance and incredibly expensive without it.

Urologist: All clear for the little snip, which they were unable to get when they were younger (this is not up for debate)...and actually, by all clear I mean the rather ambiguous and indifferent doctor said that he "guesses" he would be comfortable doing it now, but William does have some fat pockets. We could wait until he slims down some or move forward. We plan on moving forward because he may not slim down until he's 5...or 12...and for his sake we're not waiting that long! We also need to make sure the pediatrician clears them for the anesthesia, given the ASD/VSD/IVH history.

I'm so proud of my little men. They are happy, loving, funny, fun, sweet little boys with really great temperaments...we really couldn't ask for a better outcome from their traumatic start. We're still watching their language development and are aware of longer term issues that can be seen in preemies, but I've learned not to dwell on any of those potential risks. We'll cross those bridges when/if we get there...for now, we're just enjoying them and everything new they're doing every day.

Pictures

Aaron

William

Aaron

William

The crawlers!

11 Months

2012-05-28T22:33:00.002-04:00

Weight Check
Both boys - about 21 pounds

We have a creepy crawler! Aaron has mastered the belly crawl and is ALL OVER THE PLACE. He is super fast, and into everything. He does get up on all fours to try to crawl, but straightens out his legs instead like he's trying to stand. William gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth and back and forth like he's going to launch forward, but he doesn't actually move forward yet. He rolls around pretty well to where ever he needs to be, and pivots on his belly like a clock hand. I'm amazed by Aaron, because Anna didn't crawl until she was 9 months, and he started right around 7 months adjusted. So proud of him :) They can both stand when given something to balance on and hold!

We are enjoying the freedom from quarantine, and have taken the boys several places, including church, the river, and a kids festival. I hope this weekend is not an indication that the summer will be 9000 degrees every day, because I'm really enjoying being outside with all three kids.

The different personalities are definitely emerging. William is more laid back and content to play with one toy, whereas Aaron is nonstop moving from one place to the next. They both love attention, but Aaron is more of the flirt and wants attention all the time. They are still both super sweet and good babies. Everything else is proceeding as "normal" - they are eating solids, puffs, teething but no teeth yet, etc.

William met with the physiatrist again this month, and has been dismissed from his services unless needed again. He is right on track for his adjusted age, and any tightness doesn't seem to be an issue. Yay :) We have a slew of appointments next month - audiologist to check hearing (preemies are at risk for progressive hearing loss), pulmonologist check up, urologist consultation for circumcision, neurologist, and lastly the pediatrician for their one year check up...

The boys will be ONE next month! I can't believe it!

Obviously, things are going very, very well for the boys and we are beyond blessed. I do occasionally think back to the day when we were first told that William may never walk or talk and may be severely handicapped, and then the worse day when we were told that it was more likely that Aaron would never walk or talk, etc, and I'm still coming to terms with the emotions from those days. There are times when I want to take the babies back to the doctors who thought it would be in our best interest to utter those words, and I want to dance them in their faces as a big "You were wrong! Take that!" I know they have to protect themselves and give parents all possible scenarios, and we've been very lucky, but I think the presentation of the news could have been different and more positive. Don't get me wrong, I'm so very thankful for everything they did and I know they will be beyond happy for us the next time they see the boys, but still... :) I'll stop rambling now. Our babies are perfect.

Funny quote from Anna: "Mommy, what was daddy's name when he was lost, before he got married?"

Pictures
The school pictures are from March, but they were given to us very late. The bathing suit picture is from yesterday, and the standing picture from a few weeks ago.

10 Months!

2012-04-29T15:49:00.001-04:00

The boys are 10 months as of Friday! They will be 7 months adjusted next Saturday. Aside from their normal 9 month check-up at the beginning of the month, they have had NO doctor's appointments this month! April has been Anna's month - she turned 4, and has had her own set of doctor's appointments. She is now 42" and 38lbs - 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight.

William and Aaron are rolling all over now, and are able to sit (when placed in that position) for as long as they desire. William does a great job getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth ...then he rolls over. Crawling is definitely forthcoming, whenever he figures it out. Aaron scoots and rolls at will to objects all over the floor, and covers a good distance. It's now a race as to who will crawl first! They are both babbling and making good sounds. We've always been able to tell their cries apart from each other, and can do the same with their babbling. Aaron's is a little higher pitched with more "oohs," "aahs," and "gggs." He's just starting to do more of the "bas" that William has been practicing. William also has some "das" in there. They're both very vocal with us, which is a good thing :)

William has an appointment with the Children's Hospital in a few weeks, and then we have the neurologist in June. I'm enjoying the lessened appointments, and the increase in freedom. We took the boys out of "quarantine" this month, and have been able to take them to a few small functions and out to dinner. We are still going to be cautious - no events with smoking, for example (for those that know me, if you thought I hated smoke before...I have even more reason to stay away from it now) but overall we are looking forward to having a social life again!

Friday was also the first birthday of our NICU friend, Harper. She was born at 24 weeks and has overcome many of the same obstacles as the boys, plus some. She's been our preemie inspiration since the beginning, and we are so happy to see her growing so beautifully!

William and Aaron

Birthday Girl

9 Months!

2012-03-31T12:49:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm a few days late on this!

Weight Check
William - 19lb 6 oz
Aaron - 18lb 14oz

As you can see, there are no issues in the weight department! The boys are now 9 months old, and almost 6 months adjusted. They are still short for their adjusted age, but 75th-90th percent for weight.

We do have some news this month... we'll call it super cute news. Aaron will be getting glasses some time in the fall. This is appropriate because he's always been our little professor :) He is nearsighted, at -3.75 in one eye and -4 in the other. As with full term kids, nearsightedness tends to get worse as the child grows - but should still be correctable with glasses, then contacts if he chooses, and maybe eventually Lasik when he's an adult. The nearsightedness is not due to the ROP - the retinopathy of prematurity is completely gone for both boys (another thank you to Avastin!). Prematurity itself can cause nearsightedness, but genes probably also play a big part because my eyesight was worse than Aaron's prior to my Lasik last month (yay!). The eye doctor examined William last, and his first remark was "Unbelievable!"...I had to sit there for several seconds with quick, fleeting, negative possibilities running through my mind before he interpreted the remark. Surprisingly, William is slightly farsighted at +1, which is completely normal for kids. We will keep an eye on him as well though. I'm a touch concerned about strabismus with him, as he sometimes will go cross eyed, but that is also normal for young babies and is constantly getting better.

Developmentally, they are still socially ahead. They love to be held and cuddled, and love interaction with family. They have the best little belly laughs and are easily entertained. Aaron is the fussier of the two, but he's still a good baby. Aaron is also more responsive to strangers - he is a complete flirt, with men and women, and has the sweetest grin when people look at him. William is the wild man. He attacks anything and everything he can get his hands on...and puts it straight in his mouth. Sometimes we'll catch them sucking on each other's hands, which is super cute.

Physically, they are also doing great. Aaron has the advantage here, as he rolls over better and can sit propped better. William has the better extension in his back when sitting, but I think that because he's a little more rigid, he falls over more easily. Aaron's posture is slightly slumped, but he can balance pretty well in the sitting position. We are still working on William's tightness, Aaron's extension, and also tightness in Aaron's neck - his head leans to the left a lot, so we're trying to get him straight :)

We've also started giving them baby food, which is fun. They're still young, so this is more for the practice than the nutrition. William, the monster that he is, will attack the spoon and shove the whole thing in his mouth, so we have to restrain him a bit, and he LOVES it. Aaron doesn't welcome it, but is starting to open his mouth for it more and makes the cutest looks of slight disgust as he chews it. He actually does a better job keeping it in his mouth and swallowing, even though he doesn't like it as much. No teeth have yet made an appearance in either of them, but teething is still in full force.

On a side note, I did accept a new position with a different company a few weeks ago. I miss my coworkers, but the new position will be better for the family as far as benefits/time/stress are concerned. I was hoping to win the Mega Millions last night in order to resign from the working world and enter into full-time mommyhood and volunteering, but that plan didn't quite work out :) Maybe next time!

Aaron & William

William & Aaron

William

Aaron

8 Months!

2012-02-28T00:13:00.001-05:00

Weight Check
William - 17lb 13oz
Aaron - 17lb 2oz

They're monsters! The boys are 8 months old today (Edit: It was "Today" when I started the post but not when I finished it!) :) We continue to have a ton of appointments, but nothing of major significance. They have seen the neurologist again, and the Developmental Clinic. Both are on track for their adjusted age! Both still have tightness in their legs - William more so - but are still on track. Aaron tends to look down when he's in a supported sitting position, so we're also working on that issue. He does still have some torticollis, but it could just be that his head is so heavy he can't hold it up as well. He does great in tummy time and he swivels his head in a 360 to find the TV, so we know that he CAN do it, so I think it's more of the heaviness factor right now. (Don't worry, we don't let him watch TV).

After the visit with the neurologist, both now have weekly PT. I am happy with this, as previously mentioned, because I want to be as proactive as possible. They can both roll from their tummy to their backs, and their backs to their sides - I think they'll be rolling around like tornadoes in no time :) Aaron is already wiggling where ever he needs to go. We're so happy with where they are right now.

They've managed to remain mostly healthy this mild winter. The nebulizer is now a mainstay, with daily doses of pulmicort, but other than the mild congestion there have been no issues.

I'm not sure if anyone remembers (or if anyone still reads this!) but at one point I posted the song that helped me get through the tough times during the NICU stay - Strong Enough by Matthew West. As it turns out, one of the new friends that I have made during this journey is his cousin by marriage, and I was blessed to be able to actually meet him and Casting Crowns (!!!) during their concert this month. Starstruck, I am :) One of the opening acts was a young band called Royal Tailor - I already knew and loved one of their songs, but am now completely impressed by their clarity, vision, articulation, and message (and dancing :) ). It's easy to say that it's a small world, or what a coincidence, but the way that the song came around full circle for me makes it clear that it was something I was supposed to hear and feel and believe.

I don't have much else to report at the moment, or at least that I can think of at midnight :) We are planning on putting our house on the market sometime in the next few months (I hope). This was a plan that was postponed last year when we found out we were having more than one, as we wanted to wait and see what we would need with three kids. I'd really like to be in Hanover before Anna starts school in the fall of 2013. I know King William would be fine for her for elementary school at least, but I'd like to get her settled in one place and Hanover will have better resources for the boys if they need them. We'll see what happens, as we know the selling market is not great. (Anyone want to buy our lovely home, on an acre, with a great garage? ;) )

Pictures!

Aaron & William

Big boys! William & Aaron

What is my sister doing to me??

7 Months!

2012-01-28T18:47:00.000-05:00

Weight Check
William - 15lbs 7oz
Aaron - 15lbs 2oz

The boys are 7 months old as of yesterday!

We did make progress with the physical therapy. Our current PT through Early Intervention will come to the house weekly for William, and Aaron's schedule will remain at twice a month. I did express my concerns with the PT itself, and it should be better now that we have a more open line of communication.

Otherwise, the boys have continued to remain healthy throughout this mild winter. Our appointments haven't started to lessen yet, but hopefully they will soon!

Pictures

W & A

William & Aaron

Aaron

William

Aaron

Physiatrist

2012-01-14T13:46:00.002-05:00

We have added a new word to our vocabularies, and a new specialist to our repertoire. According to the American Academy of Physical Medication and Rehabilitation, "physiatrists, or rehabilitation physicians, are nerve, muscle, and bone experts who treat injuries or illnesses that affect how you move."

Per our pediatrician's recommendation, we brought William to the physiatrist at Children's Hospital last week. He actually was not concerned about the tightness in William's legs and thought his tone was good. He did place an order for our PT to increase from twice a month to once a week, and will follow up in May. I'm waiting to hear back from our current physical therapist if this is something she will do, or if we will need to take him to a private practice. Our PT is through Early Intervention, and at this age they typically only see babies twice a month at most. If we do need to switch to a private company, I'll need to make sure that both boys are receiving the same service, since the order was technically only for William. While I don't really want to add more appointments to our calendar, I am happy to have the physiatrist manage the PT and follow the boys' progress. We still want to move into Hanover at some point sooner rather than later, which would move us into a different Early Intervention area, so it will be good to have someone who will be consistent.

Our regular PT visit this week was better than the past. She was a little more interactive with the boys, and brought a medicine ball for them to use, to practice tummy time and gravitational changes. I like the ball, it's kind of fun for me as well as the boys :) I did tell the ladies (both PT and the Early Interventionist visited) that we were taking William to Children's, and they knew right away that an increase in PT would be recommended. They basically said that the doctors there don't understand that they are leaving us with all of the tools do to the PT ourselves at home, and that it's the PT we do that will make the difference. I understand this, but again, I want PT to be more hands-on, and I want to be as proactive as possible.

So that's where we are right now :) We have a pulmonologist appointment next week, and then the neurologist and developmental clinic in early February.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T23:57:00.001-05:00

Weight Check

William - 13lb 9oz

Aaron - 12lb 13oz

And a Happy New Year it is! The boys are now 6 months old (3 months adjusted). William is now completely off of the supplemental oxygen. We have another pulmonologist appointment in two weeks, at which point they will hopefully let us give back all of the equipment! I do want to keep the apnea monitors as long as we can. I've heard from a few people that apnea monitors are a pain, but ours very rarely goes off due to a bad connection, and they have never had an actual apnea spell since being home. The monitors give us peace of mind while they are sleeping at night that everything is okay.

The physical therapist currently comes to our home twice a month. I have had concerns specifically with William's tightness and have received just one stretch from her to do with him. She believes the boys to be right on track for where they should be, which is great, and really just comes and sits at our house and watches them or holds them for a few minutes. Anyone who knows me would know that this is not enough for me. I want to be as proactive as possible with the boys given their risk for cerebral palsy. PT in the NICU was great - they gave me feedback on specific areas that were tight when they were there, they stretched the boys at each visit, and they always gave me things to do on my own with them. My plan was to wait until we see the NICU physical therapists again at the developmental clinic next month to discuss this in more detail, and what exactly I should expect from PT at home. However, our pediatrician also took note of William's tightness and immediately referred us to Children's Hospital so that he can be evaluated further. Great! We have an appointment next week. They should be able to better help us if either of them need orthotics or positioning devices in the future. The tightness is typical with babies born so young, and doesn't necessarily mean anything, but could lead to difficulty or pain when learning to walk, and tip-toe walking. The earlier we work on it, the better.

William and Aaron are such good babies. They're both smiley and happy boys. With Anna, I cringed when people asked if she was sleeping through the night yet (she didn't until she was 1!). The boys are now out by 11PM and up around 7 in the morning! I didn't think such a thing was possible :)

Thank you again to everyone for keeping up with the boys' progress and keeping them in your prayers!

Merry Christmas from William & Aaron!

Aaron & William

Tummy Time! Aaron's head is up...it's hard to catch them both up!

5.5 Month Update

2011-12-16T21:18:00.000-05:00

Weight Check
William - 12lb 6oz
Aaron - 11lb 8oz

The boys are doing great!

William is soaring through his room air trials. His oxygen requirements have been low since he came home, at just 1/10th of a liter, but I still wasn't sure it would go this well. He's actually a happier baby without the nasal cannula in. He is now on room air (meaning no assistance) during the day, and on oxygen at night. We will do a night study the week after Christmas to see if he's ready to come off of the oxygen completely. I'm confident that he will be. He has also just been taken off of the caffeine, so he's one drug down as well.

Aaron had a head ultrasound last week to make sure there's no unexpected ventrical growth - thankfully, there is not. He will have blood work next month to see if he can discontinue the extra vitamins.

They are both happy, cuddly, loving, well-adjusted babies and we are incredibly blessed with their good health and development!

Photo Card

2011-12-05T16:29:00.001-05:00

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