Birthday Boys!

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

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!

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