Developmental Clinic, Hearing test, and Neurologist visit

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!

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 :)

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