News about our other baby, sweet little Beagle Ripley... She has got the most disgusting thing happening to her eye right now (I've decided against posting a photo of it because it has gotten so nasty looking). The vets are a little unclear about what is happening. A few thoughts...all are related to recent tooth extractions because of abscessed teeth. 1) The infection moved up to her eye, 2) the removal caused a hemorrhage behind her eye, 3) there is a bit of tooth or other debris stuck somewhere causing the bulging, or 4) something happened during the extraction to make a preexisting tumor evident. We're clearly hoping it's not Door #4. We'll continue with week 3 of antibiotics and pain meds to see if is subsides. Seriously, folks, I have soooo much appreciation for Greg on this one - I can barely look at Ripley (apparently, my love for her is conditional) there is no way I could rub the ointment on what, at this point, doesn't even resemble an eye. If it's still a big eyeball of nastiness after this week, Dr. Vet will put her back under to poke around, x-ray, etc to see what is going on in there.
Okay, so once there was an episode of The Simpsons where Homer gets a spring stuck in his eye. I had a near panic attack about it....and it was a cartoon. Can you imagine what actual eyeball problems are doing to me? She can only close her eye partway because it's so swollen. And there is some kind of chunky thing in it......
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Therapy photos and video
Here are some photos mostly of therapy type stuff, in case you were curious.
Happy girls! You can really see the 3 lb difference in this one. (Clara left, Evelyn right)
My favorite picture I've taken of them. Clara is being Clara, thinking that whatever noise I'm making is the funniest thing ever. Evelyn is completely unimpressed. You can practically hear her thinking about how unimpressed she is...I imagine this in a French accent for some reason.
Alex helping with tummy time. Clara had just rolled over.
Evelyn trying to go from back to front.
Evelyn hating the force to the right.
Clara holding rings
Evelyn holding rings
Clara on a bolster finding her hand.
Tracking a toy
Clara trying to roll from back to front.
Evelyn struggling to look to the right.
Evelyn grabbing a toy
Video of Evelyn getting forced rolling. Please excuse my Rolly Polly song. I talk and sing to myself all day long.
Video of tracking while on tummy
Monday, June 9, 2008
Spying on you
Greg set up the analytics feature on the blog so I can spy on all of you (Ha ha! Take that, voyeurs). I wish we had set it up from the beginning because I'm obsessed with seeing what search terms people use to get to my blog. A couple things strike me though. First of all, the posts of mine that show up the most are the ones where I'm being especially crabby. I know I tend to be a little crabby, but it makes me sad that people aren't being routed to my more hopeful or cheerful posts. One post, in particular, was getting viewed enough that I felt the need to add a little note at the bottom recanting a little. I had some, shall we say, bad days in the hospital. I was grateful to be there, grateful for the wonderful care, grateful to have an excuse to not be jeopardizing my pregnancy by running around after a 2 1/2 year old or feeling obligated to vacuum, and grateful to put my job aside and rest and take care of my body. That being said, I was super grouchy, tended toward a lot of crying, and was a general mess. One night I yelled (I mean yelled) at the lady on the phone at the food delivery place because they forgot my order and I was stuck with late-night hospital food....aka PB&J at 11:30 PM. Okay - so one day, my absolutely fantastic nurse practitioner caught me on a particularly grouchy day and I took it out on her on my blog. Not particularly mature, but I was in a slightly dark place. I felt terrible about it almost immediately. It wasn't her fault that I had babies inside me trying to kill each other. So now I feel sick that when people search "momo twins" they get that nasty little post. My apologies to my lovely NP.
The second thing about the search terms people use that struck me was how sad they are. They are things like:
The second thing about the search terms people use that struck me was how sad they are. They are things like:
- Momo twins dying
- Momo twin mortality
- Momo twin survival rate (catching a theme here?)
- Grade 1 hemorrhage
- How to deal with decels
- ...and so on.
They are sad because I remember those dark nights...2:00 in the morning with me at the computer typing in all of these horrible things to find any information I could about momo twins, tears streaming down my face, and praying that I wouldn't have to give birth to "angel babies" or babies with severe special needs. It was incredibly frustrating to have a medical condition so rare with so little available information. Last night at Sunday Night Dinner, Lexie was telling me about these momo twin onesies that I remembered seeing on one of those dark nights. They said "We defied the odds." Can you imagine? I remember just bursting into tears when I saw them. Now, months later, the part that bothers me about these onesies is how unfair they are to everyone with babies who didn't defy the odds. I get really upset when people say they just "knew" or had "a gut feeling" that everything would be okay - it really negates our struggle, but more importantly, it's really unfair to the families who prayed just as hard, hoped just as much, and still had babies who died.
Sorry, I'm feeling a little reflective today. I'm also much more ready to be honest about how tough the last year has been. I edited out a lot of my emotional state at the time because I didn't want people treating me like I was fragile. Now I can look back and more easily laugh about the absurd parts and cry about the sad parts. I'm not a different person than I was before, but I have developed a greater sensitivity to the struggles of others.
Take care,
Kris
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Catching up
The girls had an excellent therapy appointment today. The therapist said again that we are clearly doing a lot of work because the girls are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were 3 weeks ago. This is really important to me for two reasons - 1) it means the girls are catching up and 2) it means that the decision to quit my job and be home with the girls was the right one. I've joked about the therapy being a part-time job, but it isn't a joke. I spend hours everyday working with them. Our assignment for next week for each girl is 2-3 hours/day of tummy time, 20 sit-ups/day, forced rolling 2-3 times/day, and baby massage. This is all in addition to neck stretches, visual tracking, and hand grasping exercises that we are also working on. I'm not kidding - it's a ton of work. And we're working on eventually getting tummy time up to 4-6 hours a day (or approximately half their waking hours). It's exhausting! My back hurts from being on the floor all day long :)
It was good to get the positive feedback. I think I really needed it to make myself feel better. If they weren't making such nice progress it would be improbable that I would keep up the pace. So, basically, here's where they're at - both of their head lags (that head hanging back thing that happens when you try to lift them) have improved to about 90% of where they should be chronologically. Evelyn, whose side preference to the left has been pretty severe, now has a nearly full range of motion in an upright and tummy positions. She still struggles when she's flat on her back to look to the right.
The therapist said to reasonably expect them to be strong crawlers by 12 months and caught up completely by 18 months. That is huge! Usually you hope for a complete catch up between 2-3 years. I mean 3 weeks ago they were tolerating ten 2-3 minute sessions on their tummy a day and now Evelyn can do 30 minutes at a time (Clara more like 15-20) without even fussing. It's fantastic. She also said that it's important for the motor stuff to hurry along to make way for some of the other important developmental milestones. So, the sooner the better.
One last thing about therapy - she said that with each visit she's looking for indications of neurological problems and so far hasn't seen anything at all. She said they are really just "catching up." It actually brings me to tears (of joy) to think of this. The past year has had some really deep lows and to see a light at the end of this craptastic momo twin tunnel is astonishingly exciting.
Oh, I also keep meaning to mention that Greg's Co-momo-tion blog has officially ended and made way for That Tree is Far Away (see link to the left). I understand it will be a place for him to try to be funny or to reveal to his reading public how much of a curmudgeon he is becoming :) Anyway, check it out. His most recent post is interesting (to me, anyway) because it adds up all our medical bills to the cool sum of nearly one meelion dollars. Thank God for insurance!
Take care,
Kris
It was good to get the positive feedback. I think I really needed it to make myself feel better. If they weren't making such nice progress it would be improbable that I would keep up the pace. So, basically, here's where they're at - both of their head lags (that head hanging back thing that happens when you try to lift them) have improved to about 90% of where they should be chronologically. Evelyn, whose side preference to the left has been pretty severe, now has a nearly full range of motion in an upright and tummy positions. She still struggles when she's flat on her back to look to the right.
The therapist said to reasonably expect them to be strong crawlers by 12 months and caught up completely by 18 months. That is huge! Usually you hope for a complete catch up between 2-3 years. I mean 3 weeks ago they were tolerating ten 2-3 minute sessions on their tummy a day and now Evelyn can do 30 minutes at a time (Clara more like 15-20) without even fussing. It's fantastic. She also said that it's important for the motor stuff to hurry along to make way for some of the other important developmental milestones. So, the sooner the better.
One last thing about therapy - she said that with each visit she's looking for indications of neurological problems and so far hasn't seen anything at all. She said they are really just "catching up." It actually brings me to tears (of joy) to think of this. The past year has had some really deep lows and to see a light at the end of this craptastic momo twin tunnel is astonishingly exciting.
Oh, I also keep meaning to mention that Greg's Co-momo-tion blog has officially ended and made way for That Tree is Far Away (see link to the left). I understand it will be a place for him to try to be funny or to reveal to his reading public how much of a curmudgeon he is becoming :) Anyway, check it out. His most recent post is interesting (to me, anyway) because it adds up all our medical bills to the cool sum of nearly one meelion dollars. Thank God for insurance!
Take care,
Kris
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Open invitation
If anyone is interested in dinner at our place on Sunday at 5:30, email me at khightshoe@gmail.com. We're pot-lucking it in a totally non-Al Gore friendly fashion with paper plates.
Also, I was flipping through some old pictures and thought this was pretty funny. The photo of me in the orange shirt was taken around 5 months (hello, twin pregnancy much?). I look reasonably well-rested, right?
Now check out the photos of me in the black shirt a couple days before I delivered (you can tell because my arm is all bandaged up from the IV). I asked Greg to take this photo because I was having a "pretty" day. This is a cautionary photo about living in a hospital for almost 6 weeks. How scary that I thought I looked "pretty" when, if fact, I looked like a zombie. My apologies to the hospital staff for having to look at my ravaged face for so long :)
Yikes!
Take care,
Kris
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Good news (and no bad news - hurray!)
Lots of good news. The girls had their third therapy appointment yesterday and the therapist was very impressed by the amount of progress they've made in such a short amount of time. Progress is measured more subtly than you'd think - it's not like they are crawling or anything - it's more that they are tolerating tummy time a lot better, they are showing increased range of movement in their heads, pushing up with their arms, etc. I did express some concern because I feel like all I do all day long is therapy exercises and I think the girls' good nature is being affected by all the work. They are, after all, 5 1/2 months old. It seems like a lot of work for little wee ones. The therapist said they are fine. She said they need this and if they are overstimulated or tired they will simply fall asleep. It still seems a little cruel to work your baby so hard to the point of exhaustion and I think I will still be careful about giving them breaks so they can just lay back and smile and coo, but I see her point. She said all this tummy time should shave off 3 months of delay and all the additional exercises will make that go faster. She also said that we're clearly doing a good job - that you don't see this kind of progress unless the parents are really following the homework assignments. So...gold star to Greg and me!
Clara had a pulmonology appointment today and all looks well on that front. She's still on target to have another pulse ox test to get her off oxygen completely. We're looking at mid to late June to schedule the test. We weighed Clara (and while no one was looking, I threw Evelyn on the scale for good measure). Clara is 12 lbs 5 oz and 24 inches (age adjusted 50th percentile for height and weight....her head is 95th). Evelyn, our chunk, is 15lbs 3 oz. No stats on her since I was weighing her on the sly.
The girls and I swung by Perinatal and the NICU while we were there and got to see some of our nurses. One of the nurses said Perinatal actually closed for a few days because there weren't enough sick pregnant ladies (or, rather, they were so sick they were bypassing Perinatal and going straight to L&D). We laughed about the need for sick pregnant ladies and job security. You certainly don't want people to have unhealthy, high risk pregnancies, but if it's your job....you kinda do.
We also had some out of town guests this week. My sister and family came into town and we had a great visit. The kids were very cute together and Alex is really sad now and misses his cousins. Everyone had a good time and Greg and Paul got to get their full dose of the power of my sister and me being in the same room together. If you don't like snarky, sassy, judgmental ladies...we're probably not for you.
Oh...and I figured out how to go to the store with both babies. One in the car seat on the shopping cart and one in the front carrier. Yay me! It's funny though because I usually do like to figure this stuff out by myself. I was reading Freezerbun's comments about her newly discovered Baby A and Baby B and someone posted about needing to get in touch with the multiples societies for support. I've gotten that advice a million times and, as anyone who knows me well can attest, the best way to keep me from doing something is to push me too hard. As soon as you say, "You have to do X" or "You need to do X" I've stopped listening. I'd love to come up with some positive sounding euphemism for this trait of mine, but the reality is that it is nothing but stubborn. I'm self-aware enough to know this and too old to care or try to change it. So...I will not be contacting multiples groups. I will figure this out of my own! Believe me, I've made life decisions (big and small) to go against what I've been told I have to do. Not that it keeps me from giving too much unsolicited advice to other people....I'm not perfect. I'm contradictory. And I don't really care :) Besides, the thought of going to a Multiples Picnic kind of freaks me out.
Take care,
Kris
Clara had a pulmonology appointment today and all looks well on that front. She's still on target to have another pulse ox test to get her off oxygen completely. We're looking at mid to late June to schedule the test. We weighed Clara (and while no one was looking, I threw Evelyn on the scale for good measure). Clara is 12 lbs 5 oz and 24 inches (age adjusted 50th percentile for height and weight....her head is 95th). Evelyn, our chunk, is 15lbs 3 oz. No stats on her since I was weighing her on the sly.
The girls and I swung by Perinatal and the NICU while we were there and got to see some of our nurses. One of the nurses said Perinatal actually closed for a few days because there weren't enough sick pregnant ladies (or, rather, they were so sick they were bypassing Perinatal and going straight to L&D). We laughed about the need for sick pregnant ladies and job security. You certainly don't want people to have unhealthy, high risk pregnancies, but if it's your job....you kinda do.
We also had some out of town guests this week. My sister and family came into town and we had a great visit. The kids were very cute together and Alex is really sad now and misses his cousins. Everyone had a good time and Greg and Paul got to get their full dose of the power of my sister and me being in the same room together. If you don't like snarky, sassy, judgmental ladies...we're probably not for you.
Oh...and I figured out how to go to the store with both babies. One in the car seat on the shopping cart and one in the front carrier. Yay me! It's funny though because I usually do like to figure this stuff out by myself. I was reading Freezerbun's comments about her newly discovered Baby A and Baby B and someone posted about needing to get in touch with the multiples societies for support. I've gotten that advice a million times and, as anyone who knows me well can attest, the best way to keep me from doing something is to push me too hard. As soon as you say, "You have to do X" or "You need to do X" I've stopped listening. I'd love to come up with some positive sounding euphemism for this trait of mine, but the reality is that it is nothing but stubborn. I'm self-aware enough to know this and too old to care or try to change it. So...I will not be contacting multiples groups. I will figure this out of my own! Believe me, I've made life decisions (big and small) to go against what I've been told I have to do. Not that it keeps me from giving too much unsolicited advice to other people....I'm not perfect. I'm contradictory. And I don't really care :) Besides, the thought of going to a Multiples Picnic kind of freaks me out.
Take care,
Kris
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Seating charts
Completely random thoughts today and not particularly baby related...
Mimi and I went for a walk around Wash Park which felt like 8 miles but was only 4.4. We saw this hardcore group of exercising stroller moms kicking and lunging there way through the park. Very impressive...and not at all something I want to do.
Also today, I was watching The Paper on MTV (Whatever, I'll own it. I will also own voting for American Idol last night. I'm not ashamed). Anyway, these ridiculous high school kids were complaining about their whole year being ruined because their teacher gave them a new seating chart. Can you all remember a time when a seating chart actually seemed like a big deal? In light of my last year and the past year for a ton of friends, I can't even remember a simpler time like that. I would love, love, love to have such an amazing worry-free life that a seating chart ruined my day.
Not much to report on the baby front. The girls had therapy yesterday. Clara was in a great mood and handled the bolster and the big ball like a champ. Evelyn....not so much. She was not in what I'd call a "good" mood. But, through the screaming, I think we got a few more good exercises to work on. Also yesterday, for fun, I thought I'd venture to a store with all three kids by myself. It was You Tube worthy. I could actually feel my hair frazzling as each second ticked by. We all survived, however, and managed to get out of there injury-free so I'm calling it a success. The problem is having a stroller and a shopping cart. There must be some trick to this I haven't figured out yet. If anyone knows anyone with twins who can offer up suggestions, I'm open to hearing them.
Take care,
Kris
p.s. this will not make sense to most, but I was telling Mimi about Alissa's stupid bird Pootie. It got me all heated up and angry just thinking about that stupid, stupid bird. How grudge holding am I that I'm still irritated about a bird who was in my life 12 years ago??? I have issues. Or maybe I just hate birds. I'm looking at you too White Bird.
Mimi and I went for a walk around Wash Park which felt like 8 miles but was only 4.4. We saw this hardcore group of exercising stroller moms kicking and lunging there way through the park. Very impressive...and not at all something I want to do.
Also today, I was watching The Paper on MTV (Whatever, I'll own it. I will also own voting for American Idol last night. I'm not ashamed). Anyway, these ridiculous high school kids were complaining about their whole year being ruined because their teacher gave them a new seating chart. Can you all remember a time when a seating chart actually seemed like a big deal? In light of my last year and the past year for a ton of friends, I can't even remember a simpler time like that. I would love, love, love to have such an amazing worry-free life that a seating chart ruined my day.
Not much to report on the baby front. The girls had therapy yesterday. Clara was in a great mood and handled the bolster and the big ball like a champ. Evelyn....not so much. She was not in what I'd call a "good" mood. But, through the screaming, I think we got a few more good exercises to work on. Also yesterday, for fun, I thought I'd venture to a store with all three kids by myself. It was You Tube worthy. I could actually feel my hair frazzling as each second ticked by. We all survived, however, and managed to get out of there injury-free so I'm calling it a success. The problem is having a stroller and a shopping cart. There must be some trick to this I haven't figured out yet. If anyone knows anyone with twins who can offer up suggestions, I'm open to hearing them.
Take care,
Kris
p.s. this will not make sense to most, but I was telling Mimi about Alissa's stupid bird Pootie. It got me all heated up and angry just thinking about that stupid, stupid bird. How grudge holding am I that I'm still irritated about a bird who was in my life 12 years ago??? I have issues. Or maybe I just hate birds. I'm looking at you too White Bird.
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