Double Digits!

Over the last few weeks the house has become a much “noisier” place! The sounds of tiny little hands smacking on the floor, the THOUSANDS of toys that sing the alphabet (in both English and Spanish), the constant baby babble, the happy squeals, and the other random noises they are learning to make.   There is also often music playing so I can see their other new “trick” –dancing! The babies love to dance and bounce.  They have officially hit the double digits and we have only a few of those little stickers left! I can hardly believe how fast the last ten months has flown by. I feel like they have made some major changes over the past few weeks and life around here has been all the more interesting as a result.   

The biggest news of all is that Landon no longer has to wear his DOC band. :) He was becoming overwhelmed with it and we were taking it off for longer stretches of the day the last few days – not to mention that we had a few 90 degree days mixed in there.  Imagine wearing a toboggan on a 90 degree day!  We go back next week for the “Exit Appointment” and the new scan so we can officially see all the progress.  I notice major changes! In the beginning they had said there may be a need for a second band, but in my non-expert opinion he does not need a second band.  Landon is such a popular patient at Carolina’s Rehabilitation that we are going to twice a week now in order to get some time with the Occupational Therapist.  It is common for babies with Hypotonia to need a little extra help from the OT as well for the hands and tactile strength.  We continue to work with him at home for both his OT and his PT and are constantly impressed with the strides he is making.  It is only a matter of time before he his “caught up” to other babies his age.  

Physical Therapy

We took them for their 9 month appointment a few weeks ago.  Landon weighed in at 17lbs 15oz and Riley was 16lbs 12 oz.  She was about a quarter of an inch taller than him.  Overall the appointment went well – no shots! We have already been back there twice since though! Last Friday Riley was running a fever (since Thursday) that would not seem to stay down for long and she was SUPER fussy.  She was diagnosed with a viral infection (grrr).  She did pretty well over the weekend, but developed a cough and then on Tuesday Landon started with that tell tale cough from January- you know the one, sounds like a barking seal. (grr again).  Back to the doctor for both of them.  Landon received a steroid for the croup and Riley’s sore throat/viral infection had progressed and she now had sores in her throat – unfortunately not a whole lot you can do for a viral infection.  They both seem to be doing better now and hopefully this will be the last trip to the doctor for awhile.  

Now on the milestones and accomplishments – Riley is “cruising” around, walking by holding on to the furniture.  She pulls up on everything that she can get a hold of, including legs.  She has become a very quick crawler and a few weeks ago learned to put herself into a sitting position as well.  She loves to play with toys and is constantly pulling toys out of the various baskets and bins.  Just in the last few days she has started randomly raising her arm in the air and gets a big laugh if you raise yours back at her.  Riley did finally get her first tooth, shortly followed by her second, and she now has to bottom teeth.  She loves to laugh and giggle and climb over anything that is in her way (including Jasper). 

Landon is making strides daily.  He is all over the place with his army crawl.  He likes to get up on all fours for moments in time, especially when he is in bed because it gives him a little extra cushion.  I caught him one time getting himself into a sitting position in his bed as well – that must be the place for all his tricks!  He is starting his attempts to pull up on things and loves to stand.  He can pull himself into a standing position, but in the words of his therapist it is an “ugly” process and we are working with him to “pretty” it up.  Landon is up to four teeth at his point – the second top tooth is so close to coming through that you would swear it is there! 

They have both started eating more “finger foods” like cheerios and puffs at this point.  They love to eat fruit in those Fresh Food Feeder things (looks like a mesh bag attached to a pacifier.)  They are officially eating three meals a day and a few snacks here and there – still getting plenty of formula though as that is the most important at this point.  They are now taking baths together as well which is a lot of fun to watch! Landon sits in a bath chair and Riley just rolls and crawls all over the tub playing with the toys.  I am sure that I am forgetting something, seems like things change daily around here!

Caught her standing in the crib for the first time... lowered it very shortly after. :)

Love the aquarium at the Concord mall....

Watching daddy mow the yard.

Turns out mommy matched the outfits one morning.

Easter morning.

Bath time.

9 months and on the move...

9 months – where has the time gone?! It seems like only yesterday I was able to hold both of them on my chest at the same time for a nap and now they don’t really want to cuddle in at all. :) I do miss the cuddles, but they are a lot more fun to interact with now.  The Hubby said it best, we no longer have to interact TO them, we know get to interact WITH them.  I think one of my favorites to watch is how they interact with each other.  I only wish I could understand the conversations! 

There are so many “new” things going on with them, I am struggling to think of it all! I am going to try and focus on one of them at a time… 

Riley: She finally let me in on her “secret” a few weeks ago and I got to see her crawl on all fours.  The rumor had been that she was doing it at daycare for a few weeks, but she continued to army crawl at home until one day and then – BAM- she has been off like lightning ever since.  Around that time I also receive the report from daycare that she pulled herself to standing by holding on to the couch! Again, it was a bit before I saw that “trick” at home, but now she isn’t happy unless she is crawling all over you.  She loves to grab on to things and pull herself up and/or crawl over – this does include her brother and has become a point of contention in the home.  She very much enjoys when you sit on the floor with her and she then uses you as a “human jungle gym.”  She has not learned (yet) that she can pull herself to stand in her crib and we may just be lowering the crib before she figures it out.  Her favorite toy is her duckie pacifier and anything that makes a crinkling sound.  She is doing really well with drinking from a sippy cup and has only recently discovered the game of “mommy will pick it up” when she throws it to the ground during dinner.  We haven’t really found a food that she will not eat and we even let them try a little sorbet a few weeks ago and they seemed to enjoy it.  We did have a rough patch with her not wanting to go to sleep at night and she would be up for HOURS after her brother, but it only lasted about two weeks.  She does fuss most nights when we put her down to bed, but it is over in about 20 minutes.  She is very talkative and loves to smile – still no teeth.  She loves to sit up and play and has almost mastered getting herself into a seated position, but still ends up sitting on a foot or leaning on you for support.  She LOVES to explore the house and has been busy teaching me where/what I need to babyproof around here.  I enjoy watching her when she “visits” her brother when he is in the swing or in the walker because she will pull herself right up to his face and they talk and laugh together.  

"Coloring" eggs with mom and dad

 Landon: The big news is that Landon started an army crawl this past weekend. :) He is proud of himself as well, especially since I cheer him on.  He is able to go short distances – especially when motivated by a toy.  Sometimes I feel a little guilty moving the toy further and further away from him, but I know it is for the best.  We are still going to physical therapy every week.  (HONEST MOMMY MOMENT:  I still struggle with this often.  I have been doing research, including talking to the Physical Therapist, and statistically Hypotonia is not a diagnosis, it is a symptom.  If you know me, you know I am a very “worst case scenario” type personality, so sometimes I feel like I am just waiting for something else to go “wrong.”  By no means do I think that there is something “wrong” with my child – I love him very much – I am just concerned with the bigger picture and the possible long term effects.  As a side note though, the therapist said that she has worked with many children who were only “diagnosed” with Hypotonia and they seemed to catch up by age 2 with no other issues. :))  We are working with him on pulling up and playing on his knees.  We play little games to try and strengthen his arms and legs so that he will be able to get up on all fours and crawl from there.  He likes to be able to stand and play, he just needs a little extra support in case his legs give out.  The other “new trick” of the weekend is actually a noise.  A friend and I took the babies to an aquarium on Friday and Landon was in L-O-V-E and he demonstrated this by making an excited squeeling noise for the entire hour we were there.  Needless to say I did not want to leave the aquarium because I liked listening to him.  Well, that noise has continued.  Let me tell you, I never knew a grocery store could be so exciting. :) It puts a whole new perspective on life when you see it through the eyes of a child.  Landon still loves to eat, still doesn’t like carrots and recently does not seem to like pumpkin anymore either.  He does love eating from a pouch- I have these spoons that attach right to the pouch and he likes to just keep the spoon in his mouth and suck out all the food like a straw! He gets upset when you take it away, so I just let him do it.   Landon loves to play with any toy that can go in his mouth, that top tooth is still on it’s way through and it is driving both of us crazy.  Landon goes to sleep pretty easily, even when she is fussing.  He does sleep more or less face planted in the corner of his crib, which is kind of funny to see.  Tonight I put him in the walker and he managed to play in there and watch the world go by for almost 40 minutes, without moving it an inch! :) Hopefully he gets the hang of moving it, but right now it is actually a little too tall for him.  

Jellyfish!

We have had lots of visitors the past few weeks with more to come tomorrow.  I enjoy having the extra help around here and am greatly appreciative of all the clothes that got folded – I hate that part! We have more visitors and trips planned this summer and I am most excited for DISNEY in SEPTEMBER! :)Here are some pictures to make up for the long reading… 

Loved meeting the Easter Bunny!

Requiring toys to sit still now...

Loves her puppy... and he tolerates her. :)