We have a tooth!



 

Look at those big BROWN eyes. :)

 

 

Time is flying by – the babies are almost 7 months old! They seem to grow a little more each day and have very definite personalities.  So far Landon is more like me – quiet, introverted, just seems to take it all in.  Riley Is very easily distracted, all over the place, and not happy to be in one place for very long – she is just like her father. J (In case you think I am being insulting, the Hubby is the one who pointed this out to me). 

We have made some pretty amazing developmental advancements this past month.  Riley is able to prop herself up with both arms extended when she is on her belly and she has recently been attempting to get her little butt up in the air to crawl! Typically her efforts just get her to propel backwards on the floor and then cry out in vain because the object she wanted is now further away.  They have both started to play more with “big boy” toys that light up and make sounds – our house has become noisy in both English and Spanish.  Riley loves to bounce! We have two different jumpers as well as the door frame jumper and the look on her face when she figured out how to bounce was priceless.  Landon likes to be in the bouncer and push buttons, but hasn’t gotten the hang of bouncing yet.  They are both reaching out for toys and, in a heart melting way, they have started to reach out towards me to pick them up.  Not sure I will ever be able to turn that one down. Landon loves to chew on his toes and has an obsession with removing his right sock to chew on that as well.  BIG NEWS – we have a tooth! Landon has one tooth, left bottom, and it is so cute to see his little smile.  They are both pretty close to sitting up also and can do it for a few seconds at a time.  Landon will hold his own bottle and seems to enjoy the control.  Riley will hold her bottle, but she likes to rotate it back and forth causing it to fall out of her mouth over and over again.  It is cute to watch and I really can’t figure out why she does it that way. 

Along with all of the happenings in the home, we do have some milestones that are taking a little extra effort.  Landon is going to physical therapy twice a week now and we are already seeing a bit of progress.  His technical “diagnosis” is “gross motor skill delays.”  He is currently compared to a 3-4 month old with some of his skills and is on track with others – so there is no reason to believe that he won’t catch up with a little extra help.  That being said, the Hubby and I had a long discussion and in an effort to keep up with appointments and to get Landon a little more one on one time I will be working a shorter week at the office.  I get to stay home with my babies two days a week! I honestly felt a huge sense of relief when we made that decision and some of the “mother’s guilt” was lifted. I love that I am going to get to spend more time with them and watch them grow and change.  The first day was a little rough, we will need to get ourselves back into a routine and things will be great… honestly, I have not been home alone with them for an extended amount of time in months so it just takes some accommodations to figure out how to do things on my own.  Ever try and feed an octopus?

Speaking of food – the babies love to eat! We have run the whole line of Gerber level one foods, veggies and then fruits.  The Hubby and I even made some of the food and plan to make some of the other foods for them as well.  I want to make sure they get to try a variety of foods….

First food. :)

We get our “helmet” next week.  I am hoping that the process goes smoothly.  I think we have decided on a paint scheme for it – we will let you in on the surprise later. J

Guilt

The last month has been a whirlwind of emotion for me.  I think it all started when Landon woke up with a fever in the middle of December.  Five days, two doctor visits, countless doses of Tylenol, a urinalysis, and bloodwork later there was no discovered “reason.”  On day five the fever ended and he was back to his normal self – strange and overwhelming because it was the first real “illness” we had.  Through some one on one parenting we managed to keep it contained to only one child.  Flash forward one month (exactly) to January 9^th and we had another fever.  I called the doctor first thing in the morning and they wanted to see him that day.  I had to hold back the tears several times during that appointment.  His fever was still almost 103 by the time we got to the doctor and there was concern because there wasn’t an apparent cause.  After another catheter experience they ruled out a urinary infection.  A heel prick blood work revealed a higher than normal white blood cell count – apparently it was high enough to cause some “red flags.”  The poor guy then had to have a venous blood draw (for which they wrapped him in a towel except for his arm and held him down – not sure who was more traumatized, me or him) for blood cultures.  Scary words like “sepsis” were dropped around the room and Google revealed that to be a scary diagnosis as well.  We were sent home to wait… and worry… and wait… and worry.  

At this point, I learned what no one had shared with me.  Guilt will overcome you when it comes to your children.  Should I have followed up with the doctor when nothing came of the fever? Is it my fault he was sick again? Should I have done something differently? Needless to say your mind can run a million times a minute when you are “waiting.”  During the night, he developed a cough and I was actually grateful to have another “symptom.”  Back at the doctor again the next day and we were told the blood cultures were looking good so far and after one more test we came back with a positive diagnosis for RSV.  An answer, not a good one, but an answer.  There is not a whole lot you can do for RSV but my favorite thing – wait.  Again we were sent home to do just that.

 The cough progressed some on Saturday and by Saturday evening the sound of the cough had changed.  He now sounded like a cross between a barking dog and a seal.  At 11:30pm after a particularly rough coughing fit that scared both the Hubby and I we quickly packed a back and I drove Landon to the ER.  Probably one of the most intense drives of my life because I couldn’t see/touch him while I was driving and I knew he was struggling with coughing and catching his breath.  After an oral steroid and a breathing treatment my little man was breathing better and resting comfortably.  

The week progressed and there was improvements with the cough.  That Friday, despite our best efforts, Riley woke up with a fever in the middle of the night. After yet another trip to the doctor, Riley was officially diagnosed with RSV and an ear infection.  Landon had been diagnosed with an ear infection at his six month check up the night before, so in typical twin fashion, they ended up with the exact same diagnosis. They are both doing better day by day.

Landon’s (and mommy’s) traumatic stories don’t end there.  The Hubby and I had noticed a few “differences” with Landon and Riley’s development.  He isn’t yet rolling from back to front and he does not even seem to want to try. He tends to turn his feet in and is very reluctant to put his feet down and “stand.”  My biggest concern was the shape of his head.  We brought all of this up at his six month check up – especially after filling out the questionnaire. (You know the one: Can your six month old pick up a raisin with two fingers and hand it to you behind his back while dribbling a ball with his left big toe?)  It became even more apparent that Landon is a bit “behind.” 

It is odd how I knew going in to the appointment that there was something to discuss, but after the doctor threw out the words “developmental delays” that scary monster guilt came back.  Should I have been working with him more? Is there something I did wrong? Is he going to be able to catch up?  We were given a prescription for physical therapy as well as an evaluation with Cranial Technologies for the possible “helmet” need.  Cue the continued guilt at the appointment today.  Landon was diagnosed with moderate to several plagiocephaly (flat head).  They are also concerned with his neck muscles and recommended physical therapy – no worries, already have that one scheduled.  Cue the MASSIVE amounts of guilt from the rest of my afternoon.  Should I have moved him around more? I could have done more tummy time. I should have insisted the doctor send us for an evaluation when I first noticed the issue.  Since Landon is older he will have to wear the DOCband for 3-4 months.  Can you imagine wearing a hat for 4 months straight? He is going to have to wear it 23 hours a day.  Needless to say, I came home in tears – so overwhelmed with feelings, information, and knowing I will have to ensure he gets to all of these appointments over the next several months.  The Hubby brought me back to reality when he put me in front of Landon, made him smile, and said, “Look, he is a healthy and happy baby that just happens to need a helmet and a little physical therapy.”  Landon gave me a half smile and all became right again.

5 months

Merry Christmas!

 (These pictures are getting a bit harder to take, but much more entertaining at least)

A lot has happened with their development lately! So much so that I have been sitting back to enjoy and forgot to write about it. :)

They continue to love to chew on their own fingers, each other’s fingers, and mommy’s or daddy’s as well.  EVERYTHING goes right to the mouth now – even Jasper’s tail on one occasion.  They both recently “discovered” their feet and those have made it to their mouth as well.  It used to be that when you laid them down they laid flat out, now the legs go up in the air as soon as the back hits the floor.  We are officially using the pack n’ play as a storage center/baby play yard now.  They love to lay in there with all of the toys and each other – until Riley starts pulling on Landon’s face/hand/ear and he gets upset.  Yes, my little darling is apparently a bully.  Also, Riley is now rolling both directions so watch out world she is mobile and no surface is safe.  Landon still hasn’t mastered the back to front roll, but I have caught him on his side on several occasions so he is almost there.  In actuality, Riley has been rolling for several weeks, but I did not see it until recently.  For all you working mommies out there, we all know it does not officially happen until we see it. :)

They continue to “talk” to anyone and anything that will listen.  For the last several days, Riley has “talked” the entire way to and from daycare.  I manage to turn it into a conversation that we make people wonder about my sanity if they could hear it.  Landon has recently discovered his tongue and it is now hanging out of his mouth all the time. The Hubby loves to stick his tongue out at him and have it reciprocated.  They both enjoy spending time in the jumper and are getting the hang of the supported standing.  They both seem to be making moves towards sitting up on their own as well.  They love to reach and grasp – especially mommy’s earrings and hair causing mommy to wear smaller earrings and to keep the hair tied up! My favorite development is the laugh.  Each of them has the cutest distinct laugh and I love to hear them laugh – it truly melts my heart.  I will do anything to get them to laugh and smile these days.  

We have ventured into the world of food.  It took a few weeks for them to really get the hang of it and enjoy the cereal.  They also were not fans of sitting up in the Bumbos at first, but over time I can really see the difference in their ability to sit up straighter and keep their heads up.  Riley prefers to eat Oatmeal and Landon prefers the rice cereal – add that to the fact they eat two different formulas and we have a lot to keep up with!  The plan is to add some veggies very soon so we will see how that goes. 

Christmas has always been a big deal for me.  Last year we found out about the babies right before Christmas and we were able to share the news right before the holiday.  This year we were able to enjoy some time with the families before Christmas and were able to start our own family traditions.  We took the babies to Atlanta and visited the Georgia Aquarium and the Coke Museum. The babies LOVED the Aquarium.  Their eyes got huge on several occasions watching the fish and you could see their eyes following the fish across the tanks.  They slept a bit at the Coke Museum, but they liked all the colors.  Of course, they are like a mini side show when we go out in public.  Everyone wants to know if they are twins and how old they are and we still get the “Are they fraternal or identical?”   I try not to make an odd face and just politely answer that they are fraternal. J  My parents traveled to Atlanta to visit with us and then came back to Charlotte.  They brought my sister and my 20 month old Nephew with them so we had a lot of fun together.  

The babies were spoiled for Christmas.  I could not help myself from spending money on toys and many friends and family sent toys as well.  They seem to love their new noisy and bright toys.  I swear they will  know the alphabet and numbers in both English and Spanish in the next few days – I might have to give them a little leeway on that one though considering they can’t talk yet.  

Christmas Morning

Iowa Hawkeyes jersey from Aunt Trey

Opening presents wore him out... he always sleeps with his hands behind his head. :)