23 Month High Risk Appt....

So we went to day to check up on the twins with the High Risk clinic at Children's to see how their growth and such has been going. So they were thrilled with how well the boys were doing in speech and OT. They are glad that our DDBP appt has been moved up (Thank you sweet Linda). They have acknowledged that something is up with Nate and the biting, hitting, isolating himself etc. So blah blah blah, on to the growth...

Nate: 3 months ago he was 21 lbs and he was 29 and 3/4 inches tall. Today he was 23 lbs and he was 33 inches tall. Big guy he is. At 3% for weight, 19th percent for height, and above 97% for head. If you adjust back to 20 months their adjusted age for being 3 months early, he is 8% for weight, 44% for height and over the 97th for head.

Aiden: 3 months ago he was 20 lbs and he was 29 and 1/4 inches tall. Today he was 20 lbs and he was 31 inches tall. Gained a little in height, nothing in weight. Less than 3% for height and weight for a 23 month old, and greater than 97th percentile for head circumference. If you adjust back, he is still less than 3% for both height and weight, but as for his head, it is above and beyond the 97%! Ha my kids have big heads!

We have come to the realization that Aiden is going to be small. Dad is fine with it, doctors have been fine with it.... Mom, is getting to the point where she just needs to let go and let God. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Why do I look at the numbers? Is it because they were so small to begin with? My little men are so smart. When you start to count, you will say one, they say two, you say three they say four five. They are so smart. But they are going to be small. Mom, get over it. They are healthy. Healthy kids.

1 month until their 2nd birthday. Where has the time gone?

Loosing track of time

You know... These past few weeks when someone asks me how old my boys are, I have been saying, "They will be 22 months on the 5th of September.". No they won't. They will be 23 months. Good Lordy be. How do I loose this time?

Horrible at updating, but a good long update!

As anyone knows... I am horrible with updating! I have been asked to update by many people, and a comment that I got just recently (Thank you Trish, I would love to see your boys btw), I am updating. After having their tubes put in... I was not too sure that I saw a difference in their hearing... But then again, I went on a mi$$ion trip to Cub@ a week after they had their surgery, so I didn't have much to gauge it by. (BTW you will be able to go to my blog soon to hear about my endeavors there) So, the twins vocabulary as of late

(Nate learning from his Baby Einstein cards)
Flower, choo choo(together with the pull of his arm like he is tugging at the whistle and it is blowing out of their very own mouths), car, moo, sheep, jeep, cat, piggy, monkey, duck, chicken, dog dog, woof, star, yo gabba gabba (in a sense, it is very mumbbled, but it getting there), Bubby, MAIL! (blues clues), blues clues (can you tell it is one of their favs?), uh oh, oh no, go, ball, button, belly, nose, bye, HI!, Dora, Katie (my best friend/ their sitter/ Aunt), box, frog, goodness... I can't keep up! WAIT! The best. Momma, and Dadda! They say it to us, and point to us! Call us, it is AMAZING!!! Such a great thing to hear. When your children are almost 21 months and they haven't said anything, and then all of a sudden within a week, their vocabulary has exploded. Speechless, I am at least... They aren't anymore. God is good all of the time! So after that... here are some updated pictures of their crazieness!


Nathaniel playing in the water being squirted by Momma

Aiden getting ready to slurp up the water from the oh so clean black top :X

Notice Nate is under Aiden. This was the 2nd night of toddler beds... Nate decided he wanted to clomb out of his and once I got back from the trip we got them toddler beds.... they still have not taken to them very well. But every night I go back in to tuck them in after they have finaly fallen asleep, and it never fails I find them ontop, beside, or next to one another.

It made me giggle that Nate's leg was hanging off the bed (this was tonight 7/26)

Again Nate, with the leg hanging off the bed, I swear he is like me!

This is what they do on a day to day basis. Not this very thing, but they help out hair turn grey faster than I think it needs to. But for the little babies that were in the plastic boxes, for the babies that were not supposed to make it, for the babies whom people all over the world prayed for, fasted for. They are worth every grey hair we will every recieve.

Surgery x2

So the twinkies had their surgery for their tubes yesterday. Nate went first, and they wheeled Aiden in right after him. I went in with Nate so that they could give him the general anesthesia. He fought it tooth and nail (literally, he was mad), but after about 45 seconds he was asleep. They walked me right next door where Kyle and Aiden were sitting, and then they put the mask on Aiden and within 30 seconds he was out, with no problems from him. They walked us across the hall to the waiting room where Dr. Myers would come and talk to us when he was done with the boys, we were not even sitting there for 30 seconds and he came in with a paper, a bottle of meds, and a script saying Nate did very well, there was some fluid and he was going back to the PACU for recovery and he was going to go start on Aiden. 3 minutes later he came back gave us another script and bottle of med and told us to go out into the waiting room, Aiden did well, and there was also very little fluid, and he will see us in 3 weeks! We went out into the waiting area, I gave them the boys name, Kyle went to grab a cup of joe, and I sat down. Then they called Nate's name. LOL! We walked back, and I immediately heard him crying. Right next door was Aiden, poor guys. Nate did well coming out of it, but he threw up more. Aiden took a little longer to come out of it, and threw up less. On the ride home, they were quite, and when they got home, they wanted to play, but I insisted on a nap. So after their nap since they refused clear fluids like the doctor ordered, I gave them each 13 ounces of their formula and they took it down like champs. They have been running around since. The drainage is normal, bloody and brown. We are praying that his improves their hearing. Praying.

We're going on a hunt

I couldn't for the life of me get this picture to turn the right way ( I tried 4 different things, and it is 1:30 am, so I am done trying!)

Does he have something better than I do??

MOM! It is CANDY! (can you tell that they were not yet awake?)

They had death grips on their candy at the wee hour of 9 am

They certainly are my boys <3

Everyone was searching for the "Golden Egg" at this point. That egg has money in it, while the others are just fun to hunt for.

Aiden's first ever egg to be found on an egg hunt!

Nate's first egg he has ever found on an egg hunt. He doesn't look excited does he?

I had to get this shot, Aiden reaching for this egg and trying not to step too far into the mud was super cute. Such tiny hands that God made.

Nate on the other hand doesn't mind going head first into the mud lol.

Nathaniel was searching high

and low....

While Aiden was being ridiculously photogenic,

even for my horrible skills and camera.

SO that was their day. They don't understand the meaning of Resurrection Sunday yet, but they will soon.

Little things make moms cry...

Like haircuts... Kyle didn't understand why I had to go right then and there to get the boys haircut. Because if I didn't do it at the spur of the moment... I was NEVER going to get it done. I guess I was so afraid that their little curls would be gone forever, or that it would make them look more grown up. My babies are babies. They are not toddlers, at least not to me... not yet. I wish they were tiny again....

My little Nathaniel




My Little Aiden

High Risk vs Feeding Team

Apparently there isn't much vs here. They mostly work together. Today they said that they want to team up with the High Risk clinic to see what High Risk has to say. They want Aiden to be on a higher calorie formula, but they are not sure if his bowels can handle it yet or not. It has been almost a year since his colostomy take down surgery, but his sodium output is still super high. They think Nate is on track right now, but they are going to watch him closely. Nathaniel weighed 20 lbs 2 oz (HE FINALLY BROKE THE 20 LBS MARK!), and Aiden weighed 17 lbs 14 oz. They told me to stop giving them the BeneProtein because it could possibly do more harm than good, especially for their little kidneys, and it can cause undo stress to their bodies. SO she said That I am doing very good as far as giving them an avocado a day, since that has good calories in it. They are going to put them on the special wait list at Mason, so that they get into Speech therapy faster. Which can help with some of the problems that they have been having with tolerating longer stints of time actually eating solid foods.
They had a video swallow study done 2 weeks ago, and it came up normal. The Feeding Team has mentioned that we might need to do further tests on their reflux though.
Both boys got their foot braces 2 weeks ago, but we found out that they both are able to take their heels out of them. So they have been returned, and we are waiting for the new taller braces to arrive.
(I will post pictures as soon as I find my camera)

15 Month High Rish Appointment (Failure to Thrive)

So the twins had their 15 month High Risk appointment today. It went just how I thought it would. They are switching them from Neosure 28 calorie to Pedisure 30 calorie, and they still want us to use half a scoop of bene-protein in each 8 ounce bottle. The boys are not gaining weight. In fact, Aiden has lost weight. October 14th when we were there last, Nate was 19.09 lbs and he was 27.5 inches long, today he was 19.73 and he was 28 inches long. Aiden in October was 18.03 and he was 26.9 inches long, today he was 18.01 lbs and 27.75 inches. So he actually lost weight (not much, but he still lost some). Within the next 2-4 months if they don't start to gain weight, especially Aiden they plan on treating them as failure to thrive. Kids who fail to thrive don't receive or are unable to take in, retain, or utilize the calories needed to gain weight and grow as expected. Their plan of action is to see how things go within the next few months, if not something major needs to happen. Possible feeding tubes (Lord please don't let it be feeding tubes), intensive speech and occupational therapy to help develop good eating behaviors, we will also might have to see a neurologist or gastroenterologist. Neither of the boys are on the charts right now. Even when you adjust them back to being 12 months, Nathaniel is just barely on the charts being under the 3rd percentile. Aiden is not even on the charts unless you adjust him to being 9 months old. And then when you adjust him back to 9 months he is only at 9th percentile for weight and 4th for height.
So that is where they stand right now. We are praying that the pedisure helps. We are thinking that their is some underlying reason on why they are not retaining the weight. We are just praying.

Sickie boys

So the boys have bronchiolitis, it is on the verge of pneumonia, and Aiden has an ear infection in his right ear. Unfortunately there is nothing they can give the boys for bronchiolitis, so we just have to keep them hydrated and use saline drops. To make the day better, this morning Aiden decided it would be a good idea to bust his lip enough to where it is hard for him to close his mouth to drink So half of the milk drips out of his little mouth, I swear if it is not one thing it is another with these little guys!

Christmas with Opa

The boys Grandpa came down for Christmas dinner and to spend some time together last Saturday. We all had such a great time. We have come to the conclusion that the boys should call him Opa. In German it means Grandpa. It is just very fitting. As most Opa's do, he came bearing gifts, but they were very practical. Clothes. The boys needed clothes, and so did we. The more time we get to spend with him, the more his love grows for these boys, all three of them. It is so wonderful. Doug is a beautiful man, inside and out.

Naughty or Nice?

I would say that these two little boys have been angels this year. (Ask me tomorrow when they are climbing on the couch and banging each other on the head with the remotes!) How precious is this picture? I will have to dig out last years pictures from when they were in the RCNIC and they had their picture taken with Santa, I have them around here somewhere. This Santa was great, but not as great as our awesome God who has given us these two little men. Lord thank you for these to gifts that you have given us!

Ity Bity Toes

While cleaning I came across the only foot prints we got of the boys. It was a month after they were born. Their foot prints were only an inch across and barely over 2 inchs long. I was filled with joy and sadness. These boys have been through so much being born so early, yet we have missed so much of their lives because of it. Thank you God for giving us the extra time with our boys here on this earth getting to hold them and love them outside the womb safe inside the palms of your hands Father.

1 Year ago

I am a couple of days behind, but it has been pretty crazy around here.

December 1, 2007 was a glorious day. One of the days we had been waiting for for a long time. Nathaniel Jacob came home to be with his family that day. Even though his twin Aiden was still in the RCNIC, he was not far behind in the coming home celebration. The day Nathaniel came home he weighed 4 lbs and 2 oz, which was exactly 2 lbs more than the day he was born. Nathaniel has mastered walking, and is now climbing our couch like a pro. He can understand many signs and can even sign a few himself. I see Our Lord and Savior in Nathaniel everyday. I just know he will do God's work throughout the rest of his life.
Nathaniel you are our "Strong Tiger", and everyone loves you very much. Love mommy and daddy.

Wordless Weekend

By the way mom we hate our thumb splints

So we received the boys thumb splints on Saturday the 22nd, but they didn't seem to be the right ones. I thought that they were not supposed to have velcro on them. When I had emailed the company, they told me that since we have to have the smaller size, they have to have velcro. So on Monday the 24th, Kyle and I put the boys in their new thumb splints. I got stares from them at first, and then the screaming started. It lasted for about an hour while they were in their cribs. We put them on them when it was time for them to go down for a nap, hoping that they would stay on longer and they wouldn't mess with them as much. Oh boy were they up set. Every look they gave me the rest of they day was as if to say "By the way mom, we hate our thumb splints.".

At first it was just the stares....

And then they quitely sat down and started to pout

And then the full blown crying came in. They love me :)

Leg braces and hand braces with twins?? OH MY!!

So when we were at PT on Friday Kayla (our PT), with the help of another more season PT (Amy) came to the conclusion that both boys will need braces for their feet/ankles. The company they are going to use from what I understand is Cascade. Both boys left feet turn inward when they walk (Nate is the only one walking on his own, Aiden can only take 3-4 steps and then he falls due to his left foot tripping him, which is the same thing that eventually stops Nate). A lot of the turning in has to do with their ankles, and some of the turning in has to do with their big toes. They also have a problem with walking on their tip toes, which is doing more harm than good on their ankles (I wish I could of been as good on my toes as Aiden when I was in dance!). So since their toes are turning in, not only will they be wearing the brace that goes from their toes all the way up to their knee, they will also have what is called a toe strap. So we will also have to purchase the special socks to go with the braces since the boys can't wear regular socks they will have to wear the Toe Socks. But the whole process is going to take some time. The letter to be approved has been sent off to our pediatrician, and then he will approve it (He already said he would), and then it gets sent off to the insurance company for them to approve what they are going to pay for, and then once we get that all settled they have to do the casting on the boys so they get custom fitted for their braces, and then it takes about 2-3 weeks to get the braces in. So we are thinking that we will get the braces sometime after Christmas.
So along with this, back in June OT said that both boys needed thumb splints because they have been keeping their thumbs in (it is called an indwelling thumb and it is a neurological disorder). It posses a problem when they pick things up, crawl, clap, etc. So we ordered thumb splints from Joe Cool. BAD IDEA. These were the cheapest things I have EVER seen in my life, and we could of made them here at home. So we have now ordered their new splints from Beniks and we should be getting them any day now. So The boys will be wearing them all night while they sleep, and they will also be wearing them during nap times, and some of the time while playing that way it stretches the webbing between their thumbs and pointer finger. Hopefully they won't have to wear the beniks for long, but we will see. So as soon as they get their new gear I will let everyone know how things are going. Here is a sneak peak at what the Beniks will look like and what the leg braces will kind of look like (but much more manly lol), but keep in mind the leg brae will have a toe strap and the top part will go all the way over their toes almost like a cast.

Featured

Once again we have been featured in the wonderful Cindy's blog this week. Cindy is the one who takes our beautiful pictures. Please stop by her blog and take a look.

Fall Pictures with CRT

If you would like to see more pictures from our shoot with Cindy, here are the two links that have most of them on it. I hope you enjoy :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79948&l=ea959&id=505570165

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80614&l=df19d&id=505570165

Our little A-Monster

I had not really been looking forward to Aiden's dentist appt today. His bottom teeth came in normal, pretty pearly white. But his top 4 teeth have came in yellow and now are deteriorating. The pediatrician was pretty confused. It is almost like we have fed him sweets and pop for 40 years and never brushed his teeth. But they came in this way and every time we give him something too hard to eat, another small chip sloughs off of his poor little teeth. I know that his baby teeth are just placeholders, but I don't want him to be "that kid" that gets made fun of because his teeth "look differnt". Well at our visit to Children's Main Campus we found out that our poor little guy will be getting surgery on his teeth in about a year. They will be doing crowns to help with the sensitivity. Until then we are going to baby his teeth. The dentist said stop filtering the water we use for bottles so he can get the fluoride, and he also wrote a script for an extra strength fluoride tooth gel that we need to use on his teeth right before bed. If his sensitivity gets worse, then we can get semi permanent crowns until his teeth grow in a little more, but they don't want to have to put him under more than once. So prayers that we can "baby" his teeth for another year and wait until he is 2 and then we can get this taken care of.

A visit with Grandpa

So Sunday morning Kyle got a call and he slept through it, and it went to voice mail. He actually got a few calls all the way up until about 2:30 p.m. that went to voice mail. But once he got up, he checked his messages, and in shock he looked at me and said "My Dad called me and he is going to be in town for the week." This was strange because Kyle hasn't talked to him in over 2 years. Well we had sent him a Christmas card last year like we did everyone else (the one with the boys in their stockings while they were still in NICU being all tiny and sicky) and we didn't get a response back. Well we sent him a wedding announcement (like we did everyone else), and he called. So he was going to be in town this week for training for work so Kyle set it up for us to meet at TGI Fridays to have dinner with him last night, and we showed up first. His dad walked in a couple of seconds later, and said "Who are these guys?". He said it a couple of more times and we were not sure what he meant, but come to find out he was being serious, he had no idea who the twins were! He didn't get the damn Christmas card!!! So he had no freaking idea that he had three grandson's!! He thought he only had Adam! So he was a bit taken by this surprise! So we set down and told him their journey of everything that has happened with them, and thank goodness I brought their albums so he could see pictures! He was very overwhelmed. But he kept saying he was happy to have 3 grandsons. We are not sure where it will lead, but the boys, all three of them got to meet their grandpa.