Almost 2!

And here is one more post I had saved in drafs ... attempted to re-start this blog in March 2013 and just officially getting back to it now in October 2013 but figured I would post this one as well :)

The girls will be celebrating their 2^nd birthday on April 21, 2013, so I figured it was due time to update our long, lost blog!  It’s incredible what a difference a year and a half can make – looking back at old posts, I almost forgot all of the emotions, trials, ups and downs that came with their entry into this world.  It feels like another life.  Which I remember dreaming about while we were going through it all …. I just couldn’t wait for the day that the girls were normal, healthy babies.  And here we are – now toddlers!!

 

So much has happened I am not sure where to even start.  I guess we can just focus on the present.  We recently moved from our beloved 2 bed condo on Sunnyside in Lincoln Square into the NW suburbs of Chicago.  Park Ridge has been our home since May, 2012 (well actually Feb, 2012 when we lived with Sam’s parents for a few months while we looked for a house)!  I went back to work full-time in February of this year.  We hired an amazing nanny, Sarah, who has made the transition from stay-at-home mom for the past 22 months to full time worker as smooth as it could be.  I am still adjusting to this new routine, but at the end of the day, it’s best for everyone.  Sam is still at Slalom and celebrated his 4 year anniversary recently.  Sonny is still Sonny … sleeping, eating & getting in the middle of everything.

 

And the girls – OMG are they amazing.  They are so full of energy and life and are keeping us busy!  It has been so cool to watch them grow up together – they are best buds and really don’t like to be apart.  I remember people saying “if you can get through the first 6 months, it’s almost easier to have twins.”  I am going to double that time frame, but after we made it past the first year, I am so grateful for the gift of twins and we are now reaping the benefits.  You can never put a price tag on a built-in-playmate and two distinct personalities to entertain you. 

 

Health wise, we couldn’t have been more blessed.  The only side-effect of their prematurity is with Celia’s lungs and her bouts of upper respiratory infections.  I have a lingering suspicion she might develop asthma of some sort.  She also, for as long as we can remember, wakes up a few times a night with little cries that last 15-30 seconds.  It’s something we thought she would outgrow and are considering doing a sleep study to get to the bottom of.  Aside from that, she is growing (around 23 pounds today), she has 8 teeth and 4 molars, and healthy head of curly hair.  Isabel has really been a power trooper since coming home from the hospital.  Aside from your typical cold and small fevers, she has been about as healthy as any full term child would be.  It’s actually amazing considering she was definitely not ready to be born back in April 2011 (she had to be induced and was delivered 2+ hours after Celia).  As I am writing this I am tyring to think of “what else am I missing” but the beauty is – nothing.  That’s all there is to report on health.

 

The girls continue to get therapy services 3x a week through the Early Intervention program.  We see a speech therapist, a physical therapist, and an occupational therapist – all who come to our house and spend 1-1.5 hours with the girls to make sure we are hitting milestones.  We have been so proud of how quickly they are catching up to their actual age.  There are still some areas where we might be a little behind (for example, they are a little ways to talking in full sentences, they haven’t grasped jumping yet, they could do better with ball skills, etc.) but for the most part, our therapists are amazed and extremely happy with their progress to date.  They may be little – but boy can they keep up!

 

Personalities – boy oh boy do they have personalities!  And they are so different from each other.  I have to say I am 100% a believer of nature versus nurture.  These girls were raised the exact same way – from the same food, to the same sleeping schedule,  to the same mommy & daddy time, etc. and they couldn’t be more different.  Celia is our sweet, cuddly one.  She listens well and doesn’t like to test the waters too much.  She gets so upset when we get mad at her.  And she’s funny!  Her laugh is heartwarming to hear.  She likes to suck her thumb, loves to drink milk and is becoming a more picky eater as she gets older.  But with all that, she is also a bit of a bully to her sister – always taking what she has.  But she  will also share on her own, so at least she has that going for her ;)  Isabel is our drama queen.  She is a Daddy’s girl 100% and knows how to sneak her way into and out of things.  She is a character – her facial expressions are priceless and her giggle is contagious.  She loves her paci and bunny and loves to carry around an army of stuffed animals with her.  She is a great eater and continues not to be a huge milk drinker.  And she's adventurous!  Climbing, dissecting, overturning everything.  She doesn't like to sit still!  Both girls continue to show their independence and attempt most things on their own before asking for help.  Their favorite cartoon is Bubble Guppies.  They are becoming quite the artists and love coloring at their little table that nurse Tina gave us last summer.  And they also adore their cousins.   It’s incredible to see kids learn and feed off of each other. 

 

As we look to celebrate their 2^nd birthday, we are no longer ever in fear of what’s around the corner with them.  We are in a “safe” place and know that their prematurity in the end, was meant to be and will forever shape their life.  Our little warriors. 

Things get easier every day

Here is an old post I had in "drafts" from October 2011, guessing I wrote this about a month after the girls came home from the hospital.  Not sure why I never posted it so here it is :)

It's a whole new world over at our house.  The girls have made amazing progress in the time that they have been home.  Here's what we have gotten RID of. 
- Isa's NG feeding tube!  After a few days in a row of Isa pulling her tube out,  and me replacing it daily, we decided maybe she was trying to tell us something.  It was time for her to figure out what eating and getting full from taking a bottle meant.  It actually made us kind of sad realizing that since she has been eating, she had only had one day in her entire life in the NICU without a feeding tube (as a test to see how much she would eat).  She was never given the chance to understand that getting full comes from eating a bottle only since we would always tube whatever she didn't take on her own.  It took her a few days to figure it out, but we are three weeks into no feeding tube and she is gaining weight perfectly.  Ideally, we want to see her gain 20-30 grams per day, and as of last doctor visit, she is gaining, on average, 25 grams per day!  She isn't eating the full amount the "chart" says - the chart says she needs 22 ounces a day, and she logs in anywhere between 15-20 ounces but that seems to be working for her.  Getting rid of the tube has made a HUGE difference in our day and she looks so pretty without all that stuff on her face :)
- Fortifier - it's been a while now, but we no longer fortify breast milk, just formula.
- Diuretics - as of our check in today at the Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic, the girls no longer need their diuretics!  We will get the results of the ECHO tomorrow but from the preliminary results and the doctors assessment, the girls current dose of the medications most likely is doing nothing at this point and they should be OK without them completely.  If we notice swelling, trouble breathing, slowing down in eating, etc. we will need to regroup with the team and see if the medications need to start again but we are all hopeful that's the end of them. 

Both girls are smiling and Isa has let out a few giggles too.  Both still roll from tummy to back every now and then, make excellent eye contact and have great neck support.  We had our follow-up with the Physical Therapy Clinic a few weeks back and the girls are right on track for their adjusted age and we won't need to be seen again by PT until the girls are 6 months adjusted in February.  Lia still will get her eye checks, the right eye is clear but the left still has a ridge that they see.  We go again in late November (graduated from going every 2 weeks to a 4 week stretch now) and fingers crossed it's our last.  Right now the ladies are stringing together anywhere from 4-7 hours of sleep at night.  As of Thursday, they weight 9 lb, 15 oz (Lia) and 9 lb, 5 oz (Isa).