March 28, 2009

The babies had their 6 month well baby visit this past Thursday afternoon (of course I'm just now getting around to posting about it!!!). I'll update their stats, but the big news is...Alec is a quarter inch LONGER than Evan!!!! I made her measure them TWICE because I didn't believe her! But it's true! Wow! Now weight....THAT is still all Evan, but length...we've got a string bean on our hands! Here are their stats:

Evan:
Weight~16lb 4oz (20th percentile)
Height~26 3/4" (60th percentile)
Head Circ~44 cm (50th percentile)

Alec:
Weight~ 15lb 2oz (7th percentile)
Height~27" (60th percentile)
Head Circ~44 cm (50th percentile)

Evan is 3 pounds heavier and 2 inches longer than at his 4 month check!
Alec is 3 pounds 2 ounces heavier and 3 3/4 inches longer than at his 4 month check!

The doctor was astounded with their "catch up" growth. When preemies are born, they not only have to grow at a steady pace like all babies do, but doctors look to preemies to have what they call "catch up" growth, where instead of simply "maintaining" at their growth curve percentile, they shoot UP, meaning that they gain weight and height QUICKLY so that they average out with babies born at the same time. This is why they adjust for prematurity until age 18-24 months, because they say by THEN, they SHOULD be caught up, both physically, and developmentally. And...when you LOOK at our boys "catch up growth", they're doing great. Let me show you...

Here are their past weight/height/percentiles:
EVAN:
Weight
Birth- 4 lb 11 oz
1 mo- 6 lb 9 oz (3 percentile)
5 weeks- 7 lb 7 oz (less than 3rd percentile)
2 mo- 10 lb 2 oz (25th percentile)
4 mo-13lb 4 oz (25th percentile)
6 mo- 16lb 4oz (20th percentile)

Height
Birth- 18"
1 mo- 19 1/2" (less than 3rd percentile)
5 weeks- 20 3/4" (3rd percentile)
2 mo- 21 3/4" (5th percentile)
4 mo-24 3/4" (45th percentile)
6 mo-26 3/4" (60th percentile)


ALEC:
Weight
Birth-3 lb 9 oz
1 mo- 4 lb 14 oz (less than 3rd percentile)
5 weeks- 5 lb 12 oz (less than 3rd percentile)
2 mo- 8 lb 5 oz (3rd percentile)
4 mo- 11lb 14 oz (5th percentile)
6 mo- 15lb 2 oz (7th percentile)


Height
Birth- 17"
1 mo- 18" (less than 3rd percentile)
5 weeks- 19 1/2" (less than 3rd percentile)
2 mo- 20 3/4" (less than 3rd percentile)
4 mo- 23 1/4" (3rd percentile)
6 mo- 27" (60th percentile)


So they are catching RIGHT up!!!! Yay!

Other questions we had for the doctor were as follows:

Alec's flatish head...is it cause for concern?
Answer:
NO! Yes, he's developing some flattness, but nothing concerning. The doctor wants us to rotate his head to the right, as it appears he does favor the left a bit more. His eyes/ears are still nice and alligned and he's not concerned at this point.

The boys' HUGE troubles with formula. IS it MPA (Milk Protein Allergy OR Intolerance)?
Answer:
Yes. He does believe that they do have a MPA or at the VERY least STRONG intolerance. He said that the voilent vomiting with such a SMALL amount, and continuous vomiting IS the milk base. He told us that he will write us another prescription until they are one year old, so the insurance company will cover the cost of the pump until that point. We explained that we had quite a rigamarole with them already, and he said that he would fight them FOR us if he had to, because if they DON'T cover the pump, he'll fight them to cover the cost of Nutramigen IN FULL for both babies, which is FAR more expensive than a pump rental. Yay. Nice doctor ;)

Well, if you believe our babies have a MPA, then WHY can I eat things with milk IN them...cheese, ice cream, and even DRINK milk?
Answer:
Because much of the milk in cheese is processed already, reducing the amount of the actual protein in it. And, my body is ALSO a filter, taking out MUCH of the protein. So what the babies are getting is probably NOT a ton. AND, the fact that they were NOT able to tolerate milk in my diet as tiny infants/preemies, and ARE now, the BETTER it looks that they may grow out of it and be fine! I keep on HOPING that they aren't milk allergic forEVER because holy heavens...that'll be SO hard!!!! Dr. Marquis is confident they'll grow out of it! Hooray!

Alec's weeble wobbliness...cause for concern?
Answer:
Well, the doctor said, "Well, he probably won't be your star athelete, because his buscle tone IS a bit low, but that he's really doing quite well and we should just keep pushing him to exercise it/hold it up, as we have been doing. He said that he is RIGHT on track cognitively...he's smiling, starting a little giggle, reacting to people, babbling, etc. which are great signs. His fine motor...grabbing toys, reaching for things, etc are also very good, so not to worry...he'll catch up!

Sleeping through the night...should we have them cry it out yet or not?
Answer:
No, not yet. Developmentally, they're 4.5 month olds, and really, they are experiencing TREMENDOUS catch up growth. He LIKES that they're eating so well, and taking bottles at night is just fine. It's helping them catch up. He said when we felt READY to let them CIO, we could if we wanted, but really, right now, it's not such a bad thing that they're getting up and eating b/c it's only adding to their catch up growth!

Is it bad that they're still napping SO much and in no real regular fashion??? They still nap like newborns...well...they are UP for longer periods of time (1.5-2 hours), but then they're ready for a snooze. I swear by this age Olivia was down to 2 naps per day, but I don't recall.
Answer:
No cause for concern at all! Let them sleep when they're tired. They are growing at a tremendous rate (see their above "catch up" growth) and the sleep is very good for them b/c babies do their growing most when they sleep.

Solids- They are not really catching on yet...concerning?
Answer:
Absolutely not. They were early, and in a full term infant, they start solids from 4-6 months, so our babies should start them between 5.5-7.5. Keep trying, and they'll just "get" it.



Okay, so that was THURSDAY! Fast Forwad to today! We've tried cereal with them a handfull of times. Really, they didn't do well. Alec will allow it in his mouth, and does swollow at times, but looks like you are shoveling maggots into his mouth. He sometimes cried...sometimes gagged. Evan will actually clamp his lips SHUT and purse them out, to say, "screw you people. I am not eating that rubbish." So...we've only done it on occasion, figuring that they'll "get" it when they want to, etc.

So today, I was eating some pudding. Alec watched me take EVERY bite. Watched the spoon go up to my mouth. Clearly he was interested! I REALLY wanted to give him a taste, but #1 it was chocolate (which can be allergenic for babies) and #2...hello...what is IN pudding....MILK which they clearly can't tolerate, so I didn't. But what I DID do, was finish my pudding and go in and make him some cereal. This time I mixed it with a little applesauce. Clearly, not a first time mom, because I'm breaking the "you must do orange veggies first" rule and giving him applesauce... I stirred in some water to loosen it up a bunch, and wouldn't you know it. That little dude made the maggot face maybe twice, then decided that nope, there were actually NO maggots in that applesauce concoction, and he LIKED it. He ate it all. ALL. He did GREAT. I was so happy, but knew the the BIGGER challenge would be Mr. Pursed lips....those babies lock up tigher than a nun's chastity belt let me tell you. So...a couple hours later, Evan was fussing, but it was about an hour until his bottle, so I thought I'd try the concoction with him too. Same old routine...spoon to lips, purse the lips OUT, clamp them DOWN...mommy wiggles the spoon inbetween the lips several times, which did get some inSIDE of the locked jaw, and allowed him to PRETEND to eat. Well, after about half the bowl (not a ton in the bowl by the way!) was gone using the crowbar method (crank the spoon in, wipe it off on his gums), that little stinker started OPENING HIS MOUTH! Now, I wouldn't say he opened it wide like a bird...he more opened it as if to say, "whatever mom...go ahead" but hey...I was EXTATIC!!!!! He even acted at times as if it were a bottle...almost trying to suck it off the spoon. He DEFINATELY enjoyed it! Woo hoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so excited!!!!! So, Curt bought a few things of baby food at Wallymart today in his course of grocery shopping, and we'll see if maybe we're on to something. Maybe they simply don't like the bland taste of that cereal. Can't blame them. Looks like mush. They sure did like it with applesauce though ;) So, I'll be a "good mom" and do that a few days, since you're "supposed" to introduce new foods for 5 days before moving onto another. THEN we'll try and follow the rules. I had Curt get ORANGE veggies...like you're supposed to do.... Damn rule breakers.

And as for me, I'm getting around GREAT. I think I walk mostly upright now, which is GREAT! Occasionally, I'll have to slouch, but it's pretty rare. I feel just GREAT. Even sleep has been good! Wooo hoo! Finally getting back to ME!

Olivia's been great too. A bit of a pistol lately, but what 4 year old isn't at times? She's REALLY coming into her own with language lately. Today she said, "What mom? What did you say? Are you CRAZY?" Goof. She's BIG into the Noggin TV show "Max and Ruby" which is fairly obnoxious. The little bunny named Max speaks like a 2 year old, with 1 word sentences, so wouldn't you just bless me that my daughter, who happens to have fantastic language, reverts back several times a day to one word sentences. After a day of this, we have taken to calling her Max when she does that. At first, she'd protest that she is NOT Max....she is "olivia" and we'd explain that if she wanted to be Olivia, she needed to speak like a big girl, not like Max. Now, when she does it (and oh boy if you know Olivia...Ms. I like to test you every moment of every day) we now just have to say "Max" and she will rephrase whatever she just said like Max, into a sentence like a normal human child.

We're also working at keeping her room clean. WE like to refer to her as Tornado, because we can have the house so nice and orderly, and she rips through it like a tornado and whomps the house to a mess of shambles. Her room is messy 6 of 7 days, and well, Curt and I are just sick of walking on all her things. So, every night before bed, we pick it up with her, before she is allowed to read any of her bedtime stories. This has been working GREAT!

And Curt...he's good too. He's the most amazing dad. Really. You should SEE him with our kids. It warms my soul to see him. Those two little boys just look at him with big adoring eyes...one with a gummy little cheese ball smile, and the other with the biggest open mouthed smile for their Daddy. He feeds them and changes them so much...he has to because a chunk of my day is still spent pumping. Of course I help him regularly, but when I'm tied down for 30 minutes, he's superdad. And really, he IS superdad. He took care of those babies SO well when I couldn't lift a finger, and continues to take amazing care and has SUCH patience with them even now. NOW....patience with his daughter OLIVIA...now THAT is something we're working on...hahahahhahaha. Just teasing. She IS trying. But she's spunky, and I wouldn't want her any other way ;) She's got her parents' best character trait....stubornnes. Hehehehehe.

Alright...this is getting far too long, and the babies only sleep so long, so off to bed! Night!