Early Intervention

Well the babies had their Early Intervention Evaluation on Monday, July 16, 2007. At first both of them passed all the tests with flying colors. They are at a 7-9 month level at almost everything, except for cognitive. For cognitive, Kyle is between 11-13 months and Mallory is between 11-17 months. They are very smart beyond their age. The physical therapist was still very concerned about a few things even though they passed the first round of tests. She went out to her car and brought back in another test. This test was for their gross motor skills. They failed. They are both at a 2-3 month level. Not good. Their concerns are as follows;
Mallory: She was concerned because although she could turn from back to front, she could not turn from front to back. While on her belly, she could not extend her arms straight and pull herself up. She also has very weak muscle tone in her trunk. She is now beginning to stand on her toes too.
Kyle: He stands on his toes and no matter what the PT did she could not get his feet flat. He does not roll. While he is on his belly, he does not reach out in front of him nor does he extend his arms and push himself up.
They told me that these are conditions that could be fixed in a couple of weeks or could take a lot longer. Either way, they recommend that both babies receive physical therapy and that Kyle see an occupational therapist. Kyle's condition, if left untreated would have left him wheel-chair bound and unable to walk. Thank god we caught this in time.
Early Intervention is coming out again on the 31st to develop a plan and we'll go from there. Right now we are just trying to help them learn to roll over and doing various exorcises with them. It seems to be working. Kyle rolled from front to back for the first time yesterday.

7 Months Old

Today the babies are seven months old. They are doing so well. They are both reaching for everything! Kyle said his first "word" last week. His first word was "Ni-Ni" for night night. Then in just one week he has added "DaDa, BaBa and MaMa". Mallory said her first "words" last night. She said "DaDa" and then seconds later she said "MaMa". Today she said "Ni-Ni". Kyle can sit up unassisted for a few minutes. Mallory tries but it hurts her back, she still has some weak muscle tone. Mallory can roll front to back and back to front when she wants to. She mostly just rolls side to side. Kyle has rolled both ways also but he chooses not to roll at all right now. He would rather stand. Kyle is very good at holding his own bottle, I just have to help him when it gets to the end. Mallory trys very hard, but again her weak muscle tone makes it difficult for her. She can hold her own bottle for a few seconds. They both love to be in water, bath or pool. They are growing so fast.

Matthew's first week of school

Matthew has finished his first week of school. This was a hard week. The first day, he clung to my leg and cried. They said he cried for a while. When he stopped crying, he still didn't play with any of the kids but he did okay. On the second day it wasn't any easier. The third day, however was a little easier. He let Ms. Rose hold him and comfort him. They said after that he was fine and played a little bit with the other kids. The forth day, again a little easier. He went swimming. Ms. Rose said that he just kept jumping in the water. He was so excited, they couldn't keep him out of the water. The Fifth day, was much better. When I dropped him off, he was whining but went right to his teacher. When I picked him up, he seemed very comfortable there. He walked around saying goodbye to all his teachers. His teacher told me that he played all day with the kids and in gym he played with the parachute and had a lot of fun. I'm so happy he's adjusting well. Let's see how it goes on Monday!

March of Dimes Walk 2007

This was our first MOD Walk. It was good. We didn't get to stay at the reunion because it was too windy for the babies. Matthew did get to see Spiderman. Matthew felt really good about doing the walk. We all did. It was good to see some of the nurses from the NICU, although we didn't get to see any fellow preemies.

Matthew has officially given up on naps. Towards the end of the day he gets to be a handful. I was still forcing the naps because of his behavior until I realized he would behave like that whether he napped or not. When I was forcing his naps, it would take me three hours to get him to nap and then he would be up late at night. It was becoming a vicious cycle. I think giving up the nap time battle was the right thing to do and he even goes to bed at a normal time. Now every one's sanity will be spared.

Mallory and Kyle are holding their own toys for a limited time. They are growing and changing so much. The have their first Early Intervention Follow up tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it. We will find out if they have any delays, what they are and how to work on them. I think they are doing pretty well, although I do think Mallory will need some physical therapy. She doesn't hold her head up very well, so I think she has weak neck muscles. I also think she may need help with her arms. She holds them extended outwards a lot. She may need help bringing them in.

Matthew's Pop-Pop bought him a new Spiderman Fishing Pole today. Matthew is excited about learning how to fish.

This summer is going to be a lot of fun.

Five Months Old

Five months has passed since we've had our wonderful babies. I can't believe how fast the time is passing. It's very weird, in some ways it seems so long ago, then in other ways it feels like just yesterday. Mallory and Kyle are doing so great. Mallory is 14 lbs 12 oz and Kyle is 15 lbs even. They are smiling and laughing, holding toys, eating solids, trying to roll over and just being a constant joy!
Matthew has been an amazing big brother. I can tell he is missing out on his one on one attention. He is handling it pretty well. He is very protective of the babies. If someone asks him if they can take the babies home he replies, "No, you have to get your own babies. You can get them at the hospital". He thinks everyone should have two babies. He even thinks we should have two more. I don't think he knows what he's asking for.
I have been on bed rest lately due to a very minor surgery. Everything has fallen on my poor hubby. He has taken it like a champ. He is doing amazing. Although he wants to pull his hair out, he is handling everything very well. I hope he realizes anyone who is home with kids wants to pull out their hair once in a while. I appreciate everything he has done and his endless support. Thank you, Sweetie.
I can't believe all my dreams have come true and I'm not even thirty yet. I always wanted a husband and kids but I could never have imagined the great joy that comes with it on a daily basis.
My cup runneth over!
Kimberly

Very First Blog

Matthew is now three years old and doing well. He is a very sweet kid.
On November 24, 2006, we welcomed our twins, Mallory and Kyle. The decided to come 9 weeks early. Mallory Elizabeth came 1st at 3 lbs 4 oz, 16 inches. Then came Kyle Anthony 3 lbs 14 oz 16.5 inches. After four weeks in the NICU, they came home tiny, but completely healthy.
Now almost four months old, Mallory is at 12 lbs 9.6 oz and Kyle is at 13 lbs 9.6 oz. They are doing so good.
We started them on cereal last week. They didn't know what to make of it at first, but now they are up to 2 teaspoons a day.
Last night we took Mallory to Peds Express. She was wheezing and having some retractions. Luckily it is only an Upper Respiratory Infection. They said she will be fine in a couple of days.
This morning Matthew and Kyle are sick too. Three sick kids in the house!! It hasn't been too bad because they are all sleeping right now. Hence the time to blog!