Hi All! Sorry for the long delay in posting. Things have been exhausting here. Leah and Micah both have colds that are pretty bad. We have been to the pediatrician twice for Micah and once for Leah. I am so glad they have both gotten the Synergis shots so we are relatively sure this isn't RSV. Micah has bronchiolitis (a swelling of the smallest parts of the lungs that babies are prone to) and the doctor figured Leah wasn't far behind. He prescribed albuterol nebulizer treatments for both of them to alleviate the congestion. Micah had one in the office because his blood oxygen level was down to 93% and if it didn't come up we were heading to the hospital. Thankfully it responded and came up to 95% which was acceptable and we were able to take him home. We have to watch their respiration rate and make sure they aren't tiring from breathing so hard, and suction their noses when they sound too congested, but the nebulizer seems to be making it a little easier for them. The down side is that they are now catching up on the sleep they missed from earlier in the cold and we are having a really tough time keeping them awake to get enough food into them. And, when we visit Golda now we have to wear masks and gloves and, if we hold her against us, a gown. She has been giving me such funny looks, trying to figure out why Mommy's voice keeps coming from behind the nurses' mask! But, it's worth it since it would be horrible if she got a cold - I can't imagine what she would go through not being able to swallow the mucus she brought up with her coughing.
Golda has been slowing in her weight gain, although she is now 2.45 kg (5 lbs. 6.42 oz.). The doctor at St. Mary's says that the only way for her to leave there is for her to gain weight so they aren't going to be happy with little gains here and there. They have added MCT (medium chain triglycerides) to her Simulac pre-mature 24 formula. That means that she is now getting additional fat in her already higher calorie formula. The MCT lipids don't require any energy to absorb, utilize or store so they are a good choice for adding weight. She's been on it since Monday, but it's too soon to tell if it's doing enough. The doctor said there are many different things they can do to fatten her up and not to worry if this doesn't work. On the plus side, the therapies they are doing are really bringing her up to speed. She is now much more alert and focused and making facial expressions and some little noises. It's nice to see since I was a bit worried that she wasn't as responsive as Leah and Micah. She is still lagging behind on some of the physical strength, as should be expected - like she can't really support her head and she doesn't like being lifted to a sitting position or supported by her arms - but she is getting there. The physical therapist and occupational therapist are both working with her for a half hour twice a week on these skills.
What Golda does like is standing! She will push her upright from a sitting position and look all around. I can even support her with only one hand and she will remain standing! I have been doing "flying baby" with her - holding her in the Superman position and moving her back and forth - and she loves it. She will stand there and push off with her toes to try to jump up to do more. It's really cute to see. The other thing she really likes is when you talk to her. She craves company and has all the staff in the nursery (and some of the other parents) wrapped around her cute little fingers! They try to leave and she cries and they stay - one poor volunteer couldn't go for three hours because she couldn't bare to leave Golda crying!
Leah and Micah are getting really expressive and developing such cute personalities too. Micah's favorite thing to do is to lay on the changing table and talk to "his lights" that are above the table. He lays there and babbles and coos to them with a smile on his face. If Jon should go to the dimmer switch and adjust the brightness while he is talking to them he just starts wiggling and smiling even more! It is really adorable to watch. He also enjoys watching the sunrise after (or during) his morning bottle. He will just sit and watch it with a look of enjoyment on his face. Oh, and the other thing sure to get a smile is his morning "exercises". I do a bunch of stretching exercises with them - hands up and down, out and in, legs up and down, out and in, head, shoulders, knees and toes, and leg bicycling followed by baby-sit up - I hold their hands and lift them to a sitting position, trying to get them to pull up and support their heads. They both really like it since it stretches them and they get real one on one time with mommy. Micah gives me such adorable huge smiles - I just sit there grinning the whole time.
Leah is a rough and tumble little girl who has Daddy wrapped around her finger. She loves nothing more than to cuddle up to her Daddy and sleep on his chest. Trying to remove her without waking her is really hard - first you have to peel her off of him and remove his shirt from her fists! She likes it a lot when Daddy tosses her in the air and spins her around - always catching her safely in his hands. Mommy's heart stops each time, but Leah just smiles and eggs him on! She will also reach up and grab a fistful of Daddy's beard while he holds her and she looks all around.
Both babies love their big brother. Since Leah is lighter, Harry gets to do more with her. We have let him feed her a few times. He is so proud. He sits back on the couch, with his legs crossed and the boppy on his lap and I place Leah in his arms. He then feeds her until she needs burping and calls me or Jon to do it, then continues feeding her until she starts fussing. Then one of us takes over. He has taken baths with both of them, holding them carefully in the tub while Daddy washed them. But, Micah, only has eyes for Harry. If Harry starts talking to him, Micah will turn his head and stare at him. A real problem when we are trying to calm Micah and Harry yells - Micah will instantly jump and start flailing around trying to find Harry. Unfortunately, hearing Harry doesn't always calm him, especially if Harry is upset himself or Micah is already crying. Harry will try though, singing "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep Micah (or Leah)" very quietly. We've been making a real effort to spend more time with Harry without the babies and I think it's finally paying off. He got into the "doghouse" at school twice and really wasn't thrilled the kind of attention that got him. We now have a deal - he gets a sticker from his teacher (only one warning or time-out a day) for four days in a week with no doghouses (three warnings in a day) and he gets a special trip with Daddy. His first one will be taking the train (on a route of his choosing - the A to the 42nd St. S train shuttle) to Grand Central Station to see the train exhibit and a shirt in the Transit Museum store. He is one day away from earning his trip this week. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day for him!
A bit of sad news to report too. Unfortunately, we had to put our cat Tycho to sleep yesterday. Jon had noticed a week or so ago that Tycho had some lumps on his jowls, and then this past weekend, on his side. Sunday he noticed Tycho using his paw to push food out of his cheek and leaving most of his meal over. He had also lost a lot of weight and looked too skinny. Jon was torn about whether to bring him to the vet and confirm his suspicion of lymphoma or just continue in ignorant bliss. When Tycho continued having trouble Monday, we decided to bring them both in for checkups. The vet scared us when he examined Hanns and said he had a growth in his stomach that he wanted to x-ray. Luckily, Hanns just has the largest bladder the vet has ever seen and, aside from a blood glucose level of 600 (which according to the vet meant he should be dead) he is fine. We are in the process of adjusting his insulin levels. When he examined Tycho though, he recommended an ultrasound and blood tests to confirm our suspicions of cancer. Sadly, they showed he did have some kind of cancer, most likely lymphoma, that had spread all over his body. When the vet told us that Tycho was now unable to swallow, we knew what we had to do. He brought Tycho out, we said our goodbyes, and while he was purring while Jon pet him, the vet gave him a sedative, followed by a further medication to stop his heart. He went very quietly without pain. While we are both upset by his loss, Harrison is taking it particularly hard. Tycho had been letting him pet him lately and Harry had grown closer to him. He didn't want to come with us to the vet because he didn't want to watch Tycho die because, as he put it, he "is in love with Tycho". He gets distracted by things and forgets for a while, but then he remembers again and starts tearing up. Hanns is also at a loss. He wanders around meowing plaintively for his brother and looking in all the spots Tycho used to sleep. Then he lays down and stares at Tycho's favorite sleeping spot. Last night he finally hauled himself up into the spot and has been sleeping there. He seems very sad and lonely. Luckily, these kids keep us all too busy to dwell on it for too long and we are muddling through. Who ever thought the diabetic Hanns would outlive his brother?
Okay, I think I've brought you up to date on all the goings on around here. We have a return visit to the GI doc scheduled for tomorrow, but we may wind up cancelling it depending on how Leah and Micah are doing. If I don't post before then, Happy Chanukah!!!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Day 82 - Photos
I don't have time to write a full posting now, but here are the links to the photos I managed to post over the weekend! Enjoy! (I will try to post some here later on for those who can't access picasa.)
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/NewRandomShots#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/HarrySThanksgivingShow#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/GoldaSEyeDrAppt#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/NewRandomShots#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/HarrySThanksgivingShow#
http://picasaweb.google.com/WindyNYC/GoldaSEyeDrAppt#
Friday, December 5, 2008
Day 79 Update
Hi Everyone! So much for the posting daily! I have been quite exhausted after all the running around this week and haven't had a chance to even think about posting.
Tuesday we had a break from doctor appointments, thankfully. Wednesday we had the urologist for Micah. The appointment was scheduled for 8:45 am and they said to be there a half hour ahead of time if it was your first appointment, so 8:15 am! We got out by 7:15, dropped Harry off by my dad so he could take him to school and headed out. We got there a few minutes early and found no one even there! So annoying. We rushed for nothing. We sat there and waited until someone appeared behind the window and I interrupted her to find out if we had time to get some breakfast at the cafe across the hall. Luckily we did and we felt much better afterwards. They took us at about 9:15 am and even then the doctor wasn't in the building yet. Anyway, he examined Micah and said that he has testicular hydrocoeles on both sides not just one. He did an ultrasound to make sure nothing else was going on and said that we should just watch it. If we see that his scrotum looks larger at a particular time of day then it might indicate a hernia and we should bring him in. If not, then we have to return in six months and by then it should have resolved on its own. In the event that it hasn't they will intervene (probably surgically) to reduce the swelling.
After the appointment we headed over to see Golda. Since we were planning to take her for her appointment on Friday we had to be fully trained in her care. It's amazing how much we needed to learn. We went over CPR, baby Heimlich, how to prepare and administer her feeding, how to end the feeding and clean the tube and the bag, how to ensure her feeding tube is properly positioned, how to work the portable suction machine, how to change her bandage on her g-tube. We still needed to learn how to replace her g-tube and repogle in the event that they came out, but we didn't have time. It was quite overwhelming and really re-enforced why she isn't at home.
Thursday Jon had to go into work for his bi-weekly meeting so Deena and I were on our own for the appointments at the high risk clinic. I also had to stop by Golda beforehand so they could install the car bed in our minivan for the appointment on Friday. We were quite pleased that it had arrived in time. We went upstairs and I left Deena with three sleeping babies and two bottles for when they woke up. I met up with the occupational therapist who was going to install the car bed and we went upstairs to learn how to position Golda in it. It was pretty simple and she was not pleased. It kind of looked uncomfortable since her legs couldn't stretch out. We went back downstairs and he started installing it. We got it all in place and I realized that we had tilted the car seat back too far backwards and I wouldn't be able to get the other car seat back in there to go home! That stunk since it was so difficult to position the car bed and now we had to remove it again. And, unfortunately once we did and we returned the car seat back to its proper position, we couldn't get that stupid car bed back in securely again. We even got two other physical therapists over to help and every time I was able to pull it loose quite easily. When 12:00 rolled around and it still wasn't in, I had to go because our high risk appointment was at 12:30. It was decided that since it couldn't be secured in the car and we had to cancel the transport that day to avoid charges, Golda would go in the transport this time and next time she would be big enough for her car seat and it wouldn't matter.
The high risk appointment involved seeing the neonatology fellow and attending from the hospital, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and an education specialist. They each examined the babies to make sure they were developmentally okay and showing no delays. They weighed and measured them too. Leah weighed 8 lbs. 11.5 oz (I guess the new formula mix is doing it's job!) and was 20.5 inches long. Micah weighed 11 lbs. 1.25 oz. and was 21.3 inches long. The cool part is that on the preemie chart and the regular chart (adjusted age) Leah was 50th percentile for height and length and Micah was between the 75th and 95th percentiles for weight and between the 50th and 75th percentiles for height! The doctor was really pleased that they were not only on the full-term charts but plotting so well on them! While we were talking about it, Micah cheesed all over my shirt and pants and the doctor's desk and floor. Oops. She said "And there goes the reflux, yup, he has it alright!" I wiped it all up and we continued. Then while I was holding him for the scale, I said out loud - "this is really dangerous, not keeping him covered" and then he peed all over my shirt, the floor, the scale and Leah's car seat cover! Argh! That was the first time either of my sons has gotten me like that. Any hoo... all of the specialists were quite pleased with both of the babies muscle tone and strength. They were doing exactly what they should be doing at this point for full-term babies, not adjusted! We have to return in March.
Today was Golda's ophthalmology appointment. I left the house at 9:30, stopped by my parent's house to grab Golda's blanket and headed out. I got there around 10 am and found her fast asleep, finishing up a feeding. I got her stuff ready and then got her ready. They weighed her before we left - drum roll - she was 2.33 kg (5 lbs. 2.18 oz.)!!! Woo Hoo! The physical therapist who helped me the day before came by and said they did a car seat trial with Golda and she performed fine. She said that if I wanted I could take her by myself, but since Jon wasn't there to drive while I watched her we needed to use the transport anyway. That was fine since I wasn't fully trained yet. The ambulance arrived and off we went! Let me just say that my ears are still ringing from the incredibly loud sound of that stupid portable suction machine. I had two options for the transport - Golda could ride in her car seat even though she might be a bit small for it or I could ride on the stretcher and hold her. Do I need to say which option I chose? She looked so tiny in her car seat with all the blankets piled up and all the medical equipment around her on that big stretcher! But Golda was up for the adventure! Her eyes were wide open the whole time we were bundling her up, setting her up on the stretcher, heading downstairs, loading on the ambulance and the first half of the drive (especially this part). Then it lost its luster and she started yawning and fell asleep. She woke up when we got there and looked all around again. She didn't care for the eye drops and made that known, although by the second round she was much calmer. The doctor came in and examined her using the instruments (unlike the other doctor who examined Leah and Micah). You know the ones - that thing they used to keep Alex's eyes open in Clockwork Orange. Golda was very upset about that and cried and cried (and being that she was on a heart monitor we heard the alarm beeping like crazy). After she took the instrument out there was an impression on her eyelids for a while. I wasn't too thrilled with this whole procedure, especially since the other doctor was perfectly fine not using the tools. Oh well, we don't have to go back to this one again. Golda was cleared for retinopathy of prematurity and doesn't need to be seen for another six-twelve months. When we got back to St. Mary's the nurse helped me settle her and I got her next feeding going. Then I sat down to snuggle my little girl. I held her while she ate until she conked out. She was so exhausted by her adventure that she didn't even stir when I put her down in her crib! When I got home I found a strung out daddy. Micah and Leah kept him hopping all day. One would cry and when he finally settle that one, the other would start. The only good part is that they are so tired now that they are fast asleep!
That's all here for now! What a busy week! Next week - no doctors! Phew!
Tuesday we had a break from doctor appointments, thankfully. Wednesday we had the urologist for Micah. The appointment was scheduled for 8:45 am and they said to be there a half hour ahead of time if it was your first appointment, so 8:15 am! We got out by 7:15, dropped Harry off by my dad so he could take him to school and headed out. We got there a few minutes early and found no one even there! So annoying. We rushed for nothing. We sat there and waited until someone appeared behind the window and I interrupted her to find out if we had time to get some breakfast at the cafe across the hall. Luckily we did and we felt much better afterwards. They took us at about 9:15 am and even then the doctor wasn't in the building yet. Anyway, he examined Micah and said that he has testicular hydrocoeles on both sides not just one. He did an ultrasound to make sure nothing else was going on and said that we should just watch it. If we see that his scrotum looks larger at a particular time of day then it might indicate a hernia and we should bring him in. If not, then we have to return in six months and by then it should have resolved on its own. In the event that it hasn't they will intervene (probably surgically) to reduce the swelling.
After the appointment we headed over to see Golda. Since we were planning to take her for her appointment on Friday we had to be fully trained in her care. It's amazing how much we needed to learn. We went over CPR, baby Heimlich, how to prepare and administer her feeding, how to end the feeding and clean the tube and the bag, how to ensure her feeding tube is properly positioned, how to work the portable suction machine, how to change her bandage on her g-tube. We still needed to learn how to replace her g-tube and repogle in the event that they came out, but we didn't have time. It was quite overwhelming and really re-enforced why she isn't at home.
Thursday Jon had to go into work for his bi-weekly meeting so Deena and I were on our own for the appointments at the high risk clinic. I also had to stop by Golda beforehand so they could install the car bed in our minivan for the appointment on Friday. We were quite pleased that it had arrived in time. We went upstairs and I left Deena with three sleeping babies and two bottles for when they woke up. I met up with the occupational therapist who was going to install the car bed and we went upstairs to learn how to position Golda in it. It was pretty simple and she was not pleased. It kind of looked uncomfortable since her legs couldn't stretch out. We went back downstairs and he started installing it. We got it all in place and I realized that we had tilted the car seat back too far backwards and I wouldn't be able to get the other car seat back in there to go home! That stunk since it was so difficult to position the car bed and now we had to remove it again. And, unfortunately once we did and we returned the car seat back to its proper position, we couldn't get that stupid car bed back in securely again. We even got two other physical therapists over to help and every time I was able to pull it loose quite easily. When 12:00 rolled around and it still wasn't in, I had to go because our high risk appointment was at 12:30. It was decided that since it couldn't be secured in the car and we had to cancel the transport that day to avoid charges, Golda would go in the transport this time and next time she would be big enough for her car seat and it wouldn't matter.
The high risk appointment involved seeing the neonatology fellow and attending from the hospital, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and an education specialist. They each examined the babies to make sure they were developmentally okay and showing no delays. They weighed and measured them too. Leah weighed 8 lbs. 11.5 oz (I guess the new formula mix is doing it's job!) and was 20.5 inches long. Micah weighed 11 lbs. 1.25 oz. and was 21.3 inches long. The cool part is that on the preemie chart and the regular chart (adjusted age) Leah was 50th percentile for height and length and Micah was between the 75th and 95th percentiles for weight and between the 50th and 75th percentiles for height! The doctor was really pleased that they were not only on the full-term charts but plotting so well on them! While we were talking about it, Micah cheesed all over my shirt and pants and the doctor's desk and floor. Oops. She said "And there goes the reflux, yup, he has it alright!" I wiped it all up and we continued. Then while I was holding him for the scale, I said out loud - "this is really dangerous, not keeping him covered" and then he peed all over my shirt, the floor, the scale and Leah's car seat cover! Argh! That was the first time either of my sons has gotten me like that. Any hoo... all of the specialists were quite pleased with both of the babies muscle tone and strength. They were doing exactly what they should be doing at this point for full-term babies, not adjusted! We have to return in March.
Today was Golda's ophthalmology appointment. I left the house at 9:30, stopped by my parent's house to grab Golda's blanket and headed out. I got there around 10 am and found her fast asleep, finishing up a feeding. I got her stuff ready and then got her ready. They weighed her before we left - drum roll - she was 2.33 kg (5 lbs. 2.18 oz.)!!! Woo Hoo! The physical therapist who helped me the day before came by and said they did a car seat trial with Golda and she performed fine. She said that if I wanted I could take her by myself, but since Jon wasn't there to drive while I watched her we needed to use the transport anyway. That was fine since I wasn't fully trained yet. The ambulance arrived and off we went! Let me just say that my ears are still ringing from the incredibly loud sound of that stupid portable suction machine. I had two options for the transport - Golda could ride in her car seat even though she might be a bit small for it or I could ride on the stretcher and hold her. Do I need to say which option I chose? She looked so tiny in her car seat with all the blankets piled up and all the medical equipment around her on that big stretcher! But Golda was up for the adventure! Her eyes were wide open the whole time we were bundling her up, setting her up on the stretcher, heading downstairs, loading on the ambulance and the first half of the drive (especially this part). Then it lost its luster and she started yawning and fell asleep. She woke up when we got there and looked all around again. She didn't care for the eye drops and made that known, although by the second round she was much calmer. The doctor came in and examined her using the instruments (unlike the other doctor who examined Leah and Micah). You know the ones - that thing they used to keep Alex's eyes open in Clockwork Orange. Golda was very upset about that and cried and cried (and being that she was on a heart monitor we heard the alarm beeping like crazy). After she took the instrument out there was an impression on her eyelids for a while. I wasn't too thrilled with this whole procedure, especially since the other doctor was perfectly fine not using the tools. Oh well, we don't have to go back to this one again. Golda was cleared for retinopathy of prematurity and doesn't need to be seen for another six-twelve months. When we got back to St. Mary's the nurse helped me settle her and I got her next feeding going. Then I sat down to snuggle my little girl. I held her while she ate until she conked out. She was so exhausted by her adventure that she didn't even stir when I put her down in her crib! When I got home I found a strung out daddy. Micah and Leah kept him hopping all day. One would cry and when he finally settle that one, the other would start. The only good part is that they are so tired now that they are fast asleep!
That's all here for now! What a busy week! Next week - no doctors! Phew!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Day 76 Update
Good Morning All! The babies are now almost 11 weeks old - can you believe it!??! Things are starting to settle into a pattern, thankfully. Sorry it's been almost a week since the last posting, but that pattern is kind of stuffed to the gills (or stuffed like a bird as Harry says).
Let's see. We went to Mom and Dad for Thanksgiving. We went earlier in the day to visit Golda. She was doing well. Thanksgiving was very quiet, just us and Aunt, Roy, Eric and later AnnMarie. Well, not quiet, per se, just not too many people is more like it ... with two infants and a five year old it's not really ever quiet! Friday, I spoke to the nurse at St. Mary's and insisted that they speak to the doctor about starting Golda on oral antibiotics since the topical one wasn't really doing the trick. They started her on them that day and ever since her G-tube site is looking better and better. There is very little red now and it is mostly just darker pink. Mema, Harry, the babies and I went shopping to Babies R Us. We used most of the gift cards we received (that hadn't already been spent on formula!) - thank you - and bought size 6-9 month clothes. I can't believe that we are at the point of needing that size! They are wearing mostly 3 month and some newborn clothes now, but I needed to know we had the next size with the way Micah has been growing! Golda is in newborn size and looking absolutely adorable in them!
We visited as a family on Saturday - it was kind of nice, although somewhat overwhelming, to be "just" the six of us for a little while! I took some more photos of the bunch, although mostly in pairs this time. Sunday, Mom and I actually made it get pedicures and manicures again! It was my first since August - the last time I was feeling up to going. It felt heavenly! Thanks Mom! Jon spent the day working, working, working, trying to get caught up. I too spent time working and doing laundry. And, sigh, Harry seemed to have a lovely case of pink eye blooming. I called the pediatrician and he called in an antibiotic. With all that going on we didn't go to see Golda - especially since Harry was still contagious until he had been on the antibiotics for 24 hours.
Yesterday we had the GI doctor for Leah and Micah and I went to see my GP as well. I got prescriptions for my allergy meds again - yeah! and got cleared for pink eye - phew. Then I came back home and helped Jon get Leah & Micah ready and we headed out for the GI doc. We checked in & were taken back almost immediately (I had asked to wait in the back since the waiting room was full of sneezing coughing people) by the doctor. She was very nice and seemed knowledgeable. She took full histories (as full a history as an 11 week old can have!) and then examined them both. She said the reflux wasn't too bad and is possibly within the range of normal, although she did not want to remove them from Zantac at this point nor change their formula. She said that she thinks that from their symptoms, both what we told her about and that she witnessed while we were there, that they have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (thanks to me, poor things). She would like to try treating it with suppositories to relieve their gas, the main thing causing their symptoms, and some constipation. We are going to give them suppositories three times a day when they seem the most fussy and in pain. We have given them to Leah and Micah twice already today and Mylicon once. It definitely helped them move their bowels and pass gas, but I don't think it's stopped the general crabbiness that occurs after every feeding. I suppose this will take some time though since there has been a general build-up of gas that needs to be relieved first. Patience. Pretty hard to come by these days! Oh, and Micah weighs 10 lbs. 10 oz. and has been steadily gaining, but Leah is still coming in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. We told the doctor that she has been down and now back up, but is pretty stagnant at this weight for about a month so we are now mixing her formula more concentrated to increase the calorie count per ounce. Let's see how that goes! We have return appointments on the 18th.
Golda is doing well. As I said above, she is on oral antibiotics and they are doing the job finally. The nurses have also switched the gauze they are putting on her g-tube site to try to get it to absorb the excretions better. She is getting so much more alert too. When I am there she is usually wide awake and happy to be interacting. She likes to be held more now and likes when I hold her up and let her "stand" or sit her up and "dance" her around. I even got a little smile out of her yesterday when I nibbled at her neck! Jon went to visit her tonight and she took the opportunity to nap with Daddy. Daddy was cradling her on her tummy (woo hoo) on his chest while reclining in the rocking chair and she conked right out. Then Daddy conked right out too! The nurse kept out of their way to let them enjoy each other (so nice!). When Daddy woke up he put Golda back in her bed and the nurse showed him how to give her the antibiotics in her G-tube. Cool. Then Golda cried and cried :( It took Jon about 15 minutes to calm her enough that he felt comfortable leaving her.
Golda has an ophthalmologist appointment set for Friday at noon. I got permission to take her in our car using a car seat, but when they checked out her car seat they realized that she wasn't big enough for it (the minimum weight is 5 lbs) and so she would need to ride in a car bed. They have them at St. Mary's but theirs happened to have expired and can't be safely used now. They are ordering new ones since they need them anyway and are trying to get one here in time for us to use, but if not, then they will arrange a medical transport and I will go with Golda alone. Otherwise, it will be Jon and I taking our littlest girl to the doctor! And, now the big news that might affect these plans too - as of yesterday, Golda was weighing in at 2.26 kg (4 lbs. 15.97 oz.)!!! That means she may be big enough to ride in the car seat after all - but I will call tomorrow to check on that since they may still want to be more cautious with her.
Harry is doing okay mostly. He is really annoyed that he has pink eye and is in fact in complete denial, even though his eye is now finally looking a little better and has less goop and his throat is a bit sore. Oy. But at least he is no longer contagious and we can let him kiss the babies again. He gets really sad when we tell him that he can't touch them or kiss them. Although, with the crazy crying jags they have been having I am waiting for him to say he wants them gone - so far he has managed to check himself before saying that. For instance, when they were crying tonight and I had to pay them attention and couldn't play another game with him, he said in anger "I wish they" and stopped. When I asked what he was going to say he said that they wouldn't take all my attention and that they would just be quiet and not have belly problems. I commiserated with him, but I don't think he was too impressed. What helped was telling him that in a couple of years they will be able to play with him too. That made him a little happy, like all this craziness might actually pay off for him :) poor thing! But when his teacher asked him what he was thankful for he answered "my family and my triplets!".
Okay. That's about it here for now. Tomorrow we have the urologist for Micah (to check his testicular hydrocoele), Thursday we have the high risk clinic and neurodevelopmental clinic for Leah and Micah and Friday the ophthalmologist for Golda. Phew, a busy week! I will try to post daily so it won't be so long each time! And, I know, photos, too.
Let's see. We went to Mom and Dad for Thanksgiving. We went earlier in the day to visit Golda. She was doing well. Thanksgiving was very quiet, just us and Aunt, Roy, Eric and later AnnMarie. Well, not quiet, per se, just not too many people is more like it ... with two infants and a five year old it's not really ever quiet! Friday, I spoke to the nurse at St. Mary's and insisted that they speak to the doctor about starting Golda on oral antibiotics since the topical one wasn't really doing the trick. They started her on them that day and ever since her G-tube site is looking better and better. There is very little red now and it is mostly just darker pink. Mema, Harry, the babies and I went shopping to Babies R Us. We used most of the gift cards we received (that hadn't already been spent on formula!) - thank you - and bought size 6-9 month clothes. I can't believe that we are at the point of needing that size! They are wearing mostly 3 month and some newborn clothes now, but I needed to know we had the next size with the way Micah has been growing! Golda is in newborn size and looking absolutely adorable in them!
We visited as a family on Saturday - it was kind of nice, although somewhat overwhelming, to be "just" the six of us for a little while! I took some more photos of the bunch, although mostly in pairs this time. Sunday, Mom and I actually made it get pedicures and manicures again! It was my first since August - the last time I was feeling up to going. It felt heavenly! Thanks Mom! Jon spent the day working, working, working, trying to get caught up. I too spent time working and doing laundry. And, sigh, Harry seemed to have a lovely case of pink eye blooming. I called the pediatrician and he called in an antibiotic. With all that going on we didn't go to see Golda - especially since Harry was still contagious until he had been on the antibiotics for 24 hours.
Yesterday we had the GI doctor for Leah and Micah and I went to see my GP as well. I got prescriptions for my allergy meds again - yeah! and got cleared for pink eye - phew. Then I came back home and helped Jon get Leah & Micah ready and we headed out for the GI doc. We checked in & were taken back almost immediately (I had asked to wait in the back since the waiting room was full of sneezing coughing people) by the doctor. She was very nice and seemed knowledgeable. She took full histories (as full a history as an 11 week old can have!) and then examined them both. She said the reflux wasn't too bad and is possibly within the range of normal, although she did not want to remove them from Zantac at this point nor change their formula. She said that she thinks that from their symptoms, both what we told her about and that she witnessed while we were there, that they have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (thanks to me, poor things). She would like to try treating it with suppositories to relieve their gas, the main thing causing their symptoms, and some constipation. We are going to give them suppositories three times a day when they seem the most fussy and in pain. We have given them to Leah and Micah twice already today and Mylicon once. It definitely helped them move their bowels and pass gas, but I don't think it's stopped the general crabbiness that occurs after every feeding. I suppose this will take some time though since there has been a general build-up of gas that needs to be relieved first. Patience. Pretty hard to come by these days! Oh, and Micah weighs 10 lbs. 10 oz. and has been steadily gaining, but Leah is still coming in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. We told the doctor that she has been down and now back up, but is pretty stagnant at this weight for about a month so we are now mixing her formula more concentrated to increase the calorie count per ounce. Let's see how that goes! We have return appointments on the 18th.
Golda is doing well. As I said above, she is on oral antibiotics and they are doing the job finally. The nurses have also switched the gauze they are putting on her g-tube site to try to get it to absorb the excretions better. She is getting so much more alert too. When I am there she is usually wide awake and happy to be interacting. She likes to be held more now and likes when I hold her up and let her "stand" or sit her up and "dance" her around. I even got a little smile out of her yesterday when I nibbled at her neck! Jon went to visit her tonight and she took the opportunity to nap with Daddy. Daddy was cradling her on her tummy (woo hoo) on his chest while reclining in the rocking chair and she conked right out. Then Daddy conked right out too! The nurse kept out of their way to let them enjoy each other (so nice!). When Daddy woke up he put Golda back in her bed and the nurse showed him how to give her the antibiotics in her G-tube. Cool. Then Golda cried and cried :( It took Jon about 15 minutes to calm her enough that he felt comfortable leaving her.
Golda has an ophthalmologist appointment set for Friday at noon. I got permission to take her in our car using a car seat, but when they checked out her car seat they realized that she wasn't big enough for it (the minimum weight is 5 lbs) and so she would need to ride in a car bed. They have them at St. Mary's but theirs happened to have expired and can't be safely used now. They are ordering new ones since they need them anyway and are trying to get one here in time for us to use, but if not, then they will arrange a medical transport and I will go with Golda alone. Otherwise, it will be Jon and I taking our littlest girl to the doctor! And, now the big news that might affect these plans too - as of yesterday, Golda was weighing in at 2.26 kg (4 lbs. 15.97 oz.)!!! That means she may be big enough to ride in the car seat after all - but I will call tomorrow to check on that since they may still want to be more cautious with her.
Harry is doing okay mostly. He is really annoyed that he has pink eye and is in fact in complete denial, even though his eye is now finally looking a little better and has less goop and his throat is a bit sore. Oy. But at least he is no longer contagious and we can let him kiss the babies again. He gets really sad when we tell him that he can't touch them or kiss them. Although, with the crazy crying jags they have been having I am waiting for him to say he wants them gone - so far he has managed to check himself before saying that. For instance, when they were crying tonight and I had to pay them attention and couldn't play another game with him, he said in anger "I wish they" and stopped. When I asked what he was going to say he said that they wouldn't take all my attention and that they would just be quiet and not have belly problems. I commiserated with him, but I don't think he was too impressed. What helped was telling him that in a couple of years they will be able to play with him too. That made him a little happy, like all this craziness might actually pay off for him :) poor thing! But when his teacher asked him what he was thankful for he answered "my family and my triplets!".
Okay. That's about it here for now. Tomorrow we have the urologist for Micah (to check his testicular hydrocoele), Thursday we have the high risk clinic and neurodevelopmental clinic for Leah and Micah and Friday the ophthalmologist for Golda. Phew, a busy week! I will try to post daily so it won't be so long each time! And, I know, photos, too.
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