Today was a big day for the babies. Although still fighting colds, we celebrated Halloween by dressing them up as two peas in a pod (a great recommendation from our friend/neighbor Jennifer). The babies got to experience their first trick a treating down Lincoln Avenue this morning. It was so much fun to see everyone in costume. Trent stayed awake almost the whole time- not wanting to miss a thing. Although Sophie was unable to stay awake through the entire outing, she did manage to smile at almost every merchant who gave them candy. One of the most touching moments for me was going by our local town jeweler. Aaron had a necklace made for me at the jeweler and explained about the babies. The jeweler had made my 10-year anniversary ring and I had been in there last year when I was first pregnant and had shared my excitement. Today was the first time the jeweler had seen the babies and when she saw me she started to cry. She was so excited to see them and was so happy for us that things had worked out.
The babies also got to experience their first evening trick or treating with all the neighbors and Aaron (something we’ve waited years to do). We put layers of clothes on them under their costumes to keep them warm but wanted them to at least go around the block. It seems like they both had a good time and both went right to sleep when they got home.
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The babies are having a tough time with the change in seasons and end to daylight savings time. Despite our best efforts to avoid illnesses, both babies have come down with colds. Trent’s is worse than Sophie’s. It’s so hard to watch him struggle to breath with such a stuffed nose. Yesterday I called the advice nurse to ask if there is anything I can give him to help with the congestion but they said no due to his age. They also said for us to watch his breathing carefully and bring him in if he appears to be struggling. Apparently until his lung tissue fully regenerates, the impacts of being on the ventilator and his early birth can quickly make a cold more serious.
I’m hoping the both have a restful morning so they’ll feel up to dressing in their costumes and doing the Lincoln avenue stroll this morning.
During our time in the hospital our development specialist Nick continually reminded us not to compare our babies development to others who were the same age. At the time I wondered why he repeated it on so many occasions but now I understand. It’s really hard not to feel behind and want to freak out that the things other babies are doing at 7 months – we are not. I’ve finally gotten the age question down when people ask and the quick explanations of their prematurity but most people don’t hide their expressions very well and it’s still hard. I suppose today it has gotten to me again since we went for our family walk and went to the farmers market. We love going there but it never seems to get easier when people ask about the baby’s size or notice Sophie’s shunt. I know Aaron thinks I’m nuts but one the first questions I want to ask Dr. Edwards during Sophie’s next check up is whether she can play in a bouncy house when she’s older. Its seems silly to worry about it now but I just want her to be able to play with other children without limitations.[[Image:the_kids/20051029-DSCN0574.JPG]][[Image:the_kids/20051029-DSCN0571.JPG]]
The babies seem to get more personality every day. Today for the first time Sophie laughed out loud at me (or in front of me) Aaron tells me he’s seen her do that before but its a first for me. She ’s miss smiley all the time but laughing seems to be something new. The Trentman is still fussier than his sister but seems to calm a bit more everyday. He’s great at holding his head up and still doesn’t weigh as much as Sophie does but is trying his best to catch up. Moving to the nursery seems to have put Sophie in a different sleep pattern and she’s now sleeping through the night. Aaron (who was on night duty for Sophie) couldn’t be more thrilled. Trentman still wakes up at 2:30am but for me, it’s a good bonding time for us and we’ve got a nice routine going.
Wow- it’s hard to believe October is coming to a close and November is almost upon us. We can’t wait for Halloween. We’ve got their costumes all ready and for the first time since we’ve lived in Willow Glen will be able to participate in the annual Lincoln avenue trick or treat event for children. We’ve received our report from visit the county made to our house to assess the babies for the early start program and we’ve been fortunate to be referred for services. I am so impressed that we received sign off one week from the evaluation. Somehow in my head I had visions of the IRS ( or the negotiations we went through with the planning department when we did our addition last year) but it all came together very quickly. We’ve also been assigned a caseworker that will be will us through the babies 3rd birthday. Much like the role our social worker Gabby played at Stanford, our caseworker will be responsible to ensure communication is open, and all services are coordinated. Having done Stanford though, we’ve now learned a few lessons about bringing multiple organizations together and are better prepared for what may lie ahead and how to be success navigating multiple agencies with different objectives.
The babies continue to amaze us. Everyday we try to spend a least an hour on “tummy time”. Trent has really got the head-lifting thing down and Sophie is the queen a grabing . Thinking back a few months ago, I never thought we’d get here.
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This evening I came home and noticed that the old fashioned streetlights on our street have all been decorated for Halloween. I can’t wait to take the babies out in the evening so they can see the wonderful decorations! We want to make their first Halloween as special as possible. This weekend we will have our annual neighborhood pumpkin carving party and will introduce the babies to the tradition. Tonight when I put the babies down to bed and was singing to them Trent was looking straight at me and Aaron and I are just positive he could hear me. We heard from Stanford today and they’ want us to see the ENT doctor again on November 7th. The follow up hearing test will occur sometime in December.
Sophie girl continues to be incredibly chatty. I just know that I’ll be getting a call from her first grade teacher telling me that Miss Sophie is disrupting the class with her talking.
Today was a tough day for the Trentman. He was such a trooper at his hearing test. The test was based upon behavioral response. To obtain results, small earphones were placed on his ears and the examiner talked into his earphones. Another examiner sat in front of him and watched his facial responses to the noises. Sometimes he appeared to respond and but other times he didn’t. Poor Trent, he seemed to get scared as well when the examiner said “Bye, Bye” into his earphone (and would cry. The other parts of the test include playing music to get Trent to look and dancing speakers that looked like animals. He looked sometimes but didn’t respond at all when they played the theme from Barney. We’re sort of stuck in a weird place due to his prematurity, real age and adjusted age. The end result showed we need additional tests, which will be conducted in December. The next test will require a repeat of the original brain stem test but because of his age, he will need to be put under general anesthesia. Unfortunately because of his past medical history this is an area of concern and will need to be done with additional medical supervision. I so with there was a way to determine real results with his hearing without having to put him under, I just wish there was a way I could go through this for him.
Little Sophie girl continues to do well although still struggling with a heck of a rash. She seems to feel fine but is turning into a big red tomato. Tomorrow I will follow up with the pediatrician to see what we can do to try and figure out what’s causing it.