Last night was hard at the Keene house. I know every parent goes through it but we’d never done the major crib vomit. Wow – what an experience. Of course it happened at the 3am- Sophie’s bewitching hour. She was SO upset and it was everywhere. So off to the bath she went (for the 2nd time in less than 6 hours) and then we put her in the swing so we could wash everything. Normally I’d think – just a baby who was getting the flu or ate something that didn’t’ agree but with Sophie – we have to be extra vigilant. Unfortunately one the key signs of shunt failure are vomiting and listenslessnesa. Both of which she’s now demonstrated. I guess I go back to thoughts of a ticking bomb. I know everyone has bad days and feels listless so I’m just chalking up her lack of energy to that. The vomiting was just one time so I’m putting that in the category of upset tummy. So for now- we just watch her REALLY close to make sure everything is normal.
They are both such funny little people. I’ve noticed she tries to take things apart and is interested in anything mechanical- my computer, the drain in the bath tub, the Cable box and replay TV – you name it. Trentman on the other hand is more interested in trucks (such a guy) and well his “package”. I hate to stereotype but I know grabbing it, adjusting is a man thing and Trent is all boy Ever since he was a very tiny thing in the NICU he went right for it and now it continues. I guess I’m glad he’s proud of it- I just wonder if we have an exotic dancer in our future wearing a hard hat.
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Today I took Trent and Sophie to El Camino hospital to get both their urinalysis done and Trent’s blood work. After our experience I have no decided to move all blood tests going forward to the “ I can’t do them alone column”. The phlebotomist on staff said he didn’t feel comfortable doing a baby so we ended up waiting about an hour for another phlebotomist with more experience to come back from break. And yes, much like the neuro surgery waiting room at Stanford, the main lab at El Camino now has fewer magazines than they did earlier today. I had toys and treats in my diaper bag but waiting 45 minutes for a baby is like hours and doing it times 2- a magazine tearing party often becomes the only option. Unfortunately even when the more experienced phlebotomist came we still had some difficulty. He was very calm but the guy helping him kept saying, “we don’t do babies- you really need to go to Stanford” and as Trent cried and cried- I kept kicking myself for not bucking up and driving up to Stanford. Trent is so strong now and it’s so hard to hold him down. And it turns out that although he has great veins, they’re hard to get. The poor guy had to be stuck 3 times and was beyond unhappy. Sophie was with us sitting in the stroller and as Trent started to cry – she did too – although nothing was being done to her. The louder he cried- the louder she cried. I’m sure she was trying to let me know that he was upset and I needed to do something about it. The receptionist at the lab tried to help calm Sophie but all she wanted was for her brother to be ok. Unfortunately the urinalysis was a bust – neither bag was able to catch anything on either baby. I’m sure the nephrology team will lecture me (and I will deserve it) but I’ve officially given up. We will just have to wait until the babies can do it the good ole’ fashioned way – and pee in a cup. The lame bags don’t work and we just need to call it a day.
I guess I thought the medical stuff would get easier as the babies got older but it seems to have gotten harder. Maybe because they understand what’s going on – or maybe I’m out of my league- but they’re be no more blood tests or CT scans without reinforcements. It’s just too hard on babies- and I’m not able to make it ok for them.
Sophie girl had a bit of tough day. She’s just not herself. I know everyone has those days but today she was just really tired. I wonder if we’re pushing her too hard with her walking? Tonight we took them over to my folks for 1 1/2 hours so we could go pick out pictures from the photos we had taken of them recently. We got so many nice photos –it was very hard to pick. It was so cute when we drove up to my parents and were able to see Grandma Carol dancing with Trent in the window (to Frank Sinatra no less). They both looked so happy. I spoke to our pediatrician today regarding discontinuing Trent’s reflux meds and she said all should be fine unless he starts refusing foods he previously liked or stops eating. She said he’s way beyond spitting up so any discomfort he’d feel would just be seen through not wanting to eat (which I can’t ever imagine him doing).
Sophie’s sleeping habits have sort of gotten better. She now goes right down just about the same time Trent does but 3:30am is still her bewitching hour (this morning we watch Charlie’s Angeles together). I wish I knew what was causing her to wake up. I’ve tried making sure there was so stimulants that would be waking her up as well as letting her cry but I do worry she’ll wake Trent up and in evidently go get her. So last night I caved on my stimulant rule since we both were wide a wake – and well it was Charlie’s Angeles.
Today the babies had physical therapy and worked so hard. They are so tired tonight. The main focus of their therapy was practice with their walking toys. Trent takes to his like a duck takes to water but Sophie isn’t all that interested. The therapist said that although the babies are doing great I shouldn’t expect them to walk until Christmas. Hmm ok. Disappointing news but its nice to have someone tells me what to expect. She also said our Trentman will definitely walk before Sophie girl does. Again not unexpected but something we now should acknowledge. She also played soccer (Trent acting as a goalie) with his rubber ball. He loved it and was so good at it. Of course he learned how to do that from Jose his godfather and our next door neighbor but the therapist was gushing about how smart he was etc that I just let her go without explaining in detail that Jose taught him that last night at our neighborhood barbeque. Mothers want to hear how exceptional their child is right?
Our task this weekend is to get them walking toys that our more weighted down (garage sales/craigs list here we come) and get ankle weights to duck tape to their existing walking toys so they’re not able to push them over. The therapist noted that Sophie girl is great at squats (this will be something she’ll be happy about later in life when she’s worried about toning her thighs) and that this is a skill that is quite hard to master. You go girl! We’ve just got to get her more interested in her walking toy and show her the importance of using it.
The babies are working so hard at walking. Their poor knees may never recover from their intense crawling though. Although we put kneepads on them (thanks to our wonderful caregiver Doris) they don’t always stay on or have them on and now both have VERY calloused knees. Tonight we had them at our neighborhood barbeque with their walking push toys trying to get them both go up and down the street. Unfortunately with the very large trees that line our sidewalks giant ramps with their roots in places, which can make a baby and push toy go quite fast. Trent is so much more determined than Sophie to walk. Every spare moment he has he goes right for the push toy. Sophie likes hers and well but doesn’t seem as intent to walk independently.
Tomorrow our original physical therapist Carol is coming to see the babies. I am so thrilled that she’s agreed to see the babies twice a month. It means a lot to mean to have the continuity with their care. So many parents have told me once the babies start to walk on their own I’ll wish they couldn’t but right now I can’t imagine not being over the top happy. And both Aaron and I are ready for the extra chasing that comes with new little walking babies.
Today we took the babies to the 50th birthday of Saratoga parade celebration.
(the town where my parents live) Although the babies have been to the Willow Glen High School homecoming parade (last October) this parade was so much more. Lots of bands (which the babies loved), dancing groups, balloons (which Trent especially LOVED) and so many, many things to look at. They had such great fun!
Sophie girl continues to struggle with her sleeping and she’s back waking up at 3am. I so wish I knew what was causing it. Tonight I was rocking her on the new glider that we got for a new front patio and she was so happy and relaxed. However, as soon as I started to walk close to the nursery she began to scream. I wish I knew what it was. Trent is more than happy to go into his crib at anytime. All their activity is certainly making them both more tired too- so bedtime is now coming either. Today Trent and I used his walking toy to go down the street. Wow- that hard. He wanted to do it so badly but it’s a long way for a little guy (4 close houses) but I’m sure it seems like miles to him. He kept fighting the urge to sit down or crawl we are so proud of them both.
Our Sophie seems to be doing the two steps forward and two steps back with her sleeping. Last we she almost got to sleeping until 5:30am in her crib (after crying for about 30 minutes when we put her down) but for the last couple of days she’s completely regressed with walking up after an hour and nothing calms her down except putting her in her swing. Always a women’s prerogative to change her mind and Sophie girl is definitely demonstrating it. How is it that I can have two babies born within 5 minutes who are so different? Trentman just LOVES to sleep. It doesn’t matter where or what time- he’s up for it. I can’t believe out little people are so different.
This weekend we are trying an experiment of not giving Trent his reflux meds. He’s out of both prescriptions anyway and rather than refill we’re trying him without the, The (Raglan) isn’t’ met for long term use anyway so the nagging voice in the back of my head say’s get him off both if possible. So far so good today. No spitting up. However he was a bit grumpy and I’m not sure if its no meds, his runny noise or just tired. We’ll go sans meds tomorrow again and just watch carefully to see how he does. I also need to check in with our pediatrician. She’s tends to be pretty pragmatic and honest about the doctors at Stanford. Our pediatrician tends to believe that if a child has a history of “X” and your specialist is “X” as a doctor, you’re looking for the worst. And she’s right- we’ve seen it multiple times where the specialist tend to look for the worst. Of course that’s also why we have them – we want those REALLY attentive folks so it’s just a careful balance to be realistic without being a hypocondriatric.