Well, there is also a new post below this one, but it doesn’t focus on the kids.Â
/
/
/
/Kimball and Sawyer continue to charge ahead with their weight gain. We have not had any recent doctor visits, but our scale at home showed them right around ten pounds last week. At that rate, they are gaining about two pounds per month.
/
/
/
/Brinlee is not far behind, surpassing nine pounds but also gaining about two pounds per month.
/
/
/
/All three of them have started smiling and emitting some coos. Sawyer is definitely a smiler and has really begun to express happy emotions. The other two are slightly behind but are also rapidly beginning to demonstrate more emotion. Kimball has a grin that goes ear to ear. They are unbelievably cute when they smile. It just melts your heart and makes the occasional melt down more bearable.
/
/
/
/They are all doing fantastic. We bought one of those little infant chairs (Bebe pod) and they sit up in it pretty well. They start to slouch to the sides after a while, but it’s amazing how well they do. They hold their heads up all the time. sometimes they’ll hover their heads just above our shoulders for minutes on end. It’s like an endurance contest. They’re saying, “I COULD put my head down if I wanted to, but I don’t HAVE to.” They are so alert and aware. They love watching the mobile and being on their activity mat. There is a particular ladybug that hangs overhead that takes a major beating on a regular basis. They are becoming aware that their arms belong to them and are starting to hit the ladybug on purpose.
/
/
/
/Lately they are staying awake longer between feedings. This has provided a new challenge for scheduling. They used to wake up, eat, go right back to sleep. Now they want to play. Sometimes they are all 3 awake at once (gasp!). Today April was feeding Brinlee and Linda was bathing Kimball. Sawyer was playing on the activity mat until he decided he was done and started to fuss. Well, it’s never a good idea to come between Brinlee and her meal (she’s just like her mama in that regard), and we couldn’t let Sawyer be overcome by preemie rage (it’s real. They go from happy to meltdown in a matter of seconds), so April picked Sawyer up with her feet and moved him off the mat, kicked the offending mat out of Sawyer’s visual range, propped him up with his bottom resting/supported by her ankles and his head resting on the tops of her feet and she bounced him to keep him happy. She didn’t use her hands to do any of it. All the while Brinlee didn’t miss a single suck on the bottle. Talk about multi-tasking. April decided that counted as a work out for today.
/
/
/
/A follow up visit with a neurologist to make sure they are developing well had positive findings. They are doing everything they should be for their corrected age of 1 month, and most of the things they should be doing for their actual age of 3 months. We already knew that, but it’s nice to hear it from an expert.
/
/
/
/We discovered a contraption called the Tucker sling and wedge to help with their reflux. It keeps them at a 45 degree angle when they sleep so they don’t spit up. The doctor told us to just elevate their mattress to that angle, but they all slid to the bottom in a pile. Even adults couldn’t sleep at that angle without supporting themselves all night. Check it out at http://www.tuckersling.com/. The inventor/owner was very kind and helpful. Our insurance paid for them, fortunately.
/
/
/
/On a sad note, Sawyer and Kimball are losing their hair. The tops are almost completely bald. They each have a tuft at the front and plenty around the sides. April is afraid Sawyer’s hair won’t be that beautiful strawberry blond (more strawberry than blond) when it grows back in. Their shiny tops make them look like little old men. When we bathe them, we still shampoo their heads, but mostly just for the sake of tradition. We’re guessing they’ll all be platinum blonds like Adam was.
/
/
/
/We want to send a special thanks to all those who continue to provide us with amazing help and support. April’s mom, Vicki, and her Aunt Patty, were here for two weeks at the beginning of January and were outstanding. Aunt Janice joined the fight for a weekend to support her sisters. They were replaced by members of the church group for a week and now Adam’s mom, Linda, has joined in the fight to care for these young ones. Church members have also been bringing us meals since the babies came home. Even before the babies were born our families were taking care of April on bedrest. The two moms and Adam’s brother, Dave, and his wife, Lisa. We are just very blessed with amazing family and friends, and we are very grateful for all of the help.
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/Sawyer sitting in the Bebe Pod chair
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/Kimball sitting in the chair
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/Brinlee’s turn in the chair
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/Aunt Patty with Brinlee, Sawyer and Kimball (left to right)
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/Brinlee hugging Sawyer
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/Sawyer and Kimball holding hands. I’m sure they’ll accuse of staging it someday, but they did this all on their own.
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/Brinlee on her wedge. I swaddled her around the sling. She looks like an insect on a science project, pinned to the cardstock.
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/All three on their wedges. Pretty fancy.