Monday, September 29, 2008
She's hot to trot
Abs Takes a Stroll from Matt on Vimeo.
Abs finally decided she was ready to walk today. This evening, she took off across the dining room toward her toy, and she repeated it all evening. As you can see she is very excited about her new-found mobility. Geo says just wait.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Updated Pics
Some recent cute pics...
Here's George doing his new favorite position! He had fun playing in Tori's crate while Nana and Pop were here.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Woes of Illness
As a new parent, one can never really be prepared for what it is like to have a child with a sickness (much less how it affects your life ie. taking off work, less sleep, dealing with insurance companies, etc.). But multiply that times two, and it's a whole new ballgame.
Before I begin, I must make a disclaimer that we have been blessed beyond our comprehension to have minor illnesses. Many families are affected with major, life-threatening diseases that I cannot even pretend to understand. My heart goes out to those who are dealing with much more severe situations. I thank God that G&A's health situations have been manageable, cureable, and all-in-all, not really big deals.
It has, however, been more than we have dealt with before and seeing your sweet angel in pain or discomfort can be heart-wrenching. Abigail has been relatively healthy. She has bad allergies and it is not uncommon for her to have a drippy nose or lots of sneezes. She has had a few colds and two ear infections to date. She has the occasional fever but never very high. George on the other hand, oh sweet George...
George has had ear infections continuously since he was 6.5 months old. He has been on antibiotics for that whole time less approx 3 weeks. Yes, count it, he has been on antibiotics for six months of his little life. For a while, we were counting the infections. But there came a point where we lost track of the number, after all, it's probably the same infection that has never gone away. It has either been in the right ear or both ears. We were referred to the otolaryngologist when he was 10 months old. We were able to hold off from getting the tubes until he was 11 months old, and in the past 1 1/2 months, he has had to have his ears drained twice. The doc said the integrity of the tubes is great and they are draining properly. Yes, we thought the tubes would fix everything. But alas, we were wrong.
He is currently on sulfa ear drops to treat the infection in his right ear. G's bacteria is resistant to the typical ear antibiotics that are given, so if the sulfa drops don't clear it up, they will culture the bacteria and attempt to discover what will kill it (wish we had already done this). Hopefully when we go back in a week, there will be no infection. I was hopeful until today, when I got him out of his crib, he had eye gunk and a raspy wheeze. Not looking good. We will also have another audiology exam in a month or so as the one two weeks ago showed "inconclusive"--which means that either he could not hear out of his right ear or Abigail distracted him and he did not respond to the test.
I have started researching alternatives to treat/prevent ear infections. The first line of defense is to keep him away from people with colds. Well, that is impossible unless we literally become hermits in our house. We decided that I would continue breastfeeding, since G has a weakened immune system and breastmilk is best for babies with ear trouble. I am happy about our decision and feel confident that breastmilk supplementing a nutritious diet will hopefully put him in a better situation. Again, the thought of "think of what his illness level would be like if you hadn't been breastfeeding" resonates and I want to help him as best I can. We also started both babies on multi-vitamins. Many sites talk about food allergies as being the cause of ear infections. Neither G nor A are on cow's milk (they drink soymilk), so the next most common allergen is wheat. Wheat is in nearly EVERYTHING, so we'll see how the other tactics work first. We might do an allergen test through our pediatrician, which would help us determine the cause a bit easier and quicker.
So if you have any ideas or suggestions, we are open to them. Many, many children have ear infections. Poor baby George just has a difficult time getting over his. Good news is he is still a very happy guy with great communication skills and full of life and vitality. JJ Waggoner put it perfectly, "when George listens to you, he listens with his whole face!" George is an amazing little boy and we have no doubt that he will overcome this challenge. His physical ability conquering is a testament to that....
Before I begin, I must make a disclaimer that we have been blessed beyond our comprehension to have minor illnesses. Many families are affected with major, life-threatening diseases that I cannot even pretend to understand. My heart goes out to those who are dealing with much more severe situations. I thank God that G&A's health situations have been manageable, cureable, and all-in-all, not really big deals.
It has, however, been more than we have dealt with before and seeing your sweet angel in pain or discomfort can be heart-wrenching. Abigail has been relatively healthy. She has bad allergies and it is not uncommon for her to have a drippy nose or lots of sneezes. She has had a few colds and two ear infections to date. She has the occasional fever but never very high. George on the other hand, oh sweet George...
George has had ear infections continuously since he was 6.5 months old. He has been on antibiotics for that whole time less approx 3 weeks. Yes, count it, he has been on antibiotics for six months of his little life. For a while, we were counting the infections. But there came a point where we lost track of the number, after all, it's probably the same infection that has never gone away. It has either been in the right ear or both ears. We were referred to the otolaryngologist when he was 10 months old. We were able to hold off from getting the tubes until he was 11 months old, and in the past 1 1/2 months, he has had to have his ears drained twice. The doc said the integrity of the tubes is great and they are draining properly. Yes, we thought the tubes would fix everything. But alas, we were wrong.
He is currently on sulfa ear drops to treat the infection in his right ear. G's bacteria is resistant to the typical ear antibiotics that are given, so if the sulfa drops don't clear it up, they will culture the bacteria and attempt to discover what will kill it (wish we had already done this). Hopefully when we go back in a week, there will be no infection. I was hopeful until today, when I got him out of his crib, he had eye gunk and a raspy wheeze. Not looking good. We will also have another audiology exam in a month or so as the one two weeks ago showed "inconclusive"--which means that either he could not hear out of his right ear or Abigail distracted him and he did not respond to the test.
I have started researching alternatives to treat/prevent ear infections. The first line of defense is to keep him away from people with colds. Well, that is impossible unless we literally become hermits in our house. We decided that I would continue breastfeeding, since G has a weakened immune system and breastmilk is best for babies with ear trouble. I am happy about our decision and feel confident that breastmilk supplementing a nutritious diet will hopefully put him in a better situation. Again, the thought of "think of what his illness level would be like if you hadn't been breastfeeding" resonates and I want to help him as best I can. We also started both babies on multi-vitamins. Many sites talk about food allergies as being the cause of ear infections. Neither G nor A are on cow's milk (they drink soymilk), so the next most common allergen is wheat. Wheat is in nearly EVERYTHING, so we'll see how the other tactics work first. We might do an allergen test through our pediatrician, which would help us determine the cause a bit easier and quicker.
So if you have any ideas or suggestions, we are open to them. Many, many children have ear infections. Poor baby George just has a difficult time getting over his. Good news is he is still a very happy guy with great communication skills and full of life and vitality. JJ Waggoner put it perfectly, "when George listens to you, he listens with his whole face!" George is an amazing little boy and we have no doubt that he will overcome this challenge. His physical ability conquering is a testament to that....
Sunday, September 21, 2008
12 month update
Before I begin, Lauren did a fabulous job recounting the twins' bday weekend on her blog (see The Holy Lands to the right) as did Matt on his 12 month letter on his running blog (see also to the right). So I will skip the details of their party weekend and jump straight to specifics about their development and life in the crazy Jank house.
Instead of doing the necessary household evils like folding laundry and picking up from our two tornadoes, I am sitting down to update on the myriad of changes in G&A. Life has really changed for us in the past month. G&A are attending two day school programs from 9am-2pm on M-Th, which is when I head to my nursing home and adult day center and do counseling with my clients. It took the babies about three weeks to get into our new routine, and I'm still trying to adjust! Since G&A are out of our house, their nap schedule is totally wacky. Fortunately for the teachers at their schools, they nap for at least an hour there. But poor Mama, when we get home, I have two babies velcroed to my legs! No naps in the afternoon...and my twelve months olds definitely need more than an hour of napping each day. Needless to say, I need them to nap more too! We'll see how things continue to change in the next few weeks.
(Writer's note: This entry will be broken up into segments as G&A keep awaking from their naps, so I don't think I have time to write everything now...)
Physical Mobility/Communication:
We have seen the most dramatic changes in George in the past month. He is now crawling at lightening speed from one end of the house to the other. When Pop and Nana were here, he fell in love with his Pop! While Pop was fixing our plumbing in the front bathroom and installing cabinet safety locks, G was his little assistant. G found a new love of toys....drills, rulers, hardware, etc.
G would crawl everywhere Pop went.
In the past few days, he has begun to pull up on furniture, legs, moving ottomans, push toys....it has been wonderful to watch!! From a physical therapy viewpoint, he still shows greater strength on his left side but yesterday he was trying with all of his might to push up on that right leg! He is one determined little kiddo! Just last night, G began cruising...he walked along the couch and went from dining chair to dining chair (trying to pet our cat Louise of course--a little motivation never hurts!). He is able to walk confidently behind slower-rolling push toys and loves to push boxes around the house. He loves to bounce up and down, stand on his head in "downward dog", and wave his arms around in excitement while bouncing. He loves anything that looks like something he is not supposed to have, like the broom, He babbles, coos, and squeals, but only a few distinguishable words: "daddy" and "Pop". His sister understands more than we do!
Hard for us to believe, but Abigail is still not walking! She has been cruising for months and crawling everywhere, but we are learning that our petite little flower is pretty cautious. She stands independently at times and will take a few steps here and there, but has not shown any desire to be a full-time upright walker. She is so funny, she pushes G over, steps on him, tackles him, literally runs behind push toys (sometimes runs over G with the toy), and goes anywhere her heart desires. She loves to sit in her "Abigail" chair (constructed and handpainted by the Millers) and ride her music pony...she can even get on and off by herself. She has a great vocab: "momomo" (mama milk), "dada", "bubba", "mama", "mo" (monkey--her treasured lovie), "Pop", "Nana" and "nigh-nigh" (night night).
Even though A is still small, she weighed in at 17.1 lbs. and 28" long at her one year check-up. Pretty different than her big bro who weighs 20.4 lbs. and 30" long--G looks so much bigger than A. We weighed them yesterday on our bathroom scale and A was 18 lbs. and G was 23 lbs. Not "official" but wow, they feel like they are really gaining weight! She wears 6-9 mo clothes and G wears 9-12 mo clothes with a 12-18 mo. thrown in occasionally. Cloth diapers are fabulous, but they definitely make their clothes fit more snug.
Cuisine a les bebes:
Food has been an interesting change for our two one-year-olds. Matt and I made their food, pureeing and mashing, until they were about ten months old. We tried to choose healthy selections, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. We are now transitioning to more finger foods and trying to have them eat what we are eating.
They are both becoming more opinionated about their diets. They would eat nothing but carbs!! His faves: crackers, pb&j sandwiches, o's & graham crackers. He will eat green beans, squash, yogurt, and fruit. A will try nearly anything, but prefers yogurt, pb, fruit, and all carbs. They are dramatic about their preferences...throwing food or tossing their sippie cups when they are done. They are consistent about using sign language for "more" or "all done" to express their needs. They are drinking soymilk and diluted juice from sippies with straws. I am still breastfeeding 2-3x day. I planned to wean them at a year, but they decided they were not done and I wasn't ready to stop either, so we are continuing. With G's health problems, it helped me to know that continuing to BF will be better for G and A will benefit as well (more on that later).
Gotta run...babies are awake and ready for a snack!! Stay tuned for more later on George's ears...
Instead of doing the necessary household evils like folding laundry and picking up from our two tornadoes, I am sitting down to update on the myriad of changes in G&A. Life has really changed for us in the past month. G&A are attending two day school programs from 9am-2pm on M-Th, which is when I head to my nursing home and adult day center and do counseling with my clients. It took the babies about three weeks to get into our new routine, and I'm still trying to adjust! Since G&A are out of our house, their nap schedule is totally wacky. Fortunately for the teachers at their schools, they nap for at least an hour there. But poor Mama, when we get home, I have two babies velcroed to my legs! No naps in the afternoon...and my twelve months olds definitely need more than an hour of napping each day. Needless to say, I need them to nap more too! We'll see how things continue to change in the next few weeks.
(Writer's note: This entry will be broken up into segments as G&A keep awaking from their naps, so I don't think I have time to write everything now...)
Physical Mobility/Communication:
We have seen the most dramatic changes in George in the past month. He is now crawling at lightening speed from one end of the house to the other. When Pop and Nana were here, he fell in love with his Pop! While Pop was fixing our plumbing in the front bathroom and installing cabinet safety locks, G was his little assistant. G found a new love of toys....drills, rulers, hardware, etc.
G would crawl everywhere Pop went.
In the past few days, he has begun to pull up on furniture, legs, moving ottomans, push toys....it has been wonderful to watch!! From a physical therapy viewpoint, he still shows greater strength on his left side but yesterday he was trying with all of his might to push up on that right leg! He is one determined little kiddo! Just last night, G began cruising...he walked along the couch and went from dining chair to dining chair (trying to pet our cat Louise of course--a little motivation never hurts!). He is able to walk confidently behind slower-rolling push toys and loves to push boxes around the house. He loves to bounce up and down, stand on his head in "downward dog", and wave his arms around in excitement while bouncing. He loves anything that looks like something he is not supposed to have, like the broom, He babbles, coos, and squeals, but only a few distinguishable words: "daddy" and "Pop". His sister understands more than we do!
Hard for us to believe, but Abigail is still not walking! She has been cruising for months and crawling everywhere, but we are learning that our petite little flower is pretty cautious. She stands independently at times and will take a few steps here and there, but has not shown any desire to be a full-time upright walker. She is so funny, she pushes G over, steps on him, tackles him, literally runs behind push toys (sometimes runs over G with the toy), and goes anywhere her heart desires. She loves to sit in her "Abigail" chair (constructed and handpainted by the Millers) and ride her music pony...she can even get on and off by herself. She has a great vocab: "momomo" (mama milk), "dada", "bubba", "mama", "mo" (monkey--her treasured lovie), "Pop", "Nana" and "nigh-nigh" (night night).
Even though A is still small, she weighed in at 17.1 lbs. and 28" long at her one year check-up. Pretty different than her big bro who weighs 20.4 lbs. and 30" long--G looks so much bigger than A. We weighed them yesterday on our bathroom scale and A was 18 lbs. and G was 23 lbs. Not "official" but wow, they feel like they are really gaining weight! She wears 6-9 mo clothes and G wears 9-12 mo clothes with a 12-18 mo. thrown in occasionally. Cloth diapers are fabulous, but they definitely make their clothes fit more snug.
Cuisine a les bebes:
Food has been an interesting change for our two one-year-olds. Matt and I made their food, pureeing and mashing, until they were about ten months old. We tried to choose healthy selections, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. We are now transitioning to more finger foods and trying to have them eat what we are eating.
They are both becoming more opinionated about their diets. They would eat nothing but carbs!! His faves: crackers, pb&j sandwiches, o's & graham crackers. He will eat green beans, squash, yogurt, and fruit. A will try nearly anything, but prefers yogurt, pb, fruit, and all carbs. They are dramatic about their preferences...throwing food or tossing their sippie cups when they are done. They are consistent about using sign language for "more" or "all done" to express their needs. They are drinking soymilk and diluted juice from sippies with straws. I am still breastfeeding 2-3x day. I planned to wean them at a year, but they decided they were not done and I wasn't ready to stop either, so we are continuing. With G's health problems, it helped me to know that continuing to BF will be better for G and A will benefit as well (more on that later).
Gotta run...babies are awake and ready for a snack!! Stay tuned for more later on George's ears...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
One Year Pics
If you want to see a little peepshow of George and Abigail's one year photo shoot with Trina Gibbins, go to her blog at right (trinagibbinsphotography.com/blog) to see our adorable twins!!
Trina, you are amazing!!
Trina, you are amazing!!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Happy Birthday
It is hard to believe that one year ago today, we were slowly getting used to the idea that there were two little beings in the room with us. It is with great joy that we celebrate G and A's first birthday. What a year it has been.
I asked Carrie if she wanted to recreate the scene, but she was deadset against it. Something about getting out of bed at 12:30 didn't appeal to her at all.
Thanks to all for your support, love and prayers over the last year. We can't wait to see what numero dos brings.
I asked Carrie if she wanted to recreate the scene, but she was deadset against it. Something about getting out of bed at 12:30 didn't appeal to her at all.
Thanks to all for your support, love and prayers over the last year. We can't wait to see what numero dos brings.
Monday, September 1, 2008
G&A's Birthday Party
Here is a glimpse into the weekend's festivities for G&A's first birthday party. More to follow!!
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