Update on the boys development

Yesterday Phil and I took Braxton and Xander to their 8 month follow up appointment at the high risk infant clinic. To our surprise, the doctor that took care of them in the NICU was there. This is the doctor that we wanted to see at their 4 month check up but she was out of town. She is the doctor that I really liked at first...requested her often. But then she made that recommendation to end support for xander and my feelings for her changed a bit. (how could they not).

We walked down the hall, and she was talking to another doctor and she looked at us with HUGE eyes and a great big smile. She hadn't really seen the twins yet, but she KNEW they looked good. Later she tells us how good they really look.


So here's a recap of all we took in yesterday. It's a lot...you may get tired after reading this. i know I did...am.

we'll start with their size. Both boys are the same weight, 15.6 pounds. When plotting them on the growth chart, they are at the 5th percentile for babies 8 months old. THis went down form last visit. They are not making the curve they want to see. So we will go to a GI specialist to see what they would like to do. More than likely, they will just increase the calories for both of them. That is what she did today. They are on 26 cal. and they can eventually go up to 30 if need be. When they are 1 year corrected (december) they will start taking pedia sure.

head:
braxton's head circumference is smaller than xander's. In fact the doctor was wanting braxton's to be bigger. He had a cerebellum bleed while in the hospital, and this could be a reason for the size of his head...or it just could be that he needs to grow more. once we give him more calories and he's gaining weigh and growing, his head will proportionately grow with him. (that is our prayer).

along with the cerebellum bleed..this could also be why he is not as coordinated as xander. Braxton is not sitting up or crawling yet. But we found out that crawling is about an 8 month milestone, and we are just at 8 months. Braxton is pivoting from left to right while on his belly, so that is a good sign.

eyes:
braxton, as a lot of you know, will have surgery next thursday (26th). We will go this monday to the anaesthesiologist to make sure he can have it at out patient and not have to be in the hospital over night.
we are ready for this surgery...i know he will be such a different kid.
xander needs to get the cyst on the side of his eye/head taken off. Now that he is mobile he's more likely to fall on it and that could be dangerous. this doctor was on duty when xander coded from sedation in the hospital, and seems to think that he will not have a problem because he is much healthier. waiting for that referral.

ears:
this was the most shocking to me. The doctor was really concerned with their hearing. This whole time I have thought (and could still be right), they had great hearing. Well they did some tests using random noise makers and they both didn't respond to them like they should. That, and my history of having hearing loss, plus their prematurity are all weighing against them. The biggest concern was that their "speech" is not where it should be. They are making noises, but the noises they are making are that of a 3-6 month old. They should be making strong consonant sounds like, "ba ba" "da da", etc.
So they will be getting a hearing test that requires them to be sedated..it's called the ABR. I am now very curious (not worried) what they find. waiting on that referral.
they will also be getting speech therapy... again...i have to follow up on this to make sure the authorization went through.

"down there" :)
braxton has some fluid build up, that looked like a hernia near his testicles. I guess this is common among preemies. Turns out it's not a hernia but will need to see a urologist to follow up on it. another call to add to my list.....

Dr. houghlan was soo pleased with the boys. I also sensed some amazement and surprise when she found out xander got off oxygen soo quickly. She was very optimistic about braxton as well. She said with constant therapy at home and in the clinic, she can see him improving with his muscle tone. He still is tight but I asked about the cp label, and she said that is not what she would do at this point in time. I need to massage and stretch him out a lot more than I do. She is going to try and get us more in home services to avoid me having to drive around the county. (doing that with three young children is very hard).

So I think that is it...we will go back in November to follow up with all this stuff.

over all I was pleased with the visit.... Keeping up with their appointments and specialist is a chore. It's a job all in itself. Its very overwhelming to say the least, but it gets done. some how...it does.

till next time.