Up date on twins

Braxton Edward:

As you know he had eye surgery in august (2010), in attempt to fix his crossed eyes and nystagmus. Right after surgery, they were great, then they started going crossed again. They are better than they were but still not straight. He gets around great, and appears to track much better. He doesn't take as long to find your face and to focus on it. But, with that said, there's still a lot of crossing going on.
Phil took him to the eye doctor on Thursday and the doctor said it would be best to have another surgery. So....that is what we are doing. We are waiting to hear what date we will do it. She seems to think another surgery will help even more. As far as if his eyes will be "perfect"....thats unknown. Our doctor is pregnant and going on leave in January. We would LOVE for her to do the surgery again before she goes on maternity leave. Praying this can happen. OTherwise her colleague would have to do it. She raves about her....and i've met her, but to ease my comfort I want what I'm use to--and what I know. I'm sad that braxton has to go through this again, but I'm excited to see more improvement.

Braxton is doing SO well as far as meeting milestones. He is crawling on all fours, pulling himself up on furniture, cruising along furniture, etc. He is even understanding cause and effect. I will open a toy and he knows to shut it. He knows a button will open that toy back up. It's amazing to see. He will cry when he meets new people (age appropriate), he will also stop crying when mommy or daddy holds him. Cognitively seems to be trucking along-- His movements, however, are not as fluid and smooth as xanders. He is more rigid and very unstable. When he pulls himself up, you still have to be near him cuz he will fall...hard. He doesn't quite catch himself with ease. It's getting better...he tries to catch himself, but not graceful at all. We were told this is probably due to the cerebellum bleed that he had in the hospital. That part of the brain controls movement/stability/coordination. I'm very proud of him....he had a grade 4 bleed (worse bleed you can have), and a bleed in his cerebellum and he's doing all this. No one thought it was going to happen! Our God is good....

Xander Phillip:
Xander is also doing very well. He is a little ham....he's also going to be my willful child for sure. He has a mind of his own and that mind is always going. He loves to be center of attention (hmm...sounds familiar). He, in my opinion, will be walking within a month. I would say by Christmas. He can stand for a few seconds by himself.
He has a cyst on the side of his eye. We are waiting to get a consult from the ped. surgeon to see about removing it. His lungs should be strong enough now to undergo the surgery. (always thinking, in the back of our mind, about the MRI scare in the hospital).
He has to see the dentist soon again...his teeth have some enamel issues. This is related to him being a preemie. We just have to be more on top of brushing and taking care of his little teeth to avoid cavities; it's easier for him to get them.

Both boys will continue to get OT, PT, IRC (inland regional center), and speech therapy. Both boys have their hearing tests next week, which I'm very curious about. I know they hear...but what sounds they hear is still a mystery. Xander didn't really turn to the sounds the doctor was making. However, he turns when you say his name. We'll see...

Thank you for your continued support and prayers through all this. Although we are not waking up daily wondering if our kids will be with us or not (thankfully), there are always new challenges with raising preemie twins (whom are 15 months old [actual] already) and a very active 2 year old. These challenges can easily bog us down with worry if we are not focused and surrounded by such encouraging people. So thanks :)