Well, Adam had his upper GI this morning. I had no idea that I would just about be in tears three minutes into it. So here's what I want to know...
I'm taking Adam into the hospital to get an upper GI because he vomits often and doesn't really like to eat and we want to know why. Don't let the fact that he's holding his bottle in the photo fool you. So, why, pray tell, would they think, "Hey, let's strap this kid to a board with wide bands of velcro, put a foam block around his head, turn him on his side, and then try to feed him this disgusting white goopy stuff."?????
I know the doctor doing the procedure didn't know Adam well, but for crying out loud, did they really think THAT was the trick to get him to eat? For those of you that know the bouncy-seat-Baby-Einstein situation, you will understand why this didn't work so well. He got enough down for her to get the pictures, but he screamed the entire time which is quite impressive for a kid who probably has a paralyzed vocal cord. I was just about in tears, too, but I drummed up my NICU bravery and held his hands (which were strapped above his head) and sang to him. The good news is that the doctor said there was nothing serious wrong with him--no malrotation (intestine twisted, I believe), which is mainly what I got the impression she was looking for. She did mention that his stomach was emptying very slowly, but it could have been due to the amount of stress he was under. We really don't have any conclusive results now. Next step, pediatric GI.On a less medical note: Adam is rolling around like crazy now, and lifting his chest off the ground. Yeah Adam! This takes work for him since he doesn't have the hours of practice that Eleanor has under his belt. Today, I left the house with Eleanor and Alex to drop Alex off with my grandma and mom. Jim stayed home with Adam. When I got home and Adam saw me he leaned out of Jim's arms toward me, like he wanted me to hold him! Yet another reason to get all mushy. He had never done that before.
On to the little stinker Eleanor who is getting ready to crawl. She has no interest in staying seated since this offers no locomotive bonus, even though she has plenty of muscle strength for it. Just not the balance. Forget that, she just wants to MOVE. She has been spotted several times up on her hands and knees. Just for moments, but enough for me to start thinking, "Oh no--whare are those safety locks for the cupboards?" I'm so excited for her!
So I stick my finger in his little mouth and I can just barely feel the sharp little edges of teeth making their way through. The little guy is chowing down on
She's not crawling, but she is pushing her whole chest and stomach off the floor--or she pulls her knees up under her. She just can't do both at the same time. Really she has to master sitting up before she can crawl. 
Last Thursday, he started vomiting just about everything we gave him, including the squash. Pretty. Since it continued into Sunday and he was crying in pain, I took him to the ER. He wasn't dehydrated, thank goodness. They tripled his Zantac dose which I then discovered was too high a dose for him, thanks to the idiot ER doctor who prescribed it. Now that he's on the correct dose we need to feed Adam small amounts until the medication kicks in again. I calculated it once--how much of my day it takes to feed Adam--even on a good day. It is at least 6 hours of the day, sometimes 7. This is why we have NEVER both left the twins for even ONE feeding since we brought them home in January. It is so difficult to read all his little signs. Just because Adam starts to get upset, this doesn't mean he's done eating. It may mean he needs to burp again. It may mean he's tired. It may mean he's still really hungry. If you don't figure him out, he will throw up, guaranteed. And he will only eat sitting in a bouncy seat, watching TV. 
If he doesn't eat enough, then he doesn't gain enough weight--and as all preemie parents know--that's a lot of pressure. We've done pretty well so far being that he weighs 17 pounds, but I know he's lost weight in the last week. Some people may think I'm crazy--that if they just try, they will be able to feed him. Nope. It's not me, it's not them, it's that Adam doesn't like to eat most of the time. He deals with it, but it's not comforting for him, it's not really enjoyable. That's understandable since he's just going to throw it all up 5 minutes later, anyway. It's just something he and I deal with out of necessity. I hope this Zantac does it and he will be back to his good ol' puke-once-a-day self, rather than this crazy puke-a-palooza, but if not we have an upper GI scheduled in August and an appointment with a pediatric gastrointerologist at UofM as well. I'm just praying that this isn't anything even more serious than the reflux. Sigh. You can see why we don't get out much...
But today when she looked at Eleanor, she thought she looked great, had no increased tone in her legs and even has some abilities beyond what she would expect at her age. In other words, no cerebral palsy! I have had tears in my eyes ever since she said that. I think I was so convinced that she had it, that I haven't even let it all sink in yet. To celebrate, I put a bow in her hair so she could look especially cute. Our little miracles just keep beating the odds. We are so blessed. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
We took some great photos of the 4th of July, and I also included one of Alex at baseball. He got the game ball! He also did a fabulous job at his piano recital and even won a medal for most minutes practiced. He'll be starting up again in August and he's really looking forward to it.
Alex is a fabulous big brother and a great help. For those of you who know him, that's probably not a surprise! Pediatrician appt. on Friday--updates then!
She weighed just 8 pounds when she was here and I couldn't believe how little that seemed. It was also hard to remember when Eleanor and Adam came home and weighed just 6 pounds. Seeing our newborn neice was really a treat--and Alex was quite fortunate to be able to hold her for the photo!
Eleanor is much more the social butterfly than her brother. He is content to sit around and watch what happens---she wants to be in the thick of it. Even better if she's the center of attention. I can hear everyone who knows me laughing, even as I type that. Yes, she's more like me every day.
She holds her hold head and chest up by outstretched arms and prefers to watch Baby Einstein this way in the morning. Speaking or mornings...she wakes up so happy! She just babbles and babbles on and smiles continuously. This has made me more of a morning person, which is no small feat. She will sqeal and almost shriek at toys and the TV quite a bit during the day. Her whole face lights up when anyone in the family walks into the room. 
She loves her "Mr. Crinkly" which is this star shaped toy she chews on and it makes a crinkly sound. As you can see from the photo, she likes showing off her tum-tum--which is quite "prosperous" these days, as Jim would say. She is quite particular with her likes and dislikes, though (hmmm...I wonder where she got that) and will scream at the top of lungs until you figure out just what she wants. Of course, you're rewarded with a big toothless grin, so it's worth it.
I don't think he likes bananas either. Although Adam sleeps great at night, he hates falling asleep. He will thrash his head back and forth and bounce himself in the bouncy seat if it will keep him awake. He still has a bald spot on the back of his head from this. When he is on the play gym, he kicks so high that he is kicking the hanging toys. Just today he started showing some interest in rolling over. He is much more relaxed than Eleanor though, so he isn't as motivated. Adam has one eye that sometimes is straight and sometimes turns in, so we will find out what needs to be done about that at his appointment with the eye doctor next month. When I stick my tongue out at him, he will do the same in return and then smile immediately. He sqeals almost every time I walk into a room, which is great! I am so excited that they are starting to recognize me.
The minivan was packed, including the Stow and Go sections--Alex sat in the back row and watched movies while the twins snoozed most of the way up north. Of course a trip that used to take and 4 hours now takes six or so, but we expected that. To feed Adam, we would stop at rest areas, get the bouncy seat out, find a place under a tree for some shade and feed him. That is a 50 minute adventure in itself. I'm glad we were in the right frame of mind and didn't expect to travel too quickly--it ended up being a beautiful trip up. But that 95 degree garbage on the way home had to go. We were all cranky and it was hard to find a cool, shady spot to feed 
Eleanor had an encounter with some squash that we will not repeat again. Every five days, I've been adding a new vegetable to their repetoire, and on Saturday it was squash. She started screaming about 10 minutes after I finished feeding her and would only stop if she was laying on her tummy on us. This went on until at least 10 pm when she fell asleep for the night. Neither of them really cry unless they need something or something hurts, so I knew it must have really bothered her. Needless to say, we are skipping over squash and we have started green beans. I tasted that stuff and it is disgusting, but they seem to enjoy it. 
Eleanor is continuing to roll over every time I put her on her back, so it wasn't just a fluke! I personally think her main motivation for rolling over was to be able to sleep on her tummy--she hates sleeping on her back. I keep rolling her back to sleep on her back, but it's a losing battle. Now if she could just motivate Adam. He has figured out how to bounce his own bouncy chair. It's almost as if he might think that catapulting himself out of the chair would be just as useful a way of moving around as crawiling. He doesn't get much tummy time because he throws up every time we lay him down on his belly. With his reflux he has to sit up so much of the time, he doesn't get the exercise that Eleanor does. But we'll keep trying!
Adam eats very well, too, and especially likes sweet potatoes. He weighs 15 pounds 12 ounces. Eleanor beat him during the month he decided food wasn't really his thing. 
They have also had carrots and squash is up next. Our pediatrician likes to start them on vegetables and then go to fruit--since sometimes they will like the fruit so much they won't eat their veggies. They might end up taking after their dad in the veggie department. I'm still trying to tell him that corn really isn't a vegetable, but he won't have it. Anyway, I'm hoping that all three of his kids will gang up on him someday and have him singing asparagus' praises.
So since the last update there continue to be up’s and down’s. Adam and Eleanor went to their “4 month” developmental clinic evaluation. Both were evaluated to be in the “normal” range – but – it was noted that Eleanor’s legs were stiffer than normal. This is one of the early warning signs for cerebral palsy. They are not able to make a diagnosis, or give a prognosis yet. So we are stuck in limbo a bit. Since there is not an actual diagnosis – we can not get a referral for a second opinion, nor get referred to a physical therapist (PT). Feeling Eleanor’s leg, and her flexibility versus Adam’s, it is pretty clear there is a significant difference. Michelle has been spending a lot of time working with Eleanor and her flexibility. If she has CP, there is no cure, but PT can help manage it a bit. 
Most afternoons, we go from one thing to the next as they get bored. On their backs under the play mat, then in the bouncy seats, then on their tummies, then upstairs to look at the mobile, then eating, then held for half an hour until they fall asleep, etc. It just seems to go in circles like this all day. So the exersaucer was a change of pace. 
They both seem to enjoy it, but Adam actually plays with the toys, whereas Eleanor watches them wide-eyed. She much prefers Baby Einstein movies. She gets so excited her feet and arms get going and she'll squeal! It's really cute. And never mind that the American Pediatric Association says no TV until babies are two. 
