Friday, June 22, 2007

The post that took me three weeks to write

Seriously, I started this on June 22 and am now posting on July 13...





Things are going well here at Mom's. I think it is safe to say that the kids (esp. William) love their Grandma. My brother Jason has fallen for William while Margaret has captured the heart of my brother Nick (also a preemie). Of course, my Sis loves them both but I think a little girl is what she is after. Both babies have gotten to meet their paternal Granddad, Aunts and Uncles, Great Granny ("Big Granny"), Great Aunt Vicki, and Great Uncle Richard. There are lots of cuddles and kisses, holding, and gifts for both. Margaret even got to go on a boat trip with GU Richard and Big Granny! She looked so cute in her life jacket! She also had her first trip to the pool which was big fun!


Little Margaret has really blossomed this summer. She has started talking instead of pointing and grunting. And she is trying her best to run and jump. Lots of practice is needed, however. She is so much fun!

The name of her game, however, is mischief- catfood eating, potted plant digging, fireplace crawling, brother smacking, toilet paper eating mischief. She is certainly age appropriate and testing her limits. I will tell her "no" and she will continue to do whatever it is that she was doing, only more slowly and while keeping an eye on me. Sometimes it is really hard not to laugh. And then there is the food smearing. Food is meant to be worn, not eaten. She has taken to "running" whenever I say it is time to eat. I guess she isn't going to be plump any time soon.







William has finally started to calm a bit. I can now put him on his play gym and he will happily play for 10-15 minutes. Glorious for eating breakfast or prying Margaret off some dangerous object. He is sleeping through the night, too! This throws me off because Margaret didn't sleep through until she was 18 months or so. I don't know how much he weighs or his length but I can tell you that his head circumference has increased by 3.5 cm since his last neuro appointment. This is good news... just right. Not so much to imply hydrocephalus or too little to suggest microcephaly. William has also become more social with smiles and coos for everybody! He is so cute.


Motor wise, things remain static with William. Not much head control, has trouble getting hands to midline, nowhere close to working on sitting. He seems to be very hypotonic in his trunk and neck and very stiff in the legs and arms. Arms are a bit stiffer than his legs, even. I understand that his seizure med, Keppra (yeah, he was having seizures afterall), can have the side effect of muscle weakness so I don't know if that is contributing to his trunk/neck floppiness. His favorite thing to do is eat his fist and I want him to be able to do this on his own!!! He works so hard at it and my heart breaks when he cries in frustration because he just can't get his hand in there on his own.

I am also doing better. For those of you who don't know, I have been suffering a quite severe bout of Post Partum Depression with a little bit of Post Partum Anxiety Disorder thrown in to round things out. I had started seeing a Social Worker who immediately sent me to a Psychiatrist. Well, the "screening" and waiting list for an appointment was over two months long. So I am still waiting to get in. But I'm feeling better, meds are starting to work, and I am headed home soon.

BTW, as of two days ago, my actual age is 4-0. My adjusted age remains 28.

If you stuck around this long and are checking on us, thank you!!!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Lisa ~ kids look great =) Can't believe Ms. Margaret & Mr. Cruz are going to be 2 (within 1 day of each other if memory serves) P.S. Love the fact that you are 40 actual, 28 adjusted. Haha--humor only preemie parents can appreciate!!!

Amanda said...

Glad to see an update! I have been wondering how you are doing! Both kids sound like they are doing great. Isn't this age fun? Hailey turns 2 tomorrow! She has started looking at me and saying "no, no, no mommy"! I think we are in trouble! Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Emily said...

Welcome back to the blog world! :-) Glad to hear William in giving you a little break with the screaming. I love the picture of Margaret in the bathroom! Noah gives me that same look when he gets caught in mischeif.

23wktwinsmommy said...

Hey! I have been checking in to see when you'd post again. The kiddos are just adorable, and it is nice to see you have the support of your family for some summer fun with William and Margaret.
I'm glad you are feeling better too! I'm sure William sleeping through the night is a HUGE relief...thankfully S and E sleep through the night and have been for a couple of months. I feel like a new woman getting 8 hours in a night!
Keep us posted; especially on more toliet paper eating and fist sucking!!! :)

Johnette said...

Glad to see everyone is doing well. The kids are getting so big! William also likes to eat toilet paper and cat food. Gotta love mischievous toddlers! They're so much fun, though. Hope you had a great birthday.

Jennifer said...

I was getting a little worried. I am so very glad your family has been so supportive to you and helped all of you so much this summer - you all deserve a break :)

Anonymous said...

LOL! Wow my adjusted age is only 25! Glad William is settling down. What a cutie! And Margaret sounds like so much fun!

Meghann said...

So glad to see an update! I had been thinking about you all lately.

Life with a toddler is so much fun, isn't it? :-)

Lindsey: Mama of Andrew, Adam, and Ally said...

Glad you are all doing well. So great to read your update! The pictures are adorable!!

Unknown said...

Lisa! Glad to hear everything is going well! Nice to see an update!

Lisa said...

Hi, Lisa-

I missed you! I am glad that things have been going so well at your mom's. Sounds like you are feeling better too, which is so important.

Lots of changes here. E is finally off oxygen and all but 2 meds. However, for reasons that escape me, he still has the monitor! Still no episodes since he was a month old, but mainly due to some home health issues with downloads, we still have the awful monitor.
Call me when you get back in town- I would love to see you and catch up!
Lisa