Lavenderfest

Today we took the kids up to the Cowichan Valley to Damali Lavender Farm for their lavenderfest. It was really beautiful and smelled quite amazing. There wasn't a lot to do but Rio had a great time walking around and smelling and as we left, getting in on some bubble action. We rounded out the day with a great lunch and visit with the Kostys at their home in Shawnigan Lake. Now everyone is full, tired and happy.

I realized I had not posted pics of the boys in quite some time. I asked Jordan to make sure he took some and he assured me he had. Turns out this is the one and only photo he took of them today. Enjoy our train engineer and faceless wonder. More pics to come soon - I promise!

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Update: Because Steph is much better at photographing and chronicling the day's events, you can check out more of our day here, here, here and here (oh lord).

Ya Friends!

In the past week we have had three enjoyable, laid back, yummy dinners with three different sets of family friends. The adults relaxed and laughed and ate and drank, and the kids played together like little angels (for the most part) running around in our yards, late into the night. We have some really great friends, and once again I can reflect on how important it is to have solid relationships and have people you can turn to when you need them.

As Jordan and I never forget, this journey with the boys is far from over. We still go through massive waves of worry, particularly for Asher, and as strong and robust as they look (they are!) they still have many bridges to cross before we know what their futures hold. But being surrounded by the love and support that the five of us have makes me feel so blessed and like we can get through anything that comes our way.

So thanks again to those who have shared in all the bad and the good and thanks for continuing to offer us your friendship even when things got rough. Those that are physically near to us and those that continue to check in from afar are both ever so much appreciated. We're a better family because of you!

Hint hint - please continue to keep us in your positive thoughts and prayers :)

She's a Real Character

Rio has a fabulous imagination. It always blows me away how she never tires of pretending to be various animals and magical creatures. But in the past few days she has taken it to a whole new level and at all times is one of either...

Super Rio or

Shiny Ri Ri Baby Dinosaur.

Yup, that's my clever girl. I am constantly being forced to make up reasons that either myself or one of the boys needs to be rescued, to which I then have to exclaim "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super Rio to the rescue" and she comes running in the room to rescue us. Over and over and over again.

Or, my real favourite, we are mother-daughter T-Rex and I have to call her Shiny Ri Ri Baby Dinosaur. She named herself, clearly. In between roaring and only using two fingers on each hand (her claws) she whispers instructions to me. For instance "Mommy you ask me if I want some meat and when I roar that means yes". So in a roaring voice of my own I have to ask "Shiny Ri Ri Baby Dinosaur (and if I accidentally just call her Rio, or even Ri Ri - LOOK OUT) do you want some meat?" to which she roars her response. Last night we repeatedly reenacted her cracking out of her dinosaur egg and growing up. In order to get her to go to sleep I had to let her crack out of her egg one last time and then promise her that when she woke up she would be a two year old dinosaur. And to top it off, we normally talk about our day before bed, but she has lately been insisting we talk only about our dinosaur day, mostly how much we roared and ate meat and stomped around.

Oh she is loads of fun. Tiring, and a bit intense, but fun!

Goodbye Pump

Well sort of. Good bye to the pump I have had for the past 9 months. I hate that pump. Hate hate hate. Maybe partly because it looks like a cross between the first machine ever made and a car engine.

From the day I started renting it I never liked it as much as the one I used at the hospital. In fact I pumped at the hospital most times I was up there because I liked it better. But with so much going on, it never really crossed my mind to return it and get a different one. For starters, I assumed I was getting the best price because we rented from the place to rent pumps (if you can imagine there is apparently a creme de la creme of pump renters in Victoria). But mostly, I was just too lazy to trade it in.

However a few weeks ago I happened to be on the site of one of my favorite Victoria (well Langford) kids stores and I noticed they rent pumps. I gave them a call and it was music to my ears to hear that they not only had the brand I used at the NICU, but for cheaper than we had been paying all these months! I realize that part of the extra cost with the original pump is that she'll drop off, pick up, bring you new parts, etc, whenever you need them, including the weekend, whereas with a store you do it yourself and have to work within their hours. But I'm a pro now, so I think I'll manage!

So today Rio and I went and picked it up and here she is.  What has my life become if I am this excited about a new breast pump?!

Happy pumping to me! I am days away from meeting my original target of pumping till 6 months corrected (which I have to tell you at 6 months chronological felt like a thousand years in the future). I am at least half way there, and thankfully done the hard half as the boys have reached their peak for milk consumption. Next goal - end of 2010 which makes them 11 months corrected. With this sweet new ride I think it's possible ;)

Chubby Eaters

Now that we have increased the boys' solids to twice a day, the eating is getting much better. In fact, for the most part I think they prefer solids to milk. We try something new every three days and so far the only absolute rejects are peas and apples (although we sneak apples in everything since we have such an abundance). Successes have been: yams, butternut squash, peaches, banana and avocado. Next on the list are acorn squash, sweet potatoes, pears, and tofu.

As you can see by their man-boobs, they clearly aren't lacking for nutrients!

Picky Pants

As I have already mentioned, Asher is particular. Picky, really. His bottle needs to be the EXACT right temperature. I swear to you he has it down to a tenth of a degree. The other day I got so frustrated when he wouldn't take his bottle that I threatened to go out and buy a thermometer to figure out what his perfect temperature really is. It is a constant balance of heating and cooling to get it juuuuuuust right.

Eating solids is also a challenge because taste aside, if the food isn't the right consistency look out. It's immediately blown or spit out, as illustrated below:

Yams? This is what I think of your yams!

Not that Nolan is much more accommodating with the solids but at least he's not so rude about it. For Nolan at least it seems only to be about the taste whereas with Asher too lumpy/too runny/too thick can send him into a dramatic dry heaving or even vommiting session (just to confirm not dry heaving/vommiting from allergy - oh no, just from drama).

Anyway, Asher likes to do things on his own terms (really?! we couldn't have guessed that from his extended hospital stay). This is part of the problem with our assessments - if he doesn't feel like doing what the therapist wants him to do, he just doesn't do it, and then sure enough he does it for us the next day when no one is watching. If he doesn't want his diaper or clothes changed, he contorts himself to make it as difficult for you as possible. I always knew he was our fiesty baby, even in utero. 

I think he may have inherited Rio's stubborn streak. Uh oh. That being said, when he's "on" he's ON and that guy has the cutest little personality ever. Are those boys ever becoming their own little people or what!

Substantial

Today the boys had a pediatrician appointment and we were able to see our original doctor who is doing another short term locum for our current one. She has not seen the boys since April so was thrilled to see how well they are doing. No real changes for the boys as a result of our appointment, only to increase the amount of solids they are taking daily, as they have proven weight gain is NOT an issue and can therefore handle dropping a bottle feed in order to increase their "real food".

Which takes me to the exciting portion of the appointment - the weigh in. Let's just say they're huge. In fact, when we went to the pharmacy afterwards, a couple took a peak at them and said "Ooooh, they're substantial aren't they?". I think substantial is a pretty perfect word to describe them! So here we go:

Weight:
Asher is 17 lbs 12 oz. This puts him in the 50th percentile for his corrected age and at the 25th for his chronological age. This means Asher is perfectly average for 5.5 months and as big as 25% of kids who are 8.5 months. Awesome! Up until now Asher has been on the small side, even for his corrected age.
Nolan is 19 lbs 5 oz. This puts him above the 95th percentile for his corrected age, and at the 50th for his chronological age. This means Nolan is a bit of a b-e-a-s-t for his corrected age, and perfectly average for 8.5 months. Can you believe it?! He's the size of half of all kids who are 8.5 months old, and he was born 25% of their size!

They're catching up! This past month has been their biggest gains yet, at 2.5 pounds each. In one month they have gained more than the entire weight of themselves at birth!

Height:
Both 65 cm. This barely registers on the growth chart for their chronological age of 8.5 months (3rd percentile) and leaves them a bit on the short side, at the 25th percentile for their corrected age. But, height is the last thing to catch up in preemies, so we're not at all concerned.

All in all a great check up! And as an added bonus, I ran into another mom from the twin club that I have been trying to connect with, as her boys are 5 months old too. It was great to see her kids in person and show off the boys and it has reignited our attempts to get all of us together. How fun to compare notes with another mom of identical boys!

The sun is shining and our boys are little fatsos. What more can you ask for?

No Surgery So Far

Today we went for our surgical consult regarding the boys' potential hernias. First off, I loved the surgeon. I knew the NICU nurses all loved him (in fact I constantly think of him as 'uncle Al' because that's what one of our nurses referred to him as) and in Jordan's dealings with him, both through the Peds ICU and his own upper-GI consults, he confirmed he was a very nice man. But truly, I didn't expect that for such a busy man he would chat and make jokes with Rio and be so incredibly approachable and kind.

So to the good news - no hernias! Woot woot! This means that surgery is not imminent! What a huge relief that is for us. The boys being anaesthetised and back on a ventilator was more than my mind could comprehend! Of course though, there's a but...

Trousdell-Mania

This weekend we had some family in town for Jordan's grandma's (GJ to the kids) 80th birthday. It was nice to show the boys off to some family that hadn't met them and others that hadn't seen them since they were still in isolettes and on breathing apparatus. All three kids got smothered in love and attention all weekend and aside from the guest of honour at the birthday party, I think the boys were a main attraction. It was pretty apparent that their great grandma may have mentioned them to her friends a time or two because everyone wanted to take a peek!

I couldn't have been more proud of what well behaved angels we had today - 2 asleep in their stroller for the majority of the party and the other 1 sitting like a little lady drinking punch and eating scones (a tea party - right up her alley!).

Happy Birthday GJ - I hoped you enjoyed yourself as much as we did!

Little Miss Green Thumbs

Last summer Jordan did a lot of planning because he wanted to plant a veggie garden in our backyard that strangely didn't already have one (by city standards our yard is pretty huge - you'd think someone before us would have had a garden?). He staked out exactly where the best sun would hit and dug away. We had mild success last year, using only the soil where he had dug up the grass, so this year he decided to commit with some stone raised beds and lots of our own composted soil. The current result is this:

Rio has become daddy's big helper with the garden. Last summer she was interested but being a year younger only partially understood. But this summer she has been part of the whole process, from building the beds, to planting the seeds, to weeding and watering and now to picking and eating. Every day she is thrilled to help out and it is so great to have her out breathing fresh summer air.

In addition to our lovely garden, we have two apple trees that are busting at the seams. Our yellow transparents are dropping like crazy so mad amounts of applesauce (and traditional english cider - hopefully better than last season's vinegar) will soon be underway. Later in the summer we will enjoy our gala/spartan graft, giving us lots of eaters and juicers. Currently Rio entertains herself by picking up the fallen apples from the ground, taking a bite or two, then lobbing them into the compost. She must be getting quite an arm!

I am so glad we have the space to allow a garden and let Rio start to have an understanding of where her food comes from and how lucky we are that we can grow it ourselves. (Because seriously, why is an ample selection of organic produce so hard to come by?!)

Happy Blog Anniversary

Ok I'm a bit late. Ten days to be exact - this blog's anniversary was July 6 but I'm a little busy so it slipped my mind! But wow, has this year been an eventful one. What started as a way to post pregnancy pics turned into a bible of the boys' ups and downs and now just the ramblings of a frazzled mama.

More Physio

Today we had Asher's physiotherapist over for another assessment and to review the outcome of the exercises that we have been doing with him (mostly loosening his muscles and ensuring range of motion). I had just finished telling her that he is much looser when interacting with us than with her and sure enough he proved me right again today as he didn't really cooperate with her. We have come to realize that Asher is incredibly particular about everything, from the temperature of his bottle to how he is lying to what motion he is or is not going to do at that moment in time.

I feel very torn because while I know he is doing well considering, he is definitely physically behind (there's that "doing well considering" problem I have). Movement is so much more of a struggle for him than for Nolan but we shouldn't be surprised because the early weeks of his life were full of struggle that Nolan didn't have to face. Jordan assures me that he is doing well and being behind is ok - he has time and therapy to help him catch up. I know I can't ask any more of either of them than what they are doing, but it's hard for me that both of them, at their corrected age of 5 months, are well behind where Rio was. I know it's silly for me to compare them to each other and especially to Rio, but it's hard not to.

A very positive outcome of today is that our PT saw Asher moving more in general than she had last week, an observation I had also noticed in the past few days. Now both she and IDP worker are on holidays so we won't have another IDP assessment till early August and a PT visit till mid August. Here's hoping in the next month we see more positive changes for both boys.

Exhausted from his exercises

Exhausted from trying to steal the spotlight while Asher was exercising

This Week

This has been a pretty quiet week but I know I haven't done a post in a while so I'll try to think some stuff up. Here are some random facts about our week so far:

• The boys have now tried eating butternut squash, apples, bananas and peas. All but the squash were a disaster. Lots of spitting and gagging. Nolan is so dramatic he actually went off colour dry heaving on applesauce. He was not actually choking, just hated it THAT much. Uh oh, two bursting apple trees in our back yard - better learn to like it buddy. Next up - yams.
• At Rio's soccer camp I met a mom who is an identical twin and she herself had a 28 week preemie. That preemie only spent 57 days in the NICU mind you (I think she could see me breathing fire when she told me that one) but she is now 12 and amazing so it has been great for me to see her run around all big and strong and healthy, watching her little brother play soccer with Rio.
• Nolan learned to roll over both directions this week but has only done it the one day. Asher has still only rolled front to back and hasn't done that in weeks.
• I am getting the kids' names tattooed but am trying to figure out where. I've got the font so we're getting somewhere.
• Today we went to the park and I needed to pump in the van so Jordan walked the kids to a convenience store. Jordan only had debit, which they didn't take, so the nice man gave Rio the sucker she had picked out anyway. The nice man also thought Asher was a girl. Those eyelashes really are ladykillers, or I guess in today's case, maneaters.
• Jordan lost a piece of my pump down the drain today, total accident, but I SPAZZED. It's really sad, sad, sad how much that breast pump means to me.
• Tomorrow we have Asher's physio over to our house again. I am excited to discuss with her how we think Asher's stretching and skills have improved since she was here last week. More to report tomorrow.

Ok I think that's it. Like I said, quiet week. In the process of wracking my brain for things to report I realized I have a dryer full of the boys' laundry to fold. Off I go.

Soccer Camp

Today Rio started soccer camp and aside from the numerous water and kiss breaks she did really well. For the most part she listened and at the end of an hour of running she was exhausted. She had two friends in the class (one planned, one a surprise) so I think that helped ease some of her nerves. So cute I could barely stand it! Here's hoping the rest of the week goes as well because it sure takes some effort to get all three kids out of the house at 9am!

What else is there to do?

When it is so hot out, what else is there to do, but...

Crash on mom and dad's bed in front of the fan...

Or rock out in your tighty whities to the iPod with daddy's giant headphones.

 

CUTE!

It's a Hottie!

Summer has finally joined us in Victoria and man oh MAN is it haaaaaaawwwwwt! Now we're all sweating and parking ourselves in front of fans, but the day was a good one! It started with the boys sleeping 12 hours and waking up like this:

After a late breakfast of french toast made by Jordan, Rio and I head to the library for a puppet making workshop and then we went shopping for some Littlest Pet Shop animals and nail polish because she wanted to spend some of her own money. The result of the toenail polish looks like this:

Mom had to steal some of the spoils

When we got home the kids went for naps and I went up to the NICU to return all the wedge stuff (yay!) and some of the boys' clothes I am donating to the social worker to give to families in need. Boy did that feel good to unload although I'm not sure why I picked the hottest day yet to bring an enormous load of stuff up there. Anyway, back at the homestead the kids were up so we went and hung out in our backyard in the shade. The kids played (as much as the boys can play) in the world's tiniest blow up pool then lounged under the apple tree afterwards:

When all that was done we came in and fed the boys butternut squash, their first try of food aside from rice cereal. It was a hit! I can't wait for Jordan and I to start having our baby food cook-offs like we would every weekend with Rio. Soon they can eat apples from our trees and veggies from our garden. Organic babies all the way!

What a lovely day, although since the boys are now crankier than I have ever seen them - dare I say too hot?

Physio

Today we met Asher's physio therapist from the infant development program. She is lovely and looks A LOT like my mom. So much so that Jordan even thought so and he has only seen pictures of her. She gave us a ton of great suggestions for helping Asher to loosen his arms and legs which will then in turn help him strengthen his core. Most of the exercises are just integrated into normal holding and play time, so nothing too overwhelming. She is coming for the next two weeks before she goes on holidays and will then set up regular appointments when she returns.

Have I mentioned how incredibly lucky we are to have this therapy at our fingertips? Asher has "slightly" high tone (I say slightly because our doctors have never noticed and friends and family don't notice, but we who interact with him 24/7 notice), so we have the opportunity to intervene early and try to encourage him with better positioning and simple exercises. Oh infant development program - how I love thee!

When Does It End?

The bitterness that is. When do I stop being bitter towards everyone who has full term, healthy pregnancies and babies?

After losing the last pregnancy, I felt I had a right to be bitter. That was a pretty horrifying loss and it felt really unfair. But I hoped that once I had another healthy baby that bitterness would dissipate and life with that new baby would carry on as it should.

Let Me Explain the Sleep

I hope when I said that we have never had sleep issues with the kids, you didn't think I meant that Rio slept through the night at 10 weeks (which she did) and never looked back. PLEASE! She has done all the "normal" things that babies/toddlers do, I just never thought anything was particularly difficult because I knew it was just a phase.

Problem Potentially Solved

After Jordan came home from work the other day we discussed the wedge problem. He pointed out that taking away the wedge once and for all was the only real option because if it was something they liked it wasn't fair to use it sometimes and not others.

I thought about how much they like to cuddle I so started there when trying to plan how to set them up. I realized that a lot of the problem could be solved if I left them in their slings. The piece of fabric holding the slings in is too short to fit lengthways along our crib (the direction they were sleeping in on the wedge) but it is wide enough to go across the crib in the normal direction babies sleep. So a few safety pins underneath and first step was complete:

I left their slings the same distance apart as they were on the wedge and surprisingly, both boys fit with room to spare. 

Now to recreate a tiny bit of a wedge we placed some wood under the head of the crib to give them just the slightest angle. As I said I don't think it's the angle they miss, but it did give me a little bit of comfort. 

Lastly, blankets over their legs could remain because they are still "strapped in". I safely sausaged them in their blankets, tucked under their slings so there was no risk of them kicking them on top of their faces. 

Ét voila:

Hidden contraptions! Doesn't it look normal?!

Peaceful snuggly babies. So far we have had three successful naps and two nights sleep! I think this may be working.

I do admit I am desperate to finish up with the slings so that we can return the whole lot of it to the hospital. So first to go will be the blankets (hopefully helped by the cooperation of hot weather any day now), next will go the slings, and finally the angle on the crib. I think once the boys get used to sleeping side by side within the boundaries of the narrow crib taking away the slings "should" be easy.

Phew. Another potential disaster diverted. Way to adapt boys! Now I have started to worry about how much longer they can co-bed...they are getting awfully big for that little crib but is that ever going to be a change for them. First step is to find their current crib's match...come on craigslist!

Procrastination

It's Friday night. I really wish I could pour myself a glass of wine (or more realistically a cup of tea), have a hot bath and read. But instead I have to fold 4 loads of laundry, pump, feed, change, and put the boys to bed. Jordan isn't home from work till 11 so I can't even pass the buck to him. Instead of hunkering down and getting it all done quickly so I can maybe relax at some point later tonight, I am sitting on the computer, blogging about NOTHING, solely for the purpose of wasting time and not doing what I need to do.

Hrmph. I haven't procrastinated like this since university. 

Oy. There's Rio, up from bed when she's supposed to be asleep, asking me why I'm so tired. Ha! Three kids don't let procrastination last long...BACK TO WORK! 

A Bad Habit to Break

As you know, we've been trying to wean the boys from sleeping on the wedge. We started with sleeping them flat for one nap then added a second nap and I thought all was going well, both in terms of our worry about them and in their spitting up. Yes, the sheet is a bit more wet with spit up after they sleep flat, but we have by no means heard more coughing/choking/sputtering episodes than normal so clearly the boys are handling it.

Happy 8 Months Boys...and Happy 143 Canada!

Happy 8 months/almost 5 months corrected my sweet princes!

Asher - 8 months/5 corrected

Nolan - 8 months/5 corrected

Rio at 5 months (way more hair - but way smaller head??)

And Happy Canada Day! Hope you're celebrating by doing something fun. Sorry about the weather for us on the coast though, what is WITH this summer?