Our Sweet Little Miracles: December 2012

The twins are a little over 6 months old now (almost 4 months adjusted) and look how much they've grown! Here is a flashback to the NICU. Can you believe how tiny they were? I mean, I knew they were tiny at the time, but that was all we knew so I don't think we fully grasped just how small they were. When I compare these pictures to how big they are now, it really puts things in perspective! We're so grateful for how far they've come.

Here's proof of how much they've grown! Wow! (And this was when they were 5 months old, so they've grown even more!)

What are they up to now that they're six months old?

Their hands are the most interesting things ever! They spend lots of time looking at their hands and figuring out what they can do with them.
Holding toys with both hands and bringing toys to their mouths
Talk, talk, talk!!! Aryanna just loves to make noise and you'd swear Anthony is telling you a story every time he opens his mouth.
Giggle - Aryanna, especially, gets to laughing so hard when Daddy is being silly. Anthony is just starting to chuckle every once in a while, too.
Smile - from the moment they open their eyes in the morning and all day long! So blessed to have such happy babies.
Kicking - both love to kick in their bouncy seats, when they're laying on the floor and each other (see the last picture!)
Pulling their cannulas out of their noses - ALL.THE.TIME - they think it's pretty funny, but mommy and daddy don't think so - especially at 3 a.m.

Rocking tummy time - they're getting great at holding their heads up. We were getting a little worried about Anthony's head control and added Physical Therapy to the mix, but then he just started holding his head up. That boy just does things when he's ready to. It's just hard not to worry sometimes when we still don't know the ramifications of his brain bleed.

They're getting so close to rolling over! They've just about got it and just need a little push getting their leg over.
Eating cereal - we got the OK from the pediatrician to start cereal at their six month appointment. Anthony LOVES his cereal and will eat a whole serving. Aryanna is not so crazy about it. We've tried rice and oatmeal and we've tried mixing it with formula and with juice and she is just not a fan. We keep trying a little bit every day - I'm sure one of these days she'll decide she likes it.
Receiving monthly Synagis shots - these help lessen the effects of RSV should they contract it. So far they haven't gotten sick this cold and flu season - Thank you Jesus! Thankfully our visiting nurse can give this to them so we don't have to take them to the germ-filled doctor's office.
Their reflux has improved some. After a couple of weeks on Zantac (which didn't work) we tried Prilosec and that has helped some. We've still had good days and bad days. Anthony only gained three ounces the last 2 weeks and Aryanna gained 7 ounces (they used to gain about a pound every 2 weeks). Please keep praying that they would be free from pain, that they wouldn't refuse to eat or throw up and that they would continue to gain weight. They did both have record-setting eating yesterday! Hallelujah - Thank you Jesus! Pray for more of that!
Other prayer requests: Anthony has another head ultrasound tomorrow (Monday). Things have been stable for the last several head ultrasounds, but it hasn't resolved yet (it could still be a long time before that happens). Our pediatrician gave us the choice of doing another head ultrasound now while his soft spot is still open or waiting until later which would mean having an MRI or CT scan. There really aren't any concerns with his head circumference or development at this point so she left it up to us. We decided to go ahead and have another head ultrasound while we still can for peace of mind. We also take them back to the pulmonologist on December 19th so prayers for healthy lungs are appreciated! We are very much looking forward to the day that we will be oxygen-free, but are grateful that they have the equipment they need.