My Mommy Is Long Winded

We like to hold hands now!

Since my last post the girls started daycare. They've only been two times but so far so good. They don't seem to even care that they are in a new place, with new people, and around other babies. I did find out that there is now availability at the Nike daycare, so it's very likely I'll be moving them next month to be at work with me. It will be a lot easier for me in so many ways. We'll also be doing two days of daycare instead of three which I think is even better for the girls. Maybe later in the year we'll add another day or so and eventually work up to full time by next spring/summer or even school year.

On our way to the first day of daycare. Ellery always looks so stunned in pics....she doesn't look like that normally. She' s the smiliest girl I've ever seen...until you bring out the camera.



Today the girls had their 4 month adjusted age developmental/physical therapy follow up. We're only a little over 3 months adjusted so they didn't do some of the standardized milestone testing I thought we'd be doing. But the good news is the girls look like they are developing wonderfully. They said that Emily is exactly what they would expect to see for a preemie born at 26 weeks that is healthy. She still has a preemie look to her and her movements are still a little jerky rather than smooth. Ellery is still the atypical preemie (remember, she was very healthier than her sister in the NICU and just needed to grow and learn to eat even though she was only 2lbs). They said by looking at her you'd never know she was a preemie and she's gaining weight and is stronger than what you'd expect for a preemie. Both girls need to work a little more on tummy time, playing on their sides, and building abdominal strength. Because they both missed out on 3 1/2 months of being in the fetal position they tend to rely on their back muscles more than their abs. This causes them to arch their backs & shoulders. We've been given some exercises to help get the girls stronger and really work those abs (hey... can mom do those too??) . We go back in 4 months for another follow up, by then the girls will be almost 1 years old. YIKES!!!!! All in all, the Dr and physical therapist were very happy with the girls progress considering how early and small they were to begin with. What a relief!

We also took our first road trip down to Eugene to visit grandma and grandpa, it seemed like it was really quick with lots of stuff to accomplish. The girls weren't too happy about the longer car rides and definitely let us know on our way down there and back up to Portland. We were all grumpy by the time we got out of the car! My parents are in the middle of a kitchen/dinning room remodel so it was a little interesting to be down there during that too. We used the bathtub and bathroom sinks to wash dishes. Fun! But, the good news is the cabinets were installed yesterday and counter tops will be in about 2 weeks from now so they will finally have a kitchen after about a month without. Andy and my dad went to the Oregon Duck game and stuck it out until halftime before coming home. The ducks were so far ahead it wasn't even fun to watch anymore.

While at my parents the girls slept in a crib together for the first time in a long time. We've never really had them together after the first month home from the hospital because they move around too much, but this was our only option. I placed them each at the end of the crib and when I went to check on them 10 minutes later they had both rolled over and met in the middle. They cuddled all night long and I think slept better than they usually do. That doesn't mean I am going to start letting them sleep together through. I don't worry when they are in their own cribs (well just a little) but I definitely worry when they are together. I am afraid they'd either roll on each other or bury their faces in each others sleep sack or just wake each other up. So, I'm not going there.


Well this week is definitely a week full of appointments. We have the dreaded eye appointment on Friday followed by another appointment that afternoon where the girls will have blood drawn. They will not be happy girls on Friday and I am sure lots of tears will be shed by us all.