thetadpoles.com

So I have a good excuse for not blogging as of late. Babies….yes the babes. I have barely checked my email let alone trying to put a few sentences together. But as they are sleeping at the moment I will try and post.

So we are teething with a vengeance. When Loen’s two bottom teeth cut it wasn’t that bad. I thought she took it very well. I guess that was a teaser as the real grouchy, crabby teething was yet to come. Derby as well isn’t too into the pain. Whereas Loen loves the taste of Tylenol we have to work to get it into Derby. He ends up looking like Bozo the clown with red goo all over his lips and chin. Derby has two teeth that have cut through, just the tiniest slivers can be seen through his gums.

Developmental: Loen is trying to crawl (GASP!). She gets on her hands and knees then rocks. She gets around just fine by scooting. I find her all over the place with her little slobber trail behind her (like a slug). Tadd keeps working with her but I tell him to let her figure it out on her own. Not to sound mean but I don’t want her crawling yet, I want Derby to catch up a little more before she starts cruising the house. Derby can now roll from front to back. We think he is only doing that to try and escape Loen who’s life mission at the moment is to torment and lick Derby. He is “talking” and likes to chew on his hands and binker. He still wont pick up toys which drives me nuts but he does seem better since the surgery. Not the big turn around like I was hoping but he seems happier and is able to focus better. It has been hard for me to come to terms with how delayed developmentally Derby is. I kept banking on the fact that he was having trouble seeing but now that he has recovered from the surgery I can tell he doesn’t do things the same as Loen. We know of the many different problems that micropreemies can have. I often shunted that info to the back of my brain but it has been rearing its ugly head as Derby gets older. Yes he could just be a slow starter, he could grow out of this and catch up or he may have some disabilities. The other day I was so depressed and feeling like crap thinking of it when lo and behold California Children Services called. They said they had a referral to assess Derby. He went on to tell me that for insurance to pay they have to give either a diagnosis or what they call a “rule out”. So it sounds like they might use “Rule out cerebral palsy” to get the proper authorization to treat Derby. He will be assessed and will work with therapists in addition to Mari (our child development specialist) who comes weekly. I am grateful that California has so many services that we are eligible for. Having physical therapy for Derby is one more tool to getting him on track. With all that said Tadd and I have been fairly blah this week just thinking about it and worrying about the future. I will end the developmental chapter by saying Derby is so happy when you walk into the room to pick him up from his crib. He gives the most excited gasp like he cant believe you came back!  They have us in the palm of their hands.

Food: I have tried bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots. Loen just isn’t into it. She will eat a couple of bites but will spit most of it out and then make a huge mess. Occasionally she will try to lick some off of her bib but it is a lot of work for what I believe to be 1/2 teaspoon of food going down.Derby seems to be on some type of food strike. He has been clamping his lips shut and you cant get the spoon past. I have tried making him laugh then putting the food in when his mouth is open but he spits it out. I don’t push it, they drink enough breast milk and solid food will be waiting when they’re ready. They have been working on holding their own bottles though. Loen can do it all by herself (of course) and Derby is getting the hang of it.

We tried them in a swing recently. Loen seemed to like it. Derby wasn’t too sure of it…as usual.

My family came out to visit last week. Being a part of a big family there is lots of joy and some frustration. But what do you expect when you have your brothers around, you fall into some of the old patterns of when you were younger.

Derby hangin with Uncle Guy

Loen thinks Uncle Iain is a crack up

Derby decided he would rather sleep on his mother

The twins are so cute they have to shop incognito

Loen and her Meemaw. Notice the super cute new barrette

Talking about ‘chicks man….’