thetadpoles.com

I really haven’t had the energy to post more than an occasional blurb on my Facebook let alone blogging but here goes.

• Loen: Weighs 19 pounds 3 1/2 ounces and is 31 1/2 inches long. Like the scene in Miracle Worker where Helen Keller makes the collation between water and the word, Loen is picking up a ton of new words and some we would rather she not say. After I made a comment to Tadd regarding a woman’s outfit which included the word ‘sexy’ we hear a tiny voice in the back of the car say “sexy, sexy, sexy”. Of course that would be the one word she would choose to repeat. We also like to say no, me and mine. Which is kind of funny in her tiny little voice. We bought a couple of potty chairs after Loen started signing ‘change’ when needed. She wasn’t keen on sitting on it without her diaper though she really likes sitting on it when were in the bathroom. Like it is her special chair to hang out and visit. She has also learned to take her diaper off. When I went to take out the trash yesterday I put the twins into the kiddie korral so they wouldnt get into trouble while I was outside. I come back to find a naked Loen saying ‘pee pee”. I thought she had peed on the toys but no she was just pointing out her anatomy.

Loen is all about talking on the phone. The other day she grabbed my insulin pump and started saying “Dada hi” Very cute until she tried to run off with the pump and it was attached to my posterior.

• Derby weighs 17 pounds 10 ounces and is 29 inches long. I swear I feel like he is never going to grow out of his current size. I am getting tired of them and ready to break into the drawer full of the next size up! He can be a very picky eater at times. My favorite is when he will eat something at a restaurant but when I make it at home he doesn’t want it. He prefers protein to fruits or veggies, so I can get him to eat tofu, chicken and soy nuggets but a lone green bean throws his world off its axis. Thanks to Michelle for the idea of giving him ‘Green Machine’ a Trader Joe’s smoothie that has spinach and broccoli mixed in with fruit. I tried it myself and it wasn’t too bad. It is hit or miss though, some days he loves it others he wont touch it. Derby is talking much more. While Loen is very vocal Derby says things when he is good and ready, there is no performing on cue with that little boy. You think he isn’t paying attention but when the Gaylords were visiting with their kids Derby cruised up to Michelle & baby Gwen and said “baby”. He has also added the words: bubble, Costco, pool, ball, baba, and Papa to his list. I’m sure I’m missing others but he definitely is talking more.

Now on to the stuff…

Derby officially got the Cerebral Palsy diagnosis 2 weeks ago. With upcoming treatments and therapy it would pave the way for insurance if it was changed from ‘Rule Out Cerebral Palsy’ to actual ‘Cerebal Palsy”. We had been told that constraint induced therapy might be a good idea for Derby (they would cast his good arm forcing him to use his weaker arm. Intense physical therapy everyday for 3 – 4 weeks has been found to bring amazing results) In typical Tadd style he went into research overdrive and looked into other cases, read published articles and found the University that initiated the trend (not to mention speaking with the therapists at UAB). After lots of questions and pushing to have him start therapy we were given an appointment to meet with the pediatric orthopedist to talk about having him casted. The doctor walks in and watched Derby crawl and cruise around the furniture and after a minute says he wants to have a brace (specifically a DAFO) put on Derby’s left leg (his weaker side). We were a little shocked as we thought we were just going to talk about his arm. We were told that when Derby cruises he is usually walks on the balls of his left foot. In turn it is causing tightness & shortening of the leg muscles, if we did not address the problem quickly Derby might need surgery to lengthen the muscles. Tadd said he wished they would prepare us beforehand about what they are going to say. Though that doesn’t work if we are meeting a doctor for the first time and he is telling us his initial assessment of Derby. As today was the first official day of intensive therapy he looked like the Bionic kid with a cast on his right arm and a brace on his left leg. Loen better watch out because that kid is going to have weapons at the ready!

Derby having a cast made to make the leg brace. He was so good while this was going on. A clear bowl kept him entertained the whole time!

Finished mold

Let’s move on to the casting of the arm. Seeing how getting the mold for his leg was such a breeze I thought we would sail through the arm casting. Lord was I wrong! I brought Loen and we were immediately brought back to a treatment room, which I thought was a good sign. The doctor came right in and quickly casted his arm. Again Derby was pretty good, except when he had to be still for about 5 minutes to let it dry and he was wiggling all over and trying to whack me in the head with the cast.  Then a tech came in to cut off the cast. The nice thing about this therapy is we will be able to remove the cast for bathing and swimming, hence the reason the cast would be cut into two pieces.  The twins DID NOT LIKE the cast cutter. The both started screaming at the tops of their lungs. The type of screaming that causes red splotchy marks all over their foreheads and nurses to come in to be sure there wasn’t an unscheduled amputation going on. I kinda laughed and asked if they could hear us. The RN looks at me and says they can hear you in the waiting room. Did I mention we were in the back of the office? He got one side cut and after a brief respite he had to cut the other side..cue tandem screaming. The ortho tech looked like he choose the short straw when it came to taking care of us. The RN was really sweet and talked to us while she prepped the cast. Since they cut it in two all the fluff that lines a cast started coming out so she wrapped both halves in a cast sock, then they ace wrapped the whole shebang to his arm. Can you say pain in the butt?

Waiting for the cast to dry

Finshed product (it is a behemoth!)

Trying to pick up toys with his mouth

So I hate to sound like I am bemoaning everything. I definitely was feeling down and depressed earlier but then I went to take Derby to therapy and a family was leaving and another family was coming in. The family leaving I recognized as the Strong family, their daughter has a rare terminal degenerative disease called SMA. The family coming in had an older daughter with another rare disease who needs a wheelchair and has limited verbal skills. Looking at these families was like a slap in the face, what they wouldn’t give to have the same ‘problems’ we are facing. While it is a bump in the road it is not a dead end. I felt so selfish and had to remind myself once again how lucky we are.