Our New Normal: Caleb's Diagnosis

The doctor looked at me, "How far along were you when he was born?"

"27 weeks, 6 days. I carried him as long as I could."

I bit back tears as the doctor confirmed what we thought might be the case. Something was off with Caleb, and it wasn't getting better.

I started going through the what ifs in my head:

• What if I had stayed more horizontal during bedrest?

• What if I had laid on my left side more, even though the TV in my hospital room was on my right side?

• What if I had eaten more protein and gained more weight?

• What if I hadn't had the panic attack that set off my labor again, and ultimately caused me to deliver the kids a few hours later?

I looked at my son, as he went back and forth between playing quietly with therapy toys to spazzing out for no reason. I knew it was coming, but it still hit me in the gut.

Caleb has autism.

It's been about 10 days since we got the diagnosis that Caleb is on the spectrum. A good friend from church referred us to their Developmental Pediatrician for an evaluation, and we were blessed to get him in really quickly. The doctor spent several hours (!!!) with Caleb, Sean, and I in a therapy room, observing Caleb's behavior. I didn't know that doctors were willing to give patients that kind of time anymore! Dr. Hoffman is a fantastic doctor who spent a lot of time working in a NICU Follow-Up Clinic before moving on to private practice and specializing in developmental issues. In other words, he knows his stuff. By the end of the evaluation, he diagnosed Caleb with mild to moderately severe autism with possible apraxia of speech.

We saw this coming, or we wouldn't have pushed for an evaluation. Caleb has much more significant delays than his siblings, particularly in the area of communication. Dr. Hoffman told us that prematurity is directly linked to an increase in autism. *sigh* I realize that it's not obvious just from looking at pictures on our blog, but we really struggle.

Caleb had a rough start to preschool in March, which was understandable, but he improved over the next two months. Then in late April/early May, he started regressing. During summer school, he actually escaped from his classroom without his teachers noticing.

When we try to leave the house for outings, it also is really difficult. Trips to the zoo end up having our family split in two: Sean and Caleb go off so that Caleb can cope, and I have the other three kids. And then we end up leaving wherever we are early because he has a meltdown.

Communication mostly consists of crying, pushing, or pulling us to items. No pointing, and almost all of the language he does have is either rote (like counting to 10) or echoing (like saying, "sorry, sorry, sorry"). He has maybe 2-3 words that he can use independently in a conversation. He gets so frustrated and angry when we can't understand what he wants, and it just breaks my heart.

And taking his lovey to wash it? Two hours of screaming and crying while that doggy goes through the washer and dryer.

There are a myriad of other symptoms that he has as well, but those are probably the most disruptive to our family life.

So what are our next steps? Early intervention is key for kids like Caleb.

• He has been in therapy since he was 6 months old, and has been in speech therapy for the last 18 months. We are continuing his therapy through the school district where he receives occupational, physical, social/emotion, and speech therapy. We requested a one-on-one para from the school at the end of last year, especially since he escaped, but we were denied. We did manage to increase his speech therapy from 60 minutes a week to 90 minutes a week. And we are for sure going to continue to call meetings with the school district if we feel that it is in his best interest.

• We are also looking into additional therapy outside of the school to see what our options are there.

• The doctor has Caleb on a DHA supplement (which he HATES), but it is supposed to help his brain work better. I've only forced it down his throat once, but I need to do it everyday. *sigh* Poor kid!

• I know it's weird, but we are also using some special essential oils to help support his ability to focus. We feel like if we can help him focus, maybe we can make more progress faster? Caleb rarely smiled until we started using these a few weeks ago. Now we get smiles more often AND he seems to be more connected with what is going on around him. The photos in this post? I took those tonight. I have so very few photos where we can even see Caleb's face, that his smiles caught me off guard...and I LOVE them! I'm serious when I say that these are the best photos I have ever taken of him. Period. Something is obviously working here, so we are continuing those as well.

So pretty much, we are hitting it from every side while praying that God helps us find the best way to help him.

As a mom, I'm now readjusting my expectations again. I had expectations for the way we would have a family, but quads dashed that pretty quickly. I had expectations for how much fun we would have running around town doing things when they got to this age, and I'm having to adjust those expectations again. I'm struggling with feeling like this diagnosis isn't fair to our family. Not fair to Caleb who has already gone through more than most kids his age. Not fair to all of our kids to have outings cut short because of the delays. Not fair to us as parents who just wanted a normal family. I mean, we still can't leave the house without people taking pictures of us! And now autism on top of it.

I know that God has a plan and a purpose behind everything, and I'm holding on to that tightly right now. Of course, our love for Caleb is absolutely unchanged, and we certainly wouldn't trade our kids for anything, but I wish I had a better response to this new hurdle instead of feeling like a whiney butt. Right now, I'm just trying to come to terms with our new normal and embrace the way that our family is designed....autism and all.

The doctor looked at me, "How far along were you when he was born?"

"27 weeks, 6 days. I carried him as long as I could."

I bit back tears as the doctor confirmed what we thought might be the case. Something was off with Caleb, and it wasn't getting better.

I started going through the what ifs in my head:

• What if I had stayed more horizontal during bedrest?

• What if I had laid on my left side more, even though the TV in my hospital room was on my right side?

• What if I had eaten more protein and gained more weight?

• What if I hadn't had the panic attack that set off my labor again, and ultimately caused me to deliver the kids a few hours later?

I looked at my son, as he went back and forth between playing quietly with therapy toys to spazzing out for no reason. I knew it was coming, but it still hit me in the gut.

Caleb has autism.

It's been about 10 days since we got the diagnosis that Caleb is on the spectrum. A good friend from church referred us to their Developmental Pediatrician for an evaluation, and we were blessed to get him in really quickly. The doctor spent several hours (!!!) with Caleb, Sean, and I in a therapy room, observing Caleb's behavior. I didn't know that doctors were willing to give patients that kind of time anymore! Dr. Hoffman is a fantastic doctor who spent a lot of time working in a NICU Follow-Up Clinic before moving on to private practice and specializing in developmental issues. In other words, he knows his stuff. By the end of the evaluation, he diagnosed Caleb with mild to moderately severe autism with possible apraxia of speech.

We saw this coming, or we wouldn't have pushed for an evaluation. Caleb has much more significant delays than his siblings, particularly in the area of communication. Dr. Hoffman told us that prematurity is directly linked to an increase in autism. *sigh* I realize that it's not obvious just from looking at pictures on our blog, but we really struggle.

Caleb had a rough start to preschool in March, which was understandable, but he improved over the next two months. Then in late April/early May, he started regressing. During summer school, he actually escaped from his classroom without his teachers noticing.

When we try to leave the house for outings, it also is really difficult. Trips to the zoo end up having our family split in two: Sean and Caleb go off so that Caleb can cope, and I have the other three kids. And then we end up leaving wherever we are early because he has a meltdown.

Communication mostly consists of crying, pushing, or pulling us to items. No pointing, and almost all of the language he does have is either rote (like counting to 10) or echoing (like saying, "sorry, sorry, sorry"). He has maybe 2-3 words that he can use independently in a conversation. He gets so frustrated and angry when we can't understand what he wants, and it just breaks my heart.

And taking his lovey to wash it? Two hours of screaming and crying while that doggy goes through the washer and dryer.

There are a myriad of other symptoms that he has as well, but those are probably the most disruptive to our family life.

So what are our next steps? Early intervention is key for kids like Caleb.

• He has been in therapy since he was 6 months old, and has been in speech therapy for the last 18 months. We are continuing his therapy through the school district where he receives occupational, physical, social/emotion, and speech therapy. We requested a one-on-one para from the school at the end of last year, especially since he escaped, but we were denied. We did manage to increase his speech therapy from 60 minutes a week to 90 minutes a week. And we are for sure going to continue to call meetings with the school district if we feel that it is in his best interest.

• We are also looking into additional therapy outside of the school to see what our options are there.

• The doctor has Caleb on a DHA supplement (which he HATES), but it is supposed to help his brain work better. I've only forced it down his throat once, but I need to do it everyday. *sigh* Poor kid!

• I know it's weird, but we are also using some special essential oils to help support his ability to focus. We feel like if we can help him focus, maybe we can make more progress faster? Caleb rarely smiled until we started using these a few weeks ago. Now we get smiles more often AND he seems to be more connected with what is going on around him. The photos in this post? I took those tonight. I have so very few photos where we can even see Caleb's face, that his smiles caught me off guard...and I LOVE them! I'm serious when I say that these are the best photos I have ever taken of him. Period. Something is obviously working here, so we are continuing those as well.

So pretty much, we are hitting it from every side while praying that God helps us find the best way to help him.

As a mom, I'm now readjusting my expectations again. I had expectations for the way we would have a family, but quads dashed that pretty quickly. I had expectations for how much fun we would have running around town doing things when they got to this age, and I'm having to adjust those expectations again. I'm struggling with feeling like this diagnosis isn't fair to our family. Not fair to Caleb who has already gone through more than most kids his age. Not fair to all of our kids to have outings cut short because of the delays. Not fair to us as parents who just wanted a normal family. I mean, we still can't leave the house without people taking pictures of us! And now autism on top of it.

I know that God has a plan and a purpose behind everything, and I'm holding on to that tightly right now. Of course, our love for Caleb is absolutely unchanged, and we certainly wouldn't trade our kids for anything, but I wish I had a better response to this new hurdle instead of feeling like a whiney butt. Right now, I'm just trying to come to terms with our new normal and embrace the way that our family is designed....autism and all.

Quad Update - Winter 2014

It's time for another Quad Update!

When they were little, I could have written an update every week. Everything changed so fast, and they were hitting milestones frequently. Of course, that was also the days of my severe sleep deprivation, so I was lucky to write a post once a month. Now that they are older, I'm only moderately sleep deprived, and have more time to write, they aren't changing as quickly.

Oh well. Next time I have quads, I'll make a point of writing more updates early on. Just kidding.

BUT, they will be THREE next month. What??!! Where did the time go?? With their birthday right around the corner, I thought that it would be a good time to do another quad update (and then next month we will do Birthday Interviews!).

Side note: if you are new to the blog, you can catch up on some of the developmental and physical details in past Quad Updates: Summer 2013 and Winter 2013

Caleb

Socially, he is continuing to be more open to joining into the chaos. Our little boy who once watched from the sidelines, now jumps into the living room ruckus. He is still quite shy in new places and among new people, but we are very pleased that he is willing to give people a chance now.

Developmentally, Caleb is the furthest behind. He currently receives speech, occupational, and physical therapy. He is making progress, but still resists learning new skills and attempting anything that requires energy on his part. He is able to walk up and down stairs now though! That's his newest skill, and I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about that.

Verbally, Caleb just said his first full sentence about two weeks ago! It was beyond exciting to hear him say that! However, he still has very limited vocabulary, and his speech therapist said he speaks at an 18 month level. That is currently his biggest hurdle. We are anxious for him to communicate with us using words. Right now, he uses a lot of pushing and pulling to get us to a location, and then puts our hands on the item to tell us what he wants. For example, if he wants a drink, he pulls us into the kitchen, and then puts our hand on the refrigerator handle. If he wants a snack, he puts our hand on the pantry rack. He's very adept at communicating without words, but when he is upset or frustrated, all he does is cry instead of telling us what is wrong. It's really frustrating for all of us.

Physically, Caleb had his annual cardiologist appointment in December. We were happy to learn that his ASD has closed! We weren't expecting to hear that. However, his PDA is still open and now needs to be repaired. He is scheduled for heart surgery in May (after cold and flu season). We are hoping that it will be outpatient, but they have told us to prepare to stay overnight just in case. The procedure itself involves putting him under general anesthesia. They will insert a catheter through an artery in his groin, run it up to his heart, and insert a plug in the hole. The worst part for him (and us!) will be that he can't walk at all or move much for 6 hours after the surgery. Yeah, still not sure how I will explain that to my three-year-old....

Abby

Socially, Abby loves people! Just absolutely LOVES people and new places and new things. She still runs up and hugs random strangers which scares this mom just a little bit while still being so funny at the same time! The expression on the home security alarm installer's face was priceless when she latched on to him. She also head butts us all the time. It's not a mean head butt...more like what a cat does when they want to be petted. She's been doing that since she started crawling, so we are hoping to break her of it before she goes on her first date. First impressions and all that jazz.

Developmentally, Abby receives speech, physical, and occupational therapy. She is making progress in each area, and has made some wonderful strides in the eating department. She will now try new foods and will take bites of food she doesn't necessarily love if we help her eat it. It's so nice not to force feed her anymore!

Verbally, she has the second most words of the kids. She talks non-stop, and it is absolutely hilarious! Most of what she says is garbled, but she is obviously saying full sentences and carrying on conversations. We know that she knows the correct words in her head, but there is still a disconnect between her brain and her mouth. We are confident that she will continue to make progress though. The most hilarious thing about that disconnect is that she thinks that Ellie's name is also Abby. She knows she's Ellie but it comes out Abby every time. Lol!

Physically, Abby is working with physical therapy on strengthening her hips. She sits in a 'W' which weakens the hips and will cause problems down the road, especially when she wants to have babies (let's not talk about that). She also flips her legs out to the side as she runs instead of moving her knees up and down. She used to do that when she walked too, but we've been able to help her hips stay more inline. We are also trying to break her of her toe walking habit. We like to avoid surgery or casting if at all possible, so instead, we are constantly telling her to walk on her feet.

Elijah

Socially, Elijah loves people too! He is such a ham and looks for any opportunity to love and be loved on. The hardest part about Elijah is that he has such a sensitive heart. He very easily gets his feelings hurt, and that can prove to be frustrating when he is wailing. For the most part, though, he does well in public situations and with new people.

Developmentally, Elijah sees a speech therapist and an occupational therapist. He spends most of his time with both working on speech though.

Verbally, he is just behind Abby. He seems to have bursts where he picks up a bunch of new words, and then doesn't for several weeks. We are in a dry spell right now, but he's due for another language burst soon. His current favorite words are "motorcycle" and "dolphin." And yet I can't get him to say common, everyday words all the time.

Physically, Elijah has become much more "body aware." Eli is hypo-sensitive, meaning that he needs extra sensory input to process things. We used to have lots of issues with him running into things and people because he just wasn't aware of what was around him until he made contact. Thankfully, he is becoming more in tune with his surroundings, and he doesn't crash into stuff nearly as often. He still stuffs his mouth overly full though. Apparently that is part of his hypo-sensory issues: he doesn't process his mouth is full until it is stuffed.

Ellie

Socially, Ellie is always the first kid to greet a visitor, offer a hug, and say, "Bye-bye! Thanks for coming!" It's adorable, and I love her vivacious personality! She is a little reserved in new situations, but that normally lasts all of 90 seconds, and then she is off playing.

Developmentally, Ellie sees a physical and occupational therapist. Ellie still doesn't fully trust her legs, so her physical therapy time is spent working on walking on boxes, jumping up and down, and things like that. Occupationally, Ellie's time is spent sitting at the lunch table. My little girl who used to love healthy foods, especially her favorite baked chicken with steamed broccoli, has decided that she wants nothing more to do with them. In fact, she is more of a pickle when it comes to eating than Abby is. Dinner time has become extremely frustrating as she cries all of the way through unless it's one of a very few meals she will eat. We are definitely working as much as possible on this with our occupational therapist as the enjoyment factor of family dinners is completely gone.

Verbally, she is rocking it! While her language is still delayed, we can communicate with her and carry on short conversations. It's so nice to just hear what the problem is. "Mom, I have poops!" I can understand that!

Physically, Ellie had the first of two surgeries on her hemangioma a few months ago. It's healing very well, and is much less noticeable than it was before. We are really happy we made the decision to get it taken care of. This year we will have the second surgery to turn it into a straight line scar. Most likely that will happen in late summer/early fall, and then we will be done with that!

One Last Update:

And finally, we are in the process of testing and evaluating the kids with the local school district. We very unfortunately will lose all of our therapists on their third birthday as Missouri First Steps only provides services until then. With our kids still having significant delays, our options are to pay out-of-pocket for additional therapy services (unaffordable) or try to get them qualified for the Special Education program at the Early Childhood Center. If they make it, they will start preschool in late February/early March. It's a four day a week program for three hours each day. They have a full set of therapists on site, and the kids will be able to get all of their therapy services through them. Please pray they get in!! We feel that it will be very beneficial to them...and let's face it, the break would be nice for me too!

As always, we are so grateful for your support, love, and prayers for our family. We are beyond blessed to call each of you, "Friends!"

It's time for another Quad Update!

When they were little, I could have written an update every week. Everything changed so fast, and they were hitting milestones frequently. Of course, that was also the days of my severe sleep deprivation, so I was lucky to write a post once a month. Now that they are older, I'm only moderately sleep deprived, and have more time to write, they aren't changing as quickly.

Oh well. Next time I have quads, I'll make a point of writing more updates early on. Just kidding.

BUT, they will be THREE next month. What??!! Where did the time go?? With their birthday right around the corner, I thought that it would be a good time to do another quad update (and then next month we will do Birthday Interviews!).

Side note: if you are new to the blog, you can catch up on some of the developmental and physical details in past Quad Updates: Summer 2013 and Winter 2013

Caleb

Socially, he is continuing to be more open to joining into the chaos. Our little boy who once watched from the sidelines, now jumps into the living room ruckus. He is still quite shy in new places and among new people, but we are very pleased that he is willing to give people a chance now.

Developmentally, Caleb is the furthest behind. He currently receives speech, occupational, and physical therapy. He is making progress, but still resists learning new skills and attempting anything that requires energy on his part. He is able to walk up and down stairs now though! That's his newest skill, and I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about that.

Verbally, Caleb just said his first full sentence about two weeks ago! It was beyond exciting to hear him say that! However, he still has very limited vocabulary, and his speech therapist said he speaks at an 18 month level. That is currently his biggest hurdle. We are anxious for him to communicate with us using words. Right now, he uses a lot of pushing and pulling to get us to a location, and then puts our hands on the item to tell us what he wants. For example, if he wants a drink, he pulls us into the kitchen, and then puts our hand on the refrigerator handle. If he wants a snack, he puts our hand on the pantry rack. He's very adept at communicating without words, but when he is upset or frustrated, all he does is cry instead of telling us what is wrong. It's really frustrating for all of us.

Physically, Caleb had his annual cardiologist appointment in December. We were happy to learn that his ASD has closed! We weren't expecting to hear that. However, his PDA is still open and now needs to be repaired. He is scheduled for heart surgery in May (after cold and flu season). We are hoping that it will be outpatient, but they have told us to prepare to stay overnight just in case. The procedure itself involves putting him under general anesthesia. They will insert a catheter through an artery in his groin, run it up to his heart, and insert a plug in the hole. The worst part for him (and us!) will be that he can't walk at all or move much for 6 hours after the surgery. Yeah, still not sure how I will explain that to my three-year-old....

Abby

Socially, Abby loves people! Just absolutely LOVES people and new places and new things. She still runs up and hugs random strangers which scares this mom just a little bit while still being so funny at the same time! The expression on the home security alarm installer's face was priceless when she latched on to him. She also head butts us all the time. It's not a mean head butt...more like what a cat does when they want to be petted. She's been doing that since she started crawling, so we are hoping to break her of it before she goes on her first date. First impressions and all that jazz.

Developmentally, Abby receives speech, physical, and occupational therapy. She is making progress in each area, and has made some wonderful strides in the eating department. She will now try new foods and will take bites of food she doesn't necessarily love if we help her eat it. It's so nice not to force feed her anymore!

Verbally, she has the second most words of the kids. She talks non-stop, and it is absolutely hilarious! Most of what she says is garbled, but she is obviously saying full sentences and carrying on conversations. We know that she knows the correct words in her head, but there is still a disconnect between her brain and her mouth. We are confident that she will continue to make progress though. The most hilarious thing about that disconnect is that she thinks that Ellie's name is also Abby. She knows she's Ellie but it comes out Abby every time. Lol!

Physically, Abby is working with physical therapy on strengthening her hips. She sits in a 'W' which weakens the hips and will cause problems down the road, especially when she wants to have babies (let's not talk about that). She also flips her legs out to the side as she runs instead of moving her knees up and down. She used to do that when she walked too, but we've been able to help her hips stay more inline. We are also trying to break her of her toe walking habit. We like to avoid surgery or casting if at all possible, so instead, we are constantly telling her to walk on her feet.

Elijah

Socially, Elijah loves people too! He is such a ham and looks for any opportunity to love and be loved on. The hardest part about Elijah is that he has such a sensitive heart. He very easily gets his feelings hurt, and that can prove to be frustrating when he is wailing. For the most part, though, he does well in public situations and with new people.

Developmentally, Elijah sees a speech therapist and an occupational therapist. He spends most of his time with both working on speech though.

Verbally, he is just behind Abby. He seems to have bursts where he picks up a bunch of new words, and then doesn't for several weeks. We are in a dry spell right now, but he's due for another language burst soon. His current favorite words are "motorcycle" and "dolphin." And yet I can't get him to say common, everyday words all the time.

Physically, Elijah has become much more "body aware." Eli is hypo-sensitive, meaning that he needs extra sensory input to process things. We used to have lots of issues with him running into things and people because he just wasn't aware of what was around him until he made contact. Thankfully, he is becoming more in tune with his surroundings, and he doesn't crash into stuff nearly as often. He still stuffs his mouth overly full though. Apparently that is part of his hypo-sensory issues: he doesn't process his mouth is full until it is stuffed.

Ellie

Socially, Ellie is always the first kid to greet a visitor, offer a hug, and say, "Bye-bye! Thanks for coming!" It's adorable, and I love her vivacious personality! She is a little reserved in new situations, but that normally lasts all of 90 seconds, and then she is off playing.

Developmentally, Ellie sees a physical and occupational therapist. Ellie still doesn't fully trust her legs, so her physical therapy time is spent working on walking on boxes, jumping up and down, and things like that. Occupationally, Ellie's time is spent sitting at the lunch table. My little girl who used to love healthy foods, especially her favorite baked chicken with steamed broccoli, has decided that she wants nothing more to do with them. In fact, she is more of a pickle when it comes to eating than Abby is. Dinner time has become extremely frustrating as she cries all of the way through unless it's one of a very few meals she will eat. We are definitely working as much as possible on this with our occupational therapist as the enjoyment factor of family dinners is completely gone.

Verbally, she is rocking it! While her language is still delayed, we can communicate with her and carry on short conversations. It's so nice to just hear what the problem is. "Mom, I have poops!" I can understand that!

Physically, Ellie had the first of two surgeries on her hemangioma a few months ago. It's healing very well, and is much less noticeable than it was before. We are really happy we made the decision to get it taken care of. This year we will have the second surgery to turn it into a straight line scar. Most likely that will happen in late summer/early fall, and then we will be done with that!

One Last Update:

And finally, we are in the process of testing and evaluating the kids with the local school district. We very unfortunately will lose all of our therapists on their third birthday as Missouri First Steps only provides services until then. With our kids still having significant delays, our options are to pay out-of-pocket for additional therapy services (unaffordable) or try to get them qualified for the Special Education program at the Early Childhood Center. If they make it, they will start preschool in late February/early March. It's a four day a week program for three hours each day. They have a full set of therapists on site, and the kids will be able to get all of their therapy services through them. Please pray they get in!! We feel that it will be very beneficial to them...and let's face it, the break would be nice for me too!

As always, we are so grateful for your support, love, and prayers for our family. We are beyond blessed to call each of you, "Friends!"

Therapy Through Play: Cardboard Blocks

I thought it would be a fun to show you some of the activities that our kids do during their therapy sessions. Debbie, our Occupational Therapist, is a master at using toys to encourage the kids to try new developmental skills. She has been doing therapy through play with the kids twice a week since they were six months old, and they love her! It's so cute to watch them wait for her at the window or wave goodbye as she drives away. 

While every therapy session is unique depending upon which kid she is working with, there is a core set of skills that all of the kids are working on right now. And since our kids have the attention span of gnats, most of the time she works with all four of them at some point during each session.

We recently got several sets of the Melissa and Doug Jumbo Cardboard Building Blocks for the kids to play with and they have been so much fun to use during our sessions! I decided to bring out the camera to document how we incorporate the same toy into lots of different exercises while still making it fun. It keeps the kids interested and also lets us have extended use out of our toys since we use them in structured and free-style playing.

We are always so glad to see the kids exploring new things! We keep our blocks out in the garage and bring them in periodically. The idea is that the blocks stay fresh and entertaining so that the kids find the novelty worth pursuing. They definitely have to work hard during their therapy sessions so sometimes a little bribery is helpful! The kids are a hoot when the blocks first come out! The first thing they do is take all of them out, and then a lot of times one (or more) kids will climb into the storage box and empty the last ones from the bottom. I'm all for encouraging exploration in a safe way and these blocks give them the opportunity to do that. They also provide a nice distraction from their need to explore the toilets, pantry racks, and electronic equipment (there is never any downtime here!).

Stacking is one of the skills that we are working on right now. Normally the kids need some coaching and assistance with balancing items, but I turned around to find that Elijah had built a tower all by himself without any prompts. Proud Mama! Then, of course, there's Caleb who much prefers to knock down every tower his siblings try to build rather than build any himself....we will keep working on it though!

Stepping up is one of the biggest developmental skills we are working on with everyone. The end goal is that they are able to walk upstairs and downstairs while either holding onto the banister or using one hand to hold Mommy or Daddy's hand. The kids would much rather crawl up and down though, so it's a process to convince them to give it a try. (Hey, if it ain't broke...) We work on encouraging them to take that first step up with no assistance by asking them to reach for a toy while stepping up at the same time. It requires them to balance and focus simultaneously. This exercise definitely asks them to "step" outside their comfort zone.

A couple of our kiddos struggle with clearing toys with their feet. Ellie and Caleb in particular try to walk around any obstacles in their path rather than navigate over them. These blocks are awesome for creating obstacles of different heights and widths. Much better than pulling pillows off of the couch since those aren't nearly as interesting to toddlers!

I took four of the big blocks (that hold up to 150 pounds!) and filled them with rice to weigh them down. After I added the rice, the big blocks weighed in at about 2 pounds each. Since the cardboard blocks are so light, I wanted some heavier ones to use for "stairs." Our real stairs are blocked by a gate (simply because I don't need four toddlers running rampant through the house) but that does pose a problem with their stair experience. Using the weighted blocks is a great way to get them some time on "stairs" without losing my sanity!

My sweet boys have very little core strength. Because of that, they do a lot of planks. Giving them something fun to hold on to makes it more enjoyable for them. The picture doesn't show it, but we ask them to use their hands to "step off" and then "step back on" the block. It takes a lot of control and strength to do that, and honestly, they hate it. Having something brightly colored does help to make it more interesting.

So if you ever wonder what we are doing on Monday and Wednesday mornings, now you know! We do a lot of variations of these exercises, but we try our absolute best to keep it fresh and entertaining. If you've ever done therapy yourself, you know it's not always pleasant. Thankfully, we are able to use toys to make it a little more interesting.

Also, consider this a head's up: someday I'm sure they will have their stacking skills down and my living room will be full of block forts and flying stuffed animals. You've been warned!

This post was sponsored by Melissa and Doug. Thank you for allowing me to sample your toys! This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

I thought it would be a fun to show you some of the activities that our kids do during their therapy sessions. Debbie, our Occupational Therapist, is a master at using toys to encourage the kids to try new developmental skills. She has been doing therapy through play with the kids twice a week since they were six months old, and they love her! It's so cute to watch them wait for her at the window or wave goodbye as she drives away. 

While every therapy session is unique depending upon which kid she is working with, there is a core set of skills that all of the kids are working on right now. And since our kids have the attention span of gnats, most of the time she works with all four of them at some point during each session.

We recently got several sets of the Melissa and Doug Jumbo Cardboard Building Blocks for the kids to play with and they have been so much fun to use during our sessions! I decided to bring out the camera to document how we incorporate the same toy into lots of different exercises while still making it fun. It keeps the kids interested and also lets us have extended use out of our toys since we use them in structured and free-style playing.

We are always so glad to see the kids exploring new things! We keep our blocks out in the garage and bring them in periodically. The idea is that the blocks stay fresh and entertaining so that the kids find the novelty worth pursuing. They definitely have to work hard during their therapy sessions so sometimes a little bribery is helpful! The kids are a hoot when the blocks first come out! The first thing they do is take all of them out, and then a lot of times one (or more) kids will climb into the storage box and empty the last ones from the bottom. I'm all for encouraging exploration in a safe way and these blocks give them the opportunity to do that. They also provide a nice distraction from their need to explore the toilets, pantry racks, and electronic equipment (there is never any downtime here!).

Stacking is one of the skills that we are working on right now. Normally the kids need some coaching and assistance with balancing items, but I turned around to find that Elijah had built a tower all by himself without any prompts. Proud Mama! Then, of course, there's Caleb who much prefers to knock down every tower his siblings try to build rather than build any himself....we will keep working on it though!

Stepping up is one of the biggest developmental skills we are working on with everyone. The end goal is that they are able to walk upstairs and downstairs while either holding onto the banister or using one hand to hold Mommy or Daddy's hand. The kids would much rather crawl up and down though, so it's a process to convince them to give it a try. (Hey, if it ain't broke...) We work on encouraging them to take that first step up with no assistance by asking them to reach for a toy while stepping up at the same time. It requires them to balance and focus simultaneously. This exercise definitely asks them to "step" outside their comfort zone.

A couple of our kiddos struggle with clearing toys with their feet. Ellie and Caleb in particular try to walk around any obstacles in their path rather than navigate over them. These blocks are awesome for creating obstacles of different heights and widths. Much better than pulling pillows off of the couch since those aren't nearly as interesting to toddlers!

I took four of the big blocks (that hold up to 150 pounds!) and filled them with rice to weigh them down. After I added the rice, the big blocks weighed in at about 2 pounds each. Since the cardboard blocks are so light, I wanted some heavier ones to use for "stairs." Our real stairs are blocked by a gate (simply because I don't need four toddlers running rampant through the house) but that does pose a problem with their stair experience. Using the weighted blocks is a great way to get them some time on "stairs" without losing my sanity!

My sweet boys have very little core strength. Because of that, they do a lot of planks. Giving them something fun to hold on to makes it more enjoyable for them. The picture doesn't show it, but we ask them to use their hands to "step off" and then "step back on" the block. It takes a lot of control and strength to do that, and honestly, they hate it. Having something brightly colored does help to make it more interesting.

So if you ever wonder what we are doing on Monday and Wednesday mornings, now you know! We do a lot of variations of these exercises, but we try our absolute best to keep it fresh and entertaining. If you've ever done therapy yourself, you know it's not always pleasant. Thankfully, we are able to use toys to make it a little more interesting.

Also, consider this a head's up: someday I'm sure they will have their stacking skills down and my living room will be full of block forts and flying stuffed animals. You've been warned!

This post was sponsored by Melissa and Doug. Thank you for allowing me to sample your toys! This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

Quad Update: How Are We Doing?

I didn't realize how long it's been since I wrote an update about the kids' health until...well, until at least ten people asked me specifically how they are doing physically and developmentally. So, this is going to be one, rather long, hopefully not-too-boring, quad update. Hang tight!

We are about one month out from the kids second birthday. That is so hard to believe! Every now and again I look back through "old" photos from six months ago and it seems a ridiculously long time ago and yet just yesterday. Whoa.

Caleb:

Socially, Mr. Caleb has really started to come out of his shell in the last few months. He used to hang in the corner by himself and not really get involved with the other kids. He is now rambunctious and wants to be in the middle of the excitement. I was so worried about his reticence, so I'm super happy to see him joining the group.

Developmentally, his motivation hasn't changed much. Caleb's thought process goes a lot like this, "Why would I walk over there if I can just crawl?" Granted, through lots of therapy, we finally got him walking, but he was the last kid to do so. He needs a lot of encouragement to try new things. He is making strides developmentally, it's just a bit on the slow going side with him.

Verbally, Caleb speaks the second most words with his vocabulary consisting of, "oh," "no," and "uh-oh." By the age of two, kids should have somewhere between 100-250 words and small phrases in their vocabulary. We obviously have a ways to go. At the end of January, all of the kids will start seeing a Speech Therapist to help them learn how to talk.

Physically, Caleb sees a Cardiologist, Occupational Therapist, and Physical Therapist. The therapists are helping him catch up as he is consider 16 months old skill-wise on their chart. Right now, his cardiology appointments are once a year to follow the two holes in his heart. He still has a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) from when he was born and also has a hole between the top two chambers of his heart, called an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) that affects blood flow.

All kids have PDAs while in the womb, but normally they close by the time the child is born or just after. In the case of preemies, there often isn't enough cooking time in the womb for the hole to close.

The ASD is actually a bigger issue. ASD's effect blood flow causing oxygenated blood and unoxygenated blood to mingle instead of everything moving in the correct direction. What happens is that blood that leaves the heart pumps to the lungs with that mixture of oxygneated/unoxyengated blood and causing the heart to overwork. As a child, this isn't a huge issue because the body is small, but the bigger the person grows, the harder the heart has to work to make up for the inefficiency. Eventually it has to be fixed before adulthood (if you are an Arnold Swartzenagger fan, this is the same heart surgery he had as an adult...late in life!). Heart failure is a potential outcome if the hole isn't fixed. So, I don't know if that was clear as mud or what, but long story short, it was confirmed at his annual checkup in December that the holes have not closed at all and he will need heart surgery in the next couple of years. We have been told that we can make it another year with the holes in his heart and he will be reevaluated in December 2013 with a surgery date most likely set after that. If he had had this surgery as a baby, it would have been open heart. Instead, they will be able to go through his groin, insert two plugs to close both holes, and send him home the same day. We like this version a lot more!

I promise, I really am trying to make this as interesting as possible!

Abby:

Socially, Abby loves people! She is a flirt and always has been (Daddy needs to prepare himself!). We are pretty sure that Larry the Cucumber is her current crush. Haha! She prefers to play on her own, but interacts well with her siblings. She has no fear of new people or new places and takes off for the toys without saying goodbye to Mommy and Daddy when she goes to the church nursery to play (when it's not winter).

Developmentally, Abby does pretty well. She is still considered to be 16 months developmentally, but is willing to try new things. Given the opportunity, I'm sure she would climb straight up to the roof. I can hardly keep both of her feet on the ground! Motivation isn't an issue for her...unless we are talking about eating. Speaking of which, will feeding this child ever get easier?! From the beginning, she has been a very different feeder, and that really hasn't changed much now that she is a toddler. She makes every attempt to live on: milk, crackers, bread items, chips, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The problem is that there aren't enough calories or nutrients in those to keep her growing. The doctor now has her on Boost shakes to get her caloric intake up. Yep, she got slapped with the "failure to thrive" label. Thanks for making me feel like an awesome mom, Abby.

Verbally, Abby doesn't speak. She does babble but doesn't have any words yet.

Physically, Abby sees just the Occupational Therapist with the Speech Therapist starting this month as well. She has been discharged from seeing an Opthamologist regularly for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) and now just sees her yearly along with the other kids for regular eye exams.

Still with me? Two down, two to go!

Elijah:

Socially, Elijah is a huge snuggler. He loves people, loves laughing, loves making people laugh, loves helping...just generally loves being in the middle of everything and pleasing his parents, siblings, and therapists. One of the best parts of Elijah's personality is his sweet, sensitive heart. He visibly worries about his siblings when they are upset. He can run into a wall and not even notice, but if he feels like someone has slighted him, his feelings are incredibly hurt. He also gets upset if one of his siblings is upset. I so appreciate his sweet spirit and hope that I do a good job of guiding him to manhood without crushing his spirit.

Developmentally, we had the same motivation issue with Elijah for awhile that we did with Caleb. Not quite to the same degree, but he still doesn't want to work harder than he absolutely has to.

Verbally, Elijah can make a few sounds, but I haven't heard him say any words. For the most part, he will mouth sounds, but doesn't like to say them out loud. However, he has developed a stand-up comedy routine and keeps Daddy, Mommy, and siblings in stitches all of the time. Now if we could just get him to use words instead of babbling so that we can understand what he is saying...

Physically, Elijah is doing what the others are: walking, running, and working on squatting. The therapists often have him do (modified) planks to strength his core since that's always been a week spot.


One kid left! If you've made it this far, you are seriously hard core!

Ellie:

Socially, Ellie can't get enough of people! It seems that every person that she meets is her new best friend. She hasn't met a stranger, which is somewhat concerning from a safety point of view, but ultimately so adorable!

Developmentally, Ellie is the furthest ahead cognitively. It's exciting to see her process what we are saying and respond with her actions. She also sees things that need to be done and fixes them herself: wipes up spilled milk with her stuffed animals, takes favorite loveys to siblings who are sad, finds little pieces of paper or trash that other siblings would eat and brings them straight to me. Such a sweet, helpful little girl! She is all about pleasing others. My hope for her is that I can encourage her kindness but make sure that she knows she is always loved even when she does something wrong. I see a lot of myself in her, and I know how easy it is to mix those two things up.

Verbally, Ellie has the most words in her vocabulary at this time: "Daddy," "Mommy," "please," "bye," "ball," and "pants." However, she doesn't use her words very often unless prompted. She will also be seeing the speech therapist in a few weeks. I hope that the speech therapist is ready for all of this!

Physically, Ellie has developed far beyond what we hoped. When she was in the hospital, we were told that because of the cysts on her brain, she was a very good candidate for cerebral palsy. She also had severely bowed legs and feet and we weren't sure how much work it would take for her to walk. We were prepared for boots, casting, extensive therapy, and the idea that she might not walk for a long time, or possibly at all. On top of that, there was also an issue while she was in the hospital with the breast milk that was given to her. The nurse on one of the night shifts mixed up my breast milk with another NICU mom's milk and gave Ellie the wrong bottle (scroll to the end of the linked post if you want more details). The other mom, through no fault of her own, had contracted some diseases prior to having her baby, and we were told that Ellie would need additional testing to make sure she hadn't contracted anything. All of her tests came back negative, but we were told that HIV can take up to six months to actually show up in a blood test once it's been contracted. Although HIV cells are considered to be to big too pass through breast milk, there was still a chance that Ellie could end up HIV positive.

All that to say, Ellie has overcome every hurdle by the grace of God! Ellie was our second baby who learned how to walk toward the end of May 2012. I will never forget the feeling of awe I had for God's provision for our baby on the day that she took her first steps. She was walking! We didn't even know if it would be possible! And in November 2012, she had a second blood test that showed she is HIV negative, and we can now cross any leftover fears from the breast milk mix-up off of our list.

Right now, the main thing that we are working on with her is her weight. Ellie has also been labeled by the pediatrician as a "failure to thrive" child. Hers is more severe than Abby's, so she has been going in for weight checks every other month. We've been able to get her back on the weight/growth curve, but she is still drinking Boost everyday to keep her weight moving in the right direction. Let me tell you, nothing makes you feel better as a mom than to hear that your child is failing to thrive. *sigh* I promise we feed these kids, and we feed them good, nutritious food too! Abby just doesn't like to eat, and Ellie is eating but burning more calories than she consumes.


In summary:
All of the kids are considered to be 16 months developmentally based on the skills they have. The two main things that they need to do to move up the curve is 1) jump with both feet leaving the floor, and 2) go up and down the stairs without assistance or crawling. Once they master those two things, they will be considered around 20 months developmentally. However, as of age 2, they will no longer be working under adjusted ages, and doctors will consider them officially their correct age.

We are also in the middle of our final winter lockdown. Our kids don't have immune systems or lungs that can withstand the severe illnesses that come during cold and flu season. By next year, they should be strong enough to be out in public.

So there you have it! A very, very long update on how the kids are doing. So many of you asked specifically for an update on the kids when you took the survey, and I have to tell you how very much that meant to me as a mom. That you all would still care so much about how they are doing even two years after they were born means the world to me. Sometimes I read back through comments that you all have left on previous posts and find them so encouraging on rough days.

Thank you for continuing to pray for and cheer my family on! 

I didn't realize how long it's been since I wrote an update about the kids' health until...well, until at least ten people asked me specifically how they are doing physically and developmentally. So, this is going to be one, rather long, hopefully not-too-boring, quad update. Hang tight!

We are about one month out from the kids second birthday. That is so hard to believe! Every now and again I look back through "old" photos from six months ago and it seems a ridiculously long time ago and yet just yesterday. Whoa.

Caleb:

Socially, Mr. Caleb has really started to come out of his shell in the last few months. He used to hang in the corner by himself and not really get involved with the other kids. He is now rambunctious and wants to be in the middle of the excitement. I was so worried about his reticence, so I'm super happy to see him joining the group.

Developmentally, his motivation hasn't changed much. Caleb's thought process goes a lot like this, "Why would I walk over there if I can just crawl?" Granted, through lots of therapy, we finally got him walking, but he was the last kid to do so. He needs a lot of encouragement to try new things. He is making strides developmentally, it's just a bit on the slow going side with him.

Verbally, Caleb speaks the second most words with his vocabulary consisting of, "oh," "no," and "uh-oh." By the age of two, kids should have somewhere between 100-250 words and small phrases in their vocabulary. We obviously have a ways to go. At the end of January, all of the kids will start seeing a Speech Therapist to help them learn how to talk.

Physically, Caleb sees a Cardiologist, Occupational Therapist, and Physical Therapist. The therapists are helping him catch up as he is consider 16 months old skill-wise on their chart. Right now, his cardiology appointments are once a year to follow the two holes in his heart. He still has a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) from when he was born and also has a hole between the top two chambers of his heart, called an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) that affects blood flow.

All kids have PDAs while in the womb, but normally they close by the time the child is born or just after. In the case of preemies, there often isn't enough cooking time in the womb for the hole to close.

The ASD is actually a bigger issue. ASD's effect blood flow causing oxygenated blood and unoxygenated blood to mingle instead of everything moving in the correct direction. What happens is that blood that leaves the heart pumps to the lungs with that mixture of oxygneated/unoxyengated blood and causing the heart to overwork. As a child, this isn't a huge issue because the body is small, but the bigger the person grows, the harder the heart has to work to make up for the inefficiency. Eventually it has to be fixed before adulthood (if you are an Arnold Swartzenagger fan, this is the same heart surgery he had as an adult...late in life!). Heart failure is a potential outcome if the hole isn't fixed. So, I don't know if that was clear as mud or what, but long story short, it was confirmed at his annual checkup in December that the holes have not closed at all and he will need heart surgery in the next couple of years. We have been told that we can make it another year with the holes in his heart and he will be reevaluated in December 2013 with a surgery date most likely set after that. If he had had this surgery as a baby, it would have been open heart. Instead, they will be able to go through his groin, insert two plugs to close both holes, and send him home the same day. We like this version a lot more!

I promise, I really am trying to make this as interesting as possible!

Abby:

Socially, Abby loves people! She is a flirt and always has been (Daddy needs to prepare himself!). We are pretty sure that Larry the Cucumber is her current crush. Haha! She prefers to play on her own, but interacts well with her siblings. She has no fear of new people or new places and takes off for the toys without saying goodbye to Mommy and Daddy when she goes to the church nursery to play (when it's not winter).

Developmentally, Abby does pretty well. She is still considered to be 16 months developmentally, but is willing to try new things. Given the opportunity, I'm sure she would climb straight up to the roof. I can hardly keep both of her feet on the ground! Motivation isn't an issue for her...unless we are talking about eating. Speaking of which, will feeding this child ever get easier?! From the beginning, she has been a very different feeder, and that really hasn't changed much now that she is a toddler. She makes every attempt to live on: milk, crackers, bread items, chips, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The problem is that there aren't enough calories or nutrients in those to keep her growing. The doctor now has her on Boost shakes to get her caloric intake up. Yep, she got slapped with the "failure to thrive" label. Thanks for making me feel like an awesome mom, Abby.

Verbally, Abby doesn't speak. She does babble but doesn't have any words yet.

Physically, Abby sees just the Occupational Therapist with the Speech Therapist starting this month as well. She has been discharged from seeing an Opthamologist regularly for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) and now just sees her yearly along with the other kids for regular eye exams.

Still with me? Two down, two to go!

Elijah:

Socially, Elijah is a huge snuggler. He loves people, loves laughing, loves making people laugh, loves helping...just generally loves being in the middle of everything and pleasing his parents, siblings, and therapists. One of the best parts of Elijah's personality is his sweet, sensitive heart. He visibly worries about his siblings when they are upset. He can run into a wall and not even notice, but if he feels like someone has slighted him, his feelings are incredibly hurt. He also gets upset if one of his siblings is upset. I so appreciate his sweet spirit and hope that I do a good job of guiding him to manhood without crushing his spirit.

Developmentally, we had the same motivation issue with Elijah for awhile that we did with Caleb. Not quite to the same degree, but he still doesn't want to work harder than he absolutely has to.

Verbally, Elijah can make a few sounds, but I haven't heard him say any words. For the most part, he will mouth sounds, but doesn't like to say them out loud. However, he has developed a stand-up comedy routine and keeps Daddy, Mommy, and siblings in stitches all of the time. Now if we could just get him to use words instead of babbling so that we can understand what he is saying...

Physically, Elijah is doing what the others are: walking, running, and working on squatting. The therapists often have him do (modified) planks to strength his core since that's always been a week spot.


One kid left! If you've made it this far, you are seriously hard core!

Ellie:

Socially, Ellie can't get enough of people! It seems that every person that she meets is her new best friend. She hasn't met a stranger, which is somewhat concerning from a safety point of view, but ultimately so adorable!

Developmentally, Ellie is the furthest ahead cognitively. It's exciting to see her process what we are saying and respond with her actions. She also sees things that need to be done and fixes them herself: wipes up spilled milk with her stuffed animals, takes favorite loveys to siblings who are sad, finds little pieces of paper or trash that other siblings would eat and brings them straight to me. Such a sweet, helpful little girl! She is all about pleasing others. My hope for her is that I can encourage her kindness but make sure that she knows she is always loved even when she does something wrong. I see a lot of myself in her, and I know how easy it is to mix those two things up.

Verbally, Ellie has the most words in her vocabulary at this time: "Daddy," "Mommy," "please," "bye," "ball," and "pants." However, she doesn't use her words very often unless prompted. She will also be seeing the speech therapist in a few weeks. I hope that the speech therapist is ready for all of this!

Physically, Ellie has developed far beyond what we hoped. When she was in the hospital, we were told that because of the cysts on her brain, she was a very good candidate for cerebral palsy. She also had severely bowed legs and feet and we weren't sure how much work it would take for her to walk. We were prepared for boots, casting, extensive therapy, and the idea that she might not walk for a long time, or possibly at all. On top of that, there was also an issue while she was in the hospital with the breast milk that was given to her. The nurse on one of the night shifts mixed up my breast milk with another NICU mom's milk and gave Ellie the wrong bottle (scroll to the end of the linked post if you want more details). The other mom, through no fault of her own, had contracted some diseases prior to having her baby, and we were told that Ellie would need additional testing to make sure she hadn't contracted anything. All of her tests came back negative, but we were told that HIV can take up to six months to actually show up in a blood test once it's been contracted. Although HIV cells are considered to be to big too pass through breast milk, there was still a chance that Ellie could end up HIV positive.

All that to say, Ellie has overcome every hurdle by the grace of God! Ellie was our second baby who learned how to walk toward the end of May 2012. I will never forget the feeling of awe I had for God's provision for our baby on the day that she took her first steps. She was walking! We didn't even know if it would be possible! And in November 2012, she had a second blood test that showed she is HIV negative, and we can now cross any leftover fears from the breast milk mix-up off of our list.

Right now, the main thing that we are working on with her is her weight. Ellie has also been labeled by the pediatrician as a "failure to thrive" child. Hers is more severe than Abby's, so she has been going in for weight checks every other month. We've been able to get her back on the weight/growth curve, but she is still drinking Boost everyday to keep her weight moving in the right direction. Let me tell you, nothing makes you feel better as a mom than to hear that your child is failing to thrive. *sigh* I promise we feed these kids, and we feed them good, nutritious food too! Abby just doesn't like to eat, and Ellie is eating but burning more calories than she consumes.


In summary:
All of the kids are considered to be 16 months developmentally based on the skills they have. The two main things that they need to do to move up the curve is 1) jump with both feet leaving the floor, and 2) go up and down the stairs without assistance or crawling. Once they master those two things, they will be considered around 20 months developmentally. However, as of age 2, they will no longer be working under adjusted ages, and doctors will consider them officially their correct age.

We are also in the middle of our final winter lockdown. Our kids don't have immune systems or lungs that can withstand the severe illnesses that come during cold and flu season. By next year, they should be strong enough to be out in public.

So there you have it! A very, very long update on how the kids are doing. So many of you asked specifically for an update on the kids when you took the survey, and I have to tell you how very much that meant to me as a mom. That you all would still care so much about how they are doing even two years after they were born means the world to me. Sometimes I read back through comments that you all have left on previous posts and find them so encouraging on rough days.

Thank you for continuing to pray for and cheer my family on! 

15 Month Check-Up: We're Growing!

Thank you SO much for all of your support during the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest!

To be honest, I'm glad it's over. It felt all encompassing on my end, so I can't imagine how everyone else felt with the constant reminders. But, you all totally came through for us and we are so honored to have finished in 2nd place! The final tally had us at 6102 votes! That's an average of 291 people clicking the vote button everyday. WOW! 

You all are so awesome!

It was a tough competition the entire time between us, the McCleary Quadruplets, and The Great Umbrella Heist. All three blogs switched back and forth during the entire contest, so we really didn't know how it would all shake out in the end. Crazy exciting! Make sure you check out the other blogs if you get a chance!

And if you are new to our blog, "Welcome!"

We are thrilled to have you in our little neck of the internet! Please feel free to sign up for email updates or connect with us on Google Friend Connect! 

****************************

One of the wonderful things about the babies getting older is that the number of doctors' appointments per week have been drastically reduced. It was common to have 3, 4, or even 5 appointments per week when they first came home. It was very overwhelming!

This week was kind of strange for us. We actually had two appointments, both right across the street from the hospital that we lived in for a few months last year.


Dr. Kevin is our awesome pediatrician. He is extremely patient with the kids...and more so with me and the millions of questions and lists that I bring in each time. I actually type out a document for each baby with their feeding schedule, developmental milestones, and upcoming appointments. I've found that doing so cuts a good 30-45 minutes off of our appointment since half of his questions are answered by looking at the sheet.

Anyhow, the kids had a fantastic 15 month check-up! I snapped a few photos of them when I realized that they are probably more "kids" than "babies" at this point. *sniff*

Caleb weighed in at 20 lbs, 5 oz. He loves table food, so he's starting to put on some weight!

Abby is the littlest at 17 lbs, 6 oz. Unlike her brother, she isn't a fan of table food. But when has Abby ever liked eating in general?? I'm just glad she gained some weight!

Elijah is now 20 lbs, 9 oz. Big boy! 

Ellie is 18 lbs, 8 oz. A definite increase from her 1 lb, 14 oz weight at birth! She was totally cracking Dr. Kevin up in this photo because she was holding the plastic ear thingy (no idea what those are actually called) like a cigar. Lol!

The kids think he is an awesome doctor because he lets them play with their tongue depressor while he checks them over! :)


The major difference between this appointment and previous appointments is that they were ALL OVER the place this time! We couldn't get them to hold still on the examining table at all. I seem to be getting more tired in direct proportion to how much they are moving these days!

******************************

 The next day, we took the kids to their 15 month Developmental Follow-Up through the NICU. The therapists were finished much more quickly than we thought they would. They were blown away by all four of our kids walking...especially Ellie who they had been watching for signs of cerebral palsy. God has been extremely good to our family, and we were excited to learn that they easily meet the 12 month adjusted developmental milestones and are starting to close the gap.

So pretty much, they just let them play a bit and then called it good. We go back in six months for one last follow-up, and then we are officially done! They also told us to expect that they could very well be completely caught up by then if we stay on the same track!

 Abby with a baby doll that she found.

"I am Caleb. Hear me ROAR!"

Ellie helping Daddy adjust to a new situation...or is that the other way around? :)

My little cuddle bug, Eli, giving the camera a big smile!

Abby, Ellie, and Eli playing while the occupational therapist assesses their developmental level.

Group shot with both therapists, Daddy and most of the kids. It's hard to get them to hold still long enough to take a photo.

Even though it always takes a bit of preparation to get out of the house, these are appointments that I enjoyed. It's so nice to go see medical professionals and hear good things about our kids!

Thank you SO much for all of your support during the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest!

To be honest, I'm glad it's over. It felt all encompassing on my end, so I can't imagine how everyone else felt with the constant reminders. But, you all totally came through for us and we are so honored to have finished in 2nd place! The final tally had us at 6102 votes! That's an average of 291 people clicking the vote button everyday. WOW! 

You all are so awesome!

It was a tough competition the entire time between us, the McCleary Quadruplets, and The Great Umbrella Heist. All three blogs switched back and forth during the entire contest, so we really didn't know how it would all shake out in the end. Crazy exciting! Make sure you check out the other blogs if you get a chance!

And if you are new to our blog, "Welcome!"

We are thrilled to have you in our little neck of the internet! Please feel free to sign up for email updates or connect with us on Google Friend Connect! 

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One of the wonderful things about the babies getting older is that the number of doctors' appointments per week have been drastically reduced. It was common to have 3, 4, or even 5 appointments per week when they first came home. It was very overwhelming!

This week was kind of strange for us. We actually had two appointments, both right across the street from the hospital that we lived in for a few months last year.


Dr. Kevin is our awesome pediatrician. He is extremely patient with the kids...and more so with me and the millions of questions and lists that I bring in each time. I actually type out a document for each baby with their feeding schedule, developmental milestones, and upcoming appointments. I've found that doing so cuts a good 30-45 minutes off of our appointment since half of his questions are answered by looking at the sheet.

Anyhow, the kids had a fantastic 15 month check-up! I snapped a few photos of them when I realized that they are probably more "kids" than "babies" at this point. *sniff*

Caleb weighed in at 20 lbs, 5 oz. He loves table food, so he's starting to put on some weight!

Abby is the littlest at 17 lbs, 6 oz. Unlike her brother, she isn't a fan of table food. But when has Abby ever liked eating in general?? I'm just glad she gained some weight!

Elijah is now 20 lbs, 9 oz. Big boy! 

Ellie is 18 lbs, 8 oz. A definite increase from her 1 lb, 14 oz weight at birth! She was totally cracking Dr. Kevin up in this photo because she was holding the plastic ear thingy (no idea what those are actually called) like a cigar. Lol!

The kids think he is an awesome doctor because he lets them play with their tongue depressor while he checks them over! :)


The major difference between this appointment and previous appointments is that they were ALL OVER the place this time! We couldn't get them to hold still on the examining table at all. I seem to be getting more tired in direct proportion to how much they are moving these days!

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 The next day, we took the kids to their 15 month Developmental Follow-Up through the NICU. The therapists were finished much more quickly than we thought they would. They were blown away by all four of our kids walking...especially Ellie who they had been watching for signs of cerebral palsy. God has been extremely good to our family, and we were excited to learn that they easily meet the 12 month adjusted developmental milestones and are starting to close the gap.

So pretty much, they just let them play a bit and then called it good. We go back in six months for one last follow-up, and then we are officially done! They also told us to expect that they could very well be completely caught up by then if we stay on the same track!

 Abby with a baby doll that she found.

"I am Caleb. Hear me ROAR!"

Ellie helping Daddy adjust to a new situation...or is that the other way around? :)

My little cuddle bug, Eli, giving the camera a big smile!

Abby, Ellie, and Eli playing while the occupational therapist assesses their developmental level.

Group shot with both therapists, Daddy and most of the kids. It's hard to get them to hold still long enough to take a photo.

Even though it always takes a bit of preparation to get out of the house, these are appointments that I enjoyed. It's so nice to go see medical professionals and hear good things about our kids!

The Next Milestone: Cups!

A few weeks ago, we introduced cups to the babies. They thought they were awesome toys. Not exactly what I had in mind. They couldn't figure out how to get milk out and pretty much just used them as new things to roll around on the floor. I tried a couple of different types of cups, but nothing seemed to click.

So we took a break.

This is by far the most frustrating developmental milestone that I've had as a mother. More frustrating than crawling, more frustrating than walking, more frustrating than trying to get them to turn their heads both ways evenly, more frustrating than bottle feeding Abby...no wait. That's not true. Bottle feeding Abby at the beginning was more frustrating. But barely so.

I eventually asked the babies' occupational and physical therapists for help teaching them how to suck out of a straw. They tried the different bottles with them, but nothing worked. Finally, Jessica, the physical therapist, brought over a Playtex First Sipster Cup. It's geared for 4 month old babies and has a little part of the cup that you can push and force milk up the straw and into their mouths. It's supposed to help them understand that there is liquid in the cup, and they can get it out of the straw. And, I was really excited to see that they make them in each of their colors!

I'm pleased to announce that after several weeks of practicing, we have managed to learn how to drink out of cups! It's still a little hit and miss, but overall, we are seeing some success!

And because of that, I got to drop a bottle feeding yesterday and replace it with a snack: milk and graham crackers!

Caleb sucked his milk right down, almost finishing the entire thing! He was incredibly happy with this change of events!

Caleb: "Mom! This is a good idea! Much better than playing outside or going to church!"

Ever my last baby to be okay with changes to the feeding plan, Abby isn't as fond of this idea. She keeps throwing the cup off of her tray or behind her seat. I'm happy that she finally did drink a bit though.

Abby: "Hmm.....I don't like it when people mess with my feeding. I think I'll just concentrate on my cracker."

What a ham! Elijah keeps getting mixed up about where exactly the milk come from. He is definitely all about trying to find the magic straw though.

Elijah: "Does the milk come out of here? How about here? Or how about here? etc."

Like usual, our little runt likes to prove that she can keep up with everyone else. During snack time, she was right on it!

Ellie: "Check this out. I'm one handing it!"

And because descriptions and photos just don't do it justice, check out this short video of snack time. It's so QUIET! I love it!

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One Week Left to Vote!!

A few weeks ago, we introduced cups to the babies. They thought they were awesome toys. Not exactly what I had in mind. They couldn't figure out how to get milk out and pretty much just used them as new things to roll around on the floor. I tried a couple of different types of cups, but nothing seemed to click.

So we took a break.

This is by far the most frustrating developmental milestone that I've had as a mother. More frustrating than crawling, more frustrating than walking, more frustrating than trying to get them to turn their heads both ways evenly, more frustrating than bottle feeding Abby...no wait. That's not true. Bottle feeding Abby at the beginning was more frustrating. But barely so.

I eventually asked the babies' occupational and physical therapists for help teaching them how to suck out of a straw. They tried the different bottles with them, but nothing worked. Finally, Jessica, the physical therapist, brought over a Playtex First Sipster Cup. It's geared for 4 month old babies and has a little part of the cup that you can push and force milk up the straw and into their mouths. It's supposed to help them understand that there is liquid in the cup, and they can get it out of the straw. And, I was really excited to see that they make them in each of their colors!

I'm pleased to announce that after several weeks of practicing, we have managed to learn how to drink out of cups! It's still a little hit and miss, but overall, we are seeing some success!

And because of that, I got to drop a bottle feeding yesterday and replace it with a snack: milk and graham crackers!

Caleb sucked his milk right down, almost finishing the entire thing! He was incredibly happy with this change of events!

Caleb: "Mom! This is a good idea! Much better than playing outside or going to church!"

Ever my last baby to be okay with changes to the feeding plan, Abby isn't as fond of this idea. She keeps throwing the cup off of her tray or behind her seat. I'm happy that she finally did drink a bit though.

Abby: "Hmm.....I don't like it when people mess with my feeding. I think I'll just concentrate on my cracker."

What a ham! Elijah keeps getting mixed up about where exactly the milk come from. He is definitely all about trying to find the magic straw though.

Elijah: "Does the milk come out of here? How about here? Or how about here? etc."

Like usual, our little runt likes to prove that she can keep up with everyone else. During snack time, she was right on it!

Ellie: "Check this out. I'm one handing it!"

And because descriptions and photos just don't do it justice, check out this short video of snack time. It's so QUIET! I love it!

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One Week Left to Vote!!