Grandpa Jerry came for a wonderful visit this last week. Not only do the girls absolutely adore their farmer-grandpa, but he is a fabulous chef! Richard and I enjoyed a healthy, delicious, gourmet meal EVERY night last week. What a novel concept to be able to sit down and enjoy a warm, homecooked meal and all the veggies came from his garden! Yum, yum, yum!! We always put Grandpa to work when he's here - odd jobs that just don't get taken care of in all the craziness that is our life these days. He likes to feel that he's contributing and I honestly think that these girls wear him out so he needs a baby-break every now and then :)
We had a busy week - follow up appointments started for Zoe - we saw GI on Monday, Pulmanology on Tuesday, Pediatrician on Wednesday, Lekotek came on Thursday, and PT and our EI service coordinator came on Friday. The pediatrician was an adventure as it was the first time we took all three girls out at the same time! It took all four adults (me, Richard, Grandpa, and Zoe's nurse) a good 30-45 minutes to get organized and packed into the van for the drive. I love our pediatrician, but she's an hour away - people think I'm crazy to drive so far for a doctor but when all our specialists are an hour away anyway it doesn't bother me, plus Dr. Roberts is so worth the drive! Avery, Lily, and Zoe did great, A and L had to get a weight check and flu shot and Z was getting her new patient exam, weight check, and flu shot. We were there for almost two hours and A&L started getting antsy towards the end but all in all everyone did wonderfully. I really felt like a triplet mom - Commander in Chief - all organized, discharge papers, immunization records, bottles, diapers, change of clothes, medications, nebulizer, you should see the size of my diaper bag! I love my diaper bag by the way, if there are any mothers of multiples in search of a good looking, very well organized, will hold everything diaper bag I would recommend the Skip Hop Double Duo - you can carry it or clip it onto the handles of your stroller and it will hold the following (changing pad, 10-12 size 3 diapers, 40 wipe travel pack, normal size tube of diaper cream, 3 burp clothes, 6 bottles, 6 onsies, 6 shorts, 2 canisters crushed rice cereal, bottle of sterile water, baggie of assorted sized syringes, bulb syringes, two jars of baby food, 2 packs of teething biscuits, canvas bag with extra pacis, bottle nipples, baby spoons, and medicine cups, 3 bottles of gas drops, tylenol, orajel, inhaler, bottle of Purell, my keys, my wallet, my file folder with discharge papers, insurance cards, small notebook, pens, lip gloss) and believe it or not you will be able to see and find every item in the bag!
Anyway...all involved did a great job, the girls, the adults, it was a team effort and a very successful one! Zoe's other appointments went well too - no real changes at this point, both GI and pulmanology just want Zoe to get adjusted to home and settle in before we try to make any changes to her meds or feeding. In terms of her oxygen requirements she's been pretty consistant on 3/4 of a liter during the day and 1/2 a liter at night. She does have very bad reflux and so she spits (projectile) 2-4 or 5 times a day. Sometimes it's just a little, sometimes it's a lot. Sometimes she gets good and mad about it, and sometimes not. The thing that is potentially worrisome about this is if any of that vomit is trickling into her lungs when it comes up - this would be quite hazardous to the development of her lungs which is our primary goal for her at this point. We have to keep her healthy and keep her growing so her lungs will grow so she can breath on her own and continue to develop.
Her typical day goes something like this:
We had a busy week - follow up appointments started for Zoe - we saw GI on Monday, Pulmanology on Tuesday, Pediatrician on Wednesday, Lekotek came on Thursday, and PT and our EI service coordinator came on Friday. The pediatrician was an adventure as it was the first time we took all three girls out at the same time! It took all four adults (me, Richard, Grandpa, and Zoe's nurse) a good 30-45 minutes to get organized and packed into the van for the drive. I love our pediatrician, but she's an hour away - people think I'm crazy to drive so far for a doctor but when all our specialists are an hour away anyway it doesn't bother me, plus Dr. Roberts is so worth the drive! Avery, Lily, and Zoe did great, A and L had to get a weight check and flu shot and Z was getting her new patient exam, weight check, and flu shot. We were there for almost two hours and A&L started getting antsy towards the end but all in all everyone did wonderfully. I really felt like a triplet mom - Commander in Chief - all organized, discharge papers, immunization records, bottles, diapers, change of clothes, medications, nebulizer, you should see the size of my diaper bag! I love my diaper bag by the way, if there are any mothers of multiples in search of a good looking, very well organized, will hold everything diaper bag I would recommend the Skip Hop Double Duo - you can carry it or clip it onto the handles of your stroller and it will hold the following (changing pad, 10-12 size 3 diapers, 40 wipe travel pack, normal size tube of diaper cream, 3 burp clothes, 6 bottles, 6 onsies, 6 shorts, 2 canisters crushed rice cereal, bottle of sterile water, baggie of assorted sized syringes, bulb syringes, two jars of baby food, 2 packs of teething biscuits, canvas bag with extra pacis, bottle nipples, baby spoons, and medicine cups, 3 bottles of gas drops, tylenol, orajel, inhaler, bottle of Purell, my keys, my wallet, my file folder with discharge papers, insurance cards, small notebook, pens, lip gloss) and believe it or not you will be able to see and find every item in the bag!
Anyway...all involved did a great job, the girls, the adults, it was a team effort and a very successful one! Zoe's other appointments went well too - no real changes at this point, both GI and pulmanology just want Zoe to get adjusted to home and settle in before we try to make any changes to her meds or feeding. In terms of her oxygen requirements she's been pretty consistant on 3/4 of a liter during the day and 1/2 a liter at night. She does have very bad reflux and so she spits (projectile) 2-4 or 5 times a day. Sometimes it's just a little, sometimes it's a lot. Sometimes she gets good and mad about it, and sometimes not. The thing that is potentially worrisome about this is if any of that vomit is trickling into her lungs when it comes up - this would be quite hazardous to the development of her lungs which is our primary goal for her at this point. We have to keep her healthy and keep her growing so her lungs will grow so she can breath on her own and continue to develop.
Her typical day goes something like this:
meds and breathing treatment at 6 am
back to sleep
meds and turn off tube feed at 7am
breathing treatment at 8 am
awake, bath, dress
9 am meds and bottle
nap and play time
12pm breathing treatment
1pm bottle, naps, PT, play time
5pm bottle
6pm breathing treatment and meds
6:30 bath
7pm bed, turn on feed
9pm meds
12am breathing treatment, add milk to tube feeding, and then we do it all over again.
I have posted a little video of Zoe - shown especially for her hospital rehab team and nurses - notice her incredible neck control! She could not pull up and keep her head from flopping backwards just last week and then all of a sudden, here she is. She was so proud of herself too. She had her first day at the Speech School this week which went really, really well. I am so thankful to have such a top notch school available to her and she seemed to really enjoy herself. We will trade off going to the school and having the teacher come to us as she continues to get stronger.
On the Avery and Lily front - I think Avery is getting super close to crawling - we're still working on the transitions (laying to sitting, sitting to kneeling, etc) but when she gets on all fours she looks so determined. She can totally sit independently now and can just play and play all day long. She has also turned over so that she sleeps on her stomach now - of course sometimes she wakes up crying because she's rolled herself into the corner of her crib and gets stuck. Lily is trying to clap, is sitting really well, and tries to go from side-lying to sitting by herself. They change so much and so quickly. They are so full of energy and I just love to see Zoe watching them - she vocalizes so much more now that she's home and hears the constant chatter, babble, and outcries of her sisters. It is a beautiful thing! But wow - you should see the mountain of laundry!!! It never ends, EVER! I told Richard we could employ someone full time whose sole purpose at our house would be laundry and they'd never be sitting around doing nothing. Anyway, all in all everyone is doing great - just Richard and I have SEVERE lack of sleep...but I guess that's our life for the forseeable future.
Avery at the doctor
Our "team" going to the doctor
Zoe laughing at her daddy in the bath
Lily laughing at her mommy after eating
Avery drinking her sweet potatoes
1 comment:
I love that picture of Zoe laughing at Daddy. The picture is just priceless.
Love,
Pat Moore
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