Four Cousins

Our latest nephew was born a couple days ago so we all got together at their place...this is Grandma and the boys.



Grandpa and Em



These two are the same size right now...it just makes me laugh...a big newborn and my six month old preemie...cousins at the same size (for a day or two at least).



The adults are looking (this is M's parents, his brother and the four cousins on that side).



Now the toddlers...K was past her bedtime so she was having none of this picture taking stuff...so of course none of the pics came out perfect, but these will have to do. :)



Just some cute pics of the kids playing.

Doubly Good

Not only was our latest nephew born today (already bigger than Emily :)), but Emily's GLASSES CAME!! What a good day, a new life and new sight!

They are WAY too big for her face but they are the smallest they make. The first time we put them on, she looked around and started crying. She has only stopped crying briefly enough for us to snap a few pics of our little four-eyed nerd.





At least Grandma knows it isn't her she is crying about...we just added it cause her sad face is SO sad, you had to all see it.



Okay, and two of the cutest toddler in the world just for the road.

Schizophrenic May

Yesterday

Today

Seriously? We are supposed to be in all summer sunshine long before now!

Em loves to play under this thing...a little weird since she can't see it but it must be fun to hear all the rattles. She is 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long. Apparently the formula we are adding to the milk seems to be working...let's hope it keeps working!

State of the Union

Several people have asked for updates so I am just going to do one of those overall looks at Emily...

Since she isn't gaining weight very quickly, we are adding formula to her milk as well. What that means is we add protein, oil (fat), and formula to every single bottle as a way to try to add calories and get her body to absorb more without having to increase the total amount she is eating (thus over-feeding her).

She also takes Phos-NaK (for her bones) three times a day, caffeine (to keep her breathing) twice a day, pepcid (for her bad reflux) twice a day, and Poly-vi-sol (vitamins) twice a day. We feed her between 16-20 ounces a day with all those meds in between.

Developmentally she is testing at "Birth" (no real development) except in the social realm. She can sleep for long periods on her own and seems to recognize our voices so she tests at two months in her social/emotional and adaptive/self-help development. Everything else is tested based on what she does with her eyes (tracking toys, looking at faces, recognizing parents, etc) and since she can't see yet, she scores zeros. What does this mean? To be considered developmentally delayed, a child must test behind 30% in two areas. She is considered to be a six month old testing at two months in the above and testing at birth in cognitive, fine motor, communication, and gross motor skills...she is definitely delayed. I am hoping that as soon as we get her glasses things will change quickly but I am also trying to keep things in perspective and be patient and wait for her to do things in her own time.

Otherwise, she is doing really well! We are getting into a groove I can live with...yesterday I got all their stuff together, got K to the sitter and Em and I to the dr and even managed to do a couple errands along the way when I realized "This is totally manageable, we can do this"...as soon as the thought entered my brain, I tried to strike it down and erase it but it didn't work...so that left me wondering "Life seems under control? What's going to happen now?".

Have a great day! God Bless!