10,000 Views!

I just reached 10,000 views on my blog yesterday! Yay :) 

 I feel so blessed everyone is interested in how my beautiful girls are doing and the life of micro preemie babies. 

Thanks to everyone for their support! 

Elizabeth Walking With a Walker!!!

Brings tears to my eyes. Today in therapy Elizabeth got to try a walker for the first time. She did great. Elizabeth is so strong! I am so proud of her.

Here are a few pics:

Toys R Us has a Differently-Abled ad

A big thanks to by aunt for sharing the below info! :)

Did you know that Toys R Us has a Differently-Abled ad? I didn't know anything about it. It's pretty cool because it groups toys together by skills like fine motor or gross motor. The ad even recommends toys that help promote language. 

FYI- I love the term differently-abled!  

Check it out at:

http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=3261680 

10 Ways Your Life Changes

A good friend of mine who is also a fellow  micro-preemie mom shared this blog post on Facebook and I just had to share it with you all. 

1) You have acquired basic nursing skills.During my baby’s NICU stay I learned to give epo injections, insert an NG tube, read monitors, perform infant CPR, and various other skills. Many were required in order to take my baby home.

2) The smell of hospital food makes your stomach turn. With my stay on the high risk perinatal unit included, we have spent over one hundred days of Charlie’s first year in the hospital. I could happily live my life without ever tasting hospital food again. I don’t know why they serve it every year at the NICU reunion.

3) Sizes lose all relevance. Charlie fit into newborn clothes for three months after she came home from the NICU. At the age of two, she wears sizes twelve to eighteen months.

4) Simple questions become complicated. The questions that people generally ask new parents can’t easily be answered. It starts in the NICU with “When is he/she coming home?” Then it continues with questions like, “How old is your baby?” or “Are you breast feeding?”

5) You learn loads of medical terminology. You know what a physiatrist is. You understand what words and abbreviations like apnea, bradycardia, IVH, tachycardia, desaturation, bilirubin, CPAP, hematocrit, NEC, PVL, and ROP mean.

6) Baby showers are complex situations. Baby showers are emotionally loaded. If you are brave enough to attend one, you wonder how to socially appropriately join conversations about birth stories and pregnancy. All the while, you are trying to get over that feeling of being the elephant in the room (being the physical proof of one of the many ways a pregnancy can go wrong).

7) People constantly remind you how lucky you are. I realize we were lucky. We got to bring our baby home. However, there are days I don’t feel lucky. On some days, I feel like we lost. On those days, I resent people who feel the need to tell me how lucky we are. I wonder why people don’t feel the need to tell every mother of a newborn how lucky she is to have had a full term pregnancy.

8) Things are put into perspective. For me, facing the possibility of losing my child was looking my greatest fear head on. Everything else in comparison is small potatoes.

9) You almost become an expert on insurance policies. As much as insurance companies try to misguide you, you’ve managed to learn about automatic denials, appeals, DME coverage, and much more. You learn not to accept the first “No” as the answer. You fight and you fight like hell.

10) No accomplishment is ever small. I remember the date that Charlie first rolled over (January 27, 2013) and the date she took her first steps (January 7, 2014). She worked incredibly hard to reach these developmental milestones and nobody was sure that she would reach them. Every little thing, from tolerating food in her mouth to learning to wave, is a cause for celebration.

The above 10 ways are from a blog called Cheering on Charlie. It is another preemie mom's blog about her life with her preemie. 

Throwback Thursday

I love these pics! It was the girls first taste of baby food. Yummy green beans! 

Happy Father's Day

A special Happy Father's Day to Abigail and Elizabeth's dad and to all the other wonderful dads out there. 

Preemie Support Groups

There are great groups you can join for preemie parent support on Facebook. It's a great way to meet and have conversations with other preemie parents.  All you have to do is search in Facebook. 

Here are some great ones I have found:

 

Micro preemie Support Network

Parents of Preemies Day  

Preemies Today 

Peek A Boo ICU

I also really like a group on Facebook called The Preemie Parent Exchange. The page is basically like a Craiglist for preemie parents. Parents can post extra supplies they have and parents can also request supplies that they may need.  

I find the groups really helpful but I do have a one suggestion worth noting. 

If you are the parent of a micro preemie I think it is truly best to stick with groups that are dedicated to just micro preemies in my opinion. 

Other preemies groups often have parents who post things about their 34-36 weekers and their issues/concerns are way, WAY different than micro preemies problems/issues.  There is a  reason there is the word micro in front after all. 

 I understand how devastating having a baby early (even if it's a week early) can be and I don't want to down play the seriousness, but the issues are different and I find it helpful to talk to others that have a similar situation. With that said, any time you can talk to another preemie parent it's helpful.

Share the knowledge friends!

Time Magazine

If you have a chance read the latest issue of Time Magazine. The issue is all about premature babies. I just got my copy today. I will let you all know what I think of the article after I have a chance to read. Look for my comments in a couple of days. :) Happy reading!

Your Premature Babies Development

I found this article on a site called Whattoexpect.com 

The website is a great resource for preemie parents and parents of full term babies. I really found the article helpful and I hope you do too!

Your Premature Baby's Development: Medical Follow-ups

Preemies are more prone to certain medical conditions than full-termers, so doctor visits are essential. The experts will monitor factors (a biggie: your premature baby’s weight) to check that your premature baby’s development is on track. Here are some ways you can help ensure that your baby thrives.

Keep in regular contact with your baby’s pediatrician. 

Your child’s pediatrician will be seeing your baby for years to come, so it’s important to involve him or her from the start, even if you’re taking your baby to other specialists. Make an appointment for a checkup soon after her release from the hospital (most doctors will want to see a preemie within a day or two of homecoming). That way, your practitioner can get baseline readings on your premature baby’s weight and general health in order to keep close tabs on her. Note: Make sure you have a discharge summary from the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU), along with a record of the immunizations your baby had in the hospital.

Go to developmental checkups. Preemies develop at a different rate than other babies, and just because your child has passed her due date doesn’t mean she’s all caught up. Sometimes that’s not the case until she hits two or older, so it’s important to schedule regular developmental checkups (most likely at the hospital where she was born). At these visits, pediatric specialists, including physical and occupational therapists, will look at your baby’s reflexes, reactions, and developmental milestones (Is she rolling over? Sitting? Holding a toy?). If any problems do surface, early intervention can help immensely.

Schedule eye exams. 

Preemies are especially prone to a condition called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), in which an abnormal growth of blood vessels can lead to vision loss. Your baby will get a special eye exam before she leaves the hospital. After that, her eyes may need to be checked every few months or so. The good news is that most cases of ROP can be easily detected and the majority goes away on its own without treatment.

Get the lowdown on what’s normal. Premature baby development generally lags behind that of full-term babies because a preemie’s nervous system isn’t fully formed at birth. Don’t be surprised if your baby continues to show signs of prematurity for months and maybe even years. Preemies often take a little extra time to develop both gross- and fine-motor skills and to hit milestones such as rolling over, sitting up, and taking that first step. Later on, preemies are more likely than full-termers to have learning disabilities, so being aware of what’s normal and what’s not is vital to get her the help she needs as soon as possible.

Try not to obsess about every little thing. 

When you’re parenting a preemie, it’s easy to attribute every small bump in the road to her premature baby development. But sometimes a cold is just a cold. And maybe she’s colicky because she’s got colic, not because she was born early. It’s easier said than done, of course, but try not to make your baby’s prematurity the only thing you think about. You want to enjoy and appreciate her for the amazing individual she is — and not as you would a delicate piece of china.

Abigail's Orthotics

Abigail was diagnosed with Hypotonia at her last appointment with her orthopedic and physical medicine doctor.  If someone has Hypotonia it means they have low muscle tone and/or reduced muscle strength. 

Abigail is 19 months old now (16 months corrected) and isn't currently walking independently. Abigail will walk while holding on to stuff some, but her weak muscles make balancing difficult. 

The hypotonia could be the result of her being a micro preemie or it could

be a result of the brain bleeds she had after birth. We may never know what caused it but it's not really important what caused it.  What is important is getting Abigail up on her feet and getting 

the ankle and foot support she needs. 

During the appointment her doctors recommended that she wear foot orthotics to give her extra foot and ankle support. 

I have already noticed an improvement with the orthotics on. The last few days she actually started taking a few steps independently. She is so pleased with herself that whenever she does it she claps for herself. She is so stinking cute! 

The company that made Abigail's orthotics is called Access Orthotics. If you can remember, l had difficulty getting Elizabeth's orthotic made correctly , so I decided to try some place new.  

The company came highly 

recommended by Abigail's physical medicine doctor. The owner is David Harris and he really knows his stuff. He took the time to really explain to me what the orthotic are designed to do. 

You can check them out at: Accessorthotocs.com 

We will be using them again in the future. I am so glad we found a good place because I know more orthotics are in our future.