You've Come a Long Way, Babies!

A lot can happen in four months.

Well, five really...  It's been five months since Wyatt's diagnosis. They were born four months ago yesterday.

Wow.

In that time, they've gone from tiny less-than 5 lb bird-like creatures to big chubby babies that are (I think...) about 12 lbs now. 

Newborn Wyatt... so tiny.

Wyatt now. "What?  I wasn't gonna lick this..."

Newborn Zoe and a loonie...

Zoe now... a lot bigger and a lot goofier.

Both are developing nicely but we are starting to see the gulf widen between them a bit.  Zoe can hold her head up almost still now, while Wyatt has a way to go with that.  He can hold his head up, but it's a bit wobbly and he'll end up crashing into you with his giant noggin.  His babbling is more complex and multi syllabic while Zoe sticks to the classics:  the baby gurgle, the Gah! and her specialty, the blood curdling scream. She can smile and give a tiny giggle (a little "hee hee" that is adorable) yet he is just starting to learn how to smile.  When he does, he looks like an anime character as he uses his whole face.

You can rub my tummy for luck.

Unlike Quinn, who was pretty much textbook +1 (ie: exactly one month ahead) developmentally, these guys are all over the map (which is totally normal for premature twins born 6 weeks early).  I'm supposed to subtract 6 weeks from their age ("6 weeks adjusted") which would make them 2½ months old.  I've mentioned the head holding and the babbling; this generally occurs at the end of the second month (which would put them about right where they should be). They've both discovered their hands which usually happens (so they say) in the third month too.  So, as you can see, they are right where they should be for typical term singletons with some things and right where they should be for premature twins in other areas.  Confused yet?  Yeah, join the club.  I'm not worried about them at all as Zoe is as bright as a button and Wyatt is pretty bright too.  He'll do things in his own time, which as it stands now is keeping pretty much at par with his sister.

 

 How'd they get so big?

Our family is growing and changing as well.  Quinn is adjusting to his role as big brother although he has to be reminded constantly to be careful around them. He is a big help most days and we just have to be careful to make sure that his needs are met just as much as the babies are.  There are a lot of conversations spoken through gritted teeth around here;  usually he is waving something magnificent that he has just made for me in my face as I am trying to clean up the worst poop ever.  There was a lot of yelling initially as I was just too tired to think anything through...  it really hit home one day when Quinn remarked to his Dad that he was dressing up to disguise himself as someone else so that I wouldn't yell at him.  Ow.  Guilt, double plus ungood.

Things are settling down now that I am getting more sleep on average.  They are now going 4-5 hours between feeds and can go 6 hours at night.  Two or three nights this week they have gone 7 or so hours which has been fantastic. 5 hours sleep in a row?  Inconceivable!  Quinn still has an outburst once in a while, but that has thankfully decreased as well.  I still look hungrily to Friday nights as the weekend means Hubby's help for [a very short] two days.

I remember being settled into a routine by the end of the second month with Quinn (which corresponded to two weeks after I felt better post C-section).  I stopped about a week or so ago and admitted to myself that I felt that way again.  I didn't have that same overall sense of panic that I had the first time around, I just felt very very busy and a tad overwhelmed at times.  I'm happy to say that has subsided a bit so that now I can enjoy my family more.  We're still going to Mother Goose and I'm sure that has continued to help as well. 

Four months... it seems a lifetime (and for two little people, it has been just that).  I've come to terms with my son's condition and embraced his differences (I had already accepted him, make no mistake).  We've all made our own adjustments along the way and will continue to do so.  I've even started networking with other DS parents and getting out there to share our story and learn from others.  I've found support in surprising places and accepted the lack of it in the more obvious spots.   A friend remarked the other day that she would bet that I didn't think that I had it in me and that she was impressed and proud of me, even though I wasn't her own daughter.  I'm willing to bet she doesn't know how much that really meant to me, or how much I needed to hear that.  I'm proud of us too.  Anyway you look at it, I feel blessed... and confident that we will overcome and embrace what the next four months brings us.

My three little monkeys.  Who'da thunk it?