Woo hoo and Praise the Lord...McKenna took her first steps today. A couple weeks ago she took 8 steps with the physical therapist, Tara, at our house while she held the ball popper stick thing, but this was all on her own, not holding a thing.
So this afternoon she refused to sleep. Last night she only got 4 hours of sleep. Mommy was/is exhausted but since M wouldn't sleep I took her into my room and decided to just read outloud to her and allow her to play on the bed or doze off. She chose to play of course and her game was "watch me stand without holding on to anything". This is somethign she has only done two times, but times at the Myer Center for Ms Jean but never for mommy and never at home.
So McKenna pushed herself to stand and then laughed as she stood there. I of course cheered, screamed, giggled and clapped and then she went back down. Every time she stood she was praised. As soon as she sat back down I would stop. She loved the game and I loved watching her stand without holding on to anything. What a blessing to see.
Then tonight daddy and I were discussing McKenna's health and whether or not to take her to Chicago to get further assistance and bam...she let go of the fridge and stood there laughing to get us to look. We praised her and then she grabbed the fridge. Same as before, we gave praise until she held something. Then we were silent. She did this for a good 5 minutes. Grateful for the progress but not content allowing it to stop there I encouraged her to take a step and long story short she did. She took one step forward two different times, without holding on to anyyyyything. Not even a toy in her hand.
Thank you God. I reallyyyyyy needed that today! Cheers and here is to hoping she is that brave again tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Dancing Queen
The cutest thing out there has to be sweet little McKenna dancing. It cracks me up and must be video recorded ASAP! She takes her hand and opens it up really big and then pushes her hand in front of her then pulls it back and does that over and over. Yes, I realize that description did not make any sense. She also takes her right shoulder, tilts her head toward it and raises shoulder up and down while her hand is open palm facing the ground. SO CUTE!!!
Yesterday while watching Glee a song came on and I swear McKenna was humming to the tune. I saved it on the DVR just to see if she will do it again because if nothing else it is a good dance number for her.
McKenna still isn't pronouncing any words but is finally starting to babble and Mommy is just tickled silly. Mickey has the cutest voice and sometimes when she is trying to say words or babble she gets air in her cheeks and and starts bobbing her head while talking and it is so cute. Yet another description that doesn't explain what she is doing at all, but trust me, it's so cute!
Cuddling is one of McKenna's favorite things to do and she is so great at it. She nestles up against you or will put her head on your lap and just cuddle for hours. And if she has her bunny with her? You are never getting her off your lap. I love having a girl!
Yesterday while watching Glee a song came on and I swear McKenna was humming to the tune. I saved it on the DVR just to see if she will do it again because if nothing else it is a good dance number for her.
McKenna still isn't pronouncing any words but is finally starting to babble and Mommy is just tickled silly. Mickey has the cutest voice and sometimes when she is trying to say words or babble she gets air in her cheeks and and starts bobbing her head while talking and it is so cute. Yet another description that doesn't explain what she is doing at all, but trust me, it's so cute!
Cuddling is one of McKenna's favorite things to do and she is so great at it. She nestles up against you or will put her head on your lap and just cuddle for hours. And if she has her bunny with her? You are never getting her off your lap. I love having a girl!
Ranting Words
Keaton is so much fun to watch grow and learn. He loves pointing at things and saying "What is that" or "what is this". He also points and identifies everything. Yesterday he was watching TV (shame shame Mommy, but it was a cold dreary day so a total TV day!) and as things appeared on the TV he would just point and say what they were (frog, milk, bug, car, etc).
Counting is by far one of Keaton's great talents and passions. Hahaha. Can babies have passions like that? Well he loves to count. He will put pillows on the floor and walk over them and count as he takes each step, or when he is going up and down stairs, or when he is stacking blocks, etc. You get the point...he loves to count count count. He can actually count all the way to 13 now, although he needs to work on pronouncing 11 and 12. Smiles.
Keaton is really big into jumping and climbing now too. I started an awful habit of allowing him on my bed and encouraging him to jump. Of course 19 months is a little young to jump lifting your feet off the ground but he bends his knees and says jump and goes up and down while saying jump. And he loves rough housing...especially if it is hitting him with pillows, or throwing him on the couch or anything really rough and borderline dangerous. It's kind of funny. Hope this isn't a sign he is going to be a bully.
Keaton is seriously the sweetest little boy. I don't know how there could be anyone sweeter. He says Good Morning when you get him out of his crib in the morning. He points to McKenna in his and says Mickey Sleeping when she is laying down. Keaton pats McKenna's back and puts his head in her face to check on her when she is retching. She loves giving him kisses which he isn't to fond of, but he usually goes along with it. He wipes his mouth and says yuck after you kiss him (one of his many "tricks"). He dances, and his favorite song right now is Drummer Boy. He even attempts to sing Ba Rumpa bum bum. So cute. I love having a boy!!!
Counting is by far one of Keaton's great talents and passions. Hahaha. Can babies have passions like that? Well he loves to count. He will put pillows on the floor and walk over them and count as he takes each step, or when he is going up and down stairs, or when he is stacking blocks, etc. You get the point...he loves to count count count. He can actually count all the way to 13 now, although he needs to work on pronouncing 11 and 12. Smiles.
Keaton is really big into jumping and climbing now too. I started an awful habit of allowing him on my bed and encouraging him to jump. Of course 19 months is a little young to jump lifting your feet off the ground but he bends his knees and says jump and goes up and down while saying jump. And he loves rough housing...especially if it is hitting him with pillows, or throwing him on the couch or anything really rough and borderline dangerous. It's kind of funny. Hope this isn't a sign he is going to be a bully.
Keaton is seriously the sweetest little boy. I don't know how there could be anyone sweeter. He says Good Morning when you get him out of his crib in the morning. He points to McKenna in his and says Mickey Sleeping when she is laying down. Keaton pats McKenna's back and puts his head in her face to check on her when she is retching. She loves giving him kisses which he isn't to fond of, but he usually goes along with it. He wipes his mouth and says yuck after you kiss him (one of his many "tricks"). He dances, and his favorite song right now is Drummer Boy. He even attempts to sing Ba Rumpa bum bum. So cute. I love having a boy!!!
First Steps
19 weeks old and McKenna took her first steps yesterday. Praise the Lord. Mommy of course was in tears at this huge milestone and smiling ear to ear. Wouldn't be surprised if my children suffer from long term hearing loss due to my shreaking screams of joy.
The First Steps Physical Therapist, who I think is the hardest working FS therapist out of the group, came in and we put her right to work, hardly even allowing her to sit down before flooding her with information on McKenna's progress during the last month. Long story short I went to kitchen to get Keaton milk and the therapist calmly but loudly said, "Mom you want to come in here! Really...You are going to miss this, get in here."
I ran in to see McKenna holding a ball popper sticker handle and pushing it, no support from the therapist, Tara, and no support through the ball popper. McKenna was smiling and when I started screaming cheers she started going faster and laughing and walking. I counted 8 steps, plus she took a few before I got in there. SO PROUD!
Of course all night I tried to get her to do it again and she refused. She made it into a game, falling down when trying to stand her up and laughing really hard. She can stand on her own, she can walk, she can move...she is just too afraid for some reason. She does great walking if she holds mommy's hand with her right hand and really doesn't even use the hand for anything more than comfort. So this is the next thing we are doingm building her confidance so she will actually do the walking and standing. Either way, she did it once so we know she CAN DO IT!
The First Steps Physical Therapist, who I think is the hardest working FS therapist out of the group, came in and we put her right to work, hardly even allowing her to sit down before flooding her with information on McKenna's progress during the last month. Long story short I went to kitchen to get Keaton milk and the therapist calmly but loudly said, "Mom you want to come in here! Really...You are going to miss this, get in here."
I ran in to see McKenna holding a ball popper sticker handle and pushing it, no support from the therapist, Tara, and no support through the ball popper. McKenna was smiling and when I started screaming cheers she started going faster and laughing and walking. I counted 8 steps, plus she took a few before I got in there. SO PROUD!
Of course all night I tried to get her to do it again and she refused. She made it into a game, falling down when trying to stand her up and laughing really hard. She can stand on her own, she can walk, she can move...she is just too afraid for some reason. She does great walking if she holds mommy's hand with her right hand and really doesn't even use the hand for anything more than comfort. So this is the next thing we are doingm building her confidance so she will actually do the walking and standing. Either way, she did it once so we know she CAN DO IT!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Mickey and Therapy
In NICU they continually reminded us with preemies they take one step forward and two steps back. It was a depressing thought, but we found it to be true and unfortunately it seems to continue to be the saying for McKenna.
We have been so blessed and grateful to post positive things and the wonderful improvements we have been seeing, but in the back of our minds we remains the long journey she still has, mainly with the feeding.
This week we were finally able to return to Myer Center for feeding therapy. McKenna has not had it for three weeks (therapist gone two weeks and then we were sick last week). To make a long story short the therapist was in agreement with Kyle and me that McKenna has not made improvement on the feeding side of things for a couple months. Well, she has made MINIMAL improvement is how she worded it. If McKenna was not eating solely due to an oral aversion the therapist things McKenna would be making more progress than she is currently making.
So what does that mean? Honestly we aren't quite sure. We are going to decrease feeding therapy at the Myer Center to every other week since weekly isn't benefiting her. The therapist is recommending McKenna go to a feeding clinic (closest one is in St Louis) which we are waiting to see if this will be covered by insurance and how long we would be there (looks like 4-6 weeks) and what all it entails. We still have not found a cure for the retching which could be a big cause to her not eating, and KC has failed as far as follow-up and direction.
We are a bit discouraged, overwhelmed and down that our baby girl is still having to face this battle. August last year she was still eating out of a bottle, was pushing herself up when on her belly and was happy as a clam. Fast forward to August 2010 and she is just now crawling (Though we are so grateful and proud of her for that) doesn't talk or babble and still appears to be in a ton of pain with the retching spells. God? I know you hear us...please heal our baby!!!
We have been so blessed and grateful to post positive things and the wonderful improvements we have been seeing, but in the back of our minds we remains the long journey she still has, mainly with the feeding.
This week we were finally able to return to Myer Center for feeding therapy. McKenna has not had it for three weeks (therapist gone two weeks and then we were sick last week). To make a long story short the therapist was in agreement with Kyle and me that McKenna has not made improvement on the feeding side of things for a couple months. Well, she has made MINIMAL improvement is how she worded it. If McKenna was not eating solely due to an oral aversion the therapist things McKenna would be making more progress than she is currently making.
So what does that mean? Honestly we aren't quite sure. We are going to decrease feeding therapy at the Myer Center to every other week since weekly isn't benefiting her. The therapist is recommending McKenna go to a feeding clinic (closest one is in St Louis) which we are waiting to see if this will be covered by insurance and how long we would be there (looks like 4-6 weeks) and what all it entails. We still have not found a cure for the retching which could be a big cause to her not eating, and KC has failed as far as follow-up and direction.
We are a bit discouraged, overwhelmed and down that our baby girl is still having to face this battle. August last year she was still eating out of a bottle, was pushing herself up when on her belly and was happy as a clam. Fast forward to August 2010 and she is just now crawling (Though we are so grateful and proud of her for that) doesn't talk or babble and still appears to be in a ton of pain with the retching spells. God? I know you hear us...please heal our baby!!!
Oh Poop
My kids loveeee bath time. Keaton always goes to the bathroom door and says, "Baf, baf" just begging and pleading to get in the water. It's adorable, but bathing two babies is a lot of work and we don't leave the house much so I still only give them baths everyother day.
Well tonight Daddy is out of town, we had spent time out of the house and at a restaurant which is obviously full of germs, Keaton had food in his hair and we were bored. So when Keaton asked for a "baf" I agreed. Little did I know that he would give gratitude for the bath by pooping on the floor once he got out. Not only was it on the floor, but on the carpet. I just need to be grateful it didn't get smeared INTO the carpet, right?
Then of course I got the babies changed, all ready for bed and put them in familyroom to settle down and McKenna pooped her pants and when cleaning her I managed to get it all up her leg. I think they are dirtier now than they were before their baths.
And yes, I DID just write an entire entry about stools. You're welcome readers.
Well tonight Daddy is out of town, we had spent time out of the house and at a restaurant which is obviously full of germs, Keaton had food in his hair and we were bored. So when Keaton asked for a "baf" I agreed. Little did I know that he would give gratitude for the bath by pooping on the floor once he got out. Not only was it on the floor, but on the carpet. I just need to be grateful it didn't get smeared INTO the carpet, right?
Then of course I got the babies changed, all ready for bed and put them in familyroom to settle down and McKenna pooped her pants and when cleaning her I managed to get it all up her leg. I think they are dirtier now than they were before their baths.
And yes, I DID just write an entire entry about stools. You're welcome readers.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Not Any Stronger
Feel like as we face battles we grow and are strengthened but honestly I am at the breaking point and can't seem to pull myself back up. I want to cry everytime I see my daughter retch. The painful look on her face, watching her tighten her entire body and gasp for breaths between each gag, the feeling of her stomach tightening as the fights for each episode to end. And the entire time we can do nothing but sit and watch, oserve, talk her through it, act like it's not happening and pray that she will never have another.
The feeding is exhausting. She gets stuck in one place and can't push through and I don't know how to help her. Therapy does the same thing and has been doing the same thing basically since October which discourages me from wanting to take her anymore. But at the same time if I were to quit taking her I feel like that is me giving up. I want McKenna to know when she is older that I did everything possible to help her not have pain or discomfort and to help her have a normal life.
My 24 hours of being down as stretched out to be over a week. I am ready for you to heal her now, God. Please.
The feeding is exhausting. She gets stuck in one place and can't push through and I don't know how to help her. Therapy does the same thing and has been doing the same thing basically since October which discourages me from wanting to take her anymore. But at the same time if I were to quit taking her I feel like that is me giving up. I want McKenna to know when she is older that I did everything possible to help her not have pain or discomfort and to help her have a normal life.
My 24 hours of being down as stretched out to be over a week. I am ready for you to heal her now, God. Please.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Down and Frustrated
When my mom is down or discouraged she always says, "I am going to allow myself 24 hours to feel this way, then I am done. I am not going to stay here long." That's the attitude I need to apply to my life right now. Feeling really discouraged and down about McKenna's lack of progress with the feedings. She started opening her mouth, which is a huge step forward as everyone reminds me, but that was several months ago. She still spits out any food that goes in her mouth and swallows less food with an open mouth then when her mouth was closed. I feel frustrated and tired of trying to feed her everyday and I know tomorrow I will once again sit her down three different times, get out several different foods for her to taste and she will fight me on opening her mouth, or will open her mouth and spit out all the food. Doing my best to be thankful for the progress she has made. Trying to focus on the thought that when she moves forward in one area (crawling and sitting up) she will go back in another (eating) but that doesn't really encourage me. And she really hasn't gone backward, she just is maintaining where she has been the past few months.
So, something positive, today she tasted chocolate milk and didn't gag or retch on it. She took over 30 sips of it and although they were very small sips, they were still sips and I am grateful for that.
McKenna doesn't open her mouth wide, but she is at least cracking it open and although that has been happening several months now it is still a step in the right direction and something that she needs to do inorder to get to the next step - swallowing food.
McKenna isn't swallowing the food, but she is trying new flavors - chicken, green beans, broccoli...which is a great step too because she shouldn't be stuck on apple/blueberry mixture forever.
So there are positives, and she is truly doing her best and I know that. I just need to allow myself to be down for 24 hours and cry and vent and then move forward knowing tomorrow could just be the day the Lord choses to heal her.
So, something positive, today she tasted chocolate milk and didn't gag or retch on it. She took over 30 sips of it and although they were very small sips, they were still sips and I am grateful for that.
McKenna doesn't open her mouth wide, but she is at least cracking it open and although that has been happening several months now it is still a step in the right direction and something that she needs to do inorder to get to the next step - swallowing food.
McKenna isn't swallowing the food, but she is trying new flavors - chicken, green beans, broccoli...which is a great step too because she shouldn't be stuck on apple/blueberry mixture forever.
So there are positives, and she is truly doing her best and I know that. I just need to allow myself to be down for 24 hours and cry and vent and then move forward knowing tomorrow could just be the day the Lord choses to heal her.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Our Blessings
Lately God has really reminded me of the amazing blessing we received when our fertility treatments worked. Several friends (three now) have gone through the process once, twice or sometimes even three times and have come back with negative results and it breaks my heart. I can relate to the desire to be a mom, to the desire to carry a baby and feel it kick and move and watch it grow as my belly expands. I can relate to wanting the stretch marks, back aches, vommitting throughout the night, labor pains, weird cravings and everything else that goes with pregnancy. I can relate to the desire to be a mom and hearing the words that you most likely won't be able to have kids and the pain and stress and frustrating and heartache that comes with infertility. But, I can't relate to paying thousands of dollars and coming back with negative test results, or the pain of knowing that fertiility treatments won't work. All I can do is cry for these friends and pray for their miracle to come, whether through their own conception, other fertility treatments or adoption. My heart goes out to these couples and at the same time reminds me of what miracles we have been blessed with!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Just Like That
Can't help but laugh when I think about the blessing God gave us yesterday. Was completely unexpected and left me laughing and crying and shouting for you. McKenna learned last week to sit up from the laying position. This is a huge step forward as most kids are doing this around six to eight months. Then last week at therapy, Jean said we were going to start working on rolling to get to things, and crawling although she anticipated it would be a while before McKenna was able to crawl.
So yesterday afternoon Kyle went to take a nap and I was sitting on the floor playing with the kids. Keaton started throwing our DVDs everywhere and one was out of McKenna's reach. She leaned forward to get it. Couldn't reach it still, so she leaned forward more and then started pulling her butt forward, or scooting it, while pulling her body with her arms.
Immediately I started screaming, "She's crawling, Kyle, She's crawling." Kyle ran out and just as he reached the living room McKenna got up on her knees, with her butt still really close to the ground and started moving each knee one at a time forward - probably only an inch at a time, but it was crawling. Yes, yesterday my daughter crawled for the first time. And she did it a couple other times later throughout the night. One of the times I even managed to get on video to send to grandparents.
So after fifteen months my daughter is finally attempting to crawl. Can't believe that just last week she learned to sit, this week is learning to crawl and then next wouldn't be surprised if she started walking. Things are starting to click for her and come together finally. She is watching Keaton continually move around and it seems like she finally wants to move around herself.
Then, in addition to an evening of crawling, McKenna took bites/tastes of chicken with chicken gravy baby food. This one I am completely shocked at because she really doesn't eat anything but the blueberries/apple mixture. But the speech therapist said we need to start introducing other tastes and get her eating other things. So this week we have tried sweet potatoes (She will do occasional bites of them if they are not warm but she really doesn't like them), chocolate yogurt, blueberry yogurt and pears. And she licks mommy and daddy's ice creams. Will try the chicken mix again today and then hopefully tomorrow can introduce a green vegetable.
I think it's important to note when I say she is eating these other foods she is not really "Eating" them. She will open her mouth, allow the food in and then spit most of it out. BUT at least she is opening her mouth and I just keep think that eventually we will find a food that she likes so much she doesn't spit it out.
Still praying for her to start eating. We want that Mic-Key button gone! Unlikely, but praying that we can have a miracle and it will be gone by December when we go home to MT for the holidays, but hey, miracles DO happen. Also praying the retching stops. She is averaging 4-5 a day. Her numbers have gone back up due to the increase in volume during each feed, and each feed takes an hour, but she only has one night feed, which was our goal, but now we just have to pray for her to learn to tolerate the food enough to allow her to not retch.
So yesterday afternoon Kyle went to take a nap and I was sitting on the floor playing with the kids. Keaton started throwing our DVDs everywhere and one was out of McKenna's reach. She leaned forward to get it. Couldn't reach it still, so she leaned forward more and then started pulling her butt forward, or scooting it, while pulling her body with her arms.
Immediately I started screaming, "She's crawling, Kyle, She's crawling." Kyle ran out and just as he reached the living room McKenna got up on her knees, with her butt still really close to the ground and started moving each knee one at a time forward - probably only an inch at a time, but it was crawling. Yes, yesterday my daughter crawled for the first time. And she did it a couple other times later throughout the night. One of the times I even managed to get on video to send to grandparents.
So after fifteen months my daughter is finally attempting to crawl. Can't believe that just last week she learned to sit, this week is learning to crawl and then next wouldn't be surprised if she started walking. Things are starting to click for her and come together finally. She is watching Keaton continually move around and it seems like she finally wants to move around herself.
Then, in addition to an evening of crawling, McKenna took bites/tastes of chicken with chicken gravy baby food. This one I am completely shocked at because she really doesn't eat anything but the blueberries/apple mixture. But the speech therapist said we need to start introducing other tastes and get her eating other things. So this week we have tried sweet potatoes (She will do occasional bites of them if they are not warm but she really doesn't like them), chocolate yogurt, blueberry yogurt and pears. And she licks mommy and daddy's ice creams. Will try the chicken mix again today and then hopefully tomorrow can introduce a green vegetable.
I think it's important to note when I say she is eating these other foods she is not really "Eating" them. She will open her mouth, allow the food in and then spit most of it out. BUT at least she is opening her mouth and I just keep think that eventually we will find a food that she likes so much she doesn't spit it out.
Still praying for her to start eating. We want that Mic-Key button gone! Unlikely, but praying that we can have a miracle and it will be gone by December when we go home to MT for the holidays, but hey, miracles DO happen. Also praying the retching stops. She is averaging 4-5 a day. Her numbers have gone back up due to the increase in volume during each feed, and each feed takes an hour, but she only has one night feed, which was our goal, but now we just have to pray for her to learn to tolerate the food enough to allow her to not retch.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Nice
OH my goodness, how adorable is my son? Not sure if I included the word "Nice" in the list of words that he says, however it seems to be one of his favorites.
McKenna's favorite thing to do is "pet" Keaton. She rubs his head, taps his shoulders, touches his face. She is very gentle with him (other than the times she does that to lead into pulling back on his collar to choke him - no joke). So when she is doing these sweet gestures I say, "Yes, nice McKenna. McKenna be nice," to help reminder her that choking is not the necessary next step.
Well Keaton has picked up on it. So he now goes around gently slapping McKenna in the face or on the arm and saying, "nice, nice." It's hard not to laugh and to decide whether desciplining is in order. Can't tell if he is trying to be nice or is being mean and thinking he can cover it up with the word.
So yesterday, I decided to face my fears head on while an itsy bitsy spider dangled over Keaton's highchair that he was sitting on. Yes, i killed the spider...with my barehand. I slapped it against the wall. If I didn't do it right then I feared it getting away or landing on Keaton. And right as I did it Keaton yelled out "Nice!" whether he was meaning nice as in nice job or nice as in be nice mommy, it was hilarious and made me forget that I had actually just killed a nasty eight legged insect.
Then last night Keaton kept getting into the cabinet under the kitchen sink and I couldn't find the childproof tool he had hidden so I told him if he opened it one more time (he takes out the carpet cleaners and wants to play with the bottles) I was going to slap his hand. Of course, being a baby Keaton went right back to the cabinet and opened it so I followed through with my threat and hit his hand. "NICE...NICE...NICE" Keaton started to say so stearnly. Yes, this time I knew he was meaing for me to BE nice! He is so cute.
Few other words he is obssesed with are up, off and mess. He is continually wanting to be picked up (which I absolutely love), wanting to shut the lights off, close the door "off" (yes off instead of shut), or take the rings off the stacker". And Mess - he points at his tray during meals and says mess over and over, and does the same thing when looking at McKenna's tray, or when he comes in livingroom and sees his toys all over. Guess mommy needs to cut back on saying that term. Don't want him becoming OCD or thinking messes are a bad thing.
McKenna's favorite thing to do is "pet" Keaton. She rubs his head, taps his shoulders, touches his face. She is very gentle with him (other than the times she does that to lead into pulling back on his collar to choke him - no joke). So when she is doing these sweet gestures I say, "Yes, nice McKenna. McKenna be nice," to help reminder her that choking is not the necessary next step.
Well Keaton has picked up on it. So he now goes around gently slapping McKenna in the face or on the arm and saying, "nice, nice." It's hard not to laugh and to decide whether desciplining is in order. Can't tell if he is trying to be nice or is being mean and thinking he can cover it up with the word.
So yesterday, I decided to face my fears head on while an itsy bitsy spider dangled over Keaton's highchair that he was sitting on. Yes, i killed the spider...with my barehand. I slapped it against the wall. If I didn't do it right then I feared it getting away or landing on Keaton. And right as I did it Keaton yelled out "Nice!" whether he was meaning nice as in nice job or nice as in be nice mommy, it was hilarious and made me forget that I had actually just killed a nasty eight legged insect.
Then last night Keaton kept getting into the cabinet under the kitchen sink and I couldn't find the childproof tool he had hidden so I told him if he opened it one more time (he takes out the carpet cleaners and wants to play with the bottles) I was going to slap his hand. Of course, being a baby Keaton went right back to the cabinet and opened it so I followed through with my threat and hit his hand. "NICE...NICE...NICE" Keaton started to say so stearnly. Yes, this time I knew he was meaing for me to BE nice! He is so cute.
Few other words he is obssesed with are up, off and mess. He is continually wanting to be picked up (which I absolutely love), wanting to shut the lights off, close the door "off" (yes off instead of shut), or take the rings off the stacker". And Mess - he points at his tray during meals and says mess over and over, and does the same thing when looking at McKenna's tray, or when he comes in livingroom and sees his toys all over. Guess mommy needs to cut back on saying that term. Don't want him becoming OCD or thinking messes are a bad thing.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Big Week, FINALLY
Wow, what a great week it has been. It is so rewarding when you work toward something for so long and finally start to see progrees. So here is the latest with my little twins...
Keaton, oh he is so big. A few weeks ago he weighed 22 lb 6 oz. He has grown and is the sweetest little boy. He gives kisses when requested (which is really just opening his mouth and then full force face into yours) and is a great hugger. His tantrums are getting a bit worse, so this week we implamented time-out. Yes, he is only fifteen months, but it has to start sometime, right? So when he throws his tantrum I usually just ignore him but this week a few times I picked him up and put him in his crib for a minute, or until he calmed down and that seemed to work. I don't expect it will continue to work, but hey, willing to keep trying.
Also this week Keaton decided to start walking. While he has taken steps here and there or from mommy to daddy he really hasn't gotten the drive to walk from object to object or place to place. Then Monday it all just clicked for him. He is walking everywhere. Don't get me wrong, he does still crawl a majority of the time, but he will pull himself to stand and walk to the couch, tables, tv, etc and he loves standing on his own too. He gets so proud of himself and has the largest grin. Man my son is adorable.
Keaton also decided this was the week to expand his vocabulary. If you tell him to say something, he does his best to repeat it or really tries hard to sound it out. He says night night, bu bye, nice, mess, oh man, frog (Which sounds like the "F" word), book, no, meow (sounds like mauw), mama, dada, nana, chef, fork, bite and a few other words...so he has really picked up a lot.
And McKenna, she has been pushed so hard lately with switching to Myer Center for therapy and we are finally seeing rewards. This week she pushed herself up into sitting position from her belly a few times. Then today all of a sudden she was doing in repeatidly. I even found her sitting up in her crib during nap time - she couldn't figure out how to get back down. So proud of her.
And her speech is improving too. She still doesn't talk, other than mama, but she is starting to babbly a little more, which is such a blessing to hear and she has the cutest little voice.
This week McKenna also decided she is done with afternoon naps. That's right, she thinks that an hour morning nap (two if I am reallllly lucky) is enough to get her through the day. She is cranky and tired around 6 pm which is way too late for a nap, so if she doesn't sleep at 3 then she is forced to stay up until 7:30 or 8. Wouldn't mind that as much if she slept better through the night. She actually has improved on sleeping through the night now that she only gets one feed at 10 pm and then is done by 11, but she still tosses and turns quite a bit until around 7 am, when Keaton wakes up, and then she sleeps until 8:30 or this morning it was until 9.
And, drum roll, McKenna ate a couple cheerios today. Gave her a cheerio and lately she will touch it to her tongue. So I gave her one and walked away to do dishes and she started gagging/Retching. Ran over to her and she had put the whole thing in her mouth, it melted and she was trying to get it out before she had to swallow it. But after that little episode she grabbed another cheerio and put it in, only this time she sucked it until it desolved. That's huge. And she did it two other times. SO excited. The feedings are so draining and I really needed her to do that! Even if it was only tonight.
So what are we working on still with McKenna and therapy? This week we are trying to get her rolling more for objects. She knows how to roll, but she lacks motivation. SO we are rolling, rolling and rolling some more. We are working on her sitting up from laying down position. This includes from back leaning to the side and sitting up, and from belly scooting back to one knee and pushing up. Currently (meaning today only pretty much) she can push herself into a W and work her legs around one at a time.
We are also working on crawling. Poor lil Mickey wants to move around so bad. She is finally breaking out of her comfort zone of sitting straight up and has started leaning forward and leaning to the sides so the therapist thought it would be good to start working with her on crawling. So rolling, sitting, crawling and standing. Getting her to stand from a knee stance to feet. And on top of all that, which takes at least a few hours a day of hard work, we are trying to get her to eat still, so we are implamenting new foods this week - pears and chocolate yogurt so far have been doable. Will hopefully try a vegetable this week and see how she does.
Keaton we are still working with increasing his vocabulary, his walking/standing on his own, fine motor skills like putting coins in a slot and on sharing which he really needs to learn.
I feel like such a blessed mother today! Grateful for my babies! Grateful for the chance to raise these two beautiful kids and for a husband that allows me to stay home with them all day.
Keaton, oh he is so big. A few weeks ago he weighed 22 lb 6 oz. He has grown and is the sweetest little boy. He gives kisses when requested (which is really just opening his mouth and then full force face into yours) and is a great hugger. His tantrums are getting a bit worse, so this week we implamented time-out. Yes, he is only fifteen months, but it has to start sometime, right? So when he throws his tantrum I usually just ignore him but this week a few times I picked him up and put him in his crib for a minute, or until he calmed down and that seemed to work. I don't expect it will continue to work, but hey, willing to keep trying.
Also this week Keaton decided to start walking. While he has taken steps here and there or from mommy to daddy he really hasn't gotten the drive to walk from object to object or place to place. Then Monday it all just clicked for him. He is walking everywhere. Don't get me wrong, he does still crawl a majority of the time, but he will pull himself to stand and walk to the couch, tables, tv, etc and he loves standing on his own too. He gets so proud of himself and has the largest grin. Man my son is adorable.
Keaton also decided this was the week to expand his vocabulary. If you tell him to say something, he does his best to repeat it or really tries hard to sound it out. He says night night, bu bye, nice, mess, oh man, frog (Which sounds like the "F" word), book, no, meow (sounds like mauw), mama, dada, nana, chef, fork, bite and a few other words...so he has really picked up a lot.
And McKenna, she has been pushed so hard lately with switching to Myer Center for therapy and we are finally seeing rewards. This week she pushed herself up into sitting position from her belly a few times. Then today all of a sudden she was doing in repeatidly. I even found her sitting up in her crib during nap time - she couldn't figure out how to get back down. So proud of her.
And her speech is improving too. She still doesn't talk, other than mama, but she is starting to babbly a little more, which is such a blessing to hear and she has the cutest little voice.
This week McKenna also decided she is done with afternoon naps. That's right, she thinks that an hour morning nap (two if I am reallllly lucky) is enough to get her through the day. She is cranky and tired around 6 pm which is way too late for a nap, so if she doesn't sleep at 3 then she is forced to stay up until 7:30 or 8. Wouldn't mind that as much if she slept better through the night. She actually has improved on sleeping through the night now that she only gets one feed at 10 pm and then is done by 11, but she still tosses and turns quite a bit until around 7 am, when Keaton wakes up, and then she sleeps until 8:30 or this morning it was until 9.
And, drum roll, McKenna ate a couple cheerios today. Gave her a cheerio and lately she will touch it to her tongue. So I gave her one and walked away to do dishes and she started gagging/Retching. Ran over to her and she had put the whole thing in her mouth, it melted and she was trying to get it out before she had to swallow it. But after that little episode she grabbed another cheerio and put it in, only this time she sucked it until it desolved. That's huge. And she did it two other times. SO excited. The feedings are so draining and I really needed her to do that! Even if it was only tonight.
So what are we working on still with McKenna and therapy? This week we are trying to get her rolling more for objects. She knows how to roll, but she lacks motivation. SO we are rolling, rolling and rolling some more. We are working on her sitting up from laying down position. This includes from back leaning to the side and sitting up, and from belly scooting back to one knee and pushing up. Currently (meaning today only pretty much) she can push herself into a W and work her legs around one at a time.
We are also working on crawling. Poor lil Mickey wants to move around so bad. She is finally breaking out of her comfort zone of sitting straight up and has started leaning forward and leaning to the sides so the therapist thought it would be good to start working with her on crawling. So rolling, sitting, crawling and standing. Getting her to stand from a knee stance to feet. And on top of all that, which takes at least a few hours a day of hard work, we are trying to get her to eat still, so we are implamenting new foods this week - pears and chocolate yogurt so far have been doable. Will hopefully try a vegetable this week and see how she does.
Keaton we are still working with increasing his vocabulary, his walking/standing on his own, fine motor skills like putting coins in a slot and on sharing which he really needs to learn.
I feel like such a blessed mother today! Grateful for my babies! Grateful for the chance to raise these two beautiful kids and for a husband that allows me to stay home with them all day.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Another Change
McKenna's retching continue to increase and so does our stress. We are fed up with the episodes and feel completely helpless when it comes to resolving this for McKenna. We want answers and can't seem to get any from doctors or research. And the only answer that does seem to continue to show up is slow down the feeds, decrease the quantity.
So with her retching nearly doubling over the past few weeks, today I caved in and have agreed to slow down her feeds so it will take an hour for her to receive full feed. It is really hard for me to do that and makes me so sad, but every time she retches I just want to cry, so willing to slow it down if this could possibly help.
I am not caving in altogether though. While I did slow down the feed I increased the quantity. She was getting 160 ml at 280 ml/hr three times a day with a six hour night feed of 210 ml. In an attempt to help her feel and understand hunger our goal is to eliminate the night feed completely. So today while changing it to an hour long feed I increased the quantity to 200 ml she will get at 220 ml/hr three times a day with a 10 pm feed of 120 ml over about 45 minutes. So she should be completely done with her night feed by 11 pm. I am anxious and nervous to try this. Hopeful this will increase appetite and help get her going on eating, but a little fearful as it is always scary to try something new.
If nothing else, we are hoping that the cord not sticking in her belly all night will help her sleep better. McKenna still is not sleeping well and that is such a crucial part of development...good sleep.
So with her retching nearly doubling over the past few weeks, today I caved in and have agreed to slow down her feeds so it will take an hour for her to receive full feed. It is really hard for me to do that and makes me so sad, but every time she retches I just want to cry, so willing to slow it down if this could possibly help.
I am not caving in altogether though. While I did slow down the feed I increased the quantity. She was getting 160 ml at 280 ml/hr three times a day with a six hour night feed of 210 ml. In an attempt to help her feel and understand hunger our goal is to eliminate the night feed completely. So today while changing it to an hour long feed I increased the quantity to 200 ml she will get at 220 ml/hr three times a day with a 10 pm feed of 120 ml over about 45 minutes. So she should be completely done with her night feed by 11 pm. I am anxious and nervous to try this. Hopeful this will increase appetite and help get her going on eating, but a little fearful as it is always scary to try something new.
If nothing else, we are hoping that the cord not sticking in her belly all night will help her sleep better. McKenna still is not sleeping well and that is such a crucial part of development...good sleep.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Their First Swim
The inlaws have a neighborhood pool and I have been itching to take the babies in it since they both love bath time so much. Planned to go when my mom was here, then when Ashlee was here and neither of those times worked and Susie offered to watch a baby while I took the other one swimming. While this wasn't ideal to do it one at a time, I was willing to do whatever needed to get them in the water.
So, today it's 95 out and the sun is scorching down on us and Susie watched the babies while I ran errands. When I got home she asked if we were going to do the pool today, so I jumped at the opportunity. Got the babies all ready after their lunch, loaded the sunscreen and met Susie at the pool to find her wearing JEAN capris and a tshirt. I assumed she wouldn't do a bathing suit, but was surprised she was wearing jeans.
Anyhow, we got up to the swim area and they have a covered table area and she laid a towel down and said she would sit with one baby while I took the other to the pool. I feel bad because I was a little rude, but it's 95 DEGREES and a baby sitting out in the shade in that weather just wasn't acceptable to me, so I said, okay well let me get McKenna use to the water, then I will come grab Keaton and just take them both swimming at the same time. Susie agreed.
Luckily though within a few minuets of me having McKenna in the water susie was sitting with her feet in the water and holding Keaton between her legs so he could sit in the water too. SO long story longer, we got both babies in the pool at the same time. They loveeeed it. They kicked, splashed, cooed, and had a grand time. We only stayed there about 45 minutes but it was perfect. I am so blessed to have a mother-in-law that is eager to help and that loves her grandbabies so much! Can't wait for our next pool trip.
So, today it's 95 out and the sun is scorching down on us and Susie watched the babies while I ran errands. When I got home she asked if we were going to do the pool today, so I jumped at the opportunity. Got the babies all ready after their lunch, loaded the sunscreen and met Susie at the pool to find her wearing JEAN capris and a tshirt. I assumed she wouldn't do a bathing suit, but was surprised she was wearing jeans.
Anyhow, we got up to the swim area and they have a covered table area and she laid a towel down and said she would sit with one baby while I took the other to the pool. I feel bad because I was a little rude, but it's 95 DEGREES and a baby sitting out in the shade in that weather just wasn't acceptable to me, so I said, okay well let me get McKenna use to the water, then I will come grab Keaton and just take them both swimming at the same time. Susie agreed.
Luckily though within a few minuets of me having McKenna in the water susie was sitting with her feet in the water and holding Keaton between her legs so he could sit in the water too. SO long story longer, we got both babies in the pool at the same time. They loveeeed it. They kicked, splashed, cooed, and had a grand time. We only stayed there about 45 minutes but it was perfect. I am so blessed to have a mother-in-law that is eager to help and that loves her grandbabies so much! Can't wait for our next pool trip.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
What a Month
This month has been crazy busy and filled with a lot of joy, stress, and sickness.
Mom and Mandie came to visit mid-May. It was great to see Mom and the kids ate up every minute and word she shared with them. She laughed the entire time at all that they do; she helped with changing diapers, feeding the kids, and tiring them out for good naps. She even was able to witness Keaton's first steps.
Mandie was "sick" the entire time, so she slept most of it, spent her time outside or working on a contract for her daycare. It was a real disappointment to us that we flew her here and then she hardly spent any time with us. Praying she gets better by Christmas so we can enjoy her.
Keaton got sick and had a temperature of 103 for four days. He puke all over the living room floor a couple times, ate little food, was fussy and didn't sleep well. He lost a few ounces which doesn't sound like a lot but it really thinned out his belly. Luckily after the virus passed though he was back to his playful energetic self.
Keaton loves Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and eats huge spoonfuls, sometimes not even taking time to chew before swallowing. He loves breakfast bars too - his favorite is blueberry. He still eats yogurt continually - vanilla bean fluffy is 160 calories so we do that to help him maintain his weight. He will occasionally eat spaghettios although he is getting sick of them. And that's about the extent of his diet...mainly because I have no idea what to feed him and I am not that healthy of an eater, so we really need to work on that. May try Chicken strips this week, although a bit nervous he will choke on them.
Keaton took his first step mid-May and loves the challenge of learning to walk. He smiles ear to ear, claps his hands and giggles when he takes a step without holding on to anything, or if he stands without holding. Last night he took 6 steps and daddy was even there to witness it.
Keaton is starting to get very possessive and jealous. He doesn't like it when McKenna gets a toy, book or attention. Apparently he thinks we should ignore her and pay attention to only him. He fusses, cries and throws a little tantrum which we just ignore. And occasionally he goes over and hits McKenna now...luckily for her though she is starting to get the drive to fight back, so I don't imagine he will continue bullying her for long. But that's a tricky thing...do I let him take toys from her and hit her because she needs to learn to stand up for herself, or do I punish him? I end up doing a little of both. My mom says we need to spend more time teaching them to share. I say they need to learn that if they want something they should go for it. And McKenna getting to play with a toy and Keaton trying to take it, well shouldn't she let him take it so she learns to share too? The tricks of parenting...hmmm.
Keaton is our little comedian. He is so funny and makes us laugh on a continual basis. The way he eats, facial expressions, noises, laughs, games, aggression...just about everything he does he seems to be looking for a positive reaction from it.
McKenna is a spitball. She is very stubborn, just like her mommy. She knows what she wants and fusses or whimpers until she gets it. She has a devious grin and always looks like she is plotting something. She raises just one eyebrow to get her point across. It's very comical.
McKenna still retches a lot (average 5 times a day) and it's stressful on us that there hasn't been any improvement with that. We are working on cutting out her night feed to see if that helps since a majority of her retches are during morning. To do that though it means increasing quantity during day feeds and that doesn't go over well with her. Is causing a few more retches than normal, but she is also sick so that could be why retching has increased. But currently we are doing feeds every 4 1/2 hours...8:30 am, 1 pm, 5:30 pm, 10 pm, 2:30 am...makes for a long day/night.
McKenna is doing a lot better on her bites. She is taking 35 breakfast, 45 lunch and dinner. Bites are getting a little bigger to where i would call them bites, not just tastes, and she is actually starting to open her mouth for a majority of them. Although she still spits most of the food out of her mouth rather than swallowing it. Again, since she is sick right now is struggling more with the bites. Only was able to get her to take three bites this morning and she retched after each one, so we stopped.
So McKenna has the cold Keaton had a couple weeks ago. Her temp has been around 102 and it is going on day three. I think her fever is finally breaking, but she cries when she coughs so most likely has a sore and swollen throat.
It has been difficult because for the first 12 months we were discouraged from bringing them in public or having people over. Now we are allowed to do that stuff, but if we do it we know they are going to be sick all the time because they haven't built up an immune system. SO, we will continue to bring them out, although Kyle would prefer we don't, and hopefully by the time we get to Flu Season Fall we will have a little more cushion and they will be stronger.
McKenna started sessions with the new Speech Therapist last Friday at Myer Center - No more Oxford Home Health. During the evaluation I did the feeding, and then again during the first session. Curious to see if that is how it will always be. Makes since for me to do the feeding since I am the one that does it at home, but the woman didn't give me any direction or advice, other than to follow what First Steps is telling me to do. Not sure what her thinking is behind that, but hoping to get courage to say something if that is how it is again this week. Don't really care to waste our time, energy and money if all I am doing is taking her to a different location so I can feed and someone can sit and watch without helping. She is suppose to be the best...not sure who has deemed her as that.
We start with the new Physical Therapist on June 22 so we are really excited about that and one of our friend's sons sees this PT and says how amazing she is, so that makes me a bit more hopeful than I am about the ST.
The kids went to their first bday party for a friend. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work getting them there and out. Not sure how I could have done it without Kyle! He was a trooper and a huge help. And THAT has been our month. Hoping for a healthier and more productive next thirty days
Mom and Mandie came to visit mid-May. It was great to see Mom and the kids ate up every minute and word she shared with them. She laughed the entire time at all that they do; she helped with changing diapers, feeding the kids, and tiring them out for good naps. She even was able to witness Keaton's first steps.
Mandie was "sick" the entire time, so she slept most of it, spent her time outside or working on a contract for her daycare. It was a real disappointment to us that we flew her here and then she hardly spent any time with us. Praying she gets better by Christmas so we can enjoy her.
Keaton got sick and had a temperature of 103 for four days. He puke all over the living room floor a couple times, ate little food, was fussy and didn't sleep well. He lost a few ounces which doesn't sound like a lot but it really thinned out his belly. Luckily after the virus passed though he was back to his playful energetic self.
Keaton loves Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and eats huge spoonfuls, sometimes not even taking time to chew before swallowing. He loves breakfast bars too - his favorite is blueberry. He still eats yogurt continually - vanilla bean fluffy is 160 calories so we do that to help him maintain his weight. He will occasionally eat spaghettios although he is getting sick of them. And that's about the extent of his diet...mainly because I have no idea what to feed him and I am not that healthy of an eater, so we really need to work on that. May try Chicken strips this week, although a bit nervous he will choke on them.
Keaton took his first step mid-May and loves the challenge of learning to walk. He smiles ear to ear, claps his hands and giggles when he takes a step without holding on to anything, or if he stands without holding. Last night he took 6 steps and daddy was even there to witness it.
Keaton is starting to get very possessive and jealous. He doesn't like it when McKenna gets a toy, book or attention. Apparently he thinks we should ignore her and pay attention to only him. He fusses, cries and throws a little tantrum which we just ignore. And occasionally he goes over and hits McKenna now...luckily for her though she is starting to get the drive to fight back, so I don't imagine he will continue bullying her for long. But that's a tricky thing...do I let him take toys from her and hit her because she needs to learn to stand up for herself, or do I punish him? I end up doing a little of both. My mom says we need to spend more time teaching them to share. I say they need to learn that if they want something they should go for it. And McKenna getting to play with a toy and Keaton trying to take it, well shouldn't she let him take it so she learns to share too? The tricks of parenting...hmmm.
Keaton is our little comedian. He is so funny and makes us laugh on a continual basis. The way he eats, facial expressions, noises, laughs, games, aggression...just about everything he does he seems to be looking for a positive reaction from it.
McKenna is a spitball. She is very stubborn, just like her mommy. She knows what she wants and fusses or whimpers until she gets it. She has a devious grin and always looks like she is plotting something. She raises just one eyebrow to get her point across. It's very comical.
McKenna still retches a lot (average 5 times a day) and it's stressful on us that there hasn't been any improvement with that. We are working on cutting out her night feed to see if that helps since a majority of her retches are during morning. To do that though it means increasing quantity during day feeds and that doesn't go over well with her. Is causing a few more retches than normal, but she is also sick so that could be why retching has increased. But currently we are doing feeds every 4 1/2 hours...8:30 am, 1 pm, 5:30 pm, 10 pm, 2:30 am...makes for a long day/night.
McKenna is doing a lot better on her bites. She is taking 35 breakfast, 45 lunch and dinner. Bites are getting a little bigger to where i would call them bites, not just tastes, and she is actually starting to open her mouth for a majority of them. Although she still spits most of the food out of her mouth rather than swallowing it. Again, since she is sick right now is struggling more with the bites. Only was able to get her to take three bites this morning and she retched after each one, so we stopped.
So McKenna has the cold Keaton had a couple weeks ago. Her temp has been around 102 and it is going on day three. I think her fever is finally breaking, but she cries when she coughs so most likely has a sore and swollen throat.
It has been difficult because for the first 12 months we were discouraged from bringing them in public or having people over. Now we are allowed to do that stuff, but if we do it we know they are going to be sick all the time because they haven't built up an immune system. SO, we will continue to bring them out, although Kyle would prefer we don't, and hopefully by the time we get to Flu Season Fall we will have a little more cushion and they will be stronger.
McKenna started sessions with the new Speech Therapist last Friday at Myer Center - No more Oxford Home Health. During the evaluation I did the feeding, and then again during the first session. Curious to see if that is how it will always be. Makes since for me to do the feeding since I am the one that does it at home, but the woman didn't give me any direction or advice, other than to follow what First Steps is telling me to do. Not sure what her thinking is behind that, but hoping to get courage to say something if that is how it is again this week. Don't really care to waste our time, energy and money if all I am doing is taking her to a different location so I can feed and someone can sit and watch without helping. She is suppose to be the best...not sure who has deemed her as that.
We start with the new Physical Therapist on June 22 so we are really excited about that and one of our friend's sons sees this PT and says how amazing she is, so that makes me a bit more hopeful than I am about the ST.
The kids went to their first bday party for a friend. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work getting them there and out. Not sure how I could have done it without Kyle! He was a trooper and a huge help. And THAT has been our month. Hoping for a healthier and more productive next thirty days
Friday, May 21, 2010
Cute Things
McKenna has started patting her chest with her hand. It's adorable. It's like a gorilla, only she does it softly. She squeals and she she does a growling noise that is almost scary sounding, but it's so cute.
She grabs her feet and sucks her toes, or at least attempts to. She gets really excited and starts breathing hard trying to get them in there.
McKenna picks at everything. She finds hairs wherever she is and grabs them, pulls on them, wraps them in her fingers...they are her favorite toy. Discusting, but fun to watch her hunt for them. And she does the same with fuzzies, crumbs, or anything small.
Keaton stands on his own, without holding on to anything, and gets the biggest grin on his face. He is so proud of his accomplishments and looks at you as if to say, "hey, look at me, can YOU do this?"
He loves books and will go off to the side of the room and spend twenty plus minutes flipping through a book and looking at pictures and is so proud of himself turning the pages.
Keaton loves reaching up to touch the light and fan in the ceiling when daddy is holding him, and he thinks dad is the coolest for letting him do it. He claps when he drinks out of his sippy cup by himself, or when he looks at an object you tell him to look at, like tree or ball.
And he is the cutest eater. He tries to chew with his front teeth and puckers his lips trying to get the food to stay in his mouth. And if the food starts to fall out, he uses his entire palm to shove it back in...as if his fingers couldn't put it back in.
I have the cutest, most funny, adorable, loving and beautiful babies in the world. Grateful for our blessings!
She grabs her feet and sucks her toes, or at least attempts to. She gets really excited and starts breathing hard trying to get them in there.
McKenna picks at everything. She finds hairs wherever she is and grabs them, pulls on them, wraps them in her fingers...they are her favorite toy. Discusting, but fun to watch her hunt for them. And she does the same with fuzzies, crumbs, or anything small.
Keaton stands on his own, without holding on to anything, and gets the biggest grin on his face. He is so proud of his accomplishments and looks at you as if to say, "hey, look at me, can YOU do this?"
He loves books and will go off to the side of the room and spend twenty plus minutes flipping through a book and looking at pictures and is so proud of himself turning the pages.
Keaton loves reaching up to touch the light and fan in the ceiling when daddy is holding him, and he thinks dad is the coolest for letting him do it. He claps when he drinks out of his sippy cup by himself, or when he looks at an object you tell him to look at, like tree or ball.
And he is the cutest eater. He tries to chew with his front teeth and puckers his lips trying to get the food to stay in his mouth. And if the food starts to fall out, he uses his entire palm to shove it back in...as if his fingers couldn't put it back in.
I have the cutest, most funny, adorable, loving and beautiful babies in the world. Grateful for our blessings!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Opening Her Mouth
What a blessed evening yesterday. I went to feed McKenna as usual and put the food on the spoon (apples and blueberries) and not thinking just put it in front of her mouth and held it there waiting for her to open her mouth. I was on the phone so a little distracted. And, to my surprise she opened her mouth. A fluke, right? No, she did it again, and again, and before I knew it McKenna opened her mouth for over fifteen bites. She spit out the food, or a good portion of each bite, but I don't even care because her mouth opened. And I think that I have heard that a lot of babies spit out food when you first start feeding them, don't they? they have to learn to swallow it and how to actually eat. Opening the mouth is the first step.
Then this morning I nervously put the sppon up to her mouth to see if she would repeat the same thing and open her mouth...SHE DID. Not only for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner too. And normally I feed McKenna 30 "tastes" each meal. Breakfast and lunch though McKenna opened her mouth for 40 bites. That is huge.
I feel so grateful for God giving McKenna this progress. We really have been discouraged lately and this is just what we needed. Now if we could just get her to swallow the bites, and to eat even half of a jar of baby food. And a food that is higher calories. She has to eat 120 calories every four hours. The jar of blueberries and apples, and the jar of pears are only 50 calories for a stage 2 jar. So we would benefit from her eating bananas or chicken or something like that.
Thanking God today. Excited to see what he allows her to do tomorrow.
Then this morning I nervously put the sppon up to her mouth to see if she would repeat the same thing and open her mouth...SHE DID. Not only for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner too. And normally I feed McKenna 30 "tastes" each meal. Breakfast and lunch though McKenna opened her mouth for 40 bites. That is huge.
I feel so grateful for God giving McKenna this progress. We really have been discouraged lately and this is just what we needed. Now if we could just get her to swallow the bites, and to eat even half of a jar of baby food. And a food that is higher calories. She has to eat 120 calories every four hours. The jar of blueberries and apples, and the jar of pears are only 50 calories for a stage 2 jar. So we would benefit from her eating bananas or chicken or something like that.
Thanking God today. Excited to see what he allows her to do tomorrow.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Milestones
What a great week of growth for the babies. Keaton took his first step yesterday. My mom was here visiting and standing Keaton up and told him to walk to me. He moved one foot forward. Did it two different times. I think that's considered his first step, right? Even though it was only one foot? Either way, I was so proud of him.
We still struggle to get Keaton to eat without puking if there is any texture or if the food is too thick, but this week Keaton ate a half of a banana for my sister, without it being diced really small. He also ate some spinach quiche I made, diced tomatoes, a few french fries and a couple bites of a McDonald's cheeseburger. I was smiling ear to ear and so grateful. And Keaton is holding his sippy cup on his own and has even learned to tip his head back to get the milk to go in his mouth. He is usually still too lazy to drink it on his own, but we are working to encourage that more.
McKenna has had a great week too. She has been talking and making more noises this week, and even started her B's. So she now says mama and baba. She is currently mouthing papa but hasn't fully gotten the noise out.
During McKenna's evaluation Wednesday toward switching therapists she rolled from back to belly for the first time. I was so proud, but knew that she really only did it because she was SCREAMING for a solid hour and just so mad. But then tonight, of course while Kyle is outside mowing and nobody is there to see it but me, McKenna rolled back to belly, belly to back, and then back and forth multiple times. I was screaming for joy with her. It was so encouraging to see. I really needed that!
McKenna's bites and retching have not improved, but hopefully this week the motility specialist from KC is suppose to call and give a phone consultation. I am sure he will say he needs to see her, but hopefully we can get some kind of direction or answers via the phone.
Now if I can just get McKenna to turn into sitting position on her own, push up on her elbows/hands/knees on her own and for long periods of time, crawling, belly creeping, walking, babbling, eating, stop retching...the list goes on. But again, grateful for the steps forward today!
We still struggle to get Keaton to eat without puking if there is any texture or if the food is too thick, but this week Keaton ate a half of a banana for my sister, without it being diced really small. He also ate some spinach quiche I made, diced tomatoes, a few french fries and a couple bites of a McDonald's cheeseburger. I was smiling ear to ear and so grateful. And Keaton is holding his sippy cup on his own and has even learned to tip his head back to get the milk to go in his mouth. He is usually still too lazy to drink it on his own, but we are working to encourage that more.
McKenna has had a great week too. She has been talking and making more noises this week, and even started her B's. So she now says mama and baba. She is currently mouthing papa but hasn't fully gotten the noise out.
During McKenna's evaluation Wednesday toward switching therapists she rolled from back to belly for the first time. I was so proud, but knew that she really only did it because she was SCREAMING for a solid hour and just so mad. But then tonight, of course while Kyle is outside mowing and nobody is there to see it but me, McKenna rolled back to belly, belly to back, and then back and forth multiple times. I was screaming for joy with her. It was so encouraging to see. I really needed that!
McKenna's bites and retching have not improved, but hopefully this week the motility specialist from KC is suppose to call and give a phone consultation. I am sure he will say he needs to see her, but hopefully we can get some kind of direction or answers via the phone.
Now if I can just get McKenna to turn into sitting position on her own, push up on her elbows/hands/knees on her own and for long periods of time, crawling, belly creeping, walking, babbling, eating, stop retching...the list goes on. But again, grateful for the steps forward today!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Growing Up Too Fast
I have been so sad all day just thinking about how quickly my babies are growing up. I am nervous I am not holding them and cuddling them enough. What will happen in five, ten, fifteen years when they don't think it's cool to hang with mommy anymore and they just want to be with their friends and dating and running around? I knew that I would love motherhood, but the reality of it is that it is far more than I could have ever imagined. I am so blessed to have two wonderful, beautiful babies that are alive and breathing without machines, and cognitive, and loving...they are so sweet and loving!!! They smiles, and laugh and act like life is perfect.
Thankful for my babies. Thankful to be a mom. Thankful for another day that I can hold them, hug them, squeeze them and tell them how much mommy loves them!
Thankful for my babies. Thankful to be a mom. Thankful for another day that I can hold them, hug them, squeeze them and tell them how much mommy loves them!
My Bestest Friend in the Whole World
This time last year my best friend was visiting from Chicago and we were painting pictures for the nursery. Sharon ate junk food with me, laid on the couch and bummed out. She didn't complain about a laid back trip or that she was bored or anxious to get home. She was supportive, loving and acted totally interested in all my boring stories and thoughts about the babies.
Kyle was out of town for business, so Sharon went with me to the doctor to do an ultra-sound (was having them every couple weeks) and it was that visit that we found out McKenna was not growing as fast as Keaton and there was possible cause for concern.
I went out of the ultra sound room to the waiting room while we waited to discuss with the doctor what was going on and I couldn't help but cry in fear of what the future would hold for my babies. So grateful Sharon was there to comfort me and make me laugh through it all.
God has truly blessed me by bringing Sharon into my life. I can't imagine what life would have been like if ten years ago He didn't make us roommates. It is just another daily reminder for me that He sees the big picture and all we have is a small glimpse into what each day holds.
Thanks Sharon for being my bestest friend in the whole wide world.
Kyle was out of town for business, so Sharon went with me to the doctor to do an ultra-sound (was having them every couple weeks) and it was that visit that we found out McKenna was not growing as fast as Keaton and there was possible cause for concern.
I went out of the ultra sound room to the waiting room while we waited to discuss with the doctor what was going on and I couldn't help but cry in fear of what the future would hold for my babies. So grateful Sharon was there to comfort me and make me laugh through it all.
God has truly blessed me by bringing Sharon into my life. I can't imagine what life would have been like if ten years ago He didn't make us roommates. It is just another daily reminder for me that He sees the big picture and all we have is a small glimpse into what each day holds.
Thanks Sharon for being my bestest friend in the whole wide world.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
New Feedings
Speech Therapist, Robin, brought a book for me to read on feeding McKenna homemade "forumla" which is really babyfoods or pureed foods through the tube. Book is several hundred pages, so only read a couple today, but started this afternoon by putting applesauce in with her forumla to see if her belly can handle applesauce. She is getting 1 spoon applesauce for every ounce of milk. That's more than book suggested but I think she will be able to handle it. curious to see if this helps her retching. She had four yesterday, four retches today.
And today on tummy time McKenna held her head up for 1 minute 45 seconds. I was the most pathetic proud mommy ever and was sure she knew it.
And today on tummy time McKenna held her head up for 1 minute 45 seconds. I was the most pathetic proud mommy ever and was sure she knew it.
Blue Gums and a Fever
My poor lil man...101.9 fever and I didn't notice it until tonight. Wonder how long he had it. Hopefully not the entire day. And he is getting a tooth (which is hopefully the cause of the fever rather than a virus) and the upper gum is black and blue where the tooth is coming in. Looks really painful. Anxious for the night to see if he makes it or wakes crying and miserable. And praying that when he wakes in the morning the fever is gone, bruising gone and tooth has popped.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
She's Trying
McKenna is trying so hard to say MaMa. It's fun to watch. She will put her lips together and move them like she is trying but 99% of the time forgets to add sound to it. Today though she finally added sound and said mama several times. It was so cute. Of course I do realize she has no idea what it means yet, but I am just so excited to hear her make a noise and one that isn't her just saying ahhhhhhhhhhhhh or squealing.
We have yet ANOTHER tummy time tool that First Steps brought for us. It's called Squiggles, I think. Basically it is a padded flat thing she lays on and then they put a tube noodle under her chest to encourage her to push up, velcro her but and legs down so she can't squirm out of it, and padded things around her knees so she can't move them. Honestly I don't think it has done much good. But then again I only used it once Monday (While therapist was here) and once Tuesday. Have been trying to use the thing I got from Walmart that is a floating disk she lays on and she can spin herself around. That works sometimes. She like spinning herself but doesn't hold head up very long. Really anxious for her to strengthen this area so she can eventually roll and crawl. She still only rolls from belly to back, not back to belly, and doesn't even do that very often.
She had only two reallllly bad retches yesterday, which is great! Kyle is in NY this week for business, so I am back to practicing my ignore her retching and act like I don't hear or see her doing it to see if it helps. She has only had two bad ones so far again today, but it's only 3:30 so won't be surprised if she has more, but grateful if she doesn't!
Can't believe they are almost a year old. Last year I was feeding the babies every three hours and it took 45 minutes to an hour to prepare food/feed and change diapers per baby, so sleep REALLY didn't happen. Grateful that last night for the first time in a long time I got a good night of sleep. McKenna still doesn't sleep well, so that means I don't either, but it is still way more sleep than I use to get, so I can't complain.
We have yet ANOTHER tummy time tool that First Steps brought for us. It's called Squiggles, I think. Basically it is a padded flat thing she lays on and then they put a tube noodle under her chest to encourage her to push up, velcro her but and legs down so she can't squirm out of it, and padded things around her knees so she can't move them. Honestly I don't think it has done much good. But then again I only used it once Monday (While therapist was here) and once Tuesday. Have been trying to use the thing I got from Walmart that is a floating disk she lays on and she can spin herself around. That works sometimes. She like spinning herself but doesn't hold head up very long. Really anxious for her to strengthen this area so she can eventually roll and crawl. She still only rolls from belly to back, not back to belly, and doesn't even do that very often.
She had only two reallllly bad retches yesterday, which is great! Kyle is in NY this week for business, so I am back to practicing my ignore her retching and act like I don't hear or see her doing it to see if it helps. She has only had two bad ones so far again today, but it's only 3:30 so won't be surprised if she has more, but grateful if she doesn't!
Can't believe they are almost a year old. Last year I was feeding the babies every three hours and it took 45 minutes to an hour to prepare food/feed and change diapers per baby, so sleep REALLY didn't happen. Grateful that last night for the first time in a long time I got a good night of sleep. McKenna still doesn't sleep well, so that means I don't either, but it is still way more sleep than I use to get, so I can't complain.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Crawling and Chatting
Wow what a week for Keaton. He has done so well. We started really working with him crawling instead of just belly creeping just last week. Then yesterday it clicked and he is crawling more and more. Of course he still loves his creeping, but it's fun to see the crawling happening more each day.
Keaton started babbling more too. He still says just the mama, dada, baba, nana but he goes on and on with it and thinks he is having a conversation. It's so cute, though it does get frustrating when he decides to talk with a mouth full of food. Actually lately he hasn't been eating well either. We have to turn on a show "Brainy Baby" to distract him from playing enough to sit down and drink a bottle. Then when it comes to food he fake gags and throws tantrum when we try to feed him. So difficult and a little nerve racking since we have one kid that doesn't eat. Praying he doesn't become like McKenna with food.
Keaton started babbling more too. He still says just the mama, dada, baba, nana but he goes on and on with it and thinks he is having a conversation. It's so cute, though it does get frustrating when he decides to talk with a mouth full of food. Actually lately he hasn't been eating well either. We have to turn on a show "Brainy Baby" to distract him from playing enough to sit down and drink a bottle. Then when it comes to food he fake gags and throws tantrum when we try to feed him. So difficult and a little nerve racking since we have one kid that doesn't eat. Praying he doesn't become like McKenna with food.
Friday, March 19, 2010
So THIS is what it's like?
Wow...tears in my eyes...only ONE retch yesterday and only a couple "gags" throughout the day. We are so grateful, especially after last weekend being so extremely horrible.
Speech Therapy came Wednesday - Holly with Oxford - and got McKenna to take several larger tastes of peaches. She was able to shove the entire spoon in McKenna's mouth without causing her to gag or retch. Most of the food fell off onto McKenna's mouth and chin, but she was allowing the spoon in with less resistance then normal. What a joy it was to see, although frustrating that McKenna won't allow mommy to do that. Of course when Holly left I attempted to do the same thing that night and was not successful.
Yesterday, Thursday, Speech Therapist Robin from First Steps came to work with McKenna and I reported how well she did for Holly. I think the competitive side of Robin came out because she was more forceful with McKenna than normal, which I was actually grateful for. And, to my surprise, she allowed it. Gagged small, very fake sounding gags only twice during the feeding. She showed me a new technique to try and when I attempted feeds at noon and in the evening it worked. She took several tastes for me and last night even opened her mouth twice. Wish I would have had more on my spoon during those two times. Hahaha.
Excited to try the feeding today and see if that plays a role with the retching. Perhaps having actual food in her belly rather than just formula helped decrease the quantity? (of course as I am typing this she just started retching, sigh...)
Several people have emailed or texted that they are fasting for our baby girl, which is such an amazing and humbling thing to hear. Brings me to tears to think that people have such faith and trust that God will heal her and truly puts me in my place. So, Sunday decided if others are doing it, I should no doubt do it as well. Monday started my five day fast for McKenna's retching to end, eating to start and tummy time to improve in order to give her back/shoulder/arm strength. I don't expect things to get better overnight due to fasting. Or even over the next week or two. Truly doing it just to show God I have faith in HIM that in HIS time McKenna will be healed, and I am putting full trust and faith in HIM. Ready for my baby girl to be healed, to crawl to daddy and try to eat his food, or to roll over to Keaton and pull the toys out of HIS hands for once instead of the other way around.
Speech Therapy came Wednesday - Holly with Oxford - and got McKenna to take several larger tastes of peaches. She was able to shove the entire spoon in McKenna's mouth without causing her to gag or retch. Most of the food fell off onto McKenna's mouth and chin, but she was allowing the spoon in with less resistance then normal. What a joy it was to see, although frustrating that McKenna won't allow mommy to do that. Of course when Holly left I attempted to do the same thing that night and was not successful.
Yesterday, Thursday, Speech Therapist Robin from First Steps came to work with McKenna and I reported how well she did for Holly. I think the competitive side of Robin came out because she was more forceful with McKenna than normal, which I was actually grateful for. And, to my surprise, she allowed it. Gagged small, very fake sounding gags only twice during the feeding. She showed me a new technique to try and when I attempted feeds at noon and in the evening it worked. She took several tastes for me and last night even opened her mouth twice. Wish I would have had more on my spoon during those two times. Hahaha.
Excited to try the feeding today and see if that plays a role with the retching. Perhaps having actual food in her belly rather than just formula helped decrease the quantity? (of course as I am typing this she just started retching, sigh...)
Several people have emailed or texted that they are fasting for our baby girl, which is such an amazing and humbling thing to hear. Brings me to tears to think that people have such faith and trust that God will heal her and truly puts me in my place. So, Sunday decided if others are doing it, I should no doubt do it as well. Monday started my five day fast for McKenna's retching to end, eating to start and tummy time to improve in order to give her back/shoulder/arm strength. I don't expect things to get better overnight due to fasting. Or even over the next week or two. Truly doing it just to show God I have faith in HIM that in HIS time McKenna will be healed, and I am putting full trust and faith in HIM. Ready for my baby girl to be healed, to crawl to daddy and try to eat his food, or to roll over to Keaton and pull the toys out of HIS hands for once instead of the other way around.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Bad Weekend
Wow, it has been such a difficult weekend. Want to do nothing but crawl in a ball and cry ALL DAY LONG. McKenna's retching has gotten really bad again. Had improved a little for several weeks and then this weekend it went downhill and didn't seem to get any better. It has actually been getting worse the past week but then today it just got even worse. Her retching is worse, no improvement on eating and doing really bad on tummy time. SHe can't roll over, can't push up and just has to sit or lay there. It is really difficult to be happy or grateful for where she is at developmentally. Grateful that she has gotten better and truly improved from where she was at eleven months ago, but she is almost a year old and still can't do half the things a four or five month old can do. SO today I am going to sulk, and be depressed and allow myself to cry.
Have decided to keep her on her tummy all day long for a week. Starting today if she is awake she will be on her tummy. It is so depressing to see her just lay there while Keaton and I play, but maybe this will influence her to push up on her tummy? As for the retching I give up. NOt sure how to help her, what to do or what will make her better. Ignoring her retching doesn't help. Changing her position or feeding quantity or speed...none of it helps. SO yeah. again, just really discouraged today. Praying tomorrow will be better.
Have decided to keep her on her tummy all day long for a week. Starting today if she is awake she will be on her tummy. It is so depressing to see her just lay there while Keaton and I play, but maybe this will influence her to push up on her tummy? As for the retching I give up. NOt sure how to help her, what to do or what will make her better. Ignoring her retching doesn't help. Changing her position or feeding quantity or speed...none of it helps. SO yeah. again, just really discouraged today. Praying tomorrow will be better.
Friday, March 5, 2010
He Stood
While playing with the babies tonight I turned my head for only a minute and when looking back at Keaton he was standing. I could hardly believe my eyes. Yelled for Kyle to come look. Keaton had pulled himself up by holding on the coffee table and was standing there playing with the notebook on it. He acted like it was no big deal, but mommy and daddy were so proud.
Actually daddy was like, "Now you REALLY have to watch him" (as if I don't watch his every move already). And then he got sad thinking how far behind McKenna is. Keaton has done awesome and really advanced quickly in the past few weeks. He started saying NANA this week, which is really good. And he has been pulling himself up to standing while holding on to us, but to do it to a table is an entirely new step forward.
McKenna did great today with talking and started saying DADA more frequently. She is still sleeping very poorly, which is getting more difficult each night. She has been crying for over thirty minutes as I type this, which is probably a good sign I should just get up and rock her, but wanted to make sure to record Keaton's milestone.
Actually daddy was like, "Now you REALLY have to watch him" (as if I don't watch his every move already). And then he got sad thinking how far behind McKenna is. Keaton has done awesome and really advanced quickly in the past few weeks. He started saying NANA this week, which is really good. And he has been pulling himself up to standing while holding on to us, but to do it to a table is an entirely new step forward.
McKenna did great today with talking and started saying DADA more frequently. She is still sleeping very poorly, which is getting more difficult each night. She has been crying for over thirty minutes as I type this, which is probably a good sign I should just get up and rock her, but wanted to make sure to record Keaton's milestone.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Growing Too Fast
I can't believe my babies are getting so big and almost one year old. My how the time has passed.
Keaton learned to sit up this week. I was visiting with a friend in the family room and Keaton (who belly creeps everywhere and very fast) was over by the fireplace. Turned my head only for a minute and when I looked back at him he was sitting up and playing with the metal curtain in the fireplace. When he went down for a nap that day he was sitting in his crib when I went to get him. Needless to say we lowered the inside of the crib that night.
Keaton is into everything. He LOVES to push the buttons of the stereo and open the cassette holder part and crank up the music (which actually scares him...he just likes turning the knob). We have been putting a pillow from couch in front of stereo to protect it from breaking. This doesn't work. He pulls the pillow out of the way or his latest thing is crawling onto the pillow so he can touch the buttons even better. When I say "no" he turns, looks at me with a smile like "what did i do?" and then starts trying to get to stereo again. Hard not to laugh or smile at how cute he is but man is it tiring pulling him away from it for hours on end.
He loves to be hung upside down, tickled, thrown in air, or any kind of rough housing given. He is possessive of toys and if McKenna has a toy you can bet he will want it. He could have same toy in his hand, but will want the one she has.
Keaton says Dada and this week started saying Dat when trying to say dad. And he says hi dad. Well at least it sounds like it and he will mimic you saying it too.
He loves clapping and will do it on command, or if you say good job he claps and if you sing "If You're Happy and You Know It".
McKenna had several good days of low retching - only three retches per day. But today was back at six and one had pretty good size spit up with it. She is still not any closer to eating food or drinking (other than a few sips daily from sippy cup of water). We are anxious for the day she will take a bite or drink juice or milk from a bottle.
She is doing a lot better with reaching forward to pick stuff up off the ground and McKenna's latest trick is to pick something up, throw it forward then reach forward to get it. It's so cute to watch and she looks at you with the biggest smile to let you know she is so proud of herself.
She started taking her fingers to her mouth when saying ahhhh this week so it makes that broken ahhhh sound. It's so cute and great to watch. She occasionally will do a da da sound but for the most part just says ahhhhhh for long periods of time. Maybe she will be a singer someday.
She still doesn't like her tummy time and doesn't do well on it. But if you position her arms she can roll over from belly to tummy (can't do it unless you position her) and if you put her on tummy on a blanket and pull the blanket like a sled she looks up.
We are trying a few new techniques with McKenna this week to help her "map out" her body and hopefully it will help her with her sensory issues. Doing something called brushing. They give you a special brush and you brush arms, back, hips and legs without ever picking up brush. Is suppose to make her aware that her body is all connected and for her to feel the different parts of her body. Also doing mouth sweeps to help her feel her mouth out better.
McKenna loves large rings, pacifiers and spoons to play with. She loves watching Keaton play and scrunches her nose and breathes in and out really fast and loud when fake laughing. She is very ticklish on her sides and feet and has learned to take the blanket off her head during Peek-a-Boo or "Where's McKenna" as we call it.
McKenna has been a challenge with sleeping at night - waking up around 12:30 in the morning and will scream every forty minutes to an hour. Have tried everything we can think to do to get her to stop but so far haven't found an answer. Just praying she catches up on sleep sooner than later. The more sleep she gets the better she is with development and strength to grew.
Keaton learned to sit up this week. I was visiting with a friend in the family room and Keaton (who belly creeps everywhere and very fast) was over by the fireplace. Turned my head only for a minute and when I looked back at him he was sitting up and playing with the metal curtain in the fireplace. When he went down for a nap that day he was sitting in his crib when I went to get him. Needless to say we lowered the inside of the crib that night.
Keaton is into everything. He LOVES to push the buttons of the stereo and open the cassette holder part and crank up the music (which actually scares him...he just likes turning the knob). We have been putting a pillow from couch in front of stereo to protect it from breaking. This doesn't work. He pulls the pillow out of the way or his latest thing is crawling onto the pillow so he can touch the buttons even better. When I say "no" he turns, looks at me with a smile like "what did i do?" and then starts trying to get to stereo again. Hard not to laugh or smile at how cute he is but man is it tiring pulling him away from it for hours on end.
He loves to be hung upside down, tickled, thrown in air, or any kind of rough housing given. He is possessive of toys and if McKenna has a toy you can bet he will want it. He could have same toy in his hand, but will want the one she has.
Keaton says Dada and this week started saying Dat when trying to say dad. And he says hi dad. Well at least it sounds like it and he will mimic you saying it too.
He loves clapping and will do it on command, or if you say good job he claps and if you sing "If You're Happy and You Know It".
McKenna had several good days of low retching - only three retches per day. But today was back at six and one had pretty good size spit up with it. She is still not any closer to eating food or drinking (other than a few sips daily from sippy cup of water). We are anxious for the day she will take a bite or drink juice or milk from a bottle.
She is doing a lot better with reaching forward to pick stuff up off the ground and McKenna's latest trick is to pick something up, throw it forward then reach forward to get it. It's so cute to watch and she looks at you with the biggest smile to let you know she is so proud of herself.
She started taking her fingers to her mouth when saying ahhhh this week so it makes that broken ahhhh sound. It's so cute and great to watch. She occasionally will do a da da sound but for the most part just says ahhhhhh for long periods of time. Maybe she will be a singer someday.
She still doesn't like her tummy time and doesn't do well on it. But if you position her arms she can roll over from belly to tummy (can't do it unless you position her) and if you put her on tummy on a blanket and pull the blanket like a sled she looks up.
We are trying a few new techniques with McKenna this week to help her "map out" her body and hopefully it will help her with her sensory issues. Doing something called brushing. They give you a special brush and you brush arms, back, hips and legs without ever picking up brush. Is suppose to make her aware that her body is all connected and for her to feel the different parts of her body. Also doing mouth sweeps to help her feel her mouth out better.
McKenna loves large rings, pacifiers and spoons to play with. She loves watching Keaton play and scrunches her nose and breathes in and out really fast and loud when fake laughing. She is very ticklish on her sides and feet and has learned to take the blanket off her head during Peek-a-Boo or "Where's McKenna" as we call it.
McKenna has been a challenge with sleeping at night - waking up around 12:30 in the morning and will scream every forty minutes to an hour. Have tried everything we can think to do to get her to stop but so far haven't found an answer. Just praying she catches up on sleep sooner than later. The more sleep she gets the better she is with development and strength to grew.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Accomplishments
Keaton is creeping everywhere! The other day I put him on the floor in his bedroom while I ran his trash to the garage and when I came back he was in the bathroom. If I walk out of the family room he will be on one side of the room and when I come back he is usually on the other side of the room, behind couches, pulling on picture frames or tying to poke at outlets. He is fast.
Keaton is starting to do more babbling. Saying dada, baba and occasional mama. He laughs at the simplest of things, like being hung upside down, tickling, saying achoo or boo, shaking your hair in his face...He has become very clingy and wants to always be in your lap while still moving around. He wants you to hold him while he plays with toys. He loves books, ripping pages and the sound of music. He is getting on his knees more and more and rocking forward and backward, in attempt to crawl. He still takes two naps a day, although they are shorter each day. Occasionally they are only thirty minute naps and that makes for a long day. And he loves to crawl over things - McKenna, pillows, laps, toys...
And my favorite thing to watch Keaton do lately is clap. If you tell him to clap, show him clapping or if he hears clapping he does it. And he gets this look on his face like, Did you see that? look what I am doing. It's adorable and truly we get just as excited as he does.
McKenna has really worked on her motor skills lately too. She is now able to reach for things on ground while sitting up, which is just amazing to see. She will roll from belly to back if her arms are positioned right, but if her arms are to the side and head flat on ground she doesn't know how to do it. She is starting to try to push up a little bit more on her belly and can occasionally hold her head up for twenty to thirty seconds, which is a big improvement for her.
McKenna sings all the time, and by sings I mean she just says AHHHHHHHHHH for long periods of time, over and over. She is learning to do an occasional dada noise, although for the most part it is just the singing noises. She is starting to finally look up at objects that are held slightly above her head, which shows she is gaining more head/neck support. She reaches for things high in the air finally too, although that doesn't always happen.
She still isn't eating, but occasionally will allow a syringe of less than a half ml to be put in her mouth (really it's forced into her mouth) and food squirted in or a spoon with hardly anything on it put on her lips. She takes sips of water from the sippy cup throughout the day, although she doesn't always tolerate the sips and we can't give her too many or she will retch, and we can't seem to get her to take anything other than water from it.
She now holds balls and will occasionally McKenna will put them in a bucket or where you tell her to put them. She is averaging only five retches a day for the past couple weeks which is HUGE. We are nervous to think that maybe they are truly decreasing, but hopeful. She still gags throughout day in addition to retching, but hey, we will take gagging over retching any day! It's hard for us to not be discouraged though or scared that she is getting worse again when she has more than five now.
We are so grateful for these twins and excited to see what the Lord is going to do with them. How will God use these babies to win the lost, reach out to the hurting and further his kingdom? I think He has already used them in such amazing ways and for that alone we are grateful.
Keaton is starting to do more babbling. Saying dada, baba and occasional mama. He laughs at the simplest of things, like being hung upside down, tickling, saying achoo or boo, shaking your hair in his face...He has become very clingy and wants to always be in your lap while still moving around. He wants you to hold him while he plays with toys. He loves books, ripping pages and the sound of music. He is getting on his knees more and more and rocking forward and backward, in attempt to crawl. He still takes two naps a day, although they are shorter each day. Occasionally they are only thirty minute naps and that makes for a long day. And he loves to crawl over things - McKenna, pillows, laps, toys...
And my favorite thing to watch Keaton do lately is clap. If you tell him to clap, show him clapping or if he hears clapping he does it. And he gets this look on his face like, Did you see that? look what I am doing. It's adorable and truly we get just as excited as he does.
McKenna has really worked on her motor skills lately too. She is now able to reach for things on ground while sitting up, which is just amazing to see. She will roll from belly to back if her arms are positioned right, but if her arms are to the side and head flat on ground she doesn't know how to do it. She is starting to try to push up a little bit more on her belly and can occasionally hold her head up for twenty to thirty seconds, which is a big improvement for her.
McKenna sings all the time, and by sings I mean she just says AHHHHHHHHHH for long periods of time, over and over. She is learning to do an occasional dada noise, although for the most part it is just the singing noises. She is starting to finally look up at objects that are held slightly above her head, which shows she is gaining more head/neck support. She reaches for things high in the air finally too, although that doesn't always happen.
She still isn't eating, but occasionally will allow a syringe of less than a half ml to be put in her mouth (really it's forced into her mouth) and food squirted in or a spoon with hardly anything on it put on her lips. She takes sips of water from the sippy cup throughout the day, although she doesn't always tolerate the sips and we can't give her too many or she will retch, and we can't seem to get her to take anything other than water from it.
She now holds balls and will occasionally McKenna will put them in a bucket or where you tell her to put them. She is averaging only five retches a day for the past couple weeks which is HUGE. We are nervous to think that maybe they are truly decreasing, but hopeful. She still gags throughout day in addition to retching, but hey, we will take gagging over retching any day! It's hard for us to not be discouraged though or scared that she is getting worse again when she has more than five now.
We are so grateful for these twins and excited to see what the Lord is going to do with them. How will God use these babies to win the lost, reach out to the hurting and further his kingdom? I think He has already used them in such amazing ways and for that alone we are grateful.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Girls night out
Second girls night out since the babies were born and it was more difficult than I thought it would be. Was excited to see friends, eat mongolian BBQ and shop. Friend Sarah came to pick me up and as I was walking out of the house I looked at McKenna's face and she looked so sad I was leaving. It made me feel really guilty. Keaton looked confused but wasn't too concerned.
We got to the restaurant and found out that it was going to be an hour wait, so we walked the mall and the entire time I kept thinking about the babies and wondering how the babies were doing and what they were doing and if Kyle was giving them adequate attention and blah blah blah. Made it a little over an hour before texting to check on Kyle. Started crying during dinner because I missed the twins and actually had a little bit of breathing problems and separation anxiety. If it is this bad being away from them for five hours, not sure how I will make it when they go to school. Grateful for the blessing and opportunity to be a mom!
We got to the restaurant and found out that it was going to be an hour wait, so we walked the mall and the entire time I kept thinking about the babies and wondering how the babies were doing and what they were doing and if Kyle was giving them adequate attention and blah blah blah. Made it a little over an hour before texting to check on Kyle. Started crying during dinner because I missed the twins and actually had a little bit of breathing problems and separation anxiety. If it is this bad being away from them for five hours, not sure how I will make it when they go to school. Grateful for the blessing and opportunity to be a mom!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
First Wreck
Needed to run to the grocery store today just to pick up one single item. It was raining ice but with Kyle out of town I really felt like I had to be the one to go. Didn't want to ask his mom to help. So, packed up the tinys and ran to te store and all went smooth.
Have had a tiring and rough week so figured I would reward myself by stopping off at Andy's for a frozen custard, and by stopping off I mean going completely out of my way for a treat my stomach and hips were telling me not to eat.
Of course getting to Andy's means taking the most dangerous intersection in Springfield, literally. So I pick up the phone to gab to my mommy while driving there, and yes it is still raining ice at this point, and get to the intersection and go to to turn on Campbell and WAMMMMM. A woman rearends me. I immediately freaked out, got tears in my eyes and thought to myself, I am really goign to have bad whip lash. Babies aren't crying. Are they okay? Do thy realize what happened?
I jump out of the car, open the back door and see both babies just starring at me like, hello woman, shut the door. It's freezing. SO shut the door and the woman that hit me is out of her van by now apologizing. I am shaking and saying, I HAVE TWINS, MY TWINS ARE BABIES, WHAT IF THEY ARE HURT? Look over the car and see the tiniest amount of damage. The screw holding her licsence plate made the perfect circle in my bumper.
SO we get in our cars, drive a half mile up the road to get out of traffic and exchange information. Get in my car, am crying telling Kyle how awful I feel that I put my babies through such trauma (even though the babies couldn't have cared less) and all he can say is how I should have just called his mom and I could have avoided it all. Oh and he is glad I am okay. Men are so funny.
Got home, called insurance places, made my report and just now calming down and realized I didn't even ask the woman if she is okay. Debating if I should call and check on her. Although again, it was her fault.
Have had a tiring and rough week so figured I would reward myself by stopping off at Andy's for a frozen custard, and by stopping off I mean going completely out of my way for a treat my stomach and hips were telling me not to eat.
Of course getting to Andy's means taking the most dangerous intersection in Springfield, literally. So I pick up the phone to gab to my mommy while driving there, and yes it is still raining ice at this point, and get to the intersection and go to to turn on Campbell and WAMMMMM. A woman rearends me. I immediately freaked out, got tears in my eyes and thought to myself, I am really goign to have bad whip lash. Babies aren't crying. Are they okay? Do thy realize what happened?
I jump out of the car, open the back door and see both babies just starring at me like, hello woman, shut the door. It's freezing. SO shut the door and the woman that hit me is out of her van by now apologizing. I am shaking and saying, I HAVE TWINS, MY TWINS ARE BABIES, WHAT IF THEY ARE HURT? Look over the car and see the tiniest amount of damage. The screw holding her licsence plate made the perfect circle in my bumper.
SO we get in our cars, drive a half mile up the road to get out of traffic and exchange information. Get in my car, am crying telling Kyle how awful I feel that I put my babies through such trauma (even though the babies couldn't have cared less) and all he can say is how I should have just called his mom and I could have avoided it all. Oh and he is glad I am okay. Men are so funny.
Got home, called insurance places, made my report and just now calming down and realized I didn't even ask the woman if she is okay. Debating if I should call and check on her. Although again, it was her fault.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Da Da, Ba Ba
Keaton started babbling this week. He now says "DaDaDaDa" and "BaBaBa". It's so fun to listen to him making more noises and to see him watching our lips trying to mimic what we say or concentrating to learn words. Hopefully soon he will be doing "MaMaMa" too.
Keaton weighed 18 lb 5 oz today. He has been the same weight for a week. He is weaning himself from nursing, but not taking well to the bottle, so we are struggling to get him to gain the daily half ounce they recommend. Need to call the doctor to verify he should still be gaining that much at this stage.
He tried peaches for the first time today. Didn't seem to dislike them, but you could tell he wasn't a huge fan. The smell of baby food is awful. Can't imagine the taste is much better.
Today Keaton started creeping over to me and pulling himself up on my leg. He is trying to hard to stand it looks like, but when I try to stand him up against the couch or just holding only my fingers he doesn't know how to hold himself up. He has been really loving and affectionate lately too and will creep over to Kyle and me and lay his head on our legs or cuddle up next to us. Soooo sweet.
Keaton weighed 18 lb 5 oz today. He has been the same weight for a week. He is weaning himself from nursing, but not taking well to the bottle, so we are struggling to get him to gain the daily half ounce they recommend. Need to call the doctor to verify he should still be gaining that much at this stage.
He tried peaches for the first time today. Didn't seem to dislike them, but you could tell he wasn't a huge fan. The smell of baby food is awful. Can't imagine the taste is much better.
Today Keaton started creeping over to me and pulling himself up on my leg. He is trying to hard to stand it looks like, but when I try to stand him up against the couch or just holding only my fingers he doesn't know how to hold himself up. He has been really loving and affectionate lately too and will creep over to Kyle and me and lay his head on our legs or cuddle up next to us. Soooo sweet.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
She Drank Water
What a great day...Speech Therapist with Oxford, Holly, got McKenna to drink a few sips of water from her sippy cup. Mommy was so proud of her and smiling ear to ear with tears filling the eyes.
Holly said to try the cup numerous times throughout the day, so tried again this afternoon and she drank out of it a small sip. Anxious to see how she does tomorrow. She also was putting the spoon in her mouth with mixture of cereal and sweet potatoes. She took a couple tiny tastes but no huge bites. She did so well.
Depending on how she does with the water the rest of this week, Holly will try formula in the sippy cup next week. Finally feeling a little hopeful.
Holly said to try the cup numerous times throughout the day, so tried again this afternoon and she drank out of it a small sip. Anxious to see how she does tomorrow. She also was putting the spoon in her mouth with mixture of cereal and sweet potatoes. She took a couple tiny tastes but no huge bites. She did so well.
Depending on how she does with the water the rest of this week, Holly will try formula in the sippy cup next week. Finally feeling a little hopeful.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Tummy Creeping
GO Keaton, Go! Mommy is smiling ear to ear today, tears in the eyes and just so proud to see her son "creeping" across the floor. The Physical Therapist with First Steps came out yesterday and worked with Keaton a little on the tummy creeping and then came out again today and he did it all on his own. He puts one arm out and then pulls the opposite leg to the side and scoots across the ground. Tried getting him to do it later this afternoon and he still did it, but he was pulling both legs up under him at same time instead, and rolling to get places. SO, was still doing it, just not as well. And Kyle got to see him doing it later after the therapists had left and he was so proud and in shock. I don't know what was more fun, seeing Keaton creep or Kyle get so excited. Either way, I am so proud.
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