HAPPY HALLOWEEN

We took the babies out for about a 1/2 hour so they could see some of the neighbors.

Everyone had fun tonight.

Today CJ and Savannah had their monthly pediatrician visit. The both received their RSV shot and Rotovirus Serum.

CJ weighed in at 12 lbs. 2 ounces and 24 1/2 inches long.

Savannah weighed in at 10 lbs. 6 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long.

The doctor and nurses commented on how great they look. We will also be introducing them to solid foods now. (This should be interesting)

Savannah is also starting to smile and wiggle around more. We are still waiting for her to find her voice. She only really cries if she is in pain or hungry, but no cooing or baby sounds yet.

Finally we are all well again. The babies are doing well and progressing every day. Chuck and I have had a few lucky nights were they both slept about 6/7 hours in a row. CJ and Savannah have their monthly pediatrician check up on Thursday and will also get their shots at the same time

The babies have both seemed to recover from their cold, but Ashley and I still have a lingering cough. I can't wait until we are all 100% again.

Savannah had her Eye Doctor appt. today to check on her mild ROP. The good news is that the ROP has gone away. However, the doctor said that she is near sighted and will need glasses at some point. She also said that she has some other condition that is common with preemies, but we can't recall the name. She has to go back in 3 mths. for another follow up on this new condition.

CJ is really coming along nicely. He is cooing and loves to laugh.

Savannah hasn't hit that milestone yet, but we are confident she will in her own time.

Today was extremely busy for us because the babies had a number of doctor appointments. Our first stop was back at the NICU in Morristown to do a download of Savannah's Apnea monitor. It was nice to see their doctors and a few of the nurses who took such great care of them. As of today, Savannah no longer needs to be on the Apnea monitor..YEAH, finally free of wires. I must admit this will be an adjustment for me because I never really worried about Savannah because I knew the machine would let me know if there was a problem. It will be nice for her not to have those annoying leads stuck to her.

Then we were off to see their Pulmonologist. We really like this doctor and have asked him to take over the care of Ashley as well. For those of you who don't know, Ashley has severe Asthma and has been hospitalized seven times as a result. The doctor was impressed with how well the babies seemed to be handling the cold that they have. However, as mentioned before he would like us to do breathing treatments while they are sick, even though they have no sign of wheezing. We also met with a dietician who is working with us to get Charlton situated with a formula that works. We have also started to add rice to his bottle. We are hoping this will help him sleep better, especially through the night. We go back in 6 weeks for a follow up.

Savannah's eye appointment was canceled due to her doctor being sick, but she will have her eyes checked next week.

Our last stop was the hand surgeon who has been following Savannah in the NICU for her thumb that turned black. As I mentioned one time earlier the color in her finger came completely back. The surgeon was very impressed with the mobility and looks of her finger and said "she definitely dodged a bullet", I said "thank god". So overall we had a great day and the babies are doing wonderful.

The babies seem to be feeling a little bit better today.

They are still eating about every 3 hours. In CJ's case it seems like he is constantly hungry. I have a feeling we will be adding rice to his bottle soon because nothing seems to satisfy him. Savannah has seemed to take a step backwards on her feeding, but I think it has to do with her not feeling well. Savannah has really come a long way with her head control and is still getting stronger every day. She can now sit in the bumbo sit with out her head falling forward. She has also started to smile a little bit. We are so proud of the progress that they have made thus far.

Ashley seems to be adjusting better and really loves her brother and sister.

I guess when you have two sick kids in the house it's difficult to keep the 3rd one from getting sick. Savannah started getting sick Friday. I think this is the first time that we really felt sleep deprived since the twins have been home. They have been quite unhappy and letting us all know. Hopefully this bug will be short lived. We have been giving both babies breathing treatment's per their Pulmonologist as a precaution. The good news is Ashley seems to be better, just a lingering cough.

Our poor little CJ has a cold today and is quite miserable. Ashley has also been sick this week, so we are pretty sure we know where it came from. We have him hooked up to Savannah's Pulse Ox to monitor his Oxygen level. I was sure he needed to be hospitalized, but thankfully the doctor said that he is ok for now, but we will have to keep an eye on him. So far Savannah seems ok.

The kids had a very nice visit this week with their Grandma. Savannah's infection has pretty much cleared up, although she will be on antibiotics for another week or so. Just this week Savannah has really shown alot of improvement with her strength. She is now able to sit in a Bumbo seat and her neck strength is much better. CJ seems to be doing ok with his new formula, which is much cheaper than the Nutramigen. Next week Savannah ad CJ have lots of follow up doctor appointments. Savannah has to see the neonatologist to review her Apnea. Then they both have to see their Pulmonologist and then Savannah has an eye appointment and then she will visit the hand surgeon. It will be an action packed day.

CJ and Savannah both got their RSV shot today. In addition, the doctor changed CJ's formula again. Hopefully this one will be better because it is a lot cheaper. Savannah also got a new script for her infection. The infection looks to be healing very well, but the doctor wants to be sure she is getting the correct antibiotic based on the infection she has. He just received back her swab test which is why he switched the antibiotic.

Today we celebrated Ashley's 5th Birthday. Since we were not able to have a lot of people over, I took Ashley to Chuck E. Cheese to play and then back home for cake. She had a great time, even CJ and Savannah got in on the action with the birthday hats.

Savannah's infection is healing nicely. Both CJ and Savannah go to the doctor's tomorrow for their first round of RSV shots. They will both get this shot every month up until April. Hopefully this will prevent them from getting RSV this winter.