Will had his six month check up yesterday and everything looks great. The doctor thought his lungs sounded good and that his development was right on track. He and Hays are both hitting all of the six month milestones, though they are still working on rolling from back to stomach. They can both do it, but it takes some effort. The next big hurdle is getting them to sit up on their own! The pediatrician wants us to see the neurologist to determine if Will needs a helmet to help shape his head. The right side is still slightly flat and one of his ears is further forward than the other. I'm not thrilled at the prospect, but what are you gonna do? At least he won't have a helmet and a trach! He had to get three shots and he's been a little under the weather today because of it. He has a big welt on the leg that got two injections and he ran a low-grade fever this morning. But he seemed to be feeling better by this evening.
Hays was a happy, talkative little guy today. He's going through the baby food like there's no tomorrow and he's really starting to fill out. He doesn't look so much like a scrawny old man! Now that he's over 10 lbs. we don't have to give him the special preemie formula anymore, so we're in the process of transitioning to regular baby formula. That's awesome because it saves us about $5 a week.
Mason had taekwondo at school today and he is absolutely loving it. I asked his instructors how he was doing and they said he was great- one of the best in the class! I was so proud of him. He went to the football game tonight with my parents and he came home full of excitement (and with a bright blue mouth from his ring pop!) He was telling me all about the game and I loved hearing about it from his point of view. He's such a great, funny kid (which is always easier to recognize when I've had a little time away from him!) and I am thrilled to get to see the world through his eyes.

I took Hays to see the endocrinologist today. He's been on Synthroid, a synthetic thyroid hormone, since he was a couple of months old. He was having trouble regulating his temperature in the NICU and they thought it might help. It did seem to help, but the doctor said he doubted that Hays had true hypothyroidism and would only need the meds for a while. The doctor today agreed, but we're still keeping him on the meds. Mainly because if we took him off and he actually did have a thyroid problem, not having the medication could really interfere with his brain development. My concern was possible side effects from taking medication that he doesn't need. The doctor assured me that the medication is very safe and should not have any ill effects, but I'll be following up with my pediatrician to make sure he feels the same way.
The worst part of the doctors visit was that we had to wait FOREVER!!! We were there for over an hour before they ever called us back to the room (because the doctor was eating lunch). Then it took another hour before we finally saw the doctor. Then another hour to get labs. Well, that was probably only a half an hour, but we had to makle a detour to the NICU to visit everyone! They were very impressed by how big and cute Hays is. They're probably the only people on earth that can look at him and say "Oh my gosh, he's so big!" But I was proud to show him off.
When I got home and put an exhausted Hays down for a nap, I played baseball with Mason in the backyard for a while, and let me tell you, that kid can hit! He is awesome!!!! I can't throw worth squat, but he can still hit most of the balls I pitch to him. He does even better when he's playing with his daddy who can actually throw the ball somewhere in the vicinity of the bat. I see little league in that boy's future! It is both impressive and pathetic that his athletic ability far surpasses mine and he's only four.

A Family Affair

Hays with my cousin, Molly


Will and YaYa


Will has had enough!


We had a big family get-together today at my parents house so everyone could meet the babies. My grandparents and aunts and uncles were there, and we were thrilled to show off Will and Hays. My uncle, Mack, and aunt, Anna, and my cousins, McKinley and little Anna, weren't able to make it, so we were dissapointed that we didn't get to see them. Mason was particularly dissapointed because he adores little Anna and was really looking forward to seeing her. But the holidays will be here before we know it and we'll have our whole big family together.


The boys were great. I think the babies were a bit overwhelmed by all the people surrounding them, but they were sweet and tolerant of being passed around from person to person! Mason had a good time showing off for everyone, and all three of them were wiped out when we got home. The babies didn't nap much during the day, so they went to bed really early- before 6:00. So it's been a pretty peaceful evening!

We made it through the day! It was busy, but not impossible by any means. The worst part was when we tried to go to the library. I got the kids all loaded up, got to the library, got them out and put them in the stroller, only to see the sign on the door saying "Closed for staff development." D'oh!!! Unbelievable, but what are you gonna do? We made a Publix run instead and all was well.

I talked to our pediatrician today about Will's sleep study and he agreed that it was very very unlikely that a child who sats in the high 90's all the time would truly have so many apnea events. He feels like as long as Will is keeping his sats up, he really doesn't need oxygen at night. Of course Will had to throw us a curveball! His breathing has sounded kind of rough today and his breathing treatments didn't seem to help. It sounds like he has some inflammation in his right lung. His doctor had us switch from an inhaler to a nebulizer because he thinks the treatments will be more effective that way. Will's sats are a little low tonight, mid 90's instead of high,

We had to take Will to Egleston last night for a sleep study. He didn't mind having 9,000 little probes attached to his head, but he absolutely hated the nasal cannula and pitched quite the screamer. At one point the tech came in and told he had desatted (oxygen saturation levels dropped) and they were putting him on oxygen. They wouldn't tell me how low his sats had dropped or how long it had lasted. This was really distressing because he never has desats at home. It was a very long night and Will was fussy because he was really gassy. The doctor came in around 5 am to discuss the results. He told me that they put him on oxygen because his sats dropped to 75. This must have been right after his fit because he never drops that low. Plus, I know what he looks like when his sats seriously drop and that did't happen while he was sleeping. The doctor also said he had several apnea events where he either stopped breathing or had obstructed breathing. I'm not sure that this was completely accurate either since Will has a tendency to hold his breath when a gas pain hits. This breathholding could be interpreted as apnea. So all in all, I'm not convinced that their results were a true representation. And the doctor really couldn't explain why his sats never go below 98 at home, but yet, they're seeing major desats. He just told me that their equipment is more sensitive. But he also said that none of this is unusual in infants, particularly preemies. And that it's not at all surprising in a child with a compromised airway. He wants Will to be on a small amount of oxygen at night while he's sleeping. He'll just have to get used to sleeping with the nasal cannula, and that's really no big deal. The doctor thinks he should only need oxygen for a couple of months, so nothing too tragically bad.
Tomorrow I am nurseless, and it will be my first full day of going it completely alone. Think good thoughts for me!

I took all the boys out by myself today! Mason had a playdate after school with his friend Hannah at Chick-Fil-A, so I decided to take both of the babies along. It went really well. All the kids behaved beautifully and it wasn't all that hard. It was a little difficult to maneuver the big old twin stroller through the crowded restaurant, but we made it. It was fun to be out with all of them like a regular old mom. Kind of chaotic and crazy, but fun nontheless. You should have seen me trying to get Mason's lunch arranged, feed the twins bananas, and eat my lunch all at the same time! But hey, everyone got fed and we had fun.
My mom got Mason a Halloween costume today. It's a Spiderman costume and it has built-in muscles! He LOVES it. He put it on right away and wore it for the rest of the afternoon. I made him change out of it before dinner, but he really wanted to wear the mask to bed!
Today was one of those days that I just absolutely adored my boys. They are all so sweet and precious and I really enjoyed being with them today. Not all days are like that- some days I'd sell the whole bunch of them for $1.50, but not today. I don't know if they were just especially cute or what, but today I felt like being their mother was, hands down, the best job on earth.

We took the whole family on a little grocery store trip today. It's the first time we've taken Will anywhere since he removed his trach. We're scared to death of germs since we know that a cold has the potential to put him in the hospital, but we also can't keep him completely cloistered. We only have a month or so before cold/flu/RSV season really starts, and then we won't be going much of anywhere, so we'd better enjoy some adventures while we can. The twins rode in their supercool new twin stroller and behaved like little angels. Mason, on the other hand, ran around like a crazy little hooligan. He was a wild child today. Too much pent up energy I guess. But it was a successful trip out and I was glad to have all my healthy, happy boys out and about.
Tonight I've been working on Mason's scrapbook. I've done a pretty good job of keeping it up since he was born, but it kind of got away from me over the past year! I've had to spend the last few nights updating it, and it's almost finished. Then I need to start one for Will and Hays. I have a drawer full of pictures (not to mention over 800 on the digital camera) that I'd better get organized before it gets completely overwhelming!