Monday, April 26, 2010

Rollin' Kid

Crew rolled off the bed for the first time today!

Awful, huh? Yes, I felt really guilty and panicked some.

But it's also very exciting at the same time!! He has officially become untrustworthy on the bed! Wahoo!! Milestone!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Baby Fang

I spoke way too soon about Crew returning to his normal sleep-trained self. He has been a beast ever since I made that post, some days/nights worse than ever.

HOWEVER... last night at the park, in the fading sunlight....

He showed me the four new teeth he has been working on. He has one that must have popped through in the last 48 hours and three more that should be through by the weekend (oh, please be through by the weekend...)

I feel silly.

This explains so much.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Right There In Produce

I had a sweet experience this morning at the grocery store, one that has brought the last few years full circle. I was standing by the cabbages, trolling through my grocery list for the last time, making sure I hadn't left anything behind. In that moment, I was stopped by a woman with her own cart full of kids and groceries.

She rushed over to me and said, "You have a blog, don't you?! You are a digital scrapper, right? You had the twins?"

Yes, yes, and yes. That's me! (Plus or minus a few pounds...)

She then shared her feelings about our family, and told me how she has followed our story from the beginning. With emotion, I introduced her to our critters, including little Crew. I then met her small boys, including her new baby who was actually very nearly named Crew.

We hugged. Because that's ok in the produce section.

What a small world.

What a beautifully small world.

Is it lame that I was so relieved that we were all freshly bathed and the kids were well enough behaved that not a single one of us were in tears?

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Crew Is Back!

Crew slept for 11.5 awesome hours last night! Welcome back, tiny prince!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Midnight Monster

Crew was sick a few weeks ago and we slept on the couch together for most of several nights. I braced myself to hold him the entire night, if necessary, but whenever his fever went down, he wiggled, arched his back, and whined until I put him back in his bed where he wanted to be.

He has slept happily and contentedly in his crib for the last week, 12 blissful hours each night, just like his old, sleepy self.

For the past two nights, we have been back on the couch together. (I choose the couch because Justin has to get up before dawn to work, so I leave the bed for him during midnight madness events.) While he is napping fine in his bed during the day, Crew has suddenly decided that the only place he can sleep after dark is in the crook of my arm. What in the world? Crew!! You are not a newborn!

He shrieks like he's being boiled in oil until I nuzzle him up tight and practically suffocate him with snuggles, pinning him between myself and the couch cushion. Then he relaxes and drifts into deep sleep, putting my arm into its own deep sleep.

On the one hand, it's very flattering. And kinda sweet. He smells so delicious.

On the other hand...

I CAN'T SLEEP LIKE THIS!!!!

We have mean plans for our little prince tonight. Unless I intend to hold him in the crook of my arm on the couch until he's 5, I have to make my move. I'm already so sad for him. I'll probably cry almost as much as he does. I casually suggested to Justin that maybe the tiny guy could join us in our bed long-term if he was really really quiet. Denied!

I'm about to pop open my second Diet Coke.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Big Boy Oatmeal

Crew ate about a dozen bites of big boy maple and brown sugar oatmeal this morning! He only gagged a few times and threw up a little bit once. All in all, a successful big boy breakfast!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Crew's Eval

PT Julie came and spent the last few hours with us, testing Crew. I was kind of dreading it, but was very pleasantly surprised with the results!

Crew is 17 months old chronologically, but his "adjusted age" is 14 months and we base all of our expectations on his "adjusted age", when he should have been born. The purpose of this testing is to see how far he has progressed, requalify him for services, and to evaluate where he is on the general continuum of development.

The results are in:

Gross motor: 8 months. This is about what I expected. His body movements, strength, and skills remind me a lot of Tanner and Kinley at 8-9 months. He continues to show steady progress in this area. His muscles continue to loosen and his coordination continues to improve, pushing an official Cerebral Palsy diagnosis farther from our radar. He needs time and work. Time we have; work we're willing to do. I have a private unofficial goal to have him walking by his 3rd birthday. Or before!

Fine Motor: 12 months

Self-Help: 12 months

Social/Emotional: 12 months

Language: 13 months

Cognition: 14 months!

I wasn't sure what to expect in all the other areas and was quite giddy with his placement. Not bad for a little guy born without a heartbeat who wasn't expected to live through the night, eh??

GO, CREW!!!!

He also continues to improve with his chewing and swallowing. I'm not ready to call in a feeding therapist yet, though they stand ready if and when I think we have reached an impasse and need their assistance. I can't justify the intrusion right now if he continues to progress, however slowly. He eats, chews, and swallows a little bit better every week/month.

Well, the little beast is worn out from his big day and needs a snuggle and a nap. I just couldn't wait to report the good news!!

Leaps AND Bounds

My little critter just started reaching very purposefully to be picked up. No more arm flapping and yelling. I get the one-arm lunge! Good boy!

He surprised us last night by rolling from his belly to his back to his belly in one motion. Whoa! He's gonna figure out soon that it's a viable method of transportation!

He slept for 12 straight hours last night. Ahhhhh.... that's a gift.

He's just doing a thousand new things a day! You crazy little miracle!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Widdle Cwew

He's all betta.

And he slept almost the whole night, except for a coughing fit that woke him for a widdle snack at 5:15. I can accept that. Gladly.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Cruddy Crew

Blech. This has been a nice week because Justin's sister Kayla has come into town and we've been able to enjoy spending time her and some of our cousins that we don't get to see very often. It's been a cruddy week because Crew has been sick.

He is much improved, but really gave us a scare on Wednesday night by presenting with a midnight 103.3 fever. That was with a full dose of ibuprofen in his system for a few hours. In fact, it may have been higher, but it was taking so long to climb the thermometer that I opted to stop taking his temp and get busy pulling out all the stops to get his temperature down. That was a pretty scary night.

He has been extremely cuddly, which would be enchanting if he hasn't been otherwise so pathetic. His cough has greatly improved and he is sleeping better. He still has a low appetite, but he continues to eat enough to satisfy my expectations. His fever is very low and sometimes nonexistent. His breathing hasn't been compromised (Chronic Lung Disease what??) Now he's mostly just fussy and wants to be held and carried about. And his boogies are none-too-charming.

I'm crazy tired since I haven't slept many winks since Monday night. Our couch is beautiful, but I've discovered that it's not that comfy, especially when it's shared with a fevered, hacking, wiggly little critter. I did get a 22-minute nap this afternoon in my sweet bed, which wasn't nearly long enough. Kinley and Tanner are still enjoying their naps and they are pushing 3 hours now. Little luckies. I just got Crew back down to finish his previously interrupted nap, but I don't dare lay myself down now, at almost 5 pm.

We have a nice weekend planned, if all goes well. Crew is so much better and I've already pre-fluffed my pillow in anticipation for tonight's good sleep.

Only 13 more days of tax season. I. think. I. can.