High-Risk Clinic

Avigail and Deacon had their high-risk infant follow up today. This was with Dr. Stolz, one of the neonatologists that took care of the kids during their stay in the NICU. Avigail was a little show-off and sat through her whole appointment (they last about an hour for each child). The doc is extremely impressed with Avigail. He said that it is very rare to have a preemie be sitting up at this age.

Deacon is doing very well too. Dr. Stolz also mentioned the lack of abdominal strength, but with some exercises at home, we expect him to be sitting up in no time at all.

Overall, the appointment went really well. Deacon started a "new thing" this morning and decided that he likes sticking out his tongue. So, what does he do during the whole appointment? He sticks his tongue out at the doctor the entire time. Dr. Stolz was pretty amused.

Avigail - 16 lbs 6.3 oz, 26.5" long
Deacon - 19 pounds 12.2 oz, 28" long

Deacon next to his first preemie outfit that he fit into at about 4 pounds

Physical Therapy

Avigail and Deacon had their 6 month corrected (9.5 months old) OT/PT assessment today. Scores between 85-115 fall within normal limits. Avigail scored really well - 110 for fine motor (equivalent to a 7 month old), 100 for both gross motor and cognitive (equivalent to a 6 month old). The therapist was very surprised with I put Avi down for the appointment and she was able to sit on her own.

Deacon was less than thrilled to be at the appointment. He was ready for both a feeding and a nap during the session. He scored 95 in cognitive (equivalent to a 6 month old), 80 on fine motor and 75 on gross motor. His scores were slightly below normal and so the therapist gave us some exercises that we can work on at home with him. He's having the most trouble balancing which is due to lack of abdominal strength. This is very common in preemies since they didn't have the last 15 weeks curled up in the womb. He will start physical therapy to help work on his abdominal strength.

Refresher - fine motor skills are small movements such as grabbing something, gross motor skills are bigger movements such as sitting up and cognitive is the process of thought.

A Few Photos

Tummy time isn't so bad...

Deacon with his toe in his mouth

Avi fell asleep in her high chair

9 Months

Avigail - 15 lbs 9.5 oz (5th percentile) and 26.5" long (15th percentile)
Deacon - 18 lbs 12 oz (25th percentile) and 27.5" long (25th percentile)

These percentiles are based on their date of birth (NOT their corrected age). We are VERY pleased that they are even on the charts being that they were 15 weeks early.

The kids started rice cereal on March 24th. About 10 days later we were able to start them on puree's. So far, they have tried carrots, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches and pears. The first spoonfuls always get the best sour looking face. Deacon opens his mouth and is always ready for seconds and thirds! Avigail is a bit more interested as to what is going in her mouth. She likes to inspect the food first.

A couple of days ago, Deacon started saying "da-da-da-da-da".


And...Avi finally rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time.

Avigail's First Attempt At Solids

Sweet Potatoes

Easter

Deacon's First Attempt At Solids

Bananas