"Celebrating Every Preemie Milestone"

My guest post for this month, "Celebrating Every Preemie Milestone" is up on www.preemiebabies101.com.  You can click here to read it.  I wrote about how, as preemie parents, we celebrate each little milestone with a deep appreciation.  Please leave a comment over there and tell other preemie parents about what achievements you have celebrated with your preemie.

We've had worse; we'll have better!

Yesterday was a crazy day!  Over the weekend Camdyn had been telling me "ears hut" and "mouth huts".  I put some ear drops in her ears and waited to make an appointment on Monday.  On Monday, Brenna began telling me her throat hurt.  My mom was here, so she watched Cade while I took the girls to the pediatrician.  Brenna tested positive for strep throat again.  I thought she would be getting strep throat less frequently since she had her tonsils removed, but it still pops up often.  The doctor confirmed that Camdyn had a double ear infection and probably strep too although she spared her from getting swabbed since the antibiotic would cover it anyway.  

I was told to make an appointment with the ENT for Camdyn to discuss getting ear tubes placed.  She's had 5 ear infections since last April.  Brenna has had tubes placed twice.  I remember being so nervous/scared when Brenna had her first set of tubes placed at two years old.  This was, of course, before I had the twins.  While I will still worry about Camdyn going under anesthesia if tubes are necessary, it seems so trivial compared to what she has already been through.  Every situation is relative to what you have experienced.  I'll give an update after we hear from the ENT.

When I got home with my sick girls, my mom showed me Cade's head.  He was running with socks on across our tile floor and slipped.  He hit his head hard causing a gash in the back of his head about 3/4 inches long.  She had already cleaned and iced it.  We thought it would probably scab over soon.  I went to teach dance classes.  Jim called me at the dance studio when my classes were over to tell me I needed to come home to take Cade in to the hospital.  His cut was not scabbing over and was still bleeding.  Jim stayed home with the sick girls while Cade and I headed to the ER.  They numbed the area and then put three small staples in his scalp.  He didn't even cry!  I think he has an amazing tolerance for pain built up from his NICU days.  My mom said he only cried for a little bit after the fall.  When you ask him what happened to his head, he simply says, "I bumped" as if it is no big deal.

Here's my amazingly tough big guy at the ER.  The bandage is holding the numbing pad on the back of his head.  It looks like it is doing a much more serious job than holding cotton on his head.  I think he looks so cute here.

Oh yeah, and while I was at work and Jim was watching the sick girls and Cade with an open gash in his head, our septic system was malfunctioning.  He was dealing with all of that plus a broken septic system! 

And even with two cases of strep throat, a double ear infection, a trip to the ER, staples in the head, possible ear tube placement coming up, and a broken septic system, I'm thankful.  I know it could be so much worse.  That's what having babies 16 weeks early does to you.  I've tried to explain many times how my perspective about everything has changed since their very early arrival.  This is a pretty good example of that.  Just like Cade's simple explanation of staples in his head as "I bumped" we just had a bad day.  We've had worse, and we'll have better!

For the record, the girls are feeling much better today.  Camdyn still tells me "ears hut".  When I ask Cade if his head hurts, he tells me "no, it hut last week".  He means yesterday, but lately everything in the past is "last week".

Christmas 2012

Yes, I realize that it is almost the end of January, and I'm just now blogging about Christmas.  To my credit, I did try but blogger was down again.  Christmas feels like so long ago now that Valentine's decorations surround you as you walk into any store.

This Christmas was so much fun.  Camdyn and Cade were old enough to really enjoy opening "pwesents" and were so excited about everything they opened. 

Elfie, our Elf on a Shelf, left the kids these cute elf pajamas.  I think they look so adorable in them.  They've been wearing them long past Christmas!

Cade got a new train table and trains.  He is concentrating so hard to get those trains all lined up.

Brenna helped Grandma make mashed potatoes.

Cade loves playing with phones or any electronic device.  His cousin, Blake, is showing Cade something on his phone.

I love this picture below of me and the girls.  I was holding both of them on my lap.  We were tickling Camdyn to get her to smile.

Daddy assembling Brenna's new Barbie house.  The things daddies do for their little girls!