Elaine's First "Mom" Birthday & Other News

What big plans did I make to celebrate Elaine's first birthday as a mom? I basically blew it. Instead of planning a grand gesture, poor Elaine settled for eating out at a restaurant for the first time since the babies came home. OK, it wasn't a restaurant so much as a coffee/lunch counter, but there was seating, and they did carry our food out to us when it was ready. That's pretty close, and at least I didn't have to tip ;). We're not really supposed to take the kids to crowded public places - so that puts a lot of limitations on where we can eat. Basically, we need to be able to maneuver the stroller into a spot where the yokels can't breath or paw at the kids, and luckily there's a nice little place near the house that allows just such an arrangement.

Elaine feeds Maddy after a nice birthday breakfast.

Maddy - girl of leisure.

The following day we headed out for a walk along the Alameda shoreline.

Milo recovers after a tummy time workout.

Milo - cooing and smirking.

In other news, the kids had their first visit with the pulminologist on Monday at Children's Hospital. The news was basically good. Maddy is now 11 lbs 4 ozs, which means she put on 3/4 of a pound in a week. Very impressive. Milo weighed in at a hefty 10 lbs 6 ozs, but trailing little sister by a wide gap. The babies' pulminologist, Dr. Hsia, was generally impressed with Maddy's progress, but the little girl's voice is still very hoarse. It's possible that it's just taking some extra time for her to heal from all her intubation, but there a few other potential complications that could stem from her PDA surgery way back in July. To determine the exact problem, Maddy will need to return for a bronchoscopy.

Milo is also doing very well generally. (Most doctors are pretty impressed when they see the kids, especially if all they've seen thus far are their medical records.) Milo is still laboring to breath a little, which is evident from the fact that his adomen retracts a little with each breath -- not a lot, but enough to raise an eyebrow. Milo is also having a little trouble with eating. He tends to choke and sputter a bit during feeds and is generally a "disorganized" feeder. Dr. Hsia is having Milo complete a feeding study to determine whether he might be aspirating (breathing in) some of his milk. Continued aspiration can harm his lungs, so we'll need to get that resolved fairly soon. Luckily, the treatment is probably just a matter of adding some thickener to his feeds.

This all means more appointments, but it will be good to get these issues resolved. Milo is also due for his surgical counsel in another week or two to repair the hernia, so stay tuned.