15 Months!

On September 26th, the babies will turn one year old corrected age. We're not celebrating it as another birthday, but it is fun to observe from a developmental standpoint. All in all, they are doing really well. They have both decisively picked up a new word "Up!" and both are continuing to motor around the house on their hands and knees. We have an increasingly rare doctor's appointment on Monday, and we'll find out their latest weights and measures. Should be exciting times -- come on! big numbers! big numbers!

Maddy is now clearly able to get off of the couch and other relatively low surfaces on her own - she kinda' backs up and drops her legs over the edge and then lets her self down. Very cute to watch. Maddy's third tooth is also starting to get more visible. Hopefully she'll get a few more so she can start looking a little more like Elly May and a little less like Granny Clampett.

Maddy - 19 September 2009

For his part, Milo is his usual bouncy self. He can't quite catch either of the cats yet, but he's trying awfully hard. I forgot to mention that we discovered a couple weeks back that Milo can climb stairs now. Hopefully he'll learn to push a lawn mower and vacuum soon too - or at least mix a nice White Russian. I kid.

Milo - 19 September 2009

Milo, Madeline, & Mom hanging out at Lafayette Reservoir - 12 September 2009

Maddy claps along.

Milo looking a little surprised.

More Preemie Stuff

It's been a while since we've had a post discussing development issues with M&M, and mostly that's because we've been very fortunate so far that M&M have avoided many of the most serious consequences of being born 15 weeks early. (For a recap of those potential complications, visit here and here. And for reference, M&M were both under 1000 grams - Milo was 950 grams (2 lbs.) and Madeline was 900 grams (1 lb 14 ozs.).) It's probably worth talking some more about where things stand.

The babies are just about twelve months corrected age (15 months calendar), and in terms of most their gross motor skills they are doing okay. They have many of the gross motor skills expected of babies their corrected age, though there are some gaps. Both the babies are crawling very quickly now, they can pull themselves up easily into the standing position, they feed themselves very well using their hands, and they can drink from a sippy cup or straw -- but it ain't always pretty. Both babies are getting physical therapy each week now. Maddy, in particular, is having some persistent trouble and has been working with physical therapist over the last couple weeks. Her problems mostly relate to her very jagged movements and limited range of motion. This is probably due to her reflux. She has shown good improvement this week, but she still tends to crawl with her head down a lot and bumps into things. Similarly, her lack of flexibility makes balancing a challenge and she falls over often. (A helmet was proposed, but it doesn't look like it will be necessary -- thankfully.) One of the other little habits she's developed is that she almost always kneels rather than sits. Doesn't sound too bad, but her kneeling style places a lot of extra pressure on her knees. The good news is that the PT really seems to be helping.

M&M standing at their play table. You can barely tell we have children living in the house.

Milo enjoys some milk from his cup.

The bigger and more concerning delays involve language. We definitely don't expect the kids to be chatting in complete sentences by this age, but this is the area where they are most behind. They can definitely say Ma-ma and Da-da (usually "Ma-ma-ma" and Da-da-da"), but that's about it. A few posts back, I gave them credit for a few additional words, but that was probably wishful thinking. Based on the typical milestones, M&M's language is somewhere short of 8 months. They both know their names, though they don't always respond when we call to them (maybe they've already advanced to their teens?). Milo very clearly shakes his head "no" when he doesn't want something, and both babies seem to have the gist of the word "no" when we say it. They also seem to know the names of a few familiar objects (e.g., ball, kitty, and a couple others), and we're definitely working much harder on this. They both babble a lot of different vowels and consonants. In fact right now, I'm watching Milo try to have a conversation with one of the cats.

Maddy with ball - 22 August 2009

In terms of their social and emotional development, the babies are basically on track, if a little behind, and seem to be between 9 and 12 months in terms of their behavior. They are both affectionate and are very excited to see familiar faces. They do show fear of strangers, but they tend to get over it and want to make friends quickly. They definitely show anywhere from some to a lot of anxiety when Elaine and I go to leave, which is normal. They try to cooperate and help with simple tasks like getting dressed. Though, changing Milo's diaper has become similar to wrestling with a greased pig.

The kids have adjusted well to daycare in general. They just finished their third week, and appear to like interacting with the other kids and teachers. The daycare is located on Coast Guard Island only a few blocks from my office, so I'm able to sneak down for a visit most days.

M&M hang out with Lang and Cameron

Other strange preemie things: Some of you may be wondering why both babies seem to be stuck with only their first two bottom teeth. Turns out very premature babies typically get their teeth late - often much later than other babies of similar corrected age. But the good news is that the teething still started right on time. :) Maddy looks like she may have a couple more on the way.

As is so often said of preemie development, it is truly a roller coaster ride. Often, it seems like the things that are a problem one day suddenly resolve overnight. So who knows? Maybe they'll take another big leap forward in the next couple weeks. They're due!

Standard Babies-in-the-Bath Pictures

Who doesn't love a couple babies in a bath tub? Well, here you have it - M & M along with a few of their favorite tub time toys.

A little film of the event.

And of course, here's our latest big ticket purchase - a luxurious swimming pool.

The Big Visit Back East

We are back from our east coast trip to Connecticut and Boston and are glad to report that the babies did as well as anyone could have reasonably expected on the seemingly interminable flights. We did the smart thing and bought a row of three seats, though we technically could have flown with M&M as lap infants (that would have been ugly). The babies slept a lot on both trips, but for the last couple hours they were generally pretty miserable and Milo had a major case of the wiggles. Still, there was minimal screaming and crying, and pretty much everyone on the plane was cordial. I assumed that flying with twins would earn us most hated status, but people were genuinely helpful and tolerant. The highlight of the flight was discovering that my children are easily amused for an hour+ by a bag of free Southwest peanuts. The low-light was having Milo bounce up and down on my lap for an hour+.

By the way, we lost about 30 to 50 pictures. Please don't feel slighted if you don't see your picture below. I'll try and round up pictures from the other folks with cameras and post those as well.

Mom and M & M hanging out at Oakland Airport, getting ready for a long day of flying.

The whole family - 25 July 09 - Westbrook, Conn.

Grandpa & Nedra hold M & M during a visit.

Several generations on hand to meet M&M. Above: Aunt Vera, Aunt Jane, Michelle, Uncle Ray.

Some how the timing worked out perfectly, and we arrived in Connecticut the day before Elaine's sister went into labor with her new baby boy Zak. Above: Elaine & Nova (Zak's big sister) hanging out with the new addition.

The first week in CT, we rented a beach house in West Brook and had a great time connecting with (and introducing the babies to) our old friends. Felt like we were getting the band back together!

Above: Milo and Uncle "G." Brian & his wife Alyssa were responsible for the quilts you see in many of the blog photos, including the one above.

Above: Michelle contemplates Milo, while Matt regales us with tales about his new perm. How does Matt get such a nice, oily sheen? Soul Glo.

Eminent dog proctologist, Dr. Brian Holdt, offers Maddy 5 minutes of uninterrupted eye contact. Maddy was completely fascinated by his bushy face, as were we all.

It was great to get see Sarah & Matt again and finally meet their daughter, the famous Auden (wearing the lovely, orange dress above).

Like all children, Milo took an instant liking to Sarah. Above: Milo crashes hard.

It was also great to visit with my older brother and his wife Pam. Above: Auntie Pam and Maddy.

Above: Milo & Maddy out for a ride in the O'Hara family wagon. Although we never made it down to the beach, my buddy Mark and his wife Lauren were kind enough to loan us the wagon to entertain and transport the babies while we were in town.

Maddy hanging out with Uncle John.

Above: Aunt Pam, Milo, Maddy, Uncle John.

M & M playing together.

Uncle Lester & Aunt Sherry holding Maddy.

Also great to see our old UUA pal Merry, Madu, their daughter Alexa -- who was Maddy's new best friend for the day. Above: Alexa, Merry, & Maddy.

Aunt Louise, Ari, and CJ with M&M.

After a week in Connecticut, it was time to pack up the kids and head to Boston for a couple days of Euchre with the Uginos. Proud to say that Jeff and I maintained our card playing dominance over the wives. They had us on the ropes a couple times, but we just kept coming back, just like Rocky.

Jeff & Laura's little girl, Ella. Ella has enormous feet.

Crazy Uncle Jeff seen above reading the NY Times and keeping a close watch over Maddy.

Cranky babies in the Boston Public Garden. Above: Milo tells us he hates the humidity even more than his Dad. Maddy invokes the hand to say, "enough already, I'm schvitzing for crying out loud."

Jeff & Ella prepare to head out on the swan boats.

Elaine & Maddy, Laura & Baby Gene Simmons.

Milo does his best James Dean impression while enjoying a nice picnic in the Jamaica Plain Arnold Arboretum. Funny, we talked about having a picnic there for the 10 years that we lived in the city, but we had to move to California and have twins in order to finally do it.

Maddy also enjoys herself at the Arboretum during one of the few days with relatively low humidity.

M&M ready for lunch.

Mom & Maddy.

After a nice couple days with Jeff and Laura, it was time to head back to Connecticut. But we couldn't possibly leave the Boston area without first chiseling a free pancake breakfast from Kevin, Toni, Leni & Zoe. Kevin is one of my oldest friends in the Boston area, and we were thrilled that his parole officer gave him a waiver for the day to allow him to visit with the kids. Seriously, as always, the Hicks-Dutt crew came threw with a great breakfast to send us off back to the motherland.

Above: Elaine, Milo, Leni, Maddy, Zoe, and Kevin.

We spent our last days in Connecticut visiting with family before heading back.

Above: Grandma Brown, Maddy, Great Grandpa, Elaine & Milo.

Above: Maddy meets her Great Grandfather.

After a long flight...

Above: (09 August 2009 ) Great to be back in Cali! The babies and Mom at Half-Moon Bay at the site of the legendary Mavericks surf break, which was obviously not in that day. Hopefully M&M will surf here in a few years when they're a little bigger. :)

It was a good trip overall. The only down side (other than the relentless plane and car travel) was that we missed seeing several friends. It's a tough thing living far away and only getting to visit for a couple weeks. Still, we definitely wish we could have seen everyone.

Special thanks again to Dad for helping with all the logistics; Nedra for the great cake and toys, Aunt Heather for the extra help with getting settled in; Mom & Tom; Jeff & Laura for letting a family of four invade their home; Kevin & Toni for the great meal; Mark & Lauren a weeks use of the wagon and for the great pizza; Austin and John for the rides to airport; and to Mike who kindly prevented our car from getting towed away back in California.