Joe and Harry: October 2010

Sunday, 24 October 2010

October's update

We have had a pretty uneventful month so not a great deal to blog about.

The babies are physically progressing wonderfully and are getting so much stronger. It's lovely to see the small improvements they make and we really appreciate and celebrate everything they do. They are still a way off being able to sit alone but both babies are experts at lifting their heads and shoulders off the ground when laying on their tummies, and they can both grab toys and put them in their mouths. Harry has rolled over a few times overnight, from his tummy to his back, and Joe can often be found sleeping on his side now, but neither has attempted to roll during the day yet.

Today the babies had their first real food - some toast and butter! Harry has some problems with his hands so I mostly held it for him to suck but he seemed to enjoy it. Joe snatched his and annihilated it with a minute. I was a little anxious as we haven't even progressed from pureed food to lumps yet so was expecting their gag relexes to kick in but they did well and we will continue with a little each day.

As mentioned above we have some concerns about Harry's hands. If you look at his pictures, particularly the ones of him and Joe in their new hats you will notice how stiff and clenched his hands look. The main problem seems to be with his thumbs. He is actually able to open his hands but his thumbs tend to stay turned towards his palms. This obviously stops him from being able to grab things effectively. His torso is also quite stiff and his shoulders feel like they are kind of pulling back all the time, like he has to physically make an effort to bring his arms forward instead of that being their natural position. We will mention it at the next developmental check up which is the end of November and hopefully they will suggest some physiotherapy to loosen him up.

Joe was seen a couple of weeks ago by the pediatrician as there are some concerns about his slow weight gain. The long and the short of it is that he is healthy and happy, just small so we were sent away and told not to worry unless he actually starts losing weight.

This week is a busy one for the babies. Tomorrow they are getting two flu jabs each, and on Wednesday they are due to have kidney scans to check for calcium deposits caused by prematurity. Both babies have blood and protein in their urine so we are hoping that the scans show calcium deposits which will improve by itself as they grow. The other concern is that they have the same kidney condition as their brother which is as yet undiagnosed properly. A kidney biopsy and genetic testing have failed to identify the cause of Ben's blood and protein. He is healthy and well and we don't give it much thought apart from the quarterly visits to the hospital.