08-16-11

We went for the girls 15 month check up on Tuesday and went for their yearly eye exam on Friday.

The pediatrician check up was okay. They did get great marks in everything expect their size. They got the chicken pox and MMR (mumps, measles and rubella). I will have to get their exact weights. But I believe Brooklyn was 17 3/4 lbs and Quinn was 18 lbs.

Dr. Steele has recommended the girls to see a Nutritionist for further review on their eating habits so we can plump them girls up. According to the growth chart, they are both the weight of 7 months old. Quinn is the height of a 13 month old and Brooklyn is the height of a 10 month old. They are gaining weight at a good pace. They are expected to be caught up in size by age two. However, they are not gaining enough to close that bridge. Basically, she wants them to have the opportunity to catch up and not be small for the rest of their lives. We will see what happens with that appointment.

They are just so active it is hard to imagine them gaining weight. Brooklyn will walk in circles while drinking her sippy cup of formula. So the crazy girl is burning as she is gaining. And trust me, there is NO tying those busy bodies down. They are on the go constantly. Brooklyn just walked around the house last night just to walk. She clearly had no purpose. She was just stomping around at a quick pace. As she was walking, she was laughing.

The girls did well with the shots. Now that they are not getting as many and as often, they aren't taking it as well as they used to take it. Brooklyn was more of a trooper than Quinn. Drama Queen Quinn played on Brittany's heart strings and continued to whine and cry far beyond the doctor's appointment. She is really good at that game. I will say that the girls did much better with the shots then Brittany did!!! When I looked at her to switch babies after Brooklyn had her shots, she was turned facing the wall. She was so upset that she wouldn't even face in the same direction. Needless to say, when Dr. Steele came in to give results of Brooklyn's iron count, which was better, she asked Brittany if she was okay. I was laughing. These two babies got the shots and the Dr. is more concerned with how Brittany was after wards. Too funny. I told Dr. Steele that she has already said she will not be back for more shots. So the girls handled the shots better than their Nit Nit!

Richard and Brittany took the girls to the eye exam on Friday. I wanted Richard to witness how odd Dr. Bordenca is. I even went over the exam from start to finish with Richard and placed bets on how many words would come out of Dr. Bordenca's mouth. He is a man of extremely few words. Both Brittany and Richard agreed that he was a very odd man. The exam went so great that he recommended they come back in two years. My little girls are slowly proving themselves. Nothing can hold them down.

Brooklyn's Endocrinologist wanted Quinn to get her thyroid checked. He wanted to make sure the hypothyroidism is just due to prematurity. Since they were identical, he wanted to eliminate Quinn so he could be sure it wasn't genetic. This would also prove Brooklyn's to be due to prematurity and increase her chances of being tapered off the medication. Although she still has a couple of years before that is even considered, she would not have to remain on Synthroid for the rest of her life. We anxiously await those results.

I like knowing that my girls  have a chance at a life past prematurity. Although they may not remember what all they have been through, I want them to know what they did and how they did it. I want them to excel past that part of their life. I don't want their prematurity to be a handicap for them. I want them to know they will and can do anything because they survived. They were and are one of the smallest fighters this world has to offer. They may be smaller than average for the rest of their life but I will constantly remind them that if the world had the will, passion and warrior attitude they had in the womb and out, the world would be a better place. It would be a place of peace because people would cherish all that they have been given. People will respect others for who they are not just what the have done in life. They will know that life is very valuable and not all people have the opportunity to explore a life. Many babies do not get to be carried out of the NICU in their carseats. Many babies do not get to see their first hour of life. They will understand how special they are and how they need to use that in life for positive use.

As many of you may remember, Yeah Babies walked last year for the first time. We walked in honor of Quinn and Brooklyn and in memory of Jacob and Joshua. Jacob and Joshua's parents, Tim and Monica, and I had a meeting with the March of Dimes Gwinnett County Chapter Director, Kandis Burney,  this past Thursday. She is a wonderful woman with tons of passion for her work. She is putting together a Family Team Committee in Gwinnett County. She wanted us to be on that committee. She is looking for mission driven people to head the committee. So we would be helping other Family Teams get started and guide them. We would also be able to cater to the families in the NICU.

Right now, all beds are full in the NICU. They have 42 babies currently at Gwinnett Medical Center NICU. We would meet and take them things like magazines, dinners, etc. We would be there as a family that has been in their shoes to lend support and a helping hand. I know that talking with people that had been sitting in the same chair rocking their premature baby, helped me more than anyone could ever know. You feel overwhelmed with support from your family and friends. But it is always different talking with those that know exactly your pain and concerns. Tim mentioned to me a while back that he wanted to support them in other ways. He wanted to get gas cards, or hotel rooms to give the families. He said that in this economy, people should not have to chose if they should pay their electric bill or fill up their car to make it to the hospital. He wanted to support them in those needs that people rarely think about. Just take a small burden off their shoulders to concentrate on their babies. I also mentioned the drive for us was 45 minutes. I said we visited twice on Saturday and Sunday. I told him what I would give for an opportunity on a Friday night to go visit them and stay for as long as I could then get hotel and visit Saturday too. It would mean a good nights sleep close to my babies and not worry about that drive.

Too our surprise, Kandis said that we could work on getting companies like American Express to donate gift cards. She said we could do all that through the March of Dimes and much more. It was music to all of our ears. Our two families would be the face of Gwinnett Medical Center. Since both families think so highly of our experience and staff at GMC, she wants that to be our place of assistance and focus. She said that we would speak to other families and outings involving the March of Dimes and sponsors. She wants us to share our stories with corporate sponsors to give them a first hand account to what their donations are helping.

I am excited about this adventure. It is an opportunity to do great things and the March of Dimes as a backing for the resources. She did make a very great point. She said that everyone was a baby at some point. March of Dimes isn't about making premature babies healthy or to prevent prematurity. March of Dimes is about making it to where all babies are born healthy. I have been looking at it from a prematurity stand but we just want all babies born healthy and vibrant. They are starting a new campaign to require doctors to not take babies before 39 weeks. I am such a believer in this campaign. I didn't have a choice on how many weeks I got but many moms do have that choice and they need to understand they significance in waiting that extra week or two weeks.

Also, many people are not aware of the purpose behind March of Dimes. So that is one of our goals to introduce the world to the March of Dimes. We want to make people more aware.

This committee is not just for parents of premature babies. Kandis is looking for mission people to join. People that want to make that difference and keep Family Teams going. She said that many Family Teams quit after the first year walking. They say their babies are healthy and they don't need to walk again. So many more babies are not healthy. I am walking for those 42 babies in the NICU as we speak.

I encourage any and all of you that is interested in joining the committee to let me know. Our goal is to raise $30,000 in Gwinnett County for the 2012 year.

We are starting up fund raising for the Yeah Babies. If you have any ideas for fund raisers, please let us know. We are looking forward to raising monies for healthy babies!