Georgetown Appointment

Yesterday was our appointment at the Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic.  Of course, I had my list of things to cover:)  But they were actually surprised at how short the list was in the end!  I guess that means we are doing pretty well...

First off, their stats:  Paige weighs 11 pounds, 11 ounces and is 23.7 inches (weight 54%, height 67% for adjusted age).  Andrew weights 12 pounds, 11 ounces and is 22.6 inches (weight 55%, height 17%).  Its amazing to think that our tiny, little baby boy has gained 10 POUNDS since birth!  That is 5 times his birth weight!  Amazing.  Based on their growth, we talked about adjusting calories and introducing solids.  The decision is to leave them on the preemie formula for a couple more months and to wait on solids until they are 7 months (5 months adjusted).  They do believe that especially Andrew is still in the "catch up" phase from his growth restriction in utero and needs the extra nutrients.  I guess this gives him an excuse for his ravenous (and I mean crazy ravenous!) behavior and needing to wake up every couple hours in the middle of the night to eat still...we won't complain for a couple more months:)

The big items on my list were mostly related to development.  I was interested in gathering the Neonatologists' opinions about their progress and see their thoughts on Early Intervention.  Their response:  "Why wouldn't you try to get them services?  You know they're delayed.  Call now."  So I went home and placed the call to Fairfax County's Infant and Toddler's Connection Program (ITC).  I already got a call back from the intake coordinator and we will be hearing from our case manager by early next week.  I was surprised at their efficiency after the rumors I had heard!  But I also found out that Paige and Andrew automatically qualify for the program simply based on the time they spent in the hospital.  This is awesome and really is how it should be.  Fairfax is actually a little ahead of the game though because this is currently the push Nationally...its just most places haven't put it into practice yet.  So the next step - meeting with our assigned case manager and evaluation by two independent developmentalists to determine what services they need and what our goals are.  I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Overall, the appointment went really well and their group continues to be amazed at how well they are doing.  They truly are our little miracles and Jack and I are so thankful every day for how lucky we are.  I guess our long, stressful ordeal was worth it - I mean, look how cute they are!

 3 Months Adjusted on Saturday

Big girls put their hands together:)

And big boys wear sweaters:)