On our very vest behavior

The triplets have been on their very vest behavior lately.

Gees, these boys are so "punny"!

This week we went to a NICU development follow up clinic. We knew it would be a long appointment because the neonatal doctors told us in advance so Thomas took a half day off work so he could be there with me. We met with a nurse, an occupational therapist (OT), and a few others. The nurse had an extensive background and previously worked in the NICU for years. She had a wealth of knowledge and was very helpful! She told us she thought William has reflux, which probably explains a lot of his fussiness and crying. She even called our pediatrician to let her know that we needed a prescription for reflux medicine. Stokes and Ryan were already on reflux medicine so now all 3 boys are taking it. Apparently reflux is fairly common in babies and even more so in preemies. Overall the boys checked out well with lifting their heads and using their muscles during tummy time, but the OT noticed a flat spot on Stokes and Ryan's heads, which indicates that they prefer to lay facing the right. I got some homework for positioning to help round out their heads and some neck stretches to use on Ryan. We will have a follow up sometime in February to check it out again.

The good thing about the development clinic is that they do everything based on adjusted age instead of actual age. The boys are 4.5 months actual, but only 1.5 adjusted . They gave me growth charts based on adjusted age, which is awesome! At the pediatrician, our growth charts are based on actual age and the boys are not really even on the chart, which is discouraging. On our adjusted growth chart, the boys are all looking great for weight, length and head circumference. YES!!!

Here are there updated stats:

Stokes - 10 lbs, 12.5 oz, 22.25 inches
Ryan - 10 lbs, 5.4 oz, 23 inches
William - 11 lbs, 22.5 inches

We also went for their 4 month appointment at the pediatrician this week. We talked to her more about the reflux issues, I got a lot of questions answered, and they got their vaccinations. It was 4 shots in the legs and 1 oral vaccination. It was very, very sad to witness. I have decided that I will not attend any other vaccination appointments...ok, that is not true, but I definitely didn't like it and have to fight back a few tears myself when they were crying so hard. Fortunately, they calmed down shortly after it was over and slept a good bit that afternoon. They did seem extra fussy the next day, which I attributed to the shots.

We made it through another week and TGIF! Thomas actually has to work most of the weekend for the annual sales meeting and my Aunt Kathy is here with me to help out. Thank goodness! We sure will miss Dad this weekend though.