8-9 months

So they were totally holding hands, looking at each other and smiling.  I sprint to grab the camera and rush in... Just in time for them to let go.  This picture is about half as cute, but 15 minutes later they locked arms.

Sorry.  I have slacked off on my responsibilities of updating the twin's adoring fans.  I apologize.  There is a twin dad that blogs that I was reading before all this.  He had a recent post about how to "break out of survival mode."  I haven't had time to read it yet but the headline does call out to me.  Since my last update, we have had some major updates.  One of the updates is we bought a new house and moved.  Well, moved MOST of our stuff.  We were fortunate enough to have a month of overlap in the 2 houses so I can bring a carload home every day.  Getting our old house listed was a chore.  I like to DIY because of the cost and quality of work.  During that past 2 months, Trish proved how amazing she is by single parenting much of that time so I could act like a carpenter/handyman/mover in both houses.

Anyway, shortly after our last post, Scarlett became oxygen free!  She has not needed oxygen for about 6 weeks now and shouldn't need it except if she gets very sick.  We even received the go-ahead to stop using her pulse-ox overnight, so we have a completely wireless baby!  As of yesterday she was 14 pounds 6.4 ounces and 25 inches.  She is finally registering on the chart for weight, and is almost on it for height (technically she is 0.68th percentile) but her adjusted age puts her much closer to the 30th percentile.  The doctors only care about the curve (maybe that statistics course wasn't a waste after all!), and not about the ranking, and are pretty happy with her results.  Her head circumference of 42.2 cm is the 15th percentile in actual age, but we also don't know how accurate the measurement is because her head shape is not good.  All of the days she spent on the oscillator were days that her head could not be rotated to allow for it to shape naturally.

Both kids now have helmets to correct their Plagiocephaly or flat head syndrom.  This is purely cosmetic, but we have until around 12 months corrected to get it under control because at that point the bones start to fuse together and are less malleable.  They will wear the helmet 23 hours/day every day until the doctor is satisfied with her head shape.  Scarlett's head shape is more severe due to the time she spent on the high frequency oscillator in the hospital.  The nurses and Occupational Therapist do a great job rotating the babies but that machine has very rigid tubing and works in a different way, so most of the time they left her where she was during those weeks.

"Ehh, I am not too sure about this daddy...  People will think I am a boy with this hat on!"

Grayson has been oxygen free during days for about a month now!  He does get his oxygen at night.  He may be slightly taller than his sister at 25.3 inches but it is tough to get true measurements on babies.  He did weigh in at a whopping 16.42 pounds, which is not actually on the chart for his actual age but is in the 7th percentile!  He would be right at the 50th percentile using his adjusted age.  Of course this means his weight for length is in the 72nd percentile, so we may be growing a future Ohio State fullback!

The dietitian cleared Grayson to try real (baby) food!!!!  It is amazing to me that "well-baby" parents make all of these decisions for themselves while we have specialists dedicated for any and everything, but that is another topic.  The dietitian wanted him to be able to sit up on his own, able to support his own head and then want our food and seem interested in using his tongue.  So far, he has tried squash, green beans, and carrots.  The only time he seemed to really eat, was the most recent attempt with carrots.  With the other foods, more came out of his mouth than down his throat!

"Green beans are fun to play with but I am getting hungry.  Can we eat soon???"

"Oh I get it!  You swallow it.  Mmmmm, that's good!"

The only other update I can think of are their eyes.  Their follow up last week went pretty well.  We are not worried about ROP anymore!  They are going to see them again in 3 months to confirm as well as check on Scarlett's eye crossing.  They have improved over the past 3 months, but still cross when she is focusing on things nearby.

If you are following along in the blog, thinking that I don't send enough updates:
1) I am sorry!
2) Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuckeyeTwinDad

Our 8 month photo shoot was in the "Buckeye Pod" made by our "aunt" Colleen.  Although we never smiled at the same time, we love it because we look SO adorable!

 Brothers!