Another ex-preemie in need

A few months back I met a mom of twins who were born at 24 weeks. This is an amazing family! Chasity is mom to Isabella and Landon. The twins are two and everyday is exciting in their house! Chasity is a single mom and recently they found that Isabella has cancer in her liver. She is on a waiting list for a liver transplant. Thankfully, they have good insurance-but there will be lots of other costs involved. Chasity will be out of work for quite a while and she will have to pay for full-time care for Landon who also has special health needs. They have recently set up a donation site and donations are tax deductible. I have included a link to their fundraising site-she just got it up and running today! As you pray for our kids, please pray for their family too!

A Good Report

Both kids did well at their 4 month checkup. Matthew is doing so well in the growth department, that he is just about off the preemie growth charts. We are very happy about that. Matthew weighs 12lb7 oz and Anna Kate weighs 10lbs4oz. Matthew's cardiologist appointment went well. he was very pleased with Matthew's growth. The Dr. had gotten a call from his therapist that she thought his legs were swollen. That would not have been good news. In fact, the doctor said he was expecting to have to send us to Charleston the next day. But, when he saw him, he said he was just fat! :-) We will go back to see him next month.

A Busy Week

Last week was full of adventure! Our NICU follow up appointment went well on Tuesday. Both kids are on track developmentally for their adjusted age. Matthew's head shape is something we are going to watch. Brent says he has a permanent sun shade built in because of his forehead. The physical therapist said she thinks we can fix it with positioning. We will go back in a month to check it. They won't see the nurse practitioner again for three months. They gave us information regarding their percentiles. They use a regular growth chart, (not preemie), but base it on their adjusted age. They said the percentile they really watch is head circumference because that is an indicator of brain growth. Here are the stats:
Matthew Anna Kate

Weight 12lbs 1.25 oz-60th%ile 9lb 11.75 oz-30th%ile


Length 22.25 inches-50th%ile 21.25 inches-25th%ile


Head Cir 16.5 inches-95%ile 15.34inches-90th%ile


I started back to work on Wednesday. It was a good week back and great to see all the people I work with and the parents. However, we lost power Wednesday while I was at work due to high winds. We didn't get power back until Thursday evening. So, we used the generator to heat the basement and huddled up down there. As you can see by one of the pictures-the kids kept each other warm!

We are all looking forward to a visit from Grammy Morrow this week. She will be coming on Thursday and will leave on Monday.

I am constantly encouraged and touched by the people I meet who have been praying for us and the kids. This week at work, I got a beautiful card in my box from a group called Moms in Touch. It said they had been praying for me and would continue to do so and welcomed me back to Buena Vista. I have also been in contact with a teacher at another school whose church group has been praying for us and has put together a basket of items. This mom has a particular connection to us as she has BBG triplets and her daughter's name is Anna Kate. I got her email on Friday afternoon and it was a great end to a hectic week.

Both kids seem to have a cold and aren't quite themselves. Nanny and Grampy (aka The Downstairs Daycare) will be taking them to the doctor tomorrow for their scheduled checkup. Matthew will also be going back to the cardiologist on Tuesday for a follow up. The lacix doesn't seem to be working quite as well-so we are going to check to be sure the holes haven't gotten any larger.

We had the kids evaluated by an occupational therapist last week as well. She didn't see any real areas of concern, but is going to be working with them 30min each every week. Like she said, they are supposed to "magically catch up" to their actual age by the time they are two. So, anything we can do to help would be good.

My new realistic goal is to post once per week :-). So, we'll see if that works out!

A New Year and a New Blog

I am glad you have found our new blog. It was such a blessing to have everyone follow the other blog during the last year. I can't believe how Matthew and Anna Kate are growing. On Tuesday, they will go to the NICU follow up clinic for their first appointment. They both seem to be doing really well. We had someone come to the house to take some pictures. I can't wait till I can take them to a photo studio!

We had a quiet Christmas. Brent's sister, Brenda, and her family stayed here one night on their way home to Florida from Maine. Then Brent's parents went with them to spend some time in Florida. They are coming home tomorrow and I know the kids miss Nana and Grampy!

I will be going back to work on Jan 7th. The kids will stay with Brent or his parents. I am thankful that my job allows me to get home at a good hour and that I have Spring Vacation to look forward to!

I am not sure how frequently I will be able to post-but I will try for once a week!