Eating Out

We had an appointment at the developmental clinic at U of M yesterday for both girls. This appt was scheduled for us upon leaving the nicu, and is a matter of routine for 24-week preemies to monitor their development in the hopes of identifying any problems early and getting intervention. We spent about 3 1/2 hours there and really liked the doctor. It seemed like the general consensus was "so far, so good." There are a couple of things we will be keeping an eye on, but no significant problems with physical development thus far. We will be mainly be watching for signs of Cerebral Palsy, which can range from very mild, such as slight stiffness in the ankles, to severe. Early intervention, in the form of physical therapy, is very important either way. CP is much more common in preemies than in the general population. We will go to the clinic for a routine series of 5 visits at 4 months, 8 months, 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. At 24 months the girls will see a psychologist who will do the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Of course, I mention this because I have given this test before at my job. It will be very interesting to see this from another perpective, as the "parent" rather than the "examiner." The resident doctor did a Bayley Screener yesterday, and my conclusion is that they are pretty much on target for 3 1/2 month olds. We also got new weights, lengths, and head circumferences. Both babies are at the 25th %ile on all three for their corrected age.

Ok, now for the more exciting news... After our appointment John and I fed the babies, then headed to Tuptim (our favorite Thai restaurant in AA) for dinner. We took the babies out to eat!!! It was their first time anywhere other than home or doctors appointments. More than anything, we were nervous about them throwing a fit and how we would handle it:) They did really well, and showed signs that they may just become the future restaurant connoisseurs that we hope they will be. We ran into a couple of John's co-workers who were quite pleased to get a peek at the famous babies they have heard so much about. I was really bummed that we forgot the camera so weren't able to get any pics. The pic above is from this morning, lounging in bed before their afternoon nap. This is one of my favorite times of the day...