Now it's Riley's turn

Friday, Riley started with a cough and sneezing. He's wheezing and has a runny nose. I was shocked that he wasn't sick after being so close to Addison but I guess it just took him a few days to show signs. He seems to be handling it a little bit better than Addison did. Addison still has a slight cough and they're both now getting nebulizer treatments.
When I took Addison we were given a prescription for Xopenex. It's the same stuff they got in the NICU and it's similar to albuterol, without a lot of the side effects. Their pediatrician called in enough for 48 treatments and 2 refills. I can't wait for them to both be healthy again.

Addison is still sick

I just finished giving Addison his first nebulizer treatment. His cold seemed to be steady and today he wasn't getting any better and towards the evening, he started to get worse. He's got a horrible cough and still clear snot. He's a little bit wheezy but it's not in his lungs (that I can hear anyways). He slept most of the day and his temperature has been around 99.5. I thought his condition warranted a call to the on call doctor and she thought he would be ok to be seen in the morning. There's a bad stomach virus going through our hospital and we didn't want to risk exposing him to anything with an already weakened immune system. She said that when I come in, they'll try a nebulizer treatment and that if he responds, they'd send me home with a machine. I told her that I already had albuterol, saline, and a machine from my daughter so I was instructed to try a treatment to see if it helps.

Addison was really intrigued by the mask and the steam coming out. It seems to have helped a little bit. He's not wheezing as much and he is acting a bit happier. He's very raspy from coughing for days and he's not showing any signs of RSV. The on call pediatrician will have the nurse call first thing in the morning to schedule us an appointment. We still haven't heard any results from his culture on Sunday. I guess no news is good news.

Our first cold and Marching for Babies

Saturday I noticed Addison coughed a few times. Yesterday he woke up and I suctioned some clear snot out of his nose and he seemed to be coughing every few minutes. I called the pediatrician and we were able to get him in around lunchtime. Have I mentioned how much I love that my pediatricians office is open 7 days a week??? So, Dr. Moffit, the boys regular pediatrician happened to be the one working this weekend. Addison had a low grade fever of about 100.3 but his lungs sounded clear and his breathing is completely normal. He has a cough, a runny nose with clear snot, and sneezes every so often. Dr. Moffit was not worried about RSV at all. He took a culture from each side of the nose and I'm patiently waiting to hear back. We should be hearing from them at some point today. He said it looks like a regular cold and possibly some allergies. He's still able to breathe through his nose and he's nursing fine except for when he coughs and gags. He's still his happy self.
I'm waiting for Riley to start with a cough and I'll be shocked if he doesn't get sick. We've had a few scares but this is our first "official" cold and I hate that he's not feeling well.

On another note...notice the new banner on the side of the page? If you click on that, it will take you to my sponsor page for the March of Dimes March for Babies. The March of Dimes is a fantastic organization that helps prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. They fund research, education, and advocacy so that one day, all babies will be born healthy.
Every year, they have a fundraiser called the March for Babies. This year, our family will be walking, not only in honor of Addison and Riley, but also in honor of our oldest son, Skylar, who was born at 32 weeks gestation. Please consider making a donation to help sponsor our family. Every little bit helps.

Finally some time to write

So, it's 5am, and I finally have some quiet time to update. So many things have happened in the past few weeks. Every time I try to sit down and type, I get interrupted and then my list of stuff to write about grows and it's hard to find time to just type.

So, where do I begin? The boys are doing fantastic! They both ran a few low grade fevers but I'm now convinced it was due to teething. They never ended up with colds or any other symptoms of being sick. They still haven't had teeth come through the gums but they're getting close. They both chew on their hands and toys. They're both able to hold toys which is awesome. They're tolerating tummy time better so they're working on pushing up. They roll from belly to back with ease. Riley can almost roll from back to belly. They're both still working on sitting and can stay upright for about 10 seconds.

Riley has been working really hard to catch up to Addison. He not only does everything that Addison does (he used to be about 2 weeks behind in development) but he is practically the same size as him! We had to go to a WIC appointment yesterday. Because the boys are considered "nutritionally at risk" I have to take them for weight checks for every appointment. Now, they weigh them with their clothes and diapers on but the boys were wearing the same outfits. Addison weighed in at 10lbs. 8oz. and Riley was an amazing 10lbs. 4oz.!!!!! At 9 months, they're finally passed the 10lb. mark! They're almost doubled in length since birth.

Riley had his first taste of rice cereal on the 15th. He didn't seem to like it as much as Addison. Addison has had it a few times now and he opens his mouth for the spoon and manages to get most of it in his mouth.

The boys went in for their last round of RSV shots on the 6th. RSV season is "officially" over in the beginning of April. We were given the ok to slowly venture out into the real world. I have spent much of the past 6 months, inside my house. Ian and I had been waiting for the day when we could do something as a family. We ended up going to a big pet store in Lancaster to pick up some stuff. We had an open house and we had to be out for a few hours. The big kids got to touch stingrays and as silly as it sounds, it was SO nice to be out, as a family.

Physical therapy is going great! Their therapist hopes to have them crawling (not necessarily on their hands and knees but at least creeping around on their bellies) by their birthday. I just can't imagine these guys moving around but I'm excited that they're developing as expected.

They're still nursing wonderfully. Most days I feel like all I do is sit and nurse but I wouldn't have it any other way.

One of the other big things is they're sleeping in their bassinet!! No more carseats and no more reflux problems!!! Often times they end up cuddled against each other.

Things are just going really, really well. They're happy babies who make me smile and laugh every day.