A Blog Giveaway for Micropreemie Parents

Intrigued? Visit Stacy's blog.

And for more about Scott Wright, the author of Team Spectacular: Micropreemie Power, visit his store (where you can also procure your own copy of the comic, in the event that you don't win the giveaway).

This would make a great gift for new NICU parents, too.

Snow Fun!

It snowed here in Philly pretty much non-stop from about 7pm on Friday night until a little after 2pm on Saturday. And this was no wimpy snow, either: while the original forecast suggested that the snow would be on the wet side and with an equivalence of 10 inches of snow per 1 inch of rainfall, they reported last night that, since the temperature here had dropped quite precipitously over the course of the day yesterday, we actually received 15 inches of snow per 1 inch of rainfall. What that amounted to was 28.5 inches reported at the Philly airport.

I have no idea what we received on our block inch wise, but this is what it looked like when we bundled the kids into the toboggan and headed out to the park that is (mercifully) just down the street:

Hallie got the hang of sitting up in the sled as Sharon pulled it, but Lea was a bit perplexed at the whole thing. She ended up turning the toboggan ride into an opportunity to make snow angels:

Hallie thought that her little sister was being hilarious:

Ultimately (like after five minutes), however, it became apparent that Lea was not having a huge amount of fun in the toboggan and, when she ended up with a face full of snow (there were no real tracks carved through the park), I headed in with Lea and Sharon took Hallie for a few races around one of the tiny side streets in our neighborhood. Hallie, sensory-seeking speed demon that she is, kept wanting to go faster and faster and would have had Sharon at it all night.

When Sharon had had enough, they came back here and were playing in the snow a bit. Hallie pulled off her glove (she hates wearing them and the only thing that keeps her current pair united are the mitten clips I got for her). She grabbed some snow and it was so cold that it hurt her hand. And then she fell. So she came back inside in tears, but did have a mostly excellent time outside in the snow. And what's better, I think, at least on some level, is that she talked with Sharon at bedtime about how she was feeling when she fell. She also talked about how Zen (our kitten) made her feel scared when he got too close to her on the bed. All of this feelings talk is really excellent. Probably even better than the snow.

A Sledding We Will Go!!!

Our sled crisis is now officially over.

There was a slight delay in getting Hallie off to preschool today, which was not our fault; the divine Miss Flora is having an arthritis flare up and has been out of work. She thought that she would be able to return today but, alas, was in too much pain. The preschool is fine if Hallie is on her own during the short (2 hour) days, but the long ones are a bit more challenging since they involve a lunch, a nap, and lots of going outside, etc. Hallie's teacher explained it this way: it's not that the teachers would find Hallie terribly challenging--typically, she is pretty good at following directions especially in more structured contexts. It's just that she'd get less out of her day given that she often follows directions without completely understanding why she's being asked to do something. Flora helps by explaining things to Hallie in terms that Hallie understands and keeping her engaged with her peers, etc. Anyway, the agency that hires PCAs found a fill-in for Miss Flora by 10:30, so I bundled both kids into the stroller and took Hallie to school.

That gave me a bit less time to do my own work, but a bit more time than I needed to do the shopping, even accounting for the crowds that, for whatever reason, are intent on buying up all the milk and bread. (What do you suppose they are doing with that stuff? Having french toast feasts while watching the snow pour down? Perhaps....)

Anyway, that's when I got the brilliant idea of seeking out a sled at a brick-and-mortar location. I don't drive, so I was using the stroller on my quest, which sort of complicated things, I later discovered. The first place I checked was City Sports, and while they had something snow related, they had nothing age-appropriate in the sled department. I couldn't imagine bundling the kids into an inflatable inner tube or onto a small round disc and pushing them down a hill or something. So that was out. Onto Modells. Apparently the saying, "gotta go to Mo's" actually is true. Because they had precisely what I needed: a purple long, hard plastic toboggan with a long pull rope that was lightweight enough jam into the rear seat of the Phil & Ted's stroller (where, alas, it kept whacking me in the crotch on the uncomfortable, long walk home. Note to self: grow longer arms next time you attempt this feat).

When Lea awoke from her nap in the stroller and saw it, she was thrilled. And of course she climbed right in. Hallie did the same thing when she saw it after she got home from preschool. She informed me that "Santa riding red sleigh. Hallie go sledding in purple one."

Of course, mommy-brain that I am, I did forget to pick up carrots at Whole Foods, so I had to stop at the store again (and witness yet more milk and bread buying) on the way home from preschool with the girls. I told Hal that we were going to the store to get carrots to build a snowman and she was thrilled. She also requested that the snowman wear a hat and that it be "very very big." From what they are predicting, I think we can pull that one off just fine....

Poor Planning

It was noon today when I realized that even Amazon Prime could not get us a sled in time for this weekend's major snow event. We have our milk, we have our bread, and we probably have some eggs that no one in our household will eat, but we have no sled. And no option for getting one in time for our next blizzard.

But we do have a 3 year old who longs to make snow angels and we do have some mitten clips that have prevented us from losing yet more gloves and we probably can scare up a hat, a scarf, and maybe even some rocks to build a proper snowman. So, as long as Whole Foods hasn't had a run on carrot (noses), all is not lost.

Stay tuned for some pics of snowfest 2010!

The Irony of It All: The Not Quite Lake Woebegone Life we Lead

Lea had her 1 year check up today, and, as it turns out, she is perfectly average, which in our world is a very good thing. She is at the 50th percentile for pretty much everything, and weighed in at about 20 lbs. 6 ounces and about 29 inches tall (please note: the inexactitude is related both to my not having been at the appointment and the fact that, at least where Lea is concerned, we've totally distanced ourselves from trying to make sure we have weights and heights down to the last gram and millimeter, respectively. She has looked fine to us, and that's what counts).

The ironic part: Hallie was bigger both in terms of height (at above the 75th percentile) and weight (at around the 60th) at the same [adjusted] age as Lea is now. Our pediatrician, of course, remembered this little factoid, and so did we. Who'd have thunk?

Of course, Hallie still remains taller than average, at over 40.25 inches (putting her between the 75th and 90th percentiles for height) and at pretty much average for weight, at about 33 lbs. 8 ounces as of last week (meaning that she's put on over a pound in the month of January, during her post pneumonia recovery). We're not sure how this happened, but there you have it.

Clearly, though, where Lea is concerned, we just don't have to work as hard (and consequently don't work as hard) to keep her at average: we don't worry about whether she eats 2 cheerios or 20; a couple of tablespoons of yogurt or none at all; etcetera. She just does what we does and we do it with her. We follow her lead and she knows where she wants to go.

With Hallie, honestly, most of the time we do the same thing: Hallie's therapies are, for the most part, very much Hallie-directed and that is a good thing. Even her eating is mostly Hallie directed, with the exception of our feeding-therapy directed 'snacks' (which now incorporate tiny bites of banana, much to Hallie's chagrin. But she's pretty much doing it, and that's important since we need to push her a bit out of the comfort zone on the eating front, even if we try not to go too far and only stay within the parameters of the excellent instructions provided to us by her wonderful feeding psychologist). And, of course, we still fortify those darned bottles, but whatever I'm putting in that goat milk really is doing the trick, and for that (and Hallie's decision to eat toast, fries, pizza, cheese, bacon, and now McDonald's hash brown) I am very grateful.

Anyway, we love living here in what is not quite Lake Woebegone: not everyone is above average, and, you know, that's a good thing. Average is just fine with us.

Happy First Birthday Lea!

Today was Lea's first birthday. It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed since she was born and that she's now such a big girl.


Of course, we celebrated in style with close friends and family. We decided, mostly for the benefit of the kids to forgo the adult-oriented party at home in favor of a (less labor intensive, much more outsourced) party at a local gym.


Here are a few highlights of the afternoon, in no particular order:


Lea blowing out the candles on her cake (Hallie has been practicing for days and really had a great time helping her little sister with this one):


Lea hanging out with her favorite green ball (she was chasing this one around for quite a bit of the party):


Lea loves balls as much as Hallie does and has really mastered the art of a game of catch:


Being pushed around in a little tub (kind of a mini ball pit) was one of the highlights of Lea's afternoon):


Lea hanging out in the center of the parachute while the big kids and adults gave her a ride:



Then all the kids got to get in on the action:


Are Eliza, Taylor, and Hallie in jail or the zoo? You decide...


Hallie and two of her favorite buddies, Eliza and Taylor:


Lea making a grand entrance to her party in a golf cart:


Princess Lea in her tiara:


And, finally, out of her dress and into her jammies playing with her blue balloon. What could be a better, more fitting end to a very happy birthday?


Happy Birthday, little Lea! You are such an amazing girl and wonderful sister to 'your Hallie' and our favorite one year old! This next year is going to bring more greate things in your life (and ours)!

Feelings

Yesterday evening, after I got home, Hallie was playing with Sharon and having a blast. She turned to Sharon and said to her: "Mommy, I feel HAPPY!"

We thought that was great. For Hallie to express herself using language is alone a huge thing. Remember, this is a kid who, up until recently only used language to label or describe things she saw (admittedly in ever more complicated ways, so we've heard some "It's dark outside" and not just "Look! It's Sam Wiggle. Sam is Yellow.") or to demand stuff of us ("Hallie wants Pirate Booty!" or "Watch Diego Saves Christmas" sorts of constructions).

But even more impressive is that she is expressing abstract feelings: we've heard "I feel cold" a few times but 'cold' is a fairly concrete concept. "Happy" is not. Happy is an abstraction and happy is what Hallie was feeling when Sharon was playing with her.

Even more significant was an exchange that took place a few minutes later. Lea was in the living room and got upset about something. Hallie went over to Lea, who had begun to fuss and cry a bit and said to us, "Lea feeling sad." Then she hugged and kissed Lea and turned to us and said, "Lea feeling happy." Hallie totally got that a. crying indicates sadness and that b. hugs, kisses and cuddles make you feel happy.

This is HUGE. Remember, Hallie used to laugh when Lea was crying. We weren't sure why, but we were pretty convinced that Hallie was fairly confused about emotions and wasn't making the connection between crying and feeling sad and needing comfort when it concerned anyone but herself: she was pretty clear about seeking out comfort if she was upset but was unable to understand that this applied to others, too. At least where Lea is concerned, that hurdle seems to have been surmounted (though this still requires generalization).

What does all this mean? Hallie is developing the ever-important Theory of Mind. If you are a parent of a child on the spectrum, you know precisely how significant this is. If not, here's a good place for more information about why Theory of Mind is so essential to typical development and interacting in the universe. Basically, what it comes down to is this: if Hallie can understand that other people behave in certain ways because they feel particular emotions (in other words, that other people also cry when they feel bad and smile when they feel happy), she will be able to form meaningful connections with them, predict their desires, understand that their desires are not always the same as her own, etcetera etcetra. In other words, Theory of Mind is an essential precursor to friendship.

And there is no doubt in my mind (theoretical or otherwise) that Lea is Hallie's best friend and that Hallie cares a great deal for Lea. That she can take into account how Lea feels and want to make her feel better makes me and Sharon feel very, very happy.