7 Months...Almost

Unfortunately, Trina, Dexter and Simon are all sick right now. They have an upper respiratory bug. This is the boys' first illness. We've been so careful with them, but somehow it snuck in. I had to call in to work this week and stay at the hospital with Linus. I really really hope the 2 of us don't get sick. I'm not sure his little body could handle it. I'm being hypervigilant with my hand washing and downing vitamins to help ward off any cooties. I love spending extra time with him, but this is not how I would have chosen to do so. What's another week off work with no pay...

I can't believe how fast time is flying. My tiny babies are growing into kids before my eyes. Simon and Dexter are wearing 12mos clothes now. I have no idea what Linus wears, because he's been neked for almost 9 weeks. That's not quite true, I know he wears a size 3 diaper and 6mos socks. :) They get more and more fun every single day. I spend approximately half of my life kissing, hugging and tickling them. There's nothing better than squealing, happy babies.

Simon is a chunk. He has a Buddha belly and his hands and feet are huge. He can sit unassisted for long periods. He's a champ at standing while holding on to your fingers and is even starting to bend his knees and take little mini steps. His newest trick is to get on all fours and rock back and forth. This kid's going to be crawling in no time. As it is he scoots and rolls anywhere he wants to be. The childproofing has begun. He's finally getting a little better at eating but screams bloody murder when you strap him into his highchair. He loves peas and green beans, but doesn't care for fruits. Even though he doesn't appear to have any new teeth coming in, he continues to drool and chew on everything he can fit into his mouth. He is SO ticklish and has an amazing laugh.

Dexter is stretching out like taffy. He looks thin, but weighed 19lbs12oz a few days ago. We started to get worried about his gross motor skills since he was so far behind Simon. I know you're not supposed to compare, but it's hard not to. It wasn't just that he can't do as much physically. It's also that many of his movements appear jerky and difficult for him. The doc checked him out and said she wasn't overly worried, but that he should be evaluated by ECI for physical therapy. He didn't like the sound of that so he's really turned around this last week. He can now sit unassisted for a very short period and his movements seem a little less jerky overall. We're still going to get him checked out, but we're not nearly as worried about cerebral palsy. Dex is still our most vocal boy. He makes so many different sounds, noises and laughs. He's an absolute crack up to listen to. He'll have an entire babble conversation with you complete with pauses for you to respond. It's great.

As for Linus, he's still in the CVICU. Right after I took the "Happy Boy" picture, he went downhill. He was miserable and sick for an entire week. No matter how many sedation meds they gave him, he would thrash around and cry and moan. He was constantly nauseous and dry heaved all the time. They even had to stop his enteral feeds. He rubbed his head back and forth almost constantly causing a friction burn that Wound Care had to come look at. After an echo, a dozen blood tests and a "team meeting" (minus our surgeon), it was decided it was time to go back in and replace his mitral valve. I took the news pretty hard and had a teeny little break down on the floor of the restroom. Then I got up, took a long walk outside and felt somewhat better. I told myself that I hadn't heard from our surgeon yet and he has the final say. Sure enough, DrM comes through and looked everything over. He added a med, tweaked the others and changed his fluid balance parameters. It took about a day to kick in, but Linus is now feeling better than he ever has. He had an echo on Wed and it showed the very first bit of improvement. His mitral leakage is still severe, but his right heart pressures were a little lower. He's on minimal oxygen support and they've even been able to wean him off of his "ICU only" heart med and replace it with something he can eventually go home on.

As for his "non heart related health" progress. He has physical therapy 3 times a week to stretch and strengthen all the muscles he's been neglecting. Laying on your back for 2 months really messes with you. He's getting pretty good at holding his head up again. His neck and hips are getting more flexible as well. His grasp is strong, but he still won't reach out to grab things. If you show him a toy he wants, he gets excited and clenches & unclenches his fists where they are or brings his hands together. It's like he can't quite figure out what to do. With OT's help, he started eating by mouth again on Thurs. His first 2 sessions left a little to be desired. By his third try, he really got the hang of it. He's allowed to practice twice a day. 2 out of the last 3 tries has ended in projectile vomit. Now that he can eat efficiently, his stomach needs to catch up. It's not used to 2oz going in so quickly. He's still gummy, but is chewing on his hands and works his tongue all the time. Maybe he'll pop some teeth soon. He still sleeps way more than his brothers, but when he's awake, he's SO happy. He laughs and babbles and plays all the time. He has so many visitors, in the form of medical staff, that come and fawn all over him everyday. You should see him batting his eyelashes and giggling at them. What a ham. No less than 4 nurses call him their boyfriend. He's also got a few bromances in the mix. What can I say? This kid's a charmer.

Simon loves peas.

So does Dex.

I was tickling Simon and he kept grabbing my face and hair.

He was laughing SO hard.

If I go "nom nom nom" on Dexter's belly, he laughs til he cries.

I love him so much I just have to squeeze him. He, in turn, squeals with delight.

Poor Linus was so very sick.

He didn't understand why I didn't fix it.

Trying to sleep off the nausea.

So frustrated with it all.

Look at that punam!

He always has his tongue hangin out these days.

Look how long that thing is.

Sly little finger chewer.

He was sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake him up.

So I didn't. He had his first dream feed in 8 weeks.

Look at these beautiful eyes. If you zoom in you can make out one of his more attractive defects. Two rows of eyelashes. :)