Movers and Shakers

Sorry it has taken so long to post. Things are pretty hectic and yet incredibly monotonous all at the same time (does that even make sense?). The girls are getting bigger all the time and are hitting milestones left and right. Here are just a few:

-Both girls are crawling.

-Both girls have gotten their first tooth and are working on the second.

-Both girls are finally beginning to get the hang of eating baby food.

-Reagan can pull herself up to a standing position.

-Reagan is now 17 pounds. Cameron is now almost 15 pounds.

-Cameron is getting ready for her second set of hearing aids - we think that her first set is not working all the time.

Now that the girls are on the move, they are everywhere. We have to watch them all the time. Reagan is the most curious of the two and is also the faster of the two (for now). So far, we have caught Reagan in the bathroom, getting into the fireplace, underneath end tables, trying to crawl up the stairs, climbing into the bottom of her exersaucer, and crawling on top of her sister. She is so quiet that you don't know where she is but when you catch her she has such a mischevious grin and laugh. Cameron talks nonstop all day long. She must really have a lot to say. I wish so much that I could just peek into her head to see what it is she is thinking.

Coming up the girls are beginning to move in the evaluation stage of their therapies and such. Both girls will be evaluated by physical and occupational therapists in December and in January they will return to Duke for testing (which is routine for all one year olds that were once residents of the NICU), and then in February, Cameron will have an MRI at Chapel Hill to take a closer look at her ears.

It is so hard to believe that they are almost a year old. When I think back to what was going on a year ago, I remember having regular visits with the specialists and discussing when I would be going into the hospital and our course of action once we were in the hospital. I never would have guessed that those two little ones that we saw every two weeks on our ultrasounds would be so amazing. They truly are the coolest (along with their older sister) individuals around. And I do mean individuals...lest you think they were twins or anything...they truly do have the most different personalities - they are excellent foils to one another.

Pumpkin Patch

Here are some of the latest pics from the Carters. We were able to sneak out to get to the pumpkin patch nearby but it was freezing and very windy! The girls are all on the mend. Reagan's ears are healing and she and I are both finishing up our antibiotics. We go for their 9 month checkups next week. Both girls are scooting. Cam is just figuring out how it works and is learning to use both her arms and her feet to move. She is also getting up on her hands and knees to wiggle but not crawling yet. Reagan can move very quickly as she scoots and is beginning to get into everything! It won't be long before we have to childproof everything again! It is going to be a busy winter!

Cameron

Reagan

Update

Well, it has been quite an eventful week and half since Cam went to the emergency room and was admitted. I will try to tell you the quick version. Cam was released the next day and came home. The next day she was a completely different baby...still sick but not as lethargic and without personality as she was previously. The next day, Reagan started and ended up at the pediatrician...flu and pneumonia again. Then, on Thursday night, Aubrey started...no pneumonia...just the flu. Just about all the girls are back to feeling like themselves - still sensitive tummies but more like themselves...except now...I have strep throat! AGGGGHHHHH! So, I have been quarantined away from the family for 24 hours. I don't know what in the world could have caused so much sickness to a family that is so careful with germs...I attribute a lot of my illness to exhaustion.

Aside from the illness...the girls are doing well. Reagan is somewhat mobile now. She can scoot herself backward and rocks back and forth on her hands and knees. She is also extremely strong and can climb very easily. Cam can sit up for a few moments by herself and is also getting good at scooting herself along. She has realized that she can push herself up on her hands and knees but would rather slither like a snake. She, too, can pull up on things and is getting quite strong. That's about it for the Carters.

I am hoping that our next entry finds us all much more healthy and having more fun than we have had the last few weeks.

Pneumonia

As I write this, I have just gotten the call from Seth (who has been at the ER with Cam for the 2nd time in the last 2 weeks) and they are officially admitting Cameron to the hospital with pneumonia. She went in tonight after running a low grade fever most of the day but as the night went on, her breathing began to get faster and faster. I called the pediatrician to speak to the triage nurse and they listened to her breathe and agreed that it seemed extremely fast. When Seth left to take Cam to the hospital, her fever was 100.8 and upon arrival it was 103 - this is on motrin. They ran a bunch of rigorous tests and so, after 10 days on the antibiotic, then 24 hours off of it, Cam has been diagnosed with pneumonia (this is a definitive diagnosis?).

Right now we really do not know much else at all. The current plan is that Seth will be with her today and then we will take it from there. We don't know if this will be a multi-day stay for Cameron or not. My prayer is that Cameron having already been on antibiotics for ten days will lessen her stay and hopefully the pneumonia is not as severe - of course this is based on just my hopes...not anything medically. So, for now, we pray and wait. Hopefully we will know more soon!

Flu Season Begins

Well, many of you already know that flu season has not even begun and the drama has already started. Cameron has had her first emergency room visit and we have spend the last week back and forth at the hospital and the doctors office. Long story short, a cold starting going through our house last week and Cameron ended up running a high fever. She has adrenal insufficiency which means that when her body is fighting an illness if it gets too severe, her body does not make enough stress hormone to deal with it. So, when we left the NICU they told us we would have to administer a cortisol shot to help her deal with it and then rush her to the hospital. All of that became a reality this past Wednesday night when the thermometer was reading 102.5. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the vial of stress hormone open so Seth rushed Cam to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital Cam's fever read a whopping 99.9 - we were so frustrated. Anyway, they ran tests and long story short...both girls both have ear infections.

The girls have also had their checkups at the hospital. Cameron weighs 13 pounds and Reagan weighs 15 pounds. The girls are doing very well and the doctors were very pleased. They told us that Cameron has outgrown the need for the shot if she gets sick now - which was a huge relief. They also told us that the girls should begin to outgrow the reflux over the next few months. Reagan's gross motor development was very impressive - she can sit independently for quick bursts of time but she is not technically an independent sitter. They predicted that she will be crawling in no time. Cameron has been referred for physical therapy to help with her gross motor development - just to help make sure that she is meeting her benchmarks. She is trying so hard and has really made a ton of progress. The next time we will go back to Duke will not be until January where they will conduct developmental testing. The girls are 9 months old now - so hard to believe! We had been trying baby food wit Reagan but she doesn't seem ready just yet but we are beginning with Cameron - who seems to enjoy it...pictures soon to come!

We begin our quarantine within the next week which means that we cannot take the girls to places that are very crowded and we need to limit their exposure to germs. We are to maintain strict handwashing and ask people who have any type of cold or flu symptom to stay clear of our house or the girls. I am hoping that now that it is cooler that we can still enjoy many afternoons and mornings outside on walks or at the park though - I think it will do all of us some good.

Stay tuned for pictures of the girls. Cameron should have her MRI scheduled at Chapel Hill coming up soon. We are hoping and praying that our sickness drama that we just experienced is all that we will have to endure for a while - we are all still recovering from it! The girls are feeling better and acting more like themselves every day!

The Results...Sort Of

Today was a very long day. To start out with, due to excessive tiredness on the part of her parents, Cameron was fed at 3 am this mornings - even though she was not supposed to be fed after midnight (oops!). We were worried that that would cancel her procedure but it did not. It turns out her actual procedure did not begin until much later than anticipated due to delays in the ORs for the day.

Anyway, she did well. She handled the anesthesia well and they completed the ABR test. They found similar results to the ABR that was done at Duke and they made sure she did not need tubes. Next, we will meet with the ENT and Audiologists in a few weeks and they are planning on sedating her again to do an MRI. The MRI will determine if there is anything anatomical that is causing such an assymetrical hearing loss.

Regardless, Cameron handled almost all of it beautifully - she just hates going without food - as do most of us. I am praying that for the MRI sedation we can get the first appointment of the day...or atleast I am going to work toward it. We do now know for sure that she is not a candidate for a cochlear implant because if you have decent hearing (with amplification) then you can have normal speech and language - which negates the need for a cochlear implant. I have to say I am a little relieved to hear this because that is a very big decision to make and I am thankful that it is one that Seth and I will not have to make.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We will keep you posted as we learn more.

Quick Prayer Request

Hello all! Hope you are doing well. Cameron's procedure at Chapel Hill has been scheduled. This next Wednesday, she will go into the hospital to be sedated and to have a repeat ABR (hearing test) done. While she is sedated, they will go ahead and check to see if her ears have too much fluid and give her tubes. They will also redo her ear molds. I do not know all of the details but I have a pretty strong feeling that Cameron will be intubated again for this procedure...which makes this former NICU mama cringe...I had hoped that her days of that were over. Of course anesthesia and procedures all have risks of their own. Please keep Cameron in your prayers, that she would remain safe and that the procedure would help to even further get understanding into her hearing. She has never had a procedure at Chapel Hill, although they come highly recommended, so I admit I am a little apprehensive. I will update you as soon as we are home from the hospital. If you think about it, we have to be there at 1 and the procedure begins at 2:30.

Thanks again for being so faithful!