Helmut Head and Three Teeth

My sweet little boy Adam is now officially a Helmet Head. This started a couple of months ago when our pediatrician referred us to a cranial specialist. It seems Adam has a "preemie head." I'm not sure that's the technical term, but it refers to the shape of his head and is a problem quite often found in preemies. I'm sure that there are some genetics involved too, since I've never been that pleased with the shape of my melon. Though there are some medical complications which could ensue if not corrected, mostly it is a cosmetic thing. Fortunately we have the insurance for it, so for the next couple of months, Adam has to wear a helmet that will help shape his head as it grows. We were most concerned about the casting of the mold for the helmet, which involved pouring plaster on his head, but he got through that absolutely fine, and in fact was flirting with the therapist throughout the procedure.

He doesn't seem to mind the helmet so far, but it's kind of hard to tell since he's having such a bad time otherwise. He's got an ear infection which is bringing him down. Also the antibiotic he's taking is causing diarrhea, and that is causing a severe case of diaper rash. The poor little guy cried pretty much the whole day yesterday, especially when he was getting his diaper changed, which was often. Today they changed his prescription, so hopefully he'll feel better by the time I get home from work. :)

Tessa had a bad weekend too as her third tooth has cut through her top gum. It's one of her front teeth (a central incisor, to be exact) and it's huge. She was whining and crying on and off throughout the weekend.

Daddy was doing a lot of whining and crying too.

Busy

Another busy week of work and daycare. We all had a nice time this weekend when we visited the twins' grandparents. Much chocolate cake was consumed in honor of a birthday better left unmentioned.

Here are a couple of pics from last weekend.

No Fun

Yesterday I wrote about how the twins were still sleeping fine even though they were sick. That must have been tempting Fate, because Tessa, who had been uncharacteristically fussy all day, woke up screaming last night around 8:30. The Missus tried to comfort her, but she continued to cry and scream for two hours, breaking our hearts. No matter how many times we asked her, she wouldn't tell us what was wrong.

Finally we got in touch with one of the nurse practitioners from our pediatrician's office who recommended that we take Tessa to the emergency room. The Missus bundled her up and took her to the hospital while I stayed home with the still-sleeping Adam and worried.

The culprit turned out to be Tessa's lingering ear infection. On Thursday at the pediatrician's office, they said her ear looked fine and the infection had cleared, but apparently it had flared up again. They gave her a different antibiotic. She was sleeping when the Missus brought her home around 1am.

The Missus stayed home from work today to watch our sweet little girl. Tess seems to be doing better, at least she's not crying all the time, but is still very clingy. Adam has a cold and isn't feeling very well either.

This isn't a very fun part of being a parent.

Sitting Up

Adam is able to sit up now, well at least he's able to stay up when we place him there. Tessa is almost there. She still tips over after a little bit.

They both have colds, so there is plenty of sneezing, coughing and snot around the house right now.

They are still sleeping well though, thank goodness. We went to the mall in Tyson's Corner again yesterday. The twins behaved very well. Their sleep schedules were a little messed up. Tess slept about fourteen hours last night.

Here's a few more pictures. I've put a new set of pictures up, check the Baby Pictures Index to see them. A lot of them have probably already been seen. But enjoy anyway.

Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

Sunglasses

Speed and Trixie were a hit yesterday with their new sunglasses on. We stopped at a couple of stores and Tyson's Corner Mall and the twins were made much of everywhere we went. They are darn cute!

Happy New Year

Here's a family update at the start of the new year.

Tessa has two doctor's appointments today. She's getting her eyes checked again. We'd taken her a few months ago because one of her eyes had a tendency to turn in. We still see that happen from time to time, but it has gotten much better. At the last appointment, the doctor thought it would probably work itself out. Her other doctor's visit will hopefully see the end of the nightly nebulizer session.

Though Tess still isn't turning over much or crawling, she is very active and very loud. She is incredibly vocal and isn't shy about it. And we're still waiting for her third tooth.

Adam is a maniac. He's crawling now--not really using his legs, he does a "commando crawl" with his arms. But he gets around. He can really cover some distance. He's not as vocal as his sister, but he still talks up a storm at times. Though he's been teething for about four months now, he still doesn't have any teeth. He's learned that if he raises his arms to you, he's likely to be picked up.

Both kids are now out of their starter carseats and into the next stage. These new carseats stay in the car, so now we have to carry the kids out to the car to strap them in. We already miss the nice handle on the old carseats, but they were getting awfully heavy.

The Missus and I are getting back into the grind after a nice holiday. Since we rarely have time to get anything done during the week, our weekends are chock full of chores. This weekend: putting away the Christmas decorations and taking down the tree. Bummer.

UPDATE: According to the eye doc, Tessa is fine. Her other appointment has been delayed until tomorrow.