As most of you are aware the twins, Thatcher and Tanner under went many obstacles while I was pregnant. They had twin to twin transfusion which thankfully didn’t require surgery and I actually managed to keep them in my warm womb for 34 weeks.
Being premature and going through what they did required some extra care though. They were in the neonatal intensive care unit for almost a month (short time actually compared to some) and have had to have special neonatal appointments to ensure their development has been for lack of better words “typical.” These appointments were and still are somewhat stressful because I always worry that maybe I missed something, and something isn’t developing the way it should.
Tanner had the roughest time being the smaller one, he was only 3lbs when born, compared to Thatcher’s 5lbs. He didn’t hit milestones right away either. He was slow in motor movements, eye hand co-ordination, and wasn’t hearing at all in his right ear. When he hit the year old mark though he suddenly caught up.
He began to sit on his own, pull up to a stand and then even began walking on his own before Thatcher,which was the biggest surprise of all! Then last February out of nowhere his hearing was fine in both ears. Strange but amazing!
Now at 21 months they just had another neonatal appointment for their “corrected” age of 18 months and I am happy to say they are both pretty well right on target – in fact they are even slightly ahead in terms of their gross motor development! They are running, walking up and down the stairs, throwing things (a favorite activity of theirs), eating with spoons and forks (plastic of course) and playing with toys and their siblings (although they have a very special relationship together and play with each other all the time).
The only area which is slightly behind is in their speech. This is a common trait in our household however. There were two of my children who didn’t speak until well after two years of age, yet some others talked very early. I am not too concerned. They have been referred to Erin Oak for an assessment, however, that will probably take months.
The twins were truly a big surprise but they are the best surprise of all. I have truly been blessed with 8 beautiful children.
Were any of your children premature? Did you spend extra time in neonatal care?
Until next time,
Chantel,momof8crazymonkeys