Sorry it's been over two months since my last update. Things are busy at a small company, and I haven't been able to configure sendmail on my workstation the way I want it.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I know some of you aren't gonna read this whole thing anyway, so here are the highlights:
* 4 feeds a day: 8am, noon, 4pm, 8pmNow for the details. The kids are pretty good, almost GREAT if you don't count feedings. They are really growing and changing fast. CarrieAnna now rolls from her back to her front, but doesn't know what to do once she gets there (except cry). They were all evaluated by a neonatologist for development last week. She found that the girls were testing (that day) at their adjusted age, and James was testing a month behind. We're working with them now to try to improve their abilities, and James will be starting some physical therapy soon.
* Baby food started once a day
* about 11lbs for the boy and about 12.5lbs for the girls
* New job is great, but I'm losing my window today :-(
* Website makeover, 2 dozen new pictures
* Redskin room is clean
They could tell he was a transverse baby (lying on his side in utero) because his head always falls to the right. We've been working on that some already, so that the big 'ol flat spot on his head will even out. Since Holly found her thumbs (mostly the right one) she's also started developing a flat spot.
Back to feedings. James had a spell of about two weeks where he was just MISERABLE at every feed. Screaming, arching, and generally making his refulx worse. There's a picture on the website showing how we had to feed him (upside down, practically). We saw a reflux specialist, who doubled his zantac dosage, and moved the kids to yet another formula. After several more days, he finally calmed down and is feeding the most consistently of all the kids again.
Now Holly, and occasionally CarrieAnna, will fuss and cry and not eat. Sorry, but if you don't eat we don't have time to keep trying for three hours. If you don't eat within your 30 minute time slot, then you wait until next time. Maybe you get moved to the front of the line for the next feed, but that's all.
The reflux is generally much better for all the kids. They still get cereal in their bottles to thicken the feeds, but we've been reducing the amount of incline in their cribs. I hope to have them lying flat by next weekend when we go to Pennsylvania for the first of two family reunions this summer. It'll be the first time we've traveled with the kids, and we're full of nervous anticipation.
Michelle has started feeding the babies with a spoon, once a day. She's even given them food, including squash, carrots, and peaches so far. James has no problem with the spoon, the girls are less enthusiastic.
My new job is great, the smaller commute just makes my attitude SO much better. Even if I'm running late, it's only gonna be another 10 minutes until I get there! And if I need to run home, no problem! Yesterday I went to CVS to pick up the refills on the prescriptions and took them home during lunch. SO cool. I am losing my window, however. The last fourth of the building is (just about) finished, and so the big move is tomorrow (Saturday). They are also moving me closer to the other folks in my group, which means an inside office. So I'll still have a door and walls (woo-hoo!) but no windows to the outside, no personal air conditioning unit, and not right next to the back door.
I've spent what seems like WAY too much time trying to get all the pictures I've taken rotated and shrunk down so that they were usable for the website. I have tons more pictures than I've put up there, but you guys probably don't want to spend all day there, do you? The address is:
http://geocities.datacellar.net/heartland/ranch/7550
or you can get there from
http://www.kuldell.com
on the favorite links section.
The website has a description of the house layout, under the "How We Manage" section, but I thought I'd mention we finally got another changing table for the main level of the house. Michelle's knee was starting to hurt pretty badly, and she determined it was from changing babies using the portable changing station on the floor. But since it has shelves in it, we seem to have gotten some extra space out of the dining room. Also, the Redskin Room (basement) is actually pretty usable now, and I hope y'all appreciate how much work that entailed. :-) After all, preseason games start next month!
So there we have it. I could ramble on forever (and frequently do), but I've got to pack all my stuff into boxes for the move.
Talk to you all soon (I hope), Chipp -- chipp.kuldell@usa.net
