5 Month Update

Isaac: 

Isaac is doing really well lifting his head during tummy time, will straighten legs  on his own (and out mostly straight, not just in the same position as his brace), and has really good head control. He's working on rolling over, and makes it to his sides. Right now, while we're waiting on his brace for his spine, we aren't pushing him to complete rolling over. We want to make sure that his spine is fully protected. 

This month we added thickener to Isaac's bottles, bringing them to a 'nectar' consistency. This has helped him process the food in his mouth more appropriately and swallow more adequately. Up until adding the thickener, we had been struggling to  get him to take more than 2.5 ounces at a time. We have been working with an OT, and our latest conclusion is that Isaac, isn't aspirating, but doing something that is called 'penetrating.' This is defined as the active entry of any food (usually during swallowing) into the trachea. In Isaac's case, it is speculated that the formula will penetrate, and end up on top of his vocal cords, or other passageway, and then he 'realizes it' and it comes back up. We can tell it hasn't made it to his stomach, because most of the time it isn't like spit up (mixed with stomach fluids, and appearing curdled). Isaac's just appears that it has mixed with thicker saliva, indicating it hasn't made it to his stomach yet, but has gone somewhere it wasn't supposed to go. He is still on Zantac, and with the combination of Zantac and the thickner, he has decreased the frequency of spitting up, but will still occasionally have some issues. So far, we've avoided needing a swallow study, which is where he would have to drink a barium drink, and then have continuous x-ray to watch to see where the food does penetrate or aspirate. As of now, the plan is to keep watching him, and if we can't get the aspirating/penetrating issue resolved soon, he will need a swallow study.

Isaac has also been receiving physical therapy once a week for the last 6 weeks or so. A quick little plug -- Missouri's Early Interention program -- First Steps, has been fabulous for us, and mainly for Isaac. Once a week we have a physical therapist at our house (Jacki), and once every other week, an OT comes (Nicole). They have helped us help Isaac, so that he can make up for his developmental delays caused by his congenital issues. Isaac has vastly improved the movement of his legs (when he does move them). When Jacki first started coming, we told her that Isaac didn't move his legs independently, either he kicked them both out or brought them both up at the same time. When he did straighten them, they went out like and 'A' frame, in the same position they are held when he's in his brace. Now, he will sometimes move them independently. However, if he is straightening them both at the same time, they are going out in a more 'normal' position, not quite straight and not quite "a frame" either. He has also improved his muscle tone in his legs. We are still noticing that he does not kick very often, or when held in an upright position, he does not straighten them to practice the standing position. This brings us to another 'procedure' for Isaac.

Due to us noticing the infrequency of Isaac moving his legs, as well as his lack of a response to getting immunizations, we met with a Neurosurgeon last month. Upon Dr. I researching Isaac's conditions and reviewing his CT & MRI from when Isaac was in the NICU, it was recommended that Isaac have a repeat of the CT & MRI, so that Dr. I can determine if the 'dislocation' of Isaac's spine is causing the spinal cord to be stressed. Dr. I speculated that in the place of the dislocation, there is pressure that is being applied to the spinal cord, causing decreased sensation to Isaac's legs. If this is indeed the case, Isaac will require surgery, sooner rather than later, to relieve some of that pressure. We hope that if this is the case, it will restore the feeling that he has lost (which, he still has some feeling in his legs, just not total sensation), and help move him forward developmentally.

At 5 months, Isaac is still taking 3.5 to 4 ounces at a feeding and going about 3 to 3.5 hours between feedings. He usually goes to bed between 9:30 and 10:30. He sometimes will still wake up in the middle of the night hungry, and will usually take a full 4 ounces if he does wake up. He will get up for the day sometime around 7 or 8am. He will usually sleep for at least an hour around 9 or 10am, and then will take a nice long afternoon nap too. At some point during the evening, he will take a quick snooze just to get him through the rest of the evening until bedtime. His 5 month stats are: 11lbs 6oz. and is 23 inches long. 

On a more fun note for Isaac, it is especially fun to watch him squeal with delight when he gets excited about his baths, or even when he and Eli are laying in Eli's crib, watching the mobile, Isaac loves to talk and squwak loudly! He is also very talkative, and gives out smiles, if he deems it okay! If you know the right tricks, you can get him to laugh a pretty hearty laugh too! It seems that the closer we got to 5 months, the more and more both of the boys would eye each other and have stare downs. It's really cute. Until Isaac scratches Eli's face. Or when Eli pulls Isaac's ear. That's cute until one of them screams.

Elias:

Eli spends most of his time grinning, laughing and making funny faces. He's a mover and a shaker. For him, the closer we got to 5 months, he was enjoying standing on our laps assisted, I think it really made him feel like a 'big boy.' When he concentrates really hard, he can roll both front to back and back to front. Eli is an expert at holding up his head, and is working on learning to sit. At the rate Eli is going with wanting to stand all of the time, he may learn to walk before he learns to crawl! He also spends a lot of his time attempting to eat his hands. Teeth may be coming sooner rather than later, but that's yet to be determined.

Eli is eating about 5-6 ounces at a feeding and is going 3-4 hours between feedings. He usually goes to bed sometime between 9:30 and 10:30, and is up for the morning between 7 and 8am. He'll sometimes take a good morning nap, and sometimes not. He's a pretty light sleeper during the day, and the morning nap is hard for him to get. The afternoon nap, he usually does pretty good with and will usually get 2 to 3.5 hours of sleep then. He'll also usually doze for 20-30 minutes in the evening, just to tide him over until bedtime. Eli's 5 month stats are: 13lbs 2oz and is 25 1/4 inches long. 

He still really enjoys his baths, being outside, and getting lots of attention. :) 

Overall, Eli and Isaac are both very happy babies, and are very social. They are getting to the stage where they realize when we walk away or leave the room. They aren't big fans of that!