A tiny update...

Yesterday Madelyn was evaluated for speech therapy through our local early intervention program and the first test performed she did not qualify but the therapist performed another questionnaire b/c she felt Madelyn SHOULD qualify just for the sake of her poor muscle tone in her face and she did qualify. (The twins were tested during the same time and they passed too.) The entire time these ladies were here today, Madelyn hung her tongue completely out of her mouth and drooled all over herself. She has been getting better with this but for some reason when she gets distracted by other people or we're out in public, she looks like a thirsty dog panting for water. I was asked about her eating habits and when I told them how messy she is they said it's b/c she is used to being wet under her mouth and chin so she knows no difference when food has dribbled all over her face. Makes sense to me. She's also still biting her tongue at night when she sleeps (and sleep is another problem we're dealing with lately - lack there of).

Both ladies here were surprised she was not at the age of two yet based on her size. One of those is the social worker we've delt with for the past year but the other one saw her for the first time today. Madelyn also had a really bad runny nose today while those ladies were here. The tubes and adenoidectomy didn't help that part and the ENT recommends waiting until she is three to test for allergies. After the ladies left today, her nose went back to slightly dripping so it made me think she's allergic to something they might have been wearing. I don't know what to do for her. A runny nose every day of your life has got to be annoying.

Next week we visit a pediatric dentist to get his opinion on her teeth and mouth structure and if he has suggestions about her tongue problem and poor muscle tone around her mouth. This was recommended by our pediatrician.

Andrew also saw a doctor yesterday - Pediatric Gastroenterologist. He was an acid reflux baby and still is. We never know when it's going to happen but when it does, he can vomit across a room or fill up half the back seat and car seats in my car. This doctor said 95% of acid reflux babies grow out of this before age of two. He may be the 5% that continues until age four BUT he would like to run a scope down his throat and see if there's something else causing this such as an allergy or structural problems. I hate to do this to him but I also hate cleaning up vomit all the time.

We got lucky this week and have a live-in "nanny". A friend of our's daughter is on Spring Break from college and staying with us. We put her to babysitting yesterday twice and then after the kids were in bed, Tony and I went out to eat ALONE!!! We had the opportunity to give a new restaurant a try - first time trying Thai food. While our "nanny" was watching Nate and Madelyn today (while I was taking Andrew to the doctor) Madelyn had one of her famous diaper blow-outs. Of course I laughed b/c "A" got stuck with cleaning it up. I left at a good time - YEAH!

Madelyn is back to having sleep issues again. We temporarily moved her to Nate and Andrew's room and gave "A" her room since we have a twin bed set up in Madelyn's room. I though this might help with Madelyn's sleeping problems and maybe she would feel more secure in a room with her brothers. Nope. She's still waking up through the night and crying and also crying very early in the morning. I really don't know what to do to help her sleep through the night peacefully. I also need her to stop crying so early b/c it's waking up Logan too early and he really needs his sleep for school.

I'm still trying to move back into our home. It's a mess. Moving is hard work. I am hoping to get more boxes unpacked today so I can eventually pull my car back into our garage. We used our garage as a storage unit for several months. I also painted one room this week - our dining room which is in the process of officially being called our home office. We don't entertain so a dining room was not as useful to us as a home office. If I even pull the room together I'll post photos. I love the color I chose and it's starting to look more and more like a home office now instead of a dining room.

I also have a new plan for preschool this fall. Since we're not moving, I had to look into new places. A local kids gym is owned by a set of twin parents so they sympathize with the costs of twins. They have a two days a week, three hours each day preschool and they have a pay for one twin get a twin free so I'd only have to pay for two of the three two-year olds. It's not really a structured class room type setting some preschools are but they focus more on music, exercise, and singing. We think this might be the best option for Madelyn to help her gain more muscle and be more active (she still doesn't run - quick wobble walk) plus she loves music and loves to dance. I think the boys will like it too b/c they have lots of play equipment and space to run. And even more important - I get a total of six hours a week to take a break from three two-year olds and have some Mommy time. Yeah!