Happy 1/2 Birthday!

We've reached the 1/2 year mark for the kiddos and to celebrate, we attended their 6 month check up, complete with 4 shots each! Yikes. They were all troupers and were declared in great health. Here are their stats: Sean Weight 14 lbs, 7 ounces (3rd percentile) Height 26 1/2 inches (41st percentile) Head 16 7/8 inches (13th percentile) Luke Weight 14 pounds, 4 ounces (3rd percentile) Height 26 5/8 inches (41st percentile) Head 17 1/8 inches (32nd percentile) Charlotte Weight 14 pounds, 2 ounces (11th percentile) Height 25 1/4 inches (22nd percentile) Head 17 5/8 inches (90th percentile) All of them are following a good growth curve so the doctor was happy with that. The best news was that Luke and Charlotte get to graduate from the "high calorie" formula they've been on for catch-up growth to the normal stuff, which will also save us tons of money. Sean will remain on the Starbucks of formula, his hypoallergenic stuff for a suspected milk protein allergy, until his 1st birthday. They're all eating solids now, as I introduced Luke and Charlotte to cereal last week and they've taken to it pretty well. Sean is a bit ahead of them, having already sampled bananas (a big hit), sweet potatoes (an even bigger hit) and squash (okay, they can't all be big hits). They all seem to enjoy it and I try not to worry about how much they actually ingest for now...it's pretty much social. We were bummed to hear that we have not passed the danger zone for RSV season, which means we'll still have to limit the kids exposure to social situations and school-aged children. The day we were in for their check-up, the Pediatrician had admitted two babies to the hospital for RSV complications. She advised that if we've been careful and diligent so far, not to stop now. We may have to wait until the end of April or even early May for the all clear! It depends on when they see a significant fall off of diagnosed cases. For now, the occasional trip to the mall and walks outside will have to do. On the other hand, we got some positive news about Luke's torticollis situation. The physical therapy has definitely seemed to improve his range of motion, and he's even napping more often on the left side of his head (a huge step in the right direction!). When the Pediatrician examined him, she noted some improvement in his head shape from his 4-month check. And, it's her opinion that we should definitely not pursue getting the helmet for him at this time, for several reasons. First, it's a purely cosmetic treatment and almost never covered by insurance (and we'd be looking at $3,000 or $4,000). Second, there's never been a study done to prove that wearing the helmet actually improves the head shape any more than long-term therapy and the continued growth of the head during which time the head will continue to round out if he learns to stay off the affected side more often. So, we're going to continue therapy and revisit the issue at his 9 month check up.

I'm also happy to say we survived Daylight Savings without too much drama. It took them a couple of days to adjust, but as of tonite (I'm updating this on Monday) they were back to their normal bedtime.

I think that's it for now! Enjoy the pictures. We're planning to do some fun new spring photos as soon as they're sitting up. Gives us something to work toward! :-)