New babies, Corey Nathan Berkenbilt and Lila Josephine Berkenbilt, were born January 12, 2011. More information to come. For pictures, see our photo album.
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Lila and Corey had their 6-month appointment at the pediatrician’s office on 7/15/2011. Corey was 15 lbs., 10 oz., and Lila was 13 lbs., 6 oz. According to the weight charts, Corey and Lila have caught up with the general population. Corey is almost at the 25th percentile for weight, and Lila is at the 10th percentile for weight. The pediatrician advised that we did not need to continue mixing the formula at a higher calorie density anymore.
We introduced rice cereal mixed with formula to the babies three weeks ago. At first, we were giving them the cereal in the evening with their last bottle of the day. However, we found that they did not eat very much, and after a few days, we figured out that it was because they were tired. We switched strategies; now, the babies get their rice cereal at day care for the first meal of the day, and they are doing better. Corey seems to like it; Lila is more hesitant. We tried introducing sweet potato to them, but they didn’t seem like they were ready for it.
Lila was able to sit up on her own for about 30 seconds recently. She has not been able to duplicate this feat, but we keep practicing. She only needs a minimum of support to sit up. Lila has recently become more adept at reaching for objects and holding them; however, she has not yet mastered the skill of transferring objects from one hand to the other. We love to listen to her babble; she makes very interesting sounds.
Corey is less stable when he sits up and tends to lean to one side or the other. Starting about three weeks ago, he has been able to reach for objects and hold them for extended periods of time. He brings most objects to his mouth right now. He has also reached the milestone of being able to transfer objects from one hand to the other. Corey’s favorite things to do are squealing, making noise, and sucking his thumb.
Next Thursday, the babies have an appointment for the follow-along clinic at Inova Fairfax Hospital. The follow-along clinic is designed for babies that were born prematurely. The doctors will examine the babies and determine how they are doing developmentally in comparison to babies that are full-term. We are looking forward to hearing their assessments of the babies.
Lila and Corey are now four months, one week, and 10 days old. The day we brought them home from the NICU seems like a distant memory. Since that time, they have gone from babies that just spend their time eating, sleeping, and crying to vibrant individuals interacting with their world. When they are awake, they look around and take interest in their surroundings. They are starting to babble and chatter at us, and we babble and chatter back.:-)
At our four-month pediatrician appointment, Lila was 10 pounds, 2 ounces, and Corey was 11 pounds, 10 ounces. The babies have been in day care full-time since the end of March, and got their first major colds two and a half weeks ago. Everyone in the house, including the grown-ups, was sick for a week and a half, but we survived. We invested in something called the “snoover” to clean out the babies’ noses while they were sick; it was quite effective.
We like the day care a lot, and we feel that the babies are being well cared for. We have our first ever parent-teacher conference next Friday!
Today I copied a bunch of photographs to the photo album. I’ve given up on ever finding time to really sort through the pictures, so I’m just uploading the whole set and letting viewers sort them out!
