Corbin and Lynley had their 4 month checkup and vaccinations this morning. Corbin weighs 11lbs and Lynley weighs 9lbs. Their Dr. is very impressed with their development, particularly how strong they are. She was a little concerned with the size of Corbin’s head, until she saw Derrick’s head! The men in Derrick’s family all have pretty big heads, so this is reassuring to her. She measured Derrick just for laughs, and he was completely off the chart. Hahahahaha

A few posts ago, I mentioned that we met our case manager for the Early Childhood Intervention program. All preemies are followed closely to make sure there are no developmental delays, and we have done part one of the assessment, which was basically paperwork. She also looked at the twins briefly, but they will not be tested for delays until March. A therapist will grade them based on certain criteria for their adjusted age. If there is at least a 25 percent delay in even one area, they will be referred into the program. However, the case manager and their doctor don’t think they will qualify. This is a good thing! They are “too normal”. But, there is always a chance a delay could develop at any time during the first two years, so we will still watch them a bit closer than other children if they do not qualify for the program. If they do qualify, it would consist of therapy at our house a couple of times a month or more often depending on what the delay is. So thank you for all of the prayers for the babies, and please keep them coming!

Now, let’s talk milestones. Corbin has become much more aware of his surroundings. He knows who mommy and daddy are, and gets upset when we leave the room at bed time. We are working with him on this. He smiles so big now, especially during patty cake. He plays with his hands and drools… a lot! I got a laugh out of him this morning during a diaper change. It caught me by surprise, and at first I didn’t know it was a laugh. But when I looked at him, he was grinning from ear to ear! Other milestones, he holds his head up, he can do a mini pushup and has almost mastered the roll over. He is also starting to explore objects, like his you know what on the changing table! Ha! He can’t quite hold a rattle yet, but he will grasp it and drop it.He is also becoming vocal, and was really trying to tell Nanner something over the weekend when she babysat!

Lynley is a little bit ahead of Corbin as far reaching milestones. She is very aware of everything around her, but she has surpassed the separation anxiety stage that Corbin is now in. She can hold her head up for long periods of time and can do a mini pushup, although not as well as Corbin. She likes the boppy seat, and is close to sitting up on her own. She also likes to stand in our laps and bounce on her legs. She plays patty cake and peek-a-boo and just smiles and sticks her tongue out. I haven’t heard her laugh yet, but she is “talking” to us. She can hold a rattle and shake it around if we put it in her hand, but she isn’t reaching for toys yet. She plays with her hands, but isn’t as big a drooler as Corbin. She also tracks object very well and looks for the cause of loud noises. (Like Jeep barking at the thunder today. Grrr, he woke her up!)

Update on the risk for Lynley for cerebral palsy: the dr. is not as concerned anymore. She does not think Lynley has stiff muscles, and what we were seeing was most likely attributed to reflux. It’s still on the radar for both actually, but only because they were premature. She more than likely does not have it. Yay! Thanks again for prayers on that front.

And one more major milestone for both… we can go out in public! Well, sort of. I asked if it was ok now to go to church, and she said absolutely. We can go to the grocery store, but it’s to soon to be around a lot of children. And of course, we won’t be playing pass the baby at church or let strangers come over and coo in their faces and pinch their cheeks if we go to the store. (I wouldn’t do that anyway even if they weren’t at a greater risk of getting sick.) I’m so happy to be able to go to church again. They have been praying earnestly for all of us and even sent gift baskets for each of the babies. I’m also looking forward to visiting my former co-workers at the Texas State Capitol! Get ready guys, the cuteness is coming soon.

**photos taken by their Nanner