Our Little Pumpkins

Last night we went to Erwin’s Orchard in South Lyon with my parents and cousin Renee. We took some pictures, the trio go to try their 1st cinnamon and sugar doughnuts (and loved them!) and I got my apple sundae that I had been craving! It was a perfect night to go yesterday, the sun came out and was warm and there was hardly anyone there! Erwin’s is by far our favorite orchard, they have the best doughnuts and cider in the area!

A couple weekends ago we took the babies for their fall pictures at Portrait Innovations and were very happy with the results! I LOVE the one of the trio, I think it perfectly shows where each of them are developmentally right now! And in the family picture, check out how our little man was such a gentleman with his arm around Mady!!

Yesterday was the babies Physical Medicine and Rehab appointment. Overall they are doing very well. Their lengths are: Annabel – 29.5 inches, Madelyn – 28 inches, and Johnathan – 27 inches, with Johnathan continuing to weight the most. Dr. Hornyak is very happy with Johnathan and Madelyn and given Annabel’s brain bleed is encouraged by the things she’s doing, her excellent range of motion, and her speech but he did mention that for her only time will tell how the bleed may affect her, especially neurologically. He basically mentioned that Annabel will probably not be the “same” as Mady and Johnathan, meaning that there is a chance of some sort of learning/mental disability and that she may not be able to communicate/think in the samer manner. Of course Annabel chose not to shine yesterday in that she didn’t focus on Dr. Hornyak at all when he was speaking to her, and I know that was something that concerned him. This has always been an issue with her but lately she has been doing a lot better focusing on us and on the toys she’s playing with. Yes, we know that she’s not the “same” as the other two (she stays in each developmental stage longer) but I still feel in my heart that although she may not be completely “normal”, I think overall she will still do well in life!

Dr. Hornyak said there’s nothing else for us to do at this time, he said the treadmill program would be great and that we may repeat CHAMP next summer, and other than that to see them all back in 6 months. He decided not to do any orthotics for Annabel or inserts for Johnathan or Madelyn yet, that if our Early On PT decides they would benefit from them that she can e-mail him and not have to have an appointment. He did do one test on the girls where he applied pressure on the bottom of their feet and at this gestational age they should curl their toes under instead of up but both girls were still curling up (although I swore Mady did this “right” at the last neonatal clinic). This is not a sign of anything to do with walking but could mean either a)they’re still just delayed developmentally with this, b)it could be a sign of a result of the brain bleed that could mean some sort of learning/mental disability, or c) could be nothing at all. Dr. Hornyak really thinks that with Mady it’s nothing, especially given how well she’s developing. He did reiterate that everything he saw was upon exam, upon that day. That based on the girl’s brain bleeds, predictions were very negative for their quality of life and that obviously they have completely defied the odds from the original predictions and that they still have plenty of time for development and only time will tell.

This appointment and the neonatal clinic appointments (next one is 11/12 – at least this one is with our favorite fellow, Rebecca!) are always emotionally challenging days because we’re reminded of all the hard things that we could still face. It has been a relief to see Mady and Johnathan doing so well motor-wise and pray that all continues to develop appropriately. And we have felt good with how Annabel is developing too. She is by no means “stuck in a development phase” or “not progressing” so as long as that’s the case I am feeling good about things. The unknown and the not being able to predict the future are such scary things. All we can do is pray for our little miracles. Pray that God continues to guide and strengthen the babies and continues to provide us with the resources, patience, and emotional strength to do everything we can for them. Ultimately we pray that each of them will have a good quality of life and hopefully eventually be able to be on their own and live their own lives, as is the wish of all parents.