_______ on a stick

We LOVE the MN State Fair!
Food, friends, fun!

Things we ate on a stick: the most enormous pickle in the world, fat chuck-o-bacon, corn dog, pronto-pups, venison, sausage, corn on the cob, cotton candy, and mocha (frozen, obviously).

Others things we ate, not on a stick: sweet potato chips & fries, walleye in a boat, fried pickles, strawberries & cream (my best attempt at getting something somewhat healthy into my child), popcorn, and Martha's chocolate chip cookies.

The fair may be Ethan's favorite place ever. Ethan doesn't really eat meals very well. He doesn't like to take in more than 10 bites of food at any sitting, ever. He's a grazer. He would graze all day if allowed. So, he was in heaven snacking all day long.

(Taylor & Kieran)

(Quinlans!)

("Little Farm Hands")

(Cal watching the giant mobile in the sky, the Skyride)

Great News All Around

Teagan's laser surgery was a success! She is home and recovering well.
Nick stayed home with Ethan & Cal while Teagan, Grandpa Rooney and I left for Gillette Children's at 5:30am this morning. Teagan slept until we reached the lobby and amazed us with her playfulness and affection at such an early hour without any food/bottle in her belly. She was happy to chat with the nurses and accept their gifts of blankets and toys. After being prepped for surgery (weight, blood pressure, tiny gown) the nurses and doctors explained the quick procedure and she was whisked away promptly at 7:30am. I picked up a gossip magazine and actually enjoyed a few moments of silence while my dad went for a coffee run. Suddenly at 7:40am, before my dad even got back with the mochas, the doctor came in the room and said, "All done!"
Done!? After only 10minutes? Wow, a ton of worrying went into that lightening fast surgery. The doctor said everything went as planned and she was already waking up. Incredibly, we were back home before 9am.
The left side of her face is slightly swollen and looks bruised, but that's normal and it will last for a couple of weeks. We're excited to see the results in a couple weeks when the bruising disappears.
Teagan will have the same surgery preformed again in 6-8 weeks. Now that I'm familiar with the process I don't think I'll worry so much next time....but we'll see.


AND more great news!
At Calin's PT and helmet adjustment appointment this week we blew the doctor away with Cal's great progress. His head is almost perfectly round already!
Calin still needs to use the helmet until the Torticollis is fixed, but we get to cut back on helmet time! Now he wears it only at night and during naps, to avoid laying on the left side and making it flat again.

Fabulous week for the Waltons5!

Teagan's 1st Surgery

As most of you know, or can see in the pictures, Teagan was born with a birthmark on the left side of her face. There are many types of birthmarks, and this one is a Port Wine Stain. This type of birthmark is considered permanent because it will not fade or disappear with time, it will remain the same forever, but can be lightened or almost fully removed with laser surgery.

When Teagan was born we were given tons of information about birthmarks and our options for removal. At that time a couple different pediatricians told us that we could wait until Teagan was 3-4 years of age before performing laser surgery, this way we wouldn't need to put her under general anesthesia. Well, this turned out not to be the case. Our Craniofacial Surgeon (the same specialist who is treating Cal's plagiocephaly) told us we would see the best results from the laser surgery if we start the surgeries just after she turns 6 months old. She will have multiple laser surgeries performed over the course of a few years, and her first one is this Thursday 8/29/08. Of course, we are nervous. The procedure itself is relatively simple and will only take about 15 minutes, but it's the general anesthesia we are worried about. We were told not to worry, that putting a 6 month old under anesthesia is no different or than an older child or even an adult. BUT, it's hard to think about seeing my baby being prepped for surgery. It's an outpatient procedure and we'll actually be home by 11am (we have to be there at 6am).

We've actually noticed that the birthmark has lightened in the past few months, not because it's fading, only because her skin is stretching as she grows. We don't have very many clear pictures of Teagan's birthmark, but I found one close-up of her at 3 months old.

Keep her in your thoughts on Thursday.

One Year Ago

One year ago I started this blog to stay in touch with family and friends as we began our journey through an extremely challenging twin pregnancy. It's amazing how drastically life can change in one year. I've actually been feeling sick lately and I realized it's because the smells in the house and the humid feeling of the hot summer air brings me back to this time last year. The smell of the bathroom, the cleaning products, vitamins, and the humidity in the air makes me sick to my stomach. Driving by the doctor's office, the smell of toast, the cool A/C on a hot day, and the stickiness of my skin makes me nauseous.

Last year at this time I was going through the hardest time of my life- severe sickness and depression. One year ago this week I was in the hospital for the 3rd time for severe hyperemesis. All the veins in my arms and hands were bruised from the many IV lines placed for hydration. My body was weak and I could barely walk 8 feet to the bathroom, couldn't walk up steps, lost 7 pounds, and was vomiting 24 hours a day for months. I only left the house to visit the doctor or the hospital. I was drugged and sleepy and spent a few months in the TV room. Talking, or opening my mouth at all, made me gag, so I rarely talked to anyone but Nick, Ethan or our parents, and never talked to anyone on the phone.

The sickness and sadness was a constant throughout the entire pregnancy. Those 8 months felt like an eternity and I could not picture what my life would be like without sickness. After a while I was forced adjust to the feeling of being sick. My puke bag was always in my purse and I stocked up on gum to have a pack within reach at all times. Most of my time was spent on the couch. Ethan learned to bring toys and games over to the couch to play with me and Nick brought me food and water. Nick did the cooking, cleaning and most other errands along with working 50+ hours/week. Life was hard.

BUT, here we are one year later and we look like a completely different family. Most people comment on how much work it must be to have twins and an older child, but they have no idea how hard life was the year before the twins arrived. Whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed, tired or just burnt I just hop on the computer and look back on our blog. It always makes me feel grateful for my health and happiness.

Here we are now. Cal & Teagan are 6 months old, Ethan 4 years, and someone has a 31st birthday coming up...

Cal's CranioCap

A few months ago we noticed Cal's head was not perfectly round. His head has a little flat spot on the back left side. Around 2 months of age we pointed this out to our pediatrician and she suggested some things for us to work on to avoid him laying on the flat part of his head. We tried propping him on his right side while sleeping, and in the bouncy seat and car seat. We gave him more tummy time to get him off his back all the time and work on his neck muscles.
At their 4 month check-up our pediatrician noted that the flat spot had worsened, plus he was not turning his head completely to the right. At this point we were referred to a specialist- a Craniofacial Surgeon.
The doctor gave us two diagnoses.
The irregular shape of the head is called "Plagiocephaly," caused by the crowded living quarters in the womb (very common with multiples) where there is little opportunity for repositioning, therefore giving the head a flat spot where it may have been in the same position for too long.
Plagiocephaly can lead to our second diagnosis- "Torticollis." Torticollis is a tightening of the neck muscle on one side.
In Cal's case, he has a tightening on the right side of the neck, in which he prefers to only look to the left, resulting in a flat spot on the left side of his head.
Now what?
The Torticollis will be treated with weekly physical therapy for the next 5 months while the shape of his head will be fixed by wearing a "CranioCap" for 2-4 months. The CranioCap will be worn 22 hours per day with four 30 min. breaks to check his head for redness and clean the cap.
In the end Calin will have a round head and normal neck muscles in 4-5 months. I think it will be fun to document the progress and watch his head transform.

So... here are some BEFORE pictures.

Here is our handsome little man with his new CranioCap. He is adjusting very well and it hasn't changed his cheery personality one bit.

Day Out With...

THOMAS!!!

Thomas The Train came to Minneapolis! Ethan was in heaven today at the "Day Out with Thomas" event. We actually rode in one of the double-decker coaches pulled by Thomas himself.

Ethan even had Nick and I to himself today while Grandma Rooney stayed home with the twins. We all had a wonderful day.