Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Tummy Time

Kira on left on her tummy. Alana laughing and smiling at her. They are just starting to realize that they have a sister. It is still hit or miss though they mainly pay attention to us and not each other.
Kira on left in the darker pink
Kira and Ellie (Ellie loves tummy time and sometimes runs off with their toys)
Kira
With the girls being 2 months early Jim and I knew that they would need to be evaluated and that they would probably be a little behind. After numerous doctors and physical therapists evaluating them - sure enough they are behind in their gross motor skills and they will need weekly physical therapy. While Jim and I were not surprised by this it was still hard to hear that at 7 months (adjusted to 5 months old) they were only scoring at the 2.5 to 3 month range for their gross motor skills. Gross motor skills include things such as rolling, moving their head from side to side, reaching up, touching their legs, etc.....
We were told to make sure to give them plenty of tummy time to help them build a lot of strength which would help their gross motor skills. Jim and I have been fitting this in at night (most days) and the girls really seem to enjoy tummy time. They do get tired quickly but each night they can go a little longer.
We start physical therapy tomorrow so wish us luck.
A few other quick things to note. The girls had a doctor's appt. on February 10th for their 4th round (out of 5) of Synagis. This is a highly recommended medication for premies in day care to prevent RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). They both have been doing fantastic and they have not missed one day of day care. The day care room has had pink eye, RSV and the stomach bug and our little troopers have remained healthy. RSV is scary because treatment for severe RSV may require oxygen therapy, and sometimes mechanical ventilation. One day they were the only 2 in the entire room because all of the other kids (6 other kids) were all home sick. Kira weighed in at 15 lbs. 9 oz. and Alana 14 lbs. 3 oz.
Lastly even though the girls are identical Jim was noticing tonight that their ears are a little different. It is hard to explain but Alana's top of her ear curls more then Kira's. The family as well as Jim and I have also noticed that their hair line is a little different. Kira's hair is a little thicker as well. This may be due to the fact that when they were very young Alana's hair fell out on the top of her head and then grew in very nicely while Kira's did not really fall out.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Track Suits - Girls Basketball - American Idol

Scotty "American Idol"

Kira





Alana





Kira is closer to the camera




Alana in light pink






Every year the Schneider clan tries to attend Hoops for Hope. It is a girls NC state basketball game to raise awareness and money for cancer (in particular breast cancer). We started going when Kay Yow was the head coach and we really have always enjoyed the game and the cause. Kay Yow lost her life to breast cancer in 2009 with more then 700 career wins. The Schneider's still try to go every year and this year the girls came along. They were perfect angels and they seemed to really enjoy the game (or we can say the crowd) after they took a little nap during the first half. Even though the game is in February the stadium was rather warm as you can see from their pink cheeks. The day ended up being their first concert as well as American Idol winner Scotty McCreery sang during half time to all of the surviors of cancer. Scotty is a local who grew up in Garner and won the tenth season of American Idol in May of 2011. It was a great day!

Baby It Is Cold Outside

Kira


Alana




Kira




Kira on right



While we live in NC it does still get rather cold in January and February. As you can see from the pictures Kira hated her "tent" and Alana loved it.











Solid Foods - Squash

Kira

Alana



In January the doctors told Jim and I that we could start experimenting with food for the girls. We were told to try yellow/orange, then green, then meats and lastly fruits. We were instructed to give them the same thing for 5 to 7 days at a time. So we started with squash. Alana enjoyed it right away and kept opening her mouth wide for more. Kira was very unsure and made a face that said "I am really wondering what you are feeding me". Alana kept wanting more but she did not understand how to use her tongue. Her tongue kept pushing the food that she really did want back out of her mouth. Kira for the most part had eating down right away. By the second day Kira decided that she loved squash as much as her sister. You can not shovel the food in fast enough for them. They really liked the added variety to their diet.










Big Girl Bath & Daddy Mistake







As always these days this post is a little behind.....



However this story is just way too funny not to tell. It was January 2nd 2012 and I had the day off but Jim needed to return to work. On our drive from NY to NC a few days before we had discussed giving the girls a bath in the big girl tub. So Jim decided that we would give it a try when he came home from work on the 2nd.



We gave it a try and it did not go very well. The girls love bath time but they were not very thrilled with sitting in the Bumbo chairs. It did not take us long to realize that they did not weigh enough to hold the chairs down in the water so they were bobbing everywhere. The expressions on their faces were priceless and both kept throwing their arms out trying to steady themselves. Jim and I could not stop laughing! We then had two wet girls that we had to get out of the tub and put them back in one at a time to wash. It was not an easy bath time. To the credit of the girls though they never cried!



After we finished bath time I dressed Alana and Jim dressed Kira. We fed them and put them to bed. In the morning I went in to get them up and dressed while Jim made their bottles. Kira was awake and singing in her crib. I went to pick her up and thought how odd she feels wet. I figured she must have over run her diaper during the 12 hr. night. She then felt wet up her back and I thought jeez she is sweating. When her feet were wet I was starting to get a little worried. I picked her up - took her to the changing table - took off her PJ's and quickly realized what was wrong. Jim completely forgot to put a diaper on her so she went 12 hrs. completely free. She was soaking wet but as happy as ever! Jim and I had a good laugh at that mistake - that was a first.