First Doctor Appointment

I was a little nervous about the insurance issues we've been having, and in fact, I was met with, "We're not going to refuse to see you, but you need to understand that if your insurance denies the claim, we're billing you for their visits."  Fine, no problem.  Blue Shield had already told me that they were making the change effective July 1, so I wasn't concerned.  Then she decided to check the system one last time, and lo and behold, the problem was resolved, the kids ARE assigned to the correct physician (who is out on maternity leave) after all.  

With that issue resolved, the rest of the visit went well.  Katie is 25# and Luke is 28#, which surprised me.  I thought for sure the difference between them was greater.  Katie, however, is in a lower percentile than Luke.  By quite a bit.  She could stand to gain a bit, whereas Luke needs to get more active and depend less on bottles.  

It was nice to have an Asian doc for the visit.  When I mentioned that we're having a hard time getting Katie to drink much and she can go hours without a wet diaper, she suggested we try the sweetened soy milk from the Asian market.  Brilliant.  I'll give that a shot.  

This little guy got referrals to a couple of specialists.  I anticipate we'll start hearing from other offices to schedule appointments right about the time Paul heads back to work.  

Seeing "Global developmental delays" on his after visit summary didn't bother me.  Instead, it felt strangely validating.  

I had to laugh about the weigh ins.  Katie went first, and the nurse said, "Have her stand here."  Um, how about we sit, instead?  Then, when it was Luke's turn, again, "Have him stand here."  Yeah, that doesn't work, either, sorry.  This whole business of two non-ambulatory kids at once is something I didn't really think through.  Take getting out and about for example.  Now, this morning, I was dropping Sam at football on the way to the doctor's office, so he carried one of the babies out of the house for me.  

What I didn't realize at the time was that getting them back INTO the house by myself would be more of a challenge.  The doctor's office was not a problem; I just used the double stroller.  But getting my purse, the kids' diaper bag, the pile of paperwork, and 50+# of toddlers from the van to the house all at once was more of a struggle.  

Misc progress since we've been home:  

     Luke can now roll over both directions.

     Katie has learned to say NO!  (Also NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!)  I think this may have something to do with having siblings.  

     I bought Luke a musical activity mat.  He really likes music, and will sometimes come out of a fit if I sing to him or put Pandora on the ipad.  

     Hannah and Katie have appointments at Shriners on Monday.  Hannah just needs to have her leg tweaked a little, so we'll go upstairs, drop her prosthetic off, go downstairs, have Katie's appointment, and then go back up and pick up her leg.  

Sleep continues to be a huge challenge.  Last night was pretty grim.  I'm currently counting down to bedtime in the worst way.  Katie will simply decide that she's awake and chatter to herself, but Luke wants out of bed to play.  I spent hours of the last two nights sitting in the sewing room with Luke on the floor and me blearily reading emails.  

Another, "Hmm, I didn't think that one through very well" issue is Luke's clothing size.  I was expecting him to be way smaller.  Add cloth diapers to the mix, and it's pretty hilarious.  I need to dig through the bucket of stuff I thought was going to be too big for him and see what works now.  

Having Luke learn to roll over is great, and I'm thrilled, but it means that Tummy Time seems to have come to a crashing halt, as he much prefers to be on his back.  When I sit on the floor with him and engage him in something, he'll last for a tiny bit, but he really wants to flip over.  I've tried to get him into a crawling position, but he's just not there yet.  I'm a little worried about how he'll ever get that sizable torso off the ground if he's on his back all the time, but I'm sure when he starts therapy I'll get some pointers.