My girls

Today was another preemie dig at my heart & soul.

Arianna had her 3 year pediatrician appointment.

She's 36" tall, finally. But lost weight, again. She's 26 lbs. 1 oz. She has a cold, no surprise, but I think we've come to the conclusion she has asthma and will need to be on medicine now. Although this is totally no surprise to me I'm bummed. Being a preemie has hit her hard for being a nearly 29 weeker. Heck, I was only 2 oz. bigger than her when I was born at 30 weeks and I haven't dealt with what she's dealt with. It makes me sad and feel guilty at the same time.

On the bright side though we're working hard on our phonics and math and she's doing great. She can read a few words and what she can't read she can at least sound out phonetically and sometimes figures them out. She's really amazing me with the attention level she has for this.

Gross motor wise, well... she's really far behind. I see it more and more. She goes to gymnastics and can't do anything the 2 year olds can do. Her gait is really immature for a 3 year old, she can't/won't jump, can't/won't 'do' stairs and is very clumsy - to the point that I think she's a danger to herself. But, as her pediatrician pointed out, it's not delaying her advancement so we'll just let it 'get better'. Well how can it get better without help? I'm really concerned about it and don't feel I'm getting much help.

She still stutters, especially when asking a question, but apparently they don't do anything about it until age 5 and even then its done through the school system which is backlogged, under staffed and unorganized.

Daria is 7 months now and weighing in at a very hefty 19 lbs. She's in the 90th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height - she's just a moose! She sits up on her own fully now, gets up on her hands and knees for crawling (but thank god doesn't do it yet), is experimenting with solid food and today she said 'mama'. She has the most infectious laugh and is totally a dream baby - sleeps well and hardly ever fusses. She nurses avidly and makes me so very happy - she's my sanity saver when Arianna is 'in a mood'.

What post would be complete without pictures of my babies? I took these last week at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Gardens.

They like me, they really really like me

I was interviewed for an article on pregnancy after having a preemie. The article is here.

Unlike Glad, Jennifer D of Cumberland, R.I., knew when she was pregnant with her first child that she was at increased risk of giving birth prematurely. Due to a bout with cervical cancer at age 18, she had already been diagnosed with an incompetent cervix. In addition, she'd been a preemie herself – born in 1978 at 30 weeks. In spite of all those warning signs, she says her doctor didn't take any special precautions, and her daughter, Arianna, now 3, still has issues related to her birth at 28 weeks.

When Jennifer got pregnant with her second child she went back to the same doctor armed with more than a year's worth of research. She wanted to discuss having a procedure called a cerclage, often used in cases of incompetent cervix, where the cervix is stitched closed. She also wanted to discuss other options for preventing prematurity, such as progesterone shots and more frequent ultrasounds. Her doctor, however, still did not take her increased risk seriously.

"I felt like I'd hit a brick wall when I went back to my original practice," Jennifer says. "When I told them what I wanted to do to try to prevent another premature birth, they didn't want to commit to anything. They said they couldn't say what they'd be able to do differently than the first time. I told them I was sorry, but I'd have to find a new doctor."

The new practice worked closely with Jennifer. She had a cerclage at 13 weeks, supplemented that with progesterone, and was scheduled for weekly appointments and ultrasounds. Her second daughter, Daria, was born healthy and full-term.

I feel so spe-shell

Photographers are funny

I did a workshop today that was lots of fun. Our model was the flaming red head you see below, yes, the female one...

Photographers are funny people :P

Year Three

Today my preemie pumpkin turns 3. She amazes me every day - earlier this week she demonstrated to me that she can read the words 'cat', 'hat' and 'bus'. She also deomonstrated what a sassy attitude year 3 carries with it. I'll miss 2 but I'm excited to see what 3 has to offer.

I love you my red headed baby big girl :)

At the end of year 1 and now:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I think I may have a little model on my hands...

Daria was a baby model for a photography workshop I did today. She's so yummy :)