(Disclaimer: This blog entry contains some yucky descriptions of baby poopy. You've been warned.)
We had our first non-scheduled doctor visit with Naomi two weeks ago last Monday. Over the weekend, she started having some issues with her digestive system. She went from a bowel movement (BM, the common euphemism for "pooped" from the hospital) maybe once a day or so to a dirty diaper before every single feeding, plus typically one while she was being fed. Tack on to this that the, shall we say, substance of these BMs changed as well. The color changed to a more mucousy green, then what really panicked us were little specks of red mixed in. Well, blood in the poopy is one of those, "Call the doctor now" signals that they tell new parents, so in she went on Monday morning.
The doctor poked and prodded her a bit, and diagnosed her with an inflamed colon caused by cow milk protein sensitivity (not the same as lactose intolerance). Hmm, that doesn't sound good. She was placed on this special formula which has broken down these proteins so they're easier to digest. As a bonus, Erin is now also off all milk products as well so that Naomi can continue to get breast milk. After about 36 hours her condition cleared right up and she's been cruising right along since then.
There's two things that are really a drag about this new formula, though: first, it smells bad. Not necessarily iron-infused poopy diaper bad, but still pretty nose-turning. And it's a bizarre smell, something along the lines of "burnt brussel sprouts", a strange vegetably odor that you are not expecting from this white liquid. The other bummer: it's the most expensive formula (of course), by far. We were already on expensive formula with the Enfamil Enfacare for premature infants at $13 for 12.8 ounces. This new stuff (Similac Alimentum): $25 for 16 oz. Ouch.
On more pleasant news, there has been one unconfirmed sighting of a smile on Evan's face playing in his blue bouncy chair. We're waiting for follow-up news reports but clearly this is an exciting development. If any photo- or video-graphic evidence emerges it will certainly be reported here.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Cruisin' Right along
Everything is well here in double trouble land. The twins had a doctor appointment earlier this week, nothing major, just some little issues we wanted to clear up. While we were there we got an update on their weight and Naomi is up to 9 lbs. 13 oz. (!), and Evan is 8 lbs. 3 oz. So we almost have a 10 pound baby!
They're both slowly learning how to do their yoga positions, particularly the Downward Dog and the Cobra. We're supposed to give them tummy time when they're awake and alert, but not panicked or hungry, which seems like it's a grand total of about five minutes every feeding period. Oh, did I mention if we put them on their tummies after they eat there's about a 90 percent chance they'll spit up? So that's out too. Sometimes, we just have to put Naomi or Evan on their tummies when they're awake AND hungry, which ends up with an angry baby. This has the ironic effect, though, of really getting them up in the air! So, it's not a totally bad proposition.
In other news, I've always enjoyed photography but shooting people has never been my strong suit. My previous vacation photos were all about the scenery, but never had anyone actually IN the photo. In the last few years I've started to really pay more attention to photographs of people and what makes some photos seem so compelling and full of emotion. Hopefully I can capture some of that with Naomi and Evan.
In that regards, I've been slowly constructing a poor man's version of a studio. I constructed a frame out of PVC pipe and went to a local fabric store and bought some cloth. The basement project is at a point where the room is basically finished (carpeted, doors are up) but there's no furniture at all in the entire room, so I could use it to spread out and set my area. I've had one session with Naomi and some of the pictures came out pretty good. My biggest problem/challenge right now is that I don't have any real studio lights, so my choices are limited to the flash on the camera and the overhead lights. I'll keep working on it, though, I'm liking where this is headed.
I've put up a new set of pictures on the Photobucket site (http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n171/benjamingold/Twins/), look for the pictures named "babies_03_04_07_xx.jpg". They are mostly of Naomi, who like I said was my first test subject, but there's a couple impromptu shots of Evan in there that I think will be keepers.
They're both slowly learning how to do their yoga positions, particularly the Downward Dog and the Cobra. We're supposed to give them tummy time when they're awake and alert, but not panicked or hungry, which seems like it's a grand total of about five minutes every feeding period. Oh, did I mention if we put them on their tummies after they eat there's about a 90 percent chance they'll spit up? So that's out too. Sometimes, we just have to put Naomi or Evan on their tummies when they're awake AND hungry, which ends up with an angry baby. This has the ironic effect, though, of really getting them up in the air! So, it's not a totally bad proposition.
In other news, I've always enjoyed photography but shooting people has never been my strong suit. My previous vacation photos were all about the scenery, but never had anyone actually IN the photo. In the last few years I've started to really pay more attention to photographs of people and what makes some photos seem so compelling and full of emotion. Hopefully I can capture some of that with Naomi and Evan.
In that regards, I've been slowly constructing a poor man's version of a studio. I constructed a frame out of PVC pipe and went to a local fabric store and bought some cloth. The basement project is at a point where the room is basically finished (carpeted, doors are up) but there's no furniture at all in the entire room, so I could use it to spread out and set my area. I've had one session with Naomi and some of the pictures came out pretty good. My biggest problem/challenge right now is that I don't have any real studio lights, so my choices are limited to the flash on the camera and the overhead lights. I'll keep working on it, though, I'm liking where this is headed.
I've put up a new set of pictures on the Photobucket site (http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n171/benjamingold/Twins/), look for the pictures named "babies_03_04_07_xx.jpg". They are mostly of Naomi, who like I said was my first test subject, but there's a couple impromptu shots of Evan in there that I think will be keepers.
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