History of the Duo 106 (part 6)

Premature babies have so many strikes against them. Even with great prenatal care and a drug free habitat, which unfortunately, the Dynamic Duo did not have, there are problems. The twins never had the lung problems that a lot of preemies do. They were breathing on their own from the first and never had a setback....that was a huge miracle in itself. They were responding to sound in the hospital and subsequent hearing test showed no problem. The twice a month eye exams in Oklahoma City were normal but later exams have shown problems that hopefully, glasses will correct. I can't get my mind around having two, less than two year olds, in glasses! I have problems finding two pairs of shoes at one time. Glasses are going to be a nightmare.

At a few months old, we realized Kayla was not progressing as well as Lyssa....nothing showed up in capital letters, just little things. She didn't "talk/coo" as soon, she couldn't grasp and hang on to toys, and one eye was drifting to the left, most of the time. Doctors' offices were our second homes. A patch on Kayla's good eye for a month corrected her drifting eye and she's never regressed. The developmental specialist thinks that her fine motor skills will catch up soon. It seems the kind of drugs she had in her system linger in the muscles. She's been slower to walk and still wobbles a little. The good news was that her thinking and processing part of her brain was fine. Things could have been so much worse.

For some reason, something the doctors explained as the "A" baby being in the position to be more susceptable, Lyssa has not shown the same problems as Kayla Bug. Being second is best sometimes, I guess. Lyss started out as my clinging velcro baby but now she is Miss Independent. She's mischievious, the climber and a loving child who is always ready for the tickle spiders to get her. They speak their own language and think they need to be together most of the time though they are getting more independent.

When people tell me their child was potty trained at eight months, I just smile and think, someday we'll get there. Some things are just not as important as I used to think in my "before Duo" time. We are just glad to know where belly buttons, noses and toes are, right now. The other stuff will fall into place with some nudges....later.

to be continued....