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Primigravida

(twins!)

Page

This File Under Construction

Last update: 9 April 1998.

Welcome to my page devoted to our twins (after their birth). For information about Judith's pregnancy and the first few weeks after the twins birth, please go to this homepage for those pictures.

I'm placing the news in reverse chronological order to make it easier to spot, especially since I rarely have time to update this page. I put all the pictures prior to the birth on a separate page (see above) to give our readers faster loading.

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RECENT NEWS

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******************** 14 April updates ***********

Here's a switch, how about more pictures and fewer words!

Pictures of Karen from the past few months:


Pictures of Anna from the past few months:


********************* 9 April updates ***********

Karen trying to sleep with two heart monitors attached. The monitor on the right also tracks breathing.
Two weeks ago the pediatric neurologist gave us an official diagnosis regarding Karen. It is both good and bad news. The good news is that the condition is "mild" and Karen should lead a happy and productive life. The bad news is that she may have to work a bit harder due to the condition: "mild spastic cerebral palsy". Cerebral palsy is a broad term, and encompasses much more than the tilted neck problem (torticolis).
The physical therapy seems to work; she has shown less and less tendency to tilt her neck. The doctor thinks that the various problems (like the neck tilt) can be controlled better the earlier we start (so it is good we spotted it so soon). But, she may exhibit the symptoms when she is really tired.
Other symptoms are more subtle. She did not fully turn her head to the left. She tended to tilt her head down when she turned it from side to side. She had asymmetric use of her legs, which showed up in the number of creases in the skin where her legs meet her fanny. She tended to shoot her right leg out straight when she crawled (which has been reduced by therapy). Subtle things that individually seem insignificant, but together fit a profile.
The best news is that she does not have any obvious organic problems. No tumors. No abscesses. Nothing abnormal at all showed up in the NMR images of her brain and brain stem. She had a slight tendency to hold food at the top of her throat when we watched the barium swallow (x-ray) scans, but not always. So, that was o.k.

********************* 1 April updates ***********
It sure has been busy the last few weeks. The girls are progressing very well. We like to think that our daughters are "above average" but what parent doesn't?
Karen really enjoyed playing with balls, so we have encouraged that. At the same time she has really grown. So, we enrolled her in the local "baby basketball" program where she really blossomed as a natural leader. She did so well at the point guard position, that she was quickly moved up through the various categories to an advanced level for her age.
Karen continues to enjoy manipulating things with her fingers. And she showed a real aptitude for the piano. The first few months I had a great time teaching her how to play. Surprisingly quickly, she picked up all the things I could teach her. So, Judith and I agreed that it was time to consider a "real" piano teacher.

Anna has done very well too. Once she learned those first few words, there was no stopping her. Judith and I have had great fun trying to teach her "impossible" words like "cardiovascular" and "Mississippi". Imagine our joy when she would repeat them! Of course, she can't do words like "chronosynclastic-infindibulum". Like Karen, we are not able to provide Anna with the advanced skills she is ready to learn.
Anna loves to watch me work on the farm. She is excited by things like the noisy tractor, and our three sheep. It is fun to watch her trying to help me with the chores.

So, where do we go from here?

In Karen's case we have a choice between a basketball scholarship (at Stanford) or a music scholarship at the Julliard. Stanford would be closer to home, so that does have more appeal. Also, Stanford has a better program in applied mathematics. (Karen amuses herself by solving differential equations in her head.)

In Anna's case, we can tell that she really loves being a farmer. (We did well to choose "Sonjesif" as her middle name!). Once she could reach the pedals, she was driving our John Deere like a pro! On the other hand, the offer from Yale is hard to ignore: full professorship with tenure in the Medical school. (Specialty: prenatal care.)

Ooopps! April fools! Just kidding! No, the girls are not this far advanced. Obviously, this summary is not realistic. For example, Anna's job offer was from the University of Washington and did not include tenure ......

********************* 18 February updates ***********

A brief update. Anna routinely takes several steps at a time without support. She remains very active, crawling or walking as often as possible. Consequently, she dislikes being in the "baby coral". Anna has her 5th tooth coming in. (3rd one on the bottom.) For the past week she has had a mild cold. Lots of "nasal discharge" to go with the "oral discharge" (i.e. drool). Yuck!

Karen first sat up by herself on 30 January. She does so with ease by now. Karen can pull herself up to a kneeling position with ease, can almost pull up to a standing position. The main impediment being she cannot coordinate her legs. The legs are like wood... Karen is almost over her cold (caught at the same time as Anna).
We took Karen to the physical therapist today. She verified that Karen's head tilt (towards the right at maybe 30 degrees) had various other implications. For example, Karen has only 3/4 the range of turning her head side to side. Also, she turns side to side with her head tilted forward. Karen will look up not so much by tilting her head back, but by arching her back. She has slightly asymmetric hips as noted by an extra crease in the skin where her right thigh meets her hip.
Judith and I were instructed to try exercises that stretch Karen's neck muscles, especially on Karen's right side. The problem looks like torticollis (also known as wryneck) though it might be "mild" cerebral palsy. Later tests may narrow the diagnosis. The physical therapy may take many months.

********************* end of 18 February updates ***********

********************* 29 January updates ***********

A brief update. Karen and Anna had their 9-month appointments with the pediatrician. Both girls have dropped down on the standardized charts, their weights and heights are now close to the norm. Apparently, their growth (above the norm, followed by dropping below the norm) is typical for breast fed babies.

Anna: 18 lbs 1 oz, 27.5 inches

Karen: 18 lbs 7 oz, 28.25 inches