Category Archives: Destroy

November 6, 2010

Cold and Flu Season

It’s the 2010 cold/flu season. And the muppets are now the recipients of a 2010 cold.

This is their first illness (other than “tiny”). So naturally, I panicked. Jon called the advice nurse to ask if we should bring them in to see the doctor.

“Do they have a fever?” No.
“Have they stopped eating?” No.
“Is there green goo coming out of any orifice?” No.
“Is he vomiting?” Other than the standard projectile spit-up, no.

I think I could hear the advice nurse rolling her eyes at us. She told us that the muppets have a cold; watch them. Surprisingly, this made sense to me. For some reason, I always assumed that very sick children come with a fever. Instead, Destroy got wheezy.

Grandma Nancy came to visit on Friday. Destroy grinned, coughed and wheezed hello. “Oooh, I don’t like the sound of that,” she commented. That was all it took – Jon immediately made an appointment for that afternoon. He called me at work to let me know of the change of plans.

In a previous life, I likely would have quietly approached my boss and inquire if it would be okay if I left a little early so I could go to the doctor. But now it was about my boys. Mommyhood engulfed me. “I’m leaving to take my muppets to the doctor,” I informed my boss. Sick muppets do not qualify for a debate. (Although, to be fair, this was already a Friday afternoon and I have 24/7 access to work from any location.)

The doctor looked at Destroy’s breathing and said “I can’t let him leave here looking like that.” My eyes widened and my stomach began to sink. I wanted no part of staying in the hospital and there was no way I was going to be able to leave my little man there again. His pulse ox (oxygen saturation level) was 94 and he was experiencing heavy retractions – where the skin pulls tight around each rib on the chest as the child works to breathe.

The day the muppets graduated from the NICU, their pulse ox was 94 – and we were doing a happy dance it was finally so high. But 94 is apparently a bad low number now that they’re big boys.

The doctor decided to try treating him with albuterol, a bronchodilator that helps open up the airways in your lungs to make it easier to breathe. It’s normally used as an asthma treatment, but also works for tiny developing lungs. The medication works by creating a steam that is inhaled through an oxygen face mask.

Destroy wasn’t thrilled with the concept, but he didn’t fight it too hard. And amazingly, he responded phenomenally to the treatment. The doctor even later admitted that she didn’t think we’d be going home that night…

So we were given a crash course on how to work a nebulizer and sent home. Yay! Turns out the biggest complication was when Jon got locked in the pharmacy. (They shut all the large fire doors at closing. I was beginning to wonder if we’d end up spending the night for a completely unforeseen issue.)

This morning, after a wake-up nebulizing albuterol experience, we went trooping back to the doctor for a follow up. Both muppets were getting checked since, even with my limited medical training, I’m pretty sure they have the same virus.

Destroy’s pulse ox was 100. Search’s read low, 96. But the medical assistant looked at him and decided he looked far too healthy to have only a 96 percent saturation level. After a repeat measurement, Search was 99 percent saturated. I then came to the conclusion that yesterday’s technician got the wrong result.

Today’s doctor confirmed – they have a cold. She also thought Destroy responded really well to the albuterol and said, in the grand scheme of sick babies, this is relatively mild. (They still have not experienced a fever and continue to eat like gangbusters.) We can expect the wheezing and coughing to last about one to two weeks – similar to when you or I get a cold and then can’t shake the blasted cough for 7-14 days after we feel better.

In addition to albuterol, this weekend’s prescription involves a significant amount of snuggling. Despite feeling icky, both muppets have maintained their awesomely adorable happy baby demeanor. They just require a lot more holding. They’ve slept a tremendous amount for the past couple days; I am encouraging this because I know that’s what I enjoy doing when I’m sick. But the second I try to put them down, their little snuggle meter blares to life.

“HOLD ME! I NEED TO BE HELD. I DO NOT FEEL GOOD!!!” As soon as I pick them up, I am rewarded with a coo.

Apologies if I appear a bit skittish for the next one to two weeks. Babies get sick. Colds are to be expected (especially during the cold and flu season). But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I plan to remain on high alert in Mama Bear mode until the muppets are all better.

One final Public Service Announcement: If you are sick, stay home. Keep your cooties to yourself. The muppets don’t want them.

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November 3, 2010

The Nanny Diaries

Unlike the manic Monday misery most people feel at the start of each week, Monday is fun-day for the muppets.

Our nanny, Holly, is officially attached to the boys. And boy, do they love her – she’s fascinating, fun and oh so entertaining. For several weeks, Search has greeted Holly with a big grin. This past week, the three of them had a little chat.

Hi. Ink. And arf.

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November 1, 2010

Put the NICU Nurses Out of a Job

As part of a campaign to generate awareness about the crisis of premature birth in our country, the March of Dimes designated November as Prematurity Awareness Month. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death worldwide. And the rate of premature birth has risen by 30 percent since 1981.

“We need to fight for our little ones so they don’t have to.”

Every year, 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely – that’s more than 543,000 children. This year, that number includes my twin boys. Compared with one baby, twins (or other higher order multiples) in California were about six times as likely to be preterm in 2007. A traditional pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks; full term is considered at 37 weeks. My muppets arrived in the middle of their 27th week – 12 weeks early.

I don’t call them my million dollar miracle muppets just for fun. Care for preemies costs more than $26 billion a year – 10 times greater than the average expense of a full-term newborn. The costs break down as follows:

  • $16.9 billion (65 percent) for medical care
  • $1.9 billion (7 percent) for maternal delivery
  • $611 million (2 percent) for early intervention services
  • $1.1. billion (4 percent) for special education services
  • $5.7 billion (22 percent) for lost household and labor market productivity

(These estimates come from Preterm Birth: Causes, Consequences and Prevention, a 2006 report published by the Institute of Medicine and funded in part by the March of Dimes.)

Having a child draws out a wide range of emotions in any case. I remember lying in my hospital bed, watching nervous and excited moms rush into the Labor and Delivery unit. Inevitably, I’d hear the mom or dad gleefully shouting that they were about to meet their new family member. I’d always envisioned that same scenario for my family. Instead, I was wheeled into the OR sobbing, clutching a nurses hand as I chanted “chubby babies, chubby babies.”

Born three months premature, my sons were a tiny two pounds. But from the very beginning they were perfect in all the littlest ways. They each had a distinct personality and a desire to make their preferences known to the world. I am a mother, a mommy to two precious twin boys. My husband and I are parents. But they were not yet really ours. You meet your children and you would do anything for them – then you are faced with the guilt of not having provided enough to keep them out of harm’s way.

I learned so much during the 10 weeks my boys were residents of the NICU. They had the most amazing nurses, who patiently explained everything to my husband and me and cared for the muppets as though they were their own children in the hours we couldn’t be with them in the hospital. Those nurses became family.

Today

My muppets are doing great. They’re great big boys (at five months old) and spend their days smiling and giggling. With each passing day, the NICU becomes more of a distant memory. But for all the families currently going through that experience, I hope someday the NICU nurses are all out of work because they are no longer needed.

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Chances are somebody you know has experienced the roller coaster of emotions a baby born too soon brings. – it’s far more common than we like to think.

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October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! This is such a fun holiday for the little ones – cute little kids in warm fuzzy costumes and sleep-deprived parents sporting zombie-like circles under their eyes simply blend in with the crowds.

On this first Halloween for the muppets, they will be helping me hand out candy to the slightly larger little ones traversing the neighborhood in search of fun-size goodies. Our celebration was yesterday.

With lions and tigers and bears – oh my – a number of moms gathered to watch our progeny dive headfirst into a massive sugar high (and ball pit provided for toddler entertainment). Chaos ensued. There were Buzz Lightyears and Jesse the Toy Story Cowgirl, a skunk, giraffe and butterfly. Sadly, the jovial atmosphere was dampened when Mickey Mouse took a bite out of the bear (literally). The bear spent the rest of the afternoon running amuck in his undies – judging by the pattern on those, I suppose he transformed into a fire truck.

But, of course, kings of the jungle were the lion and the mischief-making monkey.

Search

Destroy

Destroy was my little lion and Search was mommy’s monkey. I grew up collecting stuffed animals – I have containers full waiting for the boys and still more stored at GrammaJ and GrampaTavo’s house. Today, my million dollar miracle muppets were by far the cutest and cuddliest stuffed animals to ever exist.

(Momentary tangent: I was completely unsuccessful in my attempts to locate muppet costumes for tiny infants. Apparently they only come in size six months and up, which is too big for the muppets even if they were term size. I figure I have at least one more year of getting to choose their costumes. Who among my loyal readers is crafty enough to create the perfect muppet costumes for Halloween 2011?)

One little boy was wearing an oversized “My First Halloween” onesie. He was one week old. I looked at the tiny man, who weighed in at a hefty seven and a half pounds, and exclaimed, “He’s so tiny!” I had become so used to my little perfect preemies that I hadn’t realized how quickly they were growing up. Not only are the muppets no longer the youngest kids in the crew, they are no longer the smallest!

I was thrilled to actually feel a baby (full term) was small. Look how far we’ve come – and that realization was the best “costume” of the day.

We’ve all had a great time during our first official kickoff to the 2010 holiday season. And Search thinks this weekend’s adventures have been hilarious.

Trick-or-treat!

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October 27, 2010

Emotions

Happy

Sad

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October 21, 2010

Happy Days are Here

The muppets had a good day. This morning, I asked Jon how they were. He replied, “Smiley.”

And they are! Destroy responds best to “mawwww,” while Search appears to giggle at “bibbity booos.”

As a new mom, one of the most common coy premonitions of veteran moms was – just wait until you see them smile. It melts your heart.

Far be it from me to keep that joy from you. For your viewing pleasure, I present Destroy’s first smile caught on camera. Whether it takes you back to when you had your own little ones or just gives you unexplained warm fuzzies because babies are cute – there’s something to be said for the pure unadulterated joy a smiling muppet can share.

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October 10, 2010

Zio and Zia

The muppets and I have just returned from the airport. After a fun-filled weekend whirl of a visit, the muppets reluctantly agreed to release Paul and Stephanie back to the badlands.

Somewhere in an album, hidden away in my parents’ closet, is a photo of me holding Paul. I’m three; Paul is perhaps three months. He is slouching down and looking very concerned that someone thought it was a good idea to hand the newborn to the toddler. What a different picture this weekend – now it’s Paul holding the babies. (Although, there were certainly some of the same concerned looks…)

The newly engaged couple arrived on Friday evening. Since the muppets didn’t appear interested in sleeping, both were wide-awake and ready to meet their new family. Stephanie didn’t make it two steps into the house before her arms were outstretched for a little man. In the arms of the adorably pocket-sized Steph, the boys looked ginormous. Paul smiled and admired them from a distance.

Uncle Paul and Aunt Steph had procured stuffed animals for the muppets during their engagement excursion in Hawaii. A green sea turtle with giant bug eyes and a soft grey dolphin. Naturally, I was very excited about the turtle. Paul noted that even though everyone (from purchase through delivery) seemed to get so excited about the turtle, he’d picked out the dolphin. Brothers-in-arms, Destroy was fully on his side regarding his favorite animal. He hugged the dolphin close and snuggled into my chest with his new toy. In contrast, he eyed the turtle very warily. I do not think he was a fan – in retrospect, it may have been the bug-eyes that threw him.

Saturday morning, I heard Paul pacing near the bottom of the stairs. Search had finished breakfast but was not content to sit back and give his brother a chance to fill his tummy. So, I instructed Paul to join me in the nursery and make himself useful. He sat down and I put Search in his lap. Search and Paul were wearing matching concerned looks. Paul was so afraid to move, he asked Stephanie to itch his eyebrow for him. He became a lot more comfortable as the hours passed.

We spent the rest of the morning in the living room as Paul explained the merits of college football to the next generation quarterback and linebacker. Destroy looked up at Paul wide-eyed and arfed. Not to be outdone by his brother, Search waited for Paul to feed him and had a major diaper blowout. But both, feeling better with more room in their tummies, rewarded Paul with a grin.

(Not the actual wedding dress)

The muppets were very spoiled. The slightest muppet noise or coo and Steph had them scooped up into her arms. Smiles were had by all.

Sunday was wedding focused. The love-birds met with a photographer (my favorite, Keary Dee) and then we bundled up the boys and went to try on wedding dresses. Paul was in charge of babysitting the twins. Auntie Ivy was on hand to babysit Paul as needed. (Turns out she wasn’t.) Aunt Steph is going to be an amazingly gorgeous bride.

Despite my best efforts, I don’t see the two abandoning their new beach house to move up north. They were such a help and great with the boys. And I can tell the muppets love them just as much. In fact, I think the muppets would like them to come back. Soon.

In the meantime, since Paul and Steph have just moved into their new home, I shall make it my responsibility to ensure an appropriate number of muppet photos are proudly displayed in each room.

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October 7, 2010

Eye Sore

Destroy has brown eyes. Search has not yet decided – his eyes average a dark grey color, swinging back and forth between bluish or brownish depending on what outfit he is currently stylin’. Both boys have adorable expressions (see The Look/You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile) and are slowly starting to check out more of the world around them.

These poor muppets have endured far more than their fair share of poking and prodding in their four months. (Today was Destroy’s final retinal doctors appointment. Search finished this process last month.) But I am pleased to announce both muppets are officially RoP free.

Retinopathy of prematurity (RoP) is an eye disease that affects preemies. It results from a rapid and chaotic growth of blood vessels behind the retina. Term babies complete their physiological development in a low-oxygen environment; retinal blood vessels freak out when they hit the high-oxygen atmosphere of the world.

Virtually all kiddos considered “extremely premature” experience some level of the disease. It can be mild and simply resolve of its own accord or, in more serious cases, cause blindness. I remember speaking with Nurse Jennifer about RoP for the first time, before their first eye exam. A pediatric retinal specialist would examine them every two weeks as needed. Their little eyes would be propped open with a wire so the doctor could shine a light inside.

Their first eye exam was the first time I heard them scream.

Thankfully, the muppets were diagnosed with only a mild form of Stage 1 RoP – the closest to all clear they could be. But they had to return for exams monthly after NICU graduation until the RoP was completely gone.

This morning, while I was busy educating the world on the technical glories of Silicon Valley, Jon packed up the muppets and trooped over to hospital. Nurses, patients and visitors alike were apparently awestruck to see Dad alone with twins. “Where’s Mom?” a nurse asked, incredulously. I wonder if she would have been so surprised to see me there without Dad.

As my three boys sat in the office waiting for Destroy’s eyes to dilate, Search decided he was hungry. Since Jon was holding Destroy, Search elevated his hunger situation to meltdown levels. As Jon riffled through the Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag looking for a pluggie, Search proceeded to shove his entire fist in his mouth – self-soothing and audibly sucking so no one around could possibly forget his predicament. Personally, I was pretty impressed with the hand-to-mouth coordination.

Finally, the pediatric retinal specialist decreed that so little RoP remained – leaving approximately a 0 percent chance of resulting issues. Yay! Destroy does not have to go back. (The doctor is used to examining preemies. Pudgy Destroy is getting too big and squirmy for the doctor.)

The muppets have surpassed yet another trial set in their path to big, strong, smart, healthy baby boys. Sight-wise, vision problems will not be related to prematurity – it’s all up to genetics at this point.

Sorry boys – glasses are definitely in your future…

 

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September 29, 2010

You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile

The title says it all. Look who’s smiling now.

Happy Muppet

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September 25, 2010

Don’t Be Fooled by My Size

Most people who meet the muppets coo in amazement at what tiny babies they are. But don’t let that fool you. We now have jumbo babies.

Today was the NICU Preemie Party. The hospital holds an annual event – inviting all the graduates back for a reunion. Parents get to come and show off their quickly growing offspring, nurses get to see how well their charges are progressing and hundreds of kids get to run amuck at a large-scale play date. I was very excited to bring our own 2010 graduates.

We spent the morning gathering all our gear, then loaded everything into our massive stroller and went trooping down the street to the park. I wasn’t sure where the gathering was going to be, or even how big I should expect it, so the three of us took the long route around the park and weaved our way passed various crowds trying to see if we recognized anyone. I began to notice a higher than average number of double strollers passing me – headed in the direction of the park arbor picnic area. My Encyclopedia Brown powers of deductive reasoning inspired me to follow the three sets of twins and one family of quads.

It was kind of fun to be around so many families of multiples. Even in this era of Kate Plus Eight and Octomom, people still seemed to be fascinated by twins. “Oh my goodness! Twins?! Are they natural?” (And of course, there was the one person who observed our stroller last weekend and inquired, “Are there babies in there?”) But today, nobody gave a second look at twins. All conversations were around ages. How old were they when they were born and how old were they now.

On the other side of the colorful kids play area, bouncy houses rose before us like the fabled Emerald City of Oz. Multitudes of little ones were running toward the gathering, screaming with pure joy. From all sides, nurses were gasping with incredulity at how big all the kids were. (“Is he going into kindergarten this year?!” “Well, no, he’s two…”) Once admitted, I made a circular round of the set-up, taking care not to take out any prior preemies with our beast of a stroller. (Everyone was very understanding. Most of them had equally large units of transportation.) There were booths with spin-art (remember that from the mid-80s!), face painting and a magician with a real-live bunny.

It was so wonderful to see so many big healthy kids running around. I’m sure it was absolutely fabulous for the nurses to see “their” kids. But even though I didn’t personally know the families, it was tremendously heartening to know that the preemie predicament was just a distant memory for the parents – and nary a thought for the little ones chasing each other around. Being graduates of only two months, the muppets were some of the youngest attendees. One ex-preemie was 23!

My favorite part was seeing our nurses in the “real-world.” Far, far away from the sterile hospital. Nurse June and Nurse Susan seemed very excited to see the boys. (And just because he loves them, Search made sure to be just as stinky for them as he was in the NICU.) It was observed that both muppets look the same – just a lot chunkier.

Seriously - no exams ok?

I wonder if Search and Destroy remember their nurses’ voices. Search definitely seemed a little concerned while Nurse June was holding him. Of course, that particular look may have just been the consternation that there was no more milk in his bottle. (Gone are the days of fighting to get them to take an ounce in an hour.) Destroy didn’t socialize all that much – “Can’t talk. Eating. Growing.”

We’ll definitely be back next year. But I’ll likely have less time to chat, since I’m guessing I may be chasing toddlers in 12 months time. So while we’re congratulating our 2010 NICU graduates, go ahead and save-the-date for sometime in June 2028 for their high school graduation.

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