The Henry Twins » Health

1st Thanksgiving

Ben — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:26:11 +0000

The girls enjoyed their first Thanksgiving at the Paniagua residence.
Emilia is now standing up and clapping. We went to the neurologist at Johns Hopkins last Friday for a final EMG test. The doctor found that the nerves in her arm have regenerated, and her arm is fully recovered.
We have tried many new foods such as rice, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, pasta, and many more.

Emilia back at home

Ben — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:29:46 +0000

Emilia has now pretty much recovered from her surgery. She ended up not needing a drainage tube. Perla put in many long hours at her side in the hospital. Florencia was not allowed in the hospital room, so she and Ben were mostly at home. Thanks to Audrey and Chris, Rui Shen, Elizabeth, and Gladys for all the babysitting and other help!

October

Ben — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:41:07 +0000

The babies got their second dose of the flu vaccine yesterday. There was a long line for the clinic at the doctor’s office, but it quickly reached us at numbers 67 and 68. We are getting ready for Emila’s surgery next week — we go for a tour of the surgical unit on Friday. The hospital recommends that children not be brought in to visit, so we are organizing some help to take care of Florencia. For food we have moved on to carrots — a favorite. The new octagon play yard arrived yesterday, so the girls have a large, safe place where they can play. Perla went through all the clothes again and did some more organization — the babies keep growing. Thanks to everyone who keeps us supplied with clothing! We had to turn the heat on this week, and we worked our way up to triple layers at night. Snuggly girls are good sleepers.

Visit from Grandparents

Ben — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:44:07 +0000

Grandparents Bernita and Tim visited us last weekend. Perla and Ben left the twins with babysitters for the first time to go to the Mothers of Multiples yard sale. There we scored some new clothes, a gate for the top of the stairs, child-proofing outlet covers and cabinet locks, and some new toys. Thanks also to Mom and Dad for bringing new clothes and toys!

Emilia visited the Urologist again to review the results of her last ultrasound. The doctor says she needs surgery for the blocked ureter. She is scheduled at Anne Arundel Medical Center for October 27. She will be in the hospital for two to three days and have a drainage tube sticking out for two to three weeks.

7 months

Ben — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:52:03 +0000

The girls turned 7 months on the 4th. We went to the doctor to get the flu vaccine. A second dose is due next month.

We have been eating yams, the favorite meal so far. I think bananas will be next. We also start on 3 “solid food” meals a day this week.

Florencia is crawling all over, starting to get up on her knees. She also can sit up by herself. Emilia still gets around by rolling, but she is doing good at sitting for a long time now.

We have all been a bit sick this week, some sort of cold with runny and stuffy noses. Florencia had a high temperature one night, and we gave her a dose of infant Tylenol.

Grandma and Grandpa will be visiting this week. We had planned to meet them in Ocean City, but we need a few more days to recover from the colds.

Back from the Beach

Ben — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:04:00 +0000

Last week we took a trip to Ocean City. It was our first overnight trip with the babies. We all survived and actually had a great time. First I have some pictures from before the beach to post.

We also went to Johns Hopkins last week. The doctor says Emilia’s arm is almost fully recovered. He wants to see her again in 3 months to determine how the nerves were repaired.

New Seat

Ben — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:43:24 +0000

Emilia has started spinning around in the crib and she ends up kicking Florencia. The new crib divider is the answer to this problem until they start climbing.

Emilia is also getting restless in her bouncy seat — she wants to sit up! So she now has a Bumbo seat and loves it. Our living room is now filled with baby entertainment stations. The girls make the circuit from swing to bouncy to Bumbo to exersaucer to mini-gym to daddy’s arms. And once in a while to the crib.

Emilia had another visit to Johns Hopkins to see Dr. Crawford, the Neurologist. After another prickly test, the doctor told us that he sees improvement in her arm. We have another appointment at the end of July, and no prickly test this time!

Carmen and Bill

Ben — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:58:55 +0000

Yes, it’s been over 10 days since the last post. We have been keeping busy.

The urologist says that Emilia has a partially obstructed ureter, but her kidney is not damaged. He wants us to wait 3 months, have an ultrasound done, then decide what to do based on that test. The obstruction may clear by itself or she may need surgery to fix the problem.

Carmen and Bill came from Albany to visit us last weekend. We enjoyed their company, and their visit was much too short.

Our friends John and April had a baby girl, Susanna, on June 4. Their web site is here.

Bubbles

Ben — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:00:09 +0000

The girls went to the pediatrician for their 4 month checkup yesterday. They are both now 24 1/2″ tall and 12 pounds, 9 1/2 ounces. More shots and a bit of crying.

Emilia’s arm movement is still improving.

The results from Emilia’s renal scan seem to indicate a blockage in the ureter. We need to speak with the Urologist for more details on that.

Grandparents’ Visit

Ben — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:33:36 +0000

This week Tim and Bernita came from South Carolina to visit their granddaughters. Emilia saw Dr. Crawford again. Her arm is improving — the Doctor wants to see us again at the end of June.

Emilia went to the hospital today to try the renal scan again. This time the IV was good, and we were able to complete the test.

Today the girls turn 4 months!