Life The Requested Life Update - Page 5

'Hamas' Jenkins · 01-08-2013, 08:43 PM

Initial thread:

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=247772

The only way to properly begin this post is a sincere offering of gratitude for everyone that expressed care and concern for our girls. I’m amazed at the level of interest and support shown by the posters on this site. When people like Phobia and htismaqe say this place is a community, those aren’t empty words.

First, a PSA: When you take infant twins out in public it’s like being an F-list celebrity. Every sixth person you walk by in the mall or at the store says, “Oh look, twins!!” which is nice at first, but becomes increasingly annoying in the subsequent weeks and months. Yes, those are twins. Believe it or not, I can hear as well, which makes such passing comments a mixture of humorous, odd, refreshing, and irritating.

Additionally, if you say you want twins you also need to realize the work involved with juggling two babies at once, especially during diaper changes and baths. It’s not a summative, it’s exponential, especially if you are at home by yourself and one or both of them has had a blowout. That’s not to say it’s not worthwhile, but it is ****ing exhausting.

With that grievance aired, I’ll move on to the meat of this post: an update on how the girls are doing.

Hailey first. As I’m sure a lot of you remember, she had a significantly rougher initial course. Most of the important stuff is already mentioned within this thread, so I’ll update you on what has happened since.
She finally got past her issues with retinopathy, but as a result of the laser surgery she’s nearsighted. For a while her physical therapist thought she might also cognitive visual impairment (Google it if interested), but her vision in all fields and ability to pick out colors and respond to lights and shapes has tested out as perfectly normal. That said, she does need glasses to see optimally, and although she usually wears them pretty well, there are times when she’s done with it and just rips them off, chucks them, or tries to eat the plastic ear socks.

She also needed surgery around the musculature of her eyes to make sure that they both aligned properly. She had an initial procedure done in mid October. It’s likely that she’ll have another done this spring for a precise touch up and centering.

Fortunately, she eats well, feeds herself completely, drinks from straws and sippie cups, she does extremely well making sounds, imitating our sounds, communicating in general, and she even knows some sign language. It’s hard to pinpoint a child’s cognitive development at such a young age, but my wife and I, as well as her therapists, are very pleased with her cognitive function.

The area where Hailey lags behind the greatest is gross motor function. This is a result of the hypoxic environment that necessitated her delivery. As a result of the initial brain trauma to her ventricles, she displays textbook signs of spastic diplegia, the most common form of Cerebral Palsy. Because of this she’s behind her sister in movement and ambulation. She can crawl, but it’s not as graceful. Merely sitting in a proper position has required a great deal of therapy and effort. However, our PT, who is among the most dedicated and wonderful people to ever grace the Earth, is confident that she will be able to walk, albeit with some type of assistance. What type, we don’t currently know.

As a result of her therapy we are the temporary owners of the world’s smallest treadmill, one designed for toddlers. It’s about two feet long and has a rotary dial of speeds ranging from 0.1-0.5 meters/second. We use it during therapy to help her learn the proper gait pattern and weight shifting, as the tendency with people who have CP is to walk with a scissors gait, AKA pigeon-toed and on their tiptoes.

In addition to PT, which she has three times per week for an hour each, and occupational therapy, which she has two times a month for an hour, we give her a synthetic compound called Baclofen. It’s easiest to think of it as an artificial amino acid. Most individuals with CP are not able to absorb a specific amino acid called GABA; Baclofen is a synthetic version with a specific marker that allows their nerves to recognize it, which improves muscle coordination and function.

When considering Hailey’s issue with muscle tone, it helps me to think of driving over a bridge with a metal frame spanning above the road surface. If you’ve ever done so while listening to AM radio you’re familiar with reception loss. That’s the closest analogue I can think of for her injury. It’s not that she can’t send the signal to move and it’s not that her muscles are completely incapable of receiving the message, but there is a great deal of interference in the chain which precludes efficient communication.
However, considering where she started, she’s made phenomenal progress. I don’t like to use words like “normal” for a variety of reasons; my greatest hope for her is that she is able to lead an independent life and that she can do what she wants. Although I realize that she’ll never be an Olympic sprinter, I am a mixture of hopeful, confident, and highly anxious that she will be able to gain that independence that we so want her to have.

Moving on: Logan is a toddler. She’s wild, crazy, hilarious, and oftentimes bizarre. She has a maniacal laugh that is a mixture of Woody Woodpecker and Elmer Fudd that she unleashes at random moments. She’s a born climber, and has managed to figure out how to climb on to our coach by using the ottoman as a staging ground. She’s obsessed with small electronics like our remote control, but fortunately she doesn’t really care to watch television, but she does love to empty my DVD shelf, spilling dozens of cases on the floor. For months her favorite toy was the USB dongle for my wired Xbox controller. If she was upset the ready salve was “Where’s your dongle?” At that point, she’d grab it and usually bash something. She also loves to read. Today I think my wife read her seven or eight Sandra Boykin (sp?)-esque books.

She and Hailey get along pretty well, although Logan occasionally conks her with a toy hammer or scratches her face, fear not because Hailey protects herself through a series of vicious bites. They play together more daily.

We don’t have a lot to bitch about. I’ll be honest that I often have pangs of remorse, especially that I’m now at a stage of my life that many of my friends are having children in complication-free pregnancies, but spending as much time in the NICU as we did, and going to some of the reunions of children who have matriculated through, I’ve seen how bad the other side can be, from feeding tubes, to wheelchairs, to devastating brain injuries that will leave children unable to care for themselves or probably know where or who they are. It could have been so much worse. I’m not an optimistic person, but I do like to think of myself as pragmatic. I’m not hoping against hope for some type of panacea that will undo everything, nor am I deluded enough to think that Hailey and/or Logan won’t face developmental issues or teasing down the road, but I am happy and grateful for where they are at.

I’m also thankful for how many of you have shown interest and affection for two children you’ve never met.

You have my enduring gratitude.

Now, some photos:

Hailey's Halloween Costume. She was Hailey Potter:

Logan was Hulk Logan:

From a Christmas Photo Session. Logan (L) Hailey (R)

'Hamas' Jenkins · 01-09-2013, 12:38 AM

Here's the good thing about having twins first: you don't know any other way. I was never around kids growing up, so my first experience with babies was having two of them. I think that having a single baby first then two might be tougher, simply because you are used to the experience of only having one.

Plus, we are very fortunate that they are good sleepers. Both sleep through the night. They go down about 9 at night and sleep right through. I have friends with kids who won't go down; I think I'd claw my eyes out if that happened.

01-09-2013, 12:41 AM

All my kids have always slept. The new son... 4-5 hours max, usually 3. He'll be 6 months in a couple weeks so hopefully that will change things.

**DaneMcCloud** · 01-09-2013, 02:58 AM

Congrats, Hamas! I'm glad your girls are doing so well. Beautiful pics!

**DaneMcCloud** · 01-09-2013, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phobia

All my kids have always slept. The new son... 4-5 hours max, usually 3. He'll be 6 months in a couple weeks so hopefully that will change things.

I'm the Sleep Whisperer. My little girl wouldn't sleep more than 90 minutes, in the swing and not the crib, no less, when my wife's maternity leave was over.

Dad here had her sleeping in the crib on Day One of his watch. Six hours the first day, eight the next and so on. I've had her sleeping through the night since mid-November.

The key for her was the extremely loud white noise cranked through a Bose iPad station (same as we did for my older daughter) and a dark room. I watch her on a monitor during the day and evening (watching her right now) and if she cries, I take her out of the crib and "soothe" her by holding her in the rocking chair. After a few minutes, she's usually back to sleep.

Now that we have a pattern established, it's awesome, although it will definitely change. I've really enjoyed my two months with her (Dad's Paternity Leave) and will miss her when I begin working full-time again next month. But at least I'm fortunate enough to work at home.

Drop me a line if you'd like the White Noise file. I've extended it to five hours and have the iPod set to repeat.

**Buck** · 01-09-2013, 03:07 AM

Great to hear that your kids have a great father...they are lucky.

AussieChiefsFan · 01-09-2013, 08:22 AM

Great post. Glad things are going well, Welcome back.

Lex Luthor · 01-09-2013, 08:38 AM

It sounds like you and your wife are incredible parents. Your kids are lucky to have you.

Mr. Plow · 01-09-2013, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk

Some threads just make you smile when you read them.

Thank you.

Read through the post and got to the pictures.....didn't even realize I was smiling. lol.

**bevischief** · 01-09-2013, 08:44 AM

Congrats to heard the kids are doing well. It takes special people to deal with what you have been thru so far and what is to come.

bishop_74 · 01-09-2013, 08:46 AM

Beautiful kids. I love the bottom picture of them.

seclark · 01-09-2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Here's the good thing about having twins first: you don't know any other way. I was never around kids growing up, so my first experience with babies was having two of them. I think that having a single baby first then two might be tougher, simply because you are used to the experience of only having one.

Plus, we are very fortunate that they are good sleepers. Both sleep through the night. They go down about 9 at night and sleep right through. I have friends with kids who won't go down; I think I'd claw my eyes out if that happened.

this is all very true. my wife and i were both 18 when we had our twins. sometimes i feel that we all kinda grew up together.

to this day, when they get together w/their friends(they're 32) they are still both called "twin". it's been that way all their life. little bastards still call me on the phone and don't tell me who they are, trying to make me guess.

all the so called hassles, are very much worth it. makes you a much better person without you even knowing it.

best of luck hamas, and thanks for the update.
sec

**Predarat** · 01-09-2013, 09:01 AM

Thanks for the update, great news!

Bweb · 01-09-2013, 09:56 AM

Mr Hamas....you brightened my day!

Thanks for the update....what cute little girls!

You should be proud!

Rasputin · 01-09-2013, 10:36 AM

Cute kids

Your going have double the trouble when they become teens. Good luck with that.

I'd start now learning how to be a teen dad. HOLYSHITBALLS it's a challenge to have one..

I can't imagine having twin teen girls. Watch out for the manipulation they will pull on you.

ncCHIEFfan · 01-09-2013, 10:52 AM

Hamas my son is now a year old but was born 3 months premature. He was 1lb4oz. My wife and I lived in the NICU for 3 months. I understand a lot of what you and yours have gone through. Happy to hear your family is growing and I wish you all continued best.

01-08-2013, 08:43 PM
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $8019572	The Requested Life Update Initial thread: http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=247772 The only way to properly begin this post is a sincere offering of gratitude for everyone that expressed care and concern for our girls. I’m amazed at the level of interest and support shown by the posters on this site. When people like Phobia and htismaqe say this place is a community, those aren’t empty words. First, a PSA: When you take infant twins out in public it’s like being an F-list celebrity. Every sixth person you walk by in the mall or at the store says, “Oh look, twins!!” which is nice at first, but becomes increasingly annoying in the subsequent weeks and months. Yes, those are twins. Believe it or not, I can hear as well, which makes such passing comments a mixture of humorous, odd, refreshing, and irritating. Additionally, if you say you want twins you also need to realize the work involved with juggling two babies at once, especially during diaper changes and baths. It’s not a summative, it’s exponential, especially if you are at home by yourself and one or both of them has had a blowout. That’s not to say it’s not worthwhile, but it is ****ing exhausting. With that grievance aired, I’ll move on to the meat of this post: an update on how the girls are doing. Hailey first. As I’m sure a lot of you remember, she had a significantly rougher initial course. Most of the important stuff is already mentioned within this thread, so I’ll update you on what has happened since. She finally got past her issues with retinopathy, but as a result of the laser surgery she’s nearsighted. For a while her physical therapist thought she might also cognitive visual impairment (Google it if interested), but her vision in all fields and ability to pick out colors and respond to lights and shapes has tested out as perfectly normal. That said, she does need glasses to see optimally, and although she usually wears them pretty well, there are times when she’s done with it and just rips them off, chucks them, or tries to eat the plastic ear socks. She also needed surgery around the musculature of her eyes to make sure that they both aligned properly. She had an initial procedure done in mid October. It’s likely that she’ll have another done this spring for a precise touch up and centering. Fortunately, she eats well, feeds herself completely, drinks from straws and sippie cups, she does extremely well making sounds, imitating our sounds, communicating in general, and she even knows some sign language. It’s hard to pinpoint a child’s cognitive development at such a young age, but my wife and I, as well as her therapists, are very pleased with her cognitive function. The area where Hailey lags behind the greatest is gross motor function. This is a result of the hypoxic environment that necessitated her delivery. As a result of the initial brain trauma to her ventricles, she displays textbook signs of spastic diplegia, the most common form of Cerebral Palsy. Because of this she’s behind her sister in movement and ambulation. She can crawl, but it’s not as graceful. Merely sitting in a proper position has required a great deal of therapy and effort. However, our PT, who is among the most dedicated and wonderful people to ever grace the Earth, is confident that she will be able to walk, albeit with some type of assistance. What type, we don’t currently know. As a result of her therapy we are the temporary owners of the world’s smallest treadmill, one designed for toddlers. It’s about two feet long and has a rotary dial of speeds ranging from 0.1-0.5 meters/second. We use it during therapy to help her learn the proper gait pattern and weight shifting, as the tendency with people who have CP is to walk with a scissors gait, AKA pigeon-toed and on their tiptoes. In addition to PT, which she has three times per week for an hour each, and occupational therapy, which she has two times a month for an hour, we give her a synthetic compound called Baclofen. It’s easiest to think of it as an artificial amino acid. Most individuals with CP are not able to absorb a specific amino acid called GABA; Baclofen is a synthetic version with a specific marker that allows their nerves to recognize it, which improves muscle coordination and function. When considering Hailey’s issue with muscle tone, it helps me to think of driving over a bridge with a metal frame spanning above the road surface. If you’ve ever done so while listening to AM radio you’re familiar with reception loss. That’s the closest analogue I can think of for her injury. It’s not that she can’t send the signal to move and it’s not that her muscles are completely incapable of receiving the message, but there is a great deal of interference in the chain which precludes efficient communication. However, considering where she started, she’s made phenomenal progress. I don’t like to use words like “normal” for a variety of reasons; my greatest hope for her is that she is able to lead an independent life and that she can do what she wants. Although I realize that she’ll never be an Olympic sprinter, I am a mixture of hopeful, confident, and highly anxious that she will be able to gain that independence that we so want her to have. Moving on: Logan is a toddler. She’s wild, crazy, hilarious, and oftentimes bizarre. She has a maniacal laugh that is a mixture of Woody Woodpecker and Elmer Fudd that she unleashes at random moments. She’s a born climber, and has managed to figure out how to climb on to our coach by using the ottoman as a staging ground. She’s obsessed with small electronics like our remote control, but fortunately she doesn’t really care to watch television, but she does love to empty my DVD shelf, spilling dozens of cases on the floor. For months her favorite toy was the USB dongle for my wired Xbox controller. If she was upset the ready salve was “Where’s your dongle?” At that point, she’d grab it and usually bash something. She also loves to read. Today I think my wife read her seven or eight Sandra Boykin (sp?)-esque books. She and Hailey get along pretty well, although Logan occasionally conks her with a toy hammer or scratches her face, fear not because Hailey protects herself through a series of vicious bites. They play together more daily. We don’t have a lot to bitch about. I’ll be honest that I often have pangs of remorse, especially that I’m now at a stage of my life that many of my friends are having children in complication-free pregnancies, but spending as much time in the NICU as we did, and going to some of the reunions of children who have matriculated through, I’ve seen how bad the other side can be, from feeding tubes, to wheelchairs, to devastating brain injuries that will leave children unable to care for themselves or probably know where or who they are. It could have been so much worse. I’m not an optimistic person, but I do like to think of myself as pragmatic. I’m not hoping against hope for some type of panacea that will undo everything, nor am I deluded enough to think that Hailey and/or Logan won’t face developmental issues or teasing down the road, but I am happy and grateful for where they are at. I’m also thankful for how many of you have shown interest and affection for two children you’ve never met. You have my enduring gratitude. Now, some photos: Hailey's Halloween Costume. She was Hailey Potter: Logan was Hulk Logan: From a Christmas Photo Session. Logan (L) Hailey (R)
Posts: 74,820

01-09-2013, 12:38 AM	#61
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $8019572	Here's the good thing about having twins first: you don't know any other way. I was never around kids growing up, so my first experience with babies was having two of them. I think that having a single baby first then two might be tougher, simply because you are used to the experience of only having one. Plus, we are very fortunate that they are good sleepers. Both sleep through the night. They go down about 9 at night and sleep right through. I have friends with kids who won't go down; I think I'd claw my eyes out if that happened. __________________ "When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
Posts: 74,820

01-09-2013, 12:41 AM	#62
Phobia Guest Casino cash: $	All my kids have always slept. The new son... 4-5 hours max, usually 3. He'll be 6 months in a couple weeks so hopefully that will change things.
Posts: n/a

01-09-2013, 02:58 AM	#63
DaneMcCloud Supporter Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA Casino cash: $10053648	Congrats, Hamas! I'm glad your girls are doing so well. Beautiful pics!
Posts: 88,960

01-09-2013, 03:07 AM	#65
Buck Take a Chill Pill Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Carolina Casino cash: $8329900	Great to hear that your kids have a great father...they are lucky.
Posts: 44,562

01-09-2013, 08:22 AM	#66
AussieChiefsFan MVP Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Casino cash: $6598501	Great post. Glad things are going well, Welcome back.
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01-09-2013, 08:38 AM	#67
Lex Luthor MVP Join Date: Mar 2010 Casino cash: $10022775	It sounds like you and your wife are incredible parents. Your kids are lucky to have you.
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01-09-2013, 08:44 AM	#69
bevischief .... Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somewhere Kansas Casino cash: $8659352 VARSITY	Congrats to heard the kids are doing well. It takes special people to deal with what you have been thru so far and what is to come.
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01-09-2013, 08:46 AM	#70
bishop_74 Veteran Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Denver, CO. USA Casino cash: $8694993	Beautiful kids. I love the bottom picture of them.
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01-09-2013, 09:01 AM	#72
Predarat Run Chiefs fans, run!! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Nashville, TN Casino cash: $9973863	Thanks for the update, great news!
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01-09-2013, 09:56 AM	#73
Bweb Dyin ain't much of a livin.. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Land of Red Dirt Casino cash: $9744755	Mr Hamas....you brightened my day! Thanks for the update....what cute little girls! You should be proud!
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01-09-2013, 10:36 AM	#74
Rasputin Tip of the hat LIV Champs Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: ks Casino cash: $3535421	Cute kids Your going have double the trouble when they become teens. Good luck with that. I'd start now learning how to be a teen dad. HOLYSHITBALLS it's a challenge to have one.. I can't imagine having twin teen girls. Watch out for the manipulation they will pull on you. __________________ A Brave Man Once Requested Me To Answer Questions That Are Key 'Is It To Be Or Not To Be' And I Replied Oh Why Ask Me
Posts: 54,954

01-09-2013, 10:52 AM	#75
ncCHIEFfan Starter Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Winston Salem, NC Casino cash: $8422075	Hamas my son is now a year old but was born 3 months premature. He was 1lb4oz. My wife and I lived in the NICU for 3 months. I understand a lot of what you and yours have gone through. Happy to hear your family is growing and I wish you all continued best.
Posts: 568