So it’s no coincidence that we have not been able to update the blog since Patrick came home from the hospital the week of Thanksgiving. The Holidays + Twins + Living far from Home = Twinsanity. Even with help – namely Pat’s mom who came for 4 weeks in December and is on her way to the airport to return for a second tour of duty as we write– we are still always washing bottles, doing baby laundry, feeding babies, and changing diapers. December was also the month of the Doctor for the Horans. Patrick had follow up appointments with each doctor who examined him in the NICU. Perhaps the biggest revelation and step forward for December was realizing that Patrick was tongue-tied. Once we had his tongue clipped, the boy started to speak multiple languages, drink multiple bottles at a time, and stick his tongue out at will. Overall Patrick has been deemed healthy and whole, with a few special courses of treatment that are described later. For Christmas, the four of us were able to spend it together at home – which given the past year, is the greatest gift we could have asked for this year and a tremendous reminder of the Father’s love for the world by sending his Son into the world as a little baby boy. Joy to the World indeed.
Grammy Sharon and Grandad arrived on the 27th to help us celebrate Christmas again and we will celebrate it once more with Grammy K and Gumby when we come home to California.
Auntie Kaitlin arrived just in time on the 31st to help Colin and Patrick ring in the New Year.
With all of the Holiday visitors gone, we roughed it for 10 days. And survived. Somehow. There is never a dull moment and the boys and their doctors have a strange sense of timing because once the help left, things of course became more complicated than two parents can handle without help. Though Patrick has slowly been gaining weight, he apparently wasn’t eating enough apples to keep the doctors away. We saw the Gastrointestinal specialist who promptly put Patrick and Macall on dairy free diets, while Pat and Colin were left to eat all of the leftover ice cream, cookies, and treats from Christmas. In addition to the new diet, Patrick was admitted to the hospital for 3 days to have a nasogastric feeding tube inserted. Together the tube and the diet have allowed Patrick to gain some much needed weight in a week, and he now weighs 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Quite the weight gain considering he came home from the NICU a little over 4 pounds and then took a month or so to gain a pound.
Colin’s up for sixth man of the year award as his willingness to defer to Patrick has not gone unnoticed. His numbers coming off the bench have not suffered either, as he remains a solid weight gainer and currently weighs over 11 pounds. Doctors continue to praise him for keeping a smile on his face the whole time. Literally, he cannot stop smiling. Should he eventually win the award, Colin has informed me that as his speechwriter we need to be sure to thank Christine Apolenis, Kerry Robertson, and Katherine Ungerecht for taking care of him while Patrick needed extra attention. Late hours, towers of bottles to wash, braving bowels moving on weekly rather than daily schedules, and cross country flights can earn you a shout out next blog post as well. Those up for the challenge should contact Colin’s representative, but don’t delay as space is limited.
The first real snow fell this weekend, signaling it’s time for us to take a vacation to warmer places. Macall and the Boys depart this weekend (with Grammy K) for a trip back to California and Pat will fly next week.
Thanks for sticking with the blog and sticking with the boys. Lots of pictures should make up for the long delay.
Patrick has such long eyelashes.
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