Developmental Updates

I keep saying how well the girls are doing developmentally, so I thought I'd explain exactly what I mean by that.

Natalie and Abigail will be 37 weeks old tomorrow. They were 14 weeks early so that makes them 23 weeks old adjusted or corrected age (AA). That's about 5 months, 3 week. In terms of their development, everything is based on this age. As it stands, they are meeting all the developmental milestones for the 5 month range and many for six-month olds. This includes:
* Picking up items with one hand
* Transferring items between hands
* Bringing items to their mouths
* Reaching for items above them and beside them
* Rolling from front to back
* Rolling from back to front (abby once, Nat several times)
* Sitting alone while leaning on their hands
* Talking, laughing, smiling in response to people
* Pushing up on hands (off elbows) while on tummy
* Picking up small (1 inch square wooden blocks) items and manipulating them
* Blowing bubbles/raspberries
* some cause and effect - chewing on a toy to make it vibrate; pushing and swatting at a toy to make it spin
* Recognition and favor of mommy and daddy (especially daddy - when "talking" to him through the web cam, their faces light up when they see him and they smile and smile)
* Bear weight on their legs when brought to a standing position
* Respond and engage their images in a mirror
* Gets excited at sight of bottle (when hungry) and even reaches to move it to their mouths. They will also put their hands up to "hold" the bottle while drinking.


They also show preferences for certain toys and will reach for them when they see them. They even will try to move around to get a toy out of their reach. They laugh and smile a lot. They also "talk" and coo to their toys and to each other. They like to reach for each other when they are close, especially each other's mouths and clothes.

There are a few things they are not doing yet.
* They are not showing stranger fear - they still love everyone.
* I'm not sure they are looking for toys/items after they disappear. Sometimes it seems like they are looking for Ben when he disappears behind the kitchen counter.
* They don't seem to recognize their own names yet. I wouldn't be surprised if this takes a little longer. After all, they are always hearing TWO names.

As you can see, they are really doing very well. It's not unusual for micro-preemies to fall behind even in their adjusted age development. Natalie and Abigail are doing tremendously well. They do everything just perfectly - except eat!

We are so proud of them and we love them so much!