Medical Moment

I took Natalie back to the doctor yesterday to check her pulse ox. At first it was only 93% again, but the doctor tried two fingers and it finally showed 94-96% (blood oxygenation, by the way). Nonetheless, we left with two more prescriptions for meds for the nebulizer so we can do some breathing treatments twice a day. And, I have to take her back in Monday for another pulse ox check.

At the same time, we happened to notice the Abby had some nasty drainage coming from her right ear. Since we were there, the doctor checked her ears. Ear infections. We're not clear if they are both infected or just the right one, but either way, we now have an antibiotic for Abby as well.

Yesterday was also the first time I heard any doctor suggest that their illnesses were due to their prematurity. She said that Natalie's reoccurring pneumonias were from their lung issues as preemies. It makes sense, but honestly, I'm not so sure. They really never had significant lung issues. Plus, they've never had problems until now. It seems to me that if her lungs were weak or "whatever", she would have had issues before 22 months old. Personally, I think it's just that they are now more exposed to germs than they were before. We've been hanging out with school- age kids and all the germs they harbor and we've been visiting more parks and in contact with all the kids there. I really think it's just a matter of exposure.

The matter of exposure actually causes quite a conundrum. At what point does the risk of illness outweigh their need to socialize, run, play and discover new things. They have loved playing at the parks and going down slides and discovering the different kinds of play equipment. They love playing with our little neighbor and actually engage in some interactive play with him. (He loves them too - even made them Valentines - it's so cute!) But, when they are sick, they can't/don't eat and now we are losing weight again. Natalie was below 19# again at the doctor. I need to weigh them at home to really know where we stand. We just can't afford to go backwards - or even stand still. And we were doing so well....

I'm not sure what we are going to do exactly. We are building a playset in the beackyard this weekend. W and B's dad let us have this amazing play equipment that the people had left at his new house. There are two swings, a pull-up rings/bar thingy, a two-person glider, an army climbing thingy, a great slide and I sent the tire swing to my dad's. It's great stuff. At least we can play in our own little park if we decide to become hermits.
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I'm working on a language update so keep checking back. The girls are making great strides - especially Abby. But, Natalie has really come along in the last two weeks or so. I'll try to finish it soon.