Did you know that November 17th was National Preemie Awareness Day and girls 11month birthday?
On that note, the girls had their follow up preemie assessment yesterday. They did an in depth developmental assessment on the girls to see where they are and see if they are behind.
They weighed and measured them too; Josie is 18.5lbs and Ella is 16.5lbs
Everything checked out ok for Josie, she is doing great and they really have no concerns for her, but still want to watch/monitor her. Ella is behind in motor/mobility skills, which we knew, because of her clubfeet and the wearing of the brace. She is also behind in oral motor area. We got into her eating habits and I learned that preemies are at risk of being "picky" eaters do to oral motor developement delays. I knew it affected breast feeding, but didn't realize it would affect solids. We discussed if she had a texture problem or temperature of food problem and so on. We discussed that she is on regular table foods and we are using up our pureed food. I asked if we should go back to mostly pureed and she said no, still offer table foods so she can work on it, but not force her. So last night, I fed her slower and much smaller bites than Josie and I even let her guide the spoon into her mouth and she did great! So I think Mom and Dad will just need to be a bit more patient with Ella and give her the time she needs to eat. As for Ella, we will monitor her more for mobility and eating. Overall, the girls are doing great, play great, socialize great and they were very impressed by the how happy the girls were (without naps) and their delightful dispostions!
