A glimpse...

Every now and then we get a brief glimpse into what Little Bitty is thinking about. The "inner Bitty," if you will. As I have mentioned before, truly spontaneous speech, unprompted and unscripted, is rare. On the other hand, there is insight to be found in speech of the prompted and/or scripted variety too, of course. I have a whole other post coming together on that ;).

So, we've been helping Bitty learn to pray, now that he is beginning to show interest and even wanting to participate in family prayers for the first time. It's very cute to listen to him, although a bit painful on the ears as he likes to shout his prayers, with ear-splitting emphasis on the last word in every phrase (think Dick Vitale on steroids and with a bullhorn, and you're at least getting close, lol).

Since we started out by helping him with what to say and letting him repeat each phrase, he quickly took to saying the whole thing on his own, with every phrase said twice, lol. Just the way he heard it, right?

The words are hard to make out, but I know that Heavenly Father understands every word :).

Somewhere along the way (because we hadn't gotten to the step of teaching him this part yet) he figured out that part of praying is expressing what you're thankful for. He hears his big brothers giving thanks for everything under the sun in their prayers (I soo love listening to them :)). Maybe he interprets it as listing things that make you happy, who knows, but the result is pretty much the same. Because the other night, that's what he started doing, all on his own. He even stopped screeching as he said:

"(mumble mumble) Cwow nie... ["Cloud 9" is the name of a game he has that he likes to play with]
(mumble mumble) Thomas...
(mumble mumble) books...
(mumble mumble) chwocka miwk...
(mumble mumble) Appoo Jacks..."

I interpreted the indecipherable mumble to be something along the lines of "I'm thankful for." He finished it off with a rousing "Ay-MEH!!!" (had to bring the screaming back to finish up strong, lol) and dh and I just looked at each other.

"Did he just list the things he is thankful for?"
"Yeah, I think he did!"

If we had asked him, "Hey Bitty, what are you thankful for?" he would not have been able to answer. The most likely response would be, "fay-thul por" (thankful for).

And yet, in the context of offering a prayer, he was able to share some of the things he is thankful for. It was a blessing to hear him.

He hasn't done that again since, but he has *sort of* toned down the shrieking when he prays, and that is a blessing too ;). I'm sure the neighbors down the street who could probably HEAR his loudness think so too, hehe.






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Getting ready for Christmas (lots of pics!)

This year has been especially fun getting ready for Christmas, thought I'd share some pictures of our tree-decorating escapades...

First there was the trip to Walmart to pick up a few remaining decorations that we needed. Aside from climbing everything in sight (which I did not get pictures of, too busy trying to get them down), the boys tried on some festive headgear :). Little Bitty and Bearhug tried out some Santa hats while Cuddlebug tried on some antlers.




Then it was off to Lowe's to pick out a tree. It would have been fun to go to a tree farm to pick out a tree, but Lowe's is closer and less expensive... :). We tried to go as fast as possible, knowing that we were already at the limit of overstimulation thanks to having to stop at Walmart first, not to mention just the excitement of the whole tree-adventure.



Bearhug took a break from tree-hunting to climb the fence :/





This is what happens when I ask the boys to stand together for a picture...


And when I clarified, "umm... try standing *next to* each other... and smile!" this is what I got (lol):

At least they managed to stand next to each other long enough for a picture of all 3 together, it's rare!)


Then the boys and I waited in the car while the tree was loaded on top.


As we pulled out, Bearhug asked, "was I good in there?" We shrugged and said, "pretty good." (all three of them were pretty wired and pinging off the walls by the time we were ready to check out, but they stayed in control and no meltdowns, so we considered it a success. Bearhug said, "thanks for not yelling at me, because if you did I would've had to hit myself in the head." Uh... well, I'm glad we didn't have any need to yell then (I'm glad we didn't need to yell anyway, we don't like to but sometimes it's the only way to get their attention).

Then it was back home for decorating. I didn't actually get to take any pictures until we were almost done (and dh was busy outside putting the lights up). It was pretty chaotic for a while there, the boys couldn't wait so they kept running in and out of the house while I got the decorations out of the boxes (they were joined by our neighbor's dog at one point, our cat was unimpressed, lol). The three of them practically smothered me as I put the hooks on the ornaments... I couldn't get those hooks on fast enough! Finally we reached some ornaments that already had hooks on and I was able to snap a few pictures :).






I really love these two pictures of Bitty. In this one, he's inspecting the almost-finished tree with his hands clasped in excitement...


And here I just like his expression looking at the tree in the soft light.



And a couple of tree pictures. Of course we have a Texas longhorn ornament :)








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TTTS Awareness: What you need to know

December is TTTS (Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome) Awareness month, and tomorrow is World TTTS Awareness Day. TTTS is a disease of the placenta that can affect identical twins who share one placenta. The babies themselves are healthy, the issue is with the placenta and the circulation of blood between the babies and the placenta. (More about TTTS at the bottom of the post). I have shared our experience with TTTS with our boys previously. For today I want to focus on what you can do to help.

Judy Bogdan of Club Deb interviewed Mary Slaman-Forsythe, Founder and President of the Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation. Judy emailed me and asked if I would share her interview here to help get the word out, and I am honored to do so. Her family has been touched by TTTS as well, in a heartbreaking way, as her niece lost one of her twins due to this condition.

You can listen to the interview here. It's very informative, but also very personal as Mary Slaman-Forsythe shares her own experience and how the TTTS Foundation came to be started. One of the things I really liked was suggestions on how to help inform moms who may be pregnant with multiples. As Judy mentioned, it's hard to know how to bring up TTTS for fear of scaring a pregnant mom, but Mary suggested a way to share the information in a non-threatening way by simply asking them if there is one placenta or two. That way, it will hopefully get them to follow up with their doctor to find out if they don't already know, and that is one of the most important questions to answer in assessing risk for TTTS.

Why is that so important? TTTS only occurs in identical twins with a shared, monochorionic placenta. Monochorionic means one placenta and one outer sac, and there can be either one or two inner (amniotic) sacs. Twin pregnancies can be any of the following:

Dichorionic / diamniotic (two placentas, two amniotic sacs)
Monochorionic / diamniotic (one placenta, two amniotic sacs)
Monochorionic / monoamniotic (one placenta, one amniotic sac)

Once it is determined that there is only one placenta, extra precautions can be taken to monitor the pregnancy and watch for any potential issues.

From the TTTS Foundation website, here are the 15 most important questions for parents expecting twins to get answers to:

Confirm at First Ultrasound (Hopefully by 12 Weeks)
1. Is the placenta monochorionic?
2. Are the babies the same sex?
3. Can you see the dividing membrane?
4. Is the placenta anterior or posterior?
5. Do the cords have 3 vessels or 2?
6. Are the cords fully attached to the placenta?

Ask at Weekly Ultrasounds (Starting at Week 16 to Delivery)
7. What is the largest vertical pocket of fluid for each baby?
8. Can you see the bladder of the donor baby?
9. What are the weights of the babies in grams? (every 2-3 weeks)
10. Are the dopplers normal for both babies?
11. Is the heart of the recipient baby enlarged or thickened?
12. Does the recipient baby have hydrops?
13. What is the measurement of your cervix, is it long and
closed or thinning or dilated?
14. Is the smaller baby growing at the same rate?
15. What is the fundal height?

And for those who may not be familiar with TTTS, here is an overview, also from the TTTS Foundation website:

What is TTTS?
-Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) is a disease of the placenta (or afterbirth) that affects identical twin pregnancies.

-TTTS affects identical twins (or higher multiple gestations) who share a common monochorionic placenta.

-The shared placenta contains abnormal blood vessels which connect the umbilical cord and circulations of the twins.

-The common placenta may also be shared unequally by the twins

-The events in pregnancy that lead to TTTS are all random.

-TTTS is not hereditary or genetic, nor caused by anything the parents did or did not do.

-TTTS can happen to anyone.

And from the Fetal Hope Foundation website:

TTTS or Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome is a disease of the placenta. It affects pregnancies with monochorionic (shared placenta) multiples when blood passes disproportionately from one baby to the other through connecting blood vessels within their shared placenta. One baby, the recipient twin, gets too much blood overloading his or her cardiovascular system, and may die from heart failure. The other baby, the donor twin or stuck twin, does not get enough blood and may die from severe anemia. Left untreated, mortality rates near 100%.

The cause of TTTS is attributed to unbalanced flow of blood through vascular channels that connect the circulatory systems of each twin via the common placenta. The shunting of blood through the vascular communications leads to a net flow of blood from one twin (the donor) to the other twin (the recipient). The donor twin develops oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid) and poor fetal growth, while the recipient twin develops polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid), heart failure, and hydrops. If left untreated, the pregnancy may be lost due to lack of blood getting to the smaller twin, fluid overload and heart failure in the larger twin, and/or preterm (early) labor leading to miscarriage of the entire pregnancy.

Some general treatment approaches consist of using laser energy to seal off the blood vessels that shunt blood between the fetuses. Because the surgical approach is via an operative fetoscope, there is minimal risk to the mother. Laser therapy for TTTS has been shown to provide improved pregnancy outcomes compared to alternative therapies. Although all treatment options should be discussed with your fetal surgeon.

TTTS Resources:
TTTS Foundation
TTTS resource @ Twinstuff - written by a father of twins who survived TTTS
Fetal Hope Foundation
Club Deb Radio Interview - TTTS
World TTTS Awareness Day
Matthew and Steven TTTS Walk for the Babies





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WW & SEW: It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!



Yep, that's my Little Bitty actually showing a real interest in Christmas for the first time, woo-hoo! He even helped decorate the tree, along with his very excited and impatient big brothers :).


For more Special Exposure Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs. Click here and here for more Wordless Wednesday.





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Magic Marker Monday: Turkey art

Little Bitty made some cute Thanksgiving art in school this year :).

Here's his little handprint:



And he made a cute turkey hat (that he didn't want to wear so this was the best picture I could get before he took it off):



Here's the hat so you can actually see it :)



For more Magic Marker Monday, visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs.





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Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much to be grateful for, today and always.

A loving Father in Heaven who wants only the best for us.

Family. A husband who loves me and our boys. Three beautiful boys who bring me joy each and every day. And everyone else in our family.

Friends - both those I know in person and those I haven't actually met outside of the blogosphere but feel a closeness with regardless.

Amazing teachers and therapists for our boys. I'm thankful that our boys attend a school that is set up to help them be successful.

The comforts of home, gainful employment, Poptarts and Pokemon.

I could go on, but it's late and I really need to get some sleep before Bitty wakes up.

The weather here has been beautiful lately... finally some let up in the constant rain we had for a while and we've been able to spend our weekends outside.

Work has been crazy busy, but that's not necessarily a bad thing :).

We got some new Christmas decorations and are planning to put up lights outside our house for the first time this year. Not Griswold-style or anything, but hopefully it will look nice :).

The boys are doing well. Bearhug seems to have the rage / outbursts somewhat under control, although we are still struggling with his impulsive need to run off and hide at times. I swear my heart cannot take that!! Cuddlebug is doing great, and Bitty continues to be full of surprises :).

Cuddlebug and Bearhug have long had sleep issues, and at their latest checkup their pediatrician suggested we try melatonin. We've used it two nights in a row and it seems to be helping, so that is good.

Perhaps I should try some too?

Ok, I'm going to bed now.

I wish each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving!





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