Another Busy Weekend!

This past Saturday was a busy one! It started early with Lucas heading to swim lessons for 8am! We got the trio up and had a quick bite to eat before their swim lessons 9:15 - 9:45. After swim lessons, it was off to Pequot Health Center. They were having free pediatric developmental assessments and I wanted to see how the trio would do. All three kids get early intervention from a program called Birth to Three here in CT, but I thought an unbiased evaluation would be great. They took each kid one at a time and tested gross motor, fine motor, hearing and speech. No surprises really, Jessica tested at 2 to 2 1/2 years across the board! The things she tested at 2 were some gross motor stuff since she is still so tiny everything else was 2 1/2 years which is won't be until the end of April so she is ahead of the game! Will and Logan also tested at 2 1/2 for fine and gross motor skills. They tested low 18-24 months for their speech and the evaluator said that both boys would benefit from a more detailed speech evaluation! Their pediatrician will get the paperwork this week and should schedule them soon. I will update once that occurs. It was noon by the time we got home from everything and after lunch we got a great nap out of them!

As you can see from the photo on top, we took the kids to see the Easter Bunny yesterday! We met Darcy and Mackenzie for some playtime at the mall around 10:30. The kids played until almost 12, we walked thru the mall and waited to see the bunny. Will, who hated Santa just a few months ago, loved the Easter Bunny! He ran right up to him. Jessica was a little unsure, but we got a smile out of her. Logan, surprisingly, was the most upset and when Dave sat him next to the bunny he started to cry! I felt so bad for him. Dave handed the kids those big eggs and we got smiles from all three!

Today was school and while I was talking to their therapist she mentioned that she thinks Logan might fall somewhere on the Autism spectrum! That threw me for a loop and is really the reason this post is late. I was doing some research online while the kids were at school. Logan does seem to do a few quirky things that may very well put him on the spectrum. I have a call in to the pediatrician to see what our next move is. Hopefully it turns out to be nothing, just some quirks, but I would rather err on the side of caution and get him tested and get him the help he needs!

Monday Morning Update - A Great Weekend!

The weather this weekend was the exact opposite of last weekend! It was beautiful outside - the highs were in the 60's and the sun was shining! We spent a lot of time outside and consequently nap time and bedtime were easy - they kids were tired! LOL!
Since swim lessons don't start again til this Sat, we decided to take the crew to the zoo on Sat! Everyone had a blast! The kids loved riding in their "pimped" choo choo wagon! We got lots of comments - most of them nice. It was great to see the kids so excited and really enjoying themselves. We came home and after nap we went to the store for new "big kid" bikes and a new basketball hoop. Logan loves the new hoop. I had been meaning to get them one since they slam dunked one too many times on the old hoop last summer! He was very excited and since this one is a little taller, he would yell - "I got basket!" whenever he managed to get it in! He has been practicing non stop! Jessica is totally into her new bike! She can even take her baby for a ride! She also spent a great deal of time playing in the playhouse.
Will was doing a little bit of everything - riding his bike, playing hoops and practicing his letters with Dad using sidewalk chalk! Will knows on sight every single letter of the alphabet!!! Dave and I were amazed! Even when Dave jumbled up the order - he never missed! I really need to start more one on one time with them! I feel bad we did not notice sooner!

Since, we were outside so much, I'll close for now with some pics of our outdoor fun! Have a great week everyone!

Monday Update - Aquarium Fun!

The weather this weekend was awful - windy, rainy - just plain miserable! Lucas had a trip to New York City. He got to sight see and visit the Intrepid Museum. He said it rained hard the whole time they were there! Luckily, most of the stuff was indoors!
Since the weather was not nice, we decided to take the trio back to the aquarium! We have year passes, so only going for 1 1/2hours and only seeing the indoor exhibits was fine with me! It was not nearly as crowded as I expected, but we were also there early. The kids enjoyed running around and even touched the crab at the touch tank!

Other than the aquarium, we really did not do much this weekend. We worked on getting the kids on a new sleep schedule for daylight saving time and my plan has worked! We put them to bed 30 minutes early for nap and bed both on Fri and Sat. Last night they went to bed at 7:45 - talked til about 8:15 and slept til we had to get them up this morning at 7:30!

Anyway, here are some more cute pics for the aquarium to finish off the post. Enjoy!

Hearing Tests Part 2 - Great News!

This morning was the repeat hearing tests for the boys. Two weeks ago, they both had fluid in their ears and Logan had a moderate hearing loss. They were both put on antibiotics for ear infections and Logan was also put on zyrtec to help his ears drain. Today could not have gone better! Will's tympanogram showed no fluid in his ears and he tested right down to normal hearing range! He was also much more comfortable in the soundproof booth this time around and cooperated for his tests. Logan's tympanogram also showed no fluid! That is a huge improvement with just about 10 days of medication. The best part - he also tested down to normal hearing range with no problem! They want to see both of them again in 6 months for a recheck, but otherwise we are good to go! WOO HOO!!

Monday Morning Update - Swim Lessons!

Saturday was the last day of swim lessons before the next sesson starts so Lucas was able to come in and be our photographer! The kids are really enjoying lessons and I am looking forward to the next set of classes! I was also able to go take pics of Lucas!

Logan's Turn!

I took Logan yesterday morning to the doctor to follow up on his bad hearing test. Turns out he has lots of fluid in both ears! She also took out lots of wax! EWW! His right ear looked ok except for the fluid, but she found an infection in his left ear just like Will! She seemed to think that this left ear has been infected chronically for a little while, it looked that bad! Logan was put on Amoxicillan just like Will to clear up the infection and a daily night time dose of Zyrtec to help drain all the fluid. Both boys have a hearing retest next Thursday, the 11th and now both have ear rechecks scheduled for the 24th!

The boys physical therapist also came yesterday for her monthly visit. She was amazed at how much more the boys are trying to say! She was also very pleased with every one's progress! WOOHOO! She was here for 2 hours and did all sorts of stuff with the kids - they were exhausted after lunch and took a 3 hour nap! I have only been getting 2 hours out of them, so I know she worked them hard!

Please go check out the 365 blog. The link is at the top left of the page. I put a video of the boys dancing and many other cute pictures this week!

Will has an Ear Infection!

Well, unfortunately it turns out that the fluid in Will ears caused an ear infection. It has been causing the last few days of fevers and irregular sleep and eating patterns. He has a 10 day treatment with antibiotics and an ear recheck in 2 weeks! I am so glad I got him in to the doc today, so that he can start feeling better! I am even more excited that he's not contagious! LOL

Monday Morning Update - Hearing Test Results!

Doesn't Logan look comfy? He fell asleep on the floor yesterday morning and Dave tried to get him up, but he continued to nap for about 1/2 hour! Totally unlike him and I hope he is not fighting off another sickness! Because poor Will is fighting! He spiked a fever of 103 on Saturday night and spent all day yesterday with a fever. It reached 102, and he was very pale and not eating much. Tylenol and Motrin worked for a little bit, but before it was time for another dose his fever would be back up. I am hopefully getting him into the doc later today and will of course update the blog. He was very upset about missing school with Logan and Jess today!

It has been another busy week here at the Dudley house! The nurse came by on Tuesday and the latest weights are: Will 23.13 lbs, Logan 26.7 lbs and Jess 22.1lbs! Finally, they are all gaining weight! I hope Will doesn't lose much being sick.

Not sure how much I have explained this on the blog, but the boys have a moderate expressive speech delay. They are receiving speech therapy once a week while at school and it has done wonders for both Logan and Will. While Jess is starting to talk in full understandable sentences, the boys only have about 20 words, with some 2-3 word phrases! They also use several signs. It is a huge difference! I was told that I should get their hearing checked. I put it off for a while, but after I noticed Will only repeating the end of words back to me I scheduled the boys tests for last Thursday. Will did fairly well. He did have some fluid in his ears, but nothing to worry about. (I hope they are not infected and causing his fever!) He tested down to 15 decibels and with regular speech in the 10-20 decibel range, he passed! Logan on the other hand did not do well at all. He has lots of fluid in his middle ears and could only test down to 45 decibels which is a mild to moderate hearing loss! I feel awful for not getting it tested sooner! The good news is that it is totally treatable! He goes to the doc on Thursday for an antibiotic to help clear the fluid and then both boys have a hearing recheck on March 11Th. If Logan does not show great improvement both with the amount of fluid and decibel level at the test, he will be referred to a specialist and will probably have tubes put in his ears. I am just so mad at myself for not noticing anything and getting it tested sooner!

Other than the hearing tests, we also had a play date with another set of triplets who turned 2 yesterday! It was lots of fun seeing the kids interact with one another. My friend Jen has 2 girls and a boy so it is even boys against girls! It is great to have another set of triplets so close in age that live nearby for play dates!