Sunday, February 28, 2010

Say Anything

Well, first and foremost, before I start I can't believe I forgot last week's Wordless Wednesday! Just shows how busy I have been lately...

So since Betsy came home from the hospital we have had an early intervention program that comes out and sees Betsy. It's called Sooner Start. They come out as often as I would like, which I have every other week set up, and they work with getting Betsy caught up with other children her age. We have a registered nurse that sees Betsy because she was so premature they didn't know if they would foresee any major issues. They do not take into consideration her prematurity so every thing they test her for they subtract 4 months from her actual age. It's been great and I really, really enjoy the lady that comes to see Betsy. She's watched it all along with us and had a big part in alot of it as well. I am dreading the day that she doesn't get to come out anymore!

Betsy seems to be right on track developmentally and some things she does she even excels in. She is a smart little cookie and really understands her surroundings. We have one little "hiccup" in her development that we are working on. Betsy isn't talking yet. Part of Sooner Start's program will connect us to any resources we may need to help us and they actually brought a speech pathologist out to evaluate Betsy. Right now, no one seems to be concerned about her not saying much. She will say "da-da" and "ga-ga" and occasionally she will say "la-la" and "ba-ba". Typically at her age (adjusted-14 months) she should be saying two to three words. However, Betsy does know some sign language which counts as part of her vocabulary and of course helps her communicate. A big pat on the back to us and my mom who are so adamant in teaching her signs and working so hard with her. She absolutely loves learning signs and catches on very quickly. Because of this, she is able to communicate with us and tell us what she wants, just not use words.

I try not to let it stress me out, because if the "professionals" aren't worried then I feel as though I shouldn't be. And I KNOW you aren't supposed to compare your child to any one elses, especially given her prematurity, but I can't help but look at other kiddos and listen to them speaking and wonder if Betsy will ever get it! She has had her hearing testing and it's perfectly fine so we know she can hear us. We were concerned for a little bit that maybe she was having issues with her hearing and that our words didn't sound right to her.

So now that we know everything is okay, we just wait. We are working hard and next week is our official first appointment with the speech pathologist so we are getting on the right track. She gave us some great tips to use and I can already see Betsy making progress in her babbling. I will try to relax on it a little bit and just wait for her to start talking. Then I will probably think...."are you EVER quiet!!"

I am also waiting to hear back from a few Moms Groups in the area. I'm very intersted in getting myself and Betsy involved in a play group where she can play around other kids her age (I think this will really help her speaking) and where I can be around other mommies.

On another note...Betsy is 18 months old today. I say it all the time but I seriosly can't believe it. It really does not seem like that long ago that she was born. Happy 18 months Betsy Linn...and to you Grace and Olivia! Time to start thinking 2nd Birthday Party! (too soon???)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Getting Refreshed

Tony and I took this rare opportunity to go out of town for Valentine's weekend to "be alone". Betsy's Lovey (my mom) offered to keep Betsy for the weekend so we could go do something. I was kinda torn..yes, I totally wanted to go out of town and just have some adult time but at the same time, I did not want to go two nights without Betsy. Even though it is my mom, and Betsy is totally in love with her, it was hard for me to leave her. Of course, Betsy didn't care. She whined when we started saying bye-bye but NOT because we were leaving, but because she was afraid her Lovey was leaving. HAHA! What a character she is!

I am not one of those people who say, "I can NEVER leave my child". It bothers me to hear parents say they never go a night without their child and refuse to leave them with anyone. I think that is really sad. I believe that every parent should have some "time away" just to go be alone. I believe every marriage should keep having "date nights" and be childless for a night. It doesn't make me love my child any less because I need a break. I ONLY leave Betsy with my mom or my dad/stepmom so she only stays with close family. She absolutely loves each with all her heart so it's not like she cries for us or even cares that we are gone for the night. I am comfortable enough as a parent to admit I need to step away from being a parent every once in a while and have "me" time. I also think it's healthy for the child to be around someone besides mom and dad periodically. It's a little refresher for everyone. Okay, off my soapbox..

So Betsy stayed with her Lovey while Tony and I packed up and went to Dallas for the weekend. We used to go to Dallas all the time when we were dating but hadn't been back there in quite some time. We soooooo needed this mini-vacation and really felt refreshed coming home. We had been stressed out about a few things before we left so this was something we really needed. It was nice to just have quiet dinners alone and spend quality time together. Of course we brought back a million shopping bags...all for Betsy! She is so much fun to shop for!

We couldn't get home quick enough to find Betsy STILL not ready to leave her Lovey's house. We got there during Betsy's nap time and when she woke up and found us there, she still ran to her Lovey to snuggle. Hmmmph! That's okay with me though. I would rather her do that as to cry anytime we leave her sight. All in all, the weekend was a blast for everyone. Tony and I had a great time away and Betsy had a great time without mommy and daddy!

Here are some pictures of Betsy playing at her Lovey's house (That is our dog, June, that my mom was nice enough to keep also!)









And just for fun..here is a picture of Betsy last year at Valentines. She was 5 months old. What a difference a year makes...



Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Wordless Wednesday


Olivia

Sunday, February 7, 2010

What's in a Name?

When Tony and I found out we were finally pregnant (before we found out we were having triplets) we, like most couples, immediately started picking out names. That is such a fun part of pregnancy I think! People always want to know what names you have picked out. For us, it was pretty easy. If we were having a girl it would be Olivia Thay. Olivia has ALWAYS been my most favorite girl name and Thay is after my grandma, Era Thay. If we were having a boy the name would be Nash. We couldn't decide on a middle name. Nash is named after Tony's favorite NBA player, Steve Nash.

Well, when we found out it was triplets, the fun became a little more challenging. We had to pick out basically six names. Three girls, in case they were all girls. And three boys, in case they were all boys. Not to mention finding middle names. Whew...what a challenge! We really couldn't decide on boy's names very well. We liked Nash alot but that is really the only one we loved. We focused on girl's names. Hmmm...maybe a little sign that we didn't really need boy's names. We knew Olivia was in. Now for two more. We liked Alice, Grace, Sadie and Beatrice. However, none of them just totally bowled us over except for Grace. We decided we were not going to tell family or friends any of the babies' names until they were born. How exciting, we thought, to have all three babies rolled out to see family and then introduce them by their names. Little did we know...

The exact day we found out we were having three girls was the exact day I was admitted to the hospital. The names kinda got pushed to the back of our mind as we had so much more to focus on and worry about. At this point we knew baby "A" was in trouble and so I remember saying to Tony just minutes after I was admitted, "Should we name this one Grace". He agreed. I felt as though we needed to name her because we were expecting to lose her any minute. I couldn't have a baby before I had even named her. Grace Ann. We also decided we wouldn't keep the names secret anymore. Things turned out a little different than we expected. All the girls would share middle names with me, my mom, and my grandma. All three generations. Ann is my mom's middle name.

For some reason, and I still don't know why to this day, we skipped baby "B" and I decided to name "C" Olivia Thay. Maybe it was because I always wanted a little princess named Olivia and we always joked she would be a pistol, just like I was. Everytime the nurses tried to listen to Olivia's heartbeat in utero she would move. We got the biggest kick out of that. She did not want to be bothered. What a booger. Baby "C" you are officially an Olivia!

So we went on, still no name for baby "B". I felt so bad. I have all my children named except this one! Tony and I could not agree on ANYTHING and it was becoming frustrating!! Since I knew I would be in the hospital for a while we decided to make it a game. We made a "suggestion box" and decorated it in girly pink paper. Any one that came into our room was to make a suggestion for a girl's name and drop it in the box. It was fun. All the nurses participated, family, the ultrasound technicians, my doctor, volunteers, everyone. It was great. When the box started to get pretty full we decided to look through the names. The problem was, we didn't really like any of them. Nothing just POPPED out at us. Bummer. I felt there were good names, just not good enough.

I remember it clearly. Tony had left the room to go get something to drink. I was looking through the box at all the names. I thought, maybe we can take a name and kinda find a different variation of it. When Tony returned that is exactly what I said to him and exactly how I said it. "Like this paper says 'Elizabeth', but instead of using that name, we could use variations of Elizabeth, like Beth or Betsy or Eliza. I didn't go any further. Tony butt in and said "BETSY! That's the one". I said, "Really, Betsy!" TADA! That is how Betsy became Betsy! We absolutely loved it! We immediately called all our family and made the big announcement that we finally named baby "B". Betsy Linn. Linn is my middle name.

What an amazing little name that turned out to be. When I finally came home from the hospital I did alot of researching of that name, just out of curiosity. Betsy means: My God is an Oath. She shares the name with the most famous seamstress, Betsy Ross, who made the American flag. Also there is a Betsey Johnson fashion designer. Betsy King, a famous woman golfer. Betsy Randle, actress. There is even a test scoring system: Bayesian Essay Test Scoring sYstem (BETSY!!)

I have such an amazing Betsy. We all think she will be something big one day given her rough start and her will to survive. She was literally born a fighter and I hope she continues to fight through her entire life for the things she wants and can achieve big things. I really hope Betsy can grow up to inspire and be a leader. I hope Betsy grows to love the Lord and do his good will. But most importantly, I KNOW Betsy will grow up to carry her sister's legacy and to never, never let their memory fade.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Wordless Wednesday