Arthritis Mom

My twins were born 10.5 weeks premature and what that means is they have two ages - an adjusted age and a real age. Right now their adjusted age is 11 months old but they are actually 13.5 months old. We go every three months for a developmental assessment with a team of specialists who evaluate the babies and determine if they are on track.

The last two appointments have been very stressful. They usually go like this....

I have the babies nap as long as possible in preparation for the exhausting afternoon. Despite feeling like I left my house on time, I arrive late. I remind myself how much I hate arriving late. I pull into the parking lot and are no spaces available except in the very back of the lot. Either my hands or my feet hurt, or both. I park and get the stroller out as quickly as I can, unload the babies, strap them in and go. I get inside and have to register, this takes way longer than I expect and makes me wonder why I don't leave my house earlier to allow time for this. I tell myself next time I am going to be on time.

Once registered we go to see the physical therapist. This part is the easiest because the babies aren't tired yet and they can play on the floor together. Then we move to the behavioral assessment. The babies are getting a little tired, they sit in a high chair instead of on the floor and they really want to be playing on the floor and they have to be assessed one at a time. The one not being assessed is squirmy and I'm having to constantly keep from escaping my lap (a challenge with rheumatoid arthritis even on a good day). This assessment seems to take forever. Somewhere in the middle I try to get both babies fed, then we see the pediatrician. Both babies in turn get undressed, ears checked, weighed and measured and muscle tone evaluated. By the end both are screaming, exhausted and we are all ready for a good cry and a nap.

Today was totally different because today my husband was able to go along too. I had him put it on his work calendar when I made the appointment in the hopes that nothing would come up and conflict. It didn't and what a difference! It was still an exhausting afternoon but not nearly as stressful. He fed one baby while I fed the other. He went to the hearing test with one while I sat through the behavioral assessment with the other. He got one undressed and dressed, I took care of the other. The best part, they scored right at 11 months old in almost every aspect (this is an improvement over last time when they scored below their adjusted age in several areas). When we were done we all needed a nap but nobody was crying, most importantly not me.