Family Photos
We had family pictures in December and received our pictures – so we just had to share! They are awesome and we love that they show they boy’s similarities & differences. More and more we see how much the boys are alike, but also how they are each very different. Photographer recommendation – Katie Welsh Photography, she was great with the boys and the pictures are AMAZING!
New Year’s Day Polar Dash
We celebrated the New Year with one of the boy’s best friends Faith. She got the Berge bunch motivated to brave the cold and run a 5K along the Mississippi river. It was about five degrees, but we had the kiddos bundle to a point where even they broke a sweat! The boys were the only kids running the race – well “riding” during the race, it was awesome and we look forward to our next one! Below are some post-race pictures, we wish we could have gotten some action shots during the race but it was so cold my camera wouldn’t work!
Kidneys and Seizures
We had some concerns the week of December with Asher’s behavior; he kept looking over his shoulder and avoiding eye contact. It started getting worse through January to the point where he stopped smiling and playing with toys. We made several neurology surgery appointments to get his shunt evaluated as his abnormal behavior could have been attributed to over or under draining. After a second neurology appointment, we were able to confirm that his shunt was functioning properly and were recommended to see an actual pediatric neurologist to make sure everything was ok. That same day Asher spiked a fever. We were unable to bring it down with Tylenol so I brought him into the emergency room at Children’s Hospital Minneapolis as we knew there was something more going on since he had no other cold or flu symptoms. They admitted Asher in the early morning hours upon the diagnosis of a kidney infection. He had three kidney stones that were causing a blockage. The stones were most likely caused by the medication received when he was an infant in the NICU. The poor little guy had them removed and underwent a strong antibiotic treatment for the infection. Just before discharge the attending pediatrician was able to witness Asher’s abnormal behavior. The doctor decided to keep him admitted and run some additional tests. After a 24 hour EEG, Asher was diagnosed with seizures, most likely infantile spasms. After five nights in the hospital, he was released on his first round of anit-seizure medication. Upon follow-up the doctors moved him to his current medication that is working GREAT! He is back to his old smiley self and upon a recent EEG, his brain activity is almost completely normal! We are hopeful to see what the next month brings and are hopeful that he has a normal MRI next week.
Aunt Liz to the Rescue
The boy’s Aunt Liz is staying with us for a semester while she completes an internship at Macalester University in St Paul working in the athletic department. Her arrival came at the exact right time as the night of her arrival was when Asher was admitted to the hospital. It was a rough welcome week, but I think the shock as finally worn off and she is settling into life living with triplets and their two crazy parents.
Car Seats
At the boy’s 9 month check-up, we were told that the big boys had out-grown their car seats in the length. It was a frantic mission to figure out and order their new ones. We settled on a convertible car seat that is specially made to fit three across. They were a little more expensive but they fit perfectly in the Flex and they will be the last car seats we will every have to purchase.
Weight Check
The boys are definitely growing, they are long and skinny. At their 9 month check-in, the doctor actually made the nurse re-measure their length because she couldn’t believe how much they had grown. The big boys were in the 75-60th percentile for length of a singleton full term 9 month old. It’s scary to think how big they would have been if they were full term! Anders is plugging right along too. He is definitely smaller than his bigger brothers, but he wears the same size clothes as them and what he lacks in size, he makes up in spunk.
The Random
- Aaron has figured out how to make more silly noises by rubbing his finger across his lips while trying to blow bubbles.
- Asher can stick his entire hand in his mouth and continually finds new ways to chew on his nuke.
- Anders likes to gurgle and make vampire-like noises.
- The boys and mom made the transition to frozen milk, but after much complaining by the boys – it was a unanimous decision to move right into formula.
Thank you again to everyone for all of your generosity, kindness, and prayers – we wouldn’t make it without it!
