All three will qualify for the Early Start Infant Program through SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area). Our therapist will be coming to work with them once a week for at least six months. The babies will definitely benefit from this; and overall, it's a great thing.
So why was I an emotional mess? It all came back to me.
They were born 15 weeks early. I've known that they are going to have developmental delays. But somehow I was reminded once again of their rough beginning to life. Not that I will ever forget, but our entire NICU experience flashed in front of me. They had to grow and develop outside the womb.
The way they looked the first few days. Their skin was so fragile, we could not touch them without worrying if their skin would rub off or break.
The first month or so was extremely hard. I never knew what each day would bring. It was rare that all three of them would have a good day on the same day. I would walk in and look at all their stats. Their heart rate, saturation level, ventilator settings and ask for their blood gas numbers. Their condition was critical. They were very sick babies. This was my life for over 3 months.
I look at them now, and they are perfect. I can't believe how healthy they have been since we have been home. I was wishing they were the exception. They are starting to smile, and trying so hard to lift their little heads up.
The therapist pointed out what milestones needed to be met. All of their motor skills are a bit delayed. She said even for their adjusted age (2 months) they were lagging a bit behind, which is to be expected.
I know this is not a bad thing. I am grateful that they will get the help they need to thrive even more. But having triplets brings little or no downtime that I sometimes forget how much further they have to go. It will definitely be a good thing to have someone else track their development because most of the time I can't remember what happened yesterday.
I remember thinking if we could just get our twins home and out of the NICU, I wouldn't mind going to therapy or worry much about developmental delays. And, although I too am thrilled with how well my babies are doing overall, it can be very trying raising multiple micro-preemies. It's a hard road, but it will get easier. I didn't have triplets so I'm sure that's harder. We still go to therapy twice a week for our twins, now 19 months, but it has become the routine. The therapy has been wonderful for their development too. Best of luck to you guys!
ReplyDeleteI completely understand the mixed emotions. It's only natural to want your children to be perfectly on track (especially because of the not-'normal' baby experience you've had with them so far.) I felt a little sad when my son qualified for therapy, despite the fact that I had pushed for him to qualify for many many months. These little babies have had a disadvantage from the beginning...and it's wonderful to know that they are getting the support they need at an early age - the earlier the better. You'll see, it will be great!
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