NICU Follow-up

The babies had their 2nd NICU follow-up appointment on Tuesday. They were tested on many things including speech and language, fine motor skills and gross motor skills. The tests are conducted by child psychologists, physical therapists, and developmental pediatricians, to name a few. We were there from 1:30 until 5:00.

All three did extremely well! They all tested above their age for speech and language. Shockingly, Parks was the biggest talker while we were there. Although he has always had a good vocabulary, he has just recently had a language explosion. I am not sure if it was because he is not shy like the girls, or if he was just waiting for an opportunity to show off, but he was saying words I have never even heard him use before. Eva was also very excited to show off her language skills. Poor Nora who had been sick, went last during the appointment (which was during their nap time). She was very quiet, but still tested above her age for speech, and language.

Their motor skills tests were fun to watch. They had to kick a ball, jump, climb up and down stairs. For the fine motor skills test they had to draw a line on paper with a crayon, and draw a circle. When Parks went in for his test the physical therapist praised him for drawing a 'circle.' Will looked over Park's shoulder and said, "That's not even a circle, that's an oval!" Will has very high expectations for his little brother. Parks beamed and said, "Oval!"

It was a long afternoon, but it was great to see how well they are progressing.

I have posted some pictures of the babies from when they were in the NICU, and now, so you can see how far they have come!