I have preemie toddlers..

Ok, I know that they are not toddlers, but I am thinking that they are about the size of them. Gary went to WIC today for their checkups and called me at work to tell me this...

Alyssa is now 23 1/2" tall and 11.1 pounds. She scored in the 25th percentile for her age to weight and the 10th percentile for her weight to length.

Sierra is now 22 1/4" tall and 10 pounds. She scored in the 25th percentile for her age to weight and in the bottom 5th percentile for her weight to length.

A background on the percentile is this is how they score their weight. When looking at their age, they look at their gestational age in comparison to their weight. In this area they are both doing well. They then make a comparison in regards to their weight to length. The 10th percentile is borderline to malnutrition. The 5th percentile and below is dangerously low weights and need extra care to help them gain weight. Children in th 5th percentile or below generally suffer from either malnutrition, had a low birth weight, and can suffer from "failure to thrive".

Alyssa has improve so much that she is no longer in the 5th percentile like she was when she was at her first charting, but she still needs to get up into the 25th percentile.

Sierra is not doing as bad as it sounds. She is very active and has not hit the growth spurts that Alyssa has. She still looks bigger than her sister, but the charting lets us know that we need to focus on making her eat more on a schedule to ensure that she eats enough. She has only started to eat a 6 oz bottle where her sister has now started to eat 7 and sometimes an 8 oz bottle. We just have to make sure that she is eating enough throughout the day.

Girls,

Daddy and I love you so much. Keep eating and fighting your way. We are proud of all that you have accomplished and look forward to so much more. We love you very much.

Tabby