Twins back in the Hospital...

The twins have a nasty case of RSV, cold like symptoms to you and me, but more serious in an infant. They'll be in the hospital for at least two days on oxygen, likely longer until the chest congestion clears. I saw them both last night and they are fine, eating well, just congested.

Halloween 2008

What do infant twins & Friendly's Restaurant have in common?

Now that I have established some sort of routine with the wee ones, I have come to embrace the challenge of caring for twins, one preschooler, and trying to keep a tidy house (notice I did not say clean). I came to the conclusion that it reminded me of waiting tables at a busy Friendly's in my late teens. I truly enjoyed being a server. Juggling a bunch of tables, troubleshooting problems, thinking one or two steps ahead, keeping customers happy, using diplomacy when one of those customers were not happy, cleaning up, and restocking -- all at the same exact time. After sharing this analogy with Daniel I realized that there is one big difference between the two: When you wait tables you get to go home after your shift AND you get to go home with a big wad of cashola in your pocket.

Sisters

Cozy

Separated at birth?

Three cutie photos

Simone recognizing her brother and Winter saying Hi!

Can you believe I'm 34 and have 3 kids?

Hello World

Papaw and MeMe visit from Chattanooga

Our little unicorn

Perhaps you wondering how the Fraleys can produce not only one of the most beautiful babies ever seen by human eyes, but one of the only cherubs gifted with mystic powers only given to unicorns?

The only sign us mere mortals have of knowing this fact is the red-crested bump precisely placed on the top of her head, right above her butter-soft forehead. Oh, and the sweet smell of strawberries that wafts around her.

The sterile, impersonal medical industry calls a bump like this a hemangioma.

The scoop:
Hemangiomas appear in the first weeks of life. They are connected to the circulatory system and filled with blood. They then become a flat red patch often with blood vessels you can see. If they are on the skin surface they can look like a strawberry. If they are deeper in the skin they look like a bluish lump. Sometimes they have both a surface and a deep part. Hemangiomas can also grow on the internal organs. These behave in the same way as those on the skin.

Hemangiomas grow fast in the first few months then slow down in the second six months of life. Sometimes they keep growing after the child's first birthday. When they have stopped growing , they tend to stay the same size for a while then start to disappear. Some will go away completely while others will leave behind a soft fatty lump. It is variable how quickly they disappear. Some have nearly gone by 3 years, while a small number (less than 1 in 10) are still there up to 8 or 9 years old.

Usually, hemangiomas do not cause any problems. Most hemangiomas disappear by themselves and do not need any treatment.