| Miracle Twins – 2009 |
 19 Days By Bob Briggs On February 24, 2007 my wife was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and we were told we had to have our babies immediately. There wasn’t any more time to wait or stall. My wife’s life and health were in serious danger, not to mention our babies’ lives that we worked so hard to bring into this world. All the infertility shots, the patches, my wife’s weight gain, the hyperemesis, the trips to the hospital because of her dehydration, the loads and loads of money we spent, and now their lives were all in danger. All with this one prognosis, pre-eclampsia. We were scared. It was 2 months before the twins’ due date, and we both knew the implications and possible complications premature births could bring. The doctors told us not to worry, they said we have great technology to help premature infants. There are incubators, oxygen tubes, feeding tubes, and excellent nursing care in the NICU. What did we have to worry about? Well, except for the fact our babies couldn’t hold their own temperature, couldn’t breathe room air, couldn’t suckle, and would have to spend the next two months in the NICU. Did I mention it was terrifying for us as first time parents?  6 Months Fortunately our two 4-pound preemies pulled through like champs. The doctors were right, the technology and NICU nurses absolutely helped save their lives, and they came home from the hospital after only a few weeks. They were a little over 4 pounds now and the doctors told us to not be worried. The babies would be underweight and developmentally behind, but to expect them to catch up over the course of the next one or two years.  9 Months After two months of being at home, my wife decided to give our children a trace mineral supplement. We were already putting pediatrician prescribed iron and vitamins into their formula, so why not put some minerals in as well? At least that was her thinking. We were shocked by the results. Over the course of the next 4 months, our children started putting on weight and moved off  1 Year the preemie charts onto the normal baby charts. Not only on the normal baby charts, but in the top half of the normal baby charts! Our pediatrician was amazed at how quickly they grew, but what truly got her attention, was that our wonder twins were now on track for normal developmental milestones! We continued to give our kids the minerals over the course of the next 2 years, and they really excelled. They started Montessori a little before they turned 2 and this last fall we had our first parent-teacher conference. Their teachers pulled us aside and told us we had two geniuses on our hands. In all their years of experience, they have never had a child be able to do things our children do at such an early age. At 2 ½ years of age, my son is being taught at a first grade math and reading level, and my daughter is right behind him at a kindergarten level. We couldn’t be happier.  2 Years NOTE: The Preemie Growth Project makes no claims that participation in this study will have the same results; the purpose of the study is to determine if early trace mineral supplementation can increase survival rates, and achieve faster than expected achievement of growth and developmental milestones. |