Happy Halloween!

One Week

Kate




Max

We came home on Friday, October 9th around 8pm. Phil & I unloaded the kids from the back of the truck, gently took them out of their car seats and placed them together in their crib, lying side by side for the first time. We grinned stupidly at each other as we beheld the wonder of our children.

Fast forward a mere two hours later when we are feeding them, Phil with Kate and me with Max. Our boy coughs and then proceeds to stop breathing, his face growing pale and his lips turning blue. Phil hurriedly puts Kate down and takes Max while I run for the phone to call 911. Max finally coughs again after some coaxing from dad and starts breathing. A few minutes later our nursery is filled with 2 policeman, 4 firemen and 2 ambulance drivers. Nothing like a boost of confidence for the new and naive parents! They check Max out and we bid them farewell and settle in for a shaky (on our part) first night home. Not much sleep was had.

I am happy to report it has been uphill from there! We have been home for one week. Time has stopped and yet has never moved faster at the same time. Personally I have not left the house since Monday and that was just for 2 hours to take the kids to the doctor. Shame.

Life has been wonderfully exhausting. Taking care of newborn (still 4 weeks til their due date) twins is all encompassing. Phil has been home this week and bless him for it. He has taken on his new role with nary a complaint and is such a help. We take shifts during the night; Phil takes the early shift from 7pm-1am while I sleep and then we switch. This works well and you are always glad when your solo time ends and you can crawl into the bed in our room for a few hours of undisturbed shut-eye.

A sample of my shift:
1:00AM-rise to pump
1:30ish- prepare the babies' bottles and wake Phil.
2:00AM-feed two starving children simultaneously thanks to our second pair of arms aka the boppy pillow. This includes keeping Kate awake so she actually takes a full feed (less than 2 ounces), burping a very gassy Max at least 3 times, changing Kate's diaper mid-feed to wake Sleeping Beauty, change Max, bundling both babes up again like little burritos, resume feeding Kate with one hand and Max the other, final burps and toots, kisses and prop both back in the boppy together.
3:15ish AM- pump again. :)
3:45AM- place both babes in the crib and fall into the twin bed and try to fall asleep listening to baby sighs, moans and groans and Max's toots, surprisingly loud for a little man!
4:00AM- hopefully I am asleep.
5:00AM- wake & repeat...

I have come to the harsh realization that I can no longer do it all and if I try to on my low tank of sleep I get grumpy and invariably fall short of my housekeeping/mothering goals. Where I could once tackle the entire house cleaning duties, make dinner, shower, run errands, relax, etc. now takes me the course of a week, and even then I fall short. I have no less than 5 loads of laundry waiting to be folded at the moment but at least they are clean. (Folding is my goal before I retire this evening, no promises).

I know this period is short and soon we will have a nice routine that involves more sleep for everyone and that a clean house doesn't matter so much at this point, though it certainly makes me feel better. I am the lucky mother to two beautiful children. I get to nibble on soft floppy baby ears and breathe in the sweet smell of their skin, rub my cheek on their downy hair and feel the warmth of a little body nestled in the crook of my neck. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

The Tour

Welcome! Come on in.









Now that we have some names I will add their initials to this wall flanking the art, framed out in the same turquoise as the mirror. Soon, I hope.



Our nursing/cuddle/reading area.





A piece of our Camden, so all my babies are in the same room. Quote from their daddy, spoken at Camden's funeral.



Kate's tutu bow holder I made just before their arrival. Love it. She is seriously blinged out with all her accessories, too bad her head is too small.



The 2nd refinish of the mirror, just the splash of color this corner needed.



I love this room and I like to think Kate & Max agree.

Just for fun

On a whim I decided to enter a little contest on a fun blog I read. The contest was to enter a pic about capturing your everyday with your kids. Our everyday was the NICU as it consumed the first 4 weeks of our kids life and consequently our own. I love the picture I submitted; holding Max for the first time.

Vote for Max HERE

Home

We are home. We are tired. Life is busy to say the least. More to come after we get some sleep around here.

Special

Max & Andy


Kate & Ann

I received a package not too long ago from St. David, where I grew up. I did not recognize the address but quickly tore into the brown box, pulled back the tissue paper and died from the incredible contents.

Two handcrafted Raggedy dolls, one Ann and Andy, for one Kate and Max. The card read that she makes each of her grandchildren one and out of the 10 she has, 6 have been in the NICU. The dolls are a way to mark how small they were and how they grow and of course become a cherished treasure through childhood and beyond.

My friend and past YW leader Mary Ann Merrill made them for us and I can't express how we love them. Her talent and the time and love she puts into them make them priceless and I am so grateful for the generosity and support.

The pictures above are poor excuses but the babies were still in their isolettes and it was hard to get the shot seeing as they were sleeping and all wrapped like burritos and I didn't want to disturb them or get them cold by unwrapping them. But rest assured the dolls are still bigger than them, though Max is slowly gaining on Andy!

Thank you Mary Ann for your wonderful gift.

Long time no post...

Life blurs together when you spend everyday at the hospital. I am journaling for the kids the old fashioned way and try to get to it daily so I don't forget the little milestones they are reaching. Even then, if I am not careful I can't remember which day was which and what happened when.

On the baby front; Kate continues to excel. She weighs in at 3 pounds 11.4 ounces as of last night. She tolerates her feeds well and when she feels like it will take her entire bottle by mouth. We get excited when this happens as it is one step closer to them coming home. And then in true preemie fashion she absolutely refuses to take her bottle (like last night at her 8pm feed). One step forward... Though to her credit the nurse had tried to sneak in her nasty vitamin that smells and probably tastes like fertilizer while she was eating. She promptly stopped sucking and pushed the whole mouthful of milk and nastiness out. And then she was on to us and refused to nipple any more. I tried. Oh, how I tried! The nurse was kind and let her take a break, even saying that she will try again in an hour or so if she wakes up. Kate promptly took her up on the offer and fell asleep in her daddy's arms while I pumped. Phil is absolutely smitten.

Max is our chubster and is 4 pounds 5 ounces now. He looks and feels so big compared to Kate, we are only talking a matter of ounces but really! He is off his IV and if he can tolerate his feeds and take in enough liquid by mouth than he doesn't need to get one in again. He has had tummy issues and we were slowly increasing the amount he eats by 2ml every 12 hours when he had his IV in. Now that it is out he needs to eat a lot more! This worries us since we felt that the doctors were pushing him too hard and fast before causing him to reflux and step down. Let's pray he can do it! We want him to stay off the IV.

Kate is in an open crib since she is managing her own temperature and Max is still a bit on the cool side. He is also anemic and is getting extra iron and a mean shot in his thigh three times per week. If you want to hear that kid wail then stab him in his thigh. Poor baby! He hates it and gets downright angry. Luckily we are usually nearby to help him and love him. He gets over it pretty quick.

Of course what would a post be without pictures...



Our Miss Kate loves her sleep.



Chubby Max with his sweet cheeks that I kiss so often. He is anemic and therefore still pale and a bit yellow.



Max. Just love him. His big eyes and sweet hands which are always by his face. (It is a comfort thing for preemies and just dang adorable.)

If anyone wants to join me at the hospital to help with feeds you are more than welcome! We are at Banner Desert and the kids eat every 3 hours; 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, etc. I am down there in the morning for the 11am feed and stay for a few hours. I would love some company!