Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Bumbo Cry Baby
I find this video hilarious. There is just something about when Riggs cries that makes me laugh. I am sure she will think this is funny one day.
Insert Eye Roll Here
Just a Swingin'
I debated since before the twins were born if I wanted to set up their swing. I did not want my babies to HAVE to swing to go to sleep etc.
Well about 3 weeks ago I NEEDED the swing. With two there were just some days while I was home that I had to have somewhere to put one of them that they would be content. I think Nana and Granddaddy are very happy I did as well since they have watched them my first two weeks back to work.
Well they LOVE it. Especially Mr. Jackson. We will put him in it and he just stares at the mirror and the mobile-it is his sanctuary.
Well about 3 weeks ago I NEEDED the swing. With two there were just some days while I was home that I had to have somewhere to put one of them that they would be content. I think Nana and Granddaddy are very happy I did as well since they have watched them my first two weeks back to work.
Well they LOVE it. Especially Mr. Jackson. We will put him in it and he just stares at the mirror and the mobile-it is his sanctuary.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Back to Work
Last week came a day I had been dreading for a long time-my return to work. The week before we pretty emotional for me as I would feed or hold the twins it would hit me that these special times would soon be limited to nights and weekends. I have always known that I wanted to be a mommy but never knew how truly amazing it would be until Jackson and Riggs made their appearance into this world. At this time it just does not work for our family for me to be able to stay home full time with the twins. I have a great job at a great company and returning was a must.
Monday morning I had a few moments but once I walked out the door I was fine. I know I had many prayer warriors that day and the days leading up to this moment. I expected the week and especially that day to be an emotional roller-coaster, I was so thankful for the peace I had about it all.
I am sure it will really hit me when I have to drop them off at daycare for the first time but for now it feels if everything is just how it should be. My mom and dad have been great to come and watch them the first two weeks. My dad was in Monday through Wednesday and then my mom came to relieve him Thursday through Wednesday and granddaddy will be back to finish up Thursday and Friday. I think they have enjoyed it, but I am not sure they truly knew how much work two would be. As soon as you get one happy the other one starts crying and there is only one swing. When my dad left Thursday morning he made the comment this was the first time he had seen daylight in 3 days.
I am still hopeful one day it will be possible for me to be a Stay at Home Mom but I know God has a better plan for us than me.
Monday morning I had a few moments but once I walked out the door I was fine. I know I had many prayer warriors that day and the days leading up to this moment. I expected the week and especially that day to be an emotional roller-coaster, I was so thankful for the peace I had about it all.
I am sure it will really hit me when I have to drop them off at daycare for the first time but for now it feels if everything is just how it should be. My mom and dad have been great to come and watch them the first two weeks. My dad was in Monday through Wednesday and then my mom came to relieve him Thursday through Wednesday and granddaddy will be back to finish up Thursday and Friday. I think they have enjoyed it, but I am not sure they truly knew how much work two would be. As soon as you get one happy the other one starts crying and there is only one swing. When my dad left Thursday morning he made the comment this was the first time he had seen daylight in 3 days.
I am still hopeful one day it will be possible for me to be a Stay at Home Mom but I know God has a better plan for us than me.
3 Months
Last Wednesday the twins turned 3 months/13 weeks old. I think at this point we are onto months and will no longer tell how many weeks they are. I can't believe we have already reached that point.
We don't have any official stats since 3 months is not a doctors visit month. We have done the off and on the scale with them and Riggs is around 10 pounds and Jackson is around 13. You are growing so fast and change everyday.
There was a lot that happened in this month and I think by far it was one of my favorites. You both are smiling so big-it melts a momma's heart to look at their baby and get a big ole grin back. You have started to recognize me and your daddy visually and vocally. We will be across a room and you will find us with your eyes, when you hear our voices you look around even when it is on the phone. You are sleeping around 7 hours at night which I guess technically is sleeping through the night, but we are holding out for that extra hour or two, we both know how blessed we are that you both are such good sleepers. Once you wake up around 5 we feed you and put you back to bed for another 4 hours.
Jackson
You are such a sweet boy. You do cry more than your sister but I think that is mostly gas. Your are still taking Zantac for your reflux, we actually had to double you dosage since you are growing so fast. You have the sweetest grin and I could just eat you up. This month you started physical therapy for your neck. You have a weakness on your left side...you are always looking to your right and up...and torticollis. Because of this you have developed a flat spot on the back right side of you head and we think in about a month you are going to have to get a helmet to help reshape you skull. You are in size 1 diapers and size 0-3 clothes, you are eating 5 ounces 5-6 times a day. You are not our best eater, you like to savor it and sometimes will not finish your bottle-you still like sleep over eating! Your new love in life is the swing. You will sit there and just stare at yourself in the mirror and the mobile for quite a long time-I am so glad I finally decided to set it up. You are doing such a great job with holding your head up even the PT mentioned how strong you are for your age.
Sorry so many but I love this series with the giraffe.
Riggs
You are mommy and daddy's princess. You are a feisty little girl. You never stop moving, I think that is why you are so much smaller that Jackson. You have started burrowing when we hold you. You will wiggle until you get you face hidden in our elbow and then you are content. We have to make sure you are not covering you mouth and nose so you can breathe. You are such a happy baby most of the time you smile and coo and just make me and your daddy laugh so much with your actions and expressions. We know you are the one we are going to have to watch when you get older. You have finally outgrown NB diapers and are in size 1. You go back and forth between newborn and 0-3 clothes, if it is a one piece it is 0-3, dresses you can wear both depending on how it is made and bottoms you are definitely newborn (you have the tiniest bum in the world). You are eating 5 ounces 5-6 times a day-you put your brother to shame at feeding times-such an efficient eater. You are working hard at holding your head up and are such a strong little girl.
These last 3 months have been the best of our lives. We wonder many times what we did before you. We love to take you everywhere. We have learned that the rest of the world thinks you are pretty special too so it has just become the norm to be stopped by numerous people everywhere we go so they can take a peek at our perfection.
We don't have any official stats since 3 months is not a doctors visit month. We have done the off and on the scale with them and Riggs is around 10 pounds and Jackson is around 13. You are growing so fast and change everyday.
There was a lot that happened in this month and I think by far it was one of my favorites. You both are smiling so big-it melts a momma's heart to look at their baby and get a big ole grin back. You have started to recognize me and your daddy visually and vocally. We will be across a room and you will find us with your eyes, when you hear our voices you look around even when it is on the phone. You are sleeping around 7 hours at night which I guess technically is sleeping through the night, but we are holding out for that extra hour or two, we both know how blessed we are that you both are such good sleepers. Once you wake up around 5 we feed you and put you back to bed for another 4 hours.
Jackson
You are such a sweet boy. You do cry more than your sister but I think that is mostly gas. Your are still taking Zantac for your reflux, we actually had to double you dosage since you are growing so fast. You have the sweetest grin and I could just eat you up. This month you started physical therapy for your neck. You have a weakness on your left side...you are always looking to your right and up...and torticollis. Because of this you have developed a flat spot on the back right side of you head and we think in about a month you are going to have to get a helmet to help reshape you skull. You are in size 1 diapers and size 0-3 clothes, you are eating 5 ounces 5-6 times a day. You are not our best eater, you like to savor it and sometimes will not finish your bottle-you still like sleep over eating! Your new love in life is the swing. You will sit there and just stare at yourself in the mirror and the mobile for quite a long time-I am so glad I finally decided to set it up. You are doing such a great job with holding your head up even the PT mentioned how strong you are for your age.
Sorry so many but I love this series with the giraffe.
Riggs
You are mommy and daddy's princess. You are a feisty little girl. You never stop moving, I think that is why you are so much smaller that Jackson. You have started burrowing when we hold you. You will wiggle until you get you face hidden in our elbow and then you are content. We have to make sure you are not covering you mouth and nose so you can breathe. You are such a happy baby most of the time you smile and coo and just make me and your daddy laugh so much with your actions and expressions. We know you are the one we are going to have to watch when you get older. You have finally outgrown NB diapers and are in size 1. You go back and forth between newborn and 0-3 clothes, if it is a one piece it is 0-3, dresses you can wear both depending on how it is made and bottoms you are definitely newborn (you have the tiniest bum in the world). You are eating 5 ounces 5-6 times a day-you put your brother to shame at feeding times-such an efficient eater. You are working hard at holding your head up and are such a strong little girl.
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| Riggs showing off her guns! |
Saturday, July 9, 2011
WooHoo!
Today I hit a milestone in my post pregnancy life. I weigh less now than I did when I found out I was pregnant with the twins! Now it is only .6 pounds but it is less, I never imagined that I would be able to get all 65 pounds off in 12 weeks. The hard reality is going to be when I stop pumping and nursing and I am no longer to eat cookies and brownies and lose weight. Oh well I will take it while I can.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Rewind to The Twins Time in NICU
I realized recently that I never documented about our time in the hospital. Many of these days were a blur and very repetitive but I want to capture what I remember from the first 16 days our our sweet babies lives.
Jackson was our Baby A the Big Brother. He was born first weighing 5 pounds 2 ounce and 17.5" inches long. Riggs, Baby B, was our sweet little sister weighing 4 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 inches long-dainty from the moment she was born. Since they were only 34 weeks 2 days gestation the twins were taken immediately to NICU to be cared for by a group of amazing nurses and doctors.
The first two days they spent in NICU 1 which is the more critical section-I think this is where all NICU babies go at first. Jackson was strong from the beginning and Riggs needed a little help breathing she was on a ventilator for about 12 hours-once that was removed she never looked back and has became such a strong little girl. On Friday they were moved down to NICU 2 since they were such low maintenance babies. NICU 1 it is a large room with sectioned off areas, they were in a quad with a baby between them each way-in NICU 2 we pretty much had a private room to get to know and love on our sweet babes.
In the NICU there are 3 things the babies must accomplish to be discharged. 1-Breathe on their own 2-Take all meals from a bottle for 48 hours (no tube feedings) 3-Maintain their body temperature for 48 hours in an open air crib.
During the entire pregnancy we though Riggs was our bigger baby-I think it was due to how they calculate weight and since she was so long they thought she should be bigger. Also "Whimpy White Boy Syndrome" this is really what the doctors call it. For some reason white baby boys seem to be the least developed when born prematurely, however as you can see from above we had the opposite at birth.
Both babies just spent most of their days sleeping Aaron and I got into the routine that we were mainly there for their 9am, 3pm and 9pm feedings. They were on a 3 hour schedule so they ate every three hours which meant I got to pump every three hours to supply their liquid gold. We felt this gave us a good amount of time to spend with them but we were not over stimulating them or over tiring ourselves. As one of the nurses told me we were paying for some really expensive baby sitting. Also until the last 2 or 3 days they were in the isolates to regulate their body temperature so the more we had them out the harder they had to work and the more calories they burned.
Riggs was always a little behind Jackson due to her delayed start at the beginning so we were sure that she would be in the hospital longer than he was. But our sweet girl is such a fighter and actually beat him out by one day. Once she started getting all of our liquids through the bottle and not an IV she only had to be tube fed once or twice. Jackson decided that he wanted to prove us right with the Whimpy White Boy Syndrome. He figured if they would give him his food through a tube why should he wake up to eat. Because of they started feeding him by a tube every other feeding and then once he did well with that 1 out of 3 feedings were with a tube until he showed he was strong enough and willing to eat from a bottle. With these delays Riggs by-passed Jackson on the the discharge countdown. We were very fortunate however that they were discharged just a day apart.
It is amazing how quickly something becomes your norm. We both remember feeling like we would break them in the beginning and then by the end the nurses didn't have to do much of anything when we were around. All of the nurses were amazing and we especially loved Dr. Brown. He was the resident neonatologist. He was so easy to talk to and was able to quickly put away any concerns we had about the babies. He has now finished his residency and is off to Kentucky to do ER pediatrics. I know every sweet child he treats is in great hands!
Thursday April 28th we got to bring our sweet Riggs home. It was such a flood of emotions. We were excited, nervous and sad all at the same time. This was the day we had waited for for so long we were finally bring home a baby. You were so little, I remember the nurse putting you in your car seat I was so afraid we were going to crush you. All of you stuff was packed up you were put on a cart and it was time to go. This is such a happy time but also one that made Mommy sad. Jackson was still laying there in his bed as we walked out the door. I was finally bringing home a baby but we were supposed to have two at home. We put you in the car and Mommy sat in the back with you as we drove home. Finally you were home little girl.
You had your first baby sitter your first night home. Aunt Siri came over so we could go back and feed Jackson and make sure he was still doing ok at the hospital. While he missed you he was as sweet as ever. It was strange when we went back in many ways. We were there to see only one baby and Jackson had a new roommate. He was a sweet little boy that was much sicker than the two of you-it made me and daddy realize how lucky we truly were. We gave Jackson his bottle tucked him in and told him we would be back the next day to bring him home.
On Friday Riggs and I had our first mommy-daughter bonding moment. We got to watch the royal wedding together. You feeding times were perfect. We woke up at 6am and Kate was just getting to the Abbey we watched the ceremony and went back to sleep. We then got up at 9am for your next feeding and to see Will and Kate arriving at the Palace where the first kiss would take place. It was such a sweet moment that I will never forget. You then had your second babysitter. Auntie Staci came over to watch you so daddy and I could go get Jackson discharged from the hospital.
When we first got there he was gone to get his circumcision. We were hoping that it would have been done the day before but the doctor got backed up. You were brought back soon after we got there. You did not seem too upset. You were going to town on the sucrose water. After the nurse checked everything we gave you a bottle and then left to run a few errands while you crossed you later hurdle of having a wet diaper after your procedure.
We came back an hour or so later and you were ready to go. We loaded you and your stuff up on the cart just like we did your sister and we were on our way out. While we did not get to come home as a family of 4 we finally were going to have everyone home together. This was the moment we had been waiting for for so long. Our entire sweet little family home.
Our sweet friends Sandy, Ethan and Blake came to visit you guys that night they were so excited to finally meet the "twins".
While I have missed many of the details of these weeks I am now glad to have small parts documented to help us remember how it all began.
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| First time holding my sweet Princess. |
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| First time holding my handsome Prince. |
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| Jackson hanging out in his Isolate. |
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| Burping Riggs after a feeding-so tiny. |
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| Jackson's Isolate. |
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| A partial view of their room. |
During the entire pregnancy we though Riggs was our bigger baby-I think it was due to how they calculate weight and since she was so long they thought she should be bigger. Also "Whimpy White Boy Syndrome" this is really what the doctors call it. For some reason white baby boys seem to be the least developed when born prematurely, however as you can see from above we had the opposite at birth.
Both babies just spent most of their days sleeping Aaron and I got into the routine that we were mainly there for their 9am, 3pm and 9pm feedings. They were on a 3 hour schedule so they ate every three hours which meant I got to pump every three hours to supply their liquid gold. We felt this gave us a good amount of time to spend with them but we were not over stimulating them or over tiring ourselves. As one of the nurses told me we were paying for some really expensive baby sitting. Also until the last 2 or 3 days they were in the isolates to regulate their body temperature so the more we had them out the harder they had to work and the more calories they burned.
Riggs was always a little behind Jackson due to her delayed start at the beginning so we were sure that she would be in the hospital longer than he was. But our sweet girl is such a fighter and actually beat him out by one day. Once she started getting all of our liquids through the bottle and not an IV she only had to be tube fed once or twice. Jackson decided that he wanted to prove us right with the Whimpy White Boy Syndrome. He figured if they would give him his food through a tube why should he wake up to eat. Because of they started feeding him by a tube every other feeding and then once he did well with that 1 out of 3 feedings were with a tube until he showed he was strong enough and willing to eat from a bottle. With these delays Riggs by-passed Jackson on the the discharge countdown. We were very fortunate however that they were discharged just a day apart.
It is amazing how quickly something becomes your norm. We both remember feeling like we would break them in the beginning and then by the end the nurses didn't have to do much of anything when we were around. All of the nurses were amazing and we especially loved Dr. Brown. He was the resident neonatologist. He was so easy to talk to and was able to quickly put away any concerns we had about the babies. He has now finished his residency and is off to Kentucky to do ER pediatrics. I know every sweet child he treats is in great hands!
Thursday April 28th we got to bring our sweet Riggs home. It was such a flood of emotions. We were excited, nervous and sad all at the same time. This was the day we had waited for for so long we were finally bring home a baby. You were so little, I remember the nurse putting you in your car seat I was so afraid we were going to crush you. All of you stuff was packed up you were put on a cart and it was time to go. This is such a happy time but also one that made Mommy sad. Jackson was still laying there in his bed as we walked out the door. I was finally bringing home a baby but we were supposed to have two at home. We put you in the car and Mommy sat in the back with you as we drove home. Finally you were home little girl.
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| Riggs ready to go home. |
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| Daddy carrying Riggs into the house. |
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| Nothing sweeter. |
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| Dressing Riggs for her first night at home. |
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| Jackson's last night in the NICU. |
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| Riggs in her British babylegs ready to watch the Royal Wedding. |
We came back an hour or so later and you were ready to go. We loaded you and your stuff up on the cart just like we did your sister and we were on our way out. While we did not get to come home as a family of 4 we finally were going to have everyone home together. This was the moment we had been waiting for for so long. Our entire sweet little family home.
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| Jackson ready to come home. |
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| Home at last. |
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| Our sweet boy is home. |
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| Showing Jackson around his house. |
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| Reunited. |
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| Sandy, Blake & Ethan checking out Riggs with Staci. |
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| Jackson, Blake and Riggs. Blake is 3 months older than the twins. |
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