SUYL-Moms of Multiples

This week I am linking up with Kelly's Korner SUYL Moms of Multiples.

This is a category I never dreamed I would fall into a few years ago, however God had different plans and now I am so glad this is part of who I am. One year ago I was 32 weeks pregnant and trying to get ready for the birth of our twins, little did we know in two short weeks they would arrive. The last year has been a whirlwind of craziness, but it has been the best year of my life-one I would never trade for anything.

My swollen pre-eclampic self right before delivery 34w2d

First time holding them together!

Being the mom of twins has brought so much joy to my life. Yes, you get the crazy comments everywhere you go. Are they twins? Are they identical? Note mine are boy/girl-my husband really wants to respond with well not the last time I changed their diapers! Most comments are innocent and sparked by curiosity, while others are down right rude. I literally had someone tell me one time, oh when I am having a bad day with mine I will just think of you. Or on occasion we have had people tell us how horrible it must be to have two at one time. It just saddens me that they don't get to feel the double joy we do. And of course there is the ever common, How do you do it? Well I am sure if you are a Mom of Multiples you have the same response I do...you just do-is there really another option. I am a firm believer that God is in control and he will never give you more than you can handle and we know that these two were meant for us.

First Family Walk

First Mothers Day!

Making it work during feeding time with twins

Having multiples has more than emphasized that it is not about me but there is something so much bigger than that. They make me want to be a better person, one they will always be proud of.

Proud family at Daddy's grad school graduation.

First Clemson football game.

First time eating cereal

You can read throughout this blog about my twins, Jackson and Riggs. With this post I want to focus on one of the things I have loved most about being a twin mom. It is getting to know other twin mommas. There is such a comraderey in this group of women and we love to share life together; give advise to those who have littles and learn from those with bigs. I have been lucky to find a few outlets for these relationships.

First is my local Moms of Multiples club. I joined just a few weeks before the twins were born and have really enjoyed going through this season of life with other ladies doing it to. I have developed some great friendships that I hope will last a lifetime and I know I support beyond belief here. Luckily we have not had first hand experience but I have watched this group rally around other members as they have gone through the darkest of times-most recently as one had to say goodbye to one of their 16 month old twins who lost his battle to cancer. (Please pray for the Watson family) Our club was there to help with child care, meals, huge prayer warriors and so on. I know these are ladies I can count on no matter what the need.  If you have twins or are expecting twins I would really encourage you to see if you can find one of these in your community. In our club we have monthly meetings of various topics, mom's night out, play-dates and seasonal parties.

Next is through twitter (@cmgalloway) and this blog. I love my twin mommas on twitter. It is a support group all the time! While none of us know each other in real life we love on each other and support each other in huge ways. You have those who are always there to encourage who have been where you are and those who are right in the same place so you can compare what you each are doing and what works and what doesn't. I never thought I would be into twitter, but for this reason alone I love it so much. Come over and join us we always love more twin tweeps.

Are you a twin mom or a super twin mom? If so leave a comment I would love to get to "know" you!

Wordless Wednesday

March of Dimes March for Babies 2012

From the day we found out we were having twins we knew our risk of complications during pregnancy was doubled. However the twins’ pregnancy went perfectly until April 12^th when I went in for my routine 34 week appointment. I went through the normal check in procedures and quickly knew something was off when they took my blood pressure. I was sent back to the waiting room and after a quick text to my sister (who was admitted for high bp with our niece Grayson) and a little Google on my phone we knew my numbers were way too high. Once I got back to see the doctor and they retook my pressure and we were told that I was being admitted to the hospital for symptoms of preeclampsia. We rushed home got packed and head to GHS not knowing what to expect. That day they began monitoring and running test that would confirm my preeclampsia diagnosis. I settled into my new home in the highrisk OB not know how long I would be there. The next morning my OB came by reviewed the information and told me I would not deliver that day but probably would be soon, he also was going to refer me onto a high risk OB for consultation. About a half anhour later they came by and talked through a few things with me and decided that their recommendation was not to wait for the final test results as my BP was continuing to rise and that I should deliver as soon as possible to do possible complications I could encounter. At that moment we knew my easy pregnancy was over and one of our worst fears had come true-the twins would be born premature. We were thankful I was past the 34 week mark a vital milestone in their development but still had many fears of what this meant for our babies.

At 4:30pm on April 13^th I was wheeled to pre-op for my c-section that was to begin at 5pm. Due to their prematurity we knew once they were born they would immediately be taken to the NICU to be cared for by a special group of doctors and nurses. At 5:23 and then again at 5:25 we heard the most amazing sound in the world-first the cries of our Jackson and then of Riggs. Aaron and I were able to quickly hold and kiss Jackson before he was taken away, however Riggs was having a little more trouble breathing and was vented and quickly shown to us as they took her away for extra care.

Jackson

Riggs

 

 

 

Holding Riggs for the first time.

Holding Jackson for the first time.

First picture together at 6 days old.

This started our 16 day stint in the Greenville Hospital NICU.  After about 12 hours Riggs’ breathing had improved and she was taken off the vent and from that moment on their main purpose was to grow and learn to eat so they could come home. While this time was met with a roller coaster of emotions Aaron and I were always very thankful for those who attended to the twins. On April 28^th Riggs and April 29^th Jackson graduated from the NICU and finally came home.

Welcome Home Riggs! (Thursday 4.28)

Welcome Home Jackson! (Friday 4.29)

Reunited kisses!

 This year on April 28^th exactly one year after we brought them home, our family will be participating the March for Babies with my local Moms of Multiples Club. March of Dimes is an organization that is very special to our family as we got to see first hand how they care for the babies and the families in the NICU. We know we have been abundantly blessed with our twins and know that there are many families who go through many more trials due to premature birth. We are hoping you will help us celebrate Jackson and Riggs first birthday by honoring them with a donation to the March of Dimes Walk for Babies. You can click on the button in my side bar to help support this charity as they continue to fight for these little babies!

Car Seat Upgrade

A few weeks ago we had to move the twins up to their big car seats. Seeing them in their new Britax seats made me realize just how big my babies are, after this I went and found a few pictures from the days they came home from the hospital. They were so teeny tiny and now they are so big.

Twins & Wings

This is a story I wish I could have experienced first hand.

Last night my husband had the twins while I went to bible study. A group of ladies from my church is starting Beth Moore's James. Being the super dad he is he decided we would not miss out on guys wing night and took them both to Chiefs. From what I understand they had done great all night and it was time to go. Aaron was trying to pay his check but a squirming Jackson was too much to hold while he signed his check. He passed him off to our friend Charlie and within a matter of seconds Jackson had grabbed a plate of chicken bones and pulled it off the table. There were bones everywhere. It was described to me as an explosion-keep it mind it was all you can eat wing night as you visualize this. Not only were there chicken bones on this plate but there were also ramekins of ranch and blue cheese-these now completely covered Aaron, Jackson and Charlie. Aaron got Jackson and took him outside to clean him up and change him into his pajamas. While he was gone, it seemed the less than brilliant waitress had placed a half eaten salad at the end of the table in the reach of one certain little girl who quickly wanted to join in the fun and tossed this everywhere. Needless to say I am not sure this is an establishment that we will be returning to anytime soon!

10 Months 2.13.12 & 11 Months 3.13.12

Last month I got behind on my monthly post once again and by the time I found time to think about it we were so close to 11 months I decided I would just do a 10 & 11 months post together. Also I didn't feel like anything super significant happened during the 10 month period.

During this time we have moved completely to finger food for lunch and dinner with oatmeal for breakfast. When we are out and about we will use the food pouches for convenience-you both are starting to be able to feed these to yourself which makes them even better. You are eating: applesauce, apples, bananas, kiwi, blueberry waffles, chicken nuggets, cheese, yogurt, black beans, pasta to name a few. Mandarin oranges were in our rotation but we think it is giving Riggs a rash around her mouth so we have pulled those for her. You are down to about 15-20 ounces of formula a day. We are working on sippy cups but Jackson you are not loving this transition, but as with everything you will do it in your own time. You are both wearing size 3 diapers, but I think we will be moving to 4s the next time we purchase-especially for Jackson. While you seem to be big babies you are wearing clothes pretty true to size 9-12 months, 12 months and a few 12-18 months but most of those have lots of room to grow. You take two naps a day,  your morning is your better nap normally 1.5 to 2 hours but some days up to 3. You go to bed at 7:30 and you both have come to love bath time. In the last week we have been using the big tub with both of you in at the same time and you play together so hard. We have some adorable videos of this and it makes us laugh every time we watch. Pictures are getting harder and harder to capture as you will see below.

Jackson:

You are such a charmer, you can cut those sweet eyes and make anyone's heart melt-especially your mommas! You are a big boy weighing around 23-24 pounds and probably 30ish inches tall. You finally started crawling!!!! We think this has made you a happier little boy, you no longer have to watch your sister from the sidelines. You have not started to fully pull up yet but we don't think that is far behind, you just have to figure out how to get that second leg in the right spot. We kind of think your thighs are getting in the way. You love to clap. You don't always do it at the right time-you have been known to clap and cry at the same time-but no matter what it is adorable and you are so proud of yourself. This is a trick that you can proudly say you accomplished before Riggs. You still have 8 teeth but we are confident that more are on the way. You have been fussy the last week or so and chewing on everything you can get your hands on-I think this means molars are about to pop through. Your hair is so red and adorable, it grows fast so we have actually had to trim it a few times already so it was not growing over your ears. With twins I have to make sure you look like a boy and Riggs like a girl so people can tell the difference. You have sported a faux-hawk a time or two and it is so cute. You are still laid back and content most of the time. You still are able to make it through church service on Sunday without having to go to the nursery-your sister has not done this in quite a while. You have made having a son better than I ever dreamed it could be, God truly blessed us by placing your in our family.

Riggs:

You are still as crazy as ever. You are very vocal and want to make sure everyone can hear your and we wouldn't have it any other way. This month you did make one of your little boyfriends cry by yelling at him-sorry George. You have so much personality and can always make us laugh. You are around 21-22 pounds and about 30 inches tall as well. You are cruising everywhere but still not walking. You need to work on your balance but that would you require you to stay in the say spot for more than a second or two. You are into everything. You know when you are not supposed to do something and as you are crawling to those places you will stop and look to make sure we are watch and then continue on. I think you are going to give us many sleepless nights. You love to laugh and make your brother laugh. Lately you two will be sitting there playing and you will just crack up laughing at it him. We need to work on sharing a bit. If you brother has it you want it. You are doing great with sippy cups but seem to be a little jealous of J when he has a bottle and you want his-so you take it. However he is fighting back and he is bigger than you so all I can say is watch out sister! You have developed a few less than desirable talents this month. You like to stick your fingers down your throat and make yourself gag, you have even vomited a few times from this. You newest skill is sticking your finger up your nose-such a little lady. You still only have 2 teeth but I feel there are a ton about to cut through. You have been fussier and clingier than normal and your top gums looks red and swollen to us. You have brought more joy and laughter into our lives than we ever knew possible. You are my dream come true of having a daughter and I can't wait to see the young lady you are going to become. We cannot thank God enough for making your ours!

 I can't believe we only have a month until you both are 1, where has this year gone?

Click on the March of Dimes button in my side bar to help support other preemie babies!