These are my belly pics:
14 weeks:
16 weeks:
19 weeks (taken while on vacation in Gulf Shores)
30 weeks:
34 weeks:
That's as far as I got since I delivered Carter and Olivia at 35 weeks and 3 days gestational age.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Belly pics
That's as far as I got since I delivered Carter and Olivia at 35 weeks and 3 days gestational age.
Photo Bomb
Are you ready for me to drop the bomb? The PHOTO BOMB? Everyone likes that, right? These pics were taken in weeks 3-6 of their lives. They are from oldest to newest, so you might be able to see them growing and developing as you scroll through the pics (or maybe it's just Forrest and me who can see the changes).
Carter:
Wearing a preemie outfit:
Newborn outfit:
Enjoying the Baby Einstein toy his Grandmommie gave him:
During a night feeding:
His favorite way to be "held" by his dad:
Olivia:
This was a newborn outfit that was comically big on her.
Wearing her brother's preemie outfit because he outgrew it (and it was something warm on a cold day):
Gameday:
Still in preemie clothes, but starting to fill them out better:
Carter:
Wearing a preemie outfit:
Twins:
In the "Jungle" gym:
Going for a walk in the neighborhood:
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving was spent at the lake house, and it was a fantastic weekend. Our first weekend at the lake was a couple weekends before that. Grandmommy and Pops were out of town on their mediterranean cruise, so it was just Aunt Ellie and Uncle Chris, and the Wieds. That weekend was stressful for our family. The babies didn't do well at the lake and I did not have a nice relaxing weekend. However, Thanksgiving weekend gave us what we sought - a relaxing and fun weekend with the people we love most.
Grandmommy and Pops graciously offered to take one of our middle of hte night feedings off of our hands, on both Thursday and Friday nights, so we took them up on that and got some much needed sleep.
On Thursday night, we watched the last (?) game between the Longhorn and Aggie football teams. C and O - big news the year you were born centered around Texas A&M leaving the Big XII conference. I'm sure you two will never watch a game between two Big XII teams, because that conference will likely have gone by the wayside, but for now it's a conference that I love but it's starting to wind down. It started in 1998 and had a great run there in the 2000's. Unfortunately, Nebraska and Colorado withdrew from the conference last year and Texas A&M has been itching to ditch it too for a couple of seasons. In September of 2011, they announced their intentions to join the Southeastern Conference which signaled the end of the historical annual football game between A&M and Texas. It's a heartbreak to Longhorns and Aggies, but also to all of college football. It's an important rivalry game that, at least for the foreseeable future, won't be played anymore. I hope your generation of decision makers gets it right and reunintes these two schools on the football field each Thanksgiving. We all love that tradition.
Anyways, we dressed you in our school's colors and took some family pics.
We have so much to be thankful for. God gave us you, and he gave us to you. What a generous and deliberate gift. His goodness is beyond measure, and that's what Thanksgiving was really about.
Olivia is in the Longhorn shirt and Carter is in the Howdy shirt.
Olivia is wearing one of Carter's old sleepers (grey and navy). She had dirtied all of hers - oops!
Yes, she's too young to be facing forward, but it was just for a few minutes and she really liked it!
Grandmommy and Pops graciously offered to take one of our middle of hte night feedings off of our hands, on both Thursday and Friday nights, so we took them up on that and got some much needed sleep.
On Thursday night, we watched the last (?) game between the Longhorn and Aggie football teams. C and O - big news the year you were born centered around Texas A&M leaving the Big XII conference. I'm sure you two will never watch a game between two Big XII teams, because that conference will likely have gone by the wayside, but for now it's a conference that I love but it's starting to wind down. It started in 1998 and had a great run there in the 2000's. Unfortunately, Nebraska and Colorado withdrew from the conference last year and Texas A&M has been itching to ditch it too for a couple of seasons. In September of 2011, they announced their intentions to join the Southeastern Conference which signaled the end of the historical annual football game between A&M and Texas. It's a heartbreak to Longhorns and Aggies, but also to all of college football. It's an important rivalry game that, at least for the foreseeable future, won't be played anymore. I hope your generation of decision makers gets it right and reunintes these two schools on the football field each Thanksgiving. We all love that tradition.
Anyways, we dressed you in our school's colors and took some family pics.
We have so much to be thankful for. God gave us you, and he gave us to you. What a generous and deliberate gift. His goodness is beyond measure, and that's what Thanksgiving was really about.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Body Image Issues
Olivia is only 3 weeks old and already her doctor is putting pressure on her about her weight. For her first two well baby checks, she was gaining weight, but not quite as much as he would have liked. Carter, on the other hand, is such a shining star as far as weight gain and development. He got kudos from the doctors and nurses in the NICU, and the pediatrician and his staff feel the same way.
Olivia's weight gain was "on the low end of normal", so we had to go back for a third weekly visit to check her weight. Dr. Dao was hoping she could gain an ounce a day, and previously she had been averaging 0.75 ounces a day.
We took her back on Thursday and she had gained 8 ounces in 8 days - right where they wanted her to be! So, now she's a whopping 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and 19.5 inches long. I'm so proud of my little porker. Maybe she'll catch up with her brother after all.
The babies turn one month old on Wednesday. In some ways it seems like this has been the longer month of my life. The delivery feels like forever ago. But in other ways, it's flown by. Time is hard to explain right now. All I know is that every day with the babies is kind of the same, but it's wonderful so the same kind of wonderful is something I will gladly take right now.
Olivia's weight gain was "on the low end of normal", so we had to go back for a third weekly visit to check her weight. Dr. Dao was hoping she could gain an ounce a day, and previously she had been averaging 0.75 ounces a day.
We took her back on Thursday and she had gained 8 ounces in 8 days - right where they wanted her to be! So, now she's a whopping 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and 19.5 inches long. I'm so proud of my little porker. Maybe she'll catch up with her brother after all.
The babies turn one month old on Wednesday. In some ways it seems like this has been the longer month of my life. The delivery feels like forever ago. But in other ways, it's flown by. Time is hard to explain right now. All I know is that every day with the babies is kind of the same, but it's wonderful so the same kind of wonderful is something I will gladly take right now.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Insomnia?
How has insomnia found me? I'm a sleep deprived mother of weeks old twins! I should be sleeping like a baby (horrible metaphor) when I get the chance.
Sleep has thus far worked pretty well for us. I go to bed between 8:00 and 9:00pm (no wise cracks about the early bed time, I get excused for now) and Forrest takes the 9:00pm and 12:00am feedings. I wake up and do the 3:00am and 6:00am feedings. That allows me to get about 6 consecutive hours of sleep.
Tonight, I got in bed at 9:00pm and sleep could not find me. I guess insomnia found me first. I haven't had insomnia since my shift working days. Finally at midnight I threw in the towel and got out of bed. Forrest agreed to go to sleep and take my 6:00am feeding, so I'm on duty now until they go down after 3:00am.
Also, tonight is Halloween...the twins' first Halloween. It's funny how it seems important to mark the "first" of everything for the twins. We certainly didn't do anything special like dress them up in costumes. In fact, this is the only way I'm memorializing their first Halloween. When you're 3 weeks old, it's just not that fun to dress up for Halloween. Plus, I'm not sure that they make costumes in preemie sizes.
Of note, I did hand out some candy. One of our trick or treaters was a pregnant woman. Her belly was exposed and she had painted it as part of her costume. I couldn't tell how old she was since she was in costume, but I suspected she was a teenager. It was very strange. I think I would have skipped this year, if I were her.
Sleep has thus far worked pretty well for us. I go to bed between 8:00 and 9:00pm (no wise cracks about the early bed time, I get excused for now) and Forrest takes the 9:00pm and 12:00am feedings. I wake up and do the 3:00am and 6:00am feedings. That allows me to get about 6 consecutive hours of sleep.
Tonight, I got in bed at 9:00pm and sleep could not find me. I guess insomnia found me first. I haven't had insomnia since my shift working days. Finally at midnight I threw in the towel and got out of bed. Forrest agreed to go to sleep and take my 6:00am feeding, so I'm on duty now until they go down after 3:00am.
Also, tonight is Halloween...the twins' first Halloween. It's funny how it seems important to mark the "first" of everything for the twins. We certainly didn't do anything special like dress them up in costumes. In fact, this is the only way I'm memorializing their first Halloween. When you're 3 weeks old, it's just not that fun to dress up for Halloween. Plus, I'm not sure that they make costumes in preemie sizes.
Of note, I did hand out some candy. One of our trick or treaters was a pregnant woman. Her belly was exposed and she had painted it as part of her costume. I couldn't tell how old she was since she was in costume, but I suspected she was a teenager. It was very strange. I think I would have skipped this year, if I were her.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Life's little ironies
Last night I had the 3:00am shift, which I had earlier thought I would refer to as "The 3:00am shift....ugh", but I have recently been thinking of it as "The 3:00am shift!!". I know that's not very creative, but it's such a precious hour of my day and I now treasure it instead of want to rush through it.
The babies are pretty good at this feeding. They normally eat well and then go right to sleep. Last night was no exception (or so I thought). I put them both down in their bassinet after they ate and they immediately fell asleep. Their heads both turned in toward each other and they layed their forehead to forehead. My heart was filled with joy and I couldn't help but think of how much of a blessing that moment was.
Then, Olivia spit up all over herself and Carter. The irony of it made me laugh out loud. I then got them both up, changed their clothes, their swaddling blankets, and the bassinet sheet, then put them back down. I smartly turned Olivia's face away from Carter and watched them another couple minutes. Then she spit up again, so I had to change her clothes and blanket all over again. Since I was officially out of sheets, I just put a burp cloth over the wet area and laid her back down.
I ended up getting back to bed at 4:30am...smile still on my face and heart still filled with joy.
And today, we do laundry!
The babies are pretty good at this feeding. They normally eat well and then go right to sleep. Last night was no exception (or so I thought). I put them both down in their bassinet after they ate and they immediately fell asleep. Their heads both turned in toward each other and they layed their forehead to forehead. My heart was filled with joy and I couldn't help but think of how much of a blessing that moment was.
Then, Olivia spit up all over herself and Carter. The irony of it made me laugh out loud. I then got them both up, changed their clothes, their swaddling blankets, and the bassinet sheet, then put them back down. I smartly turned Olivia's face away from Carter and watched them another couple minutes. Then she spit up again, so I had to change her clothes and blanket all over again. Since I was officially out of sheets, I just put a burp cloth over the wet area and laid her back down.
I ended up getting back to bed at 4:30am...smile still on my face and heart still filled with joy.
And today, we do laundry!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
First week with the babies
How can I describe the first week home with the babies? It's been full of joy, feedings, changings, and sleeplessness....but mostly joy (and sleeplessness, maybe that's a close second!).
It has been a very long week, as every day is the same. We had a saying when I was working the four week shift schedule up at Tenaska. We'd say that the four week rotation flies by, but each shift feels like forever. That's kind of how it has been this week, except backwards. The week itself seems so long, but the days fly by.
I am nursing the babies every 3 hours during the day. We have a fantastic arrangement at night which is allowing me to get some decent sleep. Of note, our pediatrician told us that we have a "new normal". I would have never described the sleep I'm now getting as "decent sleep", but that's our new normal and I'm now quite pleased with it.
Our lactation consultant recommended that I feed all day and end my day's feedings with the 9:00pm feeding. Then I go to sleep and Forrest feeds the babies pumped milk at midnight. I wake up again for the 3:00am feeding and my mom takes the 6:00am feeding. That allows me about 4 consecutive hours of sleep, twice a night. Now that my mom is gone, Forrest and I took turns the last two nights taking the 6:00 feeding. Also, I try my hardest to get a nap in after the noon feeding.
Everything revolves around the feedings. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G
We had a pediatrician appointment on Thursday. We chose Dr. Harris who is in a practice with Dr. Raine and a new doctor, Dr. Dao. I didn't realize we'd be seeing Dr. Dao, but we were really pleased with him and our next appointment (next week) is also with him. He has 17 month old twin girls, so he seems like a kindred spirit. The babies checked out just fine. They were weighed, measured, tested for jaundice, had their temperatures taken, and generally prodded by the doctor. Nothing was too uncomfortable for the babies. Also, Dr. Dao was really impressed by how big Carter is for his gestational age. He said that they don't really have records and averages for preemies, but he would estimate that Carter's size would put him in at least the 50th-75th percentile.
We are so proud of them!
They also had a neonatal screening on Friday, which just tests for genetic abnormalities and deformities. They had one done within the first couple days of their lives and protocol says they have to have it repeated 10-14 days after birth, so that's what we did. We'll get the results back in 2 weeks.
That's pretty much it for the first week. We are so happy being parents to these two miracles. God is so good to us and I hope we don't forget to thank him every day for his immeasurable generosity. Nobody deserves this much happiness, but for some reason he gave it to us.
And because no post is quite as good without a pic, here's one I just took. Carter looks angry because he is just waking up and is fussing a bit. He needs to eat in about 30 minutes, but I bet if I pick him up he'll be happy and I can hold him off.
It has been a very long week, as every day is the same. We had a saying when I was working the four week shift schedule up at Tenaska. We'd say that the four week rotation flies by, but each shift feels like forever. That's kind of how it has been this week, except backwards. The week itself seems so long, but the days fly by.
I am nursing the babies every 3 hours during the day. We have a fantastic arrangement at night which is allowing me to get some decent sleep. Of note, our pediatrician told us that we have a "new normal". I would have never described the sleep I'm now getting as "decent sleep", but that's our new normal and I'm now quite pleased with it.
Our lactation consultant recommended that I feed all day and end my day's feedings with the 9:00pm feeding. Then I go to sleep and Forrest feeds the babies pumped milk at midnight. I wake up again for the 3:00am feeding and my mom takes the 6:00am feeding. That allows me about 4 consecutive hours of sleep, twice a night. Now that my mom is gone, Forrest and I took turns the last two nights taking the 6:00 feeding. Also, I try my hardest to get a nap in after the noon feeding.
Everything revolves around the feedings. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G
We had a pediatrician appointment on Thursday. We chose Dr. Harris who is in a practice with Dr. Raine and a new doctor, Dr. Dao. I didn't realize we'd be seeing Dr. Dao, but we were really pleased with him and our next appointment (next week) is also with him. He has 17 month old twin girls, so he seems like a kindred spirit. The babies checked out just fine. They were weighed, measured, tested for jaundice, had their temperatures taken, and generally prodded by the doctor. Nothing was too uncomfortable for the babies. Also, Dr. Dao was really impressed by how big Carter is for his gestational age. He said that they don't really have records and averages for preemies, but he would estimate that Carter's size would put him in at least the 50th-75th percentile.
We are so proud of them!
They also had a neonatal screening on Friday, which just tests for genetic abnormalities and deformities. They had one done within the first couple days of their lives and protocol says they have to have it repeated 10-14 days after birth, so that's what we did. We'll get the results back in 2 weeks.
That's pretty much it for the first week. We are so happy being parents to these two miracles. God is so good to us and I hope we don't forget to thank him every day for his immeasurable generosity. Nobody deserves this much happiness, but for some reason he gave it to us.
And because no post is quite as good without a pic, here's one I just took. Carter looks angry because he is just waking up and is fussing a bit. He needs to eat in about 30 minutes, but I bet if I pick him up he'll be happy and I can hold him off.
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