Sleeping after bathtime on Sunday morning
Zachary being extra sweet to his little brother
Maxwell, after bottle, before bath.
Zachary, bright eyed
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Twenty Days! Where has the time gone?
Our little babies are getting so big, so fast! We obviously do not have time to post on the blog as much as we would like. We enjoyed the long weekend and having Daddy home an extra day! He had to go back to work this morning. I have the boys fed and now they are resting. They are having some issues with constipation, but we are working on that. We tried pear juice, but it gave them terrible gas! We are going to switch to prune juice and if that doesn't work, try suppositories.
But, enough about poop.
On Friday, the boys and I went to their weight check. They needed to be back at their birth weight. Baby A, Zachary C. weighed in at a WHOOPING 7 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 3/4 inches long!! His birth weight was 5 lbs. 15 oz. ONE POUND AND THREE OUNCES over! The pedi couldn't find his heart murmur at all (oh, how I continue to LOATHE the NICU...) His hearing was referred in his left ear and we have an audiologist appointment on June 3rd.
Baby B, Maxwell T. weighed in at a WHOOPING 6 lbs. 5 oz. and was ALSO 21 3/4 inches long! His birth weight was 5 lbs. 9 oz. ELEVEN OUNCES over. He passed his hearing test. Both of the boys do have closed tear ducts. Max's is the right eye, Zachary's is the left. We are massaging it, which has all ready made a huge difference. If they do not resolve by one year, we will see an ophthalmologist. Little overachievers!
We absolutely ADORE our pediatrician. She is amazing. She also has twins, 5 days apart. A biological son and an adopted daughter. We are so lucky that she can relate to us on so many levels being a parent of multiples. She knows the boys apart and is so sweet. :)
The boys ARE on the same schedule. I would not have it any other way and yes, I did it. (Lots of people said I wouldn't be able to put them on the same schedule, Ha!) They go to bed about 9:30 p.m., wake up at 12:30 a.m., 3 a.m., and 5 a.m. They get bottles, diaper changes and go right back to sleep. I let Dustin sleep during the week unless I really need his help, but last night, at one awakening, I had both babies fed, burped, changed and back in bed in TWENTY minutes. Made me feel a bit like super mom!
Thank God for Boppy pillows, which allow me to feed both boys at once. I am not breastfeeding. I tried until 11 days and my milk never came in. The boys would NOT latch on after having bottles (again, thank you NICU), so, I was pumping. It was literally all I felt I did, pump, pump. I was alone with the boys one day & pumping, they started to cry and I was unable to pick them up & hold them. We were supplementing with formula anyway (and rotating the breast milk every other babe, every other feeding). I couldn't do it, I cried while they were crying and the pump has been in the bag ever since.
We are loving our family of 4! Our hands are not that full. We are not exhausted. We are not overwhelmed. We are full of love and joy. It is not "so hard." Someone told me right before I had the boys that everyone who says how hard it is doesn't have twins and she was right. It is always people of single babies (who I think are rather cute!) that think how "hard" it will be to have to. It isn't. We do everything twice.
The boys are so sweet together. I love watching them interact and grow.
I will attach pictures now.
Love to All,
Mommy
----Dustin is convinced now that I call myself Mommy all the time that I will go out in public for something like a doctor appointment and say, "Mommy has an appointment at 2 p.m." ------ :)
But, enough about poop.
On Friday, the boys and I went to their weight check. They needed to be back at their birth weight. Baby A, Zachary C. weighed in at a WHOOPING 7 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 3/4 inches long!! His birth weight was 5 lbs. 15 oz. ONE POUND AND THREE OUNCES over! The pedi couldn't find his heart murmur at all (oh, how I continue to LOATHE the NICU...) His hearing was referred in his left ear and we have an audiologist appointment on June 3rd.
Baby B, Maxwell T. weighed in at a WHOOPING 6 lbs. 5 oz. and was ALSO 21 3/4 inches long! His birth weight was 5 lbs. 9 oz. ELEVEN OUNCES over. He passed his hearing test. Both of the boys do have closed tear ducts. Max's is the right eye, Zachary's is the left. We are massaging it, which has all ready made a huge difference. If they do not resolve by one year, we will see an ophthalmologist. Little overachievers!
We absolutely ADORE our pediatrician. She is amazing. She also has twins, 5 days apart. A biological son and an adopted daughter. We are so lucky that she can relate to us on so many levels being a parent of multiples. She knows the boys apart and is so sweet. :)
The boys ARE on the same schedule. I would not have it any other way and yes, I did it. (Lots of people said I wouldn't be able to put them on the same schedule, Ha!) They go to bed about 9:30 p.m., wake up at 12:30 a.m., 3 a.m., and 5 a.m. They get bottles, diaper changes and go right back to sleep. I let Dustin sleep during the week unless I really need his help, but last night, at one awakening, I had both babies fed, burped, changed and back in bed in TWENTY minutes. Made me feel a bit like super mom!
Thank God for Boppy pillows, which allow me to feed both boys at once. I am not breastfeeding. I tried until 11 days and my milk never came in. The boys would NOT latch on after having bottles (again, thank you NICU), so, I was pumping. It was literally all I felt I did, pump, pump. I was alone with the boys one day & pumping, they started to cry and I was unable to pick them up & hold them. We were supplementing with formula anyway (and rotating the breast milk every other babe, every other feeding). I couldn't do it, I cried while they were crying and the pump has been in the bag ever since.
We are loving our family of 4! Our hands are not that full. We are not exhausted. We are not overwhelmed. We are full of love and joy. It is not "so hard." Someone told me right before I had the boys that everyone who says how hard it is doesn't have twins and she was right. It is always people of single babies (who I think are rather cute!) that think how "hard" it will be to have to. It isn't. We do everything twice.
The boys are so sweet together. I love watching them interact and grow.
I will attach pictures now.
Love to All,
Mommy
----Dustin is convinced now that I call myself Mommy all the time that I will go out in public for something like a doctor appointment and say, "Mommy has an appointment at 2 p.m." ------ :)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Bathtime Pictures
Zachary's bath, his cord is almost off!
Zachary's bath
Maxwell
Max all tired out after bathtime
Zachary & Mama's thumb
Max & Mama's thumb
Bath Time for Max
Hugs, Sara & her boys!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
6 days Old!
Hello All,
First off, THANK YOU all for your prayers, love, well wishes and EVERYTHING. We know that it is by those things that have helped us through the last six days of our boy's life. They are absolutely perfect in every single way. I can not even believe to explain the love that Dustin and I feel in our hearts for Zachary & Maxwell.
The boys have such different personalities. It is so much fun to see them together. Max is more sleepy & a little lazy... He was in utero too. I almost never felt him active until the evening. Zach is very strong, sweet and knows what he wants. He cries a little more than Max, which I blame on the NICU, but he is learning that his Mommy & Daddy are here and together now to meet his every need.
They wake up about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours to eat and drink about 2 ounces at a time. My milk still isn't in, so, we are feeding them formula and then every other feeding, one gets milk that I pumped. It is working well.
They had their first doctor appointment today and their first outing. We had to go to the Fairview Clinic in Elk River to see Dr. Amy Geurtin. She will be the twin's pediatrician. All you could hear was, "aahhhhh" and "they are so tiny!" and "oh! BEAUTIFUL!!!" Certainly we are VERY proud parents!!
Their weights are Zachary Clifford at 5 lbs. 13 ounces (2 ounces less than his birth weight) and Maxwell Theodore at 5 lbs. 6 ounces (3 ounces less than his birth weight). They give them 2 weeks to get back to their birth weights and our boys are almost there at one week! Little overachievers. :)
They also passed their bilirubin checks. THANK GOD they didn't have to be poked. The nurse just used the machine on their head. Both were around 7, they peaked at 10 on Saturday, which means that they are in the clear for jaundice.
They both poop & pee well. In fact, Max peed AND pooped on me tonight! We all laughed so hard, I didn't know what to do except giggle!
My mom has been here helping and she will go home tomorrow. We will be alone over the weekend and then she will be back on Sunday.
Dustin and I make an amazing team and like I said before, he is the absolute best father ANYONE could ask for. Our sons are so lucky & he is a natural! Gets up with every feeding and he is the only one who can stop the hiccups or make Zach burp.
I am feeling all right from my C-Section. I still have a TON of fluid and am pretty puffy. Much better than I was. I am doing pretty ok with pain, but it does get me pretty fierce when it hits. I swear, it could knock me over. More than anything, my back hurts, but we certainly can handle it. My incision looks good & no infections so far.
Again, the prayers, love & support are what brought us here today. We love you all.
Love, Sara
First off, THANK YOU all for your prayers, love, well wishes and EVERYTHING. We know that it is by those things that have helped us through the last six days of our boy's life. They are absolutely perfect in every single way. I can not even believe to explain the love that Dustin and I feel in our hearts for Zachary & Maxwell.
The boys have such different personalities. It is so much fun to see them together. Max is more sleepy & a little lazy... He was in utero too. I almost never felt him active until the evening. Zach is very strong, sweet and knows what he wants. He cries a little more than Max, which I blame on the NICU, but he is learning that his Mommy & Daddy are here and together now to meet his every need.
They wake up about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours to eat and drink about 2 ounces at a time. My milk still isn't in, so, we are feeding them formula and then every other feeding, one gets milk that I pumped. It is working well.
They had their first doctor appointment today and their first outing. We had to go to the Fairview Clinic in Elk River to see Dr. Amy Geurtin. She will be the twin's pediatrician. All you could hear was, "aahhhhh" and "they are so tiny!" and "oh! BEAUTIFUL!!!" Certainly we are VERY proud parents!!
Their weights are Zachary Clifford at 5 lbs. 13 ounces (2 ounces less than his birth weight) and Maxwell Theodore at 5 lbs. 6 ounces (3 ounces less than his birth weight). They give them 2 weeks to get back to their birth weights and our boys are almost there at one week! Little overachievers. :)
They also passed their bilirubin checks. THANK GOD they didn't have to be poked. The nurse just used the machine on their head. Both were around 7, they peaked at 10 on Saturday, which means that they are in the clear for jaundice.
They both poop & pee well. In fact, Max peed AND pooped on me tonight! We all laughed so hard, I didn't know what to do except giggle!
My mom has been here helping and she will go home tomorrow. We will be alone over the weekend and then she will be back on Sunday.
Dustin and I make an amazing team and like I said before, he is the absolute best father ANYONE could ask for. Our sons are so lucky & he is a natural! Gets up with every feeding and he is the only one who can stop the hiccups or make Zach burp.
I am feeling all right from my C-Section. I still have a TON of fluid and am pretty puffy. Much better than I was. I am doing pretty ok with pain, but it does get me pretty fierce when it hits. I swear, it could knock me over. More than anything, my back hurts, but we certainly can handle it. My incision looks good & no infections so far.
Again, the prayers, love & support are what brought us here today. We love you all.
Love, Sara
Saturday, May 9, 2009
all home
hi,
i'm writing with baby in arms. we're all home! the boys are so precious together, dustin is an amazing father & it is so nice to be together, done with the hospital and done with the awful nicu.
blessings and love,
happy mothers day!
love, sara
i'm writing with baby in arms. we're all home! the boys are so precious together, dustin is an amazing father & it is so nice to be together, done with the hospital and done with the awful nicu.
blessings and love,
happy mothers day!
love, sara
Friday, May 8, 2009
Zachary Is Home
Well, at the hospital with Sara, Myself and Maxwell anyway.
He's doing great and is one hell of a little fighter. He eats like crazy and is awake a bit more than Max. Both have the prettiest eyes...
Anyway, we're all reunited at last. It's great to have all four of us together again!
Dustin
He's doing great and is one hell of a little fighter. He eats like crazy and is awake a bit more than Max. Both have the prettiest eyes...
Anyway, we're all reunited at last. It's great to have all four of us together again!
Dustin
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Quick Update From the NICU
Zach is doing WONDERFUL.
He is going to get discharged tomorrow morning pending no setbacks which, at this time, doesn't look like there will be any. His oxygen saturations are perfect and so are all the other vital stats. He has already put on 2oz!
Max is eating from a bottle like a champ but, at this point, doesn't want much to do with breast feeding. He is wayyyyy more interested in sleeping. Who can blame the kid, huh?
Sara's recovery is going pretty well. The doctors are concerned about some low platelet counts from her blood work but she is finally pain-free for the first time in months. As soon as they took the boys out, her gall bladder pain and headache went away almost immediately.
No more real updates for now but here are a few pictures of Grandma Nancy holding Zachary in the NICU.
He is going to get discharged tomorrow morning pending no setbacks which, at this time, doesn't look like there will be any. His oxygen saturations are perfect and so are all the other vital stats. He has already put on 2oz!
Max is eating from a bottle like a champ but, at this point, doesn't want much to do with breast feeding. He is wayyyyy more interested in sleeping. Who can blame the kid, huh?
Sara's recovery is going pretty well. The doctors are concerned about some low platelet counts from her blood work but she is finally pain-free for the first time in months. As soon as they took the boys out, her gall bladder pain and headache went away almost immediately.
No more real updates for now but here are a few pictures of Grandma Nancy holding Zachary in the NICU.
What a day!
Boys are here!
Zach and Max were born today, May 9, 2009, at 6:31 and 6:32 respectively.
Zach weighed in at a hefty 5lbs 15oz and Max wasn't too far behind at 5lbs 9oz.
Sara did awesome - she really did. She is now resting comfortably in her room at the hospital while I took a trip home to get some rest for my trip down to the cities tomorrow.
Zach wasn't progressing as fast as they would have liked and did a lot of 'singing' where he kept trying to clear stuff out of his lungs and basically get situated to life outside the womb. After four hours in the nursery, they called the NICU at one of the major hospitals down in the cities. After explaining the situation, they decided that a trip to a higher level nursery was in order.
Don't be worried though; shortly after they decided to take him to the NICU at another hospital, we got our first chance to hold Zach and proclaim our love to him. It was amazing - as soon as they took him out of the warmer-dealy-thingy in the nursery and placed him into the cart, he was a completely different kid. He turned around so fast it was almost like there was nothing wrong to begin with. Sara and I held him for about 20 minutes and in that time progressed faster than in the previous 4 hours combined.
They still decided to take him to the NICU due to some faster breathing, but they are thinking that he is going to be discharged before Sara will be.
All will be well.
Both boys cried as soon as Dr. Roberts removed them from their first home and did very well.
Max, although smaller, has absolutely zero problems. None.
Sorry if this seems fragmented, but I am a bit tired at the moment. :-)
Anyway, long story short is that boy boys are healthy, Sara is healthy and doing well, and I am friggin exhausted.
Enjoy some pictures, please.
Zach and Max were born today, May 9, 2009, at 6:31 and 6:32 respectively.
Zach weighed in at a hefty 5lbs 15oz and Max wasn't too far behind at 5lbs 9oz.
Sara did awesome - she really did. She is now resting comfortably in her room at the hospital while I took a trip home to get some rest for my trip down to the cities tomorrow.
Zach wasn't progressing as fast as they would have liked and did a lot of 'singing' where he kept trying to clear stuff out of his lungs and basically get situated to life outside the womb. After four hours in the nursery, they called the NICU at one of the major hospitals down in the cities. After explaining the situation, they decided that a trip to a higher level nursery was in order.
Don't be worried though; shortly after they decided to take him to the NICU at another hospital, we got our first chance to hold Zach and proclaim our love to him. It was amazing - as soon as they took him out of the warmer-dealy-thingy in the nursery and placed him into the cart, he was a completely different kid. He turned around so fast it was almost like there was nothing wrong to begin with. Sara and I held him for about 20 minutes and in that time progressed faster than in the previous 4 hours combined.
They still decided to take him to the NICU due to some faster breathing, but they are thinking that he is going to be discharged before Sara will be.
All will be well.
Both boys cried as soon as Dr. Roberts removed them from their first home and did very well.
Max, although smaller, has absolutely zero problems. None.
Sorry if this seems fragmented, but I am a bit tired at the moment. :-)
Anyway, long story short is that boy boys are healthy, Sara is healthy and doing well, and I am friggin exhausted.
Enjoy some pictures, please.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Today's The Day!
Hello all,
Sara went in earlier today (Wednesday, May 6) for some feelings of hypertension and otherwise just feeling like crap. She got into L&D and her blood pressure was, indeed, slightly elevated.
They have decided to deliver the boys today!
In other news, Max decided to flip and is now head-down. Both boys are head-down but I think they will still do a c-section.
Will update more when I have something.
If anybody has any questions, feel free to call or text me at 612-281-8549.
Thanks!
Dustin
Sara went in earlier today (Wednesday, May 6) for some feelings of hypertension and otherwise just feeling like crap. She got into L&D and her blood pressure was, indeed, slightly elevated.
They have decided to deliver the boys today!
In other news, Max decided to flip and is now head-down. Both boys are head-down but I think they will still do a c-section.
Will update more when I have something.
If anybody has any questions, feel free to call or text me at 612-281-8549.
Thanks!
Dustin
Sunday, May 3, 2009
35 week Belly Pictures
Thirty Five Weeks, One Day
35 Weeks, One Day
My Beautiful Swollen Feet, 35 weeks
Just some pictures of the belly, continually growing. I can't wear my wedding ring anymore and thankfully it is nice out, because even the flip flops struggle to get on my beautiful feet. :) I never have had very attractive feet. LOL, but this is certainly a stretch.
I feel pretty good, definitely have moments of not feeling well, but so far, they have just been moments. I can't do much anymore (nor should I, as I am constantly reminded). I am thankful for Dustin, who is very instrumental in getting me off the floor, helping me out of bed, etc.
We avoided the NICU. I have been in Pre-Term labor for 4 weeks, but manged to keep it quiet with medicine and rest. Pretty amazing.
Thank you to Dustin's Aunt Candy for the very sweet package we received yesterday in the mail. How fun!
And lastly, Happy 26th Birthday to the twin's Auntie Betsy. Baby G-Funk and his brother love you very much. When I was just pregnant (before I even knew we were having twins), I CRAVED BBQ chips one day. I was at work and Betsy works in the same town I do. I had the baby send her an e-mail to get us some chips and it was signed of course, Baby G-Funk.
Love to All, Sara
I feel pretty good, definitely have moments of not feeling well, but so far, they have just been moments. I can't do much anymore (nor should I, as I am constantly reminded). I am thankful for Dustin, who is very instrumental in getting me off the floor, helping me out of bed, etc.
We avoided the NICU. I have been in Pre-Term labor for 4 weeks, but manged to keep it quiet with medicine and rest. Pretty amazing.
Thank you to Dustin's Aunt Candy for the very sweet package we received yesterday in the mail. How fun!
And lastly, Happy 26th Birthday to the twin's Auntie Betsy. Baby G-Funk and his brother love you very much. When I was just pregnant (before I even knew we were having twins), I CRAVED BBQ chips one day. I was at work and Betsy works in the same town I do. I had the baby send her an e-mail to get us some chips and it was signed of course, Baby G-Funk.
Love to All, Sara
Friday, May 1, 2009
May Day!
Happy May Day!!
We made it! Any time after tomorrow (35 weeks) the boys can be born in Princeton at Fairview Northland Hospital. No NICU, no University, etc. I am so incredibly excited about that. One of my biggest fears was having these little guys too early and to try to manage my time between two Neonatal Intenstive Care Unit Incubators, trying to find a place to eat/sleep and worrying about leaving them, etc. I could never leave, I know that. I am just thankful now that I don't have to worry about it.
I am still having a few breakthrough contractions, despite the increase in Procardia. I still get a headache and a backache, but it is nothing compared to what Zachary & Maxwell would have to go through as preemies. Full term for twins is 36-38 weeks, so almost there.
And our little guys have been SO incredibly active. Despite their increase in size, I can still feel them kick and squirm and move. I actually feel MORE movement now than I did before when they were little and like I said before, I can pretty much tell what is what now. I know where their little body parts are and what is jabbing at me. :) Last night, I held my breath and just watched my tummy, they looked like little kick boxers. I just laugh, it brings me such joy. They hear Dustin's voice & always kick. I know they miss him when he is at work.
Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you, at the ultrasound on Wednesday, the tech commented on how much hair baby A (Zachary) has. She just smiled and said, "Wow, he has a FULL head of hair!" It showed up on the machine as a white shadow. VERY VERY cool. :) Dustin had hair as a baby, but this Mama, BALD until my 2nd birthday maybe? She didn't mention hair on Baby B. LOL. I can not wait to see their little faces, kiss their little cheeks and get to be a Mommy to TWO earth angels.
Love, Sara
I am still having a few breakthrough contractions, despite the increase in Procardia. I still get a headache and a backache, but it is nothing compared to what Zachary & Maxwell would have to go through as preemies. Full term for twins is 36-38 weeks, so almost there.
And our little guys have been SO incredibly active. Despite their increase in size, I can still feel them kick and squirm and move. I actually feel MORE movement now than I did before when they were little and like I said before, I can pretty much tell what is what now. I know where their little body parts are and what is jabbing at me. :) Last night, I held my breath and just watched my tummy, they looked like little kick boxers. I just laugh, it brings me such joy. They hear Dustin's voice & always kick. I know they miss him when he is at work.
Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you, at the ultrasound on Wednesday, the tech commented on how much hair baby A (Zachary) has. She just smiled and said, "Wow, he has a FULL head of hair!" It showed up on the machine as a white shadow. VERY VERY cool. :) Dustin had hair as a baby, but this Mama, BALD until my 2nd birthday maybe? She didn't mention hair on Baby B. LOL. I can not wait to see their little faces, kiss their little cheeks and get to be a Mommy to TWO earth angels.
Love, Sara
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