Ground hog day- week one.

Being home is great! It is a little like the movie Ground Hog day, where each day is a sequence of almost the same events. We have enjoyed these same events though. We are so thankful to be able to experience them in the comfort of our home instead of the hospital (although we still love and miss everyone at the NICU).

Sullivan & Camden got to be snuggled by some of their aunts and uncles and their grandparents this week. Chris and I have had our fair share of snuggling with them too!

Below are some events that have made our week so special.

Camden (left) and Sullivan (right) love their cozy bed (they love it about every 2 or 3 hours and then what they really love is food!).
Diaper count = 157 and counting (actually, I am not sure....but it seems like that many)

Uncle Aaron holding Camden. He will be such a great Uncle to these boys! They will have so much fun hanging out with him!

Diaper count = 158 (ha!). Aren't I lucky...Chris has changed several diapers. I guess with two babies he can't get out of it as easily.

Nana looking right at home. Afterall, she is our resident twin expert :).

So sweet.

Having a tough time getting out of bed...so we didn't.

That's a cute picture. I had to post it.

...okay...that one too!

Camden enjoying being held by his favorite Aunt! (happy birthday, Tiff!)

Sully & Cam's cousin who was born about 3 weeks before the boys. (perspective is everything).

As I am typing this, the boys are in the living room resting together. All I hear is "squeak squeak" from their paci's.

I was able to enjoy what felt like my first day home as a "mom" (I know, it is over a month later). I made a batch of blueberry muffins (a little overboard on the berries...oops!). As you can see, the monitor is close by at all times :).

43 days.

We spent 43 days in the most unexpected and wonderful place ever. We spent 43 days filled with emotions-excitement, amazement, fear, and peace. We spent 43 days meeting new friends and making bonds that are unbreakable. We spent 43 days visiting our boys. Now, we don't have to be visitors.

We are home!

It all came about very unexpectedly. We were shocked (and still actually are).

Today our boys came home with us. The whole family is under the same roof. I am blogging, Chris is watching soccer. Camden and Sullivan are asleep to my right in their little bed, Zoey (dog) is asleep on the floor, and Cady (cat) is roaming the house trying to find her spot to settle in for the night.

Leaving the NICU is a strange thing. I wrote about the feelings that I had on our last night at the house...just Chris and I(and just posted that also).

I still really can't believe it.

I probably should show some pictures for proof that this is all really happening (I might think it was a dream, but I haven't really slept enough for that to be the case.)

43 days later my sons are home. Thank you, God, for your protection over our family.

The first time that the boys were "unhooked" from the mega technology in their room and their crib. (I am only a little excited!) They are getting ready to get rolled into the "care by parent" room where we spent the night last night.

The family picture. And look...we can hold the little guys and there aren't any wires. Woo hoo!

The first time Chris got to bottle feed!

We just love our nurse(s). We seriously had the best care at the NICU and miss them already so much. S.-I have thought about texting you several times. I am trying to hold off...but can't make any promises tomorrow :). Thanks for everything!

The boys sporting their coming home outfits. I think they like them, don't you? (ha!)

All bundled up, safe, and ready to go! Let the journey begin!

Update: They are (obviously) doing so well. Today they are 6 weeks and a day old. They take both bottle and b. feed and are doing great with both. They sleep a lot and so far seem to like their new house (although like their parents they miss their nurses).

They have their first pediatrician appointment tomorrow. They passed their eye exam, hearing exam, and are both still over 4 lbs (not sure of the exact weight).

They will have follow up appointments along the way to be sure that they are still developmentally where they should be for being premature.

Well, off to sleep to the cute sound of cooing to my right. Aahhh...bliss!

New Season...yet still standing amazed.

Well, when I post this, I will have already shared our great news. I am going to type here and then publish later....this will not a blog for those people who want to see pictures of the babies...this is more a place for me to process some things.

Today when I arrived at the hospital, a crazy turn of events were unfolding before my eyes. Sullivan and Camden were having their hearts checked, to be followed up by an eye exam, to then have their hearing checked the next day. Not to mention all of this was being done while the boys were tube free....and going to have all feedings orally. This was (as you may have guessed) preparing our boys for discharge. I was shortly informed that if all goes well our departure date would be Wednesday. Wow! I was speechless...and despite all of these words so far...still kind of am.

It is amazing that I am experiencing mixed emotions. Afterall, this is the day we have been "waiting for", right? Yet there are so many emotions running through my mind. Excitement, fear, sadness, joy, and grief. We have come to love the NICU family. We love the nurses. I love chatting with them, listening to their wisdom, learning from their calm spirit and gentleness. I have gained friendships and I am sad to leave the NICU. Of course I am ecstatic to finally take our boys home, but it is scary. Chris and I are about to begin being parents. Not that we weren't on May 11th, but it was different. We will now enter into the world of sleepless nights, schedules that don't revolve around our needs and wants, worry, laughter, babysitters, grandparents, cousins, birthday parties, pediatricians, chores, bedtimes, and an abudance of love that I am not sure what to do with. I have never felt this way before. I wish I could explain it better, but I just can't.

Tuesday night we will spend the night in the NICU. I can't wait. I am not sure if I am most excited about the fact that we will be bringing our boys home several hours later, or if it is because we get to be surrounded by our friends without having to drive back and forth.

Anyway, I am going to bed. The next time I blog I will be able to look over to my right and see two of the sweetest baby faces in their bassinet beside me. Thank you, God. We (still) stand amazed.

Happy Fathers Day! (goin' old school)

Happy Father's Day!

It is really awesome to think about the impact that a father has on a child's life. I am so thankful that my sons have such a great dad! His love for his boys is already so visible. These little guys don't even know how blessed they are...

Speaking of blessed...I wanted to make sure to thank our own fathers and let them know how much we appreciate having them in our lives.

So, we pulled out some classics for this post! Happy Father's Day Tim and Dad. We love you!

Lovin' the chops, Tim!

(yes, you may spot this man driving around town still on the same motorcycle. )


Chris on his first Father's Day. Next year I am not sure the boys will be sleeping/laying so still :).

Update on the little guys....wow! We have so many positives today. They are taking their oral feedings GREAT! So, today they moved them from 4 to 6. That is 6 oral feedings (and only 2 away from the max which is 8.). If you read back at one of the previous posts...you will see that oral feedings is our last milestone towards going home. I am starting to get really excited that the big day might be sooner than we thought.


Camden has caught up (and surpassed) weight wise. He weighs 4 lbs 5 oz and Sullivan is 4 lbs and 4.8 oz.

Our friends in the NICU are all doing great also. Sunshine is around 3 lbs now and the Olivers babies are superstars! They are sharing a crib together (and boy are they adorable).

Thanks for checking in on us. Until next time....

first bottle...of many

I dont have a picture (yet) of this but I wanted to report the good news! Today the boys had their first bottle. They did great! They ate/drank all 38 ml. So back to the milestones that are important for going home:

a. maintaing body temperature...check!
b. grow.....check!
c. take all 8 feedings orally.....halfway there.

They are on 3 feedings a day from me and one from the bottle. The other 4 are through their ng tubes....and require a lot less effort from the boys. So, we want to pray that the little guys can maintain the stamina to work so hard. Someone descibed it as this:

oral feeding (at first for preemies) is like an adult trying to drink a milkshake from a coffee straw. Wow....yawn!

Taking a nap....

...just got even sweeter! (and I loved naps before :).

(btw....tomorrow or Friday the boys will try a bottle for the first time. One step closer to being "tube free")

Patience

We have had to be so patient throughout this entire process. Time sometimes seems to move very sloowww....But, I must say that we are not the only ones who have had to practice their patience. Our family loves these little guys so much and has had to be very patient in getting time to touch, hold, and overall love on these little boys. This week their patience paid off because the grandparents got to hold their grandsons for the very first time. It was really a special moment. The other grandparents will get to come this weekend for their special time with the babies. Cam and Sullivan are two very lucky and loved little boys!

Grandpa gets to hold Camden for the very first time!


Grandma is enjoying snuggling with Sullivan...looks like he is lovin' it too!

Group shot! First 3 generation photo.

Love ya, Bro!

Professionals....just like riding a bike.

It was a really special thing to see my own mom holding one of my little boys. (tear!)

Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting up with some women who are going to be reading through this book. A neighbor and friend invited me to join this group and I am nothing short of honored and excited to be able to learn from these ladies. There are women and mothers there from all seasons of life/motherhood. I can tell that I already love the book. It is easy to get caught up in all of the many theories of parenting out there....overwhelming may be a better word. It is refreshing to know that the most powerful thing that we can do for our children is to pray. Thank you, D.R., for inviting me to be a part of this group!


(Quick update! The boys are doing GREAT! They are now taking three meals a day from mom, continue to love their open crib (aka maintaining their own temps very well), and are growing! They are both staying strong and steady a little over 4 lbs. Sullivan has continued to be able to avoid a blood transfusion and the next major "check" is their eye exam, which we are told will be in the next few days or so. We would love continued prayer for their feeding (that they can continue to grow while receiving oral feedings), and against infections/germs as they are in an open crib. I would also love to ask for prayer for our NICU friends, the Olivers and the Stevens. Thanks so much!)

Sunday Afternoons....

I love Sunday afternoons. I think that they are my favorite days. I especially love Sundays like today because today we got a special surprise when we went to visit our two favorite little boys after church.

They have grown so big that they have said "bye bye" to their isolette and "hello" to their very first big boy crib. What an awesome Sunday!

This was what we saw today when we walked into their room...
Sullivan looked pretty happy to be with his brother in their new crib (look at that dimple :)
Moments later they were sound asleep.

A proud dad loving on his boys.
"Thanks Ms. Jill for moving us into a crib"-sullivan & cam

aaawww..sweet!

Look at those sweet outfits and matching hats.

The boys really are little rock stars! They are now taking 2 feedings from me (mom) a day and are doing great! They are also growing so fast! Camden is weighing 3 lbs and 15 oz and Sullivan is (drum roll please) 4 lbs! Woo hoo! Also, Sullivan has defied the odds and has not needed a blood transfusion because his body seems to be making his own red blood cells. We are waiting for their eye tests to be done, which should be sometime during the next week or so.

We are so excited about all of these little milestones, and certainly can't wait to be able to take our boys home....but until then we will continue to enjoy the company from the wonderful nurses (thank you all!) and our friends in the NICU. Little Sunshine is doing so well....she is off of her c-pap and getting so big! Presley and Cullen are wonderful too! They will be celebrating their one week birthday tomorrow. They are so sweet! We love that we can say hello to them everytime we go visit our boys. Hope they like being buddies because their mom and dad (we) really like hanging out with their parents :).

On a side note....
I have to try to remind myself to stay positive because there are so many great things that have come out of our "preemie" experience. One of those positives is pictured below. I wasn't allowed to eat sushi while pregnant and last night Chris took me on a date to our favorite sushi place. Yum! It was deee-lish-ous!

Everyone says that the family pets kinda get the "back burner" once kids come. I am trying to make sure that this doesn't (completely) happen so yesterday I spent some time with our sweet dog. What a beautiful (and extremely hot) day it was.

4 weeks old!!!!!!

Today the boys are 4 weeks old. Wow! They continue to do so well. Thank you, God, for the gift of Health! The highlight of the day today was that when we came to visit for the 8:00pm changing/feeding time...it was also BATH TIME. We watched as Jessica, our nurse, gave Sullivan a bath. Then, I got to give Cam a bath.

Sullivan gets a sponge bath from the nurse. (Look at his chubby cheeks! He is getting so big!)

This is a bit out of order, but after Camden's bath, he was cozy in his p.j.'s and wide awake.

Here I am giving Camden his bath.

Sullivan not loving his bath so much....sorry buddy!

Today, Sullivan weighed 3 lbs and 13oz & Camden weighed 3 lbs and 11oz. Both babies are measuring 16.5 inches in length. Tomorrow they are doing another red blood cell count for Sullivan to see if he needs to have that blood transfusion that we have talked about. The weekly goal for the babies is to be able to move them to an open crib. That would be awesome because that would mean that they are maintaining their own body temperature.

Many people have asked when the boys get to come home. The "rules" for discharge are that the babies meet the following three goals:

1. maintain own body temperature (hopefully we can check this box relatively soon)

2. recieve all feedings orally

3. grow, grow, grow (so far we are doing great in this area)

So, as you can see we have a little ways to go, since the boys still recieve their breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and the other 5 feedings/snacks) through their feeding tube....but we are slowly introducing one oral feeding a day...so we shall see how that goes.

Happy 4 week birthday, Sullivan & Camden.

Oh, also....a few posts ago, we had some friends who "borrowed" the camera and made a cameo appearance on the blog. Ironically enough...they are now our NICU neighbors. They delivered their little boy and girl also at 29 weeks. The babies and mom and dad are doing great. Please pray for Cullen & Presley and their parents as they begin their NICU journey.

Dedicated to the Grandparents...

So today I got to talk to my grandma for a little bit. I really enjoy our little chats. I look up to my grandma a lot! She is a wise, loving, and hardworking woman. After getting off of the phone, I reflected on how lucky Chris and I are to have such great family support - not only for us, but now for our own children. So, I want to just take a minute to thank all of the grandparents that our children now have!

They have 2 grandmas, 2 grandpas, 3 great-grandmas, and 3 great-grandpas who love these little boys very much!

Before I got off the phone with my grandma, I promised that I would post some new pictures soon. So....for your viewing pleasure!

Cam was so excited to see us when we came to visit tonight. He could hardly contain himself. Sullivan, on the other hand, was still counting sheep....

Cam takes a little sneak peak at his brother during lap time. Mom (I) love lap time. I get to just look at their sweet faces. We get to do this instead of Kangaroo time because they are regulating their temperature better now.

This picture is actually during "dinner time". The boys are getting their yummy dinner through their tubes over a period of 45 minutes. This has been decreased from the original 60 minute feeding time that they were on before.

Birds-eye view.....

Momma snuggling with Cam for a little bit before saying Good night.

Sweet Dreams, boys!
Look at that tiny hand!

Daddy is loving lap time too! The boys are so lucky to have such a great dad! He is so gentle with them (and very protective already!)