40 Weeks!

I think the picture speaks for itself...

July 26, 2010.

I would ask for your continued prayer for our little Sullivan. His breathing continues to be very labored which makes feedings very difficult (and being that he eats 8 times a day...that adds up to a lot of minutes/day). We will have further doctor appointments to explore what it could be and/or the best treatment options. I will keep you posted.

Here are a few other shots from the week.

Grandparents taking good care of the boys.

Sweet Sully.

A typical afternoon.

Christmas 2006

Are you curious why this one is here? Well, it's because I had to give a little "dedication" to our sweet dog. She really gave us a good scare the other night. She had a seizure (actually a cluster of them) and ended up spending a little overnight at the emergency vet. She is such a good dog and I really think that she could have done something a little less dramatic if she wanted to get a more attention...ha! So glad you are back home, Zoey!

Grandparents.

I slept last night. I also slept a few weeks ago. How you ask? Because the boys have amazing grandparents!

A little poem I found...I added my own two cents!

Thank you to all of the wonderful grandparents!

Grandparents

Grandparents meet a need

That no one else can fill (especially at 2 am);

They're always kinda and gentle;

they love you and always will.

They have plenty of time to listen.

To encourage and to care;

when others are too busy (sleeping)

Grandparents are always there.

They (will someday) take you special places;

They're never in a hurry

They soothe you when youre troubled

and help you not to worry

They buy you things you want, (don't spoil them too much!)

even things you don't need;

"Do what makes them happy"...

is every grandparents creed.

They focus on the good points,

and overlook each flaw (like how they eat/wake up every 3 hours!);

How could we do without

our Grandma and Grandpa? ....(we couldnt!)

(original written by: Joanna Fuchs)

(I will add some pictures and an update on the boys later today)

A little 3 am action....

So this morning was a long one. We are on the "feed every three hours....or on demand" schedule. Hmn...this is tough...I can't lie! This morning the boys were on pretty opposite schedules. So, as Cam was sound asleep to my left, Sullivan is not really enjoying his diaper change. I had to capture this because his little whimper was being hindered by the fact that he was super hungry and really just couldn't get enough of his paci.

(I couldn't get any footage of Cam because my memory card was full...oops! Time to purge.)

I have to also begin the week with some specific prayer requests....

Please pray for Sully as we continue to be very aware of how much food he eats so that he will continue to grow

...for both babies' air passageways..that they might get bigger so that breathing would be less labored

...for their eyes-that they would begin to (Sully) and continue to (Cam) develop at an appropriate rate.

...for a family that we met in the NICU. Their little girl, Charlotte, had to return to the hospital and is trying to fight infection.

....for milk (had to put this in here...sorry!)

On a Friday night....

life looks a little different with twins.
Here's a glimpse......


I have missed hanging out with my sweet niece. Can't wait to have some "girl time".

Boy the Butler clan has really grown. (p.s. We are missing our favorite two year old in this picture....)

Cam was missing out on the party...sound asleep while Sully was having a good ole time.

Hello bright eyed Sullivan.Grandpa does such a good job taking care of the boys.

I realized that I haven't posted the token "bathtime" pictures. (that might be because we haven't had very many of those....they really exhaust these little guys). But on this special occasion...this was an emergency bath post having a little too much food in our belly.

Happy 2 Month Birthday!

July 11th was the boys' 2 month birthday. Here they are after a full meal, spending time with mommy and daddy.

We are so proud of them and love them so much. We wish/want to have them meet all of our family and friends. Unfortunately we still have to be very careful about germ exposure so we don't get to take them many places yet or have a lot of people over. So, we thought that we would bring them to you (via a little video).


Camden


Sullivan


The brothers...


Also, I want to ask specifically for some prayer for these little guys and their friends. We continue to pray for Sullivan's eyes- that they develop fully over the next few weeks. Also, as I have mentioned before, both little guys also have..little noses. This makes breathing sometimes difficult for them, which in turn sometimes makes eating difficult. We just pray that as their bodies continue to grow...so would their nasal passages.

Their friends are all doing great and also getting bigger. Please pray for the families in the NICU...it is amazing how many babies are born premature and need the power of Prayer to help them get through the first few weeks of their lives. Check out how big Cullen & Presley have gotten. I envision a "play date" in their near future. Also, please keep Miss Sunshine and her wonderful family in your prayers. I know you might not "know" these people, but God hears your prayers and I FULLY believe that HE honors them...after all, children are His favorite people :).

Thanks for visiting!

check, check, and check!

Happy 8 week birthday to the boys! Life around here has been kind of eventful (at least compared to the week before). We have had several doctors appointments, visits from family, and we even took the boys for a walk.

Here is what our packing list looks like to take the boys out:

hand sanitizer = check!
diapers = check!
bottles = check!
"germs keep away cover" = check!
little mini fan to stay cool in Texas = check! (that was Chris' brilliant idea!)
Needless to say it is definitely an ordeal to take these little guys out.

So, an update from the medical team. We went to see an ENT for the "snorting" that both babies do. Its kinda scary to hear them make this noise because you know that it is because it is difficult for them to breath. Sully seems to have it "worse" than Cam, but the general concensus is that their air passageways are just very VERY tiny. The hope is that these airways will get bigger over time because with each labored breath, calories are burned. It is very important that they can grow, and this will not happen if too many calories are burned just simply by breathing.

We also went to the eye doctor. Preemie babies (little did I know) are subject to something called ROP (I had to google this one to understand). The gist of it is that their retinas are not fully developed. ROP is not something that we want them to have and it is measured by numbers...with 0 being our desired number. Camden's eyes (so far) are measuring a zero (again, the desired number) and Sullivan is measuring a one. We will need to continue to watch both babies to monitor these numbers closely for they can change (in either direction) over the next few weeks while the eye continues to form as it would if they were still in the womb.

Last "medical" speak (if you could even begin to call the way I explain things as medical...ha!) is that the babies are both gaining weight and a week ago the doctor was a bit "aware" that they were not. So...yeah!!!! Cam weighs 5 lbs and 1 oz (what a big boy!) and Sullivan weighs 4 lbs and 10 oz.

Very First doctor visit

The Butler men taking their kids for a walk.
Our first "public" outing (btw..that is Philip not Chris :)

Happy Fourth of July

I remember before we had the babies, we were trying to think of how we would celebrate the Fourth. Usually we go on the lake for this holiday. I was trying to decide if (thinking I would be 36 weeks along) I would want to a) be in a bathing suit and b) be on a boat.

I also remember thinking that maybe the babies would be born on the 4th of July. I love this holiday for some reason...I think it is because I love not only the patriotism behind it, but I also love the color scheme.

When I talked about our boys coming on the 4th, Chris' witty response was:

"well, that would be ironic. Independence day would symbolize the loss of our independence.".

That quote is so much more real now than we could have imagined.

So, for our Independence Day this year we had a photo shoot.

I learned a few things:

a. trying out camera tricks and learning how to use the camera should not be done while naked newborn babies are your subject. (by the way, if anyone knows of any good online tutorials please let me know. I am such a "wanna be" photographer but in reality I don't know anything! I have a Canon point and shoot...if anyone has tips I would much appreciate it!)

b. always ALWAYS take pictures when the babies are full (aka...so very full that they are tired and not fussy)

Trying to get them both set up for some pictures....(Cam is in back Sully in front)
Camden was being so patient with Mommy and her (my) "experiment".

Sullivan realizing that it was about 18 minutes past feeding time.

Sullivan cooperating (okay...confession, we took this after we fed him :).