Halloween Sneak Preview

My Nana works at Kohl's and a few months ago she pounced on a shipment of Halloween costumes and snagged two of the best for Charlie and Lily. This morning Nana was over helping me out (bringing me coffee, folding laundry, ironing shirts - how awesome is my Nana?!?) and we decided that it would be a good idea to try the costumes on the babies. Lily was less than thrilled and slept through the fashion show (although even asleep she is an adorable penguin) and Charlie was slightly annoyed with the whole thing (what a cute angry dragon he makes though). Nana and I, however, got a kick out of the whole thing. I snapped a few pictures and decided to share them to kick off the Halloween season. Now we just need to teach Charlie and Lily to say "trick or treat" and get Mommy some candy!

There may not have been a fashion show this evening, but there were a lot of cuddles after dinner. Lily and Charlie enjoyed ending their busy week with some Daddy time.

PS - Please keep voting! We're getting close! Thank you for all your support!

Remembering the Lost

Today, Thursday, October 15, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. The day was created to promote support, education and awareness for grieving parents nationwide and worldwide. So today, like any other day, we remember our gorgeous baby girl Annaleigh, along with all those sweet little ones who join her in heaven.

Throughout our entire trying to conceive/pregnancy/NICU/parenthood journey I have met many, many amazing women who have suffered devastating losses along their way. Their support and guidance has been invaluable to me, as we are all part of a club that no one wishes to join. I'm thinking of each and every one of their sweet babies who had to leave this world too soon.

Today is a day to remember, reflect and be incredibly thankful for your healthy, happy children. Hug your babies and send love to all the tiny angels watching over them.

We love you Annaleigh. Charlie and Lily are doing you proud - thank you for taking care of them.

Charlie's Rough Night (and Please Vote!)

Before I begin our regular post, I wanted to once again ask our readers to please vote for us! Our blog has been nominated for the Best Multiples Blog Award from one of my favorite website, The Bump. We are thrilled to be grouped with so many wonderful blogs. And hey, we want to win! We're competitive like that. Especially Lily. She's using this as an excuse to practice her campaigning skills for her future homecoming queen race. Plus, first prize is $1,000! Can't beat that! So thank you to everyone who has already voted, and to all those who will vote. The contest ends on October 19th so there's still time! VOTE NOW!

Okay, enough self-promotion. Let's talk about babies! As the title of this post suggests, our sweet Charlie had a very rough night last night. (I should apologize in advance to Future Charlie, who will be reading this someday. Charlie, I am sorry that I am discussing your constipation and poop on the Internet. I give you permission to now share something embarrasing about me online. Go ahead. I'll understand.)

Charlie has always been a once-every-few-days pooper, but as of yesterday it had been four days since he had gone and he was feeling it. He was fussy all day long, but by 7:30 last night he couldn't take any more. He started screaming and crying, arching his back and throwing his head around in discomfort. We held him, rubbed his belly, bicycled his legs, but nothing helped. I consulted my awesome friends on the private multiples message board I'm a member of and many suggested a little stimulation of the area with a Q-Tip or a rectal thermometor. We tried that, then called the pediatrician for other suggestions. They recommended the same rectal stimulation, plus giving Charlie and ounce of sugar water. We gave him the sugar water and did a little more stimulation and FINALLY, around midnight, Charlie pooped. Hooray! And boy was he happy afterwards. He celebrated by chugging 135 ml of fomula/breast milk and then lying awake in my lap, sighing happily and gazing contently around the room. He was so happy that he didn't want to go to sleep after that. So needless to say, it was not a restful night for any of us. But we are just happy that Charlie is feeling better. He pooped again on his own this afternoon and is in such better spirits today. It's nice to have my happy boy back! I think I may give him the ounce of sugar water on a fairly regular basis to help keep things moving so he doesn't get that uncomfortable again.

Miss Lily has been holding her own in the poop department, and this afternoon added her own signature move of peeing all over her clothes while her diaper was being changed. Thanks, Lily! I like to think she was just demanding a wardrobe change. After all, no true diva would be willing to wear the same outfit for 24 hours. Lily is proving to be a very alert and happy baby. When she was in the NICU we often remarked that there were two Lilys: mad and asleep. But at home that couldn't be further from the truth. The two Lilys we see are awake and silly. She spends a great deal of her time wide-eyed, making goofy faces and "talking" to herself. We could watch her for hours!

Yesterday the visiting nurse came and pronounced both babies nice and healthy. They had each gained 6 ounces during the week, reaching a total of 7 lbs 6 oz for Charlie and 6 lbs 8 oz for Lily. The nurse will be back next week, and on Monday we will take a trip to St. Peter's for the babies' follow up eye exams.

Tonight is a big TV night - Lily loves America's Next Top Model and Charlie can't wait to see what's cooking on Top Chef. I joke that Lily seems like a Gossip Girl type of baby, but when I had it on the other night it was Charlie who was craning his neck around to try to catch a glimpse. He really is Mommy's boy!

Lily loves showing off her new bib!

Chunks is feelin' no pain after two good poops!

Vote for Us - Best Multiples Blog Award!!

Our blog has been nominated for the Best Multiples Blog Award from The Bump! The winning blog receives $1,000! We are so excited and honored to be in the running. If you have a second, please VOTE FOR US at The Bump!

Quiet Columbus Day

Who knew Columbus Day could be so much fun?!?

Last night Brooke and I realized that Charlie and Lily were acting a little funny. Both of them were having a hard time with their bottles, they didn't want to sleep much, and they fussed when they weren't being held. Add to that the fact that Charlie hasn't pooped in a few days and Lily sounds extra reflux-y (yup, I invented a word) and we've got all the makings of somebody getting sick. It's been less than two weeks since Charlie came home and just one week now since Lily came home, and in that time the babies have gone from a calm, routine environment where nobody but nurses bothered them to a place where there is always something new happening. Everything from our pets and our relatives to always being with each other has gotten to be maybe a bit too much for them. So to combat this, we decided that today was going to be a "quiet day." No visitors, no new experiences, and no unnecessary stimulation.

And I'm happy to report that today was an absolutely wonderful day! We did nothing but spend time with them. We even closed the window shades and swaddled them up and had a legit nap time in the middle of the afternoon; both babies napped quite soundly for about four hours, which is a first. Brooke even tried to feed both babies at the same time. She propped each of them up on their boppies and used folded up blankets to prop the bottles. It seemed to work quite well. Lily had some major reflux afterward so we need to do it again to see if it was the position that caused it or if it was just a coincidence.

Our nights have been getting better. We've both managed to sleep more than the first few nights while the other manages feedings and diaper changes. Two nights in a row now we've both managed to get at least five consecutive hours of sleep. Add a cat nap during the day to that and we're not quite sleep-deprived. Let's hope this keeps up!


Lily is really doing well with her Tummy Time. She seems to be getting some muscle in her neck and can now hold her head up for more than a few seconds on her own.


This is the life!


Charlie loves mommy. Mommy loves Charlie. It's a match made in heaven.


This is how they napped today. Brooke and I were both giddy with happiness when we saw.


This tandem feeding thing may actually be possible....


We had hoped that the glow worm would help soothe them to sleep. It didn't.


This just makes me happy.

Routines

It's been three days now since we've last posted and I can honestly say that there just hasn't been time to sit down and write a new update. People have been telling us again and again how busy we were going to be once the babies were home and now I can say beyond any doubt whatsoever-- they were so right!

Lily and Charlie are doing so, so well here at home. They're taking their bottles as close to regularly as possible, and they're sleeping between meals most of the time (except in the middle of the night, when the both seem to be quite nocturnal). Their alarms go off occasionally, mostly when they're eating, but the episodes have never lasted more than just a few seconds. Most of the alarms are caused by loose leads or loose wires and a little readjusting is all we need to quiet them down.

Brooke and I are adapting to our new lives better than we could have expected. Brooke spends her days with the babies. She usually has to handle two or three feedings by herself while I'm at work and most of the time Charlie is okay eating an hour or so after Lily, which makes things easier for everyone. Between meals, there's usually just enough time for baths and tummy time, and then the whole process starts over again.

As for me, coming home from work is just about the greatest thing in the world. I rush home, wash up and change my clothes, and then spend my evenings, nights, and early mornings with my babies. And even though I'm not exactly sleeping as much as I'm used to (or much at all), I think it's safe to say that I couldn't be happier with my beautiful family.

So we are basically trying to get into a routine. Charlie and Lily like to keep us on our toes though! For example, last night Charlie had a diaper blowout that resulted in poop on his back, legs and arms and earned him an emergency trip to the bathtub. Brooke got to handle that one, which was really only payback to her for sleeping through Lily's early morning diaper blowout the day before. I encountered this mess at 5:00 AM and called repeatedly upstairs to Brooke (who was in bed) for help. She replied numerous times, "Okay, be right there" but never came. It was only after I had Lily all cleaned up that I went upstairs and realized that Brooke had never even woken up and, in the morning, had no recollection of even talking to me. So we're getting into the routine of new parent exhaustion too! But one thing is certain: every dirty diaper and sleepless night is well worth it!

Yesterday morning I was surprised at work to find that my co-workers had planned a surprise "celebration" for me. They were careful not to call it a "baby shower." I was totally shocked by the whole thing, to say the least. I've known for years that the people at FTHS are very special, but the way that everyone has helped me through this past year has been beyond anything I could have expected. And what's more, there were as many people there at the "celebration" that I didn't know as there were people that I did know. All of those "strangers" told me that they've been following this blog and going through the journey with us. So to all of you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.


When Lily is hungry she is quite entertaining. And apparently I'm mean enough that I would rather video my daughter making cute faces than get a bottle ready for her to make her happy.

Brooke's First Day

Since I had to go back to work today for the first time since Charlie came home, Brooke started her temporary career as a stay-at-home mom. Luckily, she had plenty of help to ease her in to the job.

First, Nana (Brooke's grandmother) came over to give an extra set of hands to help out around the house. Then the visiting nurses came to check up on the babies. They weighed them (Charlie is at 7 lbs! and Lily is at 6 lbs 2 oz) and took temperatures and answered a few lingering questions about minor concerns. It's really nice to have them come, if for no other reason than simple peace of mind. We got so used to doctors and nurses being around the babies 24/7 so it's nice to have medical professions come give us some reassurance every now and again.

By the time I got home from work, Brooke had managed all the feedings by herself and had given both babies sponge baths. She had given both Tummy Time and held each baby for as long as possible. In short, she was exhausted. Lucky for me, too, because after being away from them for so long (for the first time) I was anxious to get my hands on my babies. So Brooke took a nap and I spent my evening cuddling with my little loves.

Sleeping has been a little bit of an issue. We're still trying to figures out what is best in terms of late-night feedings. We started to stagger their feedings a bit so they're not eating at the exact same time any more, which should make it possible for one of us to get a few consecutive hours sleep each night. So far we're doing well, but I guess the test will really come after we've been doing this for a few months. Not that I'm complaining-- this is an issue I've wanted to have for a long, long time!

And now for some pictures (and videos)!


A few days ago I posted a video of Charlie doing nothing but looking at the camera, so to be fair I'm not posting a video of Lily doing nothing but looking at the camera.


Lily's first Tummy Time! We're supposed to put them on their stomachs for a few minutes each day to help them build up strength in their necks and backs.


Oh, how we just love to see them together, even if they're slapping at each other!


Charlie was not a big fan of his first Tummy Time.


Lily, however, was happy as could be on her belly.


Poor Uncle John had to wear a mask during his first visit at home with the babies. He had just got off a plane and didn't want to expose the babies. Roy was quite happy to put himself between all the action.


Happy 60th birthday, Grandpa Fred! Lily loves you!