Kickin' It Off

We went to the March of Dimes Family Kick-off event on Sunday March 6th. It was held at The Children's Museum, which incidentally was voted #1 children's museum in the US. The place was packed as it was also the first free Bank of America museum day.

I met so many wonderful families who shared their stories. Some were heartbreaking, some were triumphant but all were inspirational.

The 2011 Houston Ambassador family was there. I met Jaclyn of The Haynes Phamily team. I spent several minutes speaking with her about ideas for fundraising. They were the number 5 family team in 2010 and they are geared to hit $10,000 in 2011.

Another family (I wish I had gotten her name) shared their story of the passing of one of their twins. As a mother of twins, I could not listen to this brave mother's painful story without tearing up.

I also met Sheryl McGowen, the Houston family team specialist and a mother of quads. She lost one of her babies. Her strength and her story truly brought me to tears.

We watched this video.

How I got involved with the March of Dimes

I am the VP of Programs for my moms of multiples group. Every year, a speaker talks to our group about March of dimes and we make a donation as a club to the March of Dimes. Registration had started earlier this year and I was in search of a Team Captain. I decided to take on that role because I worried that no one else would volunteer to do it and I did not want it to be a huge fail. When a fellow twin mom said she would assist, I thought I could relinquish my captain duties and let her run the show. I signed up as a walker but was unsure about walking on May 1st. The state mothers of multiples convention coincides with the March for Babies walk. Being a current board member of my club, I wanted to attend the convention. I was still up in the air about both events. Because of financial reasons, the cost of attending the convention would have prevented me from attending the convention. Fortunately, my club was able to pay for a large portion of my trip and I decided to go to convention.

I still wanted to raise money using the online donation tool;I decided to send out an email to friends and family asking for their support of my fundraising efforts. Much to my surprise, within 24 hours, I had raised over $200 dollars. I could not believe it. Two very generous donors opened my eyes. This was a powerful tool. I wrote about how S and D came into this world. I wrote about why March of Dimes is so important in the fight to help reduce early births resulting in premature babies. I wrote about wanting to help a great cause. I wanted people to hear my story and be touched by S and D's story..

S on his birth day getting hooked up in NICU.


D getting some much needed rest after his birth. he was an abruption and swallowed lots of blood.


S getting phototherapy treatment for jaundice, which is very common in premature babies.


People's generosity moved me so much that I felt I had to do the walk. It was not a feeling of obligation that spurred me to want to do the March for Babies walk. My donors gave of themselves and I wanted to give back to the organization that helped my boys during their 3 week stay in NICU.

For the last month, I have been informing my club, my co-workers, anyone who would listen, about the March of Dimes. I have been working on recruiting walkers, putting together team materials and sending tons of emails to the area reps getting so many wonderful ideas to get people involved.

I have become a woman on a mission. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Houston March for Babies and I want it to be great! I have increased my personal goal twice and I increased our Team goal twice. we just started a March of Dimes Scentsy and Thirty-One Gifts Online Fundraiser;that will go until the end of March. We have also planned a Bunco for Babies ladies night where attendees "buy in" with $15 and a (cheap) bottle of wine. Money for the babies and wine for the ladies.

I am proud of the work we have done so far. As a cub team, we have raised over $2000 already.
I plan to participate in March for babies from now on and my goal is to add more walkers to my team. I am armed with so many ideas, next year will top 2011!

Want to learn more about March of Dimes and March for Babies, please visit my team page.

NICU Photos

NICU

Woody and Buzz

I decided not to do a 2 year birthday party this year. Their 1st birthday was such a great party that there was no way I was going to be able to do anything that creative with the financial situation we are in. But I still wanted to do something special for them. My inspiration was Toy Story. Sam and Dean LOVE Toy Story. All three movies with the third one being their favorite. I admit I love them all too and the third one is my favorite too. Maybe it really isn't their favorite and they are just humoring me by watching it too.

The boys spend their day at daycare 5 days a week and really enjoy it. I decided I would give them a mini party at the daycare. I found crayons, notepads, kazoos and erasers from the Michael's dollar section. The stickers were from Walmart. The images were found online to make the treat bag toppers, which fit a regular sandwich ziploc bag. Because the treats bags were for toddlers, I used 2 sided tape to attach the bag topper but you can use staples. I like the clean look of the 2 sided tape and it is easily removable so if you need to open the bag again or one tears and you have to use another bag, at least the topper is not ruined.

Party favors do not need to be fancy or expensive. Not including the bags, the paper, ink or tape, the treats cost about $1 per bag. I made 14 of them which was not bad considering I was not spending money on food and decorations for a real party.

Assembled treat bags


Close up of front and back of bag topper


If you are looking for customized treat bag toppers, contact me at underwraps4u (at) gmail.com

I also made marbled chocolate/vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing dyed 2 shades of green to go with the Rex and Alien candy toppers. I ran out of toppers so used a Toy Story shaped gummie. Kinda lame but will the kids care? Not so much.



Images printed from http://disney.go.com. I used my Xyron to turn them into magnets. These were just treats for Sam and Dean to play on the refrigerator.


Toy Story is such a fun theme for birthdays, especially for twin boys. You have Woody and Buzz who fight like they are brothers and are best buds. You can even do Woody and Jessie for boy/girl twins. Here are two of my favorite sites for Toy Story inspiration. There are lots of printables and activities for kids, recipe and party ideas.

http://disney.go.com

http://family.go.com

Have fun going to infinity and beyond...

Halloween 2010

I know, I know. It is almost Thanksgiving and I am writing about Halloween. But I realized that I forgot to post about it.

This is the only good picture of the two of them from KAPOM's halloween social.



These are the pumpkins we got from the Oktoberfest at MB Sugarland. I found some printables on Family Fun and decorated the pumpkins. These lasted a good 3 minutes and 24 seconds before Sam and Dean tore the eyes off and ripped the mouths and noses. Sigh. That's pretty much the modus operandi for my boys. Death and destruction to all holiday decorations!



On Halloween Day, we attended a church event at which the boys had no interest. But they seemed to have a great time on the playground.

Sam riding solo in his "batmobile"


This is the "Bat Cave"





Or it could be the headquarters to the he-man woman haters club, because they both told me to stay out!


I shopped the after Halloween clearances at Walmart and Target and found some great costume deals. Hopefully they won't mind going as pirates or ninjas for the next two years. They can always be used for dress up play.

My toddlers got Inked!

This is what happens when toddlers get into the stash of markers.



And this is what happens when parents say "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
Who knew Rod was such a great washable marker tattoo artist.






This kid is gonna HATE me when he starts dating at 31.

Car seats to the stars

I started going through baby items months ago to participate in a consignment event and KAPOM's buy and sell. I was a little disappointed that I did not sell as much as I was expecting. It could be that I priced items too high or that my stuff is crap. I still have so many big items and I don't want to wait for another garage sale.

I decided to Craiglist it. I am not a fan of this venue. But selling large items on eBay is not feasible. I was looking for information on the Graco double stroller we have and I find that Angelina and Brad had used the same car seats to tote their twins. I generally don't really care what goes on in celebrity's lives. However, the fact that they have gazillions of dollars to buy any high tech, designer equipment they want but chose to go with Graco is pretty down to earth and normal. What a concept.

The Jolie-Pitts and I now have a connection. And you can bet I put that on Craigslist. I will use whatever tactics I can to get more scratch from my crap.

Jolie-Pitts choose Graco

Baby I'm Amazed

I am constantly shocked and awed by the ability of babies to develop into little human beings. When D & S were brought home from NICU, they were so tiny, so helpless and fragile. I would cry because I could not believe the gift that we were given and yet so scared because I had no idea what to do with them. As they developed and hit various milestones like holding their held up, holding their bottle, sitting up, crawling, walking and climbing, even do a few signs, I would look at them and constantly remind myself that they grow so fast and to take it all in.

Now at 19 months, I am still even more amazed at the capacity that toddlers learn. At no other time in our lives are we able to absorb and learn as much as a toddler. D & S have been "talking" their own special toddler speak for months. Now they are starting to make sense. Dean has a great ear. He can listen to us say a word and he will repeat it. He is interested in his foam bath letters and as he puts them on the tub wall, he will say a random letter. He looks through books and points and says what he thinks the animal or object is. Right now, everything is "bucket" but we are working on it.

But the thing that makes me Rod smile and laugh is when the kids do something so out of the blue where we are ask each other if we taught them that. Rod was looking through an animal book with the boys and Rod was calling out the animals. He gets to the chicken and Rod says "chicken." Dean says chicken and flaps his arms like a chicken. I didn't teach him and Rod didn't teach him that so he must have learned in day care.

They are much more interactive these days and I am excited for them as they learn new words. I will be even more excited when they stop saying no every time I need them to do something. They get that from their father.

Seeing Double

One year, I would like to take the boys to the Twinsburg Festival. I love having twins and I think it would be so much fun to go to this. I would probably enter them in the Least Alike contest too. I bet I would make a killing selling double mint gum.

National Geographic on Twinsday

Twinsday

13 months

They are 13 and a half months now and it seems the older they get the harder it is for me to write their progress. I wish I was better at documenting their development because my memory stinks and I won't remember any of this.

Dean is...
• is so restless at bedtime, it takes forever for him to get to sleep and Rod is scared to sleep train, I might need to intervene.
• throws temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way (isn't that every child?)
• loves going outside and enjoys the wind in his face
• gets so excited when he sees cats and dogs but won't reach out to pet them
• is a ferocious corn on the cob eater. He will gum every last kernel off the cob.
• gets a diaper full of corn the next day
• He might have been slower to start learning to climb the stairs but he can now climb up the stairs in record time.
• has learned to crawl down the stairs and climb off furniture after only being shown once how to scoot off.
• his top teeth have yet to come in all the way.
• has become more clingy
• is destructive with paper, will tear it to shreds
• makes a mad dash for the fridge when he sees it open
• still a loud talker
• hates diaper changes
• forms attachments to bags filled with stuff and will drag it around the house. He dragged a paper decoration ball around for 3 days straight, a helium balloon for a week.
• still hates hats and anything place on his head
• loves play dates with Samantha, host family child of Tang's friend, another au pair.
• he does the sign for milk and all gone
• when asked where his ball is, he goes around the house looking for it.
• he kicks the ball around


Sam is...
• still climbs on everything and gets into every thing
• has a horrible temper and shrieks, clenches his fist and shakes and has resorted to biting Dean when they fight
• likes corn but not on the cob
• makes a mad dash for an open gate and goes for the cat food every time
• climbs stairs but has not mastered scooting down stairs
has not grasps the concept of sliding off furniture
• has 3 top teeth
• went through a rough time sleep training but now will get on his pillow and go to sleep with minimal to no fussing.
goes down for naps pretty easily
• becoming a picky eater and will squeeze food through his lips to protest
• still without a full head of hair but gets lots of pimples
• does not share toys
• squats to poop and sometimes finds a private corner or behind couch to do the deed. Hopefully potty training him will be easy.
• still a mama's boy
• has had croup twice and went to emergency room once
• thinks is is hilarious putting a bowl on his head
• he grabs my face and goes in like he is biting me but I think it is his way of giving kisses
• likes opening and closing the safety gates
• loves saying "uh-oh"


I am always so amazed at how far they have come. They are such sweet boys and I love hearing them laugh and play. Their smiles are so genuine. They give hugs. They show their love by wanting to be close to us. I know these times go by fast and they will one day not want to be so affectionate. So Rod and I will cherish these days.

My Favorite Things

The twins had their first birthday party a few weeks ago and I am just now recovering. The boys won't remember anything about the party but I wanted to do something to celebrate them. When they were born, there was no hoopla, we were just trying to get through the days with them in NICU. And life changed so much for us when we brought them home, we didn't have the time or energy to invite lots of people over.

We wanted to have fun with a the boys and with friends and family. I decided on Thing 1 and Thing 2 party theme. I think it turned out great and we didn't break the bank. It got kinda hairy towards the end as we were rushing to get the food and decorations done but it all came together.

Decorations:
We kept this very simple. The birthday banner and the Balloontime helium tank were free. The high chair decorations I found clearance for $1 at Walmart. It consisted of a banner for the high chair tray, a hat, bib and a mat to catch crumbs. I got the bigger plates at an after Christmas clearance and the rest of the plates, cups and table cloths we already had or found at Walmart. Walmart has nice party supplies that are inexpensive.

Outfits:
I found red long sleeve onesies at Babies R us on clearance. One of the pants I found there too. The other pair was clearance at Old Navy. The socks were The Children's Place on sale for a dollar each pair. Rod created the Thing 1 and Thing 2 patches using felt and iron-ons. For the blue hair, I found boas at Joann Crafts and sewed them to knit caps that I already had. I didn't sew them too tight so that I could remove them without ruining the cap. The bonus was that the boys LOVED playing with the boas. The bad thing about the boys loving to play with boas is the boas shed and our house has blue feather dust bunnies. Everywhere. I think I spent maybe $20 on each outfit from head to toe. I did find some custom made outfits on eBay but you can make these easily.

For my outfit, I wore all black and Rod made me a Dr. Seuss hat using craft foam. There was a bow too but in all the excitement, forgot to wear it.

Favors:
Rod's sister made these awesome iced sugar cookies. She used edible marker to write Thing 1 and Thing 2 on them with blue and red sprinkles decorating the 1 and 2. Each bag had the two cookies and I wish I had gotten a picture of it because it was so cute.

For the kids, I found lots of free printables online. Rod created the cover and I bound the books. I found packs of crayons for less then $1. I think the books will be lots of fun for the kids since it has a variety of activities, not just coloring.

Food:
Green deviled eggs
Ham sandwiches
Chugg's chicken salad
Horton Hatches the egg roll with Circus Fish Sauce
Preep & Proos Pork Satay
Silly Sammy Slick's Sherbert
Chips and dip
Cookies
Rainbow cake

Tang made the pork satay with peanut dipping sauce. She got lots of compliments on it too. The food was the most expensive aside from the venue. But luckily, I had a Sam's gift card that I got and all the food from Sam's was covered.

Cake and smoosh cake:
I found this amazing cake at 17 and Baking. The colors were so bright and I knew it would be perfect for the party. We made a test batch using the recipe Elissa had on her site but Rod did not like the taste. I was fine with it and thought we should stick with the recipe. However, we ended up using white cake mix with the food coloring. We used 1 box to make 2 layers or colors. One thing I would have changed is to use one and a half boxes to make 2 layers, so 3 boxes for 4 layers. Using the 9x13 cake pan with just 1 box for 2 layers made the layers really thin and they broke. by making the cake thicker, we could have tried to level it out. The end result was a unique cake that shocked and awed the guests and tasted good.

I really have to give my husband kudos for making this cake. He stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning making the cake. It is so time consuming if you only have 1 oven and need to make layers of cake. The cakes have to cool and then need to make sure the layers are even and straight. Then each layer is iced or gets a layer of raspberry jam.

For the boys' smoosh cake, I made cupcakes using white cake mix with red food coloring. For some reason, the red ended up muted. The icing was colored blue and I used the star tip to make the blue hair. I wanted to write Thing 1 and Thing 2 on the cupcakes but ran out of time. I figured the boys were not going to care anyway.

My DH is so talented, he pulled this party together. I was very stressed that day but he kept it together. He is awesome.

We won't have a large birthday bash for the boys for a while. For the next few years, it will be family and close friends. That should give me enough time to think of the next theme. For twins, Dr. Seuss' Thing 1 and Thing 2 is perfect and you can do so much with it. There is a Green Eggs and Ham cookbook to get food ideas. You can use books to decorate and as party favors. For me and DH, it was lots of fun to plan and execute but even more fun to spend time with friends and family to celebrate our boys' birthday. The best part was the pure excitement and joy on Dean and Sam's faces when they discovered ... balloons.

Mother of Twins Prayer

I saw this poem on >My Organized Chaos and thought I would share it on this special day. A year ago today, my boys were born. It has been a tiring journey but what a ride!

There's two to wash,
There's two to dry;
There's two who argue,
There's two who cry.

One's in the mud,
Having a ball;
The other holds a crayon...
Another marked wall.

Some days seem endless,
My patience grows thin.
Why did God choose me
To be a mother of twins?

The answer comes clear-
At the end of the day,
As I tuck them in bed
And to myself I say...

There's two to kiss,
There's two to hug;
And best of all,
Thank You, God, for two to love.

9 & 10 months

The boys are mobile! They have so much energy and are always on the go. They continue to amaze me with their development. I highlighted some but I am sure I am missing more, I just cannot keep up.

Both boys:
*clap their hands
*tummy sleepers
*won't sit still for diaper changes - as soon as the diaper is off, so is Dean, streaking across the room
*won't sit still for the camera either
*love bath time and splashing the water
*hate getting face wet
*self feeds puff-puffs, crunchies, wagon wheels and yogurt bites, they just started on tofu, pasta and orange
*are sippie cup drinkers - they get choked up once in awhile when they become overzealous suckers
*can drink out of big cup too but half ends up all over their shirt
*are lulled to sleep during car rides
*love their new side by side stroller
*walk around furniture and toys while holding on to them
*crawl at the speed of light and tile floors are the best
*are not picky eaters and have been great at trying new foods. (Except bananas which give them the runs and peas which are just gross. At least that is how I interpret the face they make when they eat peas.)
can laugh and play with each other. Until one has a toy the other one wants, then it's a throw down. Literally. They lunge at each other and we have pull the babies apart and into opposite corners.
*rather than playing with all the educational and developmental toys I get them, they would rather play with plastic plates, diaper cream and lotion tubes, cabinet knobs, dishwasher compartment that holds detergent, door stops, remote controls, real cell phones (when they have perfectly good play phones), my glasses, camera, paper
*still don't seen to exhibit any sign language we have been teaching them
*are really good about new places and faces and can be handed off to people. As long as mom is not around which cause separation anxiety and then a tantrum ensues.
*Favorite DVDs are Brainy baby right brain and signing times
*are generally happy babies and love to play tickle, footsies or peek-a-boo
*Their squeals of laughter make my heart overflow


9 months


10 months



Dean
*9 month check up stats: 27.5", 19 lbs 4 oz (25-50%)
*hates the car seat and will wiggle his way out of the straps
*does not like to sit in the stroller for too long and tries to wiggle out of that too.
*does not like things on his head, which is sad for me because I love putting hats on them
*loves TV too much. Thanks to his had, his eyes are glued to the tube whenever his dad watches them.
*says dada quite often
*is a restless sleeper, rolls around and circles the bed until he finds a comfortable spot
*entertains himself with the simplest things. He laughs at his reflection while wearing his monster bath towel. He cracks himself up when he sees his reflection on the dryer.
*has a bald spot on the right side, hair will not grow there it seems
*may not be as photogenic as his brother because every shot looks like he is drunk



9 months


10 months



Sam
*9 month check up stats: 27", 18 lbs 7 oz (10-25%)
*practices standing on his own, he can pull himself up without the help of furniture.
*can stand for well over a minute
*when he experiences new people and surroundings, has that look on his face like he is taking it all in, he stares and stares without a peep.
*Did sleep from 8 to 5, sometimes 6. But after he got over his cold, he is now only sleeping 7:30 to 4:00, then 5 to 6. Not sure how to get him to make it over that 4 am hump and just sleep through it.
*becoming more vocal, talks quite a bit now. Nothing coherent yet.
*I suspect he is doing the sign for "all gone" because when he finishes a bite, he raises his hand above his head and waves it like he is saying all gone.
*putting him to sleep for the night has gotten easier.
*teeth are death grips and can rip paper to shreds in second. If he manages to get a piece of paper in his mouth, and he knows I am trying to dig it out, his jaw clamps shut.
*loves climbing everything, his toys, the furniture, his favorite is climbing into the laundry basket and out the other side. He has now taught Dean to do this.

These are photos from December:

Riding along in their ride-on-mobiles

Tang recorded this while they were watching a Baby Signs dvd. They love this dvd so I hope all the signs are sinking in.

Dean is on a Lightning McQueen ride on toy I got for $5 at a garage sale and Sam is on one that I won. It's like they are at a drive in, so intent on wathing the screen. When Sam gets excited, he has this weird growling laugh. Dean is unusually calm and his reaction to Sam laughing is so funny to me. I think Tang was trying to get Dean's attention and like his daddy, when the TV is on, nothing else exists.

5 and 6 month progress

1 month


6 months


I just totally bypassed the boy's 5 month progress. They are now 6 months and they have gone through so many changes. I am sure I forgot all of them. They had their 4 month well visit in June. The well visit took forever. I really like the pediatrician but I cannot stand the front desk women. They are both not personable nor polite. They are curt and on the verge of rude. I guess being around kids and parents all day can wear you down. Since I only interact with the front desk to pay the copay, I guess I shouldn't think about finding a new pediatrician. But boy do I hate dealing with those two.

They are progressing on the developmental track very well, I think. At the 6 month visit next week, I will discuss starting real solids for them. I know they are ready. They are always smacking their lips and drooling when they watch us eat. We started adding rice cereal to their nighttime bottle and it seems to help with sleeping a little longer through the night. They still wake once for a feeding so I am not sure we are giving them enough.

They both do not consistently nap for longer than 30 minutes. Some days they will go down for 2 hours, other days, only 15 minutes. Getting a nigh time routine is killing me. I come home around 6 or 6:30, spend a few minutes with them, eat dinner and then put them down for the night around 7:30 pm. The boys fight going to bed. They cry so much that the only thing that gets them to bed is a boob in their face. And you guessed it, I am the only one that has that job. Sam is easier to get to bed then Dean but I still spend a good 2-3 hours dealing with bedtime. I have been researching all kinds of sleep training methods and suggestions so I will just go through them until one works.

Dean - 5 months
weight - 14 lbs 11 oz - 10-25%
height - 24.75 inches - 25-50%
head - 16.5 inches - 25-50%

Dean - 6 months
weight - 17 lbs 6 oz - 50-75%
height - 25 inches - 10-25%
head - 17 inches - 25-50%

- drools and makes a giant mess when he gnaws on his hand. And he loves chewing on his hand.
- is a loud talker, so very loud (when he and Sam are talking to each other, Dean will startle Sam and the whole house when he screams)
- is a loud crier, oh so very, very loud
- does not mind tummy time and can lift his head very well
- has rolled front to back a couple of times
- does very well with diaper changes and does not squirm too much
- is a painful eater. Gets my attention by chomping on my nipple whenever I nurse him and am paying attention to Sam.
- tries to sit up and does not enjoy lying down for extended periods
- is still a floppy sitter and falls over often
- loves watching TV, which is not a good habit but his father seems to think this is a perfectly fine way to watch a kid.
- blows lots of bubbles with his spit and makes loud spitting noises
- can hold his bottle for a short while but generally too lazy to do it
- is intrigued with red lights, from laptops, fans and tries to grab it.
- seems to have a deer in headlights look about him 95% of the time


Sam - 5 months
weight - 13 lbs 1 oz - 10-25%
height - 23 inches - <5%>
head - 16.5 inches - 25-50%

Sam - 6 months
weight - 15 lbs 14 oz - 10-25%
height - 24.5 inches - <5%>
head - 17 inches - 25-50%

- has the sweetest smile, gets his crooked grin from his father
- is a loud eater, his gulps and swallows are so noisy but at least I know he's enjoying his food
- does not like the Bumbo and sinks into it and hunches over.
- is getting better at tolerating tummy time but does not particularly care for it.
- likes playing with paper and wants to snack on it. I was looking at the ads in the Sunday paper and Sam was more interested in grabbing and tearing the paper then playing with his rings.
- is the squirmiest when we are changing his diaper. He tries to roll over from back to front but has not yet rolled from front to back.
- never wants to nap for fear of missing something
- loves sitting and playing in the exersaucer and turns around in it like a champ.
- has mastered sitting. Sam has such a compact body and a low center of gravity that it helps him sit for long periods.
- does not sit for longer than 15 minutes when watching baby Einstein
- still has no hair but looks so cute with his big ears sticking out
- watches people eat with such intensity, like he can taste that taco I am eating.
- loves his Gerber cereal and begs for more.

They both:
- love the exersaucer but not for longer than 15 minutes.
- can push off and walk backwards in the walker.
- laugh hysterically when tickled and have their tummy munched on
- have so much fun playing with daddy and staging mock kung fu fights (daddy fights dirty)
- have the sweetest smiles and give amazing sugars
- still nurse like champs
- are the best things that have ever happened to us

Click for more pics

2009_August

The person I need is Nanny McPhee

Before I went back to work, I spent weeks looking for childcare. I posted a job listing on Sittercity.com and interviewed some great nannies who had twin experience. I quickly learned that I could not afford a nanny.

Nannies around here go for $14-$16 and hour for twins. With my work schedule, that would end up costing me about $600 per week for 40 hours. Forty hours of nanny time doesn't even allow for travel time to and from work. I did not look into daycare because I felt the kids were too young to be placed in with other kids. I wanted them to have one on one with a caregiver during their infancy. Most day cares will accept toddlers at 18 months and if I wanted to place infants in day care, it would cost me an arm, a leg and a spleen.

We thought about Rod staying home to be a manny but with this economy, we did not want to be down to one income in case something happened to my job. Besides, I may come home one day and find the boys dressed like ninjas and velcro'd to the wall.

I was contacted by an au pair agency coordinator through Sittercity. I researched the company and decided that having an au pair at this time would work for us. we would get 45 hours of childcare for a weekly stipend of less than $180. Au pairs come on a visa and are required to fulfill 6 credit hours of education.

It has been a long process of selecting a candidate, getting the paperwork done and preparing for her arrival. Tang is our new au pair and we spent the weekend with her getting acclimated to a new environment. The language barrier is greater and tougher than I imagined. She understand written English very well but her verbal English communication needs great improvement.

When I picked Tang up from the airport and was trying to speak to her, I suddenly had a sinking feeling that I made the wrong choice in au pair. Should I have gone with a European au pair who had better English? I am putting my children's health and happiness in the hands of a complete stranger. Add to that she is away from her home country and does not speak clear English.

Tang works at a child development facility in Thailand and so she has a lot of experience caring for children from 6 months to 2 years. The twins will be 4 months in a couple of weeks so their 6 month mark is not that far off. I figured she could handle two babies at a time. I mean she typically cares for a room full of children, what's with two sweet little babies that she cannot handle?

Oh, but we're talking about Powell babies. They may be good looking but they are trouble waiting to happen. It must have been a full moon Sunday because these babies were so fussy. They would not take their naps, they were constantly hungry and they spit up even more than usual. Great first impression boys!

By the time 8 o'clock came around, Tang was running to her room needing a nap. I feared I made a terrible mistake. Rod does not have the same concerns and feels Tang can handle it. This situation is so new for the both of us and I know there will be an adjustment period.

I am working from home today so that I can be near in case Tang needed assistance. Half the day is over and she has been doing pretty well. There were only a few occasions where I stepped in because I wanted to comfort the babies while Tang was making their bottle. It is so hard for me to step back and let her handle it. When I hear my babies cry, I want to immediately comfort them. But I can't be here all the time so I have to let her handle it.

Tang is a great girl and I know she will do well and treat the boys with TLC. I sure hope her English improves before the boys start talking because it will be hard not to laugh when they tell me in a Thai accent that they want flied lice.

3 month progress

I hope everyone had a great Memorial weekend. We had friends and family over for some food and games. I ate so much food I had to pump extra hours just to burn off the calories from all the junk I ate: 3 bowls of trifle, 6 cookies and , 2 brownies. Let's just say I am still sore.

Dean and Samuel got lots of loving from their cousins. Dean wore blue and white stripes and Sam wore red and white strips in honor of the holiday. I found the onesies at Walmart and I hope they still fit for the 4th of July. The boys did their job of being cute and adorable and handled being kept up relatively well.

Since I have been back to work, I have had little time for blogging. I am late in reporting their 3 month progress and I have yet to take pictures of them with Pooh to show their growth from month to month. They had their three month well check and the pediatrician says they are looking good. Dean is 12 lbs 6 oz and Sam is 10 lbs 3 oz. Both of them have some sort of hernia that makes their belly button stick out. We have to check it at each diaper change to make sure it is not hard. We push it in and it pops back out.

There are 2 bumps at the back of Sam's head that move when we push on it. Doc says they are glands and it means his immune system is functioning properly. His strawberry birth mark is still puffy as ever on his leg and I am told they usually go away by the time he reaches 9 years. Sam's reflux is still really bad and the doc suggested Enfamil AR (contains rice starch) to help with spit up and reflux before prescribing medicine. We keep them upright or at a 30 degree angle after feedings but they still have reflux and they both spit up more on this AR stuff.

Sam's hair is starting to come in and his puggy nose seems to be getting less puggy. Maybe I am crazy but I think Sam has short, stumpy arms. They look disproportionate to his body. I think this is why Sam has not mastered the self soothe with his hands. It's a lot of work getting his arm to reach so that he can get his hand in his mouth. That is on my list of things to discuss at their next well visit.

Dean sleeps very well after feedings. He can be down for hours if he has a full tummy. The problem is, he never seems to get full. He is still fussing after his 3.5 ounces so I usually nurse him a little more until he falls asleep. The doc says to let him root and not to give him more than 28 oz in a 24 hour period otherwise he will be at risk of being obese. Dean loves the swing which rocks him to sleep.

They are not huge babies. Dean's size is in the 10th percentile and Sam is 5th percentile for their age. Even though they were premature, the doc did not do any age adjustment.

I am amazed by them everyday. They recognize their mommy and daddy and can track movement. They can be entertained by flashing lights and music for long stretches. I am always talking to them and love when they "talk" back. I am sure that will change when they actually use words.

I added some more pics. I hope to get the Pooh pics this weekend.

200905_May

3 weeks

3/10/09 - 3 weeks

Last Thursday was a busy day in the life of Dean. In preparation for being discharged, he got his Hepatitis B shot and a Synagis shot for RSV. He passed his car seat challenge and weighed in at 5lbs 1oz. Just big enough to fit in the infant car seat. Good thing I went to the sheriff's office to get the seats inspected for correct installation. The head support that came with the seat is crash tested with the seat but because of his preemie size, I was told to use rolled up receiving blankets to wedge his little head in tighter and not to buy the head support things. He looked so small when I placed him in the seat, it just swallowed him up. I thought the ride home would keep him up because he was always active in the belly when I was driving. As soon as I started driving, he was out like a light. And when I got him home, I couldn't put him down. I couldn't kiss him enough or hug him enough or love on him enough. I don't know that it has sunk in even now that he is our baby. Or that I could feel so much love. My cup runneth over and I still cry with happiness when I look at my boys.

Dean went to his first pediatrician visit Friday. I was so mad at myself and the doctor because we were there 2 hours before we saw the doc. Dean had not eaten and I did not bring a bottle for him. I tried to breastfeed him but he was too fussy and not having any of it. When the doc finally saw Dean, he was inconsolable. She had me try to breastfeed him so she could find out what was going on. She said he has a great suck and can latch but just doesn't want to work for the milk. That's my lazy boy. She said it will just "click" one day for him. Dean has over 18 inches an is at 5lbs 3 oz.

Samuel is getting ready to come home!!!! He passed his car seat challenge and got his Hep B shot and his Synagis. He has been eating incredibly well and has gained quite a bit of weight. Not enough to put meat on his bones but good enough to show consistent gain. He is currently 4lbs 4 oz. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me but also scared as heck. It has been hard having to split time at home and still bringing milk to the hospital. It has been a little bit of a blessing having one baby home to get used to caring for a baby.

Rod and I are running on very little sleep. Between feeding Dean and pumping milk, if I get an hour or two of shut eye, I am happy. I wish I could have bottled whatever adrenaline I was high on after I got home from the hospital because I could use it now.

2 weeks

3/3/09 - 35w6d

A new month. A new week. A new day.
Today marks their 2 week birthday. Has it really been fourteen days since they entered this world? They will be 36 weeks gestation tomorrow. Over the last few days, they have gone through lots of changes.

Dean is getting bigger and stronger. He had been at the lowest temp he could possibly go in the isolette. He was not able to regulate his towards the end of last week but he got to wear clothes in it. Grandma and Papa bought them preemie clothes and even though they are a little big still, they fit him better than the newborn or 0-3 mths clothes. His weight is 4 lbs 12 oz and it will be no time before he fills out the preemie clothes. He has been taking all his bottles and had not been needing the gavage tube. He did not like the tube anyway and kept yanking it out of his nose.

Dr. Muthappa, one of the neonatologists, told me I could try to breast feed Dean and our first venture was Saturday. He fussed and fussed but he was able to latch on and got a few good sucks in but I think it was too much work for him. Either that or my monstrous ape nipple was too big for his mouth. Since he is still so small, he is not able to take in much of the areola and instead has a death grip on my nipple. It pained me having his jaws of life clamped on me but was just so glad that he didn't choke on it. I think that experience stressed me out more than it stressed Dean. I tried again on Sunday and Monday for his 9 pm feeding and each time, Dean fussed less and sucked just a little bit more. I usually stick with it for 15 minutes but then give him his bottle to make sure he is getting enough to eat. I have to persevere. Eventually, he will have to get used to mama long boobs.

I got a call today from NICU that made me cry. The doctor told me that she is preparing Dean to come home!! There are still criteria that need to be met but it looks like in the next 48 hours, Dean can come home. His feedings are supplemented to 22 calories and he can have as much as he wants by bottle. He has been in an open crib since 3 pm today. They will monitor him to see if he can regulate his own temp. We brought the car seat to the hospital and he will have to pass the car seat test where they check all his vitals while he remains in the car seat for an hour. He is going to get his hepatitis B shot tonight and he is on the list for circumcision Thursday. Everything is moving so fast and I am so nervous about him coming home. But I am more happy than nervous and I can't wait to hold him for more than a couple of hours each day.

Samuel is also doing very well for a baby boy his size. He had lost some weight toward the end of last week and he was placed back on every other feeding with gavage. He started to gain again so then they put him on 2 bottle feedings and and 1 gavage. It has been a few days and he is taking all his feedings with gusto. He no longer has a tube in his nose. Rachael weighed Sam and we could not believe he was at 3 lbs 11 oz. The nurse had to weigh him again to make sure. He gets to eat as much as he wants and has been taking 40 cc each feeding. No wonder he is packing on the grams.

Sam and Dean were the only ones in the Big Stepdown room tonight. Once Dean comes home, it will leave Sam in the room by himself. It will be sad to still have Samuel in NICU but with the rate he is eating and gaining, he should be coming home soon.

When I look at them, I cannot believe how much they have changed in such a short amount of time. I am so proud of their progress. The doctors and nurses have done an outstanding job of caring for my boys and I cannot express how much I appreciate them, especially all the help and advice they have offered these two very new parents.

These are some recent photos:

Samuel


Dean

A twin by any other name

2/25/09 - 34w7d

Before I went into labor, I was writing a post about baby names and actually had a poll to get some opinions about the names we had in mind for the twins.

This was the hardest thing for Rod and I to talk about. We would come across names and bounce them off each other to see if we could agree. The problem was, I wanted real names and Rod wanted outlandish names. His ideas were more than just unique, they were downright Hollywood crazy. Laundry detergent like Tide' and Che'er. Those accents are there to give it a French feel. Then there was Thor and Loki. Oh, and I can't forget Winchester and Colt.

I even bought a baby name book so I could mark the ones we liked. I would read off the names that I liked and Rod would nix them. We could not agree. I thought the kids would be doomed to be called Thing 1 and Thing 2.

One night we were watching Supernatural, which is one of Rod's favorite shows. The two brothers on that show are named Sam and Dean. Jokingly, I said "What about naming the boys Sam and Dean." He said he liked those names. Of course I had no interest in naming my kids after demon hunters on a TV show. I mean what if they find out where their names came from and started decorating their room with crosses and garlic and holy water?

For the next few weeks after that conversation, Rod held on to Samuel and Dean. And it had to be both names or none at all. I was holding onto Noah and Wyatt. Finally, I said I would only consider Sam and Dean if he came up with some middle names so I could have time to let it roll around in my head. We even came up with a girl's name, Samantha Grace, for Baby B in case she was not a he.

We decided to wait until the birth to finalize the names in case their faces and personalities dictated a new name. For two days after the birth, we were still discussing it. I was really wrestling with this because whatever we picked, the boys would have to live with it forever. Or until they were old enough to get a court order to change it. Rod knew I was stressing and he said it was entirely up to me. It was then that I decided the names he came up with were perfect. So that's when Baby A and Baby B became Dean Christian and Samuel Elias.


Here are some links that I looked at to get some ideas.
Elvish names - Rhonda found this one but the names were too out there even though Lord of the Rings is what started it all.

Baby name ideas and inspiration

The big baby names survey: How parents name babies now

Quiz: What's your baby-naming personality? My baby naming personality is Classic. So you know that Thor Rodrickson did not come out of my brain.

Day 8

2/24/09 - 34w6d

Rhonda and I went to see the boys around 11:00. They were stirring a little but not quite awake. I got to feed Dean but he was just not having any of it. He is up to 38 cc and he started off strong but stopped sucking at about 6 cc into the bottle. The nurse checked the contents of his stomach by sucking out through the gavage and showed me that there was lots of air in his stomach. Dean is swallowing lots of air and it is giving him a full feeling, therefore he doesn't feed. The nurse removed the air and pushed the milk back into his stomach. I really can't see how that does not bother them but apparently, it does not phase them taking it up the nose. After she did that, Dean downed the bottle. She also showed me how to push the air out of his stomach to make room for more milk. Dean is a gassy baby.

The NICU doctor called me and gave me a status update. Dean is about 1900 grams and they really like the babies to be about 2000 grams before going home. He is also taking 6 of the 8 bottles he is fed. This is very good progress. If he continues to gain 20 grams a day, he may get to come home in 4 to 7 days.

Samuel's temperature was down so the nurse kept him in the isolette and fed him in there. He took his whole bottle! He is currently at a little over 1400 grams so he has quite a ways to go. The doctor thinks a couple more weeks since he is so small. He has filled out some but he really needs to start adding in the lbs.

The Twin's Progress

2/23/09 - 34w5d

I was discharged from the hospital on Friday. The nurses said I could stay until Saturday but I was ready to be home. Dean and Samuel will be in NICU for a few weeks. The NICU doctor and nurses really couldn't say when they would be released but said the twins would need to hit certain milestones before they could go home.

They need to be able to regulate their own temperature in an open crib, have consistent weight gain, take feedings by mouth and have no apnea or bradycardia.

Day 1, Tue Feb 17: Dean and Samuel checked into NICU and set up residence in their isolettes. Thankfully, the boys can breath on their own so they did not need medical assistance. That is a big plus. Since Dean had ingested blood from the abruption, he had a tube in his mouth to remove it from his stomach. Samuel also had a tube in his mouth but luckily, did not have a placenta cocktail during delivery. Proud grandparents, Gary and Winnia and Aunt Rhonda came to visit.

Day 2 Wed Feb 18: I was able to get out of the hospital bed and shuffle to NICU. I did kangaroo care with Dean and it was the first time I held him. Dean pretty much got all the blood out of his system, thank goodness.

Day 3 Thu Feb 19: Dean and Samuel started their phototherapy for jaundice. They got their first superhero masks to help protect their eyes from the ultraviolet light. Gavage tubes were placed in their noses which goes down to their stomach. This acts as an air vent when they are breathing fast, is used for feedings when they cannot suck and is used to check the contents of their stomach. Dean and Samuel got more visitors today. June and Koehler came to see them.

Day 4 Fri Feb 20: The boys were moved to a part of NICU called big stepdown. I think this is supposed to be a good move out of regular NICU. Both were still on the phototherapy. We bottle fed them for the first time. I had been expressing milk since the first day but did not strike gold until late on the third day. Whatever the boys did not take from the bottle in 30 minutes, would be fed through gavage. The suck reflex for preemies usually comes at 34-35 weeks gestation but may not have the swallow reflex. If they get the suck-swallow, they may not manage to coordinate breathing along with it. Usually this comes about 36 weeks. I tried to feed Sam and just watching him struggle with the bottle made me cry. He just looked so fragile and tired. Like an old man. He's my Samuel Button.

Day 5 Sat Feb 21: Sam weighs 4 lbs 4 oz and Sam weighs 3 lbs 2 oz. I got to give Dean and Sam a bath! I was so nervous but nurse Chris helped me get through it. I think I was more traumatized then the babies were being cold and wet. Just being with them warms and breaks my heart at the same time. I love these critters to bits and it makes me so sad that I cannot be with them 24/7. But they need to get stronger and they are getting great care. That's what I have to keep telling myself.

Day 6 Sun Feb 22: The boys were moved to another room in NICU. They seem to be getting the full tour. I kangaroo'd Dean and tried to feed him 25 cc of milk but he would not take it so ended up getting it fed via gavage. Rod kangaroo'd Sam but with a pinched nerve that has been pretty debilitating, he could not hold Sam for long. Rod fed Sam 18 cc and he downed it in 10 minutes which is awesome. Dean is back up to his birth weight at 4 lbs 6 oz. Sam is at 3 lbs 6 oz.

Day 7 Mon Feb 23: There has not been any change in their progress. I tried to feed Dean again. They took him off IV and increased his feeding to 30cc. He only took about 5 cc. I try not to be too discouraged but it seems they feed better in the daytime than at night. Same thing with Sam who only took about 10 cc of his 18.

They will be a week old tomorrow. I can't believe that much time has already passed. I am hoping that this next week brings even bigger strides and that the boys can hit their goals.