As a mom you see your children grow each day, but there are times you really don't know how much they have grown. The girls had their RSV shot on Tuesday, 3/11/08. A nurse comes in to the house to give them the shot. While there she does a mini physical on them as well...checking their temperature, breathing and weight. Prior to the appointment I told Chad, I bet they are up to 9 pounds. Well...they ended up OVER 9 pounds. I could not believe it when the nurse called. Kendall weighed in at 10'6 and Sydney weighed in at 9'10!!!
Grandpa Mike and Grandma Elaine are helping us out this week, so they were at the house when the girls got the shots. You can really tell the personalities on the girls. As my dad said, Sydney took the shot like a champ and Kendall went down like a wimp. This is right on for the girls. Sydney is much more laid back and just goes with the flow. Kendall on the other hand is much more of a drama queen. She takes all the sympathy that she can. It's so much fun to see each of their personalities and how they have developed already.
Poor Sydney has always had a stuffed up nose. They say it's normal for newborns and especially preemies. We use a lot of saline drops on her each day to help clear it for her. Just recently she sounded a bit more stuffed up, more than usual. So we decided to bring her in, just to make sure she wasn't coming down with anything. While at the clinic, the doc. said she sounded fine, no temp. and maybe had a mild cold. To be safe they decided to do a RSV check on her. Now, if you have never had a RSV check done, it's horrible. They stick a swab up each nostril and take a sample. The poor girl had her RSV shot that morning and now she is getting her nose poked at. I have never seem my little girl cry so hard...she's my tuff child. That has got to be the worse test ever!!! We haven't received the results yet, but I'm not too concerned. The doctor didn't seem to think that she had it, it was more of a precaution to do the test.
Final Day
That's right, today is the last day of my maternity leave. It's a bitter/sweet kind of day. I am ready to return to work, but I will miss not seeing the girls as much. I will be perfectly honest...I am not a stay at home type of mom. I love my girls to death, but need that separation as well. I give credit to all those stay at home moms and daycare providers. They are very special people and have a special gift!
My leave has been interesting from the start. First, I deliver the girls at 33 weeks...so our first 3-4 weeks were spent in the hospital. Going back and forth each day worn on me quickly. I was very ready to bring both girls home and begin our life together. Then we were finally able to go home, but we were instructed to not go into public and to keep kids away. This started to get old as well, as we never left the house. I started to become sick of my house, but at least I had the girls there to brighten my days.
The girls have grown so much since the start and not just in size. They are both smiling more each day and starting to talk to us. It is amazing to see where they have gone, considering where they started. To think of how small they were, they fit in the palm of my hand and now my arms get tired when holding them. They have truly been miracles from the start.
My return to work should be a smooth transition. My first 3 days back will only be half days. After this, we have grandparents watching them for the rest of the month. We wanted to keep the girls out of daycare for as long as possible and our parents have graciously offered to help us out. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful parents!!! By having them there, we will not have to worry about bringing or picking the girls up from daycare until March 31st.
The girls have been doing pretty good at night as well. They were going 6 hours between feedings, getting up for a feeding, then going back to sleep for 4 hours. This week they have taken a slight step back. We feed them at 830pm, wake at 130am(ish) to eat, go back to sleep and wake at 530am(ish) to eat. This is really not all that bad, as Chad and I will be getting up at 5am anyhow. But, to be perfectly honest...I cannot wait for them to sleep through the night without waking up until morning. The mid-night feedings do wear on you, but I know it will not last forever.
All in all my leave has been great. I will miss not seeing every milestone the girls make, as they will have some of them at daycare. But I believe that I will cherish each moment I have with the girls even that much more, as my time will be less.
I will keep updating the blog as we have great things to share...they may not be as often, but they will happen.
My leave has been interesting from the start. First, I deliver the girls at 33 weeks...so our first 3-4 weeks were spent in the hospital. Going back and forth each day worn on me quickly. I was very ready to bring both girls home and begin our life together. Then we were finally able to go home, but we were instructed to not go into public and to keep kids away. This started to get old as well, as we never left the house. I started to become sick of my house, but at least I had the girls there to brighten my days.
The girls have grown so much since the start and not just in size. They are both smiling more each day and starting to talk to us. It is amazing to see where they have gone, considering where they started. To think of how small they were, they fit in the palm of my hand and now my arms get tired when holding them. They have truly been miracles from the start.
My return to work should be a smooth transition. My first 3 days back will only be half days. After this, we have grandparents watching them for the rest of the month. We wanted to keep the girls out of daycare for as long as possible and our parents have graciously offered to help us out. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful parents!!! By having them there, we will not have to worry about bringing or picking the girls up from daycare until March 31st.
The girls have been doing pretty good at night as well. They were going 6 hours between feedings, getting up for a feeding, then going back to sleep for 4 hours. This week they have taken a slight step back. We feed them at 830pm, wake at 130am(ish) to eat, go back to sleep and wake at 530am(ish) to eat. This is really not all that bad, as Chad and I will be getting up at 5am anyhow. But, to be perfectly honest...I cannot wait for them to sleep through the night without waking up until morning. The mid-night feedings do wear on you, but I know it will not last forever.
All in all my leave has been great. I will miss not seeing every milestone the girls make, as they will have some of them at daycare. But I believe that I will cherish each moment I have with the girls even that much more, as my time will be less.
I will keep updating the blog as we have great things to share...they may not be as often, but they will happen.
Spit Happens
I was trying to get some pics of the girls and in the process caught Sydney in the act of "spitting up." I couldn't believe I caught it on film. I had to share with all of you. She will one day be very embarrassed of this pic!!!
What a Great Night!!!
I awoke this morning to Kendall crying a bit...not a full out cry, but more of a "I'm starting to wake up and starting to get hungry" cry. We typically ignore these cries as they sometimes turn out to be nothing and the girls will fall back asleep. But if they continue and get stronger, we know it's time to get up and get them some food. The crying did not stop, so I looked at the clock and noticed it was 240am. I started to slowly move out of bed, when I stopped and looked at the clock again. Yup, 240am. Then I starting counting, I did this 3 times, 945pm, 1045pm, 1145pm, 1245am, 145am, 240am...6 hours. NO WAY...DID MY LITTLE GIRLS SLEEP FOR 6 HOURS STRAIGHT?!?!?! I was totally amazed and a little refreshed as well. I got 5 hours sleep straight!
Could this be a new beginning for my girls? Are they starting to understand that they need to sleep longer at night? I guess only time will tell. We'll see what the girls do tonight and the nights to come. Hopefully we don't fall back to our old pattern of 3-4 hours at a time. I think I'd rather move forward...I think I like this longer sleep pattern!!!
Could this be a new beginning for my girls? Are they starting to understand that they need to sleep longer at night? I guess only time will tell. We'll see what the girls do tonight and the nights to come. Hopefully we don't fall back to our old pattern of 3-4 hours at a time. I think I'd rather move forward...I think I like this longer sleep pattern!!!
Mirror, Mirror
The girls were playing so well on the floor together that I had to get a photo of them. They are looking up at a mirror. They seem to like to look at themselves quite often in that mirror...and smile. It's so cute!
Bad Mommy
I'm sure there are people out there that would say how terrible I am for what I did, but I needed a moment to get things done and Sydney just wouldn't have it. She is a child that either needs to be held or needs her pacifier. The other day I would attempt to get something done and her pacifier would go flying out of her mouth...why can't they just stay in?!?!? So getting tired of going back and forth I decided to see what I could do to keep the dang thing in. Check out the pic...
You will also see her birp clothes all around her...she is my spitty baby. But I ended up taking one of her birp clothes and draped it across the pacifier and had it secured on both sides. Let me tell you...it did the job. Don't worry I checked on her constently!!!
In the mean time, one of my friends told me about these pacifiers that are attached to stuffed animals. After googling, I found them and have ordered 2, one for each girl. The stuffed animal has the pacifier coming out of it's mouth. So you can swaddle your child, stuff the animal in the blanket and the pacifier will always be right there for them to suck on. GREAT INVENTION!!!
Check out the website...http://www.wubbanub.com/
Check out the website...http://www.wubbanub.com/
A Great Night
During the past week, Chad and I have been trying to get the girls to sleep longer than 3 hours at a time during the night. With me going back to work in 2 weeks, we were hoping to reduce the amount of times we get up in the middle of the night. It has been a hard thing to do, with them crying. I was reading a book about how to get your child to sleep through the night and the 2 things they strongly recommended were: swaddling and the "let them cry" theory. Letting them cry is the hardest part. Usually within 10-15 minutes they were back to sleep for at least an hour.
About 2 nights ago we started to swaddle them and let them cry it out. Well last night we saw what it can do. I fed the girls at 10pm and they were in bed by 1030pm. I woke up at 2am, got nervous because I did not hear them. So as a mother would do, I checked on them and they were breathing...sound asleep. At about 230am they woke to eat, this was 4 1/2 hours after they last fed (usually they'd want to eat after 3 hours). Then back to bed they went and it was 730am when I heard them again, that's 5 hours.
I was so happy this morning for them. I made sure to let them know what a good job they did. Sydney just stared at me as to say, yeah so. Kendall on the other hand gave me a few HUGE smiles. Though I didn't sleep much, because I was so use to getting up, I know with time I will adjust as well.
I just hope this was not a 1 time fluke...so knock on wood as they say. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this continues going forward. It would be great for my return to work!!!
About 2 nights ago we started to swaddle them and let them cry it out. Well last night we saw what it can do. I fed the girls at 10pm and they were in bed by 1030pm. I woke up at 2am, got nervous because I did not hear them. So as a mother would do, I checked on them and they were breathing...sound asleep. At about 230am they woke to eat, this was 4 1/2 hours after they last fed (usually they'd want to eat after 3 hours). Then back to bed they went and it was 730am when I heard them again, that's 5 hours.
I was so happy this morning for them. I made sure to let them know what a good job they did. Sydney just stared at me as to say, yeah so. Kendall on the other hand gave me a few HUGE smiles. Though I didn't sleep much, because I was so use to getting up, I know with time I will adjust as well.
I just hope this was not a 1 time fluke...so knock on wood as they say. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this continues going forward. It would be great for my return to work!!!
Valentines Day 2008
We took some photos of the girls in their Valentines Day outfit that Grandma Shelley bought for them. We got some photos where the one girl was smiling but the other was not. Then the next shot, the other girl would smile and her sister would not. In the end, I think they turned out pretty cute, even if only one smiled at a time. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!!!
Sydney's Smile
Kendall's Smile
Sydney's Smile
Kendall's Smile
2 Month Appointment
Can you believe it...the girls are 2 months old today! Where have these 2 months gone??? We had the girls 2 month appointment yesterday and they did great. The doctor was very happy with how they look and how they are growing. On the growth chart (they use a preemie chart for them, not the normal chart), they were in the 50th percentile. But here's the amazing part...they have grown so much!!! Kendall now weighs 8lbs, 7oz and is 20 1/2 inches long (she was 3lbs, 9oz at birth). Sydney is 8lbs even and 20 inches long (she was 4lbs, 3oz at birth). I was shocked on how big they were. I guess seeing them every day, you really don't notice the weight that they put on.
We've had some issues with Sydney from the beginning and addressed these with her doctor. She is currently on Prilosec for acid reflex and a special formula to help with her spitting up. But recently we've noticed that she was still very uncomfortable after eating. They did some x-rays on her yesterday to make sure there was no blockage in her digestive system, which there was not. What they found is that she has a high case of gas. So we now give her gas drops before each feeding to help...this seems to be helping so far.
The hardest part of the whole exam was their shots. Each girl received 4 shots and an oral vaccine as well. It brings tears to a parents eyes seeing their girls being pricked 4 times, right in a row. They did some screaming, but handled it like little troopers. When home later that night, Sydney pretty much slept, but Kendall whined a bit...needing to be held and cuddled by us.
It is still amazing to me that the girls are 2 months old already. Not only are they growing in size but I see other developments every day.
Make sure you check out the site later this week, as I'll try to post a few valentine pics of them in their valentine outfits that grandma bought them.
We've had some issues with Sydney from the beginning and addressed these with her doctor. She is currently on Prilosec for acid reflex and a special formula to help with her spitting up. But recently we've noticed that she was still very uncomfortable after eating. They did some x-rays on her yesterday to make sure there was no blockage in her digestive system, which there was not. What they found is that she has a high case of gas. So we now give her gas drops before each feeding to help...this seems to be helping so far.
The hardest part of the whole exam was their shots. Each girl received 4 shots and an oral vaccine as well. It brings tears to a parents eyes seeing their girls being pricked 4 times, right in a row. They did some screaming, but handled it like little troopers. When home later that night, Sydney pretty much slept, but Kendall whined a bit...needing to be held and cuddled by us.
It is still amazing to me that the girls are 2 months old already. Not only are they growing in size but I see other developments every day.
Make sure you check out the site later this week, as I'll try to post a few valentine pics of them in their valentine outfits that grandma bought them.
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