A Not So Good Week

This past weekend through today has been not so much fun. The girls started getting a terrible cold on Saturday and ended up getting up everyone 2 hours in the night. It's so hard to see your little babies having problems breathing and their little noses continously running. We ended up staying home from work and daycare both Monday and Tuesday. Not only were the girls sick with a bad cold, but so was mommy. Our house was not a good place to be. Daddy ended up taking care of all three of his girls. Even though it's hard to see your little ones suffer as they don't feel well, it's probably good for them...helps build their imune system. I will tell you, even though I was constantly wiping them noses, they'd still give me smiles...which seems to make it all better!

Just A Photo Of The Girls

My co-worker bought the girls these tees...thought the girls looked so cute in them and in their jeans.

Kendall's First Boo Boo

Last week my mom picked up the girls from daycare for us. When she got there, Erin said..."well we got a little boo boo today." Kendall got a little scratch right above her left eye. I guess Erin was getting the kids ready to go outside and her son, Trey, was holding the suntan lotion. Trey accidentally dropped the bottle and it landed on Kendall. I guess there were some tears, as expected, but not that bad. Erin felt so bad, but like both my mom and I said...it's bound to happen!!! No worries!!!

Giggles

A couple weeks ago, Chad and I both think we heard Kendall giggle. Since then, we have not heard anything. On Saturday, Chad's mom watched the girls for us so we could attend a wedding and she said she had Kendall giggling all day. The following day I was home with girls. We were all hanging out on the floor, talking and smiling. I started tickling both girls when I heard each one of them giggle. It was the most amazing sound ever, I cannot even explain it. I kept on tickling them and they'd giggle. Eventually they started to fuss when I tickled them, I guess enough was enough. I will never forget that sound from either one of them!

Kendall Checking Our Her Hand

Last week I told you about Kendall finding her hand. We got her in the act of checking out her hand...

Let's Go For A Walk

We've taken the girls out once for a walk, but didn't have the camera. So on this particular day we decided we better get a pic. Kendall was fussy, so it's hard to see her. Sydney sat there like a champ...maybe it's because she couldn't move!!!

Daycare

Grandma Shelley helps us out once a week by picking up the girls from daycare. Gives her some time to spend with the girls, and it gives mommy and daddy a day to work late or get some errands done. When Grandma Shelley picked the girls up, she got a picture of them with their provider, Erin.

What Happend To My Formula???

Dr. Westlund informed Chad and I that we can now try to feed the girls cereal. So, me being super excited about this, decided to give it a try. What a mess…but a good mess. For those of you who don’t know, you mix the dry cereal with water, breast milk or formula. And the first time you mix it, it should be fairly soupy. Anyhoo, I’m all pumped to try this out with the girls. I have them in their highchairs with bibs on. Chad has the video camera ready to go. I first put it to Kendall’s lips and she gives me a frown. Then it was Sydney’s turn…she just looked at me as to say “what the heck.” I think most of it ended up on the girls, than in their mouths. I’d have to say it wasn’t a success. Not to worry though, we’ll keep on trying.

My friend recommends that we don’t make it as soupy. She said both of her kids took it better when it was more like the consistency of Cream of Wheat. She also recommended mixing it with some baby foods, like carrots. It gives it some more taste. I think we’ll take a few weeks off, then try again. It is still a bit on the early side.

Here’s a pic of them girls after trying out the cereal.

Week of April 7th...Update

4 Months Old

Can you believe it, the girls are 4 months old?!?!? YIKES, where has the time gone??? They seem to amaze me each and every day. They started off in this world so early and so tiny. You look at them now and would never know they were preemies. They sure do make a mommy proud!

Kendall

Sydney

Here’s an update for the week…

The Change In Daycare
On Monday, 4/7, the girls started with their new daycare provider, Erin. They have already spent some time with Erin while they were at Amy’s last week, so she wasn’t a complete stranger. I did call Erin once during the day to see how their first day with her was going…and she laughed saying, hardly a peep. When I got there to pick them up, they seemed happy and content!

Last RSV Shot
The girls received their last RSV shot on Tuesday, 4/8. When getting the shot the nurse also weighs them…helps her determine how much to give them. Kendall weighed in at 12 lbs, 7oz and Sydney weighed in at 11 lbs, 7oz…so 1 lb difference. Chad was home with them to get the shot and said they definitely got their tear ducts in now. I guess the tears were flowing, but they didn’t last long.

The nurse did indicate to Chad that the doctor may have us do the shots again next year. She said most times if the babies are under a year, they may require the shots to be administered again. So we’ll wait to hear what the doctor says.

4 Month Check-up
The girls had their 4 month check up on Friday, 4/11. Grandma Shelley went with me as daddy had a hearing…and I knew they would be getting shots, so a little extra help to console them was needed.

Dr. Westlund said they both looked great and were both in the 25% for their age (this is on the normal scale, not the preemie scale). She asked a series of questions…do they smile, do they hold their hands, etc…they were all a yes, except, do they roll to their side. But she said this will come, not to worry.

I also had her take a look at both girls’ heads. Kendall tends to always look to her right and has a flat spot there. Sydney has a flat spot on the center of her head. Dr. Westlund did give us a referral to a specialist to take a look at it. She did say that it’s very normal in babies now, especially preemies. The girls were born 7 weeks early, which would have been time for their heads to develop more in the womb. This makes their heads a bit softer than the normal baby and it needs to develop more than the normal baby. I hope to have that appointment soon to find out if we need to do anything. I have a gut feeling that we may have 2 girls in helmets to help round their heads. My nephew Kyle had to wear one of these. It actually wasn’t all that bad. I think it’s worse on the parents than it is on the kids. But I can’t get too excited yet, we need to talk to the doc first.

Oh, and we were informed that we can try to feed the girls cereal. How exciting, something other than formula!!! Here is a picture of the girls with Dr. Westlund.

What are these things?!?!?!
Both girls have been using her hands a lot lately. They will hold her hands, swat at things and sucks on their hands quite a bit. On Sunday, Chad had Kendall lying on the couch next to him. She was moving her arms and hands around, when all of a sudden she stopped. Her arm was straight up in the air with her hand in a fist. She was just staring at her hand. She’d move it slightly to the left and right, just staring at it. She did this for about 2 minutes, most likely thinking…what the heck are these things? Chad and I just watched her in amazement, as she just discovered something new. Then Chad looked at her and said…”Did you find something new”…and Kendall gave him a HUGE smile.

Update

With the girls now in daycare and me working fulltime, it's hard to update our blog as often. This blog is a bit long, but it should get you all up to date on our family.

Grandma Karen
The week of March 24th was the last week the girls were at home, before starting daycare. Grandma Karen helped us out this week by taking care of the girls on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Sounds like all three had a GREAT time. On Wednesday, grandma’s aunt Pam came over to see the girls. They had the girls looking at each other, and I guess the smiles were non-stop between the little ones…I guess they do like one another!!! In the end grandma said they were easy girls to take care of, very content. I know the girls loved all the love they got from grandma as well…from what I hear there was a lot of cuddling, which was good for all! Thanks Grandma.

The First Dobbelaere Meeting
Kyle Vowel’s party, 3/29/08, was the girls’ first Dobbelaere family gathering they have been to since they were born. In order to keep the girls healthy, their doctors asked us to keep them away from sick people and kids. Up to this date they had not met any of their cousins. It was a great day and the girls did just fine. Kendall was a bit fussy, but that was to be expected…there were a lot of people there. Sydney was her typical self, checking out everyone and everything.

Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Dobbelaere




The girls got to meet their Great Grandparents on Chad’s side today, 3/30/08. I attached some pictures, which I just love. It’s always fun to see all the layers of these generations together.


And Daycare Starts
March 31st was the first day of daycare for the girls. I wasn’t really all that nerves or scarred. I’ve been working for 3 weeks by now and knew I could handle being away from them during the day. We have also formed a relationship with their caregiver and trusted her. With all of this, my mind was at ease. Chad and I decided to do the first day together, pick up and drop off, which also helped both of us out. The drop off went really good, no worries. And you would be very proud of me…I only called her once to check in. When we got there to pick them up, they looked good, happy and content. Amy, the daycare provider, said they were easy and content. No problems, which made me a very proud parent. They must have had a good time, as they were so exhausted that evening. Chad and I had a heck of a time keeping them awake. But the best part, they slept all night, we actually had to wake them up!

The girls will have a change next week as they move to Erin’s house, since Amy will no longer be doing daycare. I’m not too worried about this change. I’ve met Erin and see her since the girls have been in daycare. I believe they will be just has loved and cared for as they were at Amy’s.

Hey Are You My Sister???
I wish we would have gotten this on video camera, but of course the camera’s battery was dead. I had Sydney sitting in the boppy on the floor and I was holding Kendall. I had them facing each other, when all of a sudden Kendall started cooing at Sydney. First of all, Kendall just recently started cooing in the last week. Sydney has been cooing for some time now. Kendall kept cooing at Sydney, and then Sydney would coo back. They were actually having a conversation, going back and forth. Chad and I were in awe. It was the neatest thing ever!!! They really have not acknowledged one another too much, so this was amazing. It just makes me think of all the conversations the two will have as sisters. Who knows, maybe there were telling each other what was on their minds…like how totally cool their parents were!!!

The Week Comes To A Close...
It is Sunday, we are about to start a new week. The girls had a great week and seem to be adjusting to daycare well. Last night was a new goal for them as they slept 9 1/2 hours. We heard Kendall in there a couple times throughout the night...making a noise, but not a full cry. Each time she fell back to sleep. They went down just before 10pm and woke at 730am. What a nice treat for mom and dad to get some rest!

This week the girls have their last RSV shot and their 4 month checkup. Can you believe it, they are already 4 months old?!?!?!