Merry Christmas Break....

or Winter Break if you want to be PC!

Sadly, time flies when you are having fun, and my 2 weeks off with the girls over the holidays are slowly drawing to a close. :(

Winter Break started off with a bang, as on Saturday night Matt and I had a date night where we went out to dinner with some friends and to a Christmas concert put on by our friend Bob Becherer and his friend Merry Keller (LOVE the spelling of her name by the way)! It was awesome to have a date night and I of course adored the Christmas music as well!

We had a fabulous First Christmas together as a family, and the girls were as always super cute! Everyone in our family has been super generous with the girls! We received tons of new toys to play with and a lot of clothes. SOme highlights include a super cool afghan in a circus theme that Grandma Pat has been working on FOREVER, complete with circus animals and a clown, muscial frogs, a cool stacking animals toy, a muscial table for when we are bigger, a farm mat, crawling balls, Laugh N Learn Puppies (that we adore, but when they start talking at 3 am they freak Mom out), and a talking story book. Of course there are tons more toys.

We've also had some firsts over the past week....

1). The girls have started Rice Cereal. Olivia does pretty well at it, but Sydney isn't quite sure what to do with it. I think it's stopping them up (as rice cereal has a tendency to do), SOOO tonight I ran to Target to get them some baby oatmeal to try tomorrow.

2). WHile both girls have been babbling for awhile now, Olivia has started screeching and it is HILARIOUS, I swear she does it just to hear the sound of her own voice. I can tell she's going to be a talker, which both Matt and I are, so it's going to be hard to figure out who she takes after with that!

3). Olivia has started rolling over from stomach to back on a pretty regular basis! Sydney will do it with some prompting, but not very frequently.

4). The newest addition to our home is a FABULOUS video camera that we've been using a ton since we received it for Christmas from my Dad and Stepmom...we love it and soon, our blog will be able to feature videos of the girls, which you all will love, I am sure!

5). We've had our assessments by the Missouri First Steps Program, and will be having our family meeting with them On January 6th at 4:15 to discuss their findings. I suspect that they will find (as they have already hinted at), that the girls are doing very well and will not need services. BOO.

6). WE've had a change in bottle schedule and have moved to 4 bottles a day and are pretty regularly sleeping through the night with very little crying (we had a slight digression when Mommy went back to work, so I suspect that next week will be rough). It also appears that we MAY be going through a growth spurt and are starting to eat more.

7). Olivia weighs 10lbs, 10.5 oz and Sydney weighs 10lbs, 9.5 oz! So that is awesome!

8). We've figured out that Sydney is about 3 weeks behind Olivia in development, so we're waiting patiently for her to catch up with her sister!

9). We spend a lot more time playing with the girls...we've busted out one of their extrasaucers, their new farm playmat, and several of their Christmas toys..they love them...its a lot of fun and I Really enjoy our 2 play times a day! :)

As Break draws towards a close, I have started panicing, getting ready for them to go to Georgine's house in a week and a half (our day care lady...2 houses away...who is awesome), I fear that they are going to become hysterical there and freak her out...as they can be very demanding, and I've also started to get the house back in order. I have to find places for all these baby toys, wash all their new clothes, do our laundry, and then of course put away all our fabulous Christmas decorations. NOrmally, I'd wait and do them the second weekend in January, but with the babies, I want to have things done and put away faster than I normally do so that I can spend time with them in the evenings and on the weekends while I am working!

We hope everyone is well...we miss all of our family and friends...as promised, since we've been BIG slackers, here are a TON of fabulous pictures from Christmas Break...so far! :)

Hanging under the Christmas Tree!

Christmas Eve.....

Sydney....

Olivia...

Christmas Morning.....

Olivia...

Sydney....

The cutest picture EVER!!!!!!!!!!!! (I know I've said this before, but seriously it is)...Christmas Day!

Rice Cereal....

Sydney...

Olivia...

Playtime....dress up...our fabulous coats from Aunt Gretchen and Uncle Jason!

Olivia....




Sydney....

Hope all is well and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Love,

M, J, S, & O! And Cassius and Sugar!

My week as Mr. Mom

So with Jeni going back to work last Thursday, Grandma Pat came and watched the girls for 2 days. Then, starting on Monday, I took a weeks worth of vacation to stay home with my girls.

Several people have asked me if I can handle being at home with the girls by myself... Granted my time with them alone hasn't been longer than a few hours at a time, but seriously, don't I come off as capable?

So Monday was a false start, as we were hit with winter weather. A quick-moving artic blast came through and gave us a nice little coating of freezing rain on everything prompting the local schools to call off classes, which meant Jeni got to stay home another day. No biggie. Seemed like a 3-day weekend for everyone...

Today, however, was the big day alone. I started my day at my usual time around 6:00 and got up and fed Olivia. On the current schedule, Jeni gets up around 5:00, does her motherly duties involving a pump, and then changes and feeds Sydney. Don't ask me why Sydney does everything first (feeds, bath time, etc) its just the schedule that that hospital started so we haven't changed it... Anyway...

So I got up around 6:00 and Jeni had just put Sydney in the swing to get her back to sleep. I warmed Olivia's food and sat down to feed her. Meanwhile, Jeni ran around the house getting everything ready to go to work. Olivia finished her bottle in about 30 minutes, which is a pretty decent pace compared to her usual. So, I was finished with her right about the time Jeni was walking out the door. Unfortunately, she didn't leave quite early enough as the weather was again bad and had provided a nice little dusting of snow everywhere... Just enough to screw up rush hour traffic... ended up taking her over an hour to get to work. Sorry, honey.

So after Jeni left, I got Sydney up and put her back in her swaddle and in her crib. Then did the same for Olivia. This has become their routine. Following their morning bottle, the girls go back to bed for a while. They nap at this time until their next feeding which usually occurs around 5 hours after their first bottle... We've tried doing it a little earlier than 5 hours, but the girls just aren't hungry...

So I set the timer on the microwave so that I wouldn't doze off and neglect my duties... Around 9:15 the timer went off and I got up to make bottles. I made enough bottles to last me through their 6:00pm feeds. The girls are finally up to taking nearly 4 ounces at every feeding. Some get a tiny bit more (their first and last bottles) and some less (their 10am one). Then I had to mix and give Sydney her reflux meds. These are given to the girls via syringes (without the needle) everyday before their 10:00 bottles.

Sydney wasn't too interested in eating, so we simply sat on the couch and watched some TV. Finaly she showed some interest and ended up taking her bottle in under 30 minutes... Fast for her!

Next I gave Olivia her meds and then started her feed. Olivia took her bottle quickly as well and took it all in under 30 minutes with no complaints.

The girls relaxed in their bouncers while I washed bottles. I had bottles from the previous evening to clean as well as breast milk bottles that needed to be washed.

After that it was lunch time for me... and finally some time to relax and do something fun. So, I put in a PS2 football game and continued my season of domination against the computer intelligence... I didn't get through an entire game, though, before it was time to warm Sydney's food for the next feeding.

Again, to my surprise, Sydney took all of her bottle in less than 25 minutes! And, even stranger, Olivia did as well! I'm a rock star!

The girls then went down for a nap in their cribs. I finished my game and Jeni arrived home from work. We conversed and she did more mom-chores while I washed more bottle and made more bottles for the girls for later in the evening and for tomorrow morning.

At around 6:30, the speech therapist from First Steps arrived to do an assessment on the girls' eating habits. This is a service provided since the girls were born so early to make sure they are progressing correctly and on-time. Before the therapist arrive, I was concerned that the girls had eaten so well for me... They have many issues when it comes to eating and I figured with how well they had done for me throughout the day, it was going to be like the situation where you take your car to the mechanic for that weird noise it's making... only it won't make it when the mechanic drives it...

However, lucky us, our girls performed on que and pitched quite a fit when Jeni and I tried to give them their 6:00 bottles. They squirmed, cried, and pretty much did exactly what frustrates us most about their eating. The therapist took lots of notes and made a few recommendations. However, she did commend us that we are doing just about every trick in our power to get the girls to eat...

The rest of the evening was uneventful as we watched 'The Biggest Loser' Finale before bath time and the girls final bottle. Again they reverted back to their difficult-eating-selves for this bottle...

Well, it was a long day, but I never realized how quickly the day goes by at home... 10:00am until 2:30 flew by like the wind... Too bad it never does that at work!

Maybe I'll get some time tomorrow to post some pictures... HA! Who am I kidding... Like I'll have that kind of time...

Anyway, take care, all.

M

First Day Back....:(

So today is my first day back and work...it's going. I got up at 4:45 am this morning to make sure that I could do my Mommy duty and feed Sydney BEFORE I got ready to leave the house around 6:55 so that I could be here at work by 7:45. Well, I left late and made it here BARELY on time. As per normal, I hit the ground running, so I have barely anytime to think about missing the girls. Today they are with Grandma Pat while Mommy and Daddy are at work. :( Sadly Mommy is going to not be home as early as she wanted to today because her tooth is messed up and she needs to go to the dentist. :( Sucks to be me. Not to much has been going on at home...just hanging and eating and sleeping and taking pictures. We have a whole flurry of new cute Christmas outfits from GrandDude and Grandma Carol and Uncle Ben, so we've been taking TONS of pictures, which is fun!

Well, that's all for now...here are some new pics of the girls that I brought with me to school today...I must go as my pumping time is over and I have to get back to work, I'm sure there are about 1000 things that I need to do right now.

Update...today went well...the girls sent me FLOWERS at work today...so sweet of them (and Matt)....I have a cracked tooth that sadly because I have NO sick days left I cannot get fixed until next Saturday, fun times. GUess I'll be losing weight over the next week....fun times. All I have to say is It's GOOD to be home...miss them!

Hope all is Well,

J

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been so long since we've last posted and so much has happened! Let's see, Mommy and Daddy AND babies (well, Olivia) were sick...Daddy with a cold, Mommy with a stomach virus (I've been lucky enough to have this TWICE and thankfully neither of the girls caught it...must be all that breastmilk and immunities they have been getting). Olivia also, quite unfortunately had the CROUP. NOT FUN let me tell you. However, I was VERY happy when we went to the pediatrician and it wasn't in her lungs, thank god. It just shows that sick kids, and especially our kids with their fragile lungs are going to be QUITE a challenge to us not only this winter, but in the future I am sure. I am worried about the amount of days I'll have to miss when I go back to work this winter/spring if/when the girls are sick. Fun times. I know Daddy can miss some time, so hopefully that will help as I have NO sick days left and they will cost us BIG time. Fun. WE also had our 4 month shots, which were not nearly as traumatic as our RSV shots, which we have again on December 4th (for Nana's birthday). I go back to work in less that 2 weeks and as much as I THOUGHT I wanted to go back and was ready, I am so not. We're finally in a groove and things are going MUCH better...darn it, I need more time. Oh well, it's only for 7 days and then we have winter break. :)

We work every day on our tummy time goals and playtime for the girls. NExt week they are going to be evaluated by the Missouri First Steps Program to make sure that they are on track for their adjusted developmental age...this is standared for babies born as early as our girls were. IF they qualify they will have a baby IEP (Individualized Education Plan) written for them with goals on things we and they (any therapists they get) will work with the girls on. Both girls now babble and are IN LOVE with their mobiles...it's so fun to play with them as they react to everything you do and say and laugh and giggle at you...they are also very easily distracted when they hear our voices (Mommy and Daddy's that is).

We pass our time while the girls are sleeping either sleeping, doing work around the house, OR playing our new PS2 game Sing Star...the girls LOVE LOVE LOVE to be sung to, so this has an added benefit. THey especially love the CHristmas Music we've been singing to them...Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is their FAVORITE, so far that is. :)

We had a pretty fabulous Thanksgiving and hope you all did too!

HEre are pictures from the many photoshoots we've had over the past couple weeks....

Family Pictures for our Christmas Cards this year...here are a few....

The girls in one of their many Christmas outfits/pjs that Mommy bought them. :)

Sydney....

Olivia....

Playtime while Daddy's at work....

Playtime WITH Daddy while Mommy cooks dinner....

On our way to our 4 month appointment!

Olivia...

Sydney....

The Infamous Mobile...

Hope all is well!

Love,
J & M

4 Months and Growing...

So November 10 marked the girls' 4 month birthday, although since they are so early, everything they do is gauged by their adjusted age, which actually makes them just under 2 months old. Funny enough, we didn't even mention to each other that it was their 4 month birthday...

In baby news, things are improving on the eating front... slightly. Olivia had been extremely congested and we finally took her in to our peditrician to get checked out. Our doctor listened to her breathe and checked her out and decided it wasn't anything to be that concerned about. Since the wheezing was all in her nose and sinuses, it wasn't serious. She said that she believes its a version of "the croup". Although she hadn't been coughing like is usually associated with "the croup" she said the congestion in the nasal cavity was another symptom. Our pediatrician gave us some instructions and we've been following them on how to make this better.

Some of the instructions included using a cool mist humidifyer in their room, which we had been doing. Additionally, I started doing some breathing treatments with her using the vaporizor Jeni bought. Basically it was Olivia in her Baby Bjorn facing outward on my chest, facing their dresser which has the vaporizor on it (without the medicated inhalant) with a towel over our heads... Needless to say, my sinuses are quite moist and healthy. And it seems to have worked well for her. Despite her crying throughout the treatment, she is breathing much better and definitely not wheezing anymore.

Sleep-wize, we are very lucky. Following the girls' 10 & 11pm bottles, we are usually able to put them in their cribs and they will sleep from 5 to 6 hours without waking up. Our pediatrician said not to bother waking them up to eat if they aren't waking on their own. So, it is nice to get a solid 5 or 6 hours of sleep each night, with Jeni and I actually in the same bed at the same time... You might recall that for the first 3 weeks we did shifts instead and hadn't actually slept in the same room... Ugh.

On Veteran's Day, Cousin Megan came over and helped Jeni with the girls, which we thoroughly appreciated. Megan has a bit of baby fever and really enjoyed just sitting and holding the girls while Jeni caught up on some house work. Grandma Pat, Nana Sharon, & Papa Rick have all come by this week and added some helping hands as well.

The girls continue to progress despite these setbacks of getting sick, etc. They are growing right on schedule according to our doctor. We weigh them on occassion just to check and see where they are. Sydney has nearly caught up with Olivia in both her length and weight, although Olivia does still outweigh her... We guess the main weight difference is due to the size of Olivia's head. :) We tease her about it often.

Seems the hardest part is just taking time to soak all of this in. I remind Jeni frequently that even though its frustrating at times and frantic, we need to appreciate all of the things the girls do now and how they look... they will change so fast so we have to enjoy each little thing. And it is the smallest things that are the cutest ever. Jeni remarked to me the other day that her favorite moment of the day was waking up Olivia in the morning. Seems when Olivia gets awakened, she stretches her little arms up over her head in the cutest way ever. Jeni calls this "Baby Power!!" and says it when it happens... Funny. The best part of my day on the other hand is when I walk through the door after coming home from work and get to kiss my girls after being gone all day.

So, of course, as we try to "soak in" every day that includes taking lots of pictures...

And with that, here we go!

Sydney at Bathtime

Olivia at Bathtime

Olivia hangin' in her crib.

Sydney doing the same...

The girls hanging out together...

Watching their mobile is their new favorite hobby...

So, Olivia (on left) isn't so happy. Is it just me, or does Sydney appear to be laughing AT her?

Olivia (bottom) appears quite concerned...

Cutest. Cheeks. EVER.

A-Freakin'-Dorable!

Take care!

M