Snuggling

Our doggie Zippo woke us up from a sound sleep last night having what we think was a seizure. Very Scary! Anyhow, when we checked in on the girls they were sound asleep cuddled up together. We thought it was so sweet we had to take pictures. They really love snuggling with each other, and with us. The home care nurse came again today and weighed them. Holland is 8 lbs 7 oz and Eden is 8 lbs 9 oz. Just two ounces different, the same as when they were born.

Oh, and Zippo is fine and back to his normal self today. We don't know what happened... Hopefully it won't happen again.

Rock and Roll

Today was John's first day back to work at the office. Yikes! It wasn't too bad because Grandma came over to help. Between Nana and Grandma, I think we'll manage just fine. We already miss Daddy though:( Today is Auntie Lisa's (the one in LA) birthday, so we thought we'd put a special picture up just for her. Check out the rock and roll hairdos and duds. Happy Birthday Auntie Lisa! Maybe I shouldn't mention that this is the last year we won't have to lie about our age...
Love ya!

Sooooo Big!

As of today we've gone and joined the 8 pound club! The home health nurse, Kelly, came by today (she's been coming once a week). Holland weighed in at 8 pounds even, and Eden is 8 pounds 4.5 ounces. At one point the girls were over a pound apart. Now they are just 4.5 ounces apart. Holland is really catching up. She's been eating great and doesn't spit up as much as Eden. She'd be even fatter by now if she wasn't so ACTIVE! We have new nicknames now - Lazy and Crazy:) They suit them...

Next Friday we have an appointment with the pulmonologist at St. Joe's. We should find out more then about when the girls might be able to come off the oxygen and apnea monitors. At the last two appts their oxygen saturation dropped pretty quickly when they turned off the oxygen, so they clearly weren't ready. Dr. Hurwitz (the pulmonologist) said that babies are usually ready when they weigh 8 pounds, or are at 48 weeks gestation. We'll be past that point next week, so we are really keeping our fingers crossed. If all goes well at the appointment, we may have to stay a night at the hospital for a sleep study to make sure that they are able to maintain their O2 saturation while they sleep.

While we are at St. Joe's we will stop by for a visit at the NICU, to see our old friends, and to have blood drawn again. We are having regular blood draws to monitor the girls calcium and phosphorus levels. Both girls have Osteopenia of Prematurity, which is similar to Osteoporosis in adults. They have been taking Tribasic Calcium Phosphorus (TCP) supplements to treat the condition and to help build stronger bones. I hope that their bloodwork looks good this time because I would love to be able to discontinue all meds. It will be a happy day when we are off of oxygen, monitors, medication, and fortified breastmilk, and just back to basics.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

New Years Day...Holland and Eden were officially 5 months old yesterday! Today is 155 days, with an adjusted age of 6 weeks and 3 days. Can you believe it's been that long??? We had an appointment with the pediatrician on Thursday so the girls could get their Synagis® shot. This was their second shot to help prevent RSV. They will need a shot every month through the winter months. While we were at the appt we also got new weights. Holland is up to 7 pounds 8 ounces, and Eden is 7 pounds 15 ounces!!! Eden is just an ounce short of 8 pounds, and Holland is closing in on her quickly:) This is our FAVORITE pic of the girls! It gives you a little taste of our day to day dealings... But they're SO cute! (Usually we put Holly on the left, but in this pic Eden is on the left.)

We celebrated Christmas with Nana and Papa on Christmas Eve. The girls got dressed in their fancy dresses that Aunt Kimi bought. Nana made the traditional Christmas breakfast just for us a day early...YUM. The girls got quilt racks for their bedroom, as well as some Dr. Suess books, among other gifts. On Christmas day we had a few visitors. Uncle Nick and Aunt Sabrina came by with some really cute sweaters, hats, and booties. Grandpa, Aunt Lisa, and cousin Briana came by later in the evening with dinner (YUM) and more gifts all around. We really missed our usual holiday traditions, but it was nice spending Christmas at home with our new little family. We look forward to next year when we take the girls out to all the family parties!

New Years Eve was also a bit different this year. No more partying till the sun comes up for Mommy and Daddy! It seems like just yesterday we were ringing in the New Year up in Marquette with Aunt Jess and Uncle Dave. This year they have Aidan and we have Holland and Eden. What a difference a year can make... So, at the stroke of midnight Mommy got the first kiss, then we gave baby kisses all around. Holly was awake and gave us a couple of smiles. Edie slept through the whole thing...what a surprise...Not!

Just Hangin at Home

Hi everybody! Just wanted to share a really cute picture of Holland and Eden hanging out on the couch at home... They had a pediatrician appointment on Wednesday. Holland weighs 7#, and Eden weighs 7#10oz. They've done another switcheroo on us, and Holland has been eating like a champ! Eden has been having a little more trouble. She has started to get really crabby in the middle of eating and doesn't want to finish her bottles. Just normal baby tummy troubles, we suspect, and we've been troubleshooting trying to figure out how to help her. She went one full week last week without gaining any weight, but gained 6 ounces last week. We're hoping it's just a phase and it won't last long. Fortunately, she continues to be really mellow and happy between feedings. Holland has been eating more than Eden recently and has a good time while doing it. With her, we have more trouble with the sleeping thing... She sleeps great during the day, but has been awake and kinda crabby the past couple of nights. Oh, the joys of parenting twins!!!

Holland

Holland weighed 6 pounds 6.5 ounces at her last checkup. She stores all her fat in her chipmunk cheeks and big round belly, but still has skinny legs and a tiny bottom. She's a really spunky gal with a lot of energy. We have many nicknames for her, including squeakerbox and LJ (little John) because she is always making squeaky noises, and has eyes exactly like her daddy. Holland's bright eyes always appears really animated. She, like her sis, likes to cuddle with mom and dad and is really sweet. She tends to fuss a bit more, and it takes more trial and error to figure out what she wants. Both girls are pretty good-natured, but I must admit that I am NOT supermom and there are nights when I'm so tired and cranky that Holly and I both just sit and cry!

Eden

Eden weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces at her last doctors appointment. She is doing well and getting chubbier every day. She feels like a real chunk when you pick her up with many rolls on her thighs and neck. She is quite the cuddler and loves to sleep on mom or dad. She also really loves to eat and is very noisy when doing so. We like to say that she burbs like a boy! Eden tends to be the calmer of the girls, and she is generally easy to pacify. She has recently began gazing into mom and dad's eyes when they feed her and looks amused, like she might smile any minute. We can't wait! When Edie gets mad she doesn't really cry. Instead, she turns bright red, grunts, and hisses until someone picks her up. We always do, because she looks so sad and pitiful when she is upset:)

Homegrown

The girls have been home for 2 weeks now, and boy are they growing fast. We had a pediatrician appointment today and Holland weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces, and Eden 6 pounds 9.5 ounces. They have each gained over a pound since leaving the hospital! Our lives now are busy, busy, busy, and without much sleep. The babies are on a good schedule, but they never sleep for more than a three hour stretch. It was okay at first, but that kind of sleeping schedule really catches up with you. When they wake up at 4am, it takes over an hour for us to warm up bottles, feed and burb the babies, pump, and clean up, so I don't get back to sleep until around 5:15, only to wake up again around 7:45am. I guess that's the life of a mommy. But on top of all that normal baby/twin stuff, we are also dealing with 2-3 doctors appointments a week, medicine schedules, and all kinds of equipment and alarms.

It is more than worth it when I look into their sweet faces and remember how far they have come. I wouldn't trade it for anything!