My babies are 2 months old today. The time has really flown by. I don't have stats because their 2 month appt isn't until next Monday. I will have to update that later. They are doing awesome. We feel so blessed with how well they have done and continue to do.
At about a month they both got little colds and we were told again that Maci had a high chance of going back into the hospital but with lots of suctioning and the strong little thing she is she came out just fine. I think they knew that I couldn't handling spending any extra time out of our house knowing I had to go back to work soon. (see how I made that about me). It is funny how much I have forgotten since Cait was a baby. They already have their own distinct personalities. Their cries are totally different. Maci yells. It is like she has shout outs and they are loud and if she is mad then their just isn't any breaks between her yells. Sometimes she sounds like a cat. Her nickname is Maci cat. Beckett's cry is a little more whiny and sad sounding. Actually he sounds like a sheep. His dad gave him the name of Squawkbox because he squawked when he ate at the hospital. That is because he has some pretty good acid reflux. He is still on the medicine for that. Hopefully he will grow out of it soon.
They are starting to sleep well (not including last night) but they are starting to more consistently make it through the night. We feed them at 10pm and they have been making it to 7am or later. Yesterday they made it to 8:30. This also means they are starting to be awake more during the day. Most of the time when they are awake they want held but every once in a while they will look around and just sit in their seat for a little bit. This makes it sound like they cry all the time. They are actually really good babies. They are just trying to figure out what it means to be awake and not be eating. :)
I can't wait to find out how much they weigh. They are still in newborn clothes but have definitely graduated from the preemie clothes. And they are starting to get chubby. I know they aren't really chubby but they are on their way. They have fuller cheeks and little rolls on their legs. I love them. Maci also had a preemie look to her when she was born and she is losing that. Maybe it is because I am the mom but I don't think she looks preemie at all anymore.
Usually I am in such a hurry for them to get bigger and get to the next stage but I want them to stay little forever. I love how they are right now.
I will have to post pictures later.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Back to Work
My first day back to work was this Monday. I have really been dreading it. I knew that I would have to work a minimum of 2 weeks because I took short term disability and that is part of the benefits requirements. But I was really hoping that Christian would have something permanent at that point and then I would be able to stay home with my babies. Well, now that the time is coming that is not looking to be the case. He has been contracted for this company for November and December and they will have another meeting at the end of this month. They really like him and would hire him on the spot if they had the funding but as with most companies right now the funding is the iffy part. We are giving ourselves 10% chance of him having permanent work with them after this month. Not that great. It has been a great experience for him even if it doesn't work out for the long term. That is most of my stress is I have a feeling that me at work is going to be much much longer. I just really don't know how Christian is going to take care of 5 kids (2 newborns) and do all that goes with that and look for work. Hopefully the babies will be more on a day time schedule soon but right now one of them is usually crying.
Maybe it is because I know these are my last but I feel like I am going to miss everything. I already am. I come home and I get them during their fussy time. At least I get an excuse to sit and hold them. Today and tomorrow I am also missing my kids Christmas concerts so that sucks. Right now I can think of a million things I am missing out on. I know it will get better and if I do need to work for much longer, I am okay with that and willing to. But I could really handle the economy turning around right about now and some jobs opening up for Christian. I know that he would really appreciate that as well. :)
On a positive note, my work is awesome. I couldn't ask to work for a better company. They have been so supportive and flexible with me. The best part is I don't feel like they are giving me special treatment. They do this for all the employees. And it is a good week to come back. Monday was just figuring where I was at. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten some of my passwords. And then yesterday, work took us out to lunch. Today and tomorrow we are working on sub for santa. Our company took 4 families. How cool is that? Today we also have a birthday party. It is all helping to make the week go by faster.
Maybe it is because I know these are my last but I feel like I am going to miss everything. I already am. I come home and I get them during their fussy time. At least I get an excuse to sit and hold them. Today and tomorrow I am also missing my kids Christmas concerts so that sucks. Right now I can think of a million things I am missing out on. I know it will get better and if I do need to work for much longer, I am okay with that and willing to. But I could really handle the economy turning around right about now and some jobs opening up for Christian. I know that he would really appreciate that as well. :)
On a positive note, my work is awesome. I couldn't ask to work for a better company. They have been so supportive and flexible with me. The best part is I don't feel like they are giving me special treatment. They do this for all the employees. And it is a good week to come back. Monday was just figuring where I was at. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten some of my passwords. And then yesterday, work took us out to lunch. Today and tomorrow we are working on sub for santa. Our company took 4 families. How cool is that? Today we also have a birthday party. It is all helping to make the week go by faster.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
My Landonman
I am writing this so when i am frustrated with him I can come back and read this and remember how sweet and thoughtful he is.
Saturday I took him to Walmart to buy (with his own money) a present for Brenten and Caitlin for Christmas. He looked and looked at the same Star Wars lego sets. Finally I told him I really didn't want to be there all day and asked if he had decided on which one Brenten would like. He said the one that he would really like isn't here. So I asked him which one he was looking for and so he pulled a little picture out of his pocket that he had cut out after Brenten mentioned how much he liked it. I know I am super hormonal right now but seriously I almost cried at Walmart at the effort he was making to get the perfect gift.
We say Landon is our passionate one. He has the biggest smile, heart and snuggles but when he is upset he is very upset. I love with his big personality we can add how thoughtful he is as well.
Saturday I took him to Walmart to buy (with his own money) a present for Brenten and Caitlin for Christmas. He looked and looked at the same Star Wars lego sets. Finally I told him I really didn't want to be there all day and asked if he had decided on which one Brenten would like. He said the one that he would really like isn't here. So I asked him which one he was looking for and so he pulled a little picture out of his pocket that he had cut out after Brenten mentioned how much he liked it. I know I am super hormonal right now but seriously I almost cried at Walmart at the effort he was making to get the perfect gift.
We say Landon is our passionate one. He has the biggest smile, heart and snuggles but when he is upset he is very upset. I love with his big personality we can add how thoughtful he is as well.
Thanksgiving
This was our first year with just Christian, me and the kids. Usually we rotate families but we weren't quite ready to travel with the babies. I was nervous because I have never actually cooked a turkey and taking out the stuff in the inside really grosses me out. Luckily my work sent me vouchers for a turkey breast from Honey Baked Hams. Let me tell you that is the way to do it. All I had to do was warm it up in the crock pot. And it was delicious. Landon (my non eater) had to be cut off at one point. Even though we missed hanging out with family it was so nice and relaxing to have a few days off and just hang out.
Monday, October 31, 2011
WORK!!!
So a year from Christian getting laid off and the same day he received notice from unemployment that our benefit was running out at the end of the month, Christian found out that he got a job. He is working for Change Anything in Marketing. He is contracted with them for one month and they can make a decision from there. No matter what, we get paid in November. It is such a relief. I have really loved to have the help with the babies, especially at night but this is so worth it. Awe it is nice to have employment. We have been so blessed to have what we need when we need it. It has tried our patience but we knew that we have been taken care of. This is just one more prayer that has been answered.
catch up!!
It has been a little while. Sorry this may get long but I am trying to do some of this for me. At around 34 weeks I went in for an appointment and to get an ultrasound. It was then that we found out that our little ones were growth restricted. The little girl more than the boy. I was also dilated to a 3. The OB wanted them to be able to get as big as they could but with their restriction there is a fine line before they are better off out than in. The OB referred me to a Maternal fetal Medicine doctor at the hospital. I had already been going to the hospital for non stress tests weekly. Oh this is also when I was put on bed rest. I went to maternal medicine and they figured out that baby girl's growth had been restricted since about 28week and continued to slow until about 32 weeks where it appeared to have stopped. So this meant that I went into the hospital pretty much everyday. And my blood pressure was all over the place so each time I would go in for my 40 min visit I would end up staying there for half the day or more.
The friday I turned 35 weeks I went in and my blood pressure had shot up to 181/93. They ended up keeping me for about 8 hours. Every 1/2 hour the story would change. First they were going to take the babies immediately and then they were just monitoring me and back and forth until about 3pm when they finally let me eat and then they let me leave at about 5pm.
I went back into the OBs on the following Monday and he said it was the recommendation of the Maternal fetal Med. doc and he agreed that I needed to deliver the babies as soon as I turned 36 weeks.
So Friday the 14th of October, I went into the hospital, and they prepped me for surgery. My first was a c-section and then the next two were VBACs. The OB said I could try VBAC but that there would be a higher risks. I was honestly at peace with a c-section, which is strange since I was so against surgery if it wasn't necessary with Landon and Caitlin.
Just before 9am we went into the OR and they did the spinal and we were well on our way to having our babies here. We were hoping that the extra week and a half since the last ultrasound that they would be a little bigger but they were saying then that they would be about 3lb 8oz and just over 4lb. Luckily they were a little bigger than that.
Maci joined our family at 8:51am weighing 4lb 4oz and 16in long. She took in a little bit of fluid and sounded are gargly. But they suctioned her out and she was doing great.
Beckett came just a minute after at 8:52 weighing 4lb 9oz and 16.5in long. He didn't cry for a bit after and they had to work with them but within a couple minutes he was doing great as well. I was so nervous that they would need more intensive care and that would have to be whisked away. But they were able to stay in there and get cleaned up and I even got to see them before going to the nursery. Nursery, not NICU. Everyone was shocked by how well they were doing. I was informed it was good that they got them out because even though they were doing well, they were definitely growth restricted.
Right after surgery I was super itchy. I figured it was the morphine and percocets and everything else they pumped me full of during surgery. After the dr's stitched me up, the nurses looked at me and my face was turning purple and within a couple of minutes my whole torso was also purple. They pumped me full of more drugs for the allergic reaction. We still don't know what caused it. Also my blood pressure was going up and down. So they did blood work on me again. Because of my blood pressure over the last couple of weeks, I have been tested A LOT for pre eclamspia. It was negative again.
Friday afternoon the pediatrician came in and said he was shocked at how well they were doing but that by that night they would be in the NICU and that we had a 2% chance of bringing them home with us. We made it through the night with no NICU. Again the pediatrician came and said well, for sure tonight they will go to the NICU. And again they were wrong. Every day they were shocked. The babies were really doing well. Maci had to go into the warmer in the Nursery a couple of times but that is it. We stayed in the hospital for 4 days and then they discharged the babies. By then they, had even returned to their birth weight. This doesn't usually even happen with full term babies.
My blood pressure was still a mess. And by day 4, I tested positive for pre eclampsia. I would not wish that on anyone. I have never felt so horrible. I didn't sleep at all that night. I ended up staying another day. What were the chances that 4lb twin premies were discharged before their "healthy" mom. Luckily the pre eclampsia was getting better after 24hours and they were able to discharge me later that day. I am so glad that I was able to go home.
Since then......we have gotten almost no sleep. We have to wake the babies every 3 hours. But they are doing great. We have had a couple of dr appointments for the babies and still the dr.s are amazed with how well they are doing. We are saying they just don't know they are little. They eat like they are big. They act like they are big. They lift their heads against gravity. Beckett rolled to his side at the dr office and they are gaining weight. As of last week, just over a week old Maci was 4lb 10oz and Beckett was 4lb 13.5oz. They are ready to be big kids.
The kids are doing great with them. Cait calls them her babies. And aside from a couple of tantrums she has been doing awesome. Landon and Brenten are the biggest helpers, especially if they are watching one of their shows. They will both just sit and hold them any time I need.
The friday I turned 35 weeks I went in and my blood pressure had shot up to 181/93. They ended up keeping me for about 8 hours. Every 1/2 hour the story would change. First they were going to take the babies immediately and then they were just monitoring me and back and forth until about 3pm when they finally let me eat and then they let me leave at about 5pm.
I went back into the OBs on the following Monday and he said it was the recommendation of the Maternal fetal Med. doc and he agreed that I needed to deliver the babies as soon as I turned 36 weeks.
So Friday the 14th of October, I went into the hospital, and they prepped me for surgery. My first was a c-section and then the next two were VBACs. The OB said I could try VBAC but that there would be a higher risks. I was honestly at peace with a c-section, which is strange since I was so against surgery if it wasn't necessary with Landon and Caitlin.
Just before 9am we went into the OR and they did the spinal and we were well on our way to having our babies here. We were hoping that the extra week and a half since the last ultrasound that they would be a little bigger but they were saying then that they would be about 3lb 8oz and just over 4lb. Luckily they were a little bigger than that.
Maci joined our family at 8:51am weighing 4lb 4oz and 16in long. She took in a little bit of fluid and sounded are gargly. But they suctioned her out and she was doing great.
Beckett came just a minute after at 8:52 weighing 4lb 9oz and 16.5in long. He didn't cry for a bit after and they had to work with them but within a couple minutes he was doing great as well. I was so nervous that they would need more intensive care and that would have to be whisked away. But they were able to stay in there and get cleaned up and I even got to see them before going to the nursery. Nursery, not NICU. Everyone was shocked by how well they were doing. I was informed it was good that they got them out because even though they were doing well, they were definitely growth restricted.
Right after surgery I was super itchy. I figured it was the morphine and percocets and everything else they pumped me full of during surgery. After the dr's stitched me up, the nurses looked at me and my face was turning purple and within a couple of minutes my whole torso was also purple. They pumped me full of more drugs for the allergic reaction. We still don't know what caused it. Also my blood pressure was going up and down. So they did blood work on me again. Because of my blood pressure over the last couple of weeks, I have been tested A LOT for pre eclamspia. It was negative again.
Friday afternoon the pediatrician came in and said he was shocked at how well they were doing but that by that night they would be in the NICU and that we had a 2% chance of bringing them home with us. We made it through the night with no NICU. Again the pediatrician came and said well, for sure tonight they will go to the NICU. And again they were wrong. Every day they were shocked. The babies were really doing well. Maci had to go into the warmer in the Nursery a couple of times but that is it. We stayed in the hospital for 4 days and then they discharged the babies. By then they, had even returned to their birth weight. This doesn't usually even happen with full term babies.
My blood pressure was still a mess. And by day 4, I tested positive for pre eclampsia. I would not wish that on anyone. I have never felt so horrible. I didn't sleep at all that night. I ended up staying another day. What were the chances that 4lb twin premies were discharged before their "healthy" mom. Luckily the pre eclampsia was getting better after 24hours and they were able to discharge me later that day. I am so glad that I was able to go home.
Since then......we have gotten almost no sleep. We have to wake the babies every 3 hours. But they are doing great. We have had a couple of dr appointments for the babies and still the dr.s are amazed with how well they are doing. We are saying they just don't know they are little. They eat like they are big. They act like they are big. They lift their heads against gravity. Beckett rolled to his side at the dr office and they are gaining weight. As of last week, just over a week old Maci was 4lb 10oz and Beckett was 4lb 13.5oz. They are ready to be big kids.
The kids are doing great with them. Cait calls them her babies. And aside from a couple of tantrums she has been doing awesome. Landon and Brenten are the biggest helpers, especially if they are watching one of their shows. They will both just sit and hold them any time I need.
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