Thursday was vaccination day for the whole family. Mom & Dad got their flu shots and the girls got 4 shots each - Synagis (to prevent viral respiratory tract -RSV - infections), flu shot, and 2 of their 6 month vaccines. This is the first time the girls were really upset by their shots, but they handled them just fine afterward and only needed a little tylenol. Otherwise, it was an uneventful doctor visit. The girls are gaining weight appropriately and Evie has almost reached the 5th percentile line on the growth chart for her adjusted age. I updated their weights on the top of the page also.
On Tuesday this week, we went to have the girls' photographs done. We did family pictures and a few of the girls in a basket, but Maggie wouldn't smile at all. So, we rescheduled for the Monday before Thanksgiving. Hopefully we can practice getting the girls to lay on their tummies and lift their heads up. But Evie is not very fond of tummy time.
Evie and I played dress up today. I'll have to download the pictures after I recharge the batteries. Then she got a bath - with minimal crying this time! Maggie was a sleepy-head today - she did get her Saturday bath, but maybe we'll play dress up tomorrow.
Evie & Maggie Oct 2009
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
6 months old!
It is amazing to realize that we have been at this for 6 months already - wow about the amount of time that I was pregnant! So, as we zip into November, I realized that there are so many things I should be documenting and sharing. I know, every parent thinks each little step is so amazing, although every child goes through it. But, for the sake of the girls' Aunts and Uncles who don't get to see them but once a quarter or less, I'll share!
First off, I am writing this at 5:30 am, after feeding the girls for the first time this morning. However, it is essentially 6:30 am because we came off of daylight savings time. So, the girls slept from 10pm to 5:30am, 7 1/2 hours! And I woke up before they did and decided I would feed one before the other one was crying. I guess I will handle Evie being awake all day if she sleeps all night!
Last Saturday, Oct. 24, Maggie took a bath without crying!
Evie is trying to grow out off all of her clothes. She is still in 3 month clothes, but some fit better than others. Little Maggie is right between the newborn and 3 month clothes and so they are either too tight or too big. We did have really cute Halloween costumes, thanks to Uncle Andy. They were a bit too big - mostly the head, but I put them in them anyhow. I can't really say we celebrated Halloween, because we sat at home and only had 2 trick-or-treaters. Of coure, those were our friends who brought their little princess, Rhianna, and dragon, Owen over - so cute! But, looking at our neighborhood, it is totally understandable no one trick-or-treats - we are too spread out for efficiency. So, we pretty much just dressed the girls up for pictures - the outfits are too warm to wear in the house for long. But my Evie Bear and Maggie Bug are very cute! I think I will continue to put them in those sleepers as long as they fit them even though Halloween has passed :)
The girls have distinctive cries these days. Evie is usually the crabby one who wants attention, and does the normal cry. She even gets the tears going if you try to lay her down. As I mentioned earlier, she is awake most of the day and will only take cat naps while being held. She fell asleep on my legs yesterday. And I typically come home at 4:40pm to her asleep on the nanny. And when Evie is crabby, she prefers to be carried around like a sack of potatoes - and thus Joe has nicknamed her "Spud".
Maggie, on the other hand, is a little bit more calm and will hang out in the swing (typically falling asleep) or on the floor/playmat and just hang out. However, when she cries it is the saddest thing ever, and sometimes she just wails when the situation is not that bad. But oh it just breaks your heart. She must just get her tongue curved just right to make it sound like that.
But overall, the girls are doing great. They both like to 'stand' on my lap and push up with their legs. Preemies apparently have high muscle tone in their legs, which is why these girls can do that. Yet, they are not pushing thier heads up when laying on the floor. We need to practice on this, but neither are very interested in practicing. Tummy time is not Evie's favorite thing these days - she fusses until she gets put on her back. They are also still keeping their heads turned to the left or right instead of just laying with their faces facing up. Maggie looks up a little bit more - and is interested in the mobile and other toys a little more than Evie.
Oh, and I guess I haven't written that we did hire a nanny 5 weeks ago. Her name is Megan and she grew up in the area and recently graduated from high school. She has had more experience with toddlers than babies - but is very attentive to the girls and things are working out well. She works 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, so I work from 7:30 am to 4:30pm and Joe works 8:30 am to 6pm or so.
(I started this post a week ago and finally finished it at 5 am on Saturday morning - what does that tell you??)
First off, I am writing this at 5:30 am, after feeding the girls for the first time this morning. However, it is essentially 6:30 am because we came off of daylight savings time. So, the girls slept from 10pm to 5:30am, 7 1/2 hours! And I woke up before they did and decided I would feed one before the other one was crying. I guess I will handle Evie being awake all day if she sleeps all night!
Last Saturday, Oct. 24, Maggie took a bath without crying!
Evie is trying to grow out off all of her clothes. She is still in 3 month clothes, but some fit better than others. Little Maggie is right between the newborn and 3 month clothes and so they are either too tight or too big. We did have really cute Halloween costumes, thanks to Uncle Andy. They were a bit too big - mostly the head, but I put them in them anyhow. I can't really say we celebrated Halloween, because we sat at home and only had 2 trick-or-treaters. Of coure, those were our friends who brought their little princess, Rhianna, and dragon, Owen over - so cute! But, looking at our neighborhood, it is totally understandable no one trick-or-treats - we are too spread out for efficiency. So, we pretty much just dressed the girls up for pictures - the outfits are too warm to wear in the house for long. But my Evie Bear and Maggie Bug are very cute! I think I will continue to put them in those sleepers as long as they fit them even though Halloween has passed :)
The girls have distinctive cries these days. Evie is usually the crabby one who wants attention, and does the normal cry. She even gets the tears going if you try to lay her down. As I mentioned earlier, she is awake most of the day and will only take cat naps while being held. She fell asleep on my legs yesterday. And I typically come home at 4:40pm to her asleep on the nanny. And when Evie is crabby, she prefers to be carried around like a sack of potatoes - and thus Joe has nicknamed her "Spud".
Maggie, on the other hand, is a little bit more calm and will hang out in the swing (typically falling asleep) or on the floor/playmat and just hang out. However, when she cries it is the saddest thing ever, and sometimes she just wails when the situation is not that bad. But oh it just breaks your heart. She must just get her tongue curved just right to make it sound like that.
But overall, the girls are doing great. They both like to 'stand' on my lap and push up with their legs. Preemies apparently have high muscle tone in their legs, which is why these girls can do that. Yet, they are not pushing thier heads up when laying on the floor. We need to practice on this, but neither are very interested in practicing. Tummy time is not Evie's favorite thing these days - she fusses until she gets put on her back. They are also still keeping their heads turned to the left or right instead of just laying with their faces facing up. Maggie looks up a little bit more - and is interested in the mobile and other toys a little more than Evie.
Oh, and I guess I haven't written that we did hire a nanny 5 weeks ago. Her name is Megan and she grew up in the area and recently graduated from high school. She has had more experience with toddlers than babies - but is very attentive to the girls and things are working out well. She works 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, so I work from 7:30 am to 4:30pm and Joe works 8:30 am to 6pm or so.
(I started this post a week ago and finally finished it at 5 am on Saturday morning - what does that tell you??)
Friday, October 17, 2008
It's about time, mom!
Gee, I haven't had much of a chance to post anything online, nor have I been very good at taking pictures the last two weeks. The girls are becoming so much more active. They began smiling responsively around September 28. Then last week they made fun sounds and giggled. Both girls started sucking their thumbs - or more typically their entire fists on October 14. Maggie is better at getting hers in her mouth than Evie. I took a video of Maggie doing it the first night. It is quite short.
Then, the girls were playing on the floor on Oct. 16 and I took the following clips of them being happy. They are their video notes for the Aunties Brandy and Christie.
Then, the girls were playing on the floor on Oct. 16 and I took the following clips of them being happy. They are their video notes for the Aunties Brandy and Christie.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
5 month old milestones
Last night was a great night, and what better time then on their 5 month birthday?! Evie has been weening off of her oxygen and slept all night last night without it! She has been off of it since 10am yesterday morning and is doing great. It is wonderful as it makes her so much easier to tote around the house.
Then, the next milestone was that the girls slept 6 hours in a row last night. It may have to do with being out until 9pm with the Foundation staff at the CFO's house. But hey, we'll take it. Oh, and when the girls did wake up at 5am, they tandem nursed and Evie went straight to sleep. Maggie wanted some supplement, but then happily dozed off until 8:30 am as well. What a wonderful way to start the day!
Here are the girls' 5 month pictures!
Then, the next milestone was that the girls slept 6 hours in a row last night. It may have to do with being out until 9pm with the Foundation staff at the CFO's house. But hey, we'll take it. Oh, and when the girls did wake up at 5am, they tandem nursed and Evie went straight to sleep. Maggie wanted some supplement, but then happily dozed off until 8:30 am as well. What a wonderful way to start the day!
Here are the girls' 5 month pictures!
Evie
Maggie
Friday, September 26, 2008
Hungry baby
This is probably the most timeliest post I have done in a while, but it is just so funny!
The story goes, I came home from lunch and Joe had fed the girls 1.5 to 2 hours before, but they were squirmy. So, I gave Maggie a snack and put her back to bed while I finished eating. Joe went upstairs to check on the girls and exclaims "Evie is latched onto Maggie's head!". I of course, wanted a picture, but that wouldn't have done it justice. Enjoy!
The story goes, I came home from lunch and Joe had fed the girls 1.5 to 2 hours before, but they were squirmy. So, I gave Maggie a snack and put her back to bed while I finished eating. Joe went upstairs to check on the girls and exclaims "Evie is latched onto Maggie's head!". I of course, wanted a picture, but that wouldn't have done it justice. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Across the state Doctor visits
We have visited 3 doctors in 3 cities in Montana in the last 7 days - but they all had good results!
On September 16 we drove to Butte to visit the eye doctor for a follow up check. The eye exam was much easier than usual as the Dr. was able to just look into their eyes instead of prying them open. The results were that both girls' eyes are nice and clear! They are both still far sighted as normal newborns should be, so that is good too. We get 4 months before the next exam (which puts us driving over the pass to Butte in the middle of January.
Then Wednesday the girls had a weigh in at their pediatrician's office in Bozeman. They both gained, but Evie is extending the gap between them. Don't worry, we have an excuse for Maggie in the next paragraph. Evie is up to 9lbs and Maggie at 7.5 lbs. Go girls!
Finally, On Monday September 22, we visited the pediatric cardiologist in Billings. It should be recorded that we were 22 minutes early for the appointment - and if you know me - that is amazing. I forgot that it was Billings and apparently no one arrives that early at the hospital as there was no traffic and the parking lot was empty. I understood Oma's concern about parking when we left at 10am as there wasn't a spot left in the parking lot. Oh, but back to the appointment. We flew threw the first 20 minutes - Maggie even had an EKG with lots of little stickers that looked like puzzle pieces. I'm not sure what that showed, as Joe doesn't have experience reading those (not something we learned in the NICU) and it must have been pretty normal. When the doctor finally arrived in the office around 9:15 am (one of the reasons I don't arrive early to appointments), he did her exam and said it was pretty boring/normal. He didn't hear a murmur either. Then he did her echo cardiogram and verified that her ductus (patent ductus arteriosis) had closed, but she still has a moderate to large sized ASD (atrial septal defect). And when he measured the ASD, it was 0.8 cm - which seems large to me even. Luckily, it isn't really causing her any problems except she is working a bit harder and thus burning more calories and not gaining weight quite as fast. She will eventually have it closed, but hopefully we can hold out until she is big enough to do the surgery via catheter instead of open heart. The Doctor said sometime between the ages of 4-6, but he said the catheter was an option after she was at least 5 kg. Things that would cause us to close it early would be if she has problems with lower respiratory infections (pneumonia) or is not regularly gaining weight. So, the story is get her to grow and we'll take care of it when we need to.
On September 16 we drove to Butte to visit the eye doctor for a follow up check. The eye exam was much easier than usual as the Dr. was able to just look into their eyes instead of prying them open. The results were that both girls' eyes are nice and clear! They are both still far sighted as normal newborns should be, so that is good too. We get 4 months before the next exam (which puts us driving over the pass to Butte in the middle of January.
Then Wednesday the girls had a weigh in at their pediatrician's office in Bozeman. They both gained, but Evie is extending the gap between them. Don't worry, we have an excuse for Maggie in the next paragraph. Evie is up to 9lbs and Maggie at 7.5 lbs. Go girls!
Finally, On Monday September 22, we visited the pediatric cardiologist in Billings. It should be recorded that we were 22 minutes early for the appointment - and if you know me - that is amazing. I forgot that it was Billings and apparently no one arrives that early at the hospital as there was no traffic and the parking lot was empty. I understood Oma's concern about parking when we left at 10am as there wasn't a spot left in the parking lot. Oh, but back to the appointment. We flew threw the first 20 minutes - Maggie even had an EKG with lots of little stickers that looked like puzzle pieces. I'm not sure what that showed, as Joe doesn't have experience reading those (not something we learned in the NICU) and it must have been pretty normal. When the doctor finally arrived in the office around 9:15 am (one of the reasons I don't arrive early to appointments), he did her exam and said it was pretty boring/normal. He didn't hear a murmur either. Then he did her echo cardiogram and verified that her ductus (patent ductus arteriosis) had closed, but she still has a moderate to large sized ASD (atrial septal defect). And when he measured the ASD, it was 0.8 cm - which seems large to me even. Luckily, it isn't really causing her any problems except she is working a bit harder and thus burning more calories and not gaining weight quite as fast. She will eventually have it closed, but hopefully we can hold out until she is big enough to do the surgery via catheter instead of open heart. The Doctor said sometime between the ages of 4-6, but he said the catheter was an option after she was at least 5 kg. Things that would cause us to close it early would be if she has problems with lower respiratory infections (pneumonia) or is not regularly gaining weight. So, the story is get her to grow and we'll take care of it when we need to.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Back to work and Mr. Mom
I returned to work on Monday September 8. And it hasn't been too bad, I think it is much easier to leave the girls at home since Dad is staying at home. Plus, I get to come home at lunch - so I am really only away from them for 4-5 hours. I also think having to leave the girls in the NICU also has me accustomed to leaving them for a few hours at a time.
And Dad has been doing an amazing job at home. Not only is he handling two babies, but he has also managed to finish projects that I could not make any progress on. After Brandy and Zach removed wallpaper and primed the walls, Joe finished painting the holding pen and turned it into the playroom...
Yey! Now I have to put something up on the walls and find some cute furniture to fill the room.
Then, Joe finished putting the grommets in the curtains in the nursery, so that is finally done. Looks cute huh!
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