Thurs appt update and "7-week" picture

An aerial view of our beautiful babies (you can see my feet!). Owen is on the left, Dylan on the right. They were both IN me not too long ago...I can't get over that!! I'm calling this our 7-week picture, but it was actually just taken this morning and they were 7-weeks old last Monday.

I couldn't wait to post the newest weights for Dylan and Owen as of Thursday so I had to post quickly this morning....here are the rest of the updates...

When their nurse comes to visit for the RSV Synagis shots, they get mini-exams...temp, heart rates, weight, lungs checked, etc. Since we've had a bad cold going through our house...ie. Ethan is snotting on everything...it was nice to have D & O checked out as I've been worried that they might be coming down with it. Andy and I have also had some congestion here and there and some scratchy throats, so I was pleased that a nurse was coming to our house so I could ask questions and have my babies looked at.

Temps were good, heart rates were good and almost exactly the same, weight was, as you know, spectacular!, and lungs were clear. She wasn't concerned about their coughing...which isn't severe, but is present...or their congestion...which also isn't severe, but I can hear rattling in Owen especially. Actually, the common cold might be good for them as it builds up some immunity. It's the RSV strain that is dangerous to them, and since they are getting these shots, even the RSV strain probably wouldn't be severe enough to send them to the hospital. All of this is reassuring...regardless, she told us to still be careful about it (as in, I will still be a hand-washing psycho...I recently learned that Purell doesn't kill the flu virus, it might actually thrive on it...so please wash your hands as you enter the house...whether you are planning to hold babies or play with Ethan...we have SpongeBob soap, if that helps :>). Although their due date has passed, their lungs and vessels still aren't up to the development level they'd be at if they'd been born term as babies grow faster in utero versus the "real" world.

Like last month, we were told to keep up the good work! My eyes might sting due to the lack of sleep, but at least those annoying middle-of-the-night feedings are very productive!

Our next pediatrician appointment is at Children's Hospital on the 11th. We just found out last night at a friend's birthday party that one of our friends from college, who works at Children's, knows our pediatrician well. We'll probably get a chance to introduce her to our babies when we are there in a little over a week. Ugh, tomorrow is February already...I've had mixed feelings about January...I'm usually happier when it's over since it feels like the winter is closer to ending than beginning, but this year I'm dreading the beginning of February...I go back to work on March 2!!

Not so preemie now...

Quick update on weights from Dylan and Owen's RSV shot on Thursday. I was way off...so off it was embarrassing...the nurse asked me to guess and I guessed Owen at around 8lbs and Dylan about a 0.5lb to 1lb heavier...

Owen is 8lbs 10oz
Dylan is 10lbs 8oz

Wow!!

On Jan 2 at the pediatrician they were 6lbs 10oz and 7lbs 3oz. That's some pretty good weight gain in just under 4 weeks!! We are so happy that our hard work is helping them thrive so well.

More updates on the past few days to come later!

Ethan edition...with some sleep updates

Ethan's latest thing to say is, "I'm just boy"...recently I said, "You are such a big boy, Ethan" and he said, "I'm not big. I'm just boy, Mommy"...Now it's the response to almost anything..."I'm not sick, I'm just boy"..."I'm not eating breakfast, I'm just boy"...

Sunday morning Ethan created his longest sentence yet...my jaw dropped as he was about half-way through it. Andy was grinding coffee beans so he didn't hear it from the kitchen and at first he didn't believe me when I told him. Behold, my genius child...."I'm probably going to bring my car into my learning tower and watch daddy make coffee, Mommy"...

Something about a toddler being sick makes them say "no" to, or dispute, anything you say. Ethan was riding around on his Harley trike the other morning and was reaching for the pedals...Gamma was commenting that he seems to be growing lately and Ethan said, "I'm not growing, just flowers grow"...

We were reading "Alligator Alphabet" recently and R is "R is for rabbit, they have fluffy white tails" Ethan told me that Mommy doesn't have a tail...usually I do have a tail...he calls my pony tail, "Mommy's tail"...

Ethan was coughing so hard on Monday morning that he threw up on Gamma...Gamma decided she needed a new shirt so I lent her my hooded St Olaf sweatshirt. Later, Ethan saw Gamma wearing it and said "Gamma wearing Mommy's jacket"...I guess I might wear that sweatshirt too much...

We have a bedtime book where all the baby Sesame Street characters have something they snuggle with at bedtime. The last page asks, "What do you snuggle with as you turn out the light?"...Ethan always says, "I snuggle blue blankets, I snuggle cars, and I snuggle Mater"...for awhile he would ask, "Who do you snuggle with Mommy?" and I'd say, "I snuggle with Daddy"...so now he adds, "Mommy snuggles Daddy"...Ha!....

One more recent thing about Ethan is that he is obsessed with salt and pepper right now. He wants salt and pepper on anything...which is sometimes really unappetizing in my opinion...but I will usually put pepper on anything for him because it's more likely he'll eat it then...and I pretend to salt. I'm not sure where this came from, but we do read a book called "My Cat has Kittens" and Miss' kittens names are Pepper, Salt, Pepper-and-Salt, and Salt-and-Pepper.

Ethan got some stickers from Gramma Nana the other day and he has already used them up and keeps asking for more. I think it's safe to say they were a hit! (picture above)

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Dylan and Owen were 7 weeks old on Monday. I need to take the "7-week" picture of them. Hopefully today after bathtime. We had a rough night on Monday night. I almost hit my breaking point and started to cry...almost. It was one of those nights where just when you get one settled, the other wakes up...Ethan was part of that mix too. He's sick, so he's been waking up a bit at night...probably because he's stuffed up...we use a humidifier but that doesn't solve everything! I barely slept at all...even when they were all quiet, I was just waiting for one of them to holler out so I had a hard time relaxing enough to fall asleep. Even though Andy slept terribly too, he was a sweetheart and made a new batch of formula, put away some dishes, poured out the next bottles, and made me some coffee before he left for work. Yesterday I started reading "Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child"...it's hard to read when you are so tired your eyes hurt...but I'm willing to make the effort. They are young enough that we can teach them healthy sleep habits versus trying to correct issues...Dr Weissbluth recommends keeping a sleep log so I think I'll start that soon. Anything is worth a try...things will only get better with time, right?!

The babies have yet to catch Ethan's cold, but they have been sneezing a lot and I think they both have a little something rattling around behind their noses. I'm too afraid to use the snot bulb. The one time we tried to use it with Ethan, he screamed so terribly I cried. Ethan's old pediatrician always told me that the snot bothers us more than it bothers them. The nurse comes tomorrow for their RSV shot so she will listen to their lungs and I'll ask about the snot and sneezing...

Last night (which was much better than Monday night...11:30pm, 3am, and 8am feedings!), I was up with D & O at 3am. I was thinking to myself how wonderful it is that we don't have to deal with big spit-ups anymore. Every now and again, a little spit-up will trickle out, but no big deal. Owen sucked down his bottle and I congratulated him! They were both asleep, but I decided to rock them a little bit for good measure...I held one in each arm up against my chest and Owen erupted, big time, on all 3 of us. Thankfully I was wearing layers so off went my sweatshirt, new blankets for everyone, and a new outfit down to the skin for O. They are due for a bath today and boy do they need it!!

Tidbits

The thing about my blog posts these days is that I really have no complex or interesting thoughts, just little tidbits and observations...

A new book has entered our Ethan bedtime routine...Where the Wild Things Are. For Ethan's first Christmas, my aunt, uncle, cousins and their significant others gave Ethan their favorite childhood books....Wild Things was my cousin Eric's favorite book. Ethan has recently adopted it as one of his favorites too...which makes me very happy. Let the wild rumpus start!!

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Ethan was climbing around on me the other day as I sat on the floor leaning against our couch. He was saying something to me and I wasn't sure I understood him until Gamma said, "You want to get back in?"...yes, that's right, my eldest son was saying he wanted to get back inside of Mommy. I replied that I had worked way to hard to get him out, so no...he can't get back in.

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Aunt Cec came over last Thursday. Ethan and Gamma were around for some of the morning until they went out to do an activity. They were just about to leave and were right by the door when Ethan said "Oh!" and ran back across the dining room into the living room where Aunt Cec was to give her a huge hug and goodbye...I just about died it was so cute.

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Ethan is super sick...he's coughing and snotting all over the place...it's so sad. I can't keep him quarantined, so I'm hoping he doesn't have a nasty strain that will be bad for the babies. We are obsessively washing our hands in this house...my hands are raw and are so dry they are cracking and bleeding...I put on lotion, but I change so many diapers that the lotion is just washed off with the next washing a few minutes later. I'm trying to teach Ethan to cover his mouth with his hand when he coughs...he forgets to do it when he really coughs, but will fake cough and imitate me when I remind him afterwards...one of these days he'll get it....

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Andy bought some new surround speakers for our living room with his fantasy football winnings...he won both his leagues!! It's cool...we play the 800 channels on R&B or Rap and pretend we're cool and hip...'course we have to volume control since we have a toddler and 2 babies in the room...tonight I soothed Owen's crying by swaying around the room to "Shake it like a Salt Shaker" with Lil' Jon...Ethan got down too. Wish I had that one on video.

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I am trying to unbury us from the mess I have created in the basement. It has been my dump area for attempting to de-clutter the rest of the house. I have piles of toys down there that need to be bleached or packed away. I have boxes of pictures, cards, letters, things I don't need to keep...and a huge file cabinet that needs to be sorted through. I have spent a few hours down there the past few days and so far am only through the top drawer of the file cabinet (4 drawers!!). A few weeks ago I did bleach the cups and shapes that Ethan uses in his bean table and playdoh table...but I've yet to bleach and refill the actual bean table that our cat pissed in over the Holidays (she might have been stressed with the dog here).

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Speaking of the dog, Maddie has a new home. She has been in a loving foster home since August, but Andy decided that he would really prefer she be adopted by people we know better if she was not able to return to our house. Since it was clear during her 2-week return over the Holidays that a permanent return to our home would lead to me and Andy's imminent divorce, Andy sought and found a new home for her. We are pleased that she will be just up the road at our neighbor Paul and Maria's home. They have two children that are older than ours...6 and 11?...so they are much better suited to have a puppy in their home. They also have a tiny dog of some breed that will be a good playmate for Maddie as Lucy has lots of energy!! We've agreed to keep our distance as Maddie makes the transition to new ownership, but we are pleased that she'll be nearby for Ethan to visit and for Andy to possibly hunt with, as Paul hunts as well. Ok, I might even want to visit her on occasion too. This whole puppy thing has been an adventure...a good dog, but an ill-timed addition to our house. I haven't ruled it out entirely...but I think an adult dog at a time when our 3 boys are at least 3 or older would work out much better for all of us.

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Yesterday, I spent some baby awake-time playing dress-up. They have lots of 0-3 month clothes and I am trying to get them in all of them. Sleepers are easiest, but are getting repetitive. So yesterday I dressed them in these cute long-sleeved tees that Cec and Chris gave us. They are from Gymborie so of course they are adorable. I paired them with some sweats and mini-socks...in shirts, pants, and socks, they are like "real" boys!!....all dressed up. I had fun...not sure if they shared the sentiment.


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Happy Birthday, Mom!! Have fun saying fifty-fiiiiiive!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Aunt Cec was over yesterday and Ethan told her, "My mommy's nice pretty girl"...I love him.

The other day I sneezed and Ethan said, "Bless you, mom"

Ethan will call me "Hilary" if he can't get my attention with a few "Mommy's"

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Ethan has a cold...he's all sorts of plegmy and is having productive sneezes....grody. He's always a pretty good sport when he's sick, but today he is super dramatic about everything and Gamma and I have been holding back some laughs...everything is a HUGE deal. I feel sad for him though...noone like to be sick.

All this hand-washing and he still gets sick...can't kill every germ. I'm happy that Dylan and Owen's next RSV shot is coming up though...next Thursday. An added bonus is getting the medication out of my fridge (it gets shipped way in advance and has to be refrigerated)! They will also be weighed on that day and we are so curious to see what our little boys weigh now...I am sure they are both gaining some good weight, but Owen looks so small in comparison to Dylan, who is just a solid chunk. I just need the confirmation that they are each gaining weight at the right rate.

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My mom and I laughed about this while she was in town because we caught ourselves doing it a lot...when you are doing something with one baby, it is natural to refer to the other baby as "the other one"...It's ok most of the time, but sounds kinda bad when you say something like "I'll change Owen, you get the other one"...ya know?!

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This was my 7th attempt at a cute bathtub picture...he finally gave in when I promised to stop following him around with the camera if he'd smile. Every mom needs some bathtub pictures for ammunition in high school...."Don't do drugs or I'll show your friends the bathtub picture!"...see, I'm prepared.


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This was my attempt at the 6-week picture.

Let me add some dialogue...

Owen: "Oh. My. Gawwwwwwd! Noone has touched me for two seconds....pay attention to me NOWWWWWWWW! I need a snuggle IMEEEEEDIATELY!"

Dylan: "When's the next bottle?"

6-week update

Posts are best begun with Ethan funnies...

"Watch out Daddy's coffee and Daddy's pen"...Ethan's warning to Daddy's coffee and pen when moving his cars onto the computer table

"Baby brudder doesn't like tummy time"...who told him about "tummy time"?!

"Baby brudder is going swimming"...watching Mommy give Dylan a bath; we give baths in the baby tub placed on top of the kitchen island and Ethan watches from his Learning Tower

"Daddy's feeding ALL my baby brudders"....yep, ALL ten

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We're working on some longer stretches of sleep here!! Longer than 3 hours that is...A couple nights last weekend, D and O ate around 8pm, went to sleep shortly after, and didn't wake up to eat again until about 1am. Then again around 5am. It's not so terrible. Last night was a little different...They ate at 11pm, then again at 3am...and Mommy couldn't fall back asleep for a long time after that feeding and then Ethan was up at 5:30am. He came to bed with us and insisted on sleeping with his face on my face, or with his head in my neck. I love a good snuggle, but cutting off my airway isn't so comfy. This was the second morning of "family bed" of one sort or another. On Monday morning, Dylan wouldn't go back to sleep after the 5am feeding, so I brought him to bed and he fell right asleep. I love snuggling with babies in bed, but I sleep terrible because I am terrified that I will roll on top of them...so I position myself much lower than where their head is so they are above me and then I am crunched into about 2 feet of bed. Anyways, we try not to make a habit of bringing our kids into our bed for sleeping (morning cartoons are ok!) but I like to nuzzle up to them sometimes.

Dylan and Owen were 6 weeks old yesterday!! They are changing every day and we are getting to know their personalities. Just when I think I have them figured out, they throw me for a loop. But most of the time Dylan is laid back (though he's being a little difficult this morning) and Owen is high-maintenance. Owen just really insists on being held. I love to hold my babies so it's ok, but makes it difficult to get things done...I need a sling. Dylan is pretty chill, unless we are doing floor time, which he doesn't seem to like much...On the other hand, Owen loves floor time. They are so different...and look different too. Though they've both moved into 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers (graduated from Newborn), Owen is much smaller...he's been doing much better on his feedings (very little spitting up from both of them thanks to the snail-slow bottles we are now using)...but we are guessing he is at least a half pound lighter than Dylan, who has about 5 chins. Dylan's hair looks more red every day and Owen's continues to grow and grow...after a bath it's super puffy and soft and I like to rub my chin on it :>

Ethan's obsession with cars/tractors/trucks has reached a new level. He now insists on having them with him at all times. When we go downstairs/upstairs to play he'll say "Mommy will bring ALL my cars" and start bringing them to you in 3s or 4s...So the other day I bought him a basket so that he could carry more of them at a time. 'Course this led to stacking the basket into a heaping mound of cars/tractors/trucks so that it weighs about 40 pounds and I can barely carry it. But he'll insist on bringing the basket onto his Learning Tower, onto the changing table, into his "little chair"...anywhere he goes. It's sort of ridiculous, but it's his thing right now and it's harmless and pretty funny. However, we do find cars everywhere....just the other day I found one behind the toaster...must have been up on the counter when we were making dinner some night.

Below is a picture of Ethan with his basket in his "little chair" having a snack. And of Dylan (R) and Owen (L) working on some tummy time and head-lifting!!

We needed to do baths anyways...

As I was wrapping up the last post, I heard some curious noises coming from the living room...Dylan was coughing or something, so I ran over to check on him. He was laying in his Boppy pillow so I picked him up and he spit up a little out of the corner of his mouth. He had spit up after his afternoon feeding that day (this was Wednesday) which is really unusual for him...Owen is the spitter (but he's been much better lately) and Gamma Leslie had helped with that feeding and held Dylan up for a long time after his feeding too. Anyways, I picked him up and wiped up the little bit of spit-up and then sat down and as I was getting settled, I felt something wet on my hand...he had spit UP onto my hand. I spazzed a bit because I don't do well with flying bodily fluids and as I stood up, he projectiled all over me, himself, and the couch (thank goodness for slip-covers!). I yelped...Andy was just finishing with putting Ethan to bed so he came down and took Dylan so I could take off my drenched clothes...I really don't do well with this stuff. I've read that parents should remain calm when kids throw up because it's scary to them...I'm going to need to work on that...I'm not that person right now.

We got everything cleaned up and I went to Mr Google to look up "projectile spit up" even though Andy tried to assure me that babies projectile spit up sometimes...which I know they do...it's just that it's unusual for Dylan. So Mr Google convinced me that Dylan has pyloric stenosis and I stressed about that all night. But so far, no more projectile spit-ups.

Wednesday night was a rough one later on too. Dylan was fine...no spitting and slept really well. Owen, on the other hand, was my nemesis. He refused to take full feedings and kept waking up earlier than he should have between feedings and then had a really hard time getting settled after feedings. Despite my better judgement, I brought Owen to Andy during the 2am and 5am feedings because I just couldn't deal with him...he was able to get him to take some more of the bottle at the 2am feeding and then slept with him on his chest after the 5am feeding. I felt like a jerk. Last night went better. We fed them during Grey's Anatomy and then went to bed. Andy fed them around 1am and I fed them around 4:30am. They went back to sleep after each feeding...

We got new bottles the other day...Playtex VentAire...Our theory was that Owen wasn't feeding well because he was getting tired before he was getting full. We'd been using the bottles from the breastfeeding kit...the Medela bottles and nipples...and those nipples are supposed to be similar to breastfeeding so the flow is really slow. The Playtex bottles with the 0-3 month nipples seem to be even slower, but they both seem to do better on them. It takes like twice the time to feed them, but the bottles don't get the vacuum suction or bubbles so they get less gas. They seem to be happier about that. They are also angled so the bottles are more comfortable to hold...and this morning, I was able to double-feed them!! The strategy is to sit in the corner of the sectional with a baby in a Boppy pillow on each side. It works well, unless you have an itch on your nose, which I did.

Ethan and Gamma are off at Sesame Street Live today. Ethan has been so excited...every time he sees the commercial for it, he says "I'm going to see that game with Gamma Leslie"...

I hear that both my babies are awake right now, a rare event...time to exercise on the floor...all of us!!