Graduation Day and More

After only 5 weeks Andrew graduated from his DOC band with a nice round head.  He received a graduation certificate to make it official and will no longer need to attend weekly appointments. We couldn't be prouder of him.  It was amazing to us how quickly his head changed and began to round out.  At Cranial Technologies they take numerous measurements of his head, 3-D pictures and several photographs and use these to make the DOC band ("helmet" in lay terms).  At graduation time more photos and measurements are taken to compare the before and after.  The original measurements are also used to make a plaster mold of Andrew's head, which is put on a wooden stick.  It's quite hilarious, really, to see this head on a stick carried in to each of his appointments in order to compare it to his "new"head that is forming with the help of the DOC band.  Once I was walking down the hallway at Cranial Tech. and saw to my left this rack full of heads and thought, "These poor beheaded children."  We got to take Andrew's home in the end.  Perhaps when he is a teenager we can use it to hit him over the head to knock some sense into him. Kind of like knocking two heads together.

Before

After - Bald as a cue ball

Two other big changes have happened this last week. First, last Tuesday we started them on rice cereal.  The first few times both Andrew and Aaron had great difficulty knowing how to eat from a spoon. I think more cereal dribbled down their chin than was swallowed.  I have to say Andrew is beginning to take after me quite a bit-- he loves to eat!  He is picking up quite nicely how to eat with a spoon.  Aaron, on the other hand, could care less.  We're lucky if a teaspoon gets down his throat.

Sure beats Similac

Messy but cute

Up until now Aaron and Andrew were both sleeping in the same crib.  Earlier this week we purchased a crib from a friend and had it ready for use on Tuesday.  We had always intended on putting them in separate cribs but it was just a matter of when.  After a couple of times of one baby waking the other up by kicking him, we decided now was as good a time as any.  So far they don't seem to be suffering much from separation anxiety.  They seem to be sleeping on their own really well and have adjusted fine.

The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of an MRI

I can guarantee you that Andrew won't have any good memories of having an MRI. And I won't have any of watching him have one either. Yesterday I took Andrew to the hospital for an MRI. I have had MANY MRI's, too many to count and it usually takes an hour tops. We were there ALL day. For those of you who have never had one of these tests it stands for magnetic blah blah blah and has these loud banging noises that are really annoying and could scare a baby or young child to death. Besides that, they are not cheap- about 15 years ago when I had to have frequent MRI's they cost about $1,000 without insurance. On top of that you have to be completely still. Because it's impossible to get a 5 month old to not move a muscle Andrew had to be given an IV for sedatives and a catheter. He had to have a catheter because one of the medicines they gave him made him pee A LOT, like 8 oz. within an hour.

Andrew is a really hard stick- it took 3 attempts to get the IV in him and over 30 minutes of non-stop screaming. Meanwhile I'm crying in the hallway just outside the room trying to control myself. If only I could've done it instead of Andrew. And to make things worse- he REFUSED to go to sleep. It's not that he wasn't tired; he'd only had an hour of sleep since waking up at 7 am and here it was 1 pm. They gave him more medicine and still more until he was given almost equal to that of an adult. The nurse didn't believe me when I told her he was the more mellow baby of our twins. She described him as a *sedative nightmare*. For all the torture they did to Andrew I'm glad they had a rough time. Way to go Andrew! Finally, about 5 minutes before the MRI was over Andrew crashed hard and had to be sent to Surgery Recovery until he came out of it, which took an hour. What was supposed to be a quick test turned into an all day affair. I am so lucky to have great friends who watched Aaron at our house all day. Thank you Heidi and Tammy- you are the best!

Actually there isn't really much good about an MRI except they take better pictures and give more accurate results than an ultrasound. While the ultrasound just gives a picture of the kidney's outside, an MRI shows outside & inside and how the kidney drains. The good news about Andrew's not-so-fun MRI is the great results we got. Today the urologist's nurse called to let us know that both kidneys are completely open and draining well. He won't need to have a follow up for 3 months! And to think that only 10 months ago we were told Andrew wouldn't live. He is our miracle baby.

Some of Our Favorite Pics

Yuuuck!!! Similac again

Nap time for Aaron

Andrew has discovered how tasty his fingers are

Too cute

Hard day on the couch got to go to bed

Sunset in Lake Tahoe

I'll lick anything to get the Similac taste out of my mouth

Hold me I'm yours

Aaron & Andrew monkeying around and driving us bananas

Lake Tahoe Vacation

We meant to post this a couple weeks ago, but never got around to until now. A couple weeks ago we took the boys on six day trip to Lake Tahoe. From Las Vegas it's about a 9 hour trip by car with lots of open desert between gas stations. We know what you are thinking...are you nuts taking two 4 month old babies on a 9 hour trip. Well we thought we have never done this before, so how bad could it be? Katie's grandparents had purchased a condo many years ago on the California side of the Lake in Tahoma. Over the years it has been a place of family reunions, vacations, and even a few honeymoons. We like to try to make a trip there every year or so.

After getting the van packed early in the morning we waited till the last minute to load Aaron and Andrew. They remained a sleep in their car seats for a bit but soon woke ready to eat just as we were leaving town. We had it all planned, we left the third row of seat up in the back so Katie could feed them with a bottle while I continued driving. We only had to stop on the side of the road for a quick burping a few times. Unfortunately Katie spent most of the trip in the back of the van either feeding or entertaining them. Well needless to say we made it there in one piece and the boys did very well considering being strapped into a car seat for 9 and a half hours. We had to stop every 100 miles or so to give the babies a break (not to mention Mom & Dad). Aaron was the only one who truly had some trouble being stuck in his seat during the last hour of the trip. He finally said enough is enough and wanted out by giving us an ear full.

Vacationing with twins is only half a vacation, we spent most of our time changing diapers, relaxing during nap times, feeding babies, and a couple outings just to make us feel we were on vacation. One of our favorite activities was watching the Olympics on TV in the condo every evening after we got the babies to bed. We did however get the opportunity to take a few walks with the babies and visit the lake a couple of times. We were able to dip Aaron and Andrew's feet in the cold lake. At first they were shocked then they seemed to like it as they got used to the temperature. The pinnacle of the trip was an excursion to Virginia City. It was really cool to see all of the old buildings in spite of the tourist trap it has become. We walked through the town amongst the crowds of people with the babies strapped into a couple carriers we brought with us. We got a lot of stares and a few people stopped us to admire the babies. A few seemed to have a "are you crazy" look on their faces when we walked by. But we had a great time showing them off and they had a great time too. We just about wore them out each day, and would crash hard when it was bed time.

On our return trip we took the scenic route home by staying on the highways on the California side until Mono Lake. We wanted to soak up as much of the green trees and mountains as we could. One of our traditions is to stop at small hamburger stand in Lee Vining, CA to get a bite to eat. We like to eat there because they have a great hamburger and its just far enough from Lake Tahoe for a good rest. The boys did better going home than on the journey their. Luckily we left Lake Tahoe about noon, so it was dark for the last few hours of the trip. So they went right to sleep and didn't wake until we got home. All in all it was a great trip and we had a great time with the boys. We hope our next trip will be even better. We consider Lake Tahoe as heaven on earth and enjoy every trip we make their.

Bless Their Little Hearts

Sometimes when Steve learns that both babies are asleep he will make the comment, "Bless their little hearts."  This morning would've been a perfect time to say that.  Last night was the first time they slept through the night!  I hope this will soon become a nightly routine.

A couple of nights ago we thought we'd try something that has been suggested to us more than once:   Add a little bit of rice cereal to the bottles at night and they'll sleep through the night.  Yeah, right. When Aaron and Andrew woke up at the usual 3 a.m-ish to be fed we knew it didn't work.  Since then we haven't added it to their bottles partly out of habit, but mostly because we're not too hopeful that it works.  

This morning I rolled over and saw the clock- 5:45 a.m.  Wait a minute!  I don't remember getting up to feed them.  Did Steve get up and feed them both? (That rarely happens).  Just as I was about to ask him, Steve asks me that same question.  No, I didn't feed them.  We both smiled as we realized-- They slept through the night!!!  And it had nothing to do with adding rice cereal.  

Sneak Peaks

A couple of weeks ago I asked myself questions like: How many diapers do I change a day? How many bottles am I feeding our babies?  How many loads of laundry am I doing?  And the list goes on.  I feel like I'm working all day but there's not much evidence- my house is still a mess, the sink still has dishes, and there's unfolded clothes everywhere.  So perhaps to make myself feel better, like I'm actually doing something throughout the day, I thought I'd track some of this information.  Here is what I found:

Daily (varies from day to day- here's one of the days)

Bottle fed 12

Diapers changed 13

Sleep each night* 6 hrs.

Weekly (varies)

Bottle washings 12

Laundry loads  7 (up from abt 3 before twins were born)

# of Baths 12

*Editor's Note:  Six hours may not sound too bad.  But non-consecutive hours makes a big difference.  Usually it's 3-4 hours of sleep, then wake to feed them, and then 2-3 more hours.  I long for the night when I can have a non-interrupted night's sleep.

Overnight Changes

It's hard to believe how much they can change seemingly overnight.  They are like different babies than a short time ago.  Within the last week Aaron & Andrew are now doing the following (sleeping through the night is, unfortunately, not on the list):

- Rolls over (Aaron) from back to stomach

- Grabs toys (Andrew & Aaron)

-Moves from side to side (Aaron & Andrew)

- Giggles (Aaron)

- Wears helmet/DOC band- (Andrew- already his head is less flat)

- Discovered his thumb (Andrew)

- Discovered their toes (both babies)

- Eating more: going from about 4 oz to 5 or 6 oz each feeding (both babies)

- Noticing each other more- this is so much fun!  They'll watch each other, hold each others' hand (not sure if this is intentional), and smile a lot more at one another.  

      

Some Daily Routines

Just two months ago I felt overwhelmed and incapable as I tried to care for two babies. Within the last month or so things have improved dramatically.  Here is a glimpse into what some (not enough) of our days are like:

3:00ish a.m. Usually wakes up to be fed, goes right back to sleep

7:00ish  Wakes up for the day

8:30ish   Asleep for  morning nap

11:30ish Wakes up (my wishful thinking- sometimes happens much earlier)

1:30ish Asleep for afternoon nap

4:00ish Wakes up

6:-6:30ish Begins bedtime routine (we call them our 3 B's):

Bath, Book (which they LOVE), and Bottle

This is my dream day (minus the 3:00 waking, of course).  This schedule has happened a couple of times but not many.  The challenge is for them to have synchronized naps.  They sometimes take turns staying awake or asleep.  Aaron and Andrew need to get together and coordinate things a little better.  

At night they're usually asleep within an hour or so.  It's amazing at the difference this bedtime routine has made.  Before bathing them at night and pretty much rocking them to sleep each evening, it took FORVER to put them down. We made a few changes, at the suggestion of a friend, and overnight they were so much easier to put to bed.  

Andrew & Aaron Poems

With the school year starting this week here in Las Vegas it's a little weird to not be preparing my own classroom and gearing up for the new year.  This is the first time in 10 years that I'm not starting school again.  Certainly I'm not complaining; I'd rather be home with Aaron & Andrew any day.  It's different though.

One of the assignments I would frequently give my students was to write an acrostic poems about a topic we were studying.  Here's how you do it:  write one word vertically and with each letter a word or sentence is written that tells about the vertical word).  So I did one of Aaron and Andrew.  Steve saw what I had done and felt the need to outdo mine by writing his own-- except he wanted his to rhyme. Here's both versions of poems:

A-  At the time he awakes, Aaron is happy & giggles

A-  Animated and very photogenic

R-  Rolling over has begun this last week

O-  Observes everything going on around him

N-  Never have I seen so much spit up!

A-  An answer to the prayers of many- he is a true miracle!

N-  Now he wears a DOC Band, or helmet, to round out his head.

D-  During feedings he usually closes his eyes and looks asleep

R-  Reserved at first, then flashes that cute smile

E-  Either his fists in his mouth or straight up in the air

W- When we burp him, he does long, drawn out belches like that of a grown man

A-  Aaron smiles with grins and giggles

A-  Always with a bunch of wiggles

R-  Rarely does he sleep all night

O-  Only if we wrap him tight, but

N-  Now and then he fusses and fiddles when he gives a bunch of spittle

A-  Andrew always smiles for Dad

N-  Never yells unless he's mad

D-  During meals he eats so well

R-  Rarely diapers never smell

E-  Every minute he gives a toot

W-  We however think he's cute.