Fun with friends

My friend Anne came by to meet the girls. I'm sad to say that we haven't kept in touch this last year and the last she heard I was trying to get pregnant. That was last June and she had no idea we got pregnant and with twins no less. We had a good time talking about the "old" days when we were both single and all the fun things we used to do. Of course I had fun in the old days and sometimes I miss the free life I used to have, but I am so happy that my life has changed for the better. I have a great husband and two beautiful daughters that remind me how sweet life can be.

The only thing I do miss is the ability to just pick up and go whenever I wanted. Anne and I shared a love for traveling and she was telling me about all the trips she had planned this year. She is going to Vegas, back here for Spring Training, Germany later in the year, and lastly Hawaii with her sister. I love to travel but now traveling is going to be a big ordeal. If anyone has any tips on how to get through airports with two infants, let me know. We will be traveling back to Wisconsin for Christmas this year so Jesse's family can meet the girls and I am deathly afraid to fly with two babies and all the "things" we will need to bring for the long week. Life changes and brings new adventures and we live and learn how to adjust our lives. All in all, I am happy about the new changes we have made this year.

Scared to go back to work

I thought that 10 weeks after the girls were born would be a sufficient amount of time to spend with the girls before I went back to work. I am quickly finding out that it is NOT enough time. I don't think I would be completely happy being a stay at home mom, but I wish I could just work part-time instead of full-time. I am lucky to have my sister sign up for the job of being the girls nanny. I don't have to pack the girls up and take them to a daycare. I just get to leave them home in their own environment to sleep and play with my sister.

Since Jesse went back to work yesterday I got to see how hard the job is to take care of both girls by yourself. I worry that the job will be too difficult for my sister to handle. She may surprise me and do just fine, but when both girls are crying at the same time and you don't have an extra hand to help you out, things can seem overwhelming. With that being said, we are doing a trial run today and tomorrow. Sara will take the girls at the time I would be at work and pretend like I'm not here to see the girls sleeping and eating patterns. I have plenty of errands to run to get ready for work on Monday so this situation works out well for both us. Sara can see what the job entails during the day and I can get more done and we can both see how the situation will work. My mom has offered to watch the girls two days a week on Monday and Fridays. If Sara is not up to watching the girls 5 days a week my mom can come two days a week to help out but my mom lives almost an hour away and if we don't need her it would be better. In the next couple of days we can see how Sara handles the job and decide what the best course of action will be.

As for me, I am getting more anxious about not being here with my girls, especially Addison and her heart condition. We have been lucky and she hasn't had another episode of SVT since her one episode in the NICU. Her medication seems to be doing the job of keeping her heart in the proper rhythm but it is hard to rely on anyone to watch her closely. I trust my sister but I also hate to give up control to another person. I live with the mentality...."if you want something done right, you do it yourself". I know that I need to learn to let others do things and trust that the girls will be okay. All in all, I think it will take me a while to get used to being back at work after 6 months off, and my sister will take some time getting used to being a full time nanny. I hope it all works out for everyone and we can be a happy family together. Just pray I don't cry too much next week when I am away from my girls.

Busy Days

Jesse and I have been really busy getting ready to go to work. Jesse is going back to work tomorrow (Monday the 29th). I will have one week to take care of the girls by myself before I go back to work on July 6th. My sister helps me out at night and normally sleeps most of the day which leaves me by myself with the girls. I still have many tasks to complete during this last week. I just went through my work clothes to find out what fits and what I may need to purchase in order to have a weeks worth of clothes or so for work. My pants still fit. I didn't gain much weight in my legs or tummy (believe it or not) so my pants are actually a little loose. My biggest problem is my shirts. I went from a 34B to a 38DD. While I am breast feeding, I won't fit into any of my old shirts. So off I went to Kohl's to buy some new work shirts and an extra pair of pants. Kohl's is having some super sales and I got some nice shirts for really cheap.

Tomorrow I am having an old friend that was in my wedding stop by on her way back to Denver. I haven't seen her in over a year so she didn't even know I was pregnant or had the babies. It will be nice to catch up with her. She is bringing her current boyfriend as well. Great grandma Jean is also stopping by tomorrow. I hope she can stay and watch the girls while I go pick up my parents at the airport. My dad and Linda were in Seattle while my dad did some Comedy in some feature spots for Comedian Kyle Cease. He did really well during his shows and had some of the best shows of his career. I'm so excited for him.

On Thursday a child development specialist is coming to do a home visit and check out the girls. She is a part of the program that is free for our girls because of their extended NICU stay. I hope the girls check out great. They are really having fun with their tummy time and they are getting stronger every day.

I'm hoping I can get everything done that I need to before I go back to work and the transition will be smooth for my sister to take over care of the girls.

2 Months Old

Tummy Time with Daddy
Look...we are having fun

Riley 2 months old

Addison 2 months old

I am so surprised at how fast my little girls are growing. 2 months already, are you kidding me? When people say they grow up fast, they were not kidding. I feel like if I blink my eyes, the girls will be off to Kindergarten before I know it. I just hope I don't blink my eyes for too long.

The girls seem to be doing okay after their shots. They did sleep more, which I thought they would be up and fussy but they just went right to sleep and would only wake up for their feedings. The only sign that they were not feeling well was in the amount of milk they were taking at each feeding. They were not eating the full bottles like they normally do, but as the we got into the afternoon, they picked back up.

We decided to get the girls on the floor today for some tummy time. Addison is real good at holding her head up. She was having fun looking up and pushing off the ground with her feet almost like she was trying to crawl. It was so cute to see her doing that. Riley is not as strong at holding her head up but she did enjoy the tummy time as well. We caught this moment on camera for you all to see.

Tears and shots

We just got home from the girls' 2 month appointment. Addison is weighing 7 pounds 15 ounces and 21 inches long and Riley is just behind her at 7 pounds 8 ounces an 20 3/4 inches long. Both girls are starting to catch up to the curve. The doctor said they seem to be growing out of their prematurity well. We will still consider their corrected age until they reach 2 years of age.

The thrush appears to be just about gone on the girls. We only need to give them the oral medication for another 2 days. I'm still not clear of the thrush on my nipples so I will continue the anti fungal cream and may try some other recommended remedies from friends and family. Since Addison's reflux isn't getting better we will be adding Previcid to her daily medication. She will have he Zantac on one dose and the Prevacid 12 hours later each day. I hope this helps her feel better.

Now, the bad part....the vaccinations. I knew that the ordeal would not be pleasant but I was not prepared for how difficult it is to watch your children get shots. Their cries were so sad and they made my heart ache. Addison went first and by the second shot, I was crying right along with Addison. I'm really not cut out to seeing my children in pain. Riley went second and she had the saddest cry ever. She was so upset that she cried and didn't take a breath for the longest time. Once it was over we tried comforting the girls and then we put them in their car seats to go home. Addison was calmed down by then but Riley was still very very upset. I had to get her out of the car seat and hold her. I wish I could of breast fed the girls to help them feel comforted. They were both hungry, sad, and hurt....not a good combination. So in the end, we all cried including Jesse. We were one of the last patients of the day and the doctor came back in the room to tell us that this is the hardest appointment. She knows....as her daughter is 3 months old. I was crying and trying to comfort Riley at this point. They told us to stay in the room as long as we needed.

We finally got the girls home and gave them some Tylenol. We got them in their pajamas and gave them a bottle. They both went right to sleep. I'm a little scared to see how the night will go, knowing many babies don't feel well after vaccinations. All in all, this was a long day and I know we haven't seen the end of it yet. I hope tomorrow is a better day and the girls start to feel better soon.

Addison's Cardiology follow up Appointment

Addison had her follow up cardiology appointment at 8:30 this morning. The NICU coordinator was nice to make that appointment so early in the freaking morning for me. So needless to say, I was up at 5:45 so I could feed Riley who wanted to eat every hour this morning...I don't know what her deal was but she really didn't want mamma to sleep. Then I had to pump, eat breakfast, shower, get Addison up and dressed, feed Addison and get out the door. Time just flies by when you are trying to get out of the house.

Anyways, Addison was not a happy camper at her appointment. They had to do her blood pressure 3 times to get it right because she would start getting upset and crying right when the machine was ready to be finished. Then they needed an EKG and they also had to do that 3 times because Addison was still and then she would freak out right at the end. They got enough to see that her heart looks okay on that.

Then we were left in the exam room for 30 minutes waiting for the nurse practitioner to come in and examine Addison. During that time, Addison proceeded to spit up her breakfast all over mommy in 3 different spit ups. She was very upset and I could see the acid coming up and she just didn't feel well. I was hating life at that time knowing my little girl didn't feel well and we were having to wait. Finally the nurse practitioner came in and listened to Addison's heart. We talked about upping her heart medication but she didn't quite weigh enough to up the medicine at this visit. We will probably do that in a month.

Now, I am not sure why, but they wanted to send her home with a 24 hour Halter (sp) monitor to see what her heart does in that time period. So she is once again hooked up to leads and wires. I don't know if they heard something weird in her heart or if they just want to see what her heart does in a 24 hour period. I hope all checks out okay when they download the data. I will probably get the results in 4-5 days after I bring the monitor back to the office.

The girls were supposed to have their 2 month Pediatrician appointment today as well but with Addison's monitor and her bad morning, I didn't want to subject her to another visit and the vaccinations that she would have gotten. We reschedule that appointment for tomorrow at 3:15.

Father's Day

We love Daddy

and we love our paci's

Addison getting tummy time with Daddy

First off, we were so happy to have Jesse finally celebrate a father's day as the father. My dad was out of town on a comedy tour and my step dad is up in Spokane so I did miss them but, we had a great day yesterday and I kept telling myself that I would get on and post how it went all day yesterday but I never got around to it. I guess that is what life is like with twin girls, a husband, a live in sister, all while I am in full time school. The good news is that I finished my Economics class today and I will have a 3-4 week break before my next class starts. I can get used to going back to work for a week or two before I have to concentrate on school again.

So Jesse's first father's day was a hit. The girls had their daddy onesies on and they were ready with their presents. Riley and Jesse have been watching the Yankees games together because daddy is the biggest Yankees fan around and Riley is his good luck charm. On the days that Riley watches with daddy the Yankees manage to win. With that being said, Riley (mom) thought it would good to get daddy a large framed picture of the old Yankee stadium. Jesse loved the picture.

Jesse's favorite song these days is from The All American Rejects so Addison (mom) bought him the CD. I found some other odds and ends to throw in a bag and Jesse got a bit of a break during the day to play some x-box with his friends. He got his favorite dinner, Pei Wei and some daddy time with the girls on the couch.

You are not a hard core mom until.....

Riley wearing her new pajamas sent by Julie after she got all cleaned up

Riley looking cute before her big "blow out"

Addison napping in her bouncy chair

Addison showing off her big eyes

Double Trouble

Addison in her first ride in her swing

You clean up a blow out diaper that covers your child's entire body. Motherhood is not complete until you have the pleasure of doing one of life's most disgusting things. Riley had completely poo'd through her diaper through her onesie and into her car seat. The funny thing is that she was covered on the front of her body all the way up to her neck and not a drop on her back side. I'm guessing because she was sitting in the car seat, the force was sent to her front rather than her back. As soon as I noticed what a mess she had made, I started laughing rather than getting grossed out. I think it takes a mother to clean up a mess like that without complaining one bit. Riley didn't seem to care either. She wasn't crying to let me know what a mess she made and she didn't make a peep during the whole clean up process. I used the method of pulling down the onesie off the body rather than over her head to avoid getting any poo on her face. I learned this trick from some BTDT (been there, done that) moms. I threw her in the bath and got her cleaned up. I never knew the poor little child could make such a mess, especially when she is only 7 pounds, but boy could she ever, he he he

We are all taking our Thrush medication and hoping that things are improving, but I'm not convinced that the medicine is doing anything at this point. Addison's bum is still pretty red and it hurts her to get her diaper changed and her bum cleaned. Both girls had a rough time with their night time feeding and their mouths seemed to hurt them quite a bit. It took us an hour to calm them down and get them to sleep. I plan to talk to the pediatrician on Tuesday and find out more about the Thrush and more about Addison's reflux. She spit up several times today with some projectile vomit while she was sitting in her swing. She wasn't even swinging and the poor girl shot out her milk about a foot pass her swing. We may need to try another medication at this point.

Lots to go over

This has been a busy week for us. I really haven't had time to get online to post on the blog. I just feel like there isn't enough hours in the day. I'm not even that tired, it just feels like the hours go by in warp speed every day. As it gets closer to the time I have to go back to work, the days go by even faster.

As for Addison, she seems to be doing better on the Zantac. Her reflux isn't perfect, but she spits up less and cries less after feedings. I'm glad things are a bit better but I wonder if the Zantac is the answer or if we need to try another drug or a combination of drugs to make things better significantly.

Riley is just happy as a clam. Her disposition is great and she is happy most of the time. She has taken a liking to screaming for 10-15 seconds for no reason at all. I think she thinks it is funny. At least when we pick her up, she normally stops screaming. Addison takes a while to calm down and doesn't quite seem as happy. I'm sure it is the reflux and a combination of our new problem. All three of us girls have Thrush. Jesse noticed white patches in the girls mouths about a week and a half ago, but I was not familiar with thrush so I didn't look into it further until my nipples started getting red and glossy and I started having shooting pains inside the breast. After reviewing symptoms of thrush, I found we had almost every one. Addison is getting a horrible diaper rash and both girls stick out their tongues after eating. We went to the pediatrician to get diagnosed and we are now all on anti-fungal medication and antibiotics to help get rid of the Thrush. So basically Addison has some sort of medication every feeding and now Riley needs to take the drops for the Thrush. It is a difficult schedule of medications to keep track of. I hope we get rid of the Thrush soon so we can just rely on Addison's medication schedule.

On a positive note, the girls are still gaining very well. On the corrected age timeline, the girls are almost a week old. Addison is 7 pounds 7 ounces and Riley is 7 pounds 1 ounce. So they are right on track for "newborn babies". They have outgrown the preemie clothes and some of the newborn clothes are starting to get big on them. Addison is real close to the 0-3 month clothes. I also upgraded the girls to level 1 Dr. Brown's nipples for their bottles. I feel like we have gotten out of that "preemie" stage and we finally get to have newborn babies to take care of. Addison is really good at holding her head up and she is tracking people with her eyes. Riley is working on her neck muscles and watching people with her eyes.

Next week we have the girls' 2 month appointment and a follow up appointment at the cardiologist for Addison. I look forward to 2 more weeks at home with the girls and then the transition back to work begins. Wish me luck!

Family Fun

The girls all ready for the BBQ

Addison....look at how tiny I am

Riley all dressed up and nowhere to go

Daddy and Riley

Riley in Pink

Mommy holding both girls

Look...we can share a bouncy chair

Riley playing in her bouncy chair

We had a meet and greet BBQ for the family and friends to meet girls. The girls handled their first big event really well. Riley stayed awake for most of the day and Addison slept most of the time. So far tonight, the girls are doing well and they don't seem to be over stimulated which was a big concern of mine after having a house full of people.

Addison's reflux seems to be getting better and she is so good at taking both her heart medication and her Zantac. We have had to use the Maalox and some Tylenol here and there but the Zantac seems to be kicking in to help her feel better. She seems less agitated and more happy.

Riley is my little Gerber baby and is putting on weight all over. She has the cute little chubby cheeks that you just want to pinch.

Now we are just working on letting the girls eat on demand and hoping they might go longer stretches at night so we can all get some extra sleep. I have three weeks left before I go back to work and the time is just flying by too quick. I wish it would just slow down.

Rough day with Addison and trip to her doctor

Addison had another rough night and a really bad day with her feedings and spit ups. She ended up spitting up right in daddy's face today and all over her clothes. So I decided we couldn't wait until the girl's appointment next week to discuss the possible reflux issue. I got into the pediatrician this afternoon. After waiting in the treatment room for 45 minutes after our appointment, the doctor finally saw Addison. The doctor agreed that she is probably suffering from reflux and premature babies have a higher susceptibility to having reflux issues.

We are going to start her on Zantac as plan A and see how she responds. The doctor also said we could give her a small dose of Maalox if she seems to be suffering from the acid while the Zantac is taking its time to help the matter. We can also use Tylenol if she really seems to be having a hard time. If the medication doesn't work at first we can try adding a couple of tsp of rice/oatmeal cereal to her milk to thicken it up and help the food stay down. I hope we don't need plan B because I am not ready to add cereal to their diet yet.

So I ran to the pharmacy to get the RX filled and it took forever at the pharmacy and then my insurance wanted a prior authorization before paying for the RX. I was so stressed at this point and Addison was crying because she was hungry after spitting up most of her bottle prior to the trip out to the pediatrician. The RX was around $30 for the cash price and I told them that was fine. I wasn't going to wait for a prior authorization to get my baby some relief. All in all, the day was very stressful but Addison was so wore out from the hard day that she has been sleeping and only waking for her feedings after we wake her up. I hope she is going to be getting some relief soon.

Visit with the NICU home nurse

Today we met with Bonnie, a NICU home nurse that does visits to check on the babies after they are released. Arizona pays for the program if a child has a NICU stay spanding longer than 5 days. With the program we have free access to the nurse for questions or concerns. We also have a lactation consultant that will do house visits free of charge. We are supplied with free formula and information about feeding and weight gain. The nurse will make house calls at the child's milestones until they reach age 2 where the corrected age of the premature baby catches up with full gestation babies. Arizona implemented this program due to high morbidity and mortality rates within the state. I am so thankful for the extra help and support.

I learned a great deal in this visit and the nurse is pretty sure Addison is suffering from reflux and her formula and or the over production of acid is causing most of her problems right now. We will take her into the pediatrician to work on changing formulas that we fortify my breast milk with and have her seen by specialist to see how severe her reflux/acid problems are. Since I have another baby to compare Addison's problems with, it is easy to see that she is in pain at times and she doesn't feel well most of the time. I really feel bad for my baby and I want her to start feeling better soon so she can eat and rest better. I hope we get some answers soon.

Weight Check

My Internet was down for a short time yesterday so I didn't get a chance to post about the girls pediatrician appointment. I have been concerned for the last few days that the girls have been spitting up more often, especially Addison. I think they may be having a reflux problem and the acid is bothering them after their feedings. The good news is that both girls are gaining weight very well. Riley now weighs 6 pounds 8.5 ounces and Addison is 6 pounds 14 ounces. The doctor is pleased with the weight gain and we will watch the reflux-spitting up over the next two weeks at their 2 month check and make a decision if we need to change anything with the feedings.

Addison had a real rough time last night. She spit up several times and I had to put her in the bath to get her clean and once we had her all clean she spit up again. I feel so bad because I can tell she is in pain and doesn't feel well after some feedings. Other times she is just fine and goes right back to sleep. I have noticed more of a pattern with spitting up when she has her heart medication. I worry that she isn't getting enough of the medication when she spits up but maybe it is the medication that is causing the problems. I will keep an eye on things and track when she spits up and see if there is a pattern and I will talk to the cardiologist at the end of the month.

First Professional Pictures

We took the girls in for their first professional pictures. We didn't have any hospital pictures done while the girls were in the NICU so this is the first chance they got to pose for the cameras. My cousin Marissa recomended "Portrait Innovations" and they did a fantastic job. Addison was fussy all day so we didn't get the best shots of her. She cried every time we layed her down for a pose. Riley was Mrs. Photogenic and showed off her pretty eyes several times. Here are some of my favorite ones:

Sisters

Addison

Pretty in Pink

Sweet Riley

Mommy's hands around Addison's Feet

Daddy's hands around Riley's feet

Riley holding Daddy's Finger

Addison

Riley's Sweet Eyes

Cute Little Feet

Picture Post

I have been getting behing on getting the pictures up on the blog, so here are some good shots over the last few days. Both girls have been sleeping well for the last three nights. They seem to sleep better in their bouncy chairs rather than their crib or bassinetts, so we are going with whatever works for moment.

Addison and Grandpa

Great Grandma Jean

Loving the bouncy chairs

Addison and Daddy

Addison doing the splits on Aunt Sara

Our first walk

Addison

Riley with Great Aunt Diane

Good nights and Bad nights

We seem to be in an every other day for good nights in our home. The girls will give us some good sleep and go right back to sleep after their feedings without much fussing. Then, the next night they are little monsters and cry and cry all night, want to be held, and basically keep the whole house up the entire night.

Two nights ago my mom Linda came over to help with the night feedings because my sister was going to be away for the night. The girls were fussy all night. At least Jesse and Linda let me sleep from 11 to 2:30 without doing a feeding and then the girls were up from 3:45am on. They were crying and having eating problems. Part of the problem is both girls are having some nasal congestion and they have trouble breathing while feeding. That makes them fussy and hard to get back to sleep. The pediatrician says this is normal but I might take the girls in again to have them checked out. It breaks my heart when they don't feel well and I am always coming at them with the bulb syringe and they just hate me for it.

Last night was among the best so far though. Jesse and Sara took the 11 pm and 2 am feedings and I got to go to bed at 9:30 and sleep until 3:00 am. I slept on an off during the early morning feedings. I felt well rested and Jesse and Sara got to sleep in late, leaving us feeling much better. Now if history repeats itself, we might be in for another hard night. Let’s hope the girls can just get on a good streak and they start to feel better soon.

On a fun note, we took the girls on their first walk in their Snap n' Go stroller. Riley was a little fussy before we left the house but she calmed down during the ride and Addison slept through the whole ride. All in all, I think they both liked being outdoors.

The pumping is going much better and my milk production is up. I have a large surplus of milk which will be nice when I have to go back to work in 5 weeks. I'm sad to even think about that time so I plan to make the best of my time home with my girls. We want to get the girls in for pictures this week since we didn't do formal pictures in the hospital. In reality, these will be their newborn pictures since they should have been born this week if they had made it to the end like they were supposed to.