I hate that the time between my posts gets longer and longer but I spend so much of my time at the hospital with the boys (have you seen them? and can you blame me?). They get cuter everyday!
Griffin and Jack are doing amazing. Each day is so encouraging with the constant weight gain and the new achievements that they accomplish everyday. Grady and I realize that preemies take longer to develop and we celebrate the small things everyday- like two bottles in a row, no spells on the monitors, passing the Car Seat Challenge, and really loud burps. Since preemies are so small and not really ready to fit into standard car seats- each baby has to pass the Car Seat Challenge before they can be discharged. Basically - they strap them into the car seat for 2 hours and closely monitor their breathing and heart rates to make sure both stay within the normal range while in the car seat. Preemies tend to hunch over in car seats, making them stop breathing while in the car- we definitely don't want this to happen since we know our little guys will be in a car seat quite a bit. This is where things get interesting. This whole military thing is really cramping my style!! I have always been a planner, very type A personality, and prepared. Just ask my mom when we were planning our wedding! Well, on May 22nd our house will be packed up and the twins and I are moving back to Deville to live with my parents. I read an article on Huffington Post about Boomerang Kids- adult children moving back in with their parents- well that's us!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/boomerang-kids-multigenerational-households-living-with-adult-children_n_1434966.html
But not only am I moving back in but I'm bringing along my two infant children, a dog, and a lot of sleepless nights. But since my parents are pretty much the most awesome parents ever - we are welcomed with open arms. Grady will join us on the weekends, as he will be doing some training in Alabama for his super cool new job as the JAG for the Special Ops, that will be moving us to Navarre, Florida at the beginning of July. We are excited about moving back to Florida- since this is where Grady and I met, fell in love, and have lots of fun memories. . . but the idea of being hours away from my mom with two new babies scares me to death. It will be an adventure to say the least. When we were house hunting in Florida, Grady kept saying to me- "we need plenty of room for your mom, so she will be comfortable and want to stay as long as she wants." I thought this was too funny, so glad that he loves his mother-in-law.
Back to the boys. . . Griffin is taking all of his feeding himself now- either breast or bottle- the tube is out of his nose which makes things so much more enjoyable. It is so fun to see him smile. . and yes, we know that they aren't real smiles and are directly related to what is happening in his diaper, but a momma can dream, right? He looks a lot like Grady- especially Grady's baby pictures. Griff is our loud baby- he loves to grunt and I am slowly learning that this is just his personality- grunts don't mean "pick me up." If I did pick him up everytime he grunted- I would never get a chance to hold Jack. He is quite the eater and an even better burper. I can see a lot of burping contests in my future not to mention other bodily functions- I'm sure. BOYS!!! When we feed Griff a bottle, he is so aggressive with it that a lot of times his breathing becomes impaired- which is keeping him from going home. We are really working on pacing him a little better and the Drs have decided to let him put himself on a On Demand schedule- he is doing well with this since he calls the shots.
Griff, deep in thought!!
Jack is doing better this week than he ever has. . like the nurses say. . "the light bulb has come on." He has become a excellent breast feeding baby and becoming much more alert and staying awake for longer periods of time. He seems to resemble the Price side of the family- he looks a lot like I did when I was a baby and even more so like my brother. It will be so exciting to watch them grow and change over the years. Jack's personality is much more laid back (like his daddy). He only cries when he is really upset about something and his main cry is over gas! He is our long and lean baby- he is longer than Griffin but weighs about the same. He has a little trouble with bottle feeding but is improving everyday- breastfeeding is more his thing- which I love because we really get some nice bonding time. . . until somebody else starts grunting!
Napping with mommy one afternoon, he still has the tube in his nose. . . but we don't use it!!
Both boys weigh right at 6 lbs, 8 oz. We have come a long way from 4lbs, 3 oz.
Since we are still in the hospital, the days get long and tiresome but my mom comes up quite often to sit with me and the boys and its provides a quiet place for us to visit which I enjoy. Grady went ahead and took his paternity leave this week and I enjoy when he is there with me too. Not very often, pre or post twins, do we get the opportunity to just visit for hours at a time so this has been a welcomed time for us. And no better feeling than when we each are rocking our boys- sometimes we'll sing the Ricky Van Shelton/Dolly Parton song "Through these Rocking Years." Its funny- I'm sure the nurses at the NICU think we are crazy!
Overall, the boys are doing great- we had a minor set back last week when both boys had to have blood transfusions. I know, it sounds scary and horrible, but it did both boys a world of good. Since they are growing so fast, their bone marrow can't keep up with the production of red blood cells- so basically they were anemic.
Last night, I was given a room at the hospital and would wander to the NICU every three hours to nurse the boys- both boys did great and for the first time in 46 days- I truely feel like the end is near!! I can't wait to get the boys home.
Praises:
1. Good feedings for both boys
2. Good labs came back normal for no more problems with jaundice or anemia.
3. A great husband who goes to work everyday and then comes to the hospital every night to help feed our boys while I take a break- he is exhausted but you can't keep him away from the boys. He call it "boys night out."
4. A wonderful mother, who loves the boys just as much as we do, she is so willing to spend all day with me at the hospital and makes the long days seem shorter.
5. I can button my old jeans again!
Prayers:
1. A continued improvement in all areas of the boys health.
2. Calmness during this chaotic time for our family in the next 3 months.
3. All the other babies in the NICU
Grady is feeding Jack and mom is feeding Griffin
We HATE bath time but don't all boys?!?!
