3 Months Old Update.

I can't believe that it's been 3 months already.  The boys are doing great, growing up fast.  We love just spending time with them and learning about their very individual personalities.  As for how they're growing, William is in the 90th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for length (he's about a pound heavier than Joseph).  Joseph is about average for both weight and length.  They're sleeping better at night, they only wake mama and daddy up once during the night, we're very grateful for that!

It's so amazing to see their different personalities manifest as they get older.  Joseph is a little social butterfly, he's started smiling and giggling and loves to be near people.  His Aunt Jen was watching him last week and tried to put him down for a nap in a quiet room by himself.  Immediately he started to scream like he was dying and she didn't know what to do to help.  What it was is that he was scared to be in a room alone!  It's just one of his quirks, he has to be in the same room with someone in order to feel secure.

William is more chill, quietly observing the world around him taking everything in.  He's starting to coo and verbalize more now, especially when lying on his back.  Unfortunately his first 3 months have been rough on him.  The doctor thinks that he has GERD (AKA acid reflux) and a milk protein allergy.  We've had to put him on Nutramigen (the expensive formula) we're also giving him Previcid for acid control and we're putting a gel in his formula that thickens it up so he's not constantly spitting up like he was.  It's been a lot better since we started all of these interventions, but he still has his moments.  We just feel so bad for him because he's clearly uncomfortable and yet there's nothing we can do about it :-/  Hopefully in another month we can start giving him rice cereal that should ease up all of his symptoms.

Here's a few candid pics of the boys plus a video taken just this afternoon!

Joseph with cousin Olivia

William with cousin Carley

Last week we went to JC Penny and got some professional pictures done, I've included some of them below. We also have some Christmas pictures too, but I think I'll wait a bit to post those :-)  give me a reason to make another update.

Too Cute for Words!

William on left Joseph on right

William

 Well we're all adjusting to our new lives at home.  The middle of the night feedings are getting a bit easier to manage and Joseph is able to sleep without needing to be held quite so often.  We were a bit worried because William hadn't had a bowel movement in over a week.  The doctor said it was normal and we had nothing to worry about, but worry we did.  Finally yesterday he started to show signs of discomfort so we called the doctor who said we could use a lubricated q-tip to stimulate his area a bit.  We did and it was like opening the floodgates!  He's had a dirty diaper at every changing, and I even had to use 3 diapers in one changing because he'd start going before I could get the new one on!

Joseph

 Joseph has become very expressive.  When he's nearly finished eating he'll let out these peaceful little sighs to let you know he's satisfied.  He also eats a ton!  He'll eat 2 oz. which, should tide him over for 3 hours, yet less than an hour later he'll be hungry again and down another 2 oz!  Joseph has become slightly less needy at night and has been sleeping a bit better in the new bassinets we got them.  They're both opening their eyes more and looking around trying to figure out the world around them.  Their eyes are a pretty blue shade and you can tell they are soaking in every detail. 

We're learning that size is important when it comes to diapers.  We've been using some generic size 1 diapers which is intended for babies that are 8-12lbs.  Since both babies are under 7lbs. still the diapers are just too big and they end up leaking like a screen door on a submarine, so we bought some size N pampers for babies that are 6-10lbs and they work much better.

Above is a panoramic composite of the nursery.  Sister Desiree Follet from church painted the trees on the wall.  It looks incredible, it really feels like a peaceful, relaxing room now. 

Few more items to share.

Stacy insisted I share a picture of me holding a baby so here I am holding Joseph.

Also, I thought I'd share a video of their first baths given by their nurse the first night.  We weren't sure who was who yet, but the first video is William, the second Joseph.

Everyone is home safe

Getting ready to go home with mama

What's going through my mind: You mean you're actually letting me take these out with me?!?

 Just thought y'all would like to know that we're all home safe... I still can't believe that they let us take two actual living breathing human babies home!  The boys are day sleepers apparently as they kept me up all night last night but are sound asleep now... I've come to realize that I have grossly underestimated my role in this whole parenting thing.  Looking back, I actually believed that I would just hand the babies over to Stacy to nurse while I napped.  When she was done, I'd check for poopies, change the diaper, and then I'd put them down where they'd slip quietly off to sleep for another 3 hours.  Yeah, not the way it works AT ALL! 

Sleeping as of an hour ago

Because of the C-Section, Stacy hasn't been able to move or lift anything really, so, when it's feeding time (which is practically every hour :-/) I'll pick up the baby that is going to be breastfed, check the diaper, prep some formula (since there are two, Stacy is unable to produce enough to feed them both, so we have to supplement) pass him to Stacy who attempts to get the baby to latch on.  While that's happening I'm picking up (usually waking up) the next baby, checking his diaper and prepping another bottle.  Then I wrap him up, feed him, and put him down just as Stacy is finishing her nursing attempt (babies are still learning how to do things the old fashioned way ;-).  Then I wrap and feed the baby who was nursing as Stacy revs up the 'ol breast pump and tries to get what she can from her gals.  After baby 2 is finished eating (and burping... who know something so small could produce so much gas out of both ends!) I put him down, clean all the bottles, rinse off the pump parts, lay down, close my eyes, and just barley slip into unconsciousness when one of the babies starts crying again...

Joseph, our pacifier baby

Dr. Herzog with the boyz... Joseph is not amused!

It's been so much fun getting to know the boys though.  Joseph is going to need a lot of security.  He'll probably be a pacifier baby, he's totally content as long as he's being held or has a nipple or a pinky finger in his mouth; lay him down by himself though, and within seconds no one is sleeping! 

William is totally chill though, he just goes with the flow.  Last few changes he barely even made a sound.  He's not eating as much as Joseph though, which is troublesome, but then again he's a bit bigger so maybe he's just waiting for little brother to have his growth spurt and catch up.

William with Grandma

I can't believe how adorably cute they are though, seriously, I'm surprised baby photographers aren't banging down our door for the opportunity to do a photo shoot!  I've collected more pictures that I'll add later, but I also wanted to share the link to the professional photos they did at the hospital.

William with Mama

www.our365.com
 They look great, and you can order prints if you want... who wouldn't want a print of these adorable little bugs!!!

Introducing William and Joseph

They're here!  After 91 days in the hospital the boys have finally arrieved.  William Wallace (formally Apple) is on the left, Joseph Fredrick (Banana) is on the right.  They have started nursing pretty well, though they're midnight snackers as they havent fed at all this morning, they're just too tired to eat. 

Mommy is recovering well.  Doctor induced around 10:00am, broke her water around 2:00 and wheeled her into the operating room around 5:00.  After several attempts at pushing, the doctor concluded that we needed to move to a cesarean birth, as William was refusing to budge, even with significant help from the doctor trying to coax him out.  After the operation though, William gave up and was finally born at 6:11pm and was 7lbs 1oz, 19 1/2 inches long.  Joseph grabbed hold of his heel and came flying out at 6:12pm and was 6lbs 11oz, 18 1/2 inches long.  Stacy is exhausted, and in significant (but managable) pain, but is loving every moment of being with her sons. Daddy can't believe that these two little men are actually his to keep and be responsible for. 

Both of us are so thankful for the other, as one baby might be manageable by a lone parent, but two babies is nearly impossible to handle.  Stacy's familay has been very supportive, her mom is going to be an indespensible asset to us in the weeks and months to come, as already we're feeling quite overwhelmed.  Thanks to everyone who has sent us well wishes via text message and phone calls.  We're both pretty tired, and Stacy is downright delierious with exhaustion, so please forgive us if we don't respond right away.  I'll post more pictures and videos as we start to recover and get a handle on exactly what we've gotten ourselves into!

2 Days Left!

Thursday is the day!  It's been a long time coming and Stacy is more than ready to have them out and not kicking her in the ribs and playing drums on her bladder.  We're both anxious, excited and scared to death to meet the the two new lives that we're going to be responsible for, for eternity...  The nursery is looking good, the young women came and cleaned the house, painted the walls in the nursery, and Desiree Follet (friend from church) came and painted a couple of trees on the walls (pictures to come). We have car seats and baby clothes ready to go, and our changing table is fully stocked with diapers and wipes.  The only thing left to do is to call my benefits department and apply for a leave of absence.

Please keep up the prayers, we need a smooth delivery and an even smoother transition to our new lives with kids!  Thanks everyone!

34 Weeks and still going strong.

Stacy's spirits have been down a bit this week.  She's just getting really tired of being in the hospital, being pregnant, and having to force feed herself even when she's not hungry, just so her blood sugar stays normal.  She's hanging tough though, she's just ready for the babies to come out already!  She's also concerned that since school is starting soon, I'll be at work when she goes into labor, and may not make it to the hospital in time for the babies to be delivered.

If she makes it to 37 weeks that will be the first full week of school when kids are back.  It's a critical time because it sets the pace for the rest of the school year, but I'm just going to have to plan on being out for a while.  Stacy's school has been great, they told her not to worry about anything, that they'll take care of securing a sub and getting the kids off on the right foot.  Of course we want the babies to get as much time in the womb as they need, but I think secretly we're kind of hoping that they'll make their grand appearance during week 35/36 so if I have to I can leave in the middle of the day and only miss out on some of the teacher prep activities going on that week.

Whatever happens, God is in control, and the sequence of events He chooses will be the right one, and I'm sure everything will work out fine.

33 Weeks and counting!

Everyone is just keepin on truckin!  The babies are doing great, they are measuring about 4 1/2 lbs.  Their growth has normalized, which is good because that means that the diabetes is under control.  Stacy is as uncomfortable as ever and can't wait for the babies to be born (but they need to cook a little longer!)  The doc says that if she makes it to 37 weeks, he'll go ahead and induce her, but he also says that they could come at any time.

I've been having fun pushing on the babies and feeling them push back.  We also know that their hearing works because I gave her belly a raspberry the other day and they nearly jumped out of her belly they were so startled!  We're both excited and nervous as the day approaches.  I don't think we're nearly as ready as we need to be, but at the same time, who ever is?

31 weeks 3 days

We're still trucking along! Stacy is dealing with the diabetes well, in fact after my last post she got a visit from her nutritionist who told her that she wasn't eating enough!  The idea is to keep her blood sugar consistent throughout the day so she needs to plan for having snacks between meals.  The biggest change in her diet has been simply keeping track of the number of carbs she is having at a time, and spacing them out over the course of the day.  It seems to be working, her numbers are almost always below 120 which is what her doctor wants to see, and she hasn't had to have any insulin shots which is great.

She is getting pretty tired of the drudgery of the daily routine though.  Every day the babies get monitored twice, her finger gets pricked 4 times, she has 3 meals and 3 snacks, and drinks 120oz. of water which makes her get up to pee a dozen times a day.  She can only shower every other day, she can sit up for no more than 30 minutes while she eats, and she's only allowed to leave her room on Tuesday's for her weekly ultrasound.  All the rest of the time all she can do is lie in bed... I'm trying to keep her entertained, but I think she just has a major case of cabin fever... who can blame her, it's been 52 days since she was admitted!   Thank goodness I have the summer off and can come up to see her every day because she'd be stark raving mad by now if she didn't have the company!

On Tuesday we go in for another ultrasound where they measure the babies.  Two weeks ago they were nearly 4 lbs. so it'll be interesting to see how big they've gotten.  We still have no clue when the babies are going to come, but her doctor told us that if the babies decided to come today, he wouldn't be concerned at all.  I guess that means that we're past the point of major complications due to premature delivery.  I'll update the post again later this week with the new measurements! Thank you all for your prayers and continued support.  We feel it, and love you for it!

Tough Weekend

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Stacy's had a rough weekend, if it's not one thing it's another.  She found out Saturday that she has gestational diabetes.  As if that isn't bad enough her doctor seems to be on a crusade to make her lose weight while being pregnant, and so has not only cut out her carbs completely but has also reduced her meat portions which is ridiculous.  Stacy is always hungry now and thats not a good thing for a pregnant lady...  She's being a trooper though and is trying to do what her doctor says.  At least the babies are OK and still in there!  We should go in for another ultrasound tomorrow and will get the babies measured.  Wish us luck!