All smiles

Ethan and Sydney are getting bigger and we're in the beginning stages of smiling.  Their doctor said that it is a 2 month developmental sign, so it's not too bad that they are just over 3 months old.  I was holding Sydney yesterday and talking to them and Ethan started making the cutest faces in the swing.  

We had a doctor's appt for Ethan on Monday to check on his foot in the brace.  We've had a REALLY hard time keeping it on and his heel has been as red as a little cherry. Poor kid.  The doctor wanted to do the Tendonotomy (nick his Achillles tendon) because his foot isn't coming up.  It looks like he is pointing it a bit.  We asked if we could wait a few weeks and he said that would be fine. He wants to do it in the OR instead of his office where they normally do it.  (Ethan was really upset when he was examining his foot, so he wants to have anesthesia to put Ethan out.)  

We are using coband to keep his foot in and it's working!  So nice.  We'll see what happens in 2 weeks...

Sunshine

I am so happy to be spending some time in the light of day.  An amazing thing happened last week--our jogging stroller arrived.  It's the Cadillac of jogging strollers that Doug has been drooling over for the past 9 months.  It happened...I gave in to the purchase.  Too bad Doug reads this blog because I really have to admit that I love it!  We took it out for it's inaugural spin around the block Saturday and then Sunday and now a jog today.  Doug's sister, Natalie, sent us her infant sling to add to the one we purchased so they could enjoy the ride.  Thanks Natalie.

Wish I could say that they loved their first trip.  We spent most of the time putting their pacifiers back in their mouths.  We are going to practice with them often...

What do you do when you have two babies with impossible burps and you're alone without an extra set of hands?

Conveniently, Ethan fell asleep like this.  I was really glad to have only one fussy baby.

3 Months Old

We can't believe that our little babies are three months old.  They are just barely out of newborn diapers and Sydney can only wear a few of her newborn clothes.  We had a doctor's appointment today and can't believe how big they are getting.

SYDNEY
9 lbs 8 oz (3.42 percentile--she jumped up from 8 lb 4 oz in 3 weeks)
21.5 inches long (2.64 percentile)
15.07 inch head circumference (10.12 percentile--up from .7 percentile in 3 weeks)
Overall, she is 34.29 percentile-not sure how they calculate that!

ETHAN
9 lbs 2 oz (.38 percentile--he jumped up 1 full pound in 1 month)
22 inches long (1.49 percentile)
15.27 inch head circumference (6.07 percentile)
Overall, he is 3.89 percentile.

These numbers are way up from when they first came home from the hospital, that's for sure.  They were both around or under 1 %tile in a almost every measurement.

I loved this photo because it looks like Ethan is showing Sydney something cool.

They are so fun...even if these photos took us 20 minutes. We had to keep calming them down.

This dress is one of my favorites and I can't believe it fits her so well.

This is a face that Sydney makes regularly...a hint of a smile.

They are so fun to play with.

That's my leg

Sleep deprivation is a crazy thing. Two nights ago, I woke up to one of the babies crying and sat straight up and thought I had been feeding them in bed (which I've only done a handful of times anyway). I frantically started feeling around for the baby and grabbed onto Doug's leg. I was trying to pick the baby up so I was looking for the head. I screamed at Doug, "help me!" He was understandably confused and I said, "I can't find the head!" He said, "that's my leg." After some deep breathing, I got out of bed to pick up a crying baby. I felt so strange...scary what can happen when you're so tired. I average between 4-6 hours of sleep per night.

Can't wait for them to eat faster...and for Doug's sake, burp faster. He is up with me for every feed burping one baby. Such a good husband.

Here is a cute video of Sydney. Ethan has started admiring the photos of his cousins as well now.

A few favorite photos from the last week.  Ethan's wardrobe is limited with his brace.  This is a favorite. Hope he is secure wearing a dress-like outfit.

 

They looked so cute the other day sleeping facing each other with their hands by their faces. Sydney's outfit is so cute but it's newborn size and almost too small.

Sydney during her bath.  We finally got her to like taking a bath--she was too cold before.  It's amazing the trial and error approach we have going for us right now.

Sydney has a burp and she stiffens her body so much that she goes completely horizontal.  I call it her cheerleader pose.

Doug's brother Kyle and his daughters Keslee and Elyssa came by to meet Ethan and Sydney last Sunday.  

Overstimulated

This is a word we heard a lot in the NICU.  They said that premature babies aren't supposed to be bounced or moved too fast or startled because it isn't good for the neurological development.  We are not sure when they will be 'all clear' from this, but in the meantime we keep our house quiet, move slowly with them, hold them close, and try not to startle them.

When either of them are startled when during sleep, they throw their hands up in the air.  It happens if there is a louder noise or if we touch them to move them too suddenly.  Sydney has a tendency to hold them in that place--sometimes for minutes at a time.  I've seen her be started and overstimulated and then hold her hands up for 10 minutes.  It is pretty funny...even if we're trying to avoid it.  I snapped a photo of Sydney the other day during her 'strike a pose' moment.

Oh and you can see that we've had a hard time cutting their nails well--she scratched her cheek so bad that it bled that day.  She is such a mild baby.  She is pretty content most of the time (thank goodness because she has the lungs of the two of them!)

Moving on up

Ethan and Sydney arrived in their nursery today. This was a direct result of Ethan getting his brace today...woo hoo! We finally finished their nursery today, so I'll post a video next. We will have them share a crib until they bother each other too much. We chose Sydney's crib--sorry for the pink for a little while Ethan.

We soaked off his cast this morning and he had his brace put on around 1:30 pm today. He isn't too fond of it yet and quite honestly, I don't blame him. It looks pretty uncomfortable and annoying to have your legs strapped to a bar. He was crying pretty hard when it was first put on and has been able to free his foot from the shoe about 6 or 7 times this afternoon. I've made Doug put it back in because he screams when we put it back in. According to the doctors, it is not painful, just uncomfortable. He turns red he is crying so hard, so I am not sure if it is just 'uncomfortable' and 'sensitive'. It's hard for me to see him suffer. I cried when I came home with them today and saw him in his brace in his car seat.

Later, Doug watched them by himself for nearly two hours while I went to a friend's bridal shower. I felt bad because they were both fussy and crying when I left--he's a trooper. It was fun to see the 'light of day' for a bit.

My amazing friend, Kayla, took photos of them nearly two weeks ago. I am cropping some of them, but thought I'd share a few. Thanks Kayla. They were REALLY fussy during the shoot--so it took us a while to get these.

Sydney...

Ethan...

So close...

Yesterday was consumed by Ethan's casting. Poor kid was circumcised last week and struggled with the pain of it and then we have a day like this.

At 7 am, we began preparations in order for Ethan and I to make it to an appointment at 11 am. I fed them and then Doug and I soaked off Ethan's cast in sugar water. After about 30 minutes, it was off and he was sticky. We gave him a bath and got him dressed. I quickly hopped in the shower and 15 minutes later, they were hungry again. We did the 9:30 feeding and then I packed up Ethan in the car while Doug stayed behind with Sydney. A photo after his bath...

At the doctor's office, I asked to be taken back to a patient room early. There were about 25 people in the waiting room (including young kids) and we were instructed at the hospital to "limit their exposure to other people for 3 months." After an hour of waiting, the doctor came in and told me he was ready for braces! No more cast!

They called the Orthopedic doctor to make sure the brace had arrived (he was fitted for it last week). It had not. They said it may be another week...bummer. So, Ethan got another cast. This time, the doctor asked an assistant to do it. I held him while 3 people worked to get the cast on and used a LOT of plaster. Over double what Dr. Faux normally uses. It didn't look the same (knee wasn't quite bent as far, etc.) but I told myself that it was only temporary.

We went home and I fed them right away at 1 pm. Thanks to my sister, Christine, for coming by to help me burp them after Doug went to school. Ethan was pretty fussy although exhausted. He would fall asleep for 10-20 minutes and wake up crying for only a few seconds and fall back asleep. It was strange. This went on until 5:30 pm and I called the doctor after giving him some Tylenol. We made arrangements to meet him at his office at 8:30 pm. Doug and I worked to soak off his cast after the 6 pm feeding without success. It was too thick...we couldn't cut through it. I could tell he was hurting and it made me so sad. Here is a video of Doug and Ethan while he is holding him in a bucket of sugar water:

At 8:30 pm, he got a new cast and slept so hard last night--5 hours apart for 2 feedings! Thank goodness Sydney agreed to do the same. Long day and all in the name of his cast.

Good news is that his brace is now in and we're getting it put on Friday morning after we soak it off. The casting journey is coming to a close.