Holy Smokers

In 9 short little days, the boys will be one. ONE!! Time is flying by.

Thumbs

I have a black AND green thumb! We’ve had this spider plant for probably 12 years. One of the first we ever bought. I don’t really like spider plants, so every time it got a runner, I’d replant the little baby plant and give away the big one. And apparently what they say is true – these are very hard to kill. It was on top of my fridge, lonely and forgotten, when I brought it down there was just a tiny bit of green. Add water, and voila! New plant! There’s now even new shoots out of what I thought was the totally dead side! Yes, black AND green thumb.

Putting it Out There

I’m excited to say that my “60 Day Slimdown” workout dvd’s with Lindsay Brin arrived this week in the mail. Gosh I love online shopping. And babysteals.com. In the last 10 years I have really “let myself go”. I don’t really have any excuses other than pure laziness. I know I just had twins, but really, I didn’t JUST have them ~ they’re 9 months old today. And I actually only weigh about 15lbs more than pre-twins. (also sad b/c I did get down to 5lbs). So, I need to make changes, starting with these workout videos. I’m just gonna put it out there, and hope it shames me into succeeding. I weigh 211 lbs. My goal is to weigh 125 lbs. That’s 86lbs folks.

I know a lot of time has passed since I last posted, but it seems like there's nothing new to report. Lovely Christmas, started the boys on solids Dec 26, still no teeth (although the process has been very long)...
So, for those of you who are unaware, I created a youtube account for vids of the boys. Here's the latest, the Less than Interesting Lives of Zeke & Quinn:

Rollin’

Well it took Quinn a little longer to learn to roll than Zeke but now that he’s mastered it there’s just no stopping him. He rolls to get a toy, from the couch to the tv and all around but most often – directly to and ON to his brother. How does he not wake up??!!

People ask me if they wake each other up, and most often my answer is “nope”. As you can see…

Smiles

Even though this week has been very long with a combined growth spurt and teething twins, smiles just make it all better,

My Favourite Thing

I think one of my very favourite things right now is how when I play the piano, usually out of the old church songbook binder, Q&Z start chatting at the top of their lungs. Singing along... Makes me smile.

Day 186

Suddenly, I feel my self yanked forward, arms clutching the reins, feeling them being ripped out of their sockets feet flying behind me. Toes scrape the ground, I run a little, I dig my heels in, wrap the reins around my wrists and skid… only to be yanked forward again, feet flying out from under me in a superman pose.

I’m sure that’s what every parent feels… time just grabs a hold and drags you along whether you’re ready or not. No matter how hard you try to slow it down.

It’s been 6 months already! The NICU is like a dream… this time last year I just took my first pregnancy test and now my babies have started to roll over! Well, baby #1 that is. Baby #2 will follow, I’m sure, he’s just taking his time.

They are so much fun. And some days a lot of  “work” ~ especially as they’ve really started tag teaming the nap times.  Z; “OK buddy, it’s time to wake up, I can’t keep my eyes open any longer”. Q; “OK bro, I got this. I’ll let you know if anything fun happens”.

Or at least that’s the way it seems. But could they be any more beautiful? I think not. 

Day 127

Turns out it's really annoying to type one handed. Hence, the no blogging. There's always a baby awake demanding attention, like now, but I'm doing my best to ignore them both. Can hardly believe I've been a mom for over 4 months already, and that we've been home from the hospital for over 2. And they're getting BIG! Well, comparatively speaking. Here we are, the first time I ever held them together ~ May 26, 2010
To today ~ Sept 3, 2010
We've been almost exclusively nursing now for the last month, and I think they're starting to out eat me! Back to some bottles it is, which is kinda lame as they're a lot more work. But, they're hungry little piglets. They've also started to play copycat ~ sticking out their tongues at you ~ cooing, and full face smiles. It's strange, but I just feel rewarded or something, like nothing can go wrong when I get one of those smiles.
They've also started following rattle noises around and loving their activity play mat. It's so much fun when they interact with you.
Not much else is new, my sphere has narrowed to my living room, with the occasional outside moment. We've gone to a farmer's market, check out my delicious lunch:

a mall:
a birthday party and a baby shower:
And we've had baby friends over too! Some of the moms I met in the hospital have decided to meet with me once a month or so, just to get out of the house and connect with people who know what it's like to take care of 2 babies at the same time. Quite the baby pile on my living room floor! I'll be sure to take pics next time.
I have mostly passed the exhausted stage, I have energy MOST days, not all. Enough to actually start thinking of exercising. Need to eat a lot more calories in a day I think if I'm actually going to do it though. Got just enough right now to get through the day on my butt :) Well, babies are calling.

Day 55

Well, it all started with Day 1: the traumatic wake up at 1:52 am April 29 2010 by water gushing out of me and me yelling in J's ear "no no no no no!". The boys are only 29 weeks and 3 days old! Too early! We made it to the hospital by 2:20 ~ in a snowstorm ~ onto a bed & in a gown by 2:30 when the contractions started. They quickly jumped to 3 mins apart in the first half hour, and I definitely needed to squeeze J's hand through them but they weren't too bad. I'm glad I got to experience a little bit (weird as that may sound). I was brought to an OR by 3:30 and given a spinal, meaning I was paralyzed from the ribs down but able to feel slight pressure and be awake to hear their cries as they came out. J broke all the rules and stood up during my c-section and watched the doctors remove internal organs and place them on my stomach, followed by quickly yanking out the babies. Then the anesthesiologist insisted he sit down. They were born just 1 min apart ~ 4:18 & 4:19 AM ~ and weighed in at 2lbs 12oz each - just 5 grams apart. And SO bruised, poor little guys!
Just before 7am I was wheeled past their beds in the NICU. Quinn was being worked on so I only got to see him from a distance but I did get to hold Zeke's hand. As I was recovering from a cold, the nurses informed me I wasn't allowed to see them until I was fully recovered - hardest 29 hours ever! They were thankfully (due to tons of prayer!) born without any major issues, just requiring CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) for their lungs. They spent 19 days at the Foothills hospital before they were moved to the Rockyview - a lower risk level NICU. Soon after arriving they were moved into 1 crib together which was so very nice. At the Foothills they were never even in an isollette next to each other, and it only took them about 2 days to be aware of each other again. I would walk in and see them holding hands, sucking on each others fingers and wiggling closer and closer til they were touching, no matter how far apart you laid them down.
Zeke at 3 weeks

Quinn at 3 weeks

They were gradually weaned off the nasal prongs that were providing them with some oxygen help. They've been given caffeine to stimulate their breathing instead, which unfortunately also makes their little hearts race at times. But, I prefer it to the oxygen, which is also used as a stimulant, but fills their bellies with air. AND would be very difficult to come home on compared to the caffeine.
So, we're now at Day 55 in the hospital. Boys are 37 weeks and 2 days old today and weigh in at 5lbs 11oz. In order for them to be released they have to be taking all their feeds without a feeding tube (they bottle and nurse very well and don't need the tube) and be able to sit in a car seat for 90 mins straight while maintaining their oxygen saturation levels above 88%. Today Zeke had his car seat test and didn't pass, he almost made it, but still needs a bit more time to grow them lungs. So they've decided to keep both babies in the hospital over the weekend and try them both in the car seats on Monday. So MAYBE we can go home on day 62! If they're ready.
First time holding them together


Happy Father's Day
Little baby Quinn feet

Grandma snuggles Zeke Day 55
Cutest EVER!
Boys, you've come a long way.