Friends and Family

The weather has been horrible the past few days. It would be great if we could all just curl up in the bed on days like these but when you have two babies who want and need your attention 24/7 that's just not an option.

The girls have been rather goofy when it comes to their sleeping lately. For a few weeks there they were sleeping from 8pm to 9am then taking two naps during the day for an hour. Now, for the past few weeks they have changed things up on me. They are sleeping from 8pm to 8am with a few 7am wake ups in between and they have been skimping on naps. They'll either only take 30 minutes few nap or only take one a day. They just like their Daddy and me and need a lot of sleep so those days when they don't nap by the end of the day they have become holy terrors and are so exhausted that they can't get them selves calmed down. They've gone through a growth spurt lately and maybe this is just another "symptom".

I am now officially employed as of Monday. I am doing transcription from home for a research study that was done with The Lawton Chiles Foundation's Whole Child Project and the University of South Florida. We'll see how it goes. I just have to try and make sure I take the correct amount of time each day to get enough done to pay what I need. The job ends in roughly four months when the study is complete so I want to try and get as much done as soon as possible. I only hope that the twins will be kind and allow me the time do to it during the day so I am not working all night.

Next Monday PJ will be coming to visit during the day while Aunt Tes goes back to work. I am very extremely excited about having him during the day. Tes doesn't want to have to leave him (who would...look at how cute that booger is!) but I'm happy because I get the good end of the stick. I get some extra snuggles with the littlest man for a few hours a day. Now I just have to try and remember what a 3 month old does!

It is also official - time flies and fast. My friend Liz's little girl Sophia is turning a year old this Sunday. Can you believe it? Neither can I! She was three months old at my baby shower and it doesn't seem possible she's so big already. H1 and H2 will be attending their first ever birthday party for their own little friend. And just think, they'll be having their own birthday party here soon! I've already started trying to decide what we want to do.

Liz and Sophia at my baby shower and Sophia now.

Playing and Posing At Grandma's House

R had to go out of town this weekend for work so me and the girls went over and stayed at my Mom's house. The girls enjoyed the new sights and sounds around her house and all the fun people and places we got to see.

Aunt Danielle (one of my very best friends) came into down this weekend and the girls got to see her again. The last time both she was in town and we were free the girls were only a month old. She is such a great person and has been a wonderful friend to me for so many years. She is wonderful with kids and I wish she lived closer. But, we will take her when we can get her! Unfortunately, the girls were a bit off schedule yesterday so they were a little fussy. They hadn't taken a very good morning nap and were sleepy when we went out for lunch. Maybe next time she's here they will want to stay awake longer.

Aunt Danielle and H1 at 1 Month Old

We had a little photo shoot while at my Mom's house. The girls were looking oh-so-scumptious and I just had to start clicking away. Hailey was being a little shy and just wanted to be held. I got one goofy grin out of her the entire time! Not to mention she tore right over her sister trying to get at a toy. So funny! Hailey is crawling the real way now and is also pulling up! It's amazing what a week can do.

Hailey


Hannah


Hailey and Hannah

Ready or Not There We GO!

Don't let those sweet innocent smiles fool you. Those girls of mine are into everything nowadays! Since they are both crawling up a storm the SuperYard is getting used quite a bit. It's just so difficult to watch them both at the same time when they are so fast!

As you can see from the video they both do an inchworm type of crawl. It suprises me that they don't get sick from flopping down on their bellies the way that they do. H2 flops the hardest. All you hear as she goes along is *slide-flop-slide-flop-slide-flop*! 

For the past month or so I'd say the girls have changed their napping schedule on me. Normally we'd be at music class at 11am but nowadays they want to go down for their nap at 11, which stinks. I'm not sure if I need to start getting them up earlier so that we can make it or if I should just write it off. I enjoyed going to talk with the other Moms and the girls loved the socializing. Well, actually, now that I think about it. I wouldn't be able to go coming up here in a few weeks anyway. PJ is going to be coming to stay the day with us when Tes goes back to work so that takes care of that!

37 Weeks and 2 Days

Today the girls are 37 weeks and 2 days old. That is the exact same amount of time that I was pregnant with them. It really doesn't seem possible. My pregnancy seemed like it went by so incredible slowly and then these past 8 months seemed like they just flew by!

Frequently Asked Questions

These are a few common questions you get asked whenever you are out and about with twins. So, I figured I'd answer a few today!

Are they identical?:
Yes, they are. They shared one placenta but had their own individual amniotic sacs.

Who’s older?:
H1is older by one whole minute.

Who is smarter/the naughty one?:
Neither one is "smarter" than the other. They both excel in most things and have their own strengths. And neither is "naughty". This question always irks me. Both of the girls are extremely good babies.

Who is your favorite?:
Who seriously would ask someone this you ask? I hear it more than I'd like to admit when we're out at the store. It changes every half a second. I love them both so much I could never choose between them. They are such individuals.

Are they a lot of work?:
Yes and no. Since they are my first I honestly don't know any better. I am very lucky to have such good girls. They've slept through the night from about 3 months on and only cry when they are sleepy or hungry. I am very lucky.

When did you know it was twins?:
I had a feeling it was twins from the beginning but didn't say anything because I didn't want to jinx it. We found out for certain on December 5, 2006 at our first pre-natal appointment.

When did you know they were identical?:
We went to a perinatologist at 17 weeks and were told. Due to the amount of "tissue" in between the girls two amniotic sacs was extremely thin which indicates identicals. Also, they shared a single placenta which is also an indicator.

Was it normal or CS delivery?:
I had a scheduled c-section because neither of the girls were in a head down position. This drawing is pretty similar to how the girls were positioned.

Why do you dress them alike/differently?:
The girls are either dressed in the same outfit or in their respective color. H1 in pink and H2 in purple. It makes it easier on me doing wash and organizing and who wouldn't want to match their twins? Until they say they don't want to anymore I will be doing it.

Which side of the family has twins? Yours or his?:
We have twins on both sides. They say that identical twins are not hereditary but I tend to disaggree. I find it hard to believe that people can have multiple sets of identical twins and it all be random.

Did you have them due to IVF?:

No, they are natural twins. Most identical twins are natural twins due to the say they are created.

How did they become identical twins?:

They are created from a single egg and a single sperm. The egg splits around day 2 of the pregnancy.

If you have a question you'd like to ask about my life with the girls or twins in general I'd love to answer them!

Baby Neptune

Whenever the twins cousin Austin was little he loved to watch his Baby Einstein - Baby Neptune Discovering Water movie. Since Sarah (his Mommy and my sister-in-law) told me how much he liked it I went out and got a copy. I turned it on the television and put the girls in each of their respective excersaucers. Since H2 prefers to bounce around she gets the the jumperoo and H1 gets the saucer. So far they have found the entire thing hilarious. I've noticed that they prefer the "musical numbers" aka the duck puppet quaking to classical music while swimming and the shots of actual water scenes. They aren't as fond of the "faux water" that is a drawing or animations. It was kind of nice for them to have something they can turn and look at and then just turn back and play with what they were playing with.

Playing With Daddy and Meeting Ms. Bonnie

H1 and H2 are some Daddy's girls! They love when R comes home and plays with them. They are normally in their "cage" (as we call it around here!) when he gets home and he climbs right on in with them. They always shriek with delight as soon as they see him. He'll lay down beside where they are playing and they crawl over and then right on top of him! They are definitely all about the Daddy love!

Today the girls got to meet my friend Bonnie. She is 32 weeks along and looking great. Since the girls were still contagious we weren't able to make it to her baby shower so we met at her husband's work, which is near my house. She is the step-mom to fraternal twin girls named Brenna and Kiersten who just turned 5. Me and the twins both have the same birthday! There is a link to their family website in the "friends and family" link section.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

HAPPY BELATED VALENTINE'S DAY!

Love Always, 

H1 

And H2

Mommy had the roughest photo shoot to date this time! Since we can not only sit up by ourselves but crawl she could barely keep us still...especially Hannah!

8 Month Photo...Plus Some!

Our 8 Month Photo!
It's not too great I know but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.

We have personality? Can you tell?



H1 and H2...all better and having lots of fun playing!

Happy Birthday To Me?

On Sunday the twins and I went over to Doodle's house to eat dinner and celebrate my birthday. While we were there H2 started actually very strangely. She had been throwing up her formula all day but she really hadn't acted too differently than usual. She just was a little sleeper than normal. We tried giving her a bottle since she hadn't eaten too much at lunch time but she wouldn't take it. She was just lying there, staring at the ceiling, not really doing anything. It is completely unusual for her to just sit still. Both the girls are so active and busy to see her the way she was really started to scare me. She had also started a little wet cough. When we checked her temp is was 103! We gave her some Pedialyte and just let her lay on the couch. She wasn't getting any better and her temperature went up to 104. We left H1 at my Mom's house, loaded up and went to Urgent Care.

We sat there for about 2 1/2 hours before we were called back into a room. (Don't get my started on the receptionist...she was extremely rude!) They took her temperature, which was 103, and her blood pressure and oxygen levels. We proceeded to sit there for another hour before the doctor comes back (which we found out was the only doctor there and he had been working there alone for the entire past two days.) He pretty much just said he didn't think there was anything really wrong with her which is something that no parent wants to hear. He said he did want a chest x-ray to rule out pnesmonia. And that's about all he did. The x-ray tech was super sweet and seemed like she knew how difficult it really is to have a super sick child and then have to strip them down and hold them still for an x-ray. She was a small glimmer of sunshine in that dreary place. When the x-ray came back clear he pretty much just said "Well, just give her some Tylenol and she'll be fine." They wouldn't give her any Tylenol when she missed her dosage but they told us that was all that would help. *shrugs* 5 1/2 hours later we went home with a baby who missed her dosage, was tired, and still running a 104 fever. She didn't sleep a wink that night and was just completely miserable the entire night.

Happy birthday to me...or not! Nothing like waking up the next morning getting the girls up, loaded them in the car, and heading to the Pediatrician's office. Luckily, my Mom is a nurse at their peds office so she knew we were coming first thing. Hailey still hadn't really eaten anything. They did several tests on her and they couldn't find anything that was conclusive. The doctor gave her a shot of some strong anti-biotics and told me that if she got any worse or anything drastic changed to come back before 3pm. Since I live so far out and it was the girls nap time I went to my Mom's house (she was home) to lay them down, ate, and just keep an eye on H2. Her temperature was still high when I laid them down in the cribs at my Mom's house.

When I went to go get them up I picked H2 up and she was drenched in sweat. I took her temperature again and she was about 104.5! She started getting the chills really, really bad. To the point where she looked like she was about to have a seizure. I stripped her down and put her into a cool bath to try and get her cooled off. It didn't really work. She stopped shivering but her was still very hot. I left H1 with my Mom and ran H2 back up to the doctors office. The doctor was pretty worried about her not eating still and said that she really wanted to get her put into the hospital to get some fluids in her. She called across the street and let them know we were coming. We got into the car, parked in the parking garage, went down one set of elevators, across the hospital, up another elevator, through some big metal doors and walked into the pediatric unit.

When we got there they took us straight to a room, got her banded and brought me some formula, Pedialyte, drinks for me, diapers and wipes. The nurse did everything she could to make sure both H2 and I had everything we needed as soon as we got there. The tech, who's name slips my mind at the moment...I will call her S) came in to take her temperature, weight, length, blood oxygen and blood pressure. She was amazingly nice and was a huge help to me during the entire stay. I sat with her in the rocking chair in the room for a bit to try and get her to relax. She finally relaxed long enough for me to lay her down in the crib-like contraption in the room. She slept for about 5 minutes before she woke up screaming again.

We waited for about 30 minutes before another came to get us and bring us to the procedure room to put her IV in. Let me tell you, sitting there having to help hold her down as they looked for a vein to put an IV into was just aweful. The first nurse couldn't get it in and had a rule that she only sticks twice before calling someone in to try. The second nurse did a good scan and was able to get the needle in on the first try.

After it was all over H2 was even more exhausted and so was I. We went back to our room for the night. R came with his parents after work to bring me some clothes and toiletries and to see H2. She didn't do a lot of sleeping that night either. R's parents went and picked up H1 from my Mom's since my Mom had to work the next day. His Mom took off work just to keep her since R's boss gave him a hard time about taking off.

We were in the hospital for two nights. They believe that she had a stomach virus. H2 slowly got better and started eating. It was a rough few days because since they didn't know if what she had was contagious we were quarantined to our room. I only left the room twice the entire time. Once to go to the car and another to take H1 to the doctor. Oh yeah, did I mention that H1 started running a fever while she was at their house? Nana came and watched H2 so I could take H1 to her appointment. They ran some tests and found out that she had the flu. So, not only were both girls sick at the same time but they were both sick with something different. When we got home I had to keep them both separated so that they didn't share anymore germs. They were not happy about that. After two days of being separated I had to keep them separated for another two days. Poor babies.

They are much better but I am sick now. On top of all of that the computer completely died so I have not been able to do anything. I was trying to apply for a job but because I had no access to anything I am way behind on getting all the paperwork to them. I hope I'm not too late.

Now if I can just get through the rest of this week on the rest of my fumes I think I can make it!

Out With The Old - In With The New!

So, it wasn't blogger after all. It was my computer. It finally died and we just got a new one. It'll be a bit before I get everything back to normal but I will update on my crazy week soon. It's been a rough one.