Happy Bellies!

Today Claire and Drew had baked sweet potatoes for the first time. This is the first vegetable that they have tried. They have been eating cereal since they were four months but I wanted to wait until they were six months to start veggies and fruits. Of course, they LOVED the sweet potatoes. We are giving them Sprout Baby, it's an organic brand that I've found at HEB. It wasn't my first choice but it's the only thing around here that I could find.

They also played in the floor together. They would look at one another and smile. Claire was talking away to Drew. Whatever she said didn't go over well with him though and he grabbed her face, poking her in the eye. I had to remove his hand from her and of course, by then, she was crying. So far Claire has gotten it twice in the face by Drew.

Every night I get in the bath and bathe the babies. It's my one on one time with them. No matter how hectic our day is, we end with a nice relaxing bath where each baby gets Momma all to themselves. It's a time that I look forward to and I think that they look forward to it too. Tonight, Drew got really tickled while taking a bath. I bought two little toys, a butterfly and octopus, for them to play with in the water. I started hitting them together, making a knocking noise, and he that it was hilarious! He belly laughed every time I would do it. I yelled for Todd to "hurry and get the camcorder". This is the first time I've heard Drew belly laugh. It was so cute, and now we have it on video. Awesome. Now, we just need to catch Claire with her belly laugh. Every once in a while she gets tickled and it's so funny. It's usually when she's really tired, but we will get her on camera....eventually.

These days, I'm keenly aware at how fast my babies are growing. I try to hold them as much as I can and just smell them. (You momma's know what I'm talking about). I wish that I could just bottle that sweetness up and have it for always. I am so overwhelmed with love for Claire and Drew and so blessed to their Momma. Thank you, God. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

6 Months Old........well, almost.

In just 6 short days Claire and Drew will be 6 months old. I'm in awe of how fast our babies are growing up. These days both babies have lots to say. Claire really likes to mimmic sounds that we make. She's especially found of "hi" and "hoo-hoo". Drew has so much to say that he ofter wakes up in the middle of the night to have a chit-chat with himself. It's so funny. I just let him lay there and talk and after a while he falls back to sleep. They have become more interested in each other. Just this past week Claire had a toy and Drew managed to get himself to her and grabbed it out of her mouth. Claire immediately started crying. Is it too early for the "sharing" talk? She likes to watch Drew play from afar but Drew prefers to be within reaching distance of her. If he gets close to her he starts trying to touch her, which is fine, although sometimes it gets out of hand. Both are also doing their best to sit up. They still have to have a little support but it want be long now.

We will be heading to Keller for a few days next week. Claire and Drew have their well baby check-up and we will also be getting out Christmas pictures taken. I'm really excited. I found some cute Christmas outfits for them.

We are still not in our Gorman house yet. Can we say "money pit?" Most of our things are unpacked and we will be in it by Thanksgiving.

I would also like to say a big "HOWDY" to Tyf. She makes sure that I keep this blog somewhat updated. So, thanks Tyf!

Mozart and Beethoven

Claire and Andrew are in LOVE with Baby Mozart and Baby Beethoven. Grandma Jane and Grandpa Charlie bought them the entire set of Baby Einstein DVD's and they are loving it! They laugh, kick and talk through each one. It is so fun to watch them. I only let them watch each one once a day, usually one in the morning and one in the evening. NO, I am NOT letting the television babysit my kids! My Mother has the letters of the alphabet on big flashcards so I'm showing them the letters of their names and teaching them how to sound them out. Some may say that I'm crazy but these are the years that their little brains soak up LOTS of information and I'm going to pack as much knowledge into them as I can.

Both Claire and Drew had colds this past week. Their Daddy was kind enough to pass it along to all of us. I took them to the Pedi just to make sure that it was just a cold and nothing more serious, knowing that there wasn't anything to be done for a cold except ride it out. Claire weighed 12.4 and Drew a whopping 15.1! Holy smokes! He's barely four months old and is already wearing 6-9 clothes. What happened to my little premies?

I'm reminded of a song that I heard:

"I count it as a privilege, I count it cause to pray

To kiss my children good-night after load-some, weary days

For I know too soon their up and gone

And walking out the door

And I'll never have a child to kiss good-night anymore

It's very strange how times have changed

From the present to the past......"

I was just telling Todd last night that I try to remind myself every day to cherish the moments. Even when they are crying and having a little fit because one day we wish for those moments back. I cannot put into words just how I feel about my babies. I guess those of you who have littles know exactly what I'm talking about though.They are a blessing and I can't imagine life without them.

Baths, Bottles and Bedtime

Ok, I have to brag on my wonderful babies for a minute. We generally start baths around 7:30pm. They get their bottles right after and then are down by 8:30pm.....9pm at the very latest. They usually wake up sometime between 4-5am for a bottle then they go right back down, with no problem going back to sleep, and will sleep until 8:30 or 9am. Drew sometimes will even sleep until 10am. As far as their naps, all we have to do is lay them down when they get fussy and off to dreamland they go, no rocking them or them fighting sleep. They have been doing this since about 2 months old! My secret? A book called "Baby Wise". Oh, and a sound machine. We take it everywhere we go. If the babies are asleep they will stay asleep because it blocks out background noise, so no cranky babies due to not getting their naps out. I am so blessed to be a momma to these precious little ones!

PS: If you are wondering where the pics are, ask Todd, that's his department. :)

3 months old

Today, Claire and Drew are 3 months old. I was just telling Todd that it seems like they were just born. How time flies! Claire is very laid back and lady-like. She has lots of auburn hair. She is content to sit in her bouncy or swing and take in the world. She is our beautiful, beautiful baby girl. Drew is only content when he has a bottle in his mouth:) His hair is thinning, just like his Daddy's! He loves for someone to walk him around so that he explore the things around him. He gets bored easily and loves to take a nap. He is our BIG, little baby boy.

This week Grandma Jane and Grandpa Charlie have been in Gorman with us. They are helping us get things ready at the house so that we can move in the next few months. It's nice that Claire and Drew are going to know both sets of grandparents.

For Tyf.....

On Thursday, May 21, 2009, Claire and Andrew were born. They are both so precious and so different! Claire is easy going and is willing to wait patiently while Drew, on the other hand, is very demanding and hasn't got an ounce of patience in him.....much like his Daddy:) Claire weighed in at 4.1 when she was born. She has auburn hair just like her Momma. She had difficulty breathing at first so she went straight to the NICU. She was breathing fine later that night but stayed in the NICU for 8 days because her doctor wanted to make sure she would eat. For us to "bail" her out we had to room-in with her during the day so that we could "prove" that we could get her to eat. We failed the first day but passed with flying the colors the next. Our biggest obstacle was keeping her awake long enough for her to get enough to eat.

Drew came out ready to conquer the world. He weighed in at 5.13 1/2. He has dark brown hair. He stopped in at the NICU for a few hours and then went to the Nursery. Drew and I both came home the following Tuesday. I was so sad to leave Claire but excited to get to go home with Drew. Claire had an awesome nurse, Florance. Without her I would have been a nervous wreck leaving Claire but Flo calmed my nerves. She has been a NICU nurse for over 30 years. We will NEVER forget her.

Today, Claire weighs 9.3 and her hair seems to get redder by the day....and thick, just like her Momma's. Drew weighs 11.0 and still has dark brown hair. Both have blues eyes, as all babies do, but Claire's seem to be turning hazel. Claire is sleeping through the night. Drew wakes up once to eat then goes right back to bed. They both sleep until around 9am. They are such great babies. We can't express how blessed we are to have them.

Long Awaited Update

Dr. Robbins sent me to a perinatologist to make sure that everything was fine with the babies because Drew is bigger. He was happy with how they were growing. Drew weighing 3.3 and Claire 2.11. So we were trucking along nicely until Saturday before last. I started having contractions and after trying everything I knew to do to stop them, we went to the hospital. Once there, I found out that I was having even more contractions than I thought. They gave me 2 shots to stop them but they didn't work. I wasn't diallated but I was 50% effaced and Claire was at a -2 station. They also did a swab test and it came back negative, so no babies for the next two weeks....if the test is accurate. So, since they couldn't stop the contractions they had to admit me. The Dr. said that the amount of contractions I was having during 30 minutes was the amount I should have been having in an hour. They started me on Procardia to stop the contractions and so far it's working with me only having an occasional contraction. They also gave me 2 steroid shots to prepare the babies lungs, just in case. I was discharged the following Monday on strict bed rest.

The next day I had an appt. with the perinatologist again. Once again things looked good. Drew weighing in at 4.5 and Claire at 3.10. Both are head down. He said that he wanted to see me again in a month if I was still pregnant. I'm hoping that that's one appt. I will have to cancel. The following Thursday I went to see Dr. Robbins. She wants me to stay on Procardia until I'm 36 weeks....ugh. I lost a pound, but she isn't worried so neither am I. I have another appt. with her this Thursday. I will be 34 weeks.

OB and Ultrasound Update VI

According to the trusty internet, I'm currently as big as a woman who is 40 weeks pregnant with a singleton. I can only wonder how much bigger I will get in the next 2 months. My stretch marks are so deep and red it looks like they might start to bleed. I've started putting oil on my tummy every night in hopes that it will help my skin to stretch. Claire has already dropped, which has come as a surprise. Dr. Robbins had originally told me that the babies probably wouldn't drop until I went into labor. It is early for her to drop and it has made things more uncomfortable for me. Dr. Robbins thinks that she was just trying to make more room, which makes since. I took the glucose test and it came back negative which was a relief. I am anemic so I have to start taking iron with my prenatals but other than that things are going well.

OB and Ultrasound Update V

We are now 25 weeks and still going strong without any complications. Both babies are still growing right on schedule and weighing at about 1.5 pounds each with Drew just a little bigger. They are now both head down. I'm so excited! We are praying that they stay this way, it will make delivery much easier. Dr. Robbins has finally given in and will let me deliver vaginally as long as Baby A is head down, even if Baby B is breech, as long as I understand the risks. I didn't gain any weight which shocked me but Dr. Robbins is happy with how the babies are doing and does not think that my not gaining weight is effecting them. I feel the babies moving constantly and I'm starting to get uncomfortable but I know that it won't be much longer. I'm trying to take things easy and not overdo it. My goal is to carry these babies to at least 37 weeks. Next week I will take the glucose test to make sure that I don't have gestational diabetes.

OB and Ultrasound Update IV

First off we would like to thank everyone for keeping Todd in your prayers. He came home from the hospital last Thursday and is doing great.

Jane (Todd's mom) came with me to my OB appointment since Todd was in the hospital. The babies and I are still doing good. Claire is head down and Drew is transverse. I've gained another pound, so I've gained 2 pounds this pregnancy so far. There's not much else to report. I have another appointment this week. I will be 25 weeks this Thursday.

Pray...

Todd was admitted into Baylor Grapevine ICU last night because his oxygen level was in the 70's due to pneumonia. They had to put him on a respirator last night because he wasn't getting enough oxygen.  His blood pressure got really low too. He is better today. Please pray that he is able to go of the respirator soon and that he has peace and a speedy recovery.

OB and Ultrasound Update IIl

Last Thursday we had another 2 week appointment. The babies are still growing right on schedule. Drew is just a little bigger than Claire. Claire is already head down but Drew was breach. I've been telling him he needs to get in position and stay there! It's still early so I'm sure that they will still be changing positions for a while. Dr. Robbins gave me an A+. I've gained another 2 pounds so I'm now 1 pound over what I weighed when I got pregnant.

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

Last Wednesday Todd flew to St. Louis. After talking with his previous BMT doctor it was decided that he should return and have some tests ran. After talking it over we decided that the trip would be too much for me, since I get tired very easily and require lots of resting. Jane (Todd's mother) met Todd in St. Louis and went to all of his appointments with him. I felt better knowing that he wouldn't be alone. The tests went good and we are waiting for the results but we are very optimistic that anything that was found can be reversed. He does NOT have cancer. He went in because he was having problems with recurring pneumonia and shortness of breath.  

I'm currently sick with a sinus infection. I'm absolutely miserable. I miss Todd so much. There are so many "little things" that he does for me that I miss. Most importantly, his company. Todd gets home today and I can't wait. The babies are doing great. I felt (with my hand)  one of them kick on Friday. I can't wait until Todd can feel it, of course it takes a little patience, they like to move out from under your hand. We have another ultrasound and we see Dr. Robbins on Thursday so I will have more of an update then.

OB and Ultrasound Update II

Today I had an ultrasound before I saw Dr. Robbins. The babies are doing well. They are still right on target as far as weight and measurements go. They each weigh one pound. The little boy was rubbing his eye and touching his head, so sweet.  My cervix was even thicker than two weeks ago so that was a good thing. I've gained two pounds, one for each baby I guess. I still weigh less than when I got pregnant. I had a list of questions for Dr. Robbins. She has to dread seeing me but she is always patient and informative. I'm nineteen weeks today. Almost halfway there!

Wednesday I had to go to the ER. I was having horrible back pain on my left side only.  I pretty much knew before I got there that it was a kidney stone. I've had them before and believe me, once you've had that pain you remember it. So, I wasn't worried that it was premature labor but Dr. Robbins said that I needed to go to the ER anyway. Sure enough, I passed a stone and all was well again. They did do a sonogram to check on the babies, just in case. Andrew had moved down next to his sister and was kicking her. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. At twenty weeks I get to bypass the ER and go straight to Labor and Delivery but we are hoping there isn't a repeat of Wednesday.

My Mother came up on Wednesday since I was in the ER and she stayed until this morning. Thursday we went to Babies R Us and Mother bought us the stroller that we were wanting, Todd's parents bought us the matching car seats and we finally decided on the baby cribs which Todd's grandmother bought. Todd and I picked out a couple of onesies that the babies will come home from the hospital in, they are so cute. The store was having a HUGE sale on their baby clothes and while Todd and I were choosing "going home" outfits, my Mother was filling her basket with baby clothes. She was even counting months and buying for Halloween! We had a productive day and had lots of fun.

Another funny thing from the mouth of Keaton: Keaton goes to Mother's house everyday after school. So, the day we found out that we were having a boy and a girl Keaton was there. He asked Mother is they were "still twins" since one was a boy and the other a girl. Mother told him "yes, they just aren't identical". Keaton then replied "well, I know that. One will have long hair and the other will have short hair". It's funny how kids think. I hope he isn't too disappointed when they both come out with little to no hair!

Birth Photographer and Baby Planning

Yesterday we met with Lynsey. She is a birth photographer here in the metroplex. Our friends, Phillip and Jessica, used her when they had their baby girl and she took some really awesome pictures.  She has a knack for taking the perfect pic at the perfect time. We are so excited to have Lynsey at the birth. This way there is no worry, making sure that each moment is captured. Afterwards, Lynsey will stay and photograph the babies meeting their grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends. She will also get photos of their first feeding. She then will put the pics to music on a dvd and we will get a 4x6 of all the pics. For those of you who are interested, her website is: dfwbirthphotographer.com

A few months back, Todd and I decided to check out Magic Moon, a baby store located in the Southlake Town Center. I found the perfect picture of a boy and girl frog holding hands and underneath, it said "Twice Blessed". I told Todd that if we found out we were having boy/girl twins that I wanted to come back and get the picture. So, the day after determining the sex of the babies we went in and purchased the picture. We also decided to pick out baby bedding. I'm not going to go into details about the bedding but lets just say "it is perfect!" We did decide that Andrew's accent color would be blue (of course) and Claire's would be yellow (for those of you who don't know, I'm not a fan of pink). It's being specially made so we haven't seen the finished product. When it comes in we will post pictures.

We also decided to go ahead and register at Babies R Us. Mainly because Todd's family lives out of state and most of them won't be able to attend the shower so it makes things easier for them and, since we are registered they can take advantage of the twin discount that they offer.  I feel a little awkward registering so early but I have this overwhelming need to get things taken care of early. I don't know if this is some sort of intuition or if I'm just freaking out. Finding out the sex of the babies has made this pregnancy very real...well that, and my ever growing tummy. Not to mention that the babies make sure that they make themselves known, especially at night. I'm slowly becoming aware that things are more difficult to do around the house. Sometimes I can't help but think that I'm ONLY 4 1/2 months and there are several more to go. How much bigger will I get?  I have to remind myself that my body knows what it's doing, even if I don't. :)

OB and Ultrasound Update

Yesterday I saw Dr. Robbins and much to my relief she told me of her "plan" to make sure I carry to term with hopefully little to no complications. I've lost weight, which is surprising because I certainly don't look it. Dr. Robbins said that my weight is lower than what she would like but not to worry, "there will come a time when she will tell me to stop gaining". Other than that everything looked great. She wanted  me to have an ultrasound today to measure my cervix to make sure that it was thick. A thick cervix means there is less chance of preterm labor, which twins are known for.  Joe is the ultrasound tech and he is known for his accuracy of determining the sex of babies. The secretary said that "he has never been wrong".  So today, after finding my cervix nice and thick we asked if he could tell what our babies were. He quickly determined what Baby A was but Baby B played around for a while before giving it up. Don't ask me how Joe could tell what anything was but he has been a tech for 14 years and obviously has learned the tricks of the trade. So, if you want to know what we are having read on, if not, you need to stop NOW. 

Baby A is a girl, I'm shocked because I would have bet money that she was a boy.

Baby B is a boy. Needless to say, I am much relieved. I had to have a boy!

Their names are going to be (and we aren't changing them):

Andrew Tye and Claire Charlotte-Louise

My next appointment is on the 22nd. I will see Dr. Robbins and have another ultrasound. It looks like I will be going in every two weeks from now on. Crazy!

Fenwick's Frolics

Fenwick has discovered a new breed of cats, they are what we humans call ferrel, and they are what Fenwick calls, ....well never mind that. For those of you who don't know, my parents had to take my cat, Ree, when I moved into an apartment in Granbury. I found Ree in a hospital parking lot when she was just a kitten. She is now full grown and has had many litters of her own and is currently expecting again. Fenwick, is his ignorance, thought that all cats were much like his sister, Mam. Declawed but very vocal. Upon arriving at my parents, he bounded out of the car and was on his way up the steps to say "hi" to everyone when Ree came out of nowhere and jump right on his face. All four claws sinking in. Feny started yelping and trying to get her off his head but she held on. Everyone around was hollering at Ree to leave him alone but no one wanted to physically remove her from Feny for fear that we would become her next target. Finally Feny managed to get away from her and quickly get into the house. He refused to go out for the rest of the evening and even the next morning. We finally decided that he was going to have to buck up. After all, he couldn't "hold it" forever. Todd FORCED Feny to face his fears and go outside. Little did we know, Ree was waiting. Before we knew what was happening Feny and Ree were going at it on the steps. Only this time, Feny was fighting back. We were shocked. Somehow Feny managed to "claim" the porch. Ree was on the ground, defeated. That victory gave Feny the  confidence he needed. After that, not one cat was "allowed" on the porch during Feny's watch. I started calling him the "Country Dog", because he fought for his "land" and won.

Catching up

We went to Gorman for Christmas and had a great time. I did manage to get the flu though so the following Monday I went in for an ultrasound to make sure that the babies where doing okay because I had had a temperature for several days. The babies were doing great. They were measuring right on schedule. They have finally been labeled Baby A and Baby B. Baby A is sitting on my bladder and at the time of the sono, he was trying to suck his thumb. The reason he is Baby A and  not B is because he is closest to the cervix. Oh, and I'm convinced that Baby A is a boy. Baby B is sitting on my stomach. I don't really have a strong feeling whether it's a boy or a girl. However, he/she is VERY active. So far there has been only a few times that their "playing" has kept me from sleeping. We went back to Gorman for New Year's and I managed to not only get a stomach virus but also, strep throat. I finally broke down and called my OB and she called in some much needed meds. Today my only complaint is that I think I have an ear infection. I go for another check-up tomorrow so I will see what Dr. Robbins says.

     Now for Todd, he got sick to his stomach Christmas night but felt fine the next day. However, I did learn something very valuable: my Mother is useless in a crisis! The way she responded to Todd getting sick was shocking. I thought that he was dying the way she was carrying on. It's funny now, not quite so funny then.

     We are home now and trying to recover from the past 2 weeks. I still haven't put up any of the Christmas decorations but it's on my to-do list. We hope that everyone had a great Christmas and New Year's. Many blessings to you this year!