Adalyn found her voice!

I'm sitting here eating lunch at the kitchen table listening to the loud coos and chatter of little Adalyn. She started to get more vocal this weekend and Paisley is just swinging away looking at her sis:) Paisley has been the super chatty one until recently and now it's hard for me to know which one I hear without looking over at them!!!

Adalyn also found her thumb again yesterday and seems to be going for it more often now. Paisley continues to suck on her entire hand and sometimes finds that thumb for a while. Yesterday, she was laying down and grabbed her feet with her hands. I think she was surprised to find out that they were attached to her:)

They are both grabbing at toys and enjoying their awake time so much. Adalyn is sleeping through the night most of the time, but still has her days here and there. Paisley still gets up around 2-3 most nights and then sleeps until about 6:30 when her sister gets up. Hoping they'll both get onboard with sleeping through the night very soon:)

Time for oatmeal:)

We had the girls' four month doctor appointment yesterday (they are actually 4 1/2 months) and were excited to hear that the girls were looking fabulous and...

...we get to start them on oatmeal!!! So excited for this next stage in their lives. I ran to Target last night to pick up some oatmeal, rice cereal, and baby food to start out with. Dr. Schaefer said we can do rice or oatmeal and everything that I read online showed that most babies either hate rice cereal or get super constipated with it, so we decided to start with oatmeal. Dad held Adalyn and I had Paisley and we sat at the table for the first feeding, which was pretty funny. The girls didn't seem to like it a whole lot and most of it just ran down their faces, so we'll keep trying and incorporating some new foods every few days. They suggest we wait 3 days between each to ensure they aren't allergic to any of them.

They are also doing really well both in size and development. Adalyn weighs 15 lbs and 12 oz now and Paisley is 15 lbs and 2 oz. Adalyn is in the 75th percentile for weight and Paisley is in the 50-75th percentile. Our little peanuts are doing so well...we are so lucky:)

First trip to Lake Dodo!

One of dad's favorite winter activities is deer hunting. He doesn't do it for the kill or to bring home the bacon, but for the camaraderie of being up north with everyone. So, dad asked me if we could bring the girls up for deer opener so the girls could meet everyone up there. Dickie and Donna (aka Grandma and Grandpa Ryan) have lots of really great friends and we wanted them to be able to see how darn cute the girls are:)

We packed up the car and took off around noon on Saturday and stayed until Monday around the same time. The girls did pretty well considering the amount of people around and the new environment. Their sleep was off a bit just due to everyone coming and going, but they did great! Here are a few pics from up north and some car photos...take note of the amount of stuff we had to bring up for the girls. We filled the truck bed almost completely.

Dad's excited to get them up there again. It will be cute to see them in their little swimsuits this summer wading in the water:) Mom better buy some water shoes since we'll both need to be in the water with them:(

Four Months old!

Happy Four Months, Adalyn and Paisley!!! Wow, how you have grown over the last month. You have grown out of those fussy days and into such fun babies. You smile, laugh, and coo non-stop now. Mom and dad talk back to you and you just talk, talk, talk. Paisley is really vocal and I think sometimes Adalyn is amazed that you are still going:) She's waiting for her turn to get a word in sometimes, little Pais.

You two are becoming best of friends already. You notice each other more now and will smile and acknowledge the other. If we lay you down next to one another you will ultimately end up almost face to face, body to body, with your hands touching at some point every single time. You always want to be close to each other, which is so sweet.

You can sit up a little bit with help now, but are still very wobbly! The bumbo chair will keep you sitting up for a few minutes until you get sick of that. You are also getting a little better at tummy time. Paisley, you will now lift your head to look around and kick your feet a little bit. Adalyn, you now raise your head up for brief moments, but scream the entire time:) Neither of you really like tummy time yet. Mom probably hasn't been as good as she should be with making you lay on your tummies because you hate it so much. That's how you'll begin to crawl, though, so we need to strengthen those heads, necks, and spines.

As for mom and dad, we are enjoying every day with you two and can't believe how much you are growing each day! We are so blessed and love you so much!!!

Paisley's first laugh!

Paisley and Adalyn had bathtime today and Michael and I were able to witness the first laugh out of little Paisley Michaela. I was sitting on the floor next to the tub and washing her head when she gave out a little giggle. I did it again and she laughed again. She then continued to laugh a few more times, which just melted our hearts. It was so adorable! Michael was right there next to me when we were bathing her and happened to have the video camera going, so we were able to capture the moment. I am adding a bath pic to this post, but it is from a few weeks after the first laugh:) I'm so glad that we were both there to share that exciting milestone together. Looking forward to Adalyn's first laugh and many more fun milestones ahead!

Where does the time go???

A&P are 16 weeks old tomorrow! Wow, has the last month flown by. Good news is that the girls are growing out of their extreme fussiness. It's been about 2 weeks now that they have been smiling more and seem to be a lot more comfortable. They are taking gas medicine and a mix of Nutramigen and Gentelease formula...everything else we have been able to stop (ie: reflux medicine, colic medicine).

We are trying to figure out the ideal bedtime schedule for them as they are super fussy around dinner time until they go to bed. Hey, we'll take it over them crying non-stop all day long:) Right now they go to bed at about 8:30 or 9 and wake up between 3 & 4 and then sleep for another 3 hours before waking up for the day. We're hoping in another month or so that they will be sleeping through the night. They take about 3 solid naps each day and then the evening nap is usually very brief as they scream for a while without being able to comfort themselves to sleep once they wake up. I think it's because they know dad is home and want to maximize their time with him:)

They have grown so much lately, I just want to freeze time. They are enjoying their vibrating chair, swing, and toys so much! They swing their arms and legs and get so excited to see all of their toys and books. They are holding their heads up really well and I'm sure it will be just a matter of weeks until they can fully do this on their own.

Adalyn and Paisley noticed each other for the first time that I have seen this week. I was nursing them and heard them release from the boob to smile at each other. They cooed and giggled a bit and it was the most adorable thing ever. They have done it one other time since then, but it's hard to get Michael to move quickly enough to see it too!!!

Today is officially my separation from Target to stay home with these beautiful girls. It is bittersweet to leave the work world, but I know this is a decision that I could never regret. I am so lucky to be able to be home and spend this time with them and to have a husband who sees the value in it too! I am such a lucky momma!!!

Daddy's birthday and Halloween are next weekend. The girls and I will have to make a cake for dad to celebrate the big 32. Nana bought them Happy Halloween onesies and tu-tus and they are looking forward to seeing all the neighborhood kids in their costumes:)

Another Reflux Medicine

Adalyn and Paisley had their 2 month Ped appt. on Friday and the doc recommended we switch from Zantac to Prevacid for reflux. She wants us to try that for a week and then if it works, we keep moving forward and if it doesn't, we try something else. She really wants to get them off of the Nutramigen that costs us $35 every few days and we'd like that too. However, not sure I want to be switching around formulas again!!! We'll see if the Prevacid works and go from there. Unfortunately, the girls hate it. It is refrigerated and they have to take 2 ml of it, which doesn't seem like a lot, but when you are squirting it into their little mouths, it just runs down the sides.

The girls are continuing to get more and more interactive with us and their surroundings. I put them in the Bumbo chair for the first time this morning and they seemed to like that for a little while. They can't completely hold their heads up, but they are really close. I bet in another couple weeks they will have that down. It's fun to see them having a new view of life when they can sit up and it's also nice relief for me to have something else that they can sit in so one can play independently while I play with the other.

So, although they are still pretty fussy day to day, they are getting more personality and the smiles keep us going:)

Cabin time at Papa's!

Last week, Michael convinced me that we should pack up the girls and head to my dad's cabin for a day or two over Labor Day weekend. I was a little hesitant about going up there because the girls have been so fussy that I was worried it was going to be a nightmare being away from all of their stuff. He promised if they were too crazy, we could come back as soon as we needed to.

BUT...the weekend turned out to be the best two days the girls have had in many, many weeks. It has to be all the time being held by more than just their momma all day long. Poor Michael usually comes home from a long days work to screaming babies and an overwhelmed wife, so it was great to have papa McKenny, uncle Matt, auntie Julie, uncle Court, and J & B to hold them too!!! We had a super, nice and relaxing weekend, which we all really needed. They slept more than they have in a long time and we are hopeful that they are starting to grow out of their fussy days. It was fun to see more smiles from them and to think that hopefully their little tummies are starting to feel better! Tomorrow will be the true test when it's mom at home alone again:) More to come.

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Baby Girls!

Wow do I have a lot to catch up on since my last blog a couple weeks ago. The girls are two months old tomorrow, which is so hard to believe. They are growing up so fast and have more and more personality each day.


Over the last couple of weeks we have continued to deal with some upset tummies. Is it lactose intolerance? colic? gas? reflux? constipation? These are all potential reasons for the fussy little girls we have had since their first few weeks of life. I just want to squeeze the pain right out of them. It's been really hard to see them uncomfortable and it seems as though everything we try works somewhat for a few days or a few weeks and then we end up back with very fussy babies. Currently, I am on a dairy-free diet trying to see if they might be lactose intolerant and they are on Nutramigen Lipil (a $35 formula powder that lasts us 3 days!!!!) as well as reflux medicine and an over the counter gas medicine. My goal of trying to have them totally on breast milk by 2 months did not happen. I had to stop breastfeeding and just pump for almost 3 days trying to get the diary out of my system. I'm still not convinced it is that, but who knows. It might just be colic, but whatever it is, I can't wait for the day that our little babes are comfortable and smiling more than crying. I can't wait for that day!!!

On a more fun note, the girls have really become more aware of their surroundings. They now make eye contact with mom and dad and others and will give a little smile, which just melts your heart. They grunt and coo a lot now and definitely let us know that they are in the room:) They also love to look over our shoulders at whatever is in sight behind us. Their favorite part of the house to stare at these days are the brown curtains in our living room. They glance over at them with their big bright blue eyes and stare any chance they get.

Adalyn also enjoys her vibrating bouncer that has a monkey and koala bear hanging from it. She will coo and kick her legs and move her arms when looking at them. Paisley likes this pink musical toy that is meant to be a car seat toy, but she just loves when we shake it in front of her.

One other fun thing that happened last week was that they both found their thumbs and began to suck for a few minutes...they haven't really been able to keep them in their mouths since, but it was so adorable. Adalyn found her thumb on Tuesday and Paisley on Friday. I didn't have the camera close for Adalyn, but was able to catch the pic below of Paisley. I love what a chunky monkey she looks in this picture.
We did however get a nice shot of the mohawk Adalyn got from Daddy after bath time last week:) They're so adorable...I just love to kiss their little faces over and over! They definitely bring a lot of joy to mom and dad and we are so blessed to have them in our lives.

Eight pounds???

Is it possible that our little babes are 8 pounds already? I jumped on the scale with each of them and it says that Adalyn is 8 lbs, 3 oz and Paisley is 8 lbs, 1 oz. I don't think this is quite as accurate as the scales they use at the doctor's office, but they definitely feel like they are getting up there:)

Yesterday, I attempted to breastfeed only and by the evening feeding, I had to give in and give them the expressed breast milk (EBM) because I was in pain from the non-stop feeding. The girls would eat for up to 30 minutes or more per feeding, which left me pretty sore since I had only been doing 15 minutes up until then.

So, today, I attempted a new schedule of every other feeding and the day went great!!! I breastfeed for 4 of the feedings and then bottle fed them for 3 with EBM and 1-2 oz of Good Start, as needed, followed by pumping. This is just a nice way for me to be able to ease into it and my goal would be to be breastfeeding them fully by their 2 month birthday. We'll see how it goes:)

One month already!!!

Happy one month, Adalyn and Paisley! Wow, has this time flown by:) The girls are getting bigger and bigger each day and their stomachs are starting to get a little more under control now. They still have some episodes of pain now and then, but a lot less than before. The Gerber Good Start seems to be working for now. I am starting to wean them off their formula next week, so we'll see how that goes.

Is it reflux or gas?

The last couple of weeks have been challenging for our little peanuts and for mom. Michael went back to work and it is definitely a lot harder without him. Also, the girls have been really fussy and they cry after almost every feeding and tighten up their little bodies. I took them into the pediatrician on the 25th for their 3rd week visit and the CNP, Pat, suggested that we put them on Zantac for reflux. I thought it was gas, but she said often parents confuse reflux with gas. We tried the Zantac alone for 3 days without noticing too much of a change, so we switched to a sensitive version of Similac in addition to the Zantac. It's so hard when it takes a good week for things to get into their systems because you want to give them relief so badly. We'll see how this goes and hopefully won't have to try yet another formula. Pat also gave us Gerber Good Start and said people have a lot of success with that if the Similac Sensitive doesn't do the trick.

Oh, and the girls each gained over a pound in the last week. Adalyn is now at 6 lbs, 13.5 oz and Paisley is at 6 lbs, 8.5 oz. Yeah baby girls!!! Keep up the good work. I just need to get them about another pound heavier and the CNP will feel more comfortable with me weaning them off of the formula and just trying to breastfeed.

Hard to believe the girls will be a month old this week!!!

On our own - week 2

Our first week on our own went pretty well overall. The girls left the hospital at 5 lbs, 1 oz each and the goal for the week was to get them to gain weight. We had our first pediatrician/lactation appointment on Monday and we talked to the CNP about the feeding schedule for the week to ensure they were getting the nutrition that they needed.

This week, we focused on breast feeding for 15 minutes per baby and then supplementing with Similac as we had been in the hospital. However, the CNP decided that she wanted to put them on a higher fat formula to help with weight gain. She ran out of the Similac version, so she gave us Enfamil! BAD DECISION!!! The girls had terrible diarrhea which burned their butts so bad they had bright red bottoms with calluses on them. We felt so bad for them and they screamed bloody murder every time they went to the bathroom or we changed their diapers. Poor things. I just wanted to cry with them this week.

I called the CNP after about 2 days of this and she told us to go back on the regular Similac for now and to mix a few ointments together to put on their bottoms (Bacitracin, Lotrimin, and zinc oxide). The redness went down a bit, but it was still really, really bad!

Michael was home from work with us this entire week, which was great! We were able to spend a lot of quality time together as a family and begin to get into a routine. We are sad to see him go back to work next week, but someone's got to bring home the bacon, right??? :)

Our baby girls' first week!

Adalyn and Paisley's first week of life was spent at Fairview Southdale hospital. Adalyn was able to come back to our room right away after I was out of recovery, but Paisley was in the NICU for the first night, which was really hard on Michael and me. She had swallowed some of my blood on the way out and they wanted to run x-rays and tests to make sure that it was my blood and that she wasn't bleeding internally. The tests came back just fine and there were no concerns that anything else was going on, which was a huge relief. I was still recovering from my c-section and really wanted to see my baby girl, so they wheeled my bed right in there after my surgery to see her. Then, in the middle of the night, I was able to go back in a wheel chair and spend some time with her and Michael. She was a trooper and doing so well. Michael continued to go back and forth checking on his baby girl and cuddling with her. Finally, she arrived in our room around 11:30 the next morning and we were so happy to have our entire family together in one room.

Both girls had jaundice, so they remained under billi lights for most of the week. We were just thankful that they were able to stay in our room so we could spend 24-7 with them. They were fed every three hours from the start of one feeding to the start of the next, so it felt pretty constant with non-stop diaper changes in there as well.

We were hoping all of us would be discharged on Thursday, but the CNP came in and told us that Paisley should stay under the lights for at least another day, maybe two. And not only did she need to stay under the lights, but they wanted to put her in a full incubator to keep her body temperature up. Both girls had some temperature concerns, which was another reason for staying extra time. We had lots of skin to skin time to try and keep them warm:) Thursday was definitely the most emotional day that I had so far. When they told me that they weren't going to be discharged with me, I just began to sob and it didn't stop. I cried the entire day!!! No kidding, the entire day! At least we were able to stay with them even though they discharged me. The light at the end of the tunnel was a mini date night with Michael which included Carbones pizza and cheese bread and the season premiere of Big Brother 13:)

By Friday night, Michael and I were exhausted. All week, the nurses kept asking if we wanted them to take them overnight in the nursery so we could get some sleep and we kept saying no. We knew we would probably be heading home on Saturday, so we finally decided to take them up on it Friday night. I think we got about 4 hours of sleep and that was the most we had all week. I think we were running on complete adrenaline the entire week. We were slightly delusional and I really don't think we have laughed as much as a couple as we did the past week in the hospital. Michael, remember "Rick James?" Bet you miss her:)

Michael was so amazing the entire week. He changed all but one diaper, I think the entire time, which was so amazing while I was trying to recover from my surgery. I definitely fell more in love with him this week seeing him with his baby girls. I think I will have some daddy's girls on my hands for sure:) He is so sweet with them!

The girls were finally discharged Saturday morning and were so excited to make it home to start our life as a new family!

The Girls Make Their Entrance

Adalyn on left, Paisley on right

July 3, 2011

I had been trying to get Kim to join the pool party festivities at Buege and Leiyang's all week.  She must have known something was up.  It was a good thing she decided to stay home.  Around 1:45pm, I received the call from Kim that she needed to go to the hospital!

I had rode my bike to Buege's and needed a ride back to the house.  Zac, Buege, and I hopped in the Jeep, threw my bike on the back, and away we went.  Kim and I made it to the hospital, checked in, and were ready to go by 3.

By 5 o'clock, our two little treasures were born.
  Adalyn Lora @ 5lbs 8oz was the first to arrive
  Paisley Michaela @ 5lbs 10oz was the second to arrive

So proud of how well my 3 girls did that day!

Finally, the day has arrived!!!

Michael had been asking me to go to Buege and Leiyang's pool all morning. Being over 36 1/2 weeks pregnant with the girls, I told him that the last thing I felt like doing was being in front of a bunch of people I don't know at an apartment complex pool. Not only did I not have a swimsuit that would fit me, but I also secretly wanted to watch the closing arguments in the Casey Anthony murder trial:)

Michael and Zac took off on their bikes from here and arrived at Buege's around noon for an afternoon of poolside fun. I made sure to ask if someone would have a car there so that he could get home if he needed to. All the while, thinking that I wasn't that lucky and that these girls were holding out for their scheduled c-section date of July 12th. I had just laid back down on the living room couch after going to the bathroom and was listening to Jose Baez give his closing remarks for the defense when I felt something different. It was like a surge within my body that I had never felt before. I stood up to feel it even stronger and I knew that something was about to happen. Then, all of the sudden when I was walking to the bathroom, I felt my water break. Warm water came flowing out and it seemed as though it would never stop. I was thrilled that it was time to have these little babes.

I called Michael at about 1:45pm and when he answered the phone, he asked if it was "the baby call." I said "it's time daddy!" He thought for a moment that I was kidding because we had been texting on and off for the last hour and a half. I assured him this was real and that we needed to head to the hospital. Then, I called my mom quick and told her my water broke and that we'd be heading in soon. She said she'd meet us there...she was so excited, but I told her to hold on and that I'd let her know once we got there. We called/texted the rest of our family on the way to the hospital as everyone else was up north for the 4th of July weekend.

Dr. Anne Meschke was the on-call doctor and I was disappointed that Dr. Davenport wouldn't be delivering the girls, but was soon calmed when she told me that she had twin baby girls at home. What a coincidence. She was very excited for us. I asked Dr. Meschke if I should wait for the water to stop coming out before coming in and she giggled and said that it wouldn't stop and to meet her at Fairview Southdale.

Michael, Zac, and Buege got to the house shortly thereafter and we packed up a few additional things and made our way to the hospital by 2:30pm. They hooked us up to the monitors and sure enough, these babies were ready to come out. They ran a few tests and found out that my blood platelet counts were low, so they were waiting for the anesthesiologist to determine if I could have the spinal or if they needed to put me under general anesthesia. I was hoping for the spinal so that I wouldn't miss any of their initial cries.

He came back to us and said it was time and that he was ok with my platelets given that everything else looked good. From there, everything was a whirlwind. There were about 11 people in the OR with us and the surgery went better than I expected.

Adalyn Lora was born at 4:57 pm and was 5 lbs, 8 0z and 18.5 inches long. Paisley Michaela was born at 4:58 pm and was 5 lbs, 10 oz and 19 inches long. Hearing those initial cries was such an amazing experience and we knew our lives were changed forever. This love we felt for these baby girls was incredible. Happy Birthday to our sweet Adalyn and Paisley!!!

Heading into Crunch time

Here we go...week 32 on tuesday. Not sure how much longer these girls will want to stay in there. Our hope is that they don't decide to make a grand entrance until week 34.