The Mother Load

 I have had a heck of a time trying to blog.  Honestly, I have had down time, but no brain power to be witty :) So, apologies to my far away friends and family that haven't seen pictures in a while!

Valentines Day was so fun this year.  The big boys really got into it and we had a great time.  The babies chose to spend the day snuggling each other.  Guess they were their own Valentine's :)

Jack and Luke decorated our front door for Jay.  They were so proud and it turned out really cute.  However, that pink marker that Luke is holding?  I couldn't get that off his face for almost a week.

People who are twins keep telling me not to dress them the same and to let them have their own identities, but gosh darn it, how darling is it when they match!?!  So cute.  They can have their own identities later when they actually have an opinion about their clothes.   Plus, check out how Trippw's buttons are stretching around that cute fat belly!

We finally had to move the babies to their own cribs.  I would put them side by side to sleep and go in later to find this.  After a few good head knocks, we decided to separate them.  They didn't like it at first, but now they are really sleeping better!  Wahoo!!

They do smile, but I can never catch it on camera.  As soon as they see the camera, they just go completely blank.  Haha!

But, even no smile is so cute.

Here I am with all of my boys.  I'm not sure Luke understands that I am a girl.  He is so used to all of the boys in the house.  He walked in on me changing the other day and asked where my "weeny" was.  Time to lock my bedroom door.

We all got the flu.  Like the flu you get the shot for, the kills-babies-flu.  Charlie started it, Tripp ended up in the hospital for a night because his Oxygen was low and his heart rate was so high, and Luke got the sickest of any child I have ever had.  Poor things.  Hopefully it is done and we can all move on.  Thank goodness for good doctors, priesthood blessings, and Lysol. 

Notice the babies red rimmed eyes above?  This was after they were better.  They looked terrible while they were sick.

Below is Tripp enjoying his hits off the Nebulizer.   I am going to have to watch him closely during his teenage years.

We got one decent snow storm.  The boys were in heaven playing in the snow.  Actually, by the time they were playing in it, it was raining and everything was melting.  Gotta love the spring!

Easter was a hit.  Just for the candy.  Jack told me that the Easter bunny wasn't real because he knew the Easter bunny at the mall really had a guy inside.  Haha!

We took all the kids to the neighborhood egg hunt, where all of the eggs were already found.  Kids are vultures. 

Baby toes are the cutest.  Double baby toes?  Downright adorable. 

Charlie and Tripp.  Look at that head control!  They have physical therapy 3 x a month to help them catch up with their peers.  They are pretty behind for 5 month olds, but for their adjusted age (almost 3 months) they are doing really great and are right on track!

Part of me is really dying inside that I will never get to see how cute a daughter of ours would be.  Not enough to have another baby though :)  I think Tripp's face is my favorite in this picture. (Far right)

Jack wants to keep the twins and give Luke away.  He is always trying to find someone to take him.  But, I really love Luke, so we are going to keep him :)

Sink or Swim

I think everyone has times in their lives when they feel like they are drowning.  It takes everything you have just to keep your head above water.  There isn't anything pretty about it.  It is purely survival.  Well folks, we are in survival mode here.  Having twins is not like having two babies.  It is like having seventeen of them.  I don't know how to explain it, but two babies is exponentially harder than one.  Plus a two year old and a four year old?  Infinitely hard.

This morning I think takes the cake.  I hate Monday mornings anyway.  The weekend is over, Jay has to go back to work, and we have to wait five whole days for Saturday to come back.  The babies night sleep is still pretty scattered.  Sometimes they sleep great, other times barely at all.  Of course last night, both boys had issues with reflux and spent part of the night fussing.  Jay left for work looking like a zombie, and I was so tired I knocked over the trash can, banged my head on the dryer door, and spilled breast milk all over the counter.

Luke is two.  Some say tender twos, some say terrible twos.  I would agree with both. He has been toying with the idea of potty training.  I have been putting him off because we just don't need another thing to keep track of right now.  Well, this morning he refused to put a diaper on.  He had to have underwear.  I decided that we might as well give it a shot since we will be home for the next month anyway.  Forty minutes and two potty breaks later, I was folding laundry when I heard Luke say, "Ahhh, wet!  Bummer."  He had peed his pants.  We felt sorry for ourselves for a minute and then he agreed to wear a diaper.  A little later, Tripp was upstairs fast asleep from his difficult night and I had just settled down to give Charlie a bottle. Luke ran up to me and yelled, "Poop!"  I told him to go ahead in his diaper and I would change him after Charlie's bottle. 

This is about to get really gross.  Proceed with caution.

Somehow, Luke pulled his diaper sideways and suddenly the poop was sliding down his pant leg.  He started panicking.  I had to hurry to put Charlie down, get over to Luke, and help him get out of his pants.  Suddenly, Charlie is screaming because he was in the middle of his bottle, then Tripp starts screaming over the monitor, Luke is freaking out because there is poop on his leg, I am trying to wipe poop off of his foot before he puts it on the carpet, and Jack is dry heaving over the trash can.

I know what you are thinking.  Funny scene from an "everything goes wrong" movie?  Yep.

So I race Luke up to the bathtub.  I start the water and rinse him off, hand him some toys and put Jack in charge of sitting with him in the bathroom.  Next I scrub myself down so that I can rescue Tripp from his disturbed sleep.  Then I head back down to finish still-screaming-Charlie's bottle.  I got Charlie and Tripp settled, finished Luke's bath, and then we all had some Skittles for our hard work.

Those of you that told me that you have always wanted twins are crazy.  Downright mental. Those of you that told me it was easier to have your children close together in age...that was mean. And for those of you that think I can't handle this...watch me.  I may not get both my hair and makeup done on the same day. I may smell like spit up. I may even be living off of Hershey's kisses and beef jerky, but I will rock this and we will all survive.  And my final goal is to make it look so easy, that all of you suckers try it and then I can laugh at you. :)  Just kidding.  Sort of.

Now for the update, because we all know you just want to see pictures of the babies.

Our 4 boys :)

This picture was hard to get because Tripp (our resident fatty) kept trying to eat Charlie's hand.   I would post the video because it is so cute, but for some reason I can't upload video anymore to blogger.  Ideas to fix that, anyone?

Can you believe the cheeks on these kids?  I always wanted a fat baby. Charlie is long and skinny like Jack and Luke were, but Tripp is a short roly-poly.  Love the rolls. Tripp is still on breast milk with a fortifier in it to up the calories.  Hence, the fatness.  Charlie we found is allergic to milk and soy protein and has to be on a hypoallergenic formula.  He is allergic to the fortifier, so he is growing a little slower.  So far it hasn't made a huge difference in his temperament.  I think he may just have a more sensitive personality :)

Jack is their biggest fan.  He can calm them down quicker than I can.  If I am holding a baby and Jack walks by, their eyes follow him like a hawk.  

The babies have a pretty sweet little bond.  They sleep in the same bed.  I have them on opposite sides of the crib, but by the time they wake me up for feeds, they have wiggled out of their swaddles and are snuggled next to each other. 

We have had minimal snow much to my big boys dismay.  The day it did snow was about 18 degrees.  We braved the weather for all of 10 minutes :)  It took way longer than that to actually get their snow clothes on. 

Check out the jowls :)   Jay told me that our babies aren't cute yet.  I suppose he is right, but I still think they are darling :)

This is my view for pretty much 80% of my day.  I am getting good at the two baby thing.

And just because I can...

Tripp on the left, Charlie on the right.  Charlie cries his feelings, and Tripp eats his feelings.  :)

Lastly,  I recently got my haircut.  I went in hoping to look like this....

And came out looking like this...

This is when I am grateful to stay home all day with my kids :) 

All is Well

 It feels like we have fallen off the map lately.   We have had such a busy month that I'm not sure where to start for an update!  Plus, my brain is running on empty.  So if this is a little scattered, just pretend to follow. 

The babies had a busy month in the hospital.  They learned to take bottles, and they got fat.  Both babies are pretty anemic which is common for preemies.  They had a few blood transfusions which helped them to eat better and breathe better.  Tripp is the fatty of the two.  He is a pretty eager eater.  He gained a little faster and learned to suck better.  Once he could take all of his feedings by bottle for 48 hours, we could bring him home.  We were really nervous to bring him home.  Something about being responsible for a NICU graduate was a little overwhelming.  We got to bring him home on Dec. 20th.  Just in time for Christmas! 

Here is a picture of his last few minutes in his hospital bed.

 We got him dressed in his Christmas best and got him ready to go!  The nurses all lined up to say goodbye to him and that's when I lost it.  I was excited to take him home.  I was sad to leave Charlie up there all alone and I was so grateful to all of the amazing nurses and doctors that basically saved our babies.  It was a very bittersweet moment.

The nurses warned us that once a baby leaves the hospital for home one of two things would happen.  The changes from hospital to home are so stressful for them that they will either cry constantly or sleep and sleep and sleep to shut all of the stresses out.  Guess which one Tripp did?   He slept for the first hour....and then cried the rest of the night.  Not fun.  But, to make up for it, he has been an angel ever since.

Jack was so happy to finally have Tripp home.  Tripp was the baby he claimed from the beginning.  He dotes on him constantly.  It is pretty precious.  

Through all of the excitement, we remembered to have Christmas.  Jack and Luke were so excited Christmas morning!  I have to say, Christmas is about 100 times more fun with kids. 

Luke loved the chocolate more than the toys.  He just kept shoving his mouth full.  A child after my own heart :) 

Jack's one request for Christmas was a Transformer.  Every present that he opened before the Transformer was a bust.  He opened his Santa presents and I said, "Jack!  What did Santa bring you?"  His reply was, "Well, I'll tell you one thing, it isn't a Transformer."  Good thing Grandma delivered in the Transformer department :)  Ha!

Luke loves Chuck the Dump Truck.  Every day when he wakes up he begs to watch Chuck.  It takes a lot of effort to get him to do anything else first.   He was pretty pleased to get a real dump truck :)

Now for Charlie....

Charlie runs on his own schedule.  There is no pushing him.  We really tried to get him home for Christmas, but he wasn't feeding well and had his own agenda.  He is going to be our child that sets his own pace.  I am going to have to learn to be patient.  Good luck to me :)

We finally got to bring him home December 30th.  Just in time for the new year!   We were so excited to reunite the babies.  I don't think they had a clue.  But, to see all of my boys in one room was one of my favorite moments.  To have my little family all together was magical.

The babies are both over 7 pounds!  They are growing great and they have been such good babies.  We have about a million doctors appointments over the next year.   Both boys have an ASD which is a hole between the atriums in their hearts.  So, we will be followed fairly closely by a Cardiologist.  They also have funny shaped red blood cells so we will see a Hematologist and a Geneticist.  This should be a very educational year :) 

The babies immune systems are still very immature.  We are on lock down in the house until March or April.  So, the bishop came to our house and we were able to bless the babies on New Years Eve.   It has been so wonderful to have them home.  Jack and Luke are fascinated by them.  We are sleep deprived and the house is a disaster, but we are so perfectly content :)

Lukey Doo Turns Two!

 Sweet Luke turned two this week!  He is such a joy in our home.  He is a gentle soul and has a very sensitive little heart.  However, he may be the most stubborn child I've ever met.   He chats all day long and actually speaks very clearly.  I love this age when their personality really starts to blossom.  We are so lucky to have him and I can't wait to see what he does this year! 

Look Mom, No Cannula!!

The babies have been in the hospital for 48 days.  They are 7 weeks old tomorrow!  I can't believe how fast it has gone by!  If I were still pregnant, I would be 36 weeks along....and ginormous.  I suppose there are some upsides to delivering at 28 weeks.

We have settled into a nice rhythm here.  I go up to the hospital during the day every other day, and then every other night, Jay and I go together.  Our drive to the hospital takes about 45 minutes.  It has been really nice to have that alone time with Jay.  I might actually be a little sad when we don't have those long evening drives anymore.  

Jack and Luke love having Grandma Durrant here, so they don't really mind that I leave them a lot.  Although, on Friday, Jack said, "Mom, do you have to go to the hospital today?  Can't you just stay here with me and play?  Tripp and Charlie can't even play yet.  They will never know the difference."  Haha!  He sounds so grown up sometimes. 

They may not know if I come up every day or not, but I sure miss them if I don't.  I can't wait until they are home and I can snuggle them whenever I want :)

Jack took a headband and put it around his face so that he could have a nasal cannula like Tripp and Charlie :)  He is such a funny kid!

Tripp and Charlie are thriving!  They are getting fat, fat, fat!!  Tripp is now 4 lb. 13 oz. and Charlie is 4 lb. 6 oz.!!  They are starting to look like babies....instead of fetuses....or monkeys :)

The boys have made some awesome progress this week!  They have both gained enough weight that they can regulate their body temperatures somewhat.  So, they were moved out of their isolettes and into bassinets!!  Now they don't seem like they are locked away in little cages.  They are out in the open!

They also both came off of their nasal cannulas!  They haven't been having any apnea episodes and they were both weaned off of their caffeine!  Hopefully they can keep them off this time and not tire out!  Because it is so nice to see their little faces!

Aren't they so darling?  Charlie on the left, Tripp on the right.

Since they are regulating their temps, they get to wear clothes!!  Here is Tripp looking studly!  I couldn't get a picture of Charlie in his outfit because he is still a little cold and has to stay wrapped up over his clothes.   They are about a day away from growing out of their preemie clothes.  Chubbers.

Grandma and Tripper :)  Seriously, I think I have eaten a Chipotle burrito about the same size as him.

 Another leap made this week is bottle feeding!  Both boys get to try a bottle once a day.  It really wears them out so we have to start slow.  Yesterday, Tripp took 15 cc's and Charlie took 7!!  This is one skill they have to master before they can come home.  A full bottle for them would be about 40 cc's.  So, they have a ways to go still.  Their feeding tubes got moved to their noses so that they can get a better latch on the bottle.  I can't even imagine having a tube shoved up my nose.  Blech!!

Jay and Mini-Jay.

Charlie is always smiling.  I don't care if it is gas.  He sure has a cute smile! :)

They are starting to look more identical.  I am needing some ideas to tell them apart.  Right now I just count on their beds staying in the same place so I know who is who :)  Tripp's double chin helps, too :)

Can't wait to have our two other boys in the picture with these guys!  If all goes really, really well, we may have them home for Christmas!!  It's a long shot, but I'll take it :)