Grandma and Grandpa: WE'RE READY TO CRUISE........

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
We know that we are small enough to fit in a suitcase....
Mommy and Daddy bought us these new outfits so that
we would look cute in the Caribbean. Since we are so pale,
we think that getting some color on the beach would be great!
You both know that we are small and do not weigh much and we don't eat much. But, we are sure that we could add weight on the ship! Since we both a musically inclined, we would enjoy going to karaoke nights too.... Please take this into consideration. Our birthday is less than a year away!!!!!!!!!!

Addie and Alex pose for the picture. Do you like our outfits?
Yes, they are way too BIG, but they do not make caribbean outfits for preemies.
They will fit us nice this summer!!!!!


Addie says, "Pick Me, Pick Me, I wanna go"

Alex is ready to go. He has the swim trunks and matching shirt!

No, these are not shorts on me... These are actually capri pants!

I cannot live without the pacifier in my mouth. But, if you take me on the ship,
we can throw it overboard:)

Alex and Addie have had another great day at home. Alex has really enjoyed his swing and bouncey seat. Addie has been content with the boppy on the floor. Both of them continue to eat like little piggies. There have been a few occasions in the past day where Alex has eaten more than 3 ounces!!!!! Can you believe that? Really, that is all to report for now. We will have more updates and pictures on Wednesday!

Monday Update

Happy Monday! Today has been a great day.....
Daddy went back to work today, but was still a big help just being home!
Here are some pictures from today. Enjoy! I would say more, but really everything is the same..... No news is good news, right?


Addie is getting to be a big girl. Today, she spent some time
with the boppy pillow. Believe me, she is not really as big as she looks in
this photo.

Alex tried out the rainforest bouncer today. He loved it!
Again, he gets upset when the music turns off. This seat plays music,
has a waterfall and vibrates. I think that we found something that puts him to sleep....

Addie had a good day today with no episodes!!!!!!! Yea Addie.....
Daddy was able to spend some time with Addie this evening.

Here's TWIN TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Addie and Alex love laying next to eachother in the crib.
At one point, they were making noise back and forth and reaching for eachother. It is so cute to just imagine what they are thinking....

FIRST FOR ADDIE: FIRST FOR ALEX

What a weekend here at home..... Today, we had two first for the little ones....
Alex had his first swing ride and Addie had her first time in the bouncey seat. Enjoy the pictures and videos.....
As far as their feedings, everything is still the same. We are never going to have enough diapers to keep up with Ms. Addie. She always wants her diaper changed...
Alex is getting smarter everyday. He has a rainforest musical scene on his crib. We turn it on for him when he starts to get fussy. Then, the music calms him down. However, it is fun to listen to him on the monitor. The second that the music stops, he starts fussing again.
Talk to everyone on Monday!


Here is Alex's first time in the swing. He loved it!
When he woke up today thinking that it was time to eat, we tried him in the swing. While he was swinging, he would just look around and listen to the music. At time, he would move his hands almost as he was conducting a symphony! Yes, I guess you had to be there.......

Addie enjoyed her first time in the bouncey seat. As you can see in the photo, she is too small even for the seat. She has to have extra head support and blankets rolled all around her, but she enjoyed every minute of it. It was her too that woke up early for a feeding, so we thought this would be a good time killer.... We have decided that Alex will be the symphony conductor and Addie will be the guitar player as you see in this photo.....

Alex enjoys his first time in the swing........

Please don't mind my feet in the photo! I have to sit very close to Addie due to her still having heart rate drops... Addie has fun the first time in the bouncy seat......

Doing Great!

Mommy has been in a lot of trouble for not taking many pictures
of Daddy with the twins. I will start trying harder...... Here is daddy with Alex and Addie after their Sunday morning bottle. I am sure that you can tell which one is Alex and which one is Addie, even though they are both dressed in yellow....

Baby it's cold outside!!!!!!!!!! On Saturday afternoon,
Addie and Alex stayed warm in front of the fireplace.
Just kidding........ Of course, mommy and daddy did not have the vent on.
We just used the flames for the photo! Again, I should not have to tell you which one is which.....

Mommy spends time with Alex and Addie......
Addie and Alex are enjoying being at home. There is not much new to report, but I wanted to be sure and post some new pictures. Today, Alex enjoyed swinging in his swing and Addie enjoyed having some tummy time. Saturday night was another good night for both of them. They seem to have their best stretch of sleep after the midnight and 4am feeding.

Twins Together

Well, the first 48 hours of having both twins at home has been a lot of fun! Yes, mommy and daddy are both tired, but hanging in there. For the most part, Addie and Alex have been very nice to mom and dad. They are on a pretty good schedule, thanks to the NICU. The twins eat every 4 hours and then normally go right back to sleep after 15-20 minutes. Therefore, at night, we are getting around 3 hours sleep in between feedings.
As of late, Alex is eating between 70-90 mL each feeding and Addie is eating between 60-80 mL per feeding. It will not be long before Addie catches up. Just today, I noticed than her outfit had hospital tape on it from just last week when she wore it in the hospital. At that time, we used tape to make the outfit fit her better. She does not need the tape anymore as the outfit is actually a big snug...
On Friday night, Daddy's mom came to visit the twins. Addie and Alex will call her "OMA". This is the german word for grandma. During her visit, she was able to hold both twins. Unfortunately, Addie is not able to be held as much right now due to still having some heart rate drop issues.
Below, you will see some video clips from Friday night when we put Alex and Addie in the same crib. We allow them to have some together time everyday. At night though, they are both sleeping in mommy and daddy's room. Enjoy


Oma holds Addie and Alex for the first time. In this picture, they both look very big!
Alex is definitely longer and heavier than Addie, but it does not appear that way in this photo.




Here is a video clip of Alex and Addie spending time together.
Daddy and I had actually walked out of the room and when we came back in, this
is what we saw... It was amazing!!!!!!! Their hands and arms were together. How cute!

Here is another video of Addie and Alex from Friday night..... Are they cute, or what??????

ADDIE COMES HOME

Today has been a big day for both kids....
Addie was able to come home from the NICU. She is still having occasional heart rate drops during her feedings. But, there is nothing really that can be done. She will start to regain strength as her red blood cell count increases. Mommy and Daddy will be keeping a very close eye on her at home. Before leaving the hospital, we weighed her at 4 pounds 13 ounces.
Alex went to his first pediatrician appointment this morning. He is doing great!
The doctor had nothing but positive things to say about Alex's growth and condition. He now weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces. Both of them will go back in February for their two month visit/shots.



Here is Addie in her carseat at the hospital. We were getting her all ready to come home.
She did great on the car ride home. It is so hard to get her to fit well in the seat as she is so tiny...

When we got home, Addie and Alex rested for a few minutes in their seats.
The blankets are ones that mommy made while in the AntePartum before the babies.


Alex was dressed warm to go out this morning. Do you like the Cardinal blankets?
Thanks to Uncle Mike, these were Christmas presents.

Since coming home, Addie has been very restful.
She did take 58 mL at her first feeding at home. Way to go Addie!

Mommy and Daddy are truly not sure what to expect this evening.

But, we plan on adding more pictures to the blog later tonight!

Check back soon:)

5 Weeks Old

On Wednesday, Addie and Alex turned 5 weeks old. It is hard to believe that it has been that long. Today, mommy went to go and see Addie. She was doing great! Her color is still a little pale due to the low red blood cell count. But, she was still smiling and acting like her normal self. I was able to notice how the anemia has afftected her eating. Addie gets worn out very easily. This is why she is having heart rate drops during her feeding. She is forgetting how to suck, swallow and breathe during her bottle. But, this will get better over time.
Today was our primary nurses, Joanne's last day for the week. It was very hard for mommy to leave today. Joanne has been such a blessing to all of us! Not only has she been a wonderful nurse, but also an outstanding teacher. Thanks Joanne for your dedication to all of us during our stay at the NICU. We will miss you!
As of right now, Addie is slated to come home on Thursday. However, when Dale and I called in the middle of the night to check on her, she had another heart rate drop. Normally, that can push them back a few days for observation. So, we will wait and see what the doctor says..... We are also waiting on her lab work to come back in the morning. Please keep your fingers crossed that Addie will get to come home on Thursday!

Here is mommy and Alex resting in the chair after Alex took his morning bottle.
Until Wednesday night, Alex had been great during the night. Considering that I am writing this blog at 3am, Alex has been up almost every 10 minutes tonight crying...

Here is little Addie.... She was wide awake after her bottle this afternoon.
Hopefully she will come home to join her brother on Thursday.

Addie loves to stretch!

Here is a picture of Jeanne and Addie. Jeanne is one of the nurse practioners
that was part of the NICU crash team on the delivery of the twins. Jeanne has such a
sweet personality and we will miss her! Today, she came to visit Addie, so I had to get a picture...

Well, good night, or should I say, good morning??? We will update everyone late on Thursday.