A Special Message

What I'm Thankful For..

Sounds like the beginning of a high school report doesn't it? I have much to be thankful for this year.

*First off I'm thankful for all the doctors and nurses who not only got me further along in my pregnancy than 26 weeks, but also took such wonderful care of my two little guys who decided it would be just grand to come into the world 10 weeks too early. Without your expertise and intervention they would not be here today.

* Second I would like to thank all my family and friends who were and have been so supportive through this difficult time. Not only did you come see me in the hospital when I was on bedrest, bringing me food, and things to do you took time out of your busy lives and schedules to sit and talk with me. You also did the same thing when the boys where in the NICU, sometimes driving more than an hour just to sit with us in the dark room and watch their every move. I know none of you wanted to see them in that condition and it affected some of you more than others but you came and your support was such a blessing I want you all to know that. Jimmy and I were in a fog sometimes and it helped to have people other than ourselves and the doctors and nurses to talk to. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. Thank you to those of you who I don't know personally but who prayed for us none the less. I truly believe in the power of prayer.

* I also am thankful for my wonderful husband who when I just couldn't do it did all the research and asked all the right questions. He was relentless in his search for answers and educated himself, me and sometimes the doctors and nurses on what was going on with our boys. He truly has been my rock. As I stated before I was in a fog sometimes through this and I could count on him to make sure things got done or questions got asked. Not only did he take care of the house and all the animals and visit me everyday when I was in the hospital, he drove me everyday to the hospital to see the boys and used up most of his leave to come sit with us everyday. He has been a very involved father, changes poopie diapers and gets up in the middle of the night with them.

My kids and myself are blessed to have him in our lives. He's a great husband and dad.

Now that I have made myself and probably some of you cry I'm gonna go eat some pumpkin pie. Hey they rhymed I didn't mean for it to but it did.

I hope you all have many things to be thankful for this thanksgiving!

4 month doctor visit

The boys had their 4 month doctor visit yesterday. The doctor said they are growing well and doing fine. Kolton weighed in at 11lb 3 0z and 22 in long. Karter was 11lb 13oz and 23 in long. He ok'd us to let them sleep up to 6 hours a night if they wanted. This is what we have been waiting for, of course they have yet to do it, but just knowing that it is ok if they do sleep that long makes me feel better. We still have the monitors and will until at least their next visit in 2 months. They need to not have had any alarms for at least 1 to 2 months and both have had an alarm in the last month when they where sick.

Today Karter had his last visit at OU Med. Center for his BPD (bronchial pulmonary dysplasia). He no longer needs oxygen and has been off it for a month, so they wrote the scrip to remove the tanks and oximeter from our home, this is a step towards more normalcy, we won't have to walk by their room and see a 5 foot ugly green tank anymore. The doctor he saw today was the one who released them from the NICU, she was happy to see us and was surprised to see how big they have gotten.

I have gotten some really cute pictures in the last couple of days, since I know everyone likes pictures here are a few. Enjoy!


Despite getting 4 shots yesterday and having his blood drawn for a CBC and running a slight fever today, he's still a pretty happy and cute little guy. This is Kolton working his charm.


Ready for their trip to the doctor. They have grown so much since they where last in their car seats and have gained 5 pounds or so since we brought them home.


Karter a few days ago, such a happy boy. He likes his bouncy seat too.
And last but not least Kolton working on his head and neck control.

First Time Outside

Today I took the boys outside. It was a beautiful day today, the weather was nice and I figured it was time for them to get some fresh air and sunshine. I laid a blanket in the front yard and laid them both on it, they both seemed to really enjoy it and I got lots of pictures. Everyday they get more fun.






These are Karters feet, I let both of them feel the grass on their feet, I wanted to get a picture of both of their feet together, but being I was the only one home with them I could not manage to hold them both and take a picture. They both picked their feet up and keep putting them down to feel the grass, in the end they left them down and seemed to enjoy the feeling.


Karter was all smiles today.












Kolton was not as smiley but cute none the less. He's sporting two scratches on his face. I keep cutting his nails but they grow so fast I can't keep up with them.
















I'm sporting some bushy eyebrows that need to be tweezed, Kolton is sporting a scratched face and Karter has cradle cap, we are working on all the above, but I think they look pretty darn cute anyway. That's what we did today,we will see what tomorrow brings.

Milestones

Just these past few days the boys have began to do some neat stuff. Kolton is starting to coo and will "talk" to his daddy and me. He is also kicking his legs and arms and will even push up some on his legs when holding him. He is getting better with his head control, holding it up minutes at a time now. He has also picked his eating up sometimes wanting a couple more ounces an hour after he eats. He's bright eyed and staying up much later, too late sometimes but is better at going to bed than he used to be. He no longer(knock on wood) throws fits the minute you lay him down. Most times he is content to lay there and drift off to sleep.

Karter is also starting to coo, he started a few days later then Kolton. He has excellent head control and has had for some time. I forgot to mention they both can hold it up for a few on their tummies. Karter can also push up with his legs and is getting spoiled to sleeping in the bed with mommy and daddy. He has gotten this habit of waking up an hour before feeding time. He's not hungry or does not seem to be but just keeps crying and spitting out his binky. I put him in his Boppy and put him between Jimmy and I, he drifted right off to sleep and I think he really enjoyed that because he seems to be making it a habit. I hope on the other hand not to, I will let him do it for an hour or two and then he gets back into his own bed.

They are becoming even more of a handful because they are both getting more active and wanting to play. I actually figured out how to feed them both at the same time, which I had to do because they both wanted to eat NOW. I sat in the middle of the bed and put one on my left thigh and the other on my right, so far it has worked ok. I just have to stop feeding both to burp them.
I really look forward to the next couple of months when they began to do a lot more neat stuff. I think they are doing quite well considering how early they came into the world. On the 17th they will be 4 months and on the 26th they will be corrected age 2 months.

November-Whatever the Date Is.

I realize it has been awhile since we last updated. A lot has been going on. Both boys came down with a cold, but before we knew it was a cold we had to make our first trip to the emergency room. We called the doctor on call in our town since it was the weekend and she said it would be better to take them back to Childrens Hosp. just in case it was RSV because that is where they would send us only by ambulance. So we made a trip there and wouldn't you know it Kolton was as sweet as could be. His alarms didn't go off once and he was up and smiling. The doctor did diagnose him with a cold and reflux, which we got medicine for and pink eye, I thought he has just scratched his eye and was going to take him to the doctor on the following Monday for this. Anyway they both had to be seen being they share the same bed and such and both were tested for RSV, which they didn't have. So we leave there and wouldn't you know it Kolton's alarm went off the minute we got in the car. Apparently this is normal when kids are sick and the doctor said all kids probably do it but we just don't know because they don't have monitors hooked up to them. So it took a week for them to get over this. Kolton got it first and his alarms went off quite a bit with his cold. Then a couple of days later Karter got it, but it made him have lots of drainage and a stuffy nose, so he threw up his food a lot. I spent a good four days praying and holding and begging him not to gag. On top of this Jimmy and I both got sick. It's very had to take care of twins, but taking care of them when you don't feel well is even harder.

I also realize we have not posted any pictures lately. This is due to the camera batteries being dead. We are charging them now and will takes pictures in the next day or so.

So that is what has been going on here. Now I suppose I should go tend to one or both of them. They have actually been awake 7 hours, that's right 7 hours and they don't want to sleep now unless you are holding them. I think we might have spoiled them and times like these we pay the price. Welp gotta go help Jimmy.