4 weeks

I can't believe Lucy and Reid are 4 weeks old today and I have only posted 2 times since they were born! We are doing really well adjusting to our new life and the twins are doing great. We have had a few days alone, but have had tons of help over the past 4 weeks. For the most part, the babies sleep and eat. We often laugh at Lucy because she grunts all the time. She seems to have a little but of a tummy problem...lots of gas and trouble going to the bathroom. They are both starting to nurse well, but we still "top them off" with a bottle. They usually eat between 3 and 4 ounces. Hampton loves "his babies" and tells everyone they are his buddies. Last week he told Ms Pat, his MDO teacher, that he had a buddy night with Reid and Daddy...Ben took Reid in to put Hampton to bed and say their prayers. He is such a proud big brother and loves giving kisses. He often refers to Lucy as "Wucy Wou" or "Wucy Girl". I'm sure by now you can tell that my thoughts are pretty scattered, so I'll just get to the pictures.

Sweet Lucy Girl

"Reider Rabbit"

Best Buddies

Such a proud and helpful big brother!

A look at life with 2 little ones...

Keep those germs away!

Happy Valentine's Day

A progression of photos of the kids...

I have a hard time taking pictures of Reid where his eyes don't look like a deer in headlights.

Happy V Day from our home full of LOVE to yours...

What In the World

On more than one occasion over the last several days, Hampton has said...

"I take Wucy and put her in da potty and fush it and her go bye bye and den we onwy have one baby."

It's always sweet Lucy who gets flushed...poor thing.

2 Week Stats

My mom is here helping now, so she picked Hampton up from MDO while I took the twins to the doctor. The babies are growing and "perfectly healthy." Lucy was 18.75 inches long and weighed 5lb 9oz. Reid was 19.25 inches long and weighed 5lb 14oz. They are both above their birth weight YIPEE!!! and they are both between the 3rd and 5th percentile for height and weight. We have little babies. Some how, I didn't get any pictures today...busy, busy, busy :)

First Bath

Lucy and Reid are 1 week old today. Gran is here helping us and the babies got their first bath at home. It went pretty well, but both of them cried until they got their clothes on again. We had to take the babies to the doctor on Monday to check Lucy's jaundice. Lucy weighed 5lb 3oz and Reid weighed 5lb 5oz. When we left the hospital, Lucy was 5lb and Reid was 5lb 3oz, so they are gaining weight. That gives me a little piece of mind.

Well...

I kept thinking I would get around to posting the birth story pretty quickly after our return from the hospital. But let me tell you, this nursing thing has me whipped. I remember with Hampton always wondering if I was doing it right and if he was getting enough to eat, but I thought that would be better with my second (and third) child. I was wrong...it may be worse. I nursed Hampton for 11 months and had to use the shield the whole time. I am determined not to use that silly thing again. I think the babies are doing great, but I just wonder if they are eating enough. They are so tiny. Lucy latches just fine, but she doesn't eat as much as Reid and can be finished in less than 15 minutes. Reid on the other hand, pulls off about 100 times during his 45+ minute feeding. And to make the feeding even longer, he wants more as soon as he's finished, rooting like crazy. I am learning that I have to remind myself that they are two separate babies and they aren't going to do everything the same. Lucy is just going to be smaller than her brother and she may not need as much food.

Aside from those common new mommy worries, we are doing great. Recovery wise, I feel like a million bucks, but I don't think I've ever been this TIRED! Ben is such an amazing Daddy to all of us! I love him more and more as I watch him intentionally parent our children to know and love the Lord. He has offered more help than I expected him to and has not hesitated to care for the twins no matter what time of night they need him. I LOVE YOU BEN!!!

PROUD DADDY

Ben's mom has been here since the babies were born and she has been a LIFESAVER!!! She has fed bottles in the middle of the night (btw, at night I wake up and pump and then give the babies bottles...much faster than trying to nurse), gotten up and played with Hampton every morning, washed seemingly 100 loads of laundry, cooked some yummy meals and 2 fantastic pies and even sent Ben and me to lunch by ourselves. I don't think we could have made it without her! Thanks Rosie!!!

Hampton is crazy about his babies, but only gives them attention in spurts. He is very much into playing with his toys and Gran. When he got up from his nap yesterday, Reid was on the floor on a blanket. Hampton is not allowed to touch the blanket when the babies are on the floor, so he lied on his tummy and rested his little head in his hands while he talked to his little brother. He kept saying in his soft sweet talk-to-the-babies voice, "It okay, Weid. What you doin' Weid?" While chatting with Reid he heard Lucy and said, "What dat noise?" as he ran over to check on her. When he got up, Reid started fussing a little bit. With a concerned look on his face Hampton asked, "What wrong wit Weid?" " I think he misses his big brother." Hampton looked over at Reid and held up his finger and whispered, "I be wight der in just a second." Sure enough when Hampton went back, Reid focused in on Hampton and settled right down. Hampton looked up with a smile and said, "I make him happy." What a tender, precious big brother.

We are doing great and loving life as a family of 5. We are overwhelmed with gratitude and love for all who have already invested into the sweet lives of Lucy and Reid through prayer, food and company. Thank you for loving us and our children!

LUCY JAMES

REID MATTHEW

Our amazing doctor

Missing 1 proud big brother

THEY'RE HERE!!!

Our sweet babies joined our family early Wednesday morning. The whole experience has been very different from Hampton's arrival and has been an absolute blessing. I am working on the complete birth story with pictures, but wanted to make an official announcement :).

Lucy James was delivered at 2:29AM. She weighed 5lb 7oz and her apgar scores were 9-9. Reid Matthew followed his big sister at 2:44AM and weighed 5lb 9oz. His apgar scores were also 9-9...two precious babies as close to perfect as they come.

We are all doing very well and hope to go home tomorrow morning. Our time at the hospital has been very restful, but we are ready to be home with Hampton! He is very proud of his babies and is so tender with them. We had some visitors earlier tonight and when they entered our room Hampton said, "Come see all my babies!" He is precious and I can't wait to be home with him.

As I have spent time thinking about our new life, I grow more and more excited to raise these babies. So far they have very different personalities, and are both so sweet. I could not be more thankful and excited to be a Mommy of 3.

My cup runneth over!!!

Stats

As of my doctor's appt on Tuesday, both babies are head down and growing. He showed to weigh 5lb 10oz and she weighed 5lb 5oz. I have gained about 33 pounds, my waist measures 43.5 inches and I was 80% effaced and dilated to about 1.5 cm. I am more ready for these babies to come than ever. I am uncomfortable and growing very weary. Some day soon, let's hope...

We are working on memorizing Psalm 1 as a family. The first line is supposed to be, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,..." When I asked Hampton to say his Bible verse for me today, he started, "Blessed is the man who does not walk...he have to run in the counsel of the wicked."

35 Weeks and Counting

Sometimes I ask myself why God has been so good to us! I am 35 weeks now and have had very little restriction and no complications. The babies are growing and moving like crazy. I have reached the point of no return...if I go into labor now, there's no turning back. Dr. H has requested that I rest on my side as much as possible, but that makes my lower back and hips really hurt. I get really stiff and can hardly stand after lying down for very long. I am having contractions throughout the day and especially at night. They are growing more and more painful, but at my appt on Monday (3 days ago) I learned that those contractions are not doing anything. I'm not dilated at all. That's good news for the health of the babies, but not for my aching body. Dr.H reminded me how blessed this pregnancy has been and how thankful I should be for such an easy and healthy pregnancy. My prayer is that these babies come on their own before 38 weeks...join me! I didn't take many pictures of my growing tummy with Hampton and now I wish I had. So...here are a few, oh so embarassing, pics of my tummy now.

Hampton did not understand why I wasn't smiling for the picture, so he offered to smile for me. He is so excited to meet these babies. I hope he's still excited when they come home to STAY :).

Quick Facts

I am officially 34 weeks. Things are going well. I am having quite a few contractions and they are getting more and more painful. I have started to swell and am unable to rest enough to reduce the swelling. At our appointment 4 days ago, everything looked good. The babies still have plenty of fluid. Our baby girl weighed 4lbs 5oz and baby boy weighed 4lbs 7oz. They still have a lot of growing to do, so I need to make it as long as possible. Dr. H said that I really need to make it until at least 35 weeks. If I go into labor before then, I will be put into the hospital in order to stop labor. After 35 weeks, they will not stop labor. We are "being greedy" after 35 weeks...everyday is very valuable. He also said that, unless there are health concerns, they will not intervene at all until after 38 weeks. Based on the way things are going right now, he is confident that I will go into labor on my own before then. I am thinking they will come sometime between January 14th and 21st. My prayer and goal is that they will both be healthy and able to come home with us with no NICU time. We'll see...

Today was such a fun day. We started with breakfast with Santa followed by Christmas shopping and lunch with Daddy.

He informed Santa that he wanted an orange monster truck and a Mack truck with a blue car (which happens to be one of his gifts that he found in the garage and hasn't stopped talking about it since). We don't really talk about Santa much around here, but the breakfast was a fun outing.

Of course, I couldn't get all 4 kids in one pic.

Hampton was such a happy boy and so obedient. We made our first trip into the mall without the stroller. I intended to go into one store, purchase a gift and leave. Of course, the first 3 stores didn't have the gift we were looking to purchase. We covered some ground in that mall hand-in-hand. Hampton obeyed so well and was eager to hold my hand. As a reward for his obedience, he got to ride one of those rip off toys at the exit. He loved it and was so proud of himself for being "such good boy." We enjoyed Qdoba with Daddy and then headed to this store:
As I was unloading Hampton, the following conversation took place: H - My wan go in that 'pankin' store.
M - What?
H - My go into that 'pankin' store.
M - That's not a spanking store. What are you talking about?
H - Yes it is, see?
M - Do you want a spanking in the store?
H - No, my good boy. My not want 'pankin'.

I tried to remember the last time we went to REI and if he had indeed been disciplined inside. We hadn't been there in probably a year and I could not remember any discipline. As we approached he said, "See dat SadMan."
Do you see it?
The door handles are ores, which strongly resemble SadMan. Sweet boy!

Last weekend, my mom and dad and Uncle Bill came to visit. Mom and Dad were here for an engagement party and Uncle Bill was passing through on his way from LA to Tennessee. We had a fun weekend that lead to really swollen ankles...well worth it. Dad and Uncle Bill helped Ben install a closet system in the twins room in efforts to help with the storage issues in this house. The nursery has 2 cribs and a changing table in it which leaves no room for anything else. We needed some drawers! They were a huge help and we are very grateful!!!

Hampton enjoyed Uncle Bill and has talked about him several times since he left. Ben's story was in the Watermark News on Sunday which ended up being perfect timing for some neat conversation with Uncle Bill. It was really good to see him! Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Hampton is very into imaginative play and LOVES playing with these plush farm animals as well as his giant wild animals.

More Baby Info

We had yet another sonogram today and the babies looked great. They are both head down which is great for delivery purposes, but not so comfortable :). I was a little off with my weight info last week. She weighed 2lbs 7oz last week and gain almost a pound this week. Today she showed to weigh 3lbs 4oz. He weighed 3lbs 1oz last week and gain to 3lbs 9oz this week. I was glad that there is less than 1/2lb difference between them. If there is ever more than 1lb difference, there is reason for concern. I have been feeling weird the past week...light headed, heavy arms and legs, faint at times, but...My bp today was 112/60 which is amazing compared to this stage with Hampton. We had a pretty busy weekend which resulted in quite a bit of swelling, but that seems to be getting better as I rest today...I can get my wedding ring back on tonight :). I still have pretty bad indigestion/reflux, but they gave me some perscription samples today. I am hopeful that this medicine will help. It is the worst at night, which makes it hard to sleep. After our appt. today I am feeling much more peace. The several things I was concerned about seemed to be of no concern to the drs. We only have a few more weeks!!! SCARY.

Baby Brother Is On The Move

That's right...our sonogram today (29.5 weeks) showed that Baby Brother is now head down! That is great news for avoiding a c-section when the time comes. There is still time and room for both of them to move, but we're hopeful that they will both remain head down or vertex. I am measuring 33 weeks, which is right on track (they told me early on that I should measure 3-6 weeks bigger than a single pregnancy). and the babies are growing well. Baby Sister weighs about 2 3/4 lbs and Baby Brother is just about 3 lbs. My doctor is in Israel right now, so I saw another doctor in his practice. Hampton and I got there at 1:45 and didn't leave until 3:15. I think it would be a stretch to say that we saw the doctor for 2 full minutes. We did however get an unexpected "big" sonogram. We usually see the sonographer every 4 weeks, but we got to see her again today. The best part about the sonogram was getting to see both babies profiles. Baby Sister aparently doesn't like to have her picture taken, because she usually turns to bury her face so that we can't see her profile...not today. We got to see both of them very clearly and they are very much their own little people. They look very different. Seeing their sweet faces makes me even more excited to meet them. Hampton did great! He played well in the waiting room and ate his late lunch while we waited in the exam room. We sang songs, played with a school bus and talked about Baby Jesus and his birthday. I am so thankful for my sweet little boy and his tender heart. He is going to be an extra special big brother.