My First Days at a Stay at Home Mom

This week was the first week that I was home by myself with the girls while Keith was at work. The first day was pretty rough. I could not feed, change or hold them fast enough. They were both screaming at the top of their lungs!! Thankfully in the afternoon Marcy came over and helped me. I have never been so happy to see another set of arms in my life! The next day Marcy left in the early afternoon, and I was once again alone with the girls. Things were a lot better though. They were very mellow and just woke up to eat. Then yesterday I did it all by myself all day! Things went well, and we even ran some errands. It was a very good day.

This stay at home mom thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Its definitely a 24 hour a day job and its very tiresome. Its all good until they both decide to cry at the same time. When that happens I just want to break down and cry with them. I'm sure we will get into a rhythm soon and things will be much easier as time goes on.

Both of the girls are doing fabulous. They are both over 7lbs now, and their pediatrician is very happy with their progress. They both have made great strides in the eating department as well. Typically they will now eat between 3-4oz at each feeding, and they have finally mastered the suck, swallow, breath thing. Kylee has a little bit of reflux, so the Dr prescribed some prevacid and we started adding rice cereal to her bottles to help her keep it down. It seems like it is working.

Apparently Enfamil has a program right now for families with multiples and they are offering free formula for an entire year. My pediatrician is going to contact the rep and take care of it for us. That is such good news for us, right now we are spending about $15 a day in formula, and they aren't really eating that much at this point. It could not have come at a better time.

The nights aren't too bad, even though we are not even close to them sleeping through the night. Typically, they wake up when they are hungry and I feed them then they just go right back to sleep. If only one of them wakes up, I will wake the other one so they are somewhat on the same schedule.

That's pretty much all of the news in our world right now. Hope everyone has a safe and fun new years!!

We're Moving Home

Its been a crazy last few months and we having not lived at our house since September 15th, and its now time to go home. Originally we were going to wait until the kitchen was done being remodeled, but our house has been left unattended for too long. The cats need some loving, the lawn needs mowing, and most importantly my tempurpedic mattress misses me so. I am so excited to be back in my own house with my family. We have been working towards this moment for so long and it is almost here.

The girls are doing great. I think they are having a growth spurt because they both have been sleeping quite a bit. Tomorrow they both have an appointment with the pediatrician, and I am hoping they have had good weight gain in the last week.

On Tuesday Kylee had an appointment with the optometrist. They found that she has stage 1 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow and spread throughout the retina, the tissue that lines the back of the eye. It is very common in premature babies. At this point they are not worried about it but they are going to follow her very closely to make sure that it does not progress. If it does progress they will use a laser to stop the growth of the blood vessels. She has her next appointment next wednesday.

The feedings are still going so-so. Neither one of them is doing spectacular, but they are doing just enough to get by. Kaylyn is a little better and a little more consistant but that has been the case from the beginning. I am told the older they get the better their feedings will go. The main thing right now is that they continue to gain weight.

I was reading today that 70% of parents of multiples end up in divorce. Kind of a staggering statistic. I was talking with Keith about that, and not only could neither one of us imagine doing this alone. We both agreed that this whole situation has made our marriage just that much stronger. I love him so much. He is such a great husband and an awesome father.

That is all for now. If I dont get a chance to update in the next few days I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas. I know we will! I got the best Christmas present in the entire world-My two beautiful baby girls!!

I Actually Got some sleep last night

Keith ended up picking up a double time shift last night, so I was on my own once again. It was such a good night though. One would wake up, I would feed her put her down and get up the second one. No screaming at the same time, no staying awake for hours on end. It was absolutely wonderful! I can only hope that every night will go so smoothly.

Today we are taking the girls to get their pictures done. I am really excited, I hope the girls cooperate. It will be the first outing to a public place with both of them. I'm sure it will be an adventure.

I love being a twin mommy!

We made it through the first night...

Well, Keith had to work this morning so he bailed to the couch and left me by myself with the girls last night. They woke up for their 2am feeding and I grabbed who I thought was Kylee (it was actually Kaylyn and I didn't even realize it until I went to grab the other one!) and fed her. The entire time I was feeding one the other was screaming at the top of her lungs! The whole feeding process took about an hour and a half!! After all that crying you would think they would go right to sleep, Right? Wrong! They were up and fussing for at least another 2 hours. By the time I got them both to sleep I had to wake them up for their next feeding! So pretty much I think I got a whopping total of 2 hours of sleep for the entire night. The joys of being a twin mom I suppose.

This morning we have already done 2 baths and right now Grandma is watching them so I can take a quick nap before the next feeding. This mom thing is a lot of work, but it is so worth it. They are absolutely amazing!!

This afternoon the girls and I are going to take a road trip down the hill to see Kristi. It will be my first outing with both of the girls by myself. It should be interesting.

Hopefully tonight will go a little smoother. Keith doesn't have to work tomorrow so he will be helping me. I'm sure once we are able to establish a routine things will go much more efficiently.

It is so weird that I don't have to go down to the hospital today. It has been my daily routine for months now. I even called the girls primary nurse this morning (at the same time I normally would for my morning update) because she was not there yesterday when Kylee was discharged. She was very sad that she didn't get to say goodbye, so I think we are going to do lunch sometime soon.

Im off to catch up on some ZZZ's while I can....

Both of the Twinfants are Finally Home!!

Kylee did well with her feedings last night and gained weight, and so she was discharged this afternoon!!! It is so amazing to finally have them both at home, and just in time for Christmas!!

Kylee is catching up to her sister in the weight department. She now weighs 6lbs 5oz, and Kaylyn weighs 6lbs 6oz. It is crazy how much they look alike. Kylee has an Umbilical Hernia and for now that is the only way that we can tell them apart.

Kaylyn had 2 doctors appointments today. First she had to go to the Optometrist, and everything was perfect. And then she had to have a follow up appointment with her pediatrician, and that also went very well. She is gaining weight and she should and is doing great.

Now the fun will begin! Im sure tonight is going to be a little challenging, but I am sure I will get the hang of it. Keith has to work tomorrow, so I am pretty much on my own. Here we go!!

Kylee might come home tomorrow

Lets keep our fingers crossed that she continues to do well with her feedings, and that she gains weight tonight. If she accomplishes these 2 things she will be able to come home tomorrow!! She has been doing significantly better with her feedings, not she just needs to remain consistent.

Kaylyn is doing fabulously at home. Last night she decided that 2am was play time and refused to go back to sleep after her feeding. She was not screaming, but she likes to make all kinds of little noises. Daddy had to work this morning so he was forced to retreat to the couch so he could sleep. I think I finally got her back down at 4am.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day! Beside the fact that Kylee may be coming home, Kaylyn has a ophthalmologist appointment in the morning and then she has to see her pediatrician in the afternoon. If Kylee does end up getting discharged tomorrow Keith is going to take the day off of work so that will help out a lot.

We will be going back to our house in Temecula once our Kitchen is complete. I do have to say that it has been nice staying with Keith's parents, they have been such a huge help. Keith went up to the house earlier this week and got the tile counter tops done, all that is left to do is finish the painting and lay the tile on the floor. It all has to be done before the girls can come home because I don't want them around all the dust and fumes.

I just love being a mommy. Both of my girls are so wonderful, and I am just so blessed.

Kylee got her NG tube out today!

Lets hope that she continues to do well with her feedings and it stays out!! If she does do well, she should be able to come home by the end of this week. Kylee is doing fabulous and now weighs 6lbs 1oz!

Kaylyn is doing great being home. After that first night, she settled right in and only wakes up once a night when she is hungry. If there is anything good about having your kids in the NICU for over 9 weeks, its that they are able to establish a pretty good schedule. It definitely makes our lives a lot easier.

It has been such a long road to get where we are and we are almost done!! I cannot wait to have my whole family home together!!

Kaylyn is Home!!

Kaylyn came home on Thursday night after 62 days in the NICU, and so far so good!! The first night, she had no interest what so ever in sleeping in her pack and play. Keith and I finally gave in and let her sleep between us. I know you are not supposed to do that, but I was so exhausted and did not have the brain power to figure out an alternative.

Yesterday we had a very busy day. First, Kaylyn and I went to go visit Kylee at the hospital. The nurses were glad to see Kaylyn, they were already starting to miss her. Then Kaylyn had her first Dr. appointment all the way in Temecula, so we drove up there. She now weighs 6lbs and is 19in long. She is in the 25-50th percentile, and the Dr. was very pleased. She has to go back in a week for a recheck to make sure that she continues to gain weight.

Last night was much better. We got a little space heater and that warmed the room right up. We also used the "Sleep Bear" that Michelle got for them that makes white noise so they are able to go to sleep. That combination worked beautfully, and she only woke up twice to eat and then she went right back to sleep.

Kylee is doing good. She is still not very consistant with her feedings, so we are thinking she will probably be home in another week or so. Then the fun will really begin!!

I am so happy, and I just love my little girls so much. It really has been a long road to get here, but it has been more than worth it. Soon we will all be together as a family!

We're Almost There...

The Dr's say if everything continues on track, as we would like it to, there is a possibility that Kaylyn may come home this weekend!! Kylee shouldn't be to far after that.

The feedings are coming along, but we still have some improvement to make. Kaylyn no longer has her NG tube, and she is taking all of her feedings by bottle but she is no means an expert. Often times she gets really tired and I really have to work with her to finish it. Most of the time she will finish it though, so that is good.

Kylee is now allowed to PO all of her feedings, and whatever she does not finish they gavage into her NG tube. Sometimes she will take the whole thing, and other times she will only do half of it. It is really hit or miss. Im still waiting on this proverbial "Light bulb" to go off...

Yesterday they both got their 2 month immunizations, so they were both really tired and not feeling so hot. I am hoping that they feel better today, especially because the better they feel the better they eat.

So there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. Lately, the closer we get, the longer the days drag on...