5 Months

It is 6:26 AM and I am sitting on my bathroom floor, leaning against the tub to type this blog. I'm holed up in my bathroom because my husband is asleep in the bedroom, my mother-in-law and kids are asleep in the opposite hallway of the house, and my mom is asleep in the loft upstairs. The bathroom is my only refuge to type without waking up someone who needs to sleep well so they can be rested to help me take care of the twins.

Today is the last day that both of our moms will be in town helping us out and Tony and I are thankful they've been here. We could not have made the last two weeks work without their help. It's been great to watch them play with the kids and to see their faces- all four faces- light up when they smile and laugh.

It was also wonderful to have "The Moms" here ysterday for the kids 5 month "birthday". They told me they sang "Happy Birthday" to the kids while Tony and I were at work. When I got home from work, it was nice to have someone to help me take the monthly pictures; I can't imagine I'll be able to get them both to sit still in the chair while I snap pictures for too much longer.

My momentary hide-out must be given up; through the monitor I can see Jack rolling side to side and making whimpering noises. This poor kid has a cold that makes it hard to breathe in the mornings. I guess it's time to jump on mom duty and grab the snot sucker to start my day.

Here are the 5 month pictures- enjoy!

What a Week (and it's only Wednesday)

Things around our house have been different from the norm this week. Both Mim and Nana are staying with us while Durinda is out of town. They have been a wonderful, much needed, and much appreciated help.

While they've been here our schedule has gotten a little out of sorts simply because we have four adults here after work and we can do things that normally can't with just me and Tony. For instance, Tony and I have been working out at the same time this week- something we only imagined possible after the kiddos came along.

You'd think with the extra help and extra time on my hands, I'd have lots of time to blog, and get caught up on my grading, and get everything done I need to- wrong. Somehow, I have managed to do less with more- go figure.

We have had some minor drama around our house that had contributed to the lack of productivity. Jack has his first cold complete with choking drainage and constant drool-  poor guy. He was so congested yesterday that Tony took him to the doctor; she said we have to let it runs its course. So, lots of nose suctioning and sailne solution and humidifiers for the next week or so.

We also have a broken garbage disposal. It backed up on Tuesday night and when we went to hit the "reset" button, I noticed there was standing water under the sink. When you run water in the kitchen sink, it now leaks out of the bottom of the garbage disposal. One clean up crew later and a big bucket, we are still living without a kitchen sink while we wait for the repairman tomorrow.

Harper also had a night last night unlike any she's ever had. She does not like to sit- my daughter is not a solitary creature, even when she's sleeping. Last night, I did not get up and walk her when she cried- I didn't want to walk her; I was tired and wanted her to go to sleep. This was the beginning of the battle of wills and it lasted about 30 minutes. Harper won- eventually I got up and walked her and when I sat down again, she got so upset, she cried so hard, that she choked and threw up- ugh- not the outcome I was looking for. So, I sat covered in baby vomit while my child still screamed, trying to figure out how I was going to calm down enough myself to calm down this little fury.

Thankfully, my mom was here to help me. Though I was more irritated than thankful at the time, she managed to get me calm and Harper calm and then I could get Harper to sleep. I was so thankful to be able to go to bed last night- what a night.

On a brighter note, Pop and Great Granny came to see the kids yesterday. I leave you with a couple of pictures of their play date; the kids had a great time!

Happy Memorial Day!

The Collett Family Circus had a great three-day weekend; I know it's going to be hard for Tony and I to return to work tomorrow. We had a very low key weekend and got to play with the babies, watch some movies, attend a first birthday party, and even do a little car shopping. 

The babies are much more fun and playful these days; they are spending more time awake and giggling and smiling and less time sleeping. We still have our meltdowns and crying fits, but it's so neat to see their little personalities develop. A bad day at work can be erased by a sweet smile from Jack or Harper when we walk in the door. We like to spend time on the play mat, read books, talk to the stuffed animals, and go for walks. 

This weekend we also went to our friend, William's, first birthday party. His party was Monday at a local park so we got to spend some time outside. The weather was very nice and a little overcast which was great because we didn't have to slather sunscreen on the kids- I know you can still get sunburned even in overcast weather, but we were under a covered pavillion 98% of the time. In fact, the only time we left the pavillion was for Tony and Harper to swing for a quick moment. 

Harper is our little dare devil, so far. She loves when Tony holds her above his head and hums the Superman theme, and she likes to bounce, spin, and dance. Harper is on the move, or she's asleep. So, Tony thought she would like swinging and he seemed to be right- no tears from that girl.

When we got home from the party, Tony and I went car shopping. The best part about buying a new car will be not having to shop for a new car anymore. We are currently looking at Ford Explorers and GMC Acadias- anyone have any suggestions one way or the other?

When we got home from car shopping, we spent some time on the play mat doing tummy time and Jack and I took Abby for a walk. Then Jack and Harper took baths and put on their pjs and got ready for their last bottles of the night. Right now, I'm watching my kiddos sleeping peacefully- a wonderful way to end a wonderful weekend.

I'd like to give a quick shout out to Jack and Harper's Aunt J who got them the adorable "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" outfits they wore today- too fitting :)

I would also like to take this forum to remember all those who died in service to our country. 

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.  Rather, we should thank God that such men lived."- General Patton

Happy Memorial Day

Uncle Tanner is Home!

The kids have been having a great week hanging out with Mimi and Nana. It's so nice to know that the kids are in good hands while Durinda is on vacation and I'm glad the Grandmas are having fun and getting to bond with their newest grandbabies.

In fact, when I came home yesterday, Jack, Mimi, and Nana were playing while Harper was napping, and Jack was just smiling and laughing- it was adorable. I have a video of it; I'll have to figure out how to upload it- too cute.

The other exciting news is that Uncle Tanner is home from college for the summer. He finished with his finals and drove Colorado to Texas straight through. We are so thankful he made it home safely and I am so glad we'll get to spend some time with him this summer. He has a job that is going to be taking him all over the Metroplex, so I'm hoping he might find himself in our neck of the woods every once in a while.

Here's a quick picture I shot of the kids with their uncle yesterday. Tanner came over to see them and was trying to take a nap- silly Uncle Tanner, there's no napping for adults at our house!

Ruffles and Lazy Boys

After seeing the horrific images coming out of Oklahoma today, I have to pause and thank the Lord for my two precious little ones. I don't know why things happen when they do, and this has certainly served as a reminder that there is no promise of tomorrow. Holding these babies close to me and smelling their sweet skin and kissing their foreheads has only made me realize how lucky we truly are.

So I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of the twins on this rainy day that reminded me of the little things I may forget about years down the road- the little things that I take for granted. Here is my chance to stop and give thanks for...

A little tooshie with ruffles

who sleeps in funny positions

and her big brother relaxing in his new chair

This is what I'm thankful for.

Weekend Visitors

We were blessed this weekend to have some family visitors who have decided to stay on and help while our Miss Durinda is on vacation.

Nana came out Wednesday night and stayed until Saturday to help with kids while Tony and I worked and spent some much needed time working in our neglected yard on Saturday morning. The kids were nice for Nana and only had one meltdown which didn't last too long.

Saturday afternoon Mimi and Papa came up to see the kids and to deliver Mimi who is going to join Nana on our childcare team for the next two weeks. We are so thankful and lucky to have family so close who are willing to help when we need it. I think the Grandmas are pretty excited to be here and to be able to love on their grandkids all day- they don't even have to fight over who gets to hold a baby!

Jack and Harper had a good weekend. We decided to let Harper dictate her own feeding schedule which worked out really well for one day- she took more out of her bottle than she ever had before. The second day, she took a little less...the third day, she took a little less...so, now back to the drawing board a little bit.

We also had bottle science lab going on in our kitchen Sunday afternoon. We thicken their bottles with Beech Nut rice cereal. Some bottles seem very thick- almost like pudding- while other bottles seem thin. Tony and I were baffled by the inconsistent results even when using the same mixture. So, Debbie and Tony got in the kitchen and mixed up several bottles. After a couple of hours, we settled on a method that seems to be working.

Aside from their feeding, we spent a little time this weekend making some improvements around the house- including hanging some art work in the kids' room and putting together a little rocker that Jack really likes. We also ventured out to dinner with the kiddos and Mimi and Papa. The kids were great and didn't even cry when the food was served (like they have in the past).

Tony and I are both so thankful that the kids are happy and healthy and growing and we treasure weekends spent with the little ones just watching them smile.

Busy Kiddos

This week has gone by so quickly that I haven't had much of a chance to sit down and catch up the blog.  

Harper is still eating well. She hasn't had any gagging or throwing up in a whole week and we are hopeful that she will continue to eat in this manner and will start increasing her volume. Harper has also been much more talkative and energentic and happy since her eating has picked up. She is putting on weight and smiles all the time; we love this happier Harper so much. 

Brother Jack has also been putting on weight. He continues to sleep through the night and, like his sister, he is a happy little one. We are working on his tummy time. Jack has a big ole Collett noggin and  he has problems holding up that head when he's laying on his tummy, so we're working on strengthening those neck muscles. 

Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to the last few days. 

 

Mother's Day Revisited

On Mother's Day the Collett Family Circus packed up and went to Arlington for the day. Not only did we take the kiddos, but Abby came along too. I was very proud of us; we got up at 6:30 and managed to get everyone fed, dressed, and out the door by 9.

We had a great day in Arlington! The twins got to meet their Great Grandparents and see their Nana, Pop, Granny, Aunt Becky and Uncle Rex. I was so glad Grandpa and Mama Reba finally got to hold the kids and love on them. We took lots of pictures of the family and I've finally got them uploaded to share. 

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day thanks to my family and to my wonderful husband and kids. I got some awesome new running shoes, a beautiful new wallet and a gift certificate for a much needed massage. Most of all, I got a day to spend with people that I love very much and I got to snuggle with my son and daughter and our four legged child- that's a successful day in my book!

Quick Update

We had a wonderful weekend filled family and friends; I love weekends where we get to see the ones we love, but it makes me a bad blogger! We went to my parents on Sunday and when we got home, there were so many bottles to wash, babies to feed, laundry to fold, dinner to cook that I didn't sent down to update the blog.  I'll have all the pictures from our Mother's Day weekend adventures tonight, but I wanted to give a quick update today.

Tony and I wanted to thank everyone who has been praying for Miss Harper and her feeding issues. We have seen a turn around in our little girl this weekend. She had been pushed to the point in her eating that she would scream and cry when being fed, gag, refuse the bottle, and throw up at least once a day (sometimes more). Here are the things we've changed in her feeding:

-increase in thickness (from 3 1/3 tsp of rice to 5 1/2 tsp of rice)
-swaddle hands (to help her organize herself)
-feed when she cues to eat (instead of every 3 hours during the day like brother)
-stop feeding when she seems upset or finished even if she has taken very little

I know some of these things sound like common sense like "feed the baby when she's hungry", but all the doctors in the NICU had her on a feeding schedule to get in the calories she needed and Jack eats every 3 hours like clock work. It seemed like letting her go longer during the day would be more harmful (because she would get offered one less bottle than Jack, thus less calorie intake), but she seems to be much happier when she controls when she eats and she actually put herself back on a 3 hour schedule yesterday. We have also been throw up free for 3 days! I know that this does not seem like much, but in our house it's huge. It's amazing how much happier she is when she isn't choking and gaging during dinner and we know now that she's actually getting every drop of forumla she takes.

Harper has also started to smile while she eats and she's making eye contact- a very big deal for us because she had a far away stare for so long when she was fed. We hope that these changes will be what it takes to get our girl back on track with her weight and keep her full and happy :)

Feeding Results

Harper's time at the feeding clinic went well today and we are very hopeful that her new routine will yield some promising results.  Here are the updates:

-Her thickened formula was not thick enough
-We are moving from 3 1/2 tsp of thickening rice to now 5 1/2 tsp
-She was having a problem arching and hitting at the bottle, so now she's going to be swaddled for feedings only
-She needs a distraction to take her mind off eating and to calm her anxiety- Sesame Street and Baby Einstein are our new friends and will be watched each time Harper eats
-Prevacid will still be given to curb reflux problems, but we might go from twice a day to three times a day

So far, the feeds we've done at home have been less stressful than the feeds yesterday. We have noticed that she does not cry as much while we're trying to get her to start her bottle, and she seems more relaxed eating. Harper still hasn't finished a bottle yet today, but she's I'm hoping she is working her way up to it.

While we were having Harper's eating evaluated, we asked the OT about her head shape. She evaluated Harper and said her shape didn't look too bad, but she needed to stretch for more mobility. The OT was nice enough to show us a couple of stretches, so we can implement those into our daily routine. On a side note, I tried to do the stretches to myself and I need to work on my own mobility as well; I could only hold those stretches for a few seconds at time.

So, our homework this weekend is to get some DVDs for Harper to watch while she eats, work on stretching as much as possible, and cheer her on while she puts down those bottles. I hope we have a good weekend; she coudld use one.

She's In!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Harper is getting into the feeding clinic on Thursday.  Prayers for our little girl would be greatly appreciated. We are hoping that this clinic will be able to help us help Harper. Any improvement would be a blessing. We can't wait to see what the occupational therapist has to say!

While We Wait

If you read the entry about the twins 4 month check up, then you know that Harper is going to be involved in another swallow study and, hopefully, will get to go to the feeding clinic to get some help for her eating. If you've also read any of the blogs about Harper's last few weeks in the NICU, then you know about her eating problems.

These eating problems have both Tony and I at the end our ropes. We don't know what we need to do to help Harper, and when we feed her now it's a fight. She has gotten to the point where she will hit the bottle away, put her hand in front of her face, or swat at the hand trying to feed her (thankfully, no biting- ha).  Harper's new thing is to wrap her legs around your arm, like she's trying to climb a fireman's pole, and just start screaming and crying. 

Not only is this frustrating, the girl MUST eat, but it is also emotionally draining. I feel like we're hurting her. When she does eat (which she eats some from every bottle- haven't had one yet that's totally refused to take), she gets a far away look in her eye and then chugs the whole bottle. It's almost like we're asking her to take a great big dose of nasty medicine so she goes to her "happy place" to get it all down. 

We were concerned with her eating when she came home. We were frustrated with her eating when she wouldn't take more than her minimum required. We are now beside ourselves because we don't know what to do to help this little girl. It takes everything I have to feed her some days. I know she has to eat and she need the nutrition, but watching her heart break when she sees the bottle, and holding this girl with a beautiful smile who turns into a crying mess as you lean down to feed her, that is rough. There have been nights when Tony and I have switched back and forth because we were both so worn down, worn out, worn through. 

Please say a prayer that we can get Harper into the feeding clinic ASAP; we need them to call and set something up. We've been waiting four days and I don't want to wait four more.

Weekend Warriors

We were busy little bees this weekend trying to enjoy the spring weather and get out and about with the kiddos. Friday Tony had the day off and spent all day with kids by himself for the first time. I left at 7:15 hoping they would have a good day, and I returned at 4 to a happy Dad and two smiling kiddos-success! We celebrated the victory with dinner out with the Sterlings, which means 4 adults and 3 kiddos; we were lucky all 3 kids were well behaved (no melt downs until dessert arrived). We got home from dinner and tucked everyone in to watch some tv and unwind.

Saturday we were busy with chores, but managed to take a quick trip to Target where we were stopped by two different families to talk about the twins and how well behaved they were- thankfully no meltdowns at Target and we the kids came out with two more books and The Muppets Take Manhattan on DVD :)

Sunday we made a grocery store run and then had some visitors. I was so excited to get to introduce the kids to my long time friend, Laura, and her family. Laura and her daughter, Charlotte, were visiting from Virgina and got to spend some time with us. Charlotte was interested in the babies, but was much more excited to see Abby, and I think Abby was excited that finally someone was visiting her. :)

Nana also came over to see the kiddos this afternoon and the kids had fun showing her how much they've grown and smiling while she talked to them. It was nice to have guests today so Tony and I could finish up some chores and get ready for the long work week. 

We also managed to sneak in a quick photo shoot of the twins in their cute "h" and "j" onesies that they are finally big enough to wear. A big shout out to the Sandbergs for their attire.

Wiped out at the end of the weekend and ready to rest...

4 Month Update

We went on a adventure to the doctor’s today and the twins got their 4 month check up, which included shots all around. The kids were brave during their doctor visit and Tony and I are excited to share their updates.

Harper:

8 lbs and 5 oz in the 6% for her preemie growth curve

21.8 inches long in the 33%

15 inch head circumference in the 31% (2% of a full term growth curve)

She got an A+ on her physical exam, but has a few issues that we’re going to get help with.  Harper is still having feeding issues. I know I posted a week or so ago that she was finishing all of her bottles, but that only lasted a couple of days. Right now, Harper takes about 14 ounces of formula a day and she should be around 16 or 17. We also discussed the mannerisms that we’ve noticed during her feedings: gagging, crying, seeming overwhelmed, pushing the bottle away, etc. Our pediatrician is going to refer us to a speech therapist to help Harper with her eating skills and she’s going to get a new swallow study done. The doctor thinks she may still be aspirating her formula and wants to make sure we address that.  Harper is also a little more of a challenge with her head shape (something they worked on constantly in the NICU), so we have a physical therapist who is going to show us some exercises to help loosen up her neck and help with her head shape.  Aside from eating and noggin shape, she looks great- Praise God!

 

Jack:

A whopping 10 lbs 15 oz in the 60% for the preemie growth curve

22.3 inches long in the 55%

16.3 inch head circumference in the 95% (the 40% of a full term growth curve)

Jack is doing really and rockin’ his eating. Right now he’s taking about 20 ounces a day and he finishes all of his bottles. We also talked about his reflux problem and were told to keep him on his medicine. He is still choking and spitting up, but he spits up about an hour ½ to two hours after he eats. This makes his sleeping arrangement a little tricky; we’ve elevated the head of his bed, but that isn’t fool proof and it’s a little scary to wake up to the sound of your infant choking. I hope this reflux is something he outgrows soon. Aside from that, he looks great; great head shape, good motor skills and also an A+ physically.

We are so blessed to have such healthy kiddos and we wanted to share some cute photos of them too- enjoy!