Twins!?!?

It was one year ago today that it was confirmed that we would be having TWO babies! There was a lot of excitement and a whole lot of "ohmygoshwhatarewegoingtodowithtwobabies???"

And now we know. Have lots of fun, get double the smiles, double the poopy diapers, and overall we just feel so blessed that we have two happy, lovey, adorable boys.

 

Halloween 2010 - Two Peas in a Pod

5 Month Update

Isaac: 

Isaac is doing really well lifting his head during tummy time, will straighten legs  on his own (and out mostly straight, not just in the same position as his brace), and has really good head control. He's working on rolling over, and makes it to his sides. Right now, while we're waiting on his brace for his spine, we aren't pushing him to complete rolling over. We want to make sure that his spine is fully protected. 

This month we added thickener to Isaac's bottles, bringing them to a 'nectar' consistency. This has helped him process the food in his mouth more appropriately and swallow more adequately. Up until adding the thickener, we had been struggling to  get him to take more than 2.5 ounces at a time. We have been working with an OT, and our latest conclusion is that Isaac, isn't aspirating, but doing something that is called 'penetrating.' This is defined as the active entry of any food (usually during swallowing) into the trachea. In Isaac's case, it is speculated that the formula will penetrate, and end up on top of his vocal cords, or other passageway, and then he 'realizes it' and it comes back up. We can tell it hasn't made it to his stomach, because most of the time it isn't like spit up (mixed with stomach fluids, and appearing curdled). Isaac's just appears that it has mixed with thicker saliva, indicating it hasn't made it to his stomach yet, but has gone somewhere it wasn't supposed to go. He is still on Zantac, and with the combination of Zantac and the thickner, he has decreased the frequency of spitting up, but will still occasionally have some issues. So far, we've avoided needing a swallow study, which is where he would have to drink a barium drink, and then have continuous x-ray to watch to see where the food does penetrate or aspirate. As of now, the plan is to keep watching him, and if we can't get the aspirating/penetrating issue resolved soon, he will need a swallow study.

Isaac has also been receiving physical therapy once a week for the last 6 weeks or so. A quick little plug -- Missouri's Early Interention program -- First Steps, has been fabulous for us, and mainly for Isaac. Once a week we have a physical therapist at our house (Jacki), and once every other week, an OT comes (Nicole). They have helped us help Isaac, so that he can make up for his developmental delays caused by his congenital issues. Isaac has vastly improved the movement of his legs (when he does move them). When Jacki first started coming, we told her that Isaac didn't move his legs independently, either he kicked them both out or brought them both up at the same time. When he did straighten them, they went out like and 'A' frame, in the same position they are held when he's in his brace. Now, he will sometimes move them independently. However, if he is straightening them both at the same time, they are going out in a more 'normal' position, not quite straight and not quite "a frame" either. He has also improved his muscle tone in his legs. We are still noticing that he does not kick very often, or when held in an upright position, he does not straighten them to practice the standing position. This brings us to another 'procedure' for Isaac.

Due to us noticing the infrequency of Isaac moving his legs, as well as his lack of a response to getting immunizations, we met with a Neurosurgeon last month. Upon Dr. I researching Isaac's conditions and reviewing his CT & MRI from when Isaac was in the NICU, it was recommended that Isaac have a repeat of the CT & MRI, so that Dr. I can determine if the 'dislocation' of Isaac's spine is causing the spinal cord to be stressed. Dr. I speculated that in the place of the dislocation, there is pressure that is being applied to the spinal cord, causing decreased sensation to Isaac's legs. If this is indeed the case, Isaac will require surgery, sooner rather than later, to relieve some of that pressure. We hope that if this is the case, it will restore the feeling that he has lost (which, he still has some feeling in his legs, just not total sensation), and help move him forward developmentally.

At 5 months, Isaac is still taking 3.5 to 4 ounces at a feeding and going about 3 to 3.5 hours between feedings. He usually goes to bed between 9:30 and 10:30. He sometimes will still wake up in the middle of the night hungry, and will usually take a full 4 ounces if he does wake up. He will get up for the day sometime around 7 or 8am. He will usually sleep for at least an hour around 9 or 10am, and then will take a nice long afternoon nap too. At some point during the evening, he will take a quick snooze just to get him through the rest of the evening until bedtime. His 5 month stats are: 11lbs 6oz. and is 23 inches long. 

On a more fun note for Isaac, it is especially fun to watch him squeal with delight when he gets excited about his baths, or even when he and Eli are laying in Eli's crib, watching the mobile, Isaac loves to talk and squwak loudly! He is also very talkative, and gives out smiles, if he deems it okay! If you know the right tricks, you can get him to laugh a pretty hearty laugh too! It seems that the closer we got to 5 months, the more and more both of the boys would eye each other and have stare downs. It's really cute. Until Isaac scratches Eli's face. Or when Eli pulls Isaac's ear. That's cute until one of them screams.

Elias:

Eli spends most of his time grinning, laughing and making funny faces. He's a mover and a shaker. For him, the closer we got to 5 months, he was enjoying standing on our laps assisted, I think it really made him feel like a 'big boy.' When he concentrates really hard, he can roll both front to back and back to front. Eli is an expert at holding up his head, and is working on learning to sit. At the rate Eli is going with wanting to stand all of the time, he may learn to walk before he learns to crawl! He also spends a lot of his time attempting to eat his hands. Teeth may be coming sooner rather than later, but that's yet to be determined.

Eli is eating about 5-6 ounces at a feeding and is going 3-4 hours between feedings. He usually goes to bed sometime between 9:30 and 10:30, and is up for the morning between 7 and 8am. He'll sometimes take a good morning nap, and sometimes not. He's a pretty light sleeper during the day, and the morning nap is hard for him to get. The afternoon nap, he usually does pretty good with and will usually get 2 to 3.5 hours of sleep then. He'll also usually doze for 20-30 minutes in the evening, just to tide him over until bedtime. Eli's 5 month stats are: 13lbs 2oz and is 25 1/4 inches long. 

He still really enjoys his baths, being outside, and getting lots of attention. :) 

Overall, Eli and Isaac are both very happy babies, and are very social. They are getting to the stage where they realize when we walk away or leave the room. They aren't big fans of that!

 

A very tired Eli, and a quite vocal Isaac

One Year Ago

Okay, so updating more frequently hasn't quite gotten off to a flying start.  But the good news is we actually have some new things to share and hopefully we can find time to get them posted in a timely fashion!

But this post is more reminiscing than anything else.  Kristi and I were talking the other day and figured out it was one year to the day that we found out she was pregnant (October 1st).  And, to say the least, it has been an interesting year.  So, here is our list of what has gone on in the past year.  Some of these things are more for us to remember, so don't be offended if you wonder what the heck are they talking about?

In the past year, we have:

-  Lived in three different houses (Grandview, Brookside, and now Lee's Summit).
-  Moved to our new house while I was in the hospital (actually signed the closing papers the day I was admitted)
-  Almost got snowed in on Christmas morning (car was indeed stuck and Ryan spent over and hour shoveling a big enough path to get to the road)
-  Found out Eli was struggling because of low amniotic fluid and high resistance in the cord flow (initial reason for the hospitalization)
-  Endured having Kristi on bedrest from February 17th, 2010 until the boys birth.  She was in the hospital from Feb 24th to April 19th.
-  Playing the Wii in the Kristi's hospital room
-  The all-day shopping bonanza at Nebraska Furniture Mart to buy the kids' furniture.  Kristi was put on bedrest two days later.
-  Having our family move us to our new house, and unpack us.
-  Watched as our concerns flipped from Eli to Isaac and his spinal difficulties.
-  Feral Cat.
-  Getting kicked so hard by one of the boys that I screamed out loud during the Superbowl!
-  Listening to "Baby A" and "Baby B's" heartbeats.
-  Watching the March Madness games with my OB in my hospital room.
-  Being terrified every time Dr. S came into my hospital room with the ultrasound machine, and the sense of relief when he said that Eli's fluid and flow looked at least the same.
-  REALLY (AND I MEAN REALLY) craptastic hospital food. Raisin Bran for breakfast everyday. And chocolate milk. Meatloaf on Wednesdays for lunch. But the cookies that are served with the meatloaf are great!
- All of the wheelchair rides Ryan took me on.
-  Having our boys and the rollercoaster we have been on with them!

We are so very thankful and grateful for all of the love and support from our friends and family over the last year. What a ride it has been! We are truly blessed!


 

To the Pumpkin Patch We Went!

Today we made it out to the famous Louisburg Cider Mill and went to the pumpkin patch. It was actually the last Cider Fest weekend, and we had no idea how many people turned out for that! We had a great time, and the boys were a hit. We hope you enjoy the few pictures we got!

Eli & Isaac ready to check out the CiderFest

An update (we promise to update more frequently!!)

First, we apologize for not getting the blog updated more regularly, we are going to do better about that.

So, here is what is going on in twinfinity:

Both boys are doing well.  Elias continues to shoot for the moon in terms of growth and it absolutely amazes us with how fast he is growing.  We go to the pediatrician in tomorrow, where we expect to hear that Eli is over the 11 pound mark!  We also anticipate he will be 23 to 24 inches long.  We will give you those exact numbers when we get them on Monday.  Other than eating like a champ, Eli continues to smile all the time and enjoys cuddling with mom and dad.  I love making funny faces at Eli just to see if I can get him to react (and I usually can).  I tell him all sorts of jokes, an unlike some people, he finds them all very, very funny.  He plays all the time, loves to wear his tuxedo and is getting closer and closer to being just an average joe on the growth chart.  Now, about growing some hair...

Isaac continues to make progress as well, but because Eli is growing WAY faster than a normal infant, sometimes Isaac's progress gets overlooked.  He is still gaining weight, and we fully expect him to be over the 10 pound mark at the doctor tomorrow.  Isaac also continues to work on his motor skills and has taken just a bit longer learning to control his head and struggles sometimes to eat.  He has put us through a few scares here and there, but overall, we continue to be encouraged by his progress.  He has done well at all his recent appointments and has three more appointments coming up this month.  One with the pediatrician, one with his orthopedist (where we hope he will be given the all clear to only wear his brace at night), and then one with a neurosurgeon.  That appointment is more of a consultation, so we will see.  Isaac also beat his brother to one really cool milestone: holding their own bottle.  Sure, it was only for a few seconds, but he definitely grabbed it on his own and held it in his mouth.  Pretty dang cool.  It has been so much fun watching him learn and explore his surroundings.

Both boys are very inquisitive and want to look all over the place and soak up their surroundings.  They are becoming more and more independent and able to soothe themselves when they get upset.

I am pretty sure these are best two kids of all time (what?, no, I am not biased!).  Seriously, they are the best two kids ever.  All you people out there who have kids, get in line for third, cause spots one and two are taken!!  :)

Please come back this week as we post a whole heap of photos and more blog updates.  Our goal from now on will be to update the blog once every 3 days or so.  Thanks again for all the support we are getting.  Our journey is really going strong now!

We will post some of there three month pics this weekend that we took as a family.  Some have made it to facebook already, so hopefully you will enjoy them.