Time Flies....

So the twins are now 19 months old!

They are so much fun at this age and are becoming little 'people.' It amazes me every day how much they learn and grow. They are such little sponges right now. They typically are each other's best friends, however that's not to say that they get along 100% of the time! Typically it's been Kai pushing Katherine, or giving her a whack on the head, or stealing her toy....but lately little miss "Kat Kat," as they both call her, has been fighting back. She's much more determined to keep her own toys and not let her brother bully her around. And of course, anything Kai can do, Katherine can do too!

They have both generally been really good sleepers at night for the past few months. We have even been able to lay them down completely awake and they'll fall asleep on their own 95% of the time. And if they wake in the middle of the night, we rarely have to go in their room. They've been sleeping from 7pm-ish to 7am-ish. Sooo nice and sooo appreciated! They still nap twice a day, and they usually only take cat-naps, anywhere from 30 min to an hour. I'm thinking they'll transition to one nap a day soon...and hopefully it will be for a longer duration of time, also. Mama needs time to get some things done around the house!!

Kai is around 23 pounds. At his 18 month checkup he was in the 10th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height! (true age scale!) Katherine was 20 pounds, 4 ounces yesterday with her diaper, clothes, and shoes on. At 18 months she was in the 5th percentile for height and weight, true age scale. I think that's pretty darn good!

We just got home from our first trip to Wisconsin! The plane rides were interesting, to say the least. They actually did quite well - better than I expected. They rode on our laps for 3 of the 4 flights, and one of the shorter flights they had empty seats which allowed us to bring their carseats on. It was all about distraction, new toys, new books, more distraction, snacks, walking the aisle, and more distraction. Not too many melt-downs. And we were very thankful the people around us were so understanding. Traveling with two toddlers is not an easy feat!

While we were in Wisconsin we went to two waterparks (they are both water kiddo's, that's for sure!), went to Rich's cousin's wedding, spent a few nights at Rich's parent's house, spent a few nights at my parent's trailer, spent a couple nights in hotel rooms....the most difficult part of the trip was packing and repacking every day or every couple days. The twins went on their first boat rides, jet ski's, a tractor, four wheelers, ate a popsicle for the first time, got their first mosquito bites....all in all they had a blast. They met an overwhelmingly amount of people, and Kai was attached to his daddy like you'd not believe! In a way, it made it easier on me...Rich had one and I had one. We finally met my niece Grace who is 10 months old and such a cutie. Unfortunately the twins are now super attached to their binkies, as they really wanted them as a comfort measure. So I gave in while we were in Wisconsin for 10 days. Now it's been torture trying to get the binkies to 'live in their cribs' again.

When we arrived back in San Diego, both of them were acting a little 'off.' Kai refused to sleep in his crib, his classic ear infection sign...but part of me wondered if he just wasn't used to his crib after being away for so long. After a couple sleepless nights, I took them to the pediatrician (alone, by the way, which is really not an easy task these days as they're afraid of the doctor now!). Sure enough, Kai has another ear infection. Katherine's ears looked okay, but her throat was red and swollen, she's had diarrhea, a low-grade fever, a rash, and hasn't been feeling well. Just a virus...which will inevitably turn into an ear infection...

So we're not quite back to normalcy yet. I have a crabby little boy who clings to his daddy at any chance he gets and I have a little girl who wants nothing more than to suck on her binkie all day long. Unfortunately her top teeth are coming in a little crooked, so I'm really trying to stay strong and keep that binkie in the crib for 'night night' only. She has been doing such a great job of telling me when she has to go 'poo poo' though - and both of them have gone on their potty a few times already! They are fascinated by the potty, which is both good and bad...but certainly makes me keep a clean bathroom!!

While I had a few moments of peacefulness with Katherine dozing on my chest on the airplane ride home from Wisconsin, I gazed out the window and thought about Kai running around my parent's yard following his older cousins everywhere. He looked like such a big kid, hanging out and admiring all the older boys. At one point they were climbing around the fence and Kai's shirt got stuck on it. Pretty funny to see him hanging there, almost helpless, until his older cousin stepped in and got him off. Never a peep from him. Just a look of 'thanks, man.'

Gosh, they have come such a long way! Such a big boy he's becoming...and such a big girl my princess is becoming....and as I gazed out the airplane window I got a little tear in my eye thinking about how fast time flies.

Where has time gone?

My goodness, it's been awhile! I am long overdue for an update!

The twins are 16 months old! They are beginning to walk...and they are everywhere! They seldomly crawl now, as I think they've realized it hurts their knees. So stinkin' cute to watch them both on their feet at the same time!

Katherine is my mellow girl now. She is very patient and she is able to entertain herself quietly with toys or books. She likes to share everything she has, including sharing with her brother. She loves her baby dolls, and her nana has recently spoiled her with a baby buggy, which she adores. She loves to rock her babies and give them kisses. She is a very smart girl and loves to imitate and make signs. Both babies are learning sign language, and she really seems to pick up on it quickly. She still adores her brother like crazy, and I think her favorite word is "Kai." She is a bit of a taddle-tale and likes to point at him when he's doing something naughty and say "Kai, Kai." They are both on the true-age scale now and Katherine is in the 5th percentile and Kai is in the 10th percentile for 15 month olds! Hooray babies!

Kai is my little boy who is now giving me a run for my money! He is ALL boy! He is very rambunctious and full of energy. My parents have nick-named him "Bam Bam" which is very, very fitting. He has a short fuse and an even shorter attention span! He keeps me super busy and needs a lot of entertainment from mama. When he is teething, he is in a terrible mood, and unfortunately they both seem to be teething a lot these days. I still wish they could go to sleep and wake up with a full mouth of teeth. His favorite thing to do is steal toys from his sister...and he also loves to climb stairs and has absolutely NO fear! His gaze is still so enchanting and he has the cutest smile with a huge gap between his front teeth. Even though he keeps me on my toes, I don't know what I'd do without my little boy! He adores his daddy and always wants to be outside with him - anything to get dirty! He is hystarical in the sand and I think both babies will definitely be beach babies this summer!!

My parents were just visiting with my neice Madeline for 10 days. My dad built us another deck around our new hot-tub, and it extends off/goes around our toy room. The kids already love it out there!! We bought them little life jackets to go in the hot tub with us (at just a warm temperature)...they've been in once and had a blast! The twins really miss their nana, and they crawl around the room and say "Na Na, Na Na, Na Na" and look for her. It breaks my heart! Madeline was such a great little helper and it made me realize how much easier my life would be with a 10 year old around the house! My sister has certainly done something right with raising that girl because she was absolutely an angel while she was here. I need some parenting tips from Kathy!!

We are looking forward to our visit to Wisconsin this June. I'm not looking forward to traveling on the airplane with the twins...that will be interesting, to say the least. But I can't wait for our extended families to finally meet them! I think they get cuter and cuter as each day passes!

Grown up babies!

With their signs from their incubators! Kai 2 pounds, 7 ounces. Katherine 1 pound, 15 ounces


Kai and Katherine are one year old!!

My parents and my grandmother came to visit over their birthdays. They were amazed at how much they've grown! It was great to have their help, as the babies are now very mobile and into everything! They like to go in opposite directions, just to make it fun for mama to chase after them. :) We had a big birthday party at Kate Sessions Park and it was so much fun. Thank you so much to everyone for coming and for all of the wonderful gifts!

Kai's surgery went well and he did great with the anesthesia. His recovery, however, was absolutely terrible. It was the hardest 2 weeks since bringing the babies home from the NICU, for sure. He was bandaged and had a stent in place for a week, which caused severe bladder spasms that you could do nothing about. He was miserable and in pain all the time. After a week, the bandage and stent were removed and I thought things would get easier, but they only got harder. He had a severe reaction to the bandage and was red, swollen, and blistered everywhere. Each time he pee'd he would scream bloody murder for days and days. One night we spent 5 hours in the ER at Children's (with both babies) because everything had turned purple...it was miserable there but we are thankful we went because they diagnosed him with a yeast infection and gave us some nystatin cream for the pussy blisters...and a day later he was already feeling better.

They are still teething like crazy, especially Kai. He has 4 that are poked through on the bottom and one coming in on top. And let me tell you, he is not very happy about it! (And neither are mom and dad). He isn't sleeping well at all these days and has been waking up screaming around 5 or 5:30am. Coming from my boy who used to sleep til 7:30 or 8:00, it's pretty rough for him to be up that early. The first couple hours of our days are spent with him crying or whining, then it gets a little better after his first nap...which is happening earlier and earlier. :)

Oh, this too shall pass, right? I wish they could go to sleep and wake up the next morning with a full mouth of teeth. It's funny how different two babies can be - most of the time you'd never even know Katherine is teething. Thank goodness for that!

They are crawling like champions and can roam the whole house. Fast little buggers! They pull up on anything and everything, but their favorite is the coffee table. We finally put a gate around the TV in their toy room since Katherine is obsessed with the DVD buttons. They aren't too fond of the gate. In physical therapy, they are now working on 'cruising' along furniture. Ummm...I'm not sure I'm ready for that!!!

Each day they are even more grown up, and it's all happening so fast!

Milestones...

Time is flying by so quickly now, and soon the babies will be one year old!! Oh my gosh! It's so incredible to me how much they've grown and everything they have overcome in this past year.

Five weeks after the first ear infections, they had another round of ear infections. This time they were even sicker, and it lasted much longer. More sleepless nights for us. Now they are both teething. Katherine has her two front bottom teeth almost completely in, and Kai's bottom two teeth are just poking through now. Needless to say, Katherine has proven, once again, to be our little 'toughie.' Kai has been much more grumpy about getting his teeth...typical boy, right? Gosh, does he ever remind me of Rich! he he :)

We went to the Wild Animal Park and a pumpkin patch a couple weekends ago and the babies did great. It was an adventurous day! Katherine liked the hay more than the pumpkins, and Kai didn't really like the crowds of people. It takes him a little longer to warm up to other people. But we all had fun and got some good pictures.

Next Wednesday Kai will be having his surgery. He will be under general anesthesia for 2 hours and I am so incredibly anxious and scared. He didn't do well with anesthesia with his first surgery...and the memories of him being on a ventilator for 24 hours and then under a hooded tent and not being able to even touch him for another 24 hours is still very fresh on my mind. My heart absolutely aches just thinking about it. I'm sure his recovery process will be interesting as well, since he's my 'sensitive' boy. I have a feeling I'll have a little boy attached to me for a few days. Good thing Katherine is pretty independent.

But I know he'll do fine and soon this will be another milestone that we have accomplished....

Double Babies, Double Ear Infections...

Katherine and Kai both have double ear infections. Two nights ago Rich and I had about 1/2 hour to an hour of sleep all night. Kai would not let me put him down, literally, and I had to lie with him on my chest most of the night through. Thankfully we had a much better night last night, as I've only been awake since 4am today. It's amazing how you can still function on such little sleep...am I functioning?

It's so sad to watch your little babies while they are sick. And it's super hard when they both want to be cuddled at the same time, but you've only got room for one at a time! I had to call in sick to work yesterday, and Rich did the same, so I was so thankful there were another set of arms here to cuddle!

Katherine is obsessed with putting her toes in her mouth lately. She also does something that melts my heart every night - she gets a little silly when she is really tired before bed. She started doing it while my mom was here visiting for the month. She will drink a little bit, then you look down at her and she'll give you the biggest smile ever, and sometimes a little giggle. She'll do it every time you look at her. So cute.

Kai is going to follow in daddy's footsteps and be an engineer I think. It's amazing how much he studies his toys. He will grab a rattle and look at it in every direction possible. He is certainly going to be on the move soon. Today he was lying on his blanket on his tummy with some toys, and I left to wash bottle for a couple minutes. When I came back he was on the wood floor smacking it with his hands. He loves to do that.

At the pediatrician today, Kai was 18 pounds, 3 ounces and Katherine was 14 pounds, 13 ounces. Gosh, they are getting so big! Kai is doing fantastic on his new Alimentum Formula. Who knows if he'll be lactose or soy intolerant. Oh I sure hope not! The pediatrician chatted a bit about trying to give up the binkies in a few weeks when they are over their ear infections. Oh boy - what are we going to do in the middle of the night when one wakes up and cries....it's too hard to do the 'cry it out' method when you've got another baby in the room who will certainly wake up! There should be a different set of guidelines how to get twins who share a room to both sleep through the night! Trust me, I've done my research and found nothin'!

For now, we just have to get through the ear infections. I feel very lucky that this is the first time they've gotten ear infections. Poor little things!

Don't wish time away...

For those of you fellow blog-followers, my apologies for not writing an update sooner! Where does the time go? Oh, I know....most of it goes into feeding my fussy eater Kai!

We have had battles with Kai's eating for months now. He was diagnosed with reflux, as many preemie babies have some sort of reflux. Although he doesn't fit the classic symtoms, he's been on zantac and prevacid for quite some time, and for months we thickened his formula as well. We've seen a GI specialist who wasn't all that concerned because he hasn't lost weight, and she increased his prevacid to the maximum dose. So much, in fact, that our pediatrician was surprised as he has never had a baby on that much prevacid. Not to mention, it doesn't even work...

He doesn't spit up a lot, and you can lie him flat on his back after feedings and he'll be just fine. He just absolutely hates it when you put the bottle in his mouth and make him eat. If it was up to him, he wouldn't eat a thing all day. Instead, we pretty much do circus acts to get him to drink 5 oz four times a day. Yes, that's all he eats in 24 hours, with a tablespoon of solids here and there. We stand the majority of the time (my upper body is stronger than it's been since I was a gymnast!), it usually takes an hour per feeding, and we have to walk around the house or outside, let him listen to cars driving by, and if we're desperate to sit down for a break we turn the vacuum cleaner on. (Thx Julie for the discovery!)

He's been seen by an occupational therapist in case it is an actual oral-feeding problem, which it of course isn't. For the past week we have changed his formula from the all-important Neosure to a hypo-allergenic formula called Alimentum. At just $28 for a small can, it is completely dairy free and soy free. Apparently 30% of kids with a dairy sensitivity also have a sensitivity to soy, so the GI specialist recommended cutting out everything. *Maybe* it's helping a little bit. He still requires the standing and bouncing and walking around and singing and severe distraction, but at least he isn't screaming bloody murder. We don't thicken it anymore, as the cereal has soy in it, but he does pretty well at keeping it down. An occasional projectile vomit here and there, but nothing unmanagable. So, I thought he might be hungrier and start eating more than 5 ounces at a time since it's not thickened anymore...but nope! 5 is just fine in his book. Well, 3 is ideal in his book, but mama doesn't let that happen. If we don't see a huge change in another week of the Alimentum formula, he might need an endoscopy and a biopsy of his esophogus. We're hoping to avoid this, but we need to do what's best for him. Oh, Mr. Kai. I hope you grow out of this soon! I know, someday he will come home from school and eat my entire refrigerator, and I will say 'remember when...'

As you could only imagine, life has been busier than ever because of our little eating challenges. Thankfully Katherine is quite the little eater now (drinking 5 ounces 5 times a day with solids at dinner time). When we finish with her bottle, we begin the feeding extravaganza with Kai, and poor little Katherine waits an hour for some attention. Thankfully she's really into her toys and playing with her feet. (She's figured out how to suck on her toes now, mmm). Usually she is patient, but there are many days when I am feeding Kai, singing to and bouncing him, standing on one foot with a toy between the toes in my other foot, shaking the toy in front of Katherine's face who is lying on the floor looking up at us. Oh, to be a fly on my walls, huh?

Both babies are rolling over now. Kai is rolling very often and will play with toys while on his tummy for quite awhile. We are now working on the beginning stages of crawling during physical therapy sessions. (Ugh!! Am I ready for that?) Katherine doesn't mind being on her tummy anymore, but only on her own time. She will roll over only when she really wants to. Nobody is gonna make her do something she doesn't want to, that's for sure. Kai sleeps through the night most of the time, but now that he's rolling over, he'll get onto his tummy in his sleep and then wake up because he's not used to it yet. So we just flip him over and back asleep he goes. I think he forgets how to get back onto his back while he's so sleepy. I'm sure he'll get used to sleeping on his tummy if he lands that way eventually. You never know where you'll find him in the crib when he wakes up. He's hysterical. Katherine wakes up about once or twice a night now, only for her binkie. We were climbing up and down the stairs up to 10 times a night a few weeks ago, so we're quite pleased right now. Every now and then she will even sleep all the way through the night! Those are some joyous mornings!

Grandma and Grandpa Eichhorn came to visit the babies last weekend. They were here over Christmas while the babies were still in the NICU, Katherine just over 3 pounds and Kai just under 4 pounds. Needless to say, they were very surprised to see how big they are now! Katherine weighs around 14 1/2 pounds and Kai weighs around 18 pounds! My chunky monkey! The babies were also baptised on Sun, July 19th at St. Brigid Catholic Church. Katherine was adorable in her princess dress and Kai was very handsome in his little white suit. Both babies did extremely well throughout the entire baptism ceremony. Thank you so much to Heidi Dobbs and Carrie & Joe Schaefer for being the twins' godparents! Afterwards we hosted a little BBQ on our new deck that dad built when he was here. We are putting it to very good use this summer.

A few weeks ago we went to Josh and Heather's house for our first trip away. They babies did great in the car and slept well in the basinette portion of the pack-n-play. They loved swimming and we can't wait to take them again. We've also gone swimming at the YMCA while Julie and Michaela were visiting/helping to babysit the twins. They are definitely water babies and love taking baths. They are obsessed with their little bath toys. They are almost sitting by themselves, so they'll have lots more fun in the tub soon.

We found a new nanny named Sabrina who is wonderful with the babies. She is very patient through all of Kai's eating dilemas and we are so thankful to have found her. She is also a teacher who recently moved to San Diego with her husband, but the job market for teachers in San Diego is pretty tough right now so she is nannying for us until she finds a job. I'm selfishly hoping that won't be for awhile!

The past couple months have proven to be quite stressful and super busy. As a mom, I'm just so worried that we're missing something with Kai, and I just want him to be okay and actually enjoy eating like a baby should do. I hate to see him so upset, but I am determined to not allow him to lose weight and I must keep going no matter how much my arms ache and how much my back hurts! I know this is just a phase. Nothing is as stressful as our 3 month NICU stay, but these past couple months have ranked right up there. As much as I can't wait for him to outgrow this phase, I don't want to wish any time away...

Childcare stresses

I am so sad to write that we have lost our wonderful nanny, Kalli. Her boyfriend was in a tragic pool accident after they both attended a friend's wedding last weekend in Wisconsin. He fractured vertabrae in his neck and bruised his spinal cord, and his recovery process will be a long journey. She does not know when/if she will ever return to San Diego. Please keep them both in your prayers for a full recovery.

So our adventure in finding a new nanny has begun. What an incredibly stressful time right now. Not only am I concerned about Kalli and her boyfriend, but I am obviously very concerned for my own family as well. It was difficult finding our first nanny - she has got to be the perfect fit, and Kalli was absolutely that. We are now pressured to find someone in a hurry, as I cannot continue to call in sick to work. Thankfully Emily, one of their NICU nurses, will be watching the babies for a few hours tomorrow while I'm working. However, next week we have no back-up plan. Who has a back-up plan for terrible tragedies like this?

We will certainly miss Kalli, and I know the babies will also. I can only pray that we find someone as wonderful as she is. Who ever thought child-care would be so stressful?

Little adjustments...

I'm a ham for the camera!



What are you lookin' at?



Happy Easter!



Mama's little man



Sweet little baby doll



Papa and Katherine



We kept nana very busy!



Silly babies


Can you believe the twins are 6 months old?! Where has the time gone?!

Kai and Katherine are doing fantastic. They are just growing like little weeds now. Kai weighs almost 15 pounds and Katherine is around 12 pounds. They are so much fun right now. It seems as if they have 're-discovered' each other. They will play in their Bumbo chairs facing each other, and they will make noises and laugh at each other. It's so adorable to watch. I don't know who loves Baby Einstein more - the twins or their mama! That silly movie has allowed me the freedom to prepare their bottles and medications each morning, and even allows me to shower and get ready on occasion! Daddy watched them alone for the first time for 13 hours last Sunday while I was at work, and they were great for Daddy! They even both rolled over from their tummies to their backs for the very first time!

Kai battled some issues with reflux but has been doing so much better now that he's on Previcid. For a few weeks he could only eat 2 ounces at a time, and then he would scream in pain. He's now back to drinking 5 ounces each bottle. He's my marathon eater - slow but steady. Katherine-bug has decided that she's finally hungry enough to finish most of her bottles (which is 3 1/2 ounces these days. Seems crazy that they are 6 months old and only eat that much, but their adjusted age is truly just over 3 months.

Nana was here for the month of April and I can't explain how much of a help she was to us. From feeding and rocking babies to preparing meals and doing dishes - oh my gosh, do we ever miss her! I think the babies miss smiling and laughing at her while they drank their bottles. Papa was here for two weeks, and boy was he ever busy for those two weeks! He moved the closet door in the nursery, built a door into the nursery, installed a dishwasher, did some electrical work, and built a deck and railings...all in two weeks! Of course there was some baby-holding time in there too! We miss them both so much and it was terribly difficult saying good-bye. We're not sure when we'll travel to Wisconsin again, nor do we know when they'll be back to San Diego to see us. Hopefully sooner than later!

I've been back to work for a month. My first few shifts, Nana was here to babysit. Our nanny started in May, and she is so fantastic with the twins. I have complete trust in her and I feel so comfortable having her at our house with the babies. We are so blessed to have found her! I am working every Tues and Thurs, and every other Sunday. 13 hours away from the babies is soooooo long and I miss them sooooo much by the end of the day. Thankfully they're still awake when I get home and I'm able to feed them their last bottle and put them down to sleep.

They are still sleeping in the twin bassinette in our bedroom, but the time is near that we are making the transition to their cribs in their nursery. Each side of the bassinette only holds 15 pounds, and Kai is just about there! For the most part, Kai sleeps through the night, only waking on occasion for his binkie. Katherine has been waking up quite a few times a night from 3am on for the past few weeks. She'll take her binkie, reposition, and fall back asleep quickly, but only to wake up a short time later. She doesn't need to eat anymore in the middle of the night, but I'm really hoping she's able to sleep more soundly through the night soon. Or else we will be making a lot of trips up and down the stairs. (Our bedroom is directly above their bedroom). I've considered the idea of moving Kai to his crib and keeping Katherine upstair in the bassinette, but I really hate to separate them, so I think we're just going to dive in and move them both....

It's so hard to remember what life was like without Kai and Katherine. I just love every little ounce of them so much. We have had such great help lately, from my sister and family visiting, my parents visiting, and our friend Heidi visiting, and now it's back to life with just the four of us. We have some adjusting periods ahead of us, but they are such fun adjustments! I wouldn't give any of this up for the world...

The Little Things

Who said we're little? Check out our cheeks!


Mama keeping two babies happy


Smile, Kai!


Practicing in her big-girl crib!


Sleepy Heads


4 Months Old and ready for a walk in the baby bjorns!

I can certainly relate to the old saying 'the little things are what mean the most.' It's amazing how a little smile and an enchanting stare can absolutely melt my heart. These tiny babies are growing so quickly, and each day they amaze me more and more.

Kai and Katherine just had their 4 month check-up at the pediatrician! Kai weighs 10 pounds, 7 ounces and Katherine weighs 7 pounds, 10 ounces. Notice how the numbers are just reversed? My twins don't want to be too different from each other! Our pediatrician couldn't be happier with their progress. We've had some difficult lab-draws in the last couple weeks. Let me tell you - watching your babies give 5 vials of blood via a heel-stick is not fun in the least bit. And what's worse is when you hear the news that you need to do it all over again. Most of their labs are perfectly normal, however they still have a high alk-phos level. At this time we are not going to put them back on that medication, and we will recheck labs in a month.

Life as a mom of twins is definitely busy, but things seem to get easier and easier each day. We've established somewhat of a 'routine,' and I think this helps both me and the babies. They love to lie under their activity mats, especially together. They also love their vibrating chairs, and when they won't sleep in their bassinettes they will fall fast asleep in their chairs. Those chairs have been a life-saver in helping mom and dad get some sleep! As for their sleeping habits, they are outstanding! They have only been waking up once a night for the past two weeks! During the day, Kai is a great little napper. He even takes naps in his big boy crib quite easily. Katherine, on the other hand, is just too busy checking out the world to have time for a nap during the day! Some days it takes leaps and bounds of rocking and cuddling to get her to take a day-time nap...and we make sure to practice going in her big girl crib at least once a day. She usually spends more time 'talking' to her monkey stuffed animal than anything else. She is going to give me a run for my money... So that means no napping for the mama! I'm awake around 6am when they drink their early morning bottles, and I'm going nonstop until the last binkie is popped in the mouth around 10pm. Then again when they wake up in the night, but usually only for an hour or so. No complaints on this end! I think that's pretty darn good.

The weeks of maternity leave are dwindling down, and it makes me very anxious that I will be returning to work soon. I am thankful that my mom will be watching them the first few shifts, as she will be here for the month of April. I return to work April 14th, and I will be working Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Sunday. (pending adequate staffing). We found a nanny who is originally from Wisconsin, and actually graduated from UW-Milwaukee where we went to school. She has a degree in teaching, but she hasn't been able to find a teaching job in SD. Instead, she is focusing on nannying for us and another family until the job market picks up. I never imagined that I would ever want to be a stay-at-home mom....but something drastically changed in me since having these little monkeys. Juggling two babies at the same time can prove to be challenging at times, and it will be a huge task for me to give up all control while I go back to work. I know they will be okay, and the nanny will be okay, and I will be okay. It's hard, though. I'm sure every mom goes through the same thing. Although I do think it's 'twice' as hard for me!

In the meantime, I am trying to enjoy each and every moment with these babies. They are interacting more and more each day. They are full of smiles in the mornings, and Katherine will even chuckle every now and then. Kai has the most incredible, enchanting gaze and he could win any staring contest hands down. They definitely recognize their mom and dad and will look in our direction when we're talking. Katherine likes to make grunting noises when she is waking up or trying to reach her binkie, and I laugh when she makes noises like a baby elephant. Kai is fascinated by their Baby Einstein DVD, and he'll let you know when he's done watching it by rubbing his little eyes. The hard thing about twins is that you constantly feel like you're bouncing between babies, and you don't get a whole lot of quality one-on-one time if you're alone with them. So I look forward to Rich coming home from work each night so I can spend alone time with each baby.

They are so perfect. I have looked forward to becoming a mom for awhile, but I never could have imagined how truly wonderful it is. And I am doubly blessed to enjoy the little things that matter most.

Home Sweet Home!!!

We are finally all home together!!

Kai came home from the NICU on Jan 16th, and Katherine came home Feb 1st. It was a very long 2 1/2 weeks while she was still in the NICU....she missed her brother terribly, and we had an extremely difficult time leaving her alone each night. She was having a hard time finishing all of her feedings, and then finally we changed bottles and the light bulb clicked on.

Being at home as a family is so incredibly wonderful. Yes, I'm quite busy. But we're all home, where we belong. And that part is so peaceful. We don't have monitors dinging and bright lights everywhere and people chattering about us. We have a sense of normalcy, and I can't express how great that feels. We cherish these babies more than anything else in this world, and they have done an amazing job so far in their little lives.

Both babies sleep remarkably well at night, and sometimes even go for 4-5 hour stretches! We have them in a twin bassinette in our bedroom, and most of the time they are so happy sleeping next to each other. When one wakes up, we wake the other one up to eat as well...otherwise we would be awake all night feeding! Kai now weighs 8 pounds, 3 ounces and Katherine weighs 6 pounds, 1 ounce. I remember the day I congratulated Katherine in joining the '2 Pound Club.' Wow, what a long way we have come.

Rich was officially off work for one whole day with me so far. Although I am bummed out that he hasn't been able to take more time off work, I'm thankful that he's at least able to take off for all of our doctor's appointments. We've had plenty of them so far! Our babies are pro's at riding in the car already. They also love to go on walks in their stroller, especially along the boardwalk. Beach babies already.

We are so thankful to finally be home....sweet home!

On the Homestretch...

Needless to say I haven't upheld my promise for more pictures. Soon, I hope. It seems like such an easy task, but where does the time go? I know - the NICU!

The babies are doing so well, and mostly just working on their feedings now. Kai is 5 pounds, 1 ounce and Katherine is 4 pounds 6 ounces. We have come a looooonnng way. They are 9 weeks old today. I look back at 9 weeks ago and the time has gone fairly fast, but yet has taken forever. We've been through a lot these last few months. But my little monkey's are some tough babies, that's for sure!

Kai had his surgery to repair his inguinal hernia a week ago. I didn't sleep a wink the night before, and arrived just as soon as they'd let me through those doors the morning of the surgery. As I walked towards their bed, I realized only Katherine was in it, and tears came to my eyes immediately. He was already over in the intensive care side, and she was alone in the step-down unit. I hated seeing them apart. I snuggled with her for a little while, then made my way over to Kai. His little IV was already started, and I saw a poke in his other hand where they must have missed the first attempt. I thought he would be quite angry since he wasn't allowed to eat anything, but he was perfectly content in my arms. Rich arrived a couple hours later, and we spoke with both the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. They were running an hour late, but it was okay by me because I wasn't quite ready to let go of him.

They put him in a little transport bed, and he was happy as could be sucking on his binkie. He had no idea what was to come. It was pretty emotional, to say the least. Rich and I had a quick lunch in the cafeteria while he was in the O.R., then came back and stayed with Katherine. When he got back from surgery, he was still intubated. His nurse Emily (we love Emily!)told us that they were thinking of extubating him back in the O.R. cuz he was breathing so well over top of the ventilator. Thank goodness they didn't. As time went on, he stopped breathing less and less on his own and depended on the ventilator. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like watching your baby boy just lie there, unresponsive, not opening his eyes, not moving, letting a machine take mechanical breaths for him. Ugh, I can't even think about it right now. We waited and waited for him to wake up so they could take the tube out of his throat, and we waited and waited some more. We were running back and forth between the two nurseries from Kai to Katherine. And soon it was 2am and we were struggling with whether to stay all night, or if we should go home and try to sleep for a few hours and come back right away in the morning.

We ended up going home for a few hours, although I can't say that I slept. We had the phone nearby in case the nurse called saying they extubated him. But it didn't ring all night. Their night nurse Louise called at 6:30am for an update, and he was still intubated. We were at the door before 8am, and then they let us inside. It was another 4 1/2 hours until they decided to pull the tube out. We decided it might be best for us not to watch him get the tube out, so we stayed with Katherine. After 15 minutes or so, they let us come see him. It was just as heartbreaking. He was struggling to breathe and the muscles in his little chest were retracting in a way I've never seen any other baby do. It was scary and horrible to watch. I'll never forget it. There were talks of reintubating him or putting him back on CPAP. My heart sank at the thought of either of these, but I wanted something done quickly. He couldn't struggle like that. They ended up giving him two breathing treatments to try to loosen up his swollen airway, then put him inside a 'tent' and blew in cool moist air. We couldn't touch him for 24 hours. It was so difficult to watch him struggle to breathe, inside his tent, touching his feet with the plastic barrier in the way.

During all this time, Katherine missed her brother so much that she stopped eating well, stopped sleeping well, and stopped gaining weight. The 'twin bond' is absolutely true with my little twins. She just couldn't figure out where her brother was, and it made her very upset. My mellow little girl found a voice in her and cried more in 3 days than she has her whole life. I have to admit that those 3 days were some of the toughest emotional days so far in this NICU ordeal.

Friday Kai was breathing better and we were finally able to hold him. Unfortunately the two days after Kai's surgery we didn't have 'primary nurses' taking care of either baby. We have 7 primary nurses who take care of them each shift they work, so the continuity of care is wonderful. The two days it mattered most, none of them were there. That was very difficult also. Katherine had a huge event where she dropped her oxygen saturation and heart rate for 3 1/3 minutes, and Rich had the pleasure of observing this (I was in the other side of the nursery with Kai). The nurse froze, and never even gave her oxygen. Needless to say, I was livid that she let my baby girl have a lack in oxygen for that long. Friday night, after much persuasion on our part, Kai and Katherine were back together.

It's now a week after his surgery and this is all behind us. I still get emotional when I think about the stress we went through during those 3 days. What makes me very emotional also is the fact that Kai is coming home in 2 days!!!! Yup, he's ready to come home! I am thrilled to have him finally home with us, but I'm so torn over the fact that Katherine will need to stay in the NICU for another 2-3 weeks. How do I leave one baby behind at the NICU? How is that possible? We've tried everything to prolong Kai's stay, for Katherine's sake, however the insurance company will no longer pay for Kai past Friday. They say he's ready to go, so he's gotta go. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate insurance companies? They have no idea what it will do to my little baby girl.

We got the approval from the manager and one of the docs to bring Kai along with us when we visit. However, he won't be able to be in the same bed as Katherine due to infection control. So I guess I will have to hold them close to each other as much as possible. It's going to be tough toting Kai back and forth to and from the NICU to see Katherine, and the poor boy is going to spend many hours in his carseat. But I'm mostly concerned over Katherine, because she just loves her brother so much. You'd be absolutely amazed.

I also went back to work 1 1/2 weeks ago, temporarily, until the babies come home. I have decided to continue working while Kai is home, and will take my 6 weeks of paid family leave once they are both home with us. It's going to be terribly difficult, but Rich and I will take turns going to work, and thankfully my schedule is very flexible during this time as I am not doing direct patient care. I have to keep thinking that it is only temporary. This is all only temporary, and it will be over soon. We are on the homestretch...

In due time...

Who could have imagined that life as a NICU mom would be so busy? My days are consumed with waking up, pumping, showering, pumping, going to the NICU, pumping, holding the babies, pumping, feeding the babies, pumping, maybe eating in there somewhere, and maybe a little more pumping. Thankfully I have a hospital-grade pump at home and I can use the NICU's pumps while sitting at the babies' bedside. It's still so difficult to leave their bedside, even to run to the cafeteria for lunch. I don't spend many waking hours at home, so I apologize for not putting more pictures up recently. We will download a few more pictures and I will get them on here soon.

Kai and Katherine are doing amazing, as always. Over the past couple weeks, we have been working mostly on eating, sleeping, and growing. They have not had many 'events' in the past few days, and we are in the clear of ever needing CPAP again! Well, never say never, right? But they are doing so well with their breathing, and they only have an occasional drop in heart-rate or oxygen saturation while eating.

Kai is just over 4 pounds and Katherine is around 3 pounds, 4 ounces! My little oinkers! They are learning how to breastfeed and bottlefeed now, and they eat every 3 hours. We breastfeed once a day and they bottlefeed once or twice a day. The other feedings go through their NG tube so that they can conserve their energy. Feeding is a lot of work for them and it is literally exhausting for them. They sleep very easily after eating, which is good because preterm babies grow when they sleep.

They are 35 weeks now, and have been delivered for 6 weeks! It seems like just yesterday that they were born, yet these past 6 weeks have taken forever. We are hoping to have them home by their due date, and the thought of another 5 weeks in the NICU is hard on the heart. Being a labor and delivery nurse, I know what 35 weekers do, how they eat, etc, and I'm finding it very difficult in the last couple days when comparing Katherine and Kai to a 35 weeker who was just born. I never really thought much about preterm babies who need to physically learn how to eat. Both breast and bottle feeding are taking some time, whereas a typical 35 weeker would know just what to do. I cannot do this to myself, nor to my beautiful babies. There is absolutely no comparison to the type of growth and development that takes place in the uterus vs. in the outside world. They say that for every 1 week in the womb, it's like 2 weeks in the NICU. I know my babies will learn how to eat and will do wonderful with it soon. And I need to keep my patience, because they have come so far, really....so incredibly far from where we were 6 weeks ago. I can't help but want to push them and get them home in my arms. But they will get there, in 'due' time.

So Much to Be Thankful For

Our First Thanksgiving Together


Miniature Rich


Big Yawns for Kai


Reading Time


Snuggling with My Little Monkeys


Eskimo Kisses for Daddy and Katherine


Our Sweet Baby Girl


This was by far the best Thanksgiving we have ever had. We spent most of the day with our babies in the NICU, and it couldn't have been more perfect. Both Katherine and Kai were off CPAP and doing very well. Katherine was put back on just a few days earlier, but proved herself to once again be the tough little girl and kept taking it off herself. The doctors concluded that if she was feisty enough to take it off by herself, she must not really need it. Smart girl. (She must have her mama's brains! :) Kai was taken off the same day, and of course couldn't let his sister show him up. They have been breathing on their own ever since!

Katherine will still have her occasional 'event' where she drops her heart-rate, oxygen saturation, and turns a lovely dusky color. She typically comes back up with a little stimulation, although she sometimes needs some oxygen to help her out. The doctors threatened CPAP again to give her a break from working so hard to breathe on her own, but that very same night she didn't have a single event. She must have really hated that CPAP!

Kai has both an umbilical hernia and an inguinal (groin) hernia. Apparently it is common with preemie boys, as their stomach muscles are not mature enough to hold the intestines in place. The inguinal hernia will need to be operated on, however they do not want to do surgery until he is over 2 kilo's (around 4.4 pounds). Anesthesia is too risky if they weigh less than that. It's risky enough as it is! I hate the thought of my poor little boy needing surgery, and I dread that day so much. But it has to be done and the doctors say that if he needs to have surgery at all, this is the best kind of surgery to need. It's still not easy as the mom, though.

Both babies are not absorbing calcium from their nutrition properly, and are instead taking the calcium away from their bones. If they continue to do so, they will have very brittle bones. So they are currently on the highest dose of medication to supplement their calcium, and have also started on multivitamins. The doctors are a little confused why their levels are not getting better, but hopefully things will look better on their next lab draw on Monday.

Back to the good news: The babies are now co-bedding! Meaning, they are in the same bed together! Studies have shown that preemies do amazingly well with stabalizing their heart-rates and breathing when they are co-bedding. So far it seems to be working pretty well. They are absolutely adorable together. It's so incredible to watch them interact. My favorite time is when they are facing each other, both wide awake, just staring at one another. You've got to wonder what they are thinking! (So you're the one who was kicking me all the time in mama's tummy...) A couple days ago they were holding each other's hands, all on their own. Katherine also likes to put her hands in Kai's face, or even in his mouth. Today the nurse told me that Katherine was trying to suck on Kai's nose before I arrived. She might be little, but she sure has a mind of her own.

We have certainly been on quite the rollercoaster ride over the past few weeks. Just when we think things couldn't get any better, the next day we take a few steps back. I am cautious to get too excited at how well they are doing because I don't want my emotions to completely fall off that rollercoaster. I have to just keep on riding.

We are so incredibly thankful to have the best medical care possible, to have family and friends that support us and love us and encourage us, to be given the chance to become parents, for each and every day and the new milestones they meet, and of course for our sweet little Katherine and adorable little Kai.