Baldy

My boy is going bald at the ripe old age of 5 months.

Just to refresh your memory, here is Will at exactly one month old, right when we got home from the NICU.

His hair was thick, lush, and oh-so-mohawkable.  The doctor could see it on our ultrasounds way before he was born.

Fast forward to now, just shy of 5 months old...

Most of his original hair has fallen out and has been replaced by a short brown fuzz. Kinda like a brown baby chick.   A chick with long straggly bangs.

The baby books say this is perfectly normal as hormone levels drop a few months after birth. Still, it's just a little sad for Momma.

Oh well, at least he's still got a few things going for him...

Bright blue eyes, sweet chubby cheeks, and lashes that put most girls to shame.

Simply put, he's a lady killer.

But if all else fails, he looks darn good in hats, too!

Momma's Two Cents: Stranger Comments

When I found out that I was expecting twins, I tried to prepare myself for every situation.  I learned from veteran moms of multiples that going on outings with the babies could turn into a bit of a sideshow.  After seeing things like this cartoon, I was prepared for the comments.  I even had snappy comebacks prepared for the more obnoxious ones. And I have since learned that I needn’t have worried; most of the attention we get when we go out in public is positive.  I love that people are interested in my sweet babies, and unless I am in a hurry I don’t mind chatting about them.  What I wasn’t anticipating was the abject pity that my mere presence could garner from perfect strangers. The blatantly horrified looks that I am given in the grocery store, as if I am pushing a cart full of angry rattlesnakes rather than my cherubic, sleeping infants.  “You poor thing!” they say.  “Better you than me!”  “I feel so sorry for you!”  Or my favorite, “That sucks!”  


Don’t get me wrong, life with my babies isn’t always easy.  Yes, my house resembles Babies "R" Us after looters have ransacked it during a power outage. My bedroom/nursery smells like an airport toilet on occasion, because let’s face it, a certain plastic diaper receptacle does not always keep the “genie” in the bottle.  I am hard pressed to find a garment that is not partially or fully coated by my daughter’s stomach contents on any given day.  There are times I am so sleep deprived that I cannot remember the phone number I have had for almost ten years, and I refer to my husband as “You!” because I cannot recall his name.  Most heartbreaking of all, I have two little people who sometimes cry for me at the same time, and I have to decide who’s needs are more dire, and make the other one wait for my attention, wailing all the while. 


However, even though two babies at the same time may not be the ideal situation, I would not trade them for the world. I may get double the screaming and double the poop, but I also get double the giggles and double the love. They give me more joy than I could ever have imagined.  We fought hard to bring them into this world, and they fought even harder to stay here, and we will not take that for granted.   So please, next time you see twins, offer your congratulations rather than your condolences!  

Out and About

So much to blog about, so little time!  The past couple weeks have been full of adventures as we continue to try to get the twins (and ourselves) out in the world again, so I'll hit on some of the highlights in this post.    First off, we were treated with a visit from "Auntie" Erin, a dear friend of mine who has recently moved to Houston.  She came up to stay with us for a few days so she could hold babies, watch cheesy horror movies with me, and take me shopping :) That's what friends are for!

We love "Auntie" Erin!

In addition to having great friends in our lives, we are fortunate to live in a wonderful community with exceptionally great neighbors. In fact, some couples in our cul-de-sac were sweet enough to throw the twins a neighborhood "Coming Out" party to celebrate their arrival in style!

Fabulous cake!

Twin piggies in a blanket!

Beautiful back yard...

...home to the biggest Koi I've ever seen!

Mommy and her babies before the party

The princess before her "debut"

Happy family

The party continued this past weekend with an early birthday celebration for me.  Brady and I went to the Colonial with some good friends on Saturday, and the twins got to have their first sleepover with their grandparents so that we could enjoy the nightlife in downtown Fort Worth. Of course, we were zonked in our hotel room by 11:00 and up around 6:45 the next morning missing our kiddos! 

Another family photo before leaving for Colonial

 Between Mothers of Multiples meetings, our new playgroup, trips to the grocery store, and walks around the neighborhood, we are officially "Out and About."  The babies are growing and changing so much every day!  Check back at the end of next week for their 5-month update!

Will loves his Jumperoo!

Some of the babies in our new playgroup...poor Sydney is the only girl!

Still lovin' our stroller!

Being silly with Daddy

Shhh!

4 Months Old!

Howdy folks! Time sure is flying by! Will and Sydney are 4 months, 6 days old today, and we have tons of pictures to share!  We had our four month well check appointment last week, and they are growing like little weeds.  In fact, both babies have tripled their birth weights!  Here are their stats, with percentiles for their actual age (4 months) and their adjusted age (10 weeks):

Will


Height- 25 inches, 55.17 %ile (actual), 92 %ile (adjusted)
Weight- 14 pounds, 13 oz; 49.6 %ile (actual), 82 %ile (adjusted)

You can see that Will is the size of an average 4 month old, or a very chunky 10 week old!

Sydney

Height- 23.5 inches, 23.27 %ile (actual), 65 %ile (adjusted)

Weight- 12 pounds, 4.5 oz; 21.19 %ile (actual), 63 %ile (adjusted)

The numbers show that while Sydney is just a bit smaller than the average 4 month old, she is right on track for her adjusted age!

Now that the babies are a few months old, they have begun hitting early developmental milestones and seem to be changing every day.  Will's motor skills are developing quickly...he has been rolling onto his side for a week now and actually rolled from back to front this weekend at Grandma's!  He is making great progress towards holding his head up and is constantly trying to sit up. He is enjoying tummy time more and more and LOVES sitting in his Bumbo chair.  Although he isn't grabbing things yet, he is a champion at batting at his toys with his fists, and has quite a swing!  He slept through the night for the first time the night before Mother's Day...the best present I could receive!  He gets super excited when we sing songs with him ("If You're Happy and You Know It" is his favorite) and loves to look at books.  Over all, he is a pretty happy, laid-back little guy- unless he is hungry, and then he will let you know!

Bath time!

Big baby blues!

I love the Bumbo!

Reading with Daddy

Easter best

Tummy time!

Smiley boy!

Sydney is quite the little character.  Although her motor skills are just a bit behind Will's (her reflux keeps her from getting as much tummy time), she makes up for it with her social development.  While she enjoys singing and looking at books like her brother, her favorite thing by far is to have "conversations" with anyone who will listen.  She will grin, coo, babble, and squeal when she is happy, and if she isn't, be prepared to receive a scolding!  She even talks to her books during tummy time! She tries to imitate our facial expressions and sounds, which is a bit advanced for her developmental age. Sydney has been sleeping through the night for about two weeks and is almost ready to move from her bassinet to her crib.  We love our little diva!  She keeps us on our toes!

My new hobby- blowing bubbles!

Found my tongue!

My other new hobby- chewing on my hands.

Easter dress

Meeting Granddad's new puppy!

Who's that in the mirror?

When it's nap time, I'm out!

So I like bows, ok?

And that's what's shakin' in Haass land!  I'll leave you with a few obligatory "twin shots" for your viewing pleasure. Until next time!

Smile? No way!

Our Granddad works for Chesapeake...

It's fun to be a twin!

When You're Smilin'...

Hello everyone!  The twins are 3 months and 1 week-old today (7 weeks-old adjusted), and it is high time for an update.  For those of you not well-versed in preemie lingo, "adjusted age" is basically how old the twins would be had they been born on their actual due date (February 22).  It is important to keep in mind that although they have been with us for three months, their first seven weeks were spent working on basic survival skills and don't count towards their overall development.  So when checking to see if they are meeting their milestones, we look at what they should be doing at 7 weeks, not 3 months. And I am proud to report that they are right on track for their adjusted age!

Both babies continue to grow in leaps and bounds. Sydney weighs around 10.5 pounds, while Will continues to amaze us all with his seemingly endless appetite and is weighing in around 13 pounds these days!   Their personalities are emerging more and more each day, which leads me to the most exciting development from the past month...real, social smiling! 

Daddy cracks me up!

Sweet cheeks

Too funny!

Still going...

Flirt

Love that face

Sticking out my tongue

Hilarious!

Mr. Blue Eyes

Sit still? Very funny, Mom!

Not only do they smile, but they also giggle and coo when they interact with us.  They are so much fun! Now, if they would only start sleeping a little longer at night...


In other news, many of you know that although we have been home from the NICU for awhile now, we have been keeping ourselves under quarantine until the cold/flu season subsides. What may only be an annoying case of the sniffles for us can be life threatening for a preemie with an underdeveloped immune system!  Although we still have to be careful, we have slowly begun taking the babies out in public, mostly on walks in the neighborhood and occasionally to visit close family and friends.  I even took them solo to the grocery store last week...needless to say I was feeling brave!  Naturally, to be mobile with two babies you need a good twin stroller. Behold, the BOB Duallie...

Rockin' the stroller

That thing is worth its weight in gold!

Lastly, although this post is getting a bit picture-heavy, I thought I would share a shot or two from the twins' first professional photo shoot that we had done last month. The photographer (Kristie Mills Photography) was amazing and was able to capture the babies so well...I can't wait to do another shoot with her in a few months!

Click here to see more pictures from the photo shoot!


Until next time...keep on smilin'!

Eeew.

Hello all.  I am up writing this blog post at 4:00 am and I would love to describe to you all the circumstances that have led me to start my day so early.  I implore you, this is not for the faint-of-heart, so read at your own risk.

So I am sleeping peacefully in my bed, dreaming of a full night of uninterrupted slumber, when I am awakened by  the groans, grunts, and snorts of my baby boy that signify he is ready for his customary 3:00 am feeding. Nothing new here, although I am slightly disappointed because he has recently begun to occasionally make it to 4:00 or 5:00 and skipped this feeding altogether a few nights ago.  Little do I know that this will soon be the least of my worries.

I hop over to his bassinet and pick him up pretty quickly so his moaning does not awake the sleeping diva next to him.  He immediately begins to snuffle wildly against my t-shirt, pounding his giant baby-head against my collarbone as he roots for anything remotely resembling a nipple that he can shove into his mouth. He settles for sucking on my neck as I warm up his bottle.  I'm cool with that.

After his meal has been prepared, we sit down in the glider to eat.  Things go smoothly for about 3 minutes until he suddenly pauses, furrows his brow, clenches his chubby fists and hoists them above his head like a tiny Superman, and bears down with all the strength in his body, accompanied by a groan of man-sized proportions and a landslide as his diaper fills to the brim.  All this with the bottle still in his mouth.  I stare down at him, still reeling from the sudden onslaught, and the little stinker opens his blue eyes, looks up at me, gives me a milky grin, gurgles, and resumes eating.  I roll with it, finishing the feeding while attempting to breathe only through my mouth.

Fast forward to the inevitable diaper change.  As we shift positions to stand up and head to the changing table, I discover to my dismay that his diaper was no match for his recent deposit, and it has shot up the back of his pajamas and out of his leg-holes, as well as all over my t-shirt, shorts, and bare legs.  I wrap a burp cloth around his lower half and continue on to our destination.  I place him on the table and pause to contemplate my next move. He takes this opportunity to add a bit more to the mess with his signature gusto.  When I am convinced he is done, I unbutton his pajamas and realize that they have been annihilated beyond repair. Into the Diaper Genie they go.  I clean up his back so that I can lay him down and then reluctantly open his diaper. He promptly reaches down and jams his fist into the heart of the carnage.  Gagging now, I desperately hold onto his wrist while attempting to wipe the offending substance off of his hand.  As if this is not enough, he chooses this moment to urinate, giving himself a pee-pee shampoo and facial. Horrified, I hurry to wipe off his face and head, only to discover that the wipes container is empty.  Really?

After finding some more baby wipes, I am able to finish the cleanup without further incident.  As I snap him into new pajamas, he begins to coo and smile at me as if sharing a pretty good joke. I got you good, didn't I, Momma?  I cuddle him for a second and kiss his newly clean forehead, and then put him down in the swing so I can attend to his now-awake sister.  Life is good. Disgusting, but good ;)