Kangaroo Kids

Good news! Had the twins' second newborn well-check on Friday, and both are doing really well! At our first appointment two weeks ago, Sydney weighed 5 lb, 11 oz, and yesterday she weighed 6 lb, 11 oz, gaining exactly one pound in a little less than two weeks.  This is great considering she has had some reflux issues and doesn't always feel like eating!  On the other hand, Will weighed 6 pounds, 4 oz at the initial visit and wowed us all with a gain of almost two pounds, coming in at 8 pounds, 1 oz!  Way to go, guys!

On the home front, both babies seem to be "waking up" a bit and paying a little more attention to their surroundings, which we expected since they are closer to their due date and should begin to behave like  typical full-term newborns.  Both have decided that they would prefer to be held 24/7, especially our little "diva."  As a result, we have had to be creative with ways to meet their demands, especially when I am home alone with both of them and they both insist on being held at the same time!  My favorite invention so far...the Moby wrap! It allows me to snuggle them against my chest kangaroo-style and still have my hands free to get a few things done, and they both love to be in it. Yesterday I was feeling especially brave and had a friend help me put both in the Moby at the same time before taking a stroll around the neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful weather.  It was definitely a "twin Mommy" moment to remember!

Precious cargo :)

6 Weeks Old!

Hello everyone! It's been a crazy couple of weeks here at the Haass household as we get used to life with newborn twins, but I thought I would update on their progress and share a few pictures as well.  I cannot believe it has been over two weeks since we came home from the NICU...it feels like it has been one reaaaally long day with a few short naps thrown in here and there :)

Will and Sydney are doing well, just doing what babies do best...eat, sleep, poop, repeat!  Even though they are six weeks and two days old, since they were born seven weeks early, they are just now beginning to look and behave like typical newborns  Their little personalities are already emerging...so far, Will is a pretty laid-back little guy, while Sydney is our little "diva!"It has been fun watching them develop from fragile preemies into cuddly little babies.

Here are some pictures from our first few weeks as a family of four. Enjoy!

Will in his bouncy seat

We're one month old!

Pretty girl 

Long legs

Sportin' our hoodies before our first pediatrician appointment

Sweet kitty cat

Happy (and tired) Mommy!

Snuggle time!

We love our swing!

Twinkies :)

Goodbye NICU!!

This will be a short post to share some exciting news...as of this afternoon, Will and Sydney are finally home with Mommy and Daddy!  Things are a little bit chaotic here tonight so I won't be able to elaborate too much, but I will have some super cute pictures to share in the next few days as we get used to life with twins.  Thank you all for your prayers and support, and stay tuned...this blog is about to get a lot more fun!

Roller Coaster

Hi everyone! I can't believe it has been five days since our last post...time seems to be playing tricks on us as of late.  Brady and I both feel like we are in a state of "suspended animation," focusing on our babies while the rest of the world keeps on marching by.  Every once in a while I will check in with the outside world to realize that a week or more has gone by and I need to pay bills, or check my phone messages, or that I have no clean clothes, and it amazes me each time that I can become so disconnected from what was once my everyday life.  Hopefully soon we can all be under one roof and can begin to figure out some sort of routine, but until then, please don't take it personally if I don't return phone calls right away!

The past few days have been full of ups and downs for our little ones...many people have compared having babies in the NICU to a prolonged roller coaster ride, and we feel that this is a pretty accurate analogy.  Luckily, we have had more ups than downs during our stay so far, but the whole experience has been frustrating and a bit heartbreaking at times.  In my last few posts I have mentioned that our biggest remaining hurdle to overcome was getting the twins to stay awake for their feeds so that they will not have to rely on their gavage tubes for nourishment.  Both babies continue to make progress in this area and are taking more and more of their feeds by mouth every day.  Will has become a champion eater in the past few days, and is now giving his sister some steep competition on the eating front!

However, Will has also encountered a new struggle this week.  After being fine breathing room air for about nine days, his blood oxygen levels began to dip and he has had to receive a little bit of oxygen via a nasal cannula on and off for the past few days.  We aren't sure what is causing this respiration issue, but the doctors did find that his blood count was a bit low last week, which could be the culprit.  They will repeat the labs again tomorrow, and if there has been no improvement they will most likely give him a blood transfusion.  Please keep baby Will in your prayers- we are hoping that this can be resolved quickly so he can get back on track to coming home with us!

Here are a few more pics that I snapped this week- enjoy!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SUPER BABY!

A big yawn- and a rare moment without any wires or tubes :)

Sweet baby girl

Daddy washing Will's hair

Hangin' with Nan

Granddad's sidekick

Bye bye!

Soup's On!

Hi everyone! Just a short little update to share some positive news from today! Sydney was able to take three full feeds in a row without the gavage today-one from the bottle and two from the breast. Hopefully she will continue this through the night and beyond.  She has never been able to stay awake for one full feed, much less three in a row!  Will is still trying, but his feisty little sister is beating him in the eating
contest :)

Wishing my little ones sweet dreams and full tummies tonight!

Sweet Sydney Claire

Leaps and Bounds...

Greetings from NICU land!  The twins continue to make tons of progress every day.  Will's umbilical line was taken out Friday night as promised, so we have been able to hold him all weekend, which has been wonderful :) It feels so good to be able to cuddle and bond with both of our babies.  The only invasive thing left on their bodies are their gavage tubes, which will be removed as soon as they are able to eat enough via breast or bottle to gain weight.  They are maintaining their temperatures well, so they have graduated from their isolettes (incubators) into open cribs, which the NICU nurses refer to as "big boy" and "big girl" beds.  Will officially reached 5 pounds today, and Sydney is steadily gaining as well- she is up to 4 pounds, 9 ounces.  After birth she lost a few ounces (as is typical for newborns) and was down to 3 pounds, 14 ounces, so this is still quite a big gain!

As you can probably guess, we are anxious to get the twins home and it gets harder every day to leave them at the hospital.  Our last hurdle will be getting them to eat enough so that they can thrive without their gavage feeds.  Although they are still a bit uncoordinated, both babies have demonstrated that they have the skills to eat from the bottle/breast, but since they are so little they have trouble staying awake long enough for their full feeds.  This is to be expected, since they are technically only 35 weeks along tomorrow, and really shouldn't be out in the "real world" yet, much less eating on their own!  Plus, both babies put on at least 1-2 ounces a day in body weight, and all that growing takes lots of energy, making them very sleepy.  We know that being parents means being patient with our little people and trusting that they will begin eating when they are ready, and that we will be bringing them home before we know it.  However, that doesn't stop this Momma from shedding a few tears at night when she thinks of her little ones :(  Thank goodness for the NICU nurses- they are happy to give us updates on the babies any time we call, which helps anxious parents sleep a little better at night.

And now for the fun part...more pictures!




                       On Friday, the twins moved from these...

Will's isolette

Sydney's isolette

...to these!

Will's "big boy bed"

Sydney's "big girl bed"

                       Doncha' love those Horned Frog blankets?
        
             Mommy was so excited to hold baby Will for the first time!

          
                       Here's our little monkey in one of his first outfits...

                    ...and sweet Sydney at the "spa" getting a shampoo!

                                 Gotta love that sweet little face!                                        

And now, a few pics of what my babies do best!

Nighty night!

Sydney napping

Will sucking his thumb

Sydney after bath

Will avoiding the paparazzi :)

Daily Dose of Adorable

Today I spent the entire day in the NICU, and am happy to report our babies are still doing well. Big news for the day- Sydney's umbilical line is officially gone, so not only can we hold her again, but she can wear clothes! When I arrived this morning the nurse had dressed her in one of her new preemie-sized onesies for the first time ever...she looked adorable!  Will is scheduled to have his umbilical line out tonight at 9:00, so if all goes well I will be able to hold him for the first time tomorrow!

Here are some cute photos I snapped today of our sweet little girl:

Swaddled in my cozy little house

                                        

My first outfit

                                      

Mommy loves me :)

Hopefully I will be able to post some equally adorable pictures of Will tomorrow. Take care, everyone!