Photoshoot-FAIL!

Whew! This past week was a doozy :)  Brady was out of town for work from Tuesday through Friday, meaning one tired Mommy!  Thankfully my mother was able to stay with me during his absence so I wouldn't be totally alone all week...what a lifesaver! In the meantime, I'm a little behind with my posting, so bear with me!

Last weekend Brady's parents (a.k.a. "Papa" and "Coco") came to visit and we all had a great time.

Papa, Will, and Lulu, of course ;)

Coco and Sydney

With Coco's help, I tried to snap a few pictures of the twins with their "two-month" onesies.  We thought it would be cute to photograph Sydney in her pink tutu for the occasion. Needless to say, we discovered that baby photography is not our forte...

So ladylike :)

Photoshoot-shmotoshoot, where's my dinner?

Thanks, Coco!

Much better!

Could you guys keep it down?

My chubby man, no tutu required!

Needless to say, we realized that this is a job best left to the professionals and had photos taken by a "real" photographer on Tuesday.  I should get the proofs back sometime next week and am so excited to share!  Have a great day, everyone!

Lulu to the Rescue

Like many families, before the kids came along, Brady and I already considered ourselves "parents" to a couple of furry babies.  If you haven't had the pleasure, meet Coolidge the beagle and Lulu the...?

Partners in crime...Lulu and Coolidge

Before Will and Sydney came along, these pups ruled the roost.  Understandably, we were a little curious about how they would adjust once we brought the twins home.  We predicted that Coolidge would be mildly interested until he realized that he was no longer "King of the Castle," and then he would quietly pout for a few days.  We were exactly right!  However, Lulu was the wild card.  We doubted that she would be aggressive toward the babies, but beyond that we had no idea what to expect.  She is the younger and more energetic of the two dogs, so would she be too wild around the little ones?  Would she be interested in them at all?   

Once we brought the babies home, we were amused (and a bit alarmed) to find that not only was she interested, she was a bit obsessed.  Wherever the babies were, Lulu could be found nearby.  Babies in their crib? Lulu would be standing on her hind legs, peering over the rails.  Babies on Mommy's lap? Lulu would be sitting on Mommy's feet, trying to sniff the babies or even sneak a forbidden lick!  Baby in the swing? Lulu would be laying under the swing, keeping watch over the little one.  Then we realized that not only was Lulu staying near the babies at all times, she was making sure that Coolidge stayed away! Any time he would come near the twins, Lulu would bare her teeth at him and "herd" him away with her nose or even a few soft nips at his heels. These were her babies, darn it, and she wasn't sharing!  

We came to realize that Lulu considered herself the babies' guardian, and she still does to this day.  If one of the babies is making noise in the crib or bouncer, Lulu will come and get one of us to check on them.  If friends or family are here visiting the babies, Lulu will hover around the unfamiliar person as if making sure they are holding the baby correctly...no "funny business" allowed!

Here are some pics of Lulu and the babies...the twins are lucky to have such a loyal friend from the beginning!

Pillow talk

Checkin' on my babies!

                                                                                

2 Months Old!

Today our babies are officially 2 months old (adjusted age 10 days old).  We had our 2-month well-check today, and both are doing fine.  Sydney weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and Will weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces.  After their check-up, they got their first full round of immunizations, which was just as hard on Mommy and Daddy as it was on the babies!  They both spiked a fever earlier this afternoon, making them fussy and screamy, again no fun for Mommy :)  Right now they are snoozing together beside me in the ONLY position that would comfort them (except for on top of me)...and I do not intend to move them any time soon!

Boo-boos :(

Here is a view of their sweet little heads...notice how different they are!  So far, our children look nothing alike!

Night and Day

As usual,  here are a few more pics to share...

Baby blues

Just 5 more minutes, Mom!

I Luv Dad :)

Hangin' with Uncle Brad

My first b-ball shorts

Sweet baby girl

 

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!