Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for in our family this year – most importantly the two healthy and sweet additions that joined our family in July – Wyatt & Colton. We are truly blessed to have these two little boys in our lives. We are also so thankful for the rest of our family, our friends, our health, our house and our jobs (especially in this economy). It’s so funny to think that it was one year ago this past weekend, that Cory & I found out that we were expecting. Of course at that time we did not know that there was not only one, but two babies on the way, but I do remember how excited/scared/happy we were that Sunday afternoon.

We were very blessed to be able to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my dad’s side of the family this year, as we have for many years in the past. The boys did pretty good and stuck to their normal feeding schedule but naps were pretty much non-existent. Colton was not too thrilled about having so much activity going on around him and was kind of crabby so he stuck with me or Cory most of the day. Wyatt didn’t seem to mind all the people and activity at all and was much more social.

…and with the passing of the Thanksgiving holiday means the start of the Christmas holiday season – my favorite holiday of the year! This year will be an extra special one in our household as it will be the boys’ first Christmas. I chose to fight the crowds on “Black Friday” (it’s a tradition my sisters and I have had for quite a few years now) and already got a small start on my Christmas shopping. This coming weekend is the Christmas parade in town, however I think the boys will have to wait until next year to attend their first Christmas parade as the temperatures have been quite cold this past week. We are also planning on getting our Christmas tree this coming weekend – I love the smell of fresh cut pine tree in the house for the holidays. Cory & I are so excited to pass along our family traditions, and start some new ones of our own, with our two little boys.

Happy Thanksgiving!

20 Weeks Old

Today is my last day of work this week before a nice, long break over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I’m so excited for my time off, away from work and home with my boys!

The boys attended their first wedding two weekends ago and did an awesome job. My cousin got married which gave me a great opportunity to get some cute, dressy outfits for the boys. I did not get any pictures of the boys all dressed up (bad mommy!), however I am planning on using the outfits for their 6 month/Christmas pictures so we will capture their cuteness! This past weekend, the boys & I hung out for most of the day Saturday (Cory was gone hunting). My parents came over to babysit the boys Saturday night (also bringing along my nephew who they had staying overnight with them) which allowed me to head out for a much needed “girls night out” which included dinner & drinks with some great girlfriends. I had such a good time visiting and catching up with all the girls – it was a much needed refresher for me. Sunday, the boys and I took some pumpkin bars we made over to a friend’s house for another get-together with my friend and her little girl (who is almost 2 years old) and another friend. They were both excited to see the boys and to see how big they have grown!

The boys made “handprint turkeys” last week for Thanksgiving (thanks to the wonderful creativity & patience of their daycare provider – my sister!). They turned out so cute. They continue to get both sitting up time in their Bumbos and tummy time daily. We’re working on good neck control and getting both of them off of the backs of their heads since they’ve always favored their right side which has become a little flat – nothing their pediatrician is worried about at this point though.

The boys are now sleeping around 9 - 9 ½ hours each night. They have their last bottle around 8-8:30 PM and are sleeping for the night around 8:30-9 PM. They are now sleeping until around 6 AM! The have been making it until 2-4 AM in the crib (before we put them in their bouncers) so we slowly making progress on the length of time spent in their crib at night. Great job boys!

I think we are on the tail-end of making it through our first colds of the season, which I’m sure will be followed by many more to come. We’ve still been running the humidifier in their room, which I think has helped them quite a bit.

Wyatt
Wyatt was my little guinea pig and tried out my Baby Bjorn baby carrier facing outward for the first time this past weekend, which he really seemed to enjoy. It’s a great way for me to continue getting housework done while only one of the boys is up and it gives them more sitting-up/head control practice. He had a blast just hanging out and touring the house with me.

Colton
Colton has been waking up before Wyatt, during their evening naps, happy as can be. He’s had some serious one-on-one play/cuddle/talking time with mom & dad the past two nights. He “hams it up” and tries to tell story after story while he has your undivided attention.

Fight for Preemies – Bloggers Unite: November 17, 2010 (March of Dimes)

Today is the 8th Annual Prematurity Awareness Day®, when the nation is asked to focus their attention on the growing problem of premature birth.

“Every year, 20 million babies are born too soon, too small and very sick – half a million of them in the U.S. November 17th is when we fight!

Do you know a baby who was born too soon, too small, unable to breathe or nurse on their own? With 1 in every 8 babies born prematurely, you probably do. While medical advances give some babies a chance of survival, for many babies premature birth is a life-or-death condition. Babies who survive can face serious health challenges and risk lifelong disabilities.

The rate of premature birth has risen more than 30 percent since 1981. In half the cases, we simply don’t understand what went wrong. The March of Dimes is leading the fight for answers and, ultimately, preventions. November 17 is dedicated to raising awareness of the crisis.” ~ taken from http://www.bloggersunite.org/

In our family, we are celebrating Wyatt & Colton.  I count my blessings every day for the two little miracles God gave my husband & me.

My road to motherhood was not without its complications however, it ended up going very well overall. My boys were born at 35 weeks, 6 days gestation, which means they arrived a little over 4 weeks premature of the normal 40 week due date. My water broke on its own around 9:30 PM on Monday evening (July 5th) which put me into labor. The boys were born at 6:13 AM & 7:44 AM the following morning (Tuesday, July 6th). They both weighed less than 5 pounds; however we were very lucky that neither of them needed any special medical assistance or special care nursery time. God truly blessed us with two little, but healthy boys!

Looking back and seeing how far my boys have come since their birth day truly amazes me. Just 4 months have passed and they have both more than doubled their birth weight and are hitting their development milestones just slightly behind the typical schedule.

To see how tiny my boys were and to know that there are babies born premature only weighing 1-3 pounds, I can’t even begin to imagine what they & their parent have to go through. My heart & prayers go out to all the mothers who do not get to hold their new precious miracles, who have to see their tiny babies hooked up to monitors & machines and who spend countless hours in a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) watching their little ones go through the fight of their life.

Today our thoughts and prayers are with those who have or are currently struggling through this crisis.  Let's remember & celebrate these special babies.

18 Weeks Old / 4 Months Old

The boys turned 4 months old on Saturday. We had a pretty relaxing weekend and spent most of it hanging out at home. I was able to get a few things done around the house while Cory worked outside on the mower & yard for most of the day on Saturday and part of Sunday. The boys & I had our monthly photo session on Saturday, which turned out great, but I’ve been so busy since then that I have not had the chance to get the photos uploaded off of the camera – they will be coming soon!

We are giving the boys more “sitting-up” time in their Bumbos and on our laps as well as more tummy time on the floor & on their Boppy pillows. Tummy time still gets mixed reviews from both of the boys – some days they tolerate it and some days they just hate it. They really haven’t shown any signs of rolling over yet but they change so much from day to day that I’m sure that will be right around the corner. Wyatt wiggles around in bed enough that you’d think he’d start to attempt some of that during the day. We will lay him down for bed at night swaddled from the armpits down (we leave their arms free now) and when you go in to check on the boys or give pacifiers in the middle of the night he has turned his body at least 90 degrees if not more!

It was also daylight savings time this past weekend. I was a little nervous about how it would throw off the great schedule the boys are on but it really didn’t disrupt them much at all. The boys are now sleeping around 7 ½ - 8 ½ hours each night. They have their last bottle around 7:30-8:00 PM and are sleeping for the night around 8-8:30 PM. They were previously making it until around 4 AM for their next feeding but they started sleeping until 5 AM or so this weekend – which is great! The have been making it until 2-3 AM in the crib (before we put them in their bouncers) so we are getting great progress on both the length of total night sleeping time and length of time spent in their crib at night. Awesome job boys!

I got a preview of the boys’ 3-month pictures last week. The pictures turned out great – I am very happy with the outcome & selection, although I may have too many good ones to choose from! It was difficult to get a picture where both of the boys were looking at the camera but that’s to be expected with two little ones. Now begins the difficult choice of narrowing down the photos to get printed.

We also have caught our first colds of the season, beginning at the end of last week. The boys and I all have stuffy noses. I’ve been running the humidifier in their room since the end of last week which has helped them sleep a little better because before that they were waking up in the middle of the night with their noses so stuffed up that they could barely breathe. I’ve been using the nasal aspirator to clean the boys’ noses first thing in the morning which seems to help keep them cleaned out for the most part.

Wyatt
Wyatt just loves sitting on your lap and checking out the whole world from there. His neck is so strong and he shows it when you’re holding him but when he gets time in his Bumbo seat – forget about it. He decides he’s going to be lazy and always looks like he’s tipping over to the side – such a goofy boy!

Colton
Colton is such a wiggle worm – sometimes when he’s awake, he does not stop moving. This includes both during feeding time (which makes it difficult to get him to finish a bottle) and during his play time. During feedings his hands are constantly moving – going from trying to hold the bottle to hitting the bottle to fidgeting with his head or face – he just doesn’t stop. He’s also been known to hit the bottle right out of your hands while you’re feeding him. When we put him under the musical play gym during play time, both his arms & legs are constantly going. It’s too cute! It’s also no wonder he weighs less than Wyatt as he’s constantly burning the calories he consumes.

4 Month Checkup Update

The boys had their four month checkup yesterday. They are just a few days shy of being 4 months old.

The doctor said they are still both looking great. Wyatt’s umbilical hernia is improving very much on its own which is awesome news. They both also were responding to the doctor appropriately for their age – they were making great eye contact with her and both even gave her some laughs.

Here are their updated measurements:

Wyatt – weighs 13 lbs. 4 oz. & is 23.62 inches long (2 feet tall!!)
Colton – weighs 12 lbs. 11 oz. & is 23.43 inches long (1 foot 11 in tall!)

Wyatt
Birth: 4 lbs 11 oz | 17.5"
1 week: 4 lbs 8 oz | 17.72"
2 weeks: 5 lbs 1 oz | 17.72"
1 month: 6 lbs 8 oz | 19.29"
2 months: 8 lbs 6 oz | 20.47"
4 months: 13 lbs 4 oz (20%) | 23.62" (10%)

Colton
Birth: 4 lbs 15 oz | 18"
1 week: 4 lbs 14 oz | 17.91"
2 weeks: 5 lbs 5 oz | 18.11"
1 month: 6 lbs 5 oz | 19.49"
2 months: 8 lbs 4 oz | 20.28"
4 months: 12 lbs 11 oz (12%) | 23.43" (6%)

Wyatt is in the 20th percentile for weight & 10th percentile for height.  Colton is in the 12th percentile for weight & 6th percentile for height.  This was the first time they were finally on the charts with their measurements; prior to this appointment, they were too small to compare with other babies their age.  They also had their second set of vaccination shots. Both of the boys again did very well. They both loved the oral liquid vaccination – Colton drank it down in about 3 big gulps! They both cried at first for the shots but settled down fairly quickly. I have Cory hold them while they’re getting their shots and I do the comforting and re-dressing afterwards – that makes it a little easier on mommy!! The shots did not make boys as sleepy as their 2 month shots but they were both a little more mellow than usual.

The boys also had a great time celebrating their first Halloween!!

Wyatt



Colton



Happy Halloween!