4-Month Check-up

Our chubettes - Grace and Frances

Wow it's been a looooonnnnnnngggggg day. We're whipped!

The girls had their 4-month check-up today. They are both doing great.

Frances:

• 15 lbs. 10 oz. - the 90th percentile!
• 24.5 inches long - the 50th percentile
• I can't remember her head circumference but it's in the 75th percentile

Grace:

• 15 lbs. 7.5 oz. - just a teensy weensy bit below the 90th percentile!
• 23 inches long - the 10th percentile
• And same as Frances, with head circumference in the 75th percentile.

So basically, they are short and fat with big ol' heads. hahaha. The doctor is not concerned about their length yet, so that's good. But wow, coming from not being even on the charts when they were born, to almost being off the charts on the other side. My big girls!

Developmentally they are doing great. We were nervous that Grace seemed "behind" Frances on a lot of milestones. But it turns out that Grace is right on target for her age - and Frances is ahead of schedule. Whew! Good to know. So "yay" for the girls!

The only unfortunate revelation from the appointment is that both girls have eczema. The doc said it's common with allergies. They'll most likely have asthma issues as well. All three tend to come as a package. Probably inherited that crap from me. Ah well. Anywho, there is no "cure" for eczema so all I can do is keep the vaseline on hand. Poor little gals.

They got their vaccines again, albeit with lots of consolling. They were fussing for awhile. I'm sure their legs are sore. Have to keep an eye out for possible fever. Hopefully they will be fine in a couple days. The next check-up is at 6 months.

Sleeping Through the Night... Could it Be?

Okay the girls have changed their eating, sleep and wake time routine just in the past few days. As a result, last night we put them to bed at 8:45 p.m. and they slept until 6 a.m. They didn't completely "sleep through" the night. Grace woke up around 11 and fussed for a bit. I gave her some saline drops and she eventually fell back asleep. Then they seemed to alternate waking up every hour after that. But it was only for about 5-10 minutes at a time, maybe 15 max. So I'm looking forward to the complete sleep.

4 months, 5 days old

Tummy Time

I'm trying to give the girls more "tummy time." Of course, they don't like it. Ah well. Anywho, yesterday after their morning feeding we were playing on the gym. And it was Frances' turn for some tummy time. I put her on her belly and not 5 seconds later she rolled over on her back. I was so surprised. She did it once before, when she was REALLY angry, but this time she was perfectly happy. So I put her back on her belly and she rolled over again! I couldn't believe it. And she was giggling. Definitely having fun :-) I think Frances is a bit stronger than Grace right now. Sometimes Frances even pushes all the way up on her hands. Grace is still only raising her head about 45 degrees. But I'm not worried. I think Frances is just a bit ahead and Grace is right on schedule. I just keep encouraging both of them. As long as we're having fun, we're good :-)

Last weekend we had some more visitors. Auntie Amy came over with Uncle Joe's mom. They helped by feeding the girls and joining in play time! Later on, Howard and Ingrid came over with Judy. Their first time meeting the girlies. Aunt Signe joined us as well. And Grace practiced her talking! We all had fun. And then left Richard with the girls so we could go and get some eats - yay for some delicious Indian food :-)

This will be the girls first Turkey Day coming up. Can't wait :-)

4 months, 3 days old

4 Months Old!

Wow! The girls are 4 months old today. I keep thinking, only 8 months until they are 1 year old. I'm happy and sad at the same time. They are just growing and changing so fast.

They have made so many developmental milestones (as mentioned in the previous post). And now we feel they are getting more on-track to sleeping through the night. Cross fingers! We put them down between 10 and 11 p.m. And they wake up between 4 and 6 a.m. Two mornings this week we actually had to wake them up. I'm just hoping it gets more consistent. It turns out that getting the humidifier back in working order was the trick. Isn't it funny how one little thing you'd been avoiding (i.e. cleaning the humidifier) could have avoided you all those sleepless nights for the past two weeks! Darn hindsight! Wouldn't it be just our luck that they'd figure out this whole sleeping thing just in time to start teething. hahaha. I laugh in irony.

Their 4 month check-up will be more like 4 1/2 months. It's so hard to get back-to-back appointments, a necessity with twins. They didn't have any until Turkey week - which wouldn't work with my co-workers taking off, so we had to push it to the Monday following Turkey Day. Yay for more shots! hahaha.

Happy Birthday Girlies!

Ladies Gaga... and Googoo

Frances and Grace have both been "talking" for awhile. Frances has been by far, more vocal. She'll talk non-stop. Grace was hit or miss. Some days she wouldn't say a peep. And then other days she'd have a couple really good vocal sessions.

Well, this past weekend came and Grace just sprung right out of her shell. She's been talking sooo much her sister barely has time to get a word in edge-wise. It's so crazy when they both are just talking non-stop at the same time. It will be fun when they start babbling to each other. Oh, when they squeal and giggle it makes all the work worth it.

Also, just since last week, they've been grabbing at things a lot. The nanny gave them a soft rattle and they grab and fling it around. They grab their little burp cloths (blankies) and fling them around too. And at times, conveniently wipe their own mouths. hahaha.

They are both getting very strong. I was craddling Grace in my arm yesterday and she pulled herself upright into a semi-seated position. It surprised me! We are waiting for their sitting and head holding to get a bit more steady and then we'll begin trying the other Stage 1 solid foods.

The nanny was just as amazed as I was at how much they've changed in just the past week. We were both so excited!

The girls turn 4 months on Thursday. Time is flying...

Girls and Self-Confidence

Living in today's society means lots of challenges for my girls growing up. Girls are notorious for having poor self-images. I want to be sure my girls remain level-headed. Not too down on themselves and not too full of themselves either. It's hard though, because many children are shaped by their peers. And even us girls/women with the most supportive of female counterparts - still have self-image issues. I read this article on MsNBC today: "Is Your Daughter A Self-Loathing 'Body Bully?" I definitely recommend it. The book it references sounds very interesting: Good Girls Don’t Get Fat: How Weight Obsession Is Screwing Up Our Girls and What We Can Do to Help Them Thrive Despite It. I think the body image thing applies to girls who think they are too fat and those who think they are too skinny - someone hates their curly or straight hair - someone hates the color of their eyes - and everything else in between.

I'm hoping the fact that they are identical twins will be an asset, at least body image-wise. They have someone else in the world that looks exactly like them, and that hopefully they will be besties with. Viewing their sister in that positive light should reflect positively on their view of themselves. We can only hope though, and try and provide an encouraging, happy and healthy environment.

And the Baby Bump Lingers On...

I'm a bit peeved. I ordered the BioGaia pro-biotic drops for the babies and when it arrived, the box read, "may contain traces of milk protein." Say what?! The girls pedi GI was not aware of that - she only mentioned that she had heard the drops worked for some parents in alleviating colic symptoms. And I looked all over the BioGaia site and no where did it mention the milk protein thing. I have to call and complain. And definitely demand a refund - $35 for a teeny tiny little bottle. In the meantime I inquired on my Multiple Moms (CAMOM) food allergy subgroup forum about other pro-biotics. One of the moms recommended Culturelle - I checked out the website and it says "dairy and gluten free." So I'll have to order some and try it out.

I'm frustrated. I'm 1 pound BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight. I should be happy right? Well it's this stupid belly. It's stuck there like a ball. I have diastasis recti (abdominal muscle separation) from the pregnancy. Basically, leaves your stomach bowed out like you are still pregnant. Since my belly is pronounced I've had people still asking when I'm due. It's helpful in some respects - people still offer to carry my groceries and such. But I'm sure the novelty will wear off the further I get post-delivery. Yesterday, I asked the other mothers of multiples in the CAMOM group what they recommend as a "fix it" or "cure." I had read varying accounts over the Internet. Some claiming you can "fix" it by doing abdominal workouts wearing a binder. Others saying DON'T do ab workouts, because they make the diastasis worse. And others saying do Yoga, or don't do Yoga. So many different things. Well I received a plethora of responses and everyone said there is no way to "fix" it without surgery. Unfortunately, it's considered plastic surgery, so insurance won't cover it. Many of the moms who had insurance cover it, had suffered hernias through the diastasis -- hernia repairs are covered by most insurances, and the docs just fixed their diastasis during the hernia operations. So looks like I'm going to be stuck looking preggers forever or until I get a hernia - and who the heck wants a hernia? On top of the diastasis, my belly button is herniated, which just adds to my appearing preggers.

I'm trying to keep it all in perspective though. I have two relatively healthy and occasionally happy babies (hahaha) - so a lingering baby bump is really not the end of the world.

This weekend we are hanging out with family. Should be fun. And hopefully Frances and Grace will be in a jovial mood.

Tummy Check-up

The girls had their check-up with the pediatric GI today. She said they are doing really well. Gaining weight like champs! They both weighed in at 13 pounds 8 ounces -- and that's before eating! Gracie was about 22 inches and Frances was 23 inches long.

She upped their Pepcid dosage since they weigh more now. And she also recommended BioGaia probiotic drops - so I just ordered some online. We'll see if it helps with their painful gas issues. Cross fingers.

We're also increasing the rice cereal in their formula. She said at 4 months we can start other stage 1 solids, one at a time. Yay!

Otherwise, all is well. We follow up with her again in 2 months. Their next allergy test is at 11 months old.

Happy Halloween!

Gracie and Francie Pants

Okay, so I took that picture last weekend (thanks Auntie Amy for the "I Love My Mummy" Halloween t-shirts!). We did not take the girls out trick-or-treating. We didn't even dress them up on the "official" day. Chalk it up to being lazy, we don't mind. It was an adventure in multi-tasking last night. Our evenings are usually pretty busy juggling baby feedings and baby chores (making formula, prepping bottles, doing laundry), and trying to get a second to feed ourselves as well -- all while the babies take turns screaming their heads off -- then throw trick-or-treaters knocking on the door every couple minutes, and you have a pretty crazy evening.

We survived though. And it was worth all the hassle to see the cute little kids all dressed up. I can't wait for the girls to be old enough for trick-or-treating. How cute!

Back to Work

Francie Pants sporting "the lip" and an equally unhappy Gracie (too cute!)

I followed up with the GI doc over the phone this past week (we have an in-person follow-up the beginning of November). The Similac Alimentum is working great! So we save a bunch of money going with that versus the Neocate - WHEW! I just started the girls on 5 ounces a feeding - still including rice cereal. We also just started to try and cut out the 2 a.m. feeding. The doc said most babies sleep through the night by 4 months. The girls will be three months on the 18th... very soon! So we're crossing fingers that in a month from now they will give us at least 6 hours straight sleep.

I started back to work last Wednesday. It was hard - Not because I was worried about the girls - But because I was sad to leave them :-( Our nanny, Ms. Esther, is awesome. Thanks to Carolyn for referring her to us! We would have gone B.R.O.K.E. going the daycare route here in Columbia, especially with TWO infants. And it's a plus having the nanny come to our house, so we don't have to pack the kids up and take them anywhere :-)

Due to my schedule, Richard has to do the 6 a.m. feeding by himself. But he's an expert at it now. He's here in the morning when the nanny gets here. It's funny because she only speaks spanish, and Richard doesn't know any spanish - but they manage to communicate. Lots of sign language haha. I've had to brush up on my dusty spanish skills... let's just say, they remain pretty dusty.

My folks were going to visit this weekend (my mom had a 3-day weekend) - but my mom came down with a cold. Ahh the consequences of working with germy little kids. We were sad they couldn't make it down, but there are lots more weekends to visit in the future :-)

In the meantime I've posted some more pictures of the gals. Here are links to the albums:

Trip to my work place (taken by my co-worker, Maureen) HERE.

A visit from Aunt Amy and cousin Aissa, and some miscellaneous HERE.

And a bit early, but 3 month photos HERE.

Including the picture at the top of this blog post, here are a few more of my favs...

Frances showing off her big brown eyes and Gracie avoiding eye contact:

Gracie sporting her "I Love Grandma and Grandpa(s) shirt" and a HUGE smile!My cousin, Joe, feeding Frances at work:

Me feeding Gracie:

Delivery Story

I posted two versions of my delivery story. One is a long (too much information) version - mainly for ladies who like reading that stuff. The other is a MUCH shorter and less detailed version for everyone else. See them listed to the Right under "Pages."

Frances Laughed Today!

So I was making my typical funny faces and various animal sounds - and Frances got one of her big grins on her face and then all of a sudden she laughed! I was so surprised, I cried! hahaha. I haven't been able to get her to do it again though, but I know eventually they both will be giggling and laughing like crazy.

In the mean time here are some more pictures (click on the picture below!!!):

What's Worse Than A Colicky Baby - How About TWO!

Sorrrryyyyyy soooo long in updating. Time has really been flying by! And a lot has happened since my last update.

On a family note - Richard became a US Citizen at the end of August! Auntie Amy babysat so I could go to the oath ceremony. Very cool :-)

It's been a LONG two months since the gals were born. We've been back and forth to doctors wayyy too much. But hopefully we've finally got the girls all figured out. We were dealing with some MAJOR colic issues. If you've had a colicky baby I'm sure you can sympathize with our dealing with TWO colicky babies. No sleep sucks! I felt like running away or just dying. It was so overwhelming with the constant screaming of two babies.

After experimenting with mylicon gas drops to no avail. Then switching formulas from EnfaCare to Gentlease. And then....... the bloody diarrhea. Oh that one was hard for Richard and I to deal with. I'm glad my mom was still here when that symptom developed - to keep us sane. That was when the doc suspected milk protein allergy. So we tried Enfamil hypoallergenic formula Nutramigen. Which did not set well with their intestinal track. They got yeast infections on top of diaper rash!! More to make them scream! Blah. So then we switched to Neocate - the "most" hypoallergenic formula out there. It worked! No more bloody poopies! But the Neocate can only be bought online and is SUPER expensive. $33 for a 14 oz. powder can - that only lasts a day with twins. Yikes! Richard's insurance won't cover it because his company is based in NY which doesn't require insurance companies to cover it. CRAP!

Anywho we had an appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist on Tuesday to confirm the milk allergy - which she did. She was nervous about us affording Neocate, so she told us to try Similac's hypoallergenic version for a week, just to see if that might work for us. That's still $26 dollars for a 16 oz. can, but every dollar we can save is better than none. We have to test their poopies again in a week to make sure the blood hasn't returned. She said we'll do an allergy test at 11 months to see if they still have a reaction. And if they do, then we'll have another allergy test at a certain time intervals after that. She said most kids out grow the milk allergy by 3-5 years of age. Let's hope sooner! I asked about soy formula. She said 60% of kids allergic to milk protein are allergic to soy protein. And on top of that, she said they don't recommend soy formula, especially for female infants, because the natural estrogen in soy causes puberty-like symptoms. Yikes. So that's a definite no go on the soy.

The pedi GI also diagnosed them with acid reflux. They already are taking rice cereal in their formula to help it set better in their tummies. But she also prescribed Pepcid and the first night we gave it to them (last night) was the first night the girls S.L.E.P.T!!!! It was amazing!! So I'm crossing fingers on that as well.

So we follow up with the GI by phone in 2 weeks, and in person in 6 weeks.

In addition to all that... we all survived our first family cold. I feel so bad for the babies since they can't take the meds we do to feel better. But they survived. Oh so many more colds to "look forward to" in the years ahead. hahaha.

Today they had their TWO MONTH checkup (wow). Richard wasn't able to take off from work. So I took them by myself. And I survived - even though they got 4 shots a piece. I was impressed with myself I must say hehe. As for their current stats:

Frances weighs 10 pounds 9 ounces and is 21 1/2 inches long. This means that by tomorrow she will have doubled her birth weight! Woohoo!

Grace weighs in at 10 pounds 6 ounces and is also 21 1/2 inches long. She still has 6 ounces to double her birth weight, but she'll probably be there by the weekend!

So the girls are on the curve now. And for their "corrected"age - since they were preemies - they are a bit above the 50th percentile - just a bit. So that's great! Even better is that developmentally they are right on target for 2 month olds - so there is no need to "correct" their age for those. Woohoo! I'm so happy :-)

So I'm happy all is looking brighter. Just keeping those fingers crossed!!

More Pictures!

Here are some more pictures of the babies since they've been home. Click here to view all the new pics. Below are a few of my favorites...

The babies together again:

A sleeping baby Frances:
A cute baby doll Grace:

Baby Checkup!

The babies had another check-up at the pediatrician office today. They are both doing well. Both got their second dose of the Hep-B vaccine. Daddy doesn't like shots so mommy did the dirty work of holding them still.

Frances is 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 inches long.

Grace is 7 lbs. 15.5 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

So the gals are right on average for length (50th percentile). They are sooo close to 8 lbs. - they'll probably be there by tomorrow! They are in the 10th percentile for weight. But considering they would have been full-term 40 weeks on tuesday the nurse practitioner said they are doing excellent and gaining weight like champs! I think they are just going to be tall and skinny like daddy.

Well the girls have been getting fussier every day. We described the symptoms to the nurse and she said it sounds like colic - that it "usually" reaches its peak by 6 weeks and then tapers down from there. But because we have preemies the time will be extended - so it could be 16-17 weeks before they get over it. In the meantime we've done the karo syrup to help with constipation. Today she said to try some mylicon to help with gas. And we're also going to try a different formula for sensitive stomachs. Hopefully something helps. But who knows.

The girls can go out for walks now. We asked about visitors again. She said visitors are always fine - they should have common sense not to come visit if they are sick - no matter what age our kids are. I guess that's a big "duh" - I wouldn't want people visiting while they were sick whether we had kids or not - I don't wanna get sick! hahaha.

Anywho the fussing is commencing as I type so I must go back to mommy mode.

Sticker Shock!

So we've been steadily receiving the itemized bills from the hospital. It's not actually "our" bills, but the bills they will be sending to the insurance company.

My hospital charge: $10,600

My doctor's charge for surgery: $6,500

9 day NICU charge for Frances: $14,600

9 day NICU charge for Grace: $14,700

TV/phone: $40 <-- just added this because it's amusing compared to the others

I'm sure there will be more charges from the anesthesiologist, maybe the neonatologists... who knows who/what else.

So while we don't have to pay that all out of pocket - I still thought the figures were pretty amazing - in the wholly crap, glad we have some insurance-sense!

My charges are covered under my insurance. The girls are under Richard's insurance. The unfortunate part is that because Richard has a family deductible for his insurance - we'll have to pay a pretty penny for the NICU. I think his deductible is $7,000? We're pretty sure we'll be charged the full deductible. Even with the insurance company's contracted rate for services, we doubt the cost of the NICU charges will come down below the deductible. Oh well. Whew! Good thing we've been saving every cent in anticipation that something like this might happen. It definitely helped to find out we were having twins early on in the pregnancy. It helps to plan ahead!

Note to Visitors

Many people have asked about visiting the girls. People are welcome to visit. They are preemies so if you are feeling at all under the weather... or suspicious that you may be coming down with something - we ask that you postpone any visit until you are feeling better. They are too vulnerable at this time to be exposed to anything. Also, just as in the NICU we ask that people with children under 4 postpone visiting with their kids until we get the all clear on the preemie front. As long as the child understands handwashing and the importance of not spreading germs - we're cool.

The fact that they are preemies also means they are on a strict feeding and sleeping schedule. This is to conserve energy so they gain weight. We feed at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m. during the day. If you want to see them "awake" - I suggest arranging a visit with us around those times. Otherwise, they are sleeping - we just wanted to give people the heads up on that. We don't get play time with the babies like parents of regular newborns.

We're crossing fingers that by their next appointment (the end of August) they'll be off the preemie formula and we'll be able to have some more play time. Which will be more fun for potential visitors as well.

Luck o' the Draw

The babies turned 3 weeks on Sunday - feels like they are older than that. Maybe that's the sleep deprivation kicking in? hahaha. Actually they are doing fairly well on their schedule. My mom has been a huge help with cooking dinner, doing laundry, house cleaning, etc. Richard went back to work the week after they came home. But he was still getting up to help with the night changing/feedings. We realize we'll be sharing the task anyway when I head back to work.

This past weekend was a bit more difficult. My mom went back home for a long weekend (and much needed break). And on top of that Richard got sick. Seriously, he's rarely sick, so ain't that the luck o' the draw? With the babies being preemies and so vulnerable we wanted to play it safe, so Richard went to the doctor. He mentioned that we have preemies, so the doc put him on antibiotics right away and ordered him to "stay away from the babies" until today. He's still on the antibiotics and still recovering, but doing better. Anywho, with mom being gone and Richard off baby duty - I was doing all the baby stuff since Friday. It's hard work anyway with two people feeding, cleaning, changing, etc. But when you are alone, you can only take care of one baby at a time - everything takes twice as long. And one baby is screaming while you feed the other one, which makes you feel horrible. So I was getting even less sleep. And my body is still recovering from surgery so I tire easily. I can't wait till they are big enough to "prop" with their bottles - that will make things much easier! ....... of course, by then we'll have new issues to deal with hahaha.

My mom came back this afternoon. And Richard is back on baby duty. So things are feeling less hectic :-) But I did survive on my own and there is some satisfaction and comfort in knowing that it can be done!

On another note... I stepped on the scale with the babies and I'm guessing they are about 6 pounds now. It's by no means accurate. They definitely look a lot fatter and feel heavier. They have that double chin coming and dimples on their hands. They still have a lot of growing to go though.

Also, I'm down 34 pounds! I had reached 190 pounds the Thursday right before I delivered. I still have 13 pounds to go before I reach my pre-pregnancy weight. I can't believe it! Although it's all in the stomach and seems like it will take a long while to disappear. The swelling in my legs and face has gone down soooooo much! I feel like a new person!

Pictures Update

Finally got the pictures online. Here's from the day of delivery through now... enjoy.

Click on the link below:

See Pictures

Welcome Home!

The girls officially came home Tuesday afternoon. So we've survived two nights as new parents with twins! The neonatologist said they are doing well. We almost weren't able to bring both babies home since they weren't gaining weight fast enough. So the last couple days in the NICU we were advised to just let them sleep. So we did a lot of staring at them versus holding them.

Now that they are home, we've been ordered to keep them on that strict eating and sleeping schedule so they gain a lot of weight. The doctor said 22 hours of sleep a day - so we feed them every four hours. As in the NICU, they told us no over stimulating or playing with the babies - feed them and put them to bed - so we don't get cuddle time outside of feedings. :-( But we're willing to sacrifice it so they gain weight. So far they are gaining about an ounce day. They have been very good babies ... so far. But we've only had them for a couple days - not even a week of adjustment under our belts. Cross fingers they keep cooperating!

They had their first pediatrician appointment yesterday. Both had gained an ounce from the day before. She reiterated the feeding and sleeping schedule to encourage weight gain. I can't wait for them to get fat - then we can have more play time. :-)

A lot of the clothes we have for them are so big - even the newborn ones haha. They are such little dolls. And I can't believe they will be 2 weeks old on Sunday!