Two Against One!

Waiting for Mommy to hurry up and get ready so we can go to dinner with Angela and Bianca. "We look cute, that's all that matters!"

Emmaline sizing up a rattle.


"Hee hee, wait till Owen finds out I'm a minute older! I crack myself up."

"Emmaline may have been a whopping minute older, but I was bigger! And, if we had a staring contest, I'm pretty sure I would win!"

Out of my 12 measley weeks of being a Mom, this past week has definitely been the most challenging, but has also shown me what I'm capable of. So yes, let me just toot my own horn: Vince traveled to Hollywood, Florida this week (it's close to Miami) for a training, leaving Sunday and returned Thursday night. Meaning, I was alone with the babies for the entire time, which I was pretty confident I could handle. They do still get up religiously every three hours at night for feedings, so I knew I would just be missing a little more sleep than my usual little sleep, since Vince and I share the feedings each night. A breakdown of our three hour cycle at night with twins: 45 minutes to feed, a possible hour of troubleshooting a baby(ies) who is unhappy and won't go back to sleep, then an hour of sleep for parent. Repeat. I know this isn't news to my Mom friends, but the feeding schedule did take me a little by surprise when it started, I must admit! (We're working to get them to sleep longer, which they occasionally do, but our pediatrician said to expect developmental milestones from their 40 week due date so, being born five weeks early, gestationally they are seven weeks old.)

On Sunday, just as soon as Vince's car pulled away and headed to the airport, my throat started to burn. I had a thought I had never before considered: I don't have any sick days! Ack! I can't take off work to recover if I get sick! I ended up with a killer cold and the babies caught it too. Needless to say, this week has been rough, but we made it, and I'm just so proud of us! Owen is still a little cranky, but no one has run a fever yet, thank goodness.

To get us out of the house, and to see people besides each other, the babies and I met my friends Bianca and Angela for dinner at Celebrations restaurant on Tuesday night, before we started to feel really icky. I wish I had taken my camera, each friend held a baby, it was too cute!

So, hats off to my Mommy friends and family, this is HARD work! One, two, three or eight babies, caring for a tiny person is rewarding and wonderful, but work. :)

Visit From the Sowers Family

Visiting the JFK assassination site (babies are OUT)

Sarah Squared with Owen, Emmaline and Luke. Seriously, I could have made more of an effort to hold their heads up, but it's just too tricky with two!


Ho hum. Buh-horing. Why do our parents care about this stuff?

Vince and Emmaline sharing a joke while Luke clings on for dear life.

Last weekend, one of my oldest and dearest friends Sarah visited with her husband Bryan and nearly seven-month-old son, Luke (darling darling darling, could not get enough of him, and I mean Luke, by the way!). They flew in from Topeka, KS on Friday and left on Sunday, and somehow we all managed in our house with three babies and two dogs! :) Like Sarah and I discussed, it seems like just yesterday we were roomies in the dorms at OU, and now we're discussing which diapers we prefer. Nuts!

We kept it pretty low key and went out for meals around Dallas. On Sunday, we visited the street in downtown Dallas where JFK was assassinated, and walked around the area that includes the depository where the shot was allegedly fired and the grassy knoll. The heat of the day coupled with the stroller ride zonked my kids to sleep, but we got a few cute pictures.

Owen and Emmaline suddenly seem just a little more developed and "older" this week, and they turn 11 weeks today! Last night they had their best night yet, with no fussing and four hours of sleep between feedings.

I went to dinner last night with a friend (margaritas, yay!) and have a get together tonight for a new book club I may join, which will make my second book club (and no, I probably will not actually be reading the books, unless we will be discussing Good Night Moon, Snuggle Puppy or Dinos to Go). I feel like Vince set my friend Angela and I up for a date last night, I think he could tell I needed a baby break!

A Few of Their Favorite Things

Ella (she thought she was hiding in the guest room during our fussy period, but we found her!)

Books! We've been reading Owen, Emmaline and the Bunny, I Love You Through and Through (thanks Grandma!), Hippos Go Berserk and Barnyard Dance (thanks cousins Fletcher, Shilo and Kyla!)




Musical Seahorses (they remind me of GloWorms), which have been a lifesaver getting them to calm down and go to sleep. They are also loving their sleep positioners, which have helped with the reflux.

Not pictured: Soothie pacifiers (we have about a dozen to quickly replace when one falls), Skip Hop Farm Blocks, play gym, sound machine (more help sleeping!), the painting behind the couch (apparently mesmerizing to a newborn) and....MOMMY (ha, had to do it, and no, pictures just aren't an option at the moment).

Last week Owen and Emmaline had their two month appointment, and Owen weighed 8 lbs, 8 oz and Emmaline weighed 8 lbs 4 oz. Still in newborn clothing though!

I'm starting to leave more on the weekends without babies, and this past Saturday I went to a Junior League brunch, which was so much fun (mimosas, yay!) and nice to catch up with everyone. I'm taking a Sabbatical this year from the League, which means I'm still a member but don't have a volunteer commitment. I'll pick it up again next year, but knew it would be tough this year!

Vince has been working on the guest bedroom this weekend, painting and adding crown molding and trim. It really does look great, he's pretty talented at the home improvement thing, though thankfully we didn't need a lot on this house! :) The room will be ready for our friends Sarah, Bryan and baby Luke this weekend!

Happy Eight Weeks Owen and Emmaline!

Chillin' in my bouncy

Sheesh, this is boring

BOOMER SOONER!

(not feeling so smiley after the game though, ugh)

So much for a cute game day photo shoot!


"Don't worry my boy, one day we will bust out of this dumb Pack and Play"

"Thanks Mom, for another thrilling, edge-of-your-seat hour of tummy time"

I cannot believe it, Owen and Emmaline are eight weeks old today, it just doesn't feel like it's been that long! They're eight week appointment with the pediatrician is next week, so it will be fun to see how much they weigh, especially since they had an early start.

Skip this paragraph if you don't care to read about gassy babies and it's remedy:

As some of you may have read in a few of my desperate sounding emails, the kiddos went through a week of constant screaming a few weeks ago, which was pretty challenging because, as I calmly explained to them through the wails, "Mommy only has two hands!!" If the wiener dog could have held a baby, she would have, instead of staring at me like "you know, it was more fun when it was just you and me!" It turns out Vince and I make very gassy babies, and so we started giving them a minuscule amount of Mylanta three times a day. That worked for a week, but they were still spitting up and sleeping in a bouncy or swing in their crib. So, as of last night they are taking a prescription for acid reflux, and they slept (yes, both of them, yippee!) from 12:30 am to 4:20 am straight. Sleep, sweet sleep!

Fed up with spending the weekends with only one of us gone at a time, Vince and I decided last Saturday to take the babies to lunch at a sit-down restaurant. We decided to skip bringing in the Suburban sized stroller and just each take a baby to carry. The babies did great, so we did a repeat on Sunday and Monday. I thought we were pushing our luck three days in a row, but they did okay. So far so good!

We've started seeing a few happy-not-gassy smiles, especially from Emmaline, which unfortunately don't last long enough to take a picture. I've taken a few pictures (see above, because I cannot figure out how to post pictures below my entries), but I have got to get the hang of taking good ones of BOTH babies, which is a challenge.

Newborn Photography

Our photos from our newborn photography session are ready to be viewed! Check them out here: http://www.poeticexposure.com/emmalineandowen. I am so happy with them, he got some great shots of the babies at four weeks old.

(Um, mommy still has some bloating effects and no sleep going for her, but was still happy to be in the pictures! :))

The twins are really starting to show their individual personalities, and keep us busy. They are usually not fussy together (except for meal time, then it's a chorus), so just when one baby is happy, the other wants to be held. Bouncy seats are a god send! We've just started tummy time in the past few weeks, and stop when they fall asleep or start accidentally kicking each other. Or, in Owen's case, he gets upset when he can't get a toy in his mouth while on his tummy!

At their one month check-up last week, they were still not quite 7 pounds, but I'm sure they are now. It seems like they get bigger every day!

Invasion of the Papparazzi

Emmaline and Owen's first three weeks, courtesy of my mom and sister's (both pictured :)) photography.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AZOHLJu2ZsX4

I Heart Twins

I am so happy to report that everyone is home now! Emmaline was released from the NICU last Friday, and joined Owen at home. We gave him a little pep talk that morning that his days of being an only were over! Both babies have been to the pediatrician and are doing well. Owen is almost 6 pounds and Emmaline is a little over 5 pounds (I just can't keep their weights straight, my lack of sleep is doing wonders for my brain).

My mom was a HUGE help last week as we settled in with Owen, and my sister will be here today to help with both babies. Vince has gone back to work, and I survived yesterday alone, which involved putting both babies in their car seats for a trip to the doctor. I've decided this is going to take some major coordination and a little more planning than I thought!

Because of their prematurity, the babies are still on a three hour feeding schedule of high calorie formula, with the occasional bottle of what I manage to pump (sorry if this is too much information, but I've been asked! :)) We're on this schedule until further notice from their doctor. Last night BOTH babies decided to fuss at the same time for about an hour and a half following their 3 am feeding. Ugh. Pick one baby up, rock, put down, pick the other baby up, repeat. Emmaline is definitely the most vocal, she grunts and is always the first to get upset. Owen is the most laid back little baby, and can usually sleep right through her noise.

I promise I will post more pictures when I have time, and will try to update our blog once a week. I think I may need to reread this entry a few times before I post to make sure it makes sense, especially after last night's 3 am twin party!