Worrying and Green Beans

So, we went to the doctor today for the babies' last Synagis shot!! Hooray!!! This is the injection they have gotten once a month since they left the hospital. It isn't a vaccine... just preventative medication. You have to qualify and be pre-certified by your insurance to get this because the shot is EXPENSIVE! Wish I had invented whatever they have in that tiny little vial. Somebody has a lake house and beach house, too. The shots are $1,622.29 PER CHILD every month. Gotta be sure they get their 29 cents, too! Thankfully, insurance does cover it. The shot helps to protect them from RSV, which stands for something with an R, something with an S, VIRUS. It is bad news for preemies. According to the pediatrician, it is pretty much a guaranteed hospital stay for babies as small as our two. This is also the reason they have been in hiding since.. since they were born. So, since they were premature, low birth weight, and multiples.. they qualified. This is the end of RSV season and flu season, so I hope that we are in the clear now for any type of major risk for these two things. I know you can get them any time, but I hope that the Synagis helped to protect them. I know Blue Cross Blue Shield hopes it protected them, too. I am sure that after the half million dollars they dropped for the NICU stay, they HOPE we are protected from many things. I am also glad we don't have to go back again for a couple of months (although I am not sure how I can now go two months without being able to ask Dr. Jones my monthly list of questions since they have been on a monthly basis since coming home from the hospital).

Now to the worrying part... Rush didn't gain much weight this time around... only 9 oz. since a month ago. They have both been averaging around a pound of weight gain each month, so he slacked off a little this month. I could tell that he had not gained much when I was holding him. We could also tell that S.F. was much heavier than him. He is up to 13 lbs. 13 oz. He is thriving and happy. He just doesn't eat very much. Well, even though Dr. Jones said he wasn't worried, I am. I felt like he must have been at least a little worried because he said we could put him back on the Enfacare (preemie formula) to get in a few extra calories every day. He also said to start pushing solids. (More on that at the end of the post..) So,it might be back to the expensive stuff for the little guy. Sassy pants, weighing in at 14 lbs. 11 oz., will be staying on the regular formula because she gained her pound. :-) I just want sweet Rush to continue to grow and get some meat on his bones, ya know?

Along with our other adventures this Spring Break, we tried some green beans on Wednesday night. I tasted them. Imagine... green beans with no seasoning at all... mmmm. Makes your mouth water, right? Well, my two little ones really liked them. They started with a "what the heck is that???" look, but ended up eating every spoonful I gave them. The green beans were a hit! Let's just hope this continues with the rest of the stage 1 foods. Next up... sweet potatoes!

P.S. Did you think I was worried ABOUT green beans?


Cute outfits my friend Jeni gave them. They went to meet Miss Deborah, their future hairstylist/barber in these.



Syd's first taste of green beans



Rush's first taste of green beans


Sporting their Dr. Seuss onesies from my friend Lisa. Rush is Thing 1 since he is the big brother and was born a full minute before Thing 2.

TARGET!!

It is Spring Break, and we are having a ball! I love being home with the babies during the day. Although, I am not sure I could be a full time stay at home Mama, I do enjoy my breaks with the babies. Today was a momentous occasion. I decided this morning that I would take the babies on their first outing with just me! I needed some bread, cereal, and detergent, so the logical place to go would be Walmart, right? But remember, I hate them. They might have needed to see the babies' birth certificates to prove they were mine before they let me leave with them. So, I decided our first trip would be to TARGET!! Woo hoo!!! Since I only needed a few things, I knew we could probably survive if there was any type of meltdown. Well, guess what? They were PERFECT ANGELS!!!! Not even a grunt. Of course, they stared a hole through my head the entire time we were in the store, but that is OK. This is the typical behavior when they are in the Snap and Go stroller. It was so much fun! I strolled and looked at stuff that I didn't need at all. That's what everyone does at Target, don't they? It was going so well that I decided we would walk down to the "new" Bed Bath and Beyond. I know that store has been open for months, but I had never been in there. Their AC was broken, so that was a VERY quick stroll. Next, I decided to get wild and crazy and go to Hobby Lobby! Still perfect babies!!! I know y'all are expecting it to fall apart at some point or for some employee to tick me off, but it didn't happen. Just a good, happy day! We got lots of "Oh, how cute!" and "Look! Twins!". It was kinda fun! I have never been able to enjoy that kind of thing before because they don't really say that much at the Pediatric Clinic... the only place they have ever been until today. We did get one person that asked, "Are they identical?" OK. Poor person. She is not the only person that has ever asked this question. First of all, see that little boy back there in the blue shirt and too handsome blue jeans and cutie up front with the pink toile pants on?? That means one is a boy and one is a girl. I am pretty sure that according to most definitions of the word identical just this fact alone would completely eliminate my two from falling into the identical category. But, just in case the blue/pink.. boy/girl thing wasn't enough proof, they don't look identical. So, no, they aren't identical. Did I actually say this to the person? Nah.. I let her off the hook. I just usually smile and say, "No, one is a boy and one is a girl." Then, I just hope that with that response later on in the day a little light bulb goes off for the asker of the identical question. I am almost glad she asked, though, because it gives me a funny memory for the day! What will tomorrow bring? So much for my plan to clean out closets this week. I have earned my "Shopping with Twins" badge, so now nothing can stop me!


Proof that I really did take them! Yes, I did take a picture in the Target parking lot, and yes, I did park that far away. I needed room to unload the stroller without worrying about taking out someone else's car door.


Tired from our shopping trip!

Walking on sunshine! Whoa-oh!

I just need to vent before I get to the real point of this post. Apparently, this is becoming my new forum to gripe about the latest business establishment to tick me off. Walmart.. we have a love/hate relationship with one another. I visit every weekend for an hour or so to buy the things we need but usually leave feeling pretty ticked. Today was no exception. I was feeling pretty good about my trip with my cart FULL of groceries. This was despite the fact that I waited in line for a full fifteen minutes because I was standing in one of the TWO checkout lines they had open on a Sunday afternoon right after church. Great thinking and planning with staffing there, guys. Anyway, as I was leaving with my cart full of groceries, I was stopped on the way out by someone who asked to see my receipt. My receipt was already buried in the darkest of holes in my wallet, which was buried in the darkest holes of my purse. Did I make the alarm thing go off? Nope. Were any of my groceries not bagged? Nope. I guess I just looked like a tired Mama with a spit up stain on the front of her t-shirt. The perfect person to stop and ask to see her receipt, right? Attention Walmart, Inc. I just spent nearly $200.00 in your stupid store and have a buggy (as we call them here in the south) stocked full of Walmart junk. Seriously, do they think I snuck up to one of the empty lines and loaded all of my groceries into white bags without checking out at all? And no one noticed. What was the point? Did he check every item to be sure it was on the receipt? No. He just had me dig it out and barely glanced at it. Waste o'time, Y'all! But, alas, I will continue to go every weekend because I am a mother of boy/girl twins, and at Walmart they sell things like this that keep me coming back for more.

I mean..after all, could they really be expected to make it through their first Easter without these? :-) Hence.. the love/hate relationship. OK. I am stepping down from the soapbox.


So, now back to the title of the post. I have been singing the song since I typed those words. Do you get songs stuck in your head? I do. (Does it make me old that I remember when this song came out. It was 1985.. Katrina and The Waves..I had to look up the year.) Anyway, Ivy and I took the babies for a walk yesterday. It was a LONG walk! We walked in a huge circle around my neighborhood for an hour and half. The babies were happy, and the conversation was good, so we just kept going. It was bright and sunny when we left, so we decided to try out the babies' new sunglasses for the trip. We fully expected them to keep them on for a total of about 3 seconds before they flipped out. Guess what? They LOVED them! We enjoyed a good laugh at how seriously they seemed to take their sunglasses. They wore them for the entire walk.. even after the sun started to go down. We went home to Chinese food that Phil picked up for us! The end of a good day!



It is hard to believe that we took these pictures the weekend before!

Rush and Sydney Frances in the snow for the first time!



P.S. If any part of this post doesn't make sense, that is because I have been working on it since 5:00pm today.. just now finished it at 9:00pm. In between, I have bathed two babies, fed one, done one load of laundry and changed a spit-up covered sheet, while trying to be sure that two babies that technically went to bed an hour early are indeed going to sleep all night so I won't have to cry. I hope they don't mind springing forward too much! Good night!

Cute Rush!

I LOVE this picture of Rush. Just wanted to post it because I think it so cute! Mama took this one at her house one day. I think he has the cutest smile ever! He also has the strongest little chest and arm muscles from pushing up like this ALL THE TIME!!!!!!! He constantly flips over and pushes himself up.

Not much new news around here. I am looking forward to Spring Break so I can hang out with the babies for a while. I am sure it will make me very ready for summer. I have also started talking about plans for some play dates for this summer for the babies. Rush and Sydney Frances will get to meet Reese and Avery this summer. They need someone to play with since they have been stuck inside since... well, since birth. This summer we should be all clear to begin to enjoy a few more fun times OUTSIDE the house. We will get our last Synagis shot this month. WOO HOO.. the end of RSV season is in sight! Phil took some quick pictures of the babies in the SNOW this past weekend. I will try to post those this weekend!

A Trip to Montgomery and back (literally)

There are many wonderful things about living in a small, college town. One thing that is not wonderful is that there is nowhere to have your twins' six month pictures made without spending a small fortune. I wanted to have some cute little pictures made of them in these adorable outfits that they were given as a gift. So, I had heard good things about Portrait Innovations. For those of you not familiar, it is a chain portrait place for kids. Well, they have one at Eastchase which is only about 45 minutes from us. I called and made an appointment for the babies over a week ago, and I had been planning and preparing since that call. I believed that Portrait Innovations was also planning and preparing for our 12:30 appointment as well because they called not once.. but TWICE to confirm this appointment. I also believed that all of my hard work and planning would pay off with the perfectly timed appointment that didn't conflict with eating or sleeping schedules. Cute outfits..check.. cute babies.. check..cute diaper bags packed and ready.. check. even a refluxy baby that had not spit up ONE time all day.. check. Phil even seemed game to play along with my little adventure. It should have been perfect, right? As we pulled into the parking lot, I told Phil I would go in and check things out before we lugged the car seats, cute diaper bags, cute babies.. (you get the idea) into the "studio". AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That is the voice inside my head that immediately began to scream as soon as I walked into this place.) I entered what I consider to be my version of Hell. It was CRAWLING with people. And.... there were public toys... Yes, I was raised by my mother, and we don't do public toys. I started sweating immediately. Not good... not good at all. I told the girl at the counter that we were there for our 12:30 appointment. She said, "OK... just have a seat and we will be with you as soon as we can." What do you mean?.. I have a perfectly timed appointment.. was my next thought. I then asked if having an appointment would make any difference in the wait time. (They also take "walk-ins".)She said, "Yes, it will.. if you didn't have an appointment, we wouldn't be able to take you at all." Well.. I feel very special then. I am so glad that you called to confirm that I would be here at this specific time TWICE!!! Yes, TWICE!!! So, we actually brought the babies in (not sure why), and we stood awkwardly by the door. One very nice lady offered us her chair. She said she had a brother and sister that were twins, so she "knows what we are going through." I think she could see from the look on my face that I was about to lose it. She kept smiling as if to say "it will be OK." She was nice. Thank you so much, kind lady, but no chair is going to help this. Next, Phil goes to the counter and asks very politely how far behind they are running on this fine Saturday. She says at least 45 minutes. She then proceeds to remind us that they work with children and often don't know how long a session might take. OHHHHH... I see... you work with children! Now it makes sense!! As a block from public toys whizzes by, we decide to chalk this one up and head back home. It is OK, though, because SF cried so hard on the way home that we had to resort to Baby Mozart CD just to get her to zip it. (Ivy.. you know this CD well from beach trip.)So, the pictures probably would have been bad anyway, right? We'll try again another day... :-)Perhaps we could reschedule it for 9:00 a.m. on a Monday or Tuesday as suggested by the "helpful" girl behind the counter. You know.. because 9:00 am on a weekday is a perfect time for people who WORK!!!

On a more positive note...6 month checkup went exceptionally well. SF weighs 13.12, and Rush weighs 13.4. They are both the same length now.. 24 3/8 inches. The best news of all is that Dr. Jones told us that we do not have to go to CCAD for the neurodevelopmental evaluation scheduled for them in April by the NICU. All premature babies that have a NICU stay are scheduled for an evaluation to check for developmental delays. He said that he thinks they are doing just fine! Rush rolled over on the table and pushed himself up on his hands just to show off for Dr. Jones whle he was talking about motor development.. cute stuff. It was like he was saying, "Look at what I can do,Dr. J. We don't need no stinkin' developmental evaluation."


One of my students gave SF some dress up items for V-Day. Thank you, Shakara. SF already thinks she is the queen!


Sweet babies! They love each other!


Sweet,sleepy boy

Just blabbing...

The babies are getting so big! They are so much fun now. They are both rolling both ways and smiling and "talking". Sydney Frances had her first fit of the giggles this past Thursday. I was playing with Rush in the floor at Mama and Daddy's. I was making a funny noise and playing with his arms and feet. SF was sitting Mama's lap, and she just thought that noise was HILARIOUS stuff! She laughed over and over. So, of course, I sat there doing it over and over just to hear her laugh. What a great sound!! Too cute! I feel like they are both becoming much more aware that the other is there these days, too. They stare at each other and smile and hold hands. SF will rub Rush on top of his head. He is getting a lot of hair, so maybe she is just jealous. She is still a baldy. They will be going back for their 6 month checkups next Friday, so we will have new weights and stats for them then. Also, Phil and I are having our first official date tonight since Aunt Ivy and Uncle Tony have volunteered to keep the babies for us. We have not really ever gone out on V-Day in the past, but we will definitely take advantage of the offer for GREAT babysitters. They will be here during the hardest part of the day, but they are both willing participants, and we are so thankful. They will be here for a cereal feeding and bath time... both fun but also tiring. We are trying a new restaurant (new to us anyway) called Zazu. It is downtown, and we are hoping for good food! Our reservations are really early because that is the price you pay for living in a small, college town. There aren't that many places to eat, and places fill up fast. We could only get reservations at 5:30! I wonder if they will offer an early bird special?? Ha! Well, we will just have to eat slowly, so hopefully, we won't come home too early! Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day!



Rush laughing at Gram (Phil's mom)



This picture makes me laugh. It is right before bath time. Rush drooled all over Phil's shoulder. Phil looks like he has been in a war, and SF was NOT HAPPY that someone else had been on HER Daddy's shoulder. That is HER spot!


Not sure what this face was about... first time in her jumparoo.


SF in her jumparoo. Unfortunately, her feet don't yet touch the ground in order to be able to jump. She just kind of hangs there. Oh well, we will try again later.


For those of you that have been following their progress all along, this is Rush's signature hat from his stay in the NICU. It used to fall down over his eyes.

Video of early days

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This is a video that I put together of some pictures from my pregnancy and the early days when the babies were still in the hospital.It ends with them at home together for the first time. I think I may end up subscribing to this site. It is really cheap, and you can create your own "montages" and order DVDs of videos or pictures that you download. This is one of the very basic videos. I was just playing around with it one day and did this one a while back. You can really make them cute with different backgrounds, music, fonts, etc. It is pretty fun.