3 weeks and double the everything!

Or should I say triple... because it actually is triple since Hannah needs to eat, sleep, play, and bathe as well! Phew.... becoming the parents of 3 overnight has not been an easy task that's for sure but it has been incredibly rewarding and blessing all at the same time!

Today Aspen and Brooke are 3 weeks old! That's puts them at 38weeks gestational age and technically still supposed to be cooking in my belly! Instead they are growing bellies of their own and they are quite nice I might add. Thought we'd share bath time with you today.

The first 3 pictures are Brooke...

Both girls love the water! Maybe they'll turn out to be kayakers after all!

Something obviously startled her! :) Maybe the obnoxious amount of flashes going on!

Didn't I tell you they are growing some great bellies!

The second set of 3 photos are of Aspen! John had left at the house at this point and I was trying to take pictures with my left hand and give a bath... so most are close eyed or hand covering face! Sorry!

Again... check out the size of that belly! They are eating well that's for sure!

Seriously they are so relaxed I think they could fall asleep in the tub!

And they just look so cute after in their bear towels!

Both baths complete with just enough time to sit, stand up again, and start the feeding cycle all over! Phew... how long does the newborn stage last again?

What day is it again?

Well since arriving home things have been.... well... a little blurry! Thank goodness it is summer when the sun rises early and sets late! If it were any different I'm sure my days and nights would be confused! Twins are definitely a challenge and I suggest if you are ever going to have them that they are your first set of children, not the 3rd and 4th or 5th and 6th! (As if we had a choice, ha!) I'm not saying parents of singletons don't work hard (Hannah was beyond a challenge alone!) but... parenting has taken on a whole new meaning now! Including the filling up of our car as you can see in the picture above! Poor John has been riding in the cargo area while my Mom is in town! Where does the diaper bag fit again?

Father's Day dinner was celebrated at Outback this year... It was non-optional to cook at home as we were all pretty pooped after our first week at home with the twins! The food was delicious! And what a Dad... took on triple duty overnight!

Hannah loved the bread so much she thought it should be in the picture!

And oh the creative ways we are entertaining Hannah as she transitions to "Big sister" (of not 1 but 2 new babies) and is no longer the only child. She has done wonderful. Since the almost 2 weeks we have been home there has been only 1 breakdown... I'd say that's pretty good! She's incredible! This was the day that we painted each other's faces. Well I painted Hannah's and she painted ours!

I'd say she may just have the skills to be a professional face painter when she grows up!

Grandma got a little extra in the eyebrows! I'm pretty sure one is still green! What a great sport she is!

Here the girls went to visit Dr.Gregerson... he only met them briefly as my entire labor happened so quickly so they went back to say hello! This is the doctor that I have been blogging about since the beginning of my pregnancy with the twins. He has blessed our family beyond belief. If only he knew how much he has impacted our family showing us the heart of a "giver." We have all learned so much from him. Compassionate and caring, encouraging us to be better just by being himself. We not only found a phenomenal physician, but a friend as well. John already has plans to build a cedar canoe with him (they both love woodworking) and I have plans to enjoy those canoes! To pay him back is not even an option... he has done so much more for us then I think he even knows! To say we are grateful doesn't even begin to scratch the surface!

We have also been receiving gifts from around the country... This is one of Hannah's favorite! Kisses from Auntie Shirl and Lauren in Kentucky!

Hannah has also been enjoying this warm/hot weather! She is now the proud owner of a slip-n-slide and has been enjoying it thoroughly!

And Grandma has been enjoying "shade bathing" while Hannah has a blast in water and sun!

So Aunt Nancy... I apologize for the lack of blogging! ;) And I am especially sorry after all of that there is only one picture of the twins! I have been using Mom's camera and her memory card isn't compatible with our camera so we need to run to Walmart and have all of the pictures put on a disk before I can post them! :( I'm sorry! Promise to pick it up and do better next time! ;)

Our first outing!

One of the deals when we were discharged from the NICU on Sunday was that we would have to see our Pediatrician in 1-2 days to do a "weight check." Here are the girls patiently waiting for the doctor even though they were overdue for their feeding. They were content but completely curious as to what was going to come next!

They great news is... Aspen is back to her birth weight at 4lbs 11oz and Brooke is close... She is currently 4lbs 14oz! We must be doing something right! This picture is the girls with Dr.Aguilar who is their Pediatrician. I work with him at the hospital and he is one of the best most caring Pediatricians I have ever met. I would trust him with my own kids even! ;) Obviously why I take them to see him out of all of those available! When he heard I was in labor he came to the delivery even though he wasn't on call that day.

By the end of the appointment the girls were definitely at their limit and I'm definitely not brave enough to nurse them together at the same time in public, so............ I brought along some of the milk I had previously pumped and the girls and I enjoyed some outdoor time in the shade while they filled their little belly's! For a first time outing on my own with the girls, it went pretty smooth! Who knows... maybe I'll try it again! ;)

When we got home there was a package on the front step and Hannah was excited! After opening it and helping her sisters look at their presents from Aunt Lis.... Hannah grabbed her new notebook and went to work making plans for crowns from the wrapping paper! I love her imagination!

And of course dress up is never complete unless Sadie is involved! She looks thrilled huh?

P.S. My nephew Bryan and his fiance are expecting their first baby and they have started a blog "Nacho Baby"... for the Grandma's out there, translates to... Not your baby! ;) Check it out!

www.babynachos.blogspot.com

Home at last!

Here are Brooke and Aspen just minutes before loading them up in their carseats to go home... Can you tell how excited they are about their first trip home. ;) We didn't tell Hannah that we were coming, my Mom knew and made sure Hannah came to the front door to check who was there when we rang the bell! Pure excitement is the best way to describe her reaction! She said... "I just knew you were coming home today with my sister's Mom!"

(I will have to post "arrival" pictures later as they are on my Mom's camera right now)

What a long day it was for us all... Here are our 3 amazing daughters all ready to sleep under the same roof for the first time. Hannah is in love with her sisters and has been great with them and a huge help to us as well. But let me tell you... there is seriously pink..pink..everywhere! If you are a male friend reading this blog... please remember that John will need a dose of "man" every once in a while so please come take him away from the land of the pink into the land of the blue! ;)

And here is Hannah's response when John asked her if she liked holding her sisters... She's definitely a funny little girl!

Going Home!

We just talked with the neonatologist and he gave the OK for the girls to come home! We are so excited and cannot wait to get them in the car and through our front door! Thank you to everyone who has prayed, called, txt'd, stopped by, or even just thought about us since the girls were born last week! We are so grateful for everything you have done to help us make it through our stay in the NICU! Will post coming home pictures as soon as possible! :)

Doing what they do best!

Aspen and Brooke both had a wonderful night! They have passed all of the tests and met all of the goals that the neonatologist left for them yesterday morning and now we wait.... ugh! Waiting for doctors is the worst! But the girls stayed in our room last night and it was wonderful. They were finally all ours and we could love them as much as we wanted to! They are wonderful sleepers at this point, although this may change as their age comes closer to a term baby, we are certainly enjoying it while it lasts! So we hope the next post will come from within the walls of our own home, and we hope the doctor knocks on the door now.... now.... now... now... OK... I suppose I'll be forced to practice patience! :)

One step closer!

Yesterday was a great day, but the new neonatologist that was caring for the girls was great at setting our expectations very high and then pulling them down! This morning we were encouraged to find that, yet again, another neonatologist would be seeing the girls but his expectations were realistic and true! He is very hopeful that the girls will get to come home tomorrow as long as.... they don't loose weight tonight! So in order to get ready for that today is a day full of tests and paperwork that we welcome freely. Aspen is above currently in her "Car seat Study." This tests to make sure, since they are so small, that they can tolerate car seats without any heart rate or breathing problems. So far so good! It's amazing how tiny they appear when the car seats swallow them whole! :)

Here is Brooke during her study. Both girls continue to sleep soundly in their car seats, which makes us happy, because Hannah was a car seat screamer from day 1! :) So today's report is truly encouraging news. Only a few more hurdles to overcome. The best news is that today's doc agreed to let the girls "room in" with us tonight, removing any and all monitors! That's right... the girls are ours tonight! They will sleep in our room, wear their own clothes, and I'm sure we won't get any sleep since we are so excited! ;)
So please pray that the girls gain or maintain their weight tonight and the current neonatologist maintains his enthusiasm with the girls progress and allows them to go home tomorrow instead of the middle of next week. The girls will be 36weeks tomorrow and they are so big! :)

Good Morning!

We haven't seen the doctor this morning, so we don't have an update yet.... But, we thought this was a picture worth waking up to! Aspen no longer has the IV in her head and so the girls favorite position has become nose to nose... :) It is so sweet!

Is it Thursday already?

Wow time flies when you don't sleep! :) Here we are Thursday morning and the last thing I really remember is laying in bed Monday morning wondering if I should get up and do a load of laundry or sleep in and wait for Hannah to wake me up! Obviously Aspen made that decision when she broke my water... but I wasn't ready for that plan!

Both Aspen and Brooke continue to do wonderful! The neonatologist came in this morning and was nothing but encouraged by their progress. Both girls are completely off of their IV's (Aspen still has hers left in, as you can see, just because it was still good) but Brooke's is completely gone and we are well on our way to having "cord free" girls! Nursing both girls has been going great and their blood sugars have remained stable so there is no need to introduce formula or bottles...they are doing it all on their own!

Both girls have maintained a "normal" weight for newborns, with only the typical weight loss that any healthy newborn would see. Aspen is now 4lbs 9oz and Brooke is 4lbs 13oz. Again, I can't stress enough how wonderful they are doing! They have had absolutely no breathing issues and are absolutely adorable.

So final word this morning... The neonatologist told John to go home and get the car seats because if the girls maintain the great job they are currently doing, we should be home this Saturday or Sunday! We are so excited! So please keep praying for the girls, they are little but tough and we know they are going to do what they need to do so they can come home where they belong!

Evening update!

We are beginning to learn that both Aspen and Brooke's personalities in womb, are near exact what they are out of womb! Aspen although the "small" one is aggressive and loud, feisty and curious, and if you place her within kicking distance of Brooke... She doesn't hesitate to shove her little foot into Brooke's thigh, tummy, or face if it is within reach!
Brooke on the other hand only "speaks" when she needs to be heard and is quiet and content most of the time, only demanding that snuggling is mandatory. She gently cries back to Aspen when Aspen is upset and still loves her smaller (yet older by 7 minutes) sister even through continuous kicking...

Sorry this picture is a bit blurry, but it is always somewhat comical to see them all snuggled up and ready to sleep until the next feed... John and I both wish someone would follow us to our room and set us up similar to the picture above before we drift off to our very short sleep session.

Today has been a great day for the girls. I have begun nursing them at the same time (which allows for approx 2 hrs of sleep between feeds instead of the 1 hr of sleep between every 3 hour feeds last night!). They are no longer receiving any IV medications. We are increasing their feeds and decreasing their IV fluids which means in a couple of days they should be off of their IV's completely! We will wait to hear tonight if they have gained weight (pray they do!) which is one of the criteria to being discharged. They are alert, active, and demanding we respond to their needs which is incredible. They are doing everything they should and in a quick manner. Their doctors have been nothing but impressed!

Hannah is one of the best and most proud "Big Sisters" we could have hoped for. She is gentle and caring towards her sisters and comes to help in any way possible. We are so blessed to have such an amazing daughter. She is incredible and exceeding our expectations as a big sister already! We are so proud of her!

Well I am off to sleep as it is only 1 1/2 short hours until we begin our next rounds... I will post more pictures tomorrow and hopefully an update earlier in the day. The past 3 days have been challenging but so rewarding. Every time we look at the 3 beautiful daughters God has entrusted to us, we can't help but wonder why. Hannah, Aspen, and Brooke are absolute miracles... We are so blessed to be part of something so special!

A morning update!

The girls are doing phenominal! (Aspen on the left and Brooke on the right!) This morning the neonatologist was so impressed with how great the girls did last night that he said "I couldn't have asked for more!" First thing this morning they moved their beds next to each other, put clothes on them, turned off the warmers, and let me nurse them! Next goal... to maintain their temps in clothes on their own and they can move into the same bed! After that they should be able to come in the room with me! Goal to come home... gain weight! We are so excited to have the girls next to each other! We are still in awe of the little miracles that have been entrusted to us! They have confirmed that they are identical... since Aspen is smaller than Brooke we are able to tell them apart right now, but as she catches up (you can tell in the pic above!) who knows how we will do that!
Aspen (So a little update... I showed John this posting and he said... "Christina you have their individual pictures wrong! Aspen is Brooke and Brooke is Aspen!" I'm in trouble.... He was right! ;) So this is actually Brooke pictured above and...

Brooke (this is actually Aspen!) The pics of them together are labeled correctly though! ;)

Ever so cute and snug as little bugs! (Aspen on the left and Brooke on the right)

Hannah meets her sisters!

Hannah meets Aspen!
Hannah meets Brooke!

And their meetings were definitely memorable! John picked Hannah up yesterday and she was able to come into the NICU and meet Aspen and Brooke for the first time last night! We've decided that another perk to having a 3 1/2yr old daughter who talks almost constantly is that her sisters recognize her voice! Upon Hannah's initial meeting with the girls they were both sleeping soundly. After just moments of Hannah's very excited exclamations and talk of teaching her sisters to swim and go pee pee in the potty, something very special happened! Each girl would wake up and begin moving her head and eyes to locate the source to this little Tinkerbell voice that they have been hearing for the last 35 weeks! It was incredible to see that although they have been separated from her being in the womb and Hannah in the outside world, that the 3 of them have already bonded and begun what we know will be a beautiful relationship! Congratulations Hannah... your long wait is over and you are officially a "Big Sister!"

Absolutely Great!

The girls are in the NICU right now... but for no reason other that "the books" say they should be! They are continuously breathing on their own with no need for stimulation, they are active and respond to us anytime we are at the bedside, and both vigorously sucking on their binky's! I will be able to feed them in the morning as they want to give them a night of rest. They are both on IV fluids to stay hydrated and antibiotics "just in case." We could not be happier! Above is Aspen... she looked so comfy we didn't want to move her for a better shot :) But trust us there will be plenty more to come! They are absolutely adorable and we are so excited they are here!
Here is little Miss Brooke just snug as a bug. I can't wait until I can just squeeze them both! John and Hannah are on their way here now and John said he can't get here fast enough as Hannah wants to see me and the girls "now"... :) He said she is so excited and is already talking about holding them and giving them kisses!
I only got a picture of Daddy with Brooke as the Doctor came to update us on the girls before we took a pic with Aspen. He basically said... "I'm here to see if you have any other questions... they're still doing perfectly and I don't expect that to change! Let me know if anything comes up!" It's so crazy since everything happened so quickly! But it has all turned out just perfectly! I am a quick walk across the hall from the girls and can go in to see them at any and all times! I have my own little "large" room that is wonderfully comfortable and can come and go as I please. They provide all meals for me and have been more than accommodating since we've shown up... it really is great! Will update again, probably tomorrow as I'm ready for some rest now! Goodnight!

They're Here!

We present to you! Aspen Hope Daurer 12:20pm 4lbs 11oz and Brooke Faith Daurer 12:27pm 5lbs 1oz!