Cuteness

It's true what people say about twins wanting to be close to each other. Even though we put them in bed about a foot apart, they scoot towards each other! I went in to wake them up from their morning nap and this is how I found them. Brandon is the "scooter" He scoots up the crib and then over to be closer to Connor. Connor doesn't move much, other than towards the edge of the crib. Their little heads are touching!!! SO CUTE


Brandon finally hit the 9 pound mark...9 pounds 4 oz and Connor is about 10 pounds 8 oz.

They have been sleeping REALLY well at night...knock on wood. I'll put them down after their 11 pm feeding and they'll sleep until about 4 or 5! I think we're getting closer and closer to being able to skip one of the late night feedings...YAY! More sleep for me! I'm starting them on a regular nap schedule now too. They doze in and out all day, but I'm putting them in their crib an hour and a half after they wake up in the morning for at least an hour and a half. I'm still playing around with their afternoon nap time....not quite sure what is going to work best for them. It's time to really start sticking to a schedule for them. Hopefully they can be on a good schedule before Eric leaves...in 6 short weeks :(

Update

Brandon is finally feeling better! He responded really well to his breathing treatments, and is able to keep food down now. Sometimes, he'll start coughing, then he'll choke, and he'll spit up...more like SPEW up! I thought we had gone all day today without any spitting up, but I spoke too soon. We put the boys to bed, and Brandon was fussing REALLY loud. When I went to check on him, he had spewed up in bed and rubbed his face in it. He had it all over his face, jammies, and hair. Poor little guy.

This is the picture that he'll hate us for later! HAHAHA
Here's Connor looking right at Eric when he snapped a shot. He hit the 10 pound mark this week!
We're starting tummy time for the boys. They try for a few minutes, and then pass out. I just put blankets over them and leave them. We don't wake sleeping babies around here! They moved and scooted to be by each other...how cute! They do the same thing in their crib too.
After a trip to Kohls for some new clothes for me and the boys, we all took a nap. These boys never pass up a good snuggle. Sometimes it's hard to hold them both, but we manage.

Brandon's 1st trip to the ER

Let me first say, Brandon is just fine! Here's what happened...

Thursday morning, Brandon started throwing up at his 3 and 7 am feedings. I called the pediatrician and was told to give him Pedialite for 24 hours, then institute breast milk back in at every other feeding. On Friday, I packed up both boys and headed to the pediatrician's office to have Brandon looked at before the weekend. He started a nasty cough and had green stuff coming out of his nose and mouth. With him being a preemie, I didn't want this to turn into RSV! The home health nurse that comes to check on Connor told me there is a nasty respiratory virus going around and there have been NICU babies re-admitted to the PICU floor and actually put on ventilators. I DEFINITELY didn't want Brandon to get that sick! Anyhoo...the pediatrician checked him out from head to toe. His blood count came back normal, so whatever he has is viral and all we can do is wait it out. His lungs were clear, so no worry about RSV. He started to keep breast milk down, so I thought we were on the up and up. Today, he started throwing up again, only because he was coughing so hard that he would choke himself. I put him back on Pedialite, but his coloring got really pale and he looked blue around his mouth. To play it safe, I packed him up and headed to the Children's ER. Luckily, we were put in a room and seen by the doctor really quickly! That's one benefit to having a preemie. He listened to Brandon and determined that his lungs were still clear. He ordered a chest x-ray to be safe and also a breathing treatment for him. A respiratory therapist came in and administered the breathing treatment. What a difference that made! It seemed to calm him down and he seemed to feel better instantly. X-ray was backed up about 3 hours, so we decided to cancel the x-ray. The doctor said his lungs sounded even better after the breathing treatment and felt confident that he could head home. So, we were sent home after 4 hours with a nebulizer so we can continue breathing treatments at home 3 times a day until this virus clears. I just fed him his normal feeding and he has tolerated it really well. We've done everything we can to keep the two boys apart to prevent Connor from getting this, but since it's viral it's hard to keep it from spreading.

Because of this virus and other viruses going around right now, we're going to have to keep to ourselves and not allow visitors for a while. Sorry to seem like overprotective parents, but we can't afford for these boys to get sick right now. I'm getting over the flu and another case of mastitis myself, so we're just going to be hermits for a while so we can all get better. Feel free to call us anytime though.

Keep Brandon in your thoughts as his little body fights this virus!

Watch out down below!

The boys and I went up to the Sicily Drop Zone this morning to watch Eric jump from 800 feet!!! It's a really cool thing to see if you ever get a chance.

Eric all dressed up in his gear
Loading up...
The plane starting to take off...
still taking off...
Here they come...
There they go!
Falling...
A sky of paratroopers
Here's the final landing.

Love from the family

My family came in town this weekend to meet the boys for the very first time. Mom, Dad, Ann, Gabe, Noah, Bri, and Jason all arrived on Friday and spent the weekend with us. They came at a great time with Connor just getting home. There were tons of feedings, diaper changes, naps, burps and gas going on in our house all weekend long. It was really nice to spend the whole weekend with them since we all rarely get to see each other...especially all at the same time. Needless to say, Mom and Dad are very proud grandparents of all 3 of their grandsons.

The proud grandparents
Auntie Annie holding both of the boys...pulling double duty

Two Happy Boys

Two Happy Boys...enough said!!!

Baptism

Today, Easter Sunday, Connor and Brandon were baptized into the Catholic Church. It was a beautiful ceremony and neither of them cried until we took pictures after mass.

Connor
Brandon
THANK YOU SO MUCH to Ann, Gabe, Bridget, and Jason for coming into town this weekend and standing up as the boys' godparents. Also, thanks to Grandma Karen for making their beautiful Christening outfits....they looked store bought, but they were handmade with love.
The proud grandparents
Thank you to Trish and John for taking pictures and video taping for us. Here's a picture of Trish and Lucas with us. Lucas is 4 weeks older than the boys!

The Boys Together

Here are a few pictures of the boys together...FINALLY! I would love to hug the person who invented the Boppy pillow! They are perfect to lay the boys in while I'm getting their milk ready or trying to take a potty break. If one was crying, the other was content, then vice versa!


Car seat mania!!!
Connor seems really happy to be home and be by his brother.

At this very moment, 12 am, they are both sleeping soundly in their bedroom. I hope to take a quick hour nap or so before they start to wake up for their next feeding. My next goal is to get them on the same schedule and STICK TO IT! They're eating at the same time, but their sleeping is just a little off. I'm glad my family will be here this weekend to help us ease into caring for 2 newborns at the same time. Bring on the chaos!

Connor's Homecoming!!!!

CONNOR CAME HOME TODAY! No more trips to the NICU everyday, no more rushing breast milk to him, no more cuddling him in a hard wooden rocker, no more phone calls in the middle of the night to check on him, and FINALLY the boys can be together. I have to say, that I will definitely miss all the nurses though. They all took excellent care of our boys, and it helped me not worry about them! They are just as happy as we are that he got to come home today...it's time! He was discharged weighing in at 8 lbs 14 oz!!!

Connor's very last picture in his NICU bed...which he almost outgrew!
Connor being mad at me for putting on his monitor. Eventhough he went one whole week without an any apnea spells, he will still be on a monitor for a few months just to make sure! It's already gone off a few times at home, but his body immediately corrects itself...which is what it's supposed to do.
Connor in his car seat. He fits much better in it than Brandon did in his when he came home. He really doesn't need the blankets around his head, but I left them there just in case.

My parents, sisters, bro-in-laws, and nephew are on their way to NC this weekend and I CAN'T WAIT! Bridget is the only one who has seen the boys, but she hasn't held them both yet. This should be a fun weekend of family togetherness!