I heart Fridays!

Oh so there are many reasons to be excited about Fridays around here. It means Brent will be home for 2 whole days keeping us company and lending an extra set of hands. I'm sure that many times he's busier on the weekends than he is during his work week!

Also, the sweet cleaning ladies come on Friday mornings. It forces me to keep up with a few things around here during the week to make their 2 hours here on Friday that much more productive. Having a clean house is indescribably umm nice? For lack of a better word - it just helps me breathe better and allows time for better focus on more important things.

I am sitting here with my Pink and Blue Avenue babies. There is a store here in town that was started by 2 lactation consultants. I LOVE it and so do my friends apparently...I looked at the babies sleeping the other day and noticed that literally everything they had on and were sleeping in was a product from that sweet little boutique. Ha - "spoiled already," I thought. Really the things Brent and I purchased there were out of sheer umm - necessity...desperation really. When the babies were screaming literally all night and we couldn't get them to lie down in the Cosleeper when they were flat we began fumbling around with different ways to prop their heads up - then we found the Nap Nanny (and angels sing here). It is basically this chaise lounge for babies that allows them to contour their bodies in a way that comfortable for them. That along with placing them in tight swaddles on their sides has helped IMMENSELY!! Their Wubbabnubs also came from there and have been so so handy. Mary Louise was a bit slow at gripping things with her hands so I was looking for way to provide a more constant reminder. Enter, Wubbanubs. Really a basic idea that entails sewing Soothie pacifier to a little stuffed animal to allow a longer handle for the little one to hold on to. After a few days of "exploring" the new soft item dangling from her mouth, Mary Louise has become quite attached to her Clifford (what we call her big red dog paci). She sleeps clutching the little guy tightly under her arm and gets excited when she sees that we are bringing him to her. So funny! I've never seen a baby so small get so attached to a toy before. David has his ducky which he seems to like as well - though doesn't clutch so tightly. He still goes back and forth with his favorites - between the ducky and the tiny purple NICU paci that's really too small for him but he likes anyhow. So, those are my product plugs for the day. The rest of the oh so fabulous items we have from there have been gifts from friends I think - other than the Adiri bottles.

Another "milestone" or more like a pebble really was toppled yesterday. I found socks in our vast collection of baby socks that FIT!!! and both babies have a pair to boot. I am so excited! Their feet and legs have been so tiny that no socks, booties, etc. would stay on their little toes. So, I'm happy to say that the smallest of the small new born socks have started to properly cling to their feet finally. I know it sounds like a silly thing to fret over but at every doctor's appointment, the first thing we do is take their clothes off - but I can usually leave a hat and socks on. Believe it or not, with the 40 degree doctor's office, the hat and socks really do help keep the little ones from freezing during the exams. Anyhow, I am excited that our little ones are growing from their sweet perfect noggins right down to their toes!

Also, Mary Louise laughed TWICE yesterday in response to me playing with her and making faces. David is a bit more serious in general (if you get too excited over him, he furrows his brow with disapproval for your ridiculousness while Mary Louise spreads a big silly grin on her face). It's so fun to watch them react to the world around them.

We've had a couple of cautious visitors pass by in the past few days as well. I am always so excited to show off the little ones to our closest family and friends. I have been quite sad lately about having to keep them so isolated but remind myself all the time that it's just the best thing for them long term. Anyhow, we appreciate everyone being so respectful of our strict boundaries. Please know that this is incredibly difficult for us and we would truly like nothing more than to shout our news of Mary Louise and David's homecoming from the rooftops and have a mass parade with them on display (honestly - I would!). Unfortunately the reality of our fragile situation is a constant nagging in my life (and I suppose in consequence, it is for the blog readers as well)- we (gulp) start RSV injections in another week or 2 and I get a lecture at least once a week from one of their doctors on the importance of hand washing and isolation.

The little ones are continuing to grow like weeds!! Such an amazing thing to watch really as their little cheeks develop - small rolls on their legs peek out. Mary Louise was 6 pounds 10 ounces at her cardiologist appointment earlier this week and David was 5 pounds 7 ounces here at the house yesterday!! I went back and looked at the photos of their delivery and was just in awe of how far they have come! Their strength to simply survive is nothing short of incredible to me. In keeping my end of a promise I made to the 2 of them way back when...I still break out with a smile at every dirty diaper and cherish their little fussy moments (and who am I kidding - their out right tantrums, though trying, I still view as a blessing).

Having said that. The fits do provide some rather interesting and tense moments around here. The night before last, I slept (I kid you not) from 12:30am to 1:30am. I did get another 15 minutes or so at about 4:45 but other than that, nothing but screaming. When I tell you I did everything I knew to comfort these guys...So at 5 am, with nary a Brent in the house (he had gone to work in a totally exhausted state), a desperate and red-eyed Heather had had her limit. David was completely inconsolable. I had rocked him, repositioned him, fed him, changed his diaper...twice, given him his colic and acid reflux meds, sang to him, walked with him, talked with him...so I gently placed him in his nap nanny and took a moment to regroup. I went outside, took a deep cleansing breath under the carport, admired the roses in the garden, and stepped back into my world with a new sense of purpose and determination. David and I rocked and rocked and rocked and I hummed until he finally fell asleep (along with Mary Louise) long enough for me to shower, dry my hair and eat a proper breakfast!!! I was a new mom after that and although more exhausted than I ever thought I could possibly be, I snuggled peacefully with my grumpy brood for the rest of the day. Last night they were MUCH better and slept well between feedings. Mary Louise eats rather consistently every 4 hours - sometimes earlier and David is definitely every 3 still (and you'd better be ready with a warm bottle at that time missy!).

This weekend, I think Brent's parents are coming for another visit with their favorite grand babies (though I'll have to confirm that) and a friend from nursing school is set to pass by as well. So, it should be fun at any rate. Yay for family time!

Love, Heather

P.S. umm - that Gripewater stuff - so does not work for us - in fact, it debatably makes things worse! (although the worse part could be due to my utter disappointment in my supposed quick fix). So that's my gripe about Gripewater - pft.

Some new photos! (gotta get all I can on here while it's quiet!)

August 2009