For MoMs by MoMs: Pregnancy and Birth Story

As I mentioned last week I never would have imagined becoming a mommy of multiples.  Alex and I had started talking about the possibility of getting pregnant in the fall of 2010 but hadn't really started trying yet. I had been off the pill though for a few months because I wanted to give my body plently of time off of it before I tried to concieve.  We began trying in December that year.  I casually tracked my ovulation time using an online calculator and we decided to go for it.  The next year, a few weeks later in January of 2011 we were both stuck at home for a week due to an ice storm that hit the Atlanta area.  It was during that week that I knew I should be getting my period any day and I began to wonder if maybe our first time trying had worked.  I got anxious and had my poor husband walk to the story in the ice (at the time we lived in an apartment at the bottom of a large hill and about 2 miles from the closet drug store).  He was happy to get out of the house though.  He came back with a test and I took it.  We saw a faint pink line and I really thought that meant I wasn't pregnant.  I was bummed but knew we had just started trying.  Our upstairs neighbors came over that night to play cards (we were all bored) and we casually mentioned that we had taken a pregnancy test that day but it just had a faint pink line. My sweet friend/neighbor looked at me and said, "Ashley, that means your pregnant!"  I think hubby about fainted because we were both convinced I wasn't. She told me to take another one the next day and see what I got but she was pretty sure there was no such thing as false positives, faint or not.  The next day I made hubby walk to the store again and get a digital pregnancy test.  He got back, I took it, and it said PREGNANT! Wowzer!  We were excited and also very nervous.  I called the doc the next day and got an appointment for the following week.

We went into the office the next week and met with the P.A. for an initial ultrasound.  I was so nervous that maybe we weren't really pregnant or that something had happened in the last week.  The doc was so sweet and gave us a transvaginal ultrasound.  She explained that sometimes early in pregnacy (I was about 4-5 weeks along) that we wouldn't really be able to see much yet.  She turned the screen towards her and said if she saw something she would turn the screen so we could see it to.  She found what she was looking for and asked us if we saw the little black dot on the screen. We said yes.  She said that was the sac the baby grows in.  She then moved the "stick" a little more.  She said oh wow.  She then said do you see the other black dot there on the screen.  We again said yes.  Not having any clue what that meant.  She said I don't want you to get your hopes up just yet but we are probably looking a multiples here.  I was silent.  I started to cry and squeeze hubbys hand.  I didn't know what to say, I was in such shock.  Alex finally said so when you say multiples you just mean two right, not any more right?  I laughed and the doc said no sir just two babies.  She scheduled us to come back in the next week to see if we could see heartbeats. 

The apt was in the morning and we both had to go back to work.  We really didn't have time to process but were both really excited and shocked but in a good way.  Again, never thinking we could have twins we felt this was a crazy, awesome gift from God.  I called my mom on the way back to school as she was waiting to hear from me on how the apt went.  I very nonchalantly acted as if everything went wonderfully then I said that the doc did tell us something rather interesting.  I told her that I had emailed her a pic of the ultrasound and for her to open it. She opened it right away and I asked her if she noticed anything unusual about it.  She said no I just see two black dots.  I said oh you see "two" do you.  She still didn't quite get it and so finally I said mom, they think were having twins.  Her reaction was priceless.  She couldn't believe it at all.  Her reaction was so very similar to everyone we told.  We had a hard time keeping it a secret we were so excited.  Plus, we had never really discussed not telling people until a certain time because we knew we would need support and prayers if anything did happen to our babies.

We went in the following week and saw the heartbeats and thus began our crazy pregnancy journey.  The first trimesester I was very lucky.  No real sickness, just major fatigue.  I mean major fatigue.  It was all I could do to get through the school day.  I would come home and fall on the couch and not leave until I went to bed.  Alex was a trooper though and took good care of me.  The second trimester I felt much better, we moved into a new house, decorated the nursery, and went on many out of town trips (including 3 wonderful baby showers).  Like most of you, I went to my ob once a month and my high risk ob once a month.  I enjoyed the high risk ob apts the most because of the 3d/4d pics I got at every visit. We found out a 16 weeks that we were having two girls and I was over the moon. Everything in my life then became pink, pink, pink!

I made sure to schedule everything that I wanted/needed to do before my third trimester started because most of the research I had done on twin pregnancies indicated bed rest or at least taking it very easy during those last few months.  The last few events I attended were in June including my best friends wedding and a baby shower in my hometown.  The end of June/ beginning of July began to get very uncomfortable as I was getting very large and it was hard to do much of anything for very long.  I might get out once a day but that was pretty much it.  It was also the dead of summer in Georgia so I didn't want to go outside much.  A warm/hot bath became my best friend. It was hard to sleep with all the peeing and constantly switching from side to side when I felt pain in my hips from the pressure. 

At my 28 week apt with my high risk OB they were a little worried about baby A (Addie's) weight compared to baby B (Allie).  They were a little more than 20% discordant and they don't like to see that. I began to have BPP's? tests each week from that point on.  That meant going to the doc twice a week, three times if I was scheduled to see my regular OB as well.  Luckily, school was out for the summer so pretty much all I did was go to the doctor (and stop at Moe's on the way home for a yummy burrito)!  These apts consisted of on Tuesdays having the babys heart rates monitored for 30 min and then on Friday having an ultrasound to check their blood flow, growth, and oxygen levels.  Everything always looked great. 

At 32 weeks, I was hanging out on the couch watching TV on a Monday morning and I started to feel like I feel when I get my period.  Really crampy.  I didn't think much of it until it didn't go away after about an hour and seemed to be getting worse.  I called the doc just to be in the clear (I didn't call hubby or my mom because I didn't want to worry them if it was nothing).  The doctor asked me what I was experiencing, told me to drink a glass of water and lay down for an hour.  If they didn't go away, to call back and come into labor and delivery.  I did what she said but they were only getting worse. I called her back and drove over to l & d.  My hubby met me there (I finally called him).  We didn't really know what we were in for. I didn't feel like I was in labor but I knew something was going on. When they finally got me hooked up to the monitors I was having contractions 2 to 4 minutes apart. Holy manoly! I was given 3 shots of turbutiline and this did nothing to calm them down.  I also had the hormone test to see if I was going into labor in the next two weeks. That came back negative thank goodness. The doc also checked to see if I was dialated and luckily I was not.  I was given the shots to mature the babys lungs and then started on a drug called procardia to take every 3 hours for the duration of my pregnancy to keep the contractions down.  I spent the night in the hosptial and was released the next day with strict bedrest instructions.

My mom and grandma flew from NC the next day to help take care of me.  We were so blessed that they could come.  It was 5 weeks from the date I was scheduled to have my c-section so we really didn't know what we were in for.  I continued taking the medicine and going to my doctor apts. At 33 weeks, on my birthday I started to feel the cramping pain again. I didn't think much of it this time but after several hours of it I called the doctor and again was sent to l & d.  I was given more shots and discharged later that night. 

During my 33 week doc apt my blood pressure was a little high.  I was sent home with the 24 hour urine test and given lots of blood work.  Everything came back fine so they said they would just continue to monitor it and I was to make sure I stayed in the bed.  This was really hard for me but I did the best I could.

At my 34 week BPP test, on a Friday the nurse noted that once again my blood pressure was slightly high.  I then went in for the ultrasound where I was told that baby A's kidney had a slight issue.  Nothing to be too concerned about but something they would continue to monitor.  For me, it was scary finding out that my baby could potentially have something wrong with her.  They wanted to take my blood pressure again before I left to see if it had gone down since I had gotten there.  It hadn't, it had gone up.  My mom and I were convinced this was because they had just told me about the kidney issue but the doc insisted that I be checked into l & d for testing since it was the weekend and she couldn't get any results from her office until Monday.  They wheeled me to l & d (our doc office is connected to the hospital).  It was my third time there and honestly I was mostly annoyed because I thought for sure I would be going home again without my babies.  I ended up spending the night there along because hubby had to go let my mom and gma in the house due to a key mix-up.  I told him I would be fine by myself and the nurses would take good care of me.  They did!

The next morning I was feeling good.  I had several rounds of blood work done and thought I would be all in the clear to go home later that afternoon (I still had to wait on the 24 hour urine test to be complete).  My mom, gma, and hubby arrived to the hosptial about 10 AM and hubby asked if he could go mow the grass since my mom and gma were there.  I said sure and he left.  About lunchtime my mom and gma went to the cafeteria and gift shop just to walk around and eat.  I was tired and told them I was going to take a nap while they were gone. I drifted off and about that time heard a knock at the door.  My high risk ob came in.  She said that my blood platlets were steadily going down and my blood pressure had not decreased.  She said she still needed to consult with my OB but it might be possible that the babies would need to be delivered sooner rather than later.  Being the positive thinker I am I thought that meant maybe at 35 or 36 weeks instead of the 38 weeks we had planned for.  She left and I settled into watching tv.  A few minutes later the on call ob knocked at the door.  She explained that since my blood platlet level was rapidly declining that I had to deliever within a few hours if I wanted to be awake for the procedure (they were afraid I might bleed out). 

I then started freaking out.  I tried my mom on the phone but her reception wasn't working in the hospital.  I called my hubby but he was mowing the grass and his phone was inside.  I called a slew of other people in the meantime and finally my mom and gma came back.  I didn't get in touch with hubby for another hour and he literally had to race to get to the hospital in time. He finally made it about the time I was getting my epidural.  Holy cow!  I think we were all in shock and racing on aderenline.  We couldn't believe how fast everything was happening.  My OB had told me that it would be up to the anestelogist if I could be awake for the c-section and luckily she gave the okay.  Within 3 hours we were in the operating room waiting on the babies.  I couldn't believe the number of people in the room but I have to admit I was feeling great after the epidural kicked in.  I literally joked with my OB throughout the procedure.  When she held up my two girls and I heard their crys I have never been happier in my life.  They were 5.1 lbs and 5.5 lbs which were great weights for 34.5 weeks. Hubs got lots of great pics and it seemed like it was over in a flash.  The girls both had to have c-packs to assist with their breathing and were carted off to the NICU rather quickly.  Hubby went with them and I was wheeled to recovery.  It all really felt like a daze but thankfully due to the medicine I wasn't as worried as I probably would have been otherwise.  The nurses kept reassuring me that the babies were doing well.  Finally after about an hour hubby found me and told me that the babies were great and then he was off again to see them.  They had a hard time finding me a room and I was left in recovery for almost 3 hours.  I evenutally got really annoyed because I was all alone and hadn't seen my family, babies, or husband in a long time.

I got to my room about 8:30 that night, we had the girls at 5:28 and 5:29. I finally saw my parents and grandparents. I still had not seen my babies and kept asking when I could.  My nurse told me that my cathedar and hosptial bed were not allowed to be wheeled into what they call the transition NICU. (It was basically the high risk NICU) and so I would not be allowed to see my babies until the cathedar came out the next day and I could sit up in my wheel chair.  I was devastated.  My family went down and took lots of pictures but that was not good enough.  I cried and cried all night. I called the NICU several times to check on them and each time cried on the phone with the NICU nurse.  Apparently they are very used to this because they tried to be so comforting to me. The only good thing I found out during that night was that both babies were now breathing on their own.  Such a tremendous blessing. 

My nurse finally gave me something to help me sleep and I woke up at about 9 am the next morning. She said the cathedar would come out at 11 and I could try to sit in the wheelchair then.  I tried but as soon as I lifted my head up, I became very nauseous and got sick. It was decided that I had to wait a little longer.  After taking more pain medicine, I was finally wheeled to see my babies at about 1 PM on Sunday afternoon (It had been 15 of the longest hours of my life).  I was so nervous- how would they look?  Were they okay?  They were on opposite sides of the room from each other and I remember having a really difficult time deciding which to go to first.  I just cried when I saw them, they were so precious.  I was the first one that got to hold them (besides the nurses of course) even though my family had seen them the night before.  I sat there for hours holding them until my eyes were literally closing and the NICU nurses told me I had to go back to my room.  I went again later that night after getting some rest and we were then briefed by the NICU peditrician for what we could expect.  The girls had to stay in the transition NICU until they were strong enough to go to what they called the feeders and growers NICU.  That meant that they had to be at least taking 2-3 bottles per day on their own out of 8 feedings.  When they finally got to the feeders and growers NICU they had to make it to 8/8 feedings on their own before they would be released home.  It was very hard to hear that we could have a long road ahead of us but I felt relieved that they were in such good care.  They also told me to begin pumping immediatley as breast milk worked wonders for NICU babies. I met with a lactation consultant that afternoon and began doing what I felt was the only thing I could do for my girls at the time.  My milk came in the next day and we took every drop to the NICU. The girls did awesome and were transfered to the feeders and growers section 3 days later.  I was discharged home and kept up my strict pumping schedule. My mom, gma, and I would go see the babies every morning, come home and I would rest, and hubby and I would go when he got home from work at night.  I tried breastfeeding at every visit but it was very difficult for the girls to latch. I kept up the pumping though and though they had to supplement for added calories they never went without breast milk.  We got to learn how to change their itty, bitty, tiny diapers, give them baths, and feed preemies (which is quite a challenge).  It was so difficult to go through but looking back I needed the time to heal and so did they! 

We brought them home 13 days later!  It was predicted they would have to stay until at least their due date and they made it home an entire week before.  My prayers were answered.  It was so nice to have them at home and not have to make the trip to the hospital twice a day anymore.  My mom and gma were still here with us and were the best help in the world.  We had quite the journey ahead of us but we were so blessed with two beautiful little girls!

And that's our story- yes it's a long one!

For MoMs by MoMs: Introducing Me!

I am so excited about this link up and am hoping that it will encourage me to do better at blogging. I tend to read blogs everyday but rarley write on mine. So here's my story...

I never imagined (I mean NEVER imagined) I would one day be MoM (Mom of multiples).  I (Ashley) always knew I wanted to be a mom but never thought multiples was in the realm of possibilty for my husband and I.  Alex (hubby) and I had been married a little over a year when we decided to start trying to have a baby (it was right around Christmas time). I thought it would for sure take several months as I hoped to be pregnant by that summer- I was at the time a high school English teacher and I am a major planner- babies would have to fit the PLAN!

I guess God thought my plan was pretty funny because we found out we were expecting the very next month. I sometimes feel guilty that we didn't struggle with pregnancy but then I remember how truly blessed I am.  Most people; however, expect that if you have twins they either come from your family history or were a result of infertility treatments.  It's amazing how much you really learn about twins when you get pregnant with them. 

After getting over the inital shock of finding out we were having twins, I was over the moon with excitment.  I researched everything twin related and began coming up with names and planning our nursery.  I had a plan for boy/boy, girl/girl, or boy/girl.  I really never had any idea what we would have but secretly I wanted two girls.  I got my wish and we found out at 16 weeks that we were having fraternal twin girls.  From then on out I went nuts with pink girly stuff.  I also told my principal that I would not be coming back to work the next school year and would instead transistion into the role of a SAHM.  A role which I have come to love- though it has its days for sure.

My girls were born on August 13, 2011 after a 34 week apt where my blood pressure had spiked and I was checked into the hospital for observation.  I had been on bed rest for a month and was going to the doctor 3 times per week at this point with two hosptial stays for preterm contractions.  (more on all that next week).  The girls were over 5lbs each when they were born, though they did have to have some oxygen and thus were sent to the NICU.  They stayed in the NICU 13 long days and then we got to bring them home! That was the second best day of my life. 

They will be 9 months old this Sunday and I can hardly believe I have made it this long.  They are the sweetest girls in the world and I honestly can't imagine my life without them in it.  I feel like the most blessed mommy in the world when I see their beautiful faces every morning.

Other multiple blogs have been my outlet and my source of information.  I greatly appreciate reading about others successes and struggles. It truly makes me feel like I'm not along in this crazy multiple world! :)

Photo Shoot

So the girls and I met up with our wonderful friends Heather and Violet today so Heather could take some pictures of the girls.   I thought they came out really well- please excuse my squinting-I can't seem to do anything else in pictures. Thank you to Heather for taking our pics. :)

7 Months!

Well folks- my baby girls are 7 months old. I can hardly believe it!  Time is going by so quickly.  The other day I was thinking that this time last year I was just a few months pregnant with these two and just imagining what they would be like.  Every thought I had almost revolved around them and their arrival and now I know their personalities and get to see their pretty smiles everyday.  I am truly blessed!

This past month has been interesting for sure as we battled through the twins first sickness.  I realized though how lucky we have been that they have stayed healthy for so long.  I'll talk more about the sickness later in the post.

At the beginning of this month was Valentines Day.  My mom purchased them an oh so cute outfit (shown below) and they looked just adorable.  On V-Day we had a playdate with my friend Heather and her daughter Violet!  This is a weekly treat for us and great friend time for mommy. That night we cooked Daddy dinner and gave him his v-day cards. The rest of the week we relaxed and met up with our friends. We went to our small group (full of friends for mommy, daddy, and girls).  Our weekly routine (when we are healthy) has turned into a really nice time filled with great friends and fellowship!

The next week we went to Jackson, AL to visit my Annie (my g-ma) for her 70th birthday.  The girls did great while there and we all had a wonderful time.  The girls had great fun with all the family that was there to hold them and spoil them every minute.  Their cousin Avery was such a big help and loved spending all her time away from school with the girls.  The girls got to enjoy my great-g-ma Boots who is 94 and also visit my great-great Aunt Tommy and Uncle JR who are Boot's age and not doing that well.  It was a wonderful visit and we were sad to leave.  I also was able to find an amazing double jogging stroller for $60 at this place called Dirt Cheap in Jackson. It was brand new and is listed on Target.com for $221.  I was super excited.

Now back to the sickness...towards the middle of our trip I started not feeling great.  I usually have a time with my allergies when I get there and two days before we arrived the pollen appeared.  Pollen and I don't get along.  Luckily, Annie and my sweet cousins took great care of the girls so I could get some rest before we traveled home.  On Saturday night before we left, I started to notice that Addie was coughing and had a runny nose.  She had a cold previously this winter but never had the couging so that concerned me a bit.  When we got home on Sunday it seemed a bit worse and by Monday I was convinced that I needed to take her to the doctor.  The doc confirmed she had bronchitis brought on by RSV and a double ear infection. She sent us home with breathing treatments and an antibiotic for the ear infection. She also gave me extra tubing for the nebulizer because she said that most likely Allie would also start to develop symptoms.

Allie began couging the next day so I started her on breathing treatments as well.  Having two babies getting breathing treatments every 4 hours is to say the least not very fun. I felt like they were newborns having to wake them up every four hours to give them a treatment.  The treatments because they are steroids caused them to be very jittery and they did not go back to sleep easily.  For a good week I didn't get more than an hour or two sleep at a time, but it was all worth it because by the end of the week Addie was much better.  Allie, however, began to run a fever and not act herself (both girls had been pretty happy throughout the whole thing).  I took her temp Thursday night and it was 100.9 and the next day she kept a pretty consistent fever.  I took her in the doc Friday and they told me she was fine and the fever might be from a sore throat.  We went home and I continued to rotate tylenol and motrin for her.  She had the fever consistently until late Sunday night into Monday morning. On Monday, I took her back to the doctor because I was just not convinced she was okay and they told me she had a double ear infection as well. She has no been on antibiotics for 24 hours and we are hoping that we are all getting better.

This weekend because I was so sick of being cooped up in the house we took the girls out both Saturday and Sunday.  In their stroller for the whole time to keep them sort of contained from germs or passing them to anyone else.  We had a great time at Marietta Square- ate lunch at this very neat place called Hemingways (Alex and I being nerds enjoy the literature connection) and then to the new Kroger which we just love!  On Sunday we didn't have church or small group being that it was FIA (faith in action) day and we didn't feel thevgirls were well enough to be exposed to others if we went and helped out.  We hung out at home most of the morning and then were planning to go to Piedmont Park but ended up eating at the Varisty (a classic downtown Atlanta legacy) and going to Walmart.  While not the most exciting of activities it sure was nice to spend time together and get out of the house.

Okay, so now I have updated what we did this month but now let me tell you a little about the girls and how they have grown/changed since last month.

Addie- I believe she is about 16 1/2 lbs by now.  Last Monday at the doc she was 16lbs, 5oz.  She loves, loves, loves her solids!  She opens her mouth for each and every bite and gets very upset if I don't feed her fast enough (it's quite a show when I am feeding them both by myself- I usually use one spoon and give one a few bites and then the other- but they don't like AT ALL when the other is being fed and tend to cry until it is their turn again). Addie loves to roll and roll and roll. I think she could defintley sit up on her own if she didn't want to go right to standing.  She will sit for a minute but then just flips over to roll some more. She is extremley strong willed however so I'm not sure if I can get her to do anything she does not want to.  I think she also wants to crawl and has great leg power but just can't quite get her arms to cooperate. She still does not have any teeth but I think it won't be long now.  She chews on everything she can get her hands on.  Both girls have become very interested in toys recently, but espically Addie- she loves to grab at them.  She is pretty impressive when she holds a ball- I think she might be an athlete after all.  She is sleeping really well at night but has to have her paci and baby(a little animal head/blanket body) with her at all times.  She is super affectionate and likes to touch her hands to your face and give you kisses (well sort of).  When she is mad, she's really mad and you have to fix it.  There really is no self-soothing with Addie.  If she wakes up during the night, I know I have to get a bottle fast or she is going to scream. 

Allie- Yesterday at the doctor Allie weighed 17 lbs and 4 oz.  She is still our little chucker but in all fairness she is 1/2 inch taller than her sister.  She is not as interested in solid food and would prefer bottles.  I am not sure if this has something to do with the fact that she has teeth and the spoon feels weird to her.  Anyway, she makes some great faces when we give her something new that she isn't too sure about.  When she is really past the point of hungry she won't even consider eating solid food and just spits it out and crys for her bottle.  I have literally never seen a child get so excited over a bottle.  She kicks her feet and starts to pant/grunt. It's too funny. And if we have the bottle in our hand and we are holding her she will take her mouth and hands to try and grab it.  I think we are going to have a hard time weaning her off eventually. She is still such a sweet baby but because of all the sickness is having a really hard time sleeping latley.  She has a hard time getting settled but luckily with her she can self-soothe to a point. Most of the time a little crying is necessary to get her to go to bed. This weekend when she was running a fever she slept with us and she loved that.  I know that's not the best thing to do but hey it worked.  Allie still only has two teeth but the doctor said yesterday she is working on some more.  She is also sitting up pretty well. She last about 5 min before she topples to one side or the other (I will post pics below).  She is also trying so hard to crawl. She has gotten the rocking back and forth on all fours down and I don't think it will be long before she is moving.

Overall, the girls are doing great.  They have become so much fun and are doing new things daily.  I am super nervous but also excited about what the next months will bring.  I know when they finally figure out how to move I will never sit down again.  We are working on doing some baby proofing and the nice part about all this new movement is it really tires them out.  They are taking really good naps during the day which gives me some nice time off to either take a nap myself (happens many days- shh don't tell Alex) or do something around the house.  Somehow I still don't quite get it all done, sometimes I just choose playing with them over my chores.  Our laundry pile can attest to that very well!

As for me- I have applied for a job next year and am planning to apply other places as teaching jobs are listed. As much as it has been a hard decision, I think going back to work is the best decision for us right now.  If I don't get a job, however, I am considering keeping another child(ren) or tutoring.  We defintley could use the extra money and I need a little time outside the mommy world.  I am praying that the right thing works out.  I know God is leading us down the right path and will reveal a plan in time. 

It has been a great 7 months.  Happy Birthday babies!  I love you!

Enjoy pics below!  I know I take A LOT of pics of my kiddos and I'm slightly obssessed with collages from Picasa- please forgive me! :)

Matching or Coordinating?

So as a mom of twins, espically twin girls, I get asked often if I always dress them alike or not.  I must say most days my little sweet girls rock matching outfits (I've even been known a time or two if one girl spits up or has a blow out and needs an outfit change to change the other one just so they will match- I know you're thinking I'm crazy and I admit I am sometimes-it's something to do with my very type A personality). 

Anyway,I frankily think they are cute when they match and have been told by many moms of twins that I better dress them alike now because when they get older they will not go for it at all.

Recently though, I've been feeling that sometimes I would like them each to have their own color or style but still match in some way. I have started to buy (let me rephrase that- tell my family- mostly my mom) to buy coordinating outfits. Today the girls wore one of those outfits (see below) and I must say I found them to be too cute!  We may do more coordinating in the future!

Are they really 6 months old????

The first time they wore something that didn't have a "girl" color in it- they were called boys all day. Really people?

My sweet Allie

Look at that face... she always has this wide-eyed deer in head lights look- some say she takes after her father- hmm?!:)

Sweet babies

Addie- not sure what she is doing here

Pointing at mommy- no more pics please!

Playing on the floor- you can really see how big they have gotten here!

The girls are 6 months old...I can't really wrap my head around that right now...it does not seem llike it has been 6 six months and yet it seems longer. Some days I feel like a seasoned mom of multiples and some days (mostly the days where I have run myself ragged and am functioning on little sleep) I feel as if I will never figure it all out.  Each day is a wonderful adventure and I am so enjoying watching them grow and learn new things. Here is a little update on each girl and also on our family as a whole.

Addie- the girl is full of personality. She can be so sweet and happy and then completley mad and screaming in less than 60 seconds. We used to think she was the laid back child but she has changed on us. She has the best smiles but sometimes you have to work to get them out of her. She weighs 15.4 lbs and is 26 1/2 inches long. She does not have any teeth yet but I think she's working hard on getting some. She constantly has her hands in her mouth and trys to chew on everything she can. She began rolling over several months ago and now really wants to crawl or do something but can't quite figure it out yet. She really likes her Jenny Jump up and does not like to be held for long. She is squirmy and very independent. She likes her baby food and pretty easily will eat new things. However, during a feeding she plays with her bib to the point that there is not much point in even putting one on her. She chews on her fingers while I'm trying to put the food in her mouth. It is a messy situation to say the least. I think that Addie is going to be a very strong willed and independent kid who has a mind of her own. I think she is going to be very much like me in the curious department, always getting into everything. She already seems to have an old soul (I know that's weird to say about a baby), but she is just so serious compared to Allie. I love watching her think about things and find it so sad how fast she seems to be growing up.

 

 

Allie- Allie is defintley the baby of the family. She loves to be held by either Alex or I and she is giggly and happy most all of the time. Her hair has really grown latley and her bottom two teeth are coming in. When she does cry, it's really more of a whine. She learned to roll over at my mom and dad's house a few weeks ago and now loves to roll over all the time. Though she didn't begin her life this way, she has become quite the happy-go-lucky baby. She won't take her paci much anymore so comforting her when she wakes herself up is hard. She usually must cry for a little while and she will calm back down. She is still a bit of a bully to Addie mostly because she is the bigger baby. However, I think when they get a little older, Addie will be the leader and Allie will be the follower. Allie gives these great doe-eyed looks with her big, blue eyes that will just kill you they are so cute. She is 16.1 lbs and 27 inches. Sometimes she looks like such a big girl that I just want to cry. My babies are growing up way too fast.

 

 

Overall, we are doing really well as a family. The girls and I enjoy our days together, meeting with our friends or running errands. We are still working on deciding whether or not I should go back to work next year. I will post on that later. We recently bought a mini-van and totally love it. Alex is doing great in his job and has been traveling more recently but luckily not too much. We have really settled into the groove of having two kids. Like I said, there are still days when we feel stressed or tired but those are not the majority anymore. Sleep traning really helped us (a whole different blog post). We are enjoying a new small group, church, and just time together (just the four of us). The girls are at a really fun age and we are enjoying just getting to know them a little more each day. The past six months have been so challenging but honestly the best six months in our lives. Everyone always tells you that children change you and it is so true. We love being parents to these two girls and really can't imagine our lives without them. Life with multiples is very interesting and I'm sure we will expereince many challenges along the way but we feel so blessed to have the most beautiful, sweet, and wonderful daughters we could have ever asked for. I never thought I would say this, but I would go back and do it all over again (well, maybe) :)