Our first week home

Having the girl home has been so much fun! I still think it was a much easier transition than anyone could have imagined. Andy and I feel rested and the girls are sleeping & gaining weight (so we must be doing something right). I'm also starting to really see that the girls are identical. There still is a pretty big weight difference, but they look more and more alike each day. You can pick out Ellery petty easily though....she always has her tongue sticking out. (But only once in the pics below)

Ellery & Emily


Ellery & Emily
You can find more pictures of our first week home here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=12fss1oo.8pwgzw3c&x=0&y=-rzc9cy&localeid=en_US

Our first week home

Having the girl home has been so much fun! I still think it was a much easier transition than anyone could have imagined. Andy and I feel rested and the girls are sleeping & gaining weight (so we must be doing something right). I'm also starting to really see that the girls are identical. There still is a pretty big weight difference, but they look more and more alike each day. You can pick out Ellery petty easily though....she always has her tongue sticking out. (But only once in the pics below)

Ellery & Emily


Ellery & Emily
You can find more pictures of our first week home here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=12fss1oo.8pwgzw3c&x=0&y=-rzc9cy&localeid=en_US

What a difference!!

This was Ellery & her beanie bear two months ago.... This is Ellery and the same bear now!


Here's Emily & her bear two months ago.....

And here she is now!

What a difference!!

This was Ellery & her beanie bear two months ago.... This is Ellery and the same bear now!


Here's Emily & her bear two months ago.....

And here she is now!

WOW!

Today we had our weekly pediatrician appointment. My favorite part is when the girls are weighted. We are used to them being weighed on a nightly basis in the NICU, since we've been home we've been wondering where they are at. Are you ready for this???......Emily now weighs 5lbs 5oz and Ellery is 6lbs 1 oz. I can't believe how fast they can gain. Just a month ago the girls were 3lbs and 2lbs.

WOW!

Today we had our weekly pediatrician appointment. My favorite part is when the girls are weighted. We are used to them being weighed on a nightly basis in the NICU, since we've been home we've been wondering where they are at. Are you ready for this???......Emily now weighs 5lbs 5oz and Ellery is 6lbs 1 oz. I can't believe how fast they can gain. Just a month ago the girls were 3lbs and 2lbs.

Emily & Ellery

Emily & Ellery

The first 24 hours

Well we made it through our first day with twin babies pretty smoothly if I do say so myself. Last night was a little questionable however. In the NICU I was convinced our girls didn't cry, were very quiet, and slept in between each feeding. Last night was just the opposite. Just as i finished my blog post last night and turned off the lights I hear a blood curdling scream. WOW where did that come from??? Emily was awake and MAD. This continued for the entire night with each girl trading off. Of course they were perfectly content if we picked them up and comforted them. I finally was able to sleep about 5am and both girls fell asleep. Not what i had planned for our first evening. Luckily by morning they were sleeping and quiet and continued like that for the rest of the day. This happens to many NICU babies when they get home. The NICU is loud and bright so sleeping in a dark and quiet room is not what they are used to. Hopefully we can transition to dark and quiet very soon. :) We LOVE having these little girls home!!!

The first 24 hours

Well we made it through our first day with twin babies pretty smoothly if I do say so myself. Last night was a little questionable however. In the NICU I was convinced our girls didn't cry, were very quiet, and slept in between each feeding. Last night was just the opposite. Just as i finished my blog post last night and turned off the lights I hear a blood curdling scream. WOW where did that come from??? Emily was awake and MAD. This continued for the entire night with each girl trading off. Of course they were perfectly content if we picked them up and comforted them. I finally was able to sleep about 5am and both girls fell asleep. Not what i had planned for our first evening. Luckily by morning they were sleeping and quiet and continued like that for the rest of the day. This happens to many NICU babies when they get home. The NICU is loud and bright so sleeping in a dark and quiet room is not what they are used to. Hopefully we can transition to dark and quiet very soon. :) We LOVE having these little girls home!!!

Welcome Home!

After 60 days in the NICU, Emily & Ellery have finally come home! We always thought they'd be there at least 10 weeks, but since they have done so well they are home after 8 1/2 weeks. They are officially 2 months old today. They had all their immunizations over the weekend and while some of them were a little harder on the girls than the others, we are finally feeling much better. Ellery could have come home yesterday but we knew Emily was being released today so we decided to bring them home together so the girls didn't have to be separated. We've been home for 3 hours and so far so good. We've done diapers and one feeding and other than that they are sleeping. Well not quite, right now they are making all kinds of noises. I can't tell if they are awake or sleeping but they aren't crying so I think I'm good. I'm not sure how the night will go considering I'm paranoid that they are too hot, too cold...the list goes on. Everyone else may sleep well except for me.

Ellery now weights 5lbs 9oz and is about 17 inches long. Emily is 4lbs 10oz and is also about 17 inches long. So hard to believe that they started out about 2 lbs and 13-14 inches long. They are still pretty small and aren't supposed to spend very much time in thier car seats so for the next few weeks our only trips out will be to all of our Dr appointments.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, well wishes, and positive thoughts. We could have faced a very difficult road filled with lots of compliations but instead we were very lucky and so far have no major issues. I am sure it's becuase these little girls had so many people rooting for them. Andy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!

Emily in her car bed. She's still too small for a normal infant car seat.

Ellery in her car seat

Home sweet home!
E & E's room finished just in time. They won't be sleeping in there just yet, but it's finished.

Welcome Home!

After 60 days in the NICU, Emily & Ellery have finally come home! We always thought they'd be there at least 10 weeks, but since they have done so well they are home after 8 1/2 weeks. They are officially 2 months old today. They had all their immunizations over the weekend and while some of them were a little harder on the girls than the others, we are finally feeling much better. Ellery could have come home yesterday but we knew Emily was being released today so we decided to bring them home together so the girls didn't have to be separated. We've been home for 3 hours and so far so good. We've done diapers and one feeding and other than that they are sleeping. Well not quite, right now they are making all kinds of noises. I can't tell if they are awake or sleeping but they aren't crying so I think I'm good. I'm not sure how the night will go considering I'm paranoid that they are too hot, too cold...the list goes on. Everyone else may sleep well except for me.

Ellery now weights 5lbs 9oz and is about 17 inches long. Emily is 4lbs 10oz and is also about 17 inches long. So hard to believe that they started out about 2 lbs and 13-14 inches long. They are still pretty small and aren't supposed to spend very much time in thier car seats so for the next few weeks our only trips out will be to all of our Dr appointments.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, well wishes, and positive thoughts. We could have faced a very difficult road filled with lots of compliations but instead we were very lucky and so far have no major issues. I am sure it's becuase these little girls had so many people rooting for them. Andy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!

Emily in her car bed. She's still too small for a normal infant car seat.

Ellery in her car seat

Home sweet home!
E & E's room finished just in time. They won't be sleeping in there just yet, but it's finished.

My babies are big!

This is the cake from my shower this weekend. Thank you everyone who was there as well as my gracious hostesses!!!

Ellery is going to be 5 lbs before we know it. She's growing out of her preemie clothes. Tonight she was weighed and weighs in at 4lbs 13oz. Emily also had a big milestone today...she's now 4lbs .02 oz. They are getting so big!

The girls will likely be coming home sometime in the next few weeks and I know everyone is anxious to meet them. Andy and I can't wait to have them home so we can hold them, change diapers, and feed them when ever we want without having to ask permission from a nurse. However, they are still very tiny and their immune systems are fragile so we will likely limit the amount of visitors they have at home. We also will be steering clear of any group gatherings or parties for quite a while. At first Dr appointments will be the only activities outside of the house. Please don't be offended if we ask you to wait a while before visiting, we have to be extremely cautious of everyone coming into the house as well as anyone Andy or I are around. The Dr's tell us daily that contact with someone will a common cold could cause major set backs or re-hospitalization with the girls if they should catch the cold or virus. So that also means being around other school aged kids or kids in daycare will be off limits for quite a while. When we do allow visitors I will be slightly obsessive about everyone washing their hands and also not touching the girls hands. I will apologize in advance for being a germ freak, but would LOVE it if I never set foot in the NICU again, so I will do anything possible to make sure that doesn't happen.

My babies are big!

This is the cake from my shower this weekend. Thank you everyone who was there as well as my gracious hostesses!!!

Ellery is going to be 5 lbs before we know it. She's growing out of her preemie clothes. Tonight she was weighed and weighs in at 4lbs 13oz. Emily also had a big milestone today...she's now 4lbs .02 oz. They are getting so big!

The girls will likely be coming home sometime in the next few weeks and I know everyone is anxious to meet them. Andy and I can't wait to have them home so we can hold them, change diapers, and feed them when ever we want without having to ask permission from a nurse. However, they are still very tiny and their immune systems are fragile so we will likely limit the amount of visitors they have at home. We also will be steering clear of any group gatherings or parties for quite a while. At first Dr appointments will be the only activities outside of the house. Please don't be offended if we ask you to wait a while before visiting, we have to be extremely cautious of everyone coming into the house as well as anyone Andy or I are around. The Dr's tell us daily that contact with someone will a common cold could cause major set backs or re-hospitalization with the girls if they should catch the cold or virus. So that also means being around other school aged kids or kids in daycare will be off limits for quite a while. When we do allow visitors I will be slightly obsessive about everyone washing their hands and also not touching the girls hands. I will apologize in advance for being a germ freak, but would LOVE it if I never set foot in the NICU again, so I will do anything possible to make sure that doesn't happen.

7 Weeks

Emily & Ellery are now 7 weeks old. On Tuesday they are 34 weeks gestational age. The main goal is to just eat, sleep, and grow. Ellery now weighs 4lbs 8oz and Emily weighs 3lbs 13 oz. Both girls are taking bottles for every other feeding and their heated bed has been turned off so the nurses can check to see if they are regulating their own temperatures. So far so good. Andy gave his first bath to Emily this weekend. He was a pro!

First matching outfits!
Ellery being weighed

Emily being weighed

If you compare these pictures to some of the earlier pictures without clothes you can see a HUGE difference in the girls.

7 Weeks

Emily & Ellery are now 7 weeks old. On Tuesday they are 34 weeks gestational age. The main goal is to just eat, sleep, and grow. Ellery now weighs 4lbs 8oz and Emily weighs 3lbs 13 oz. Both girls are taking bottles for every other feeding and their heated bed has been turned off so the nurses can check to see if they are regulating their own temperatures. So far so good. Andy gave his first bath to Emily this weekend. He was a pro!

First matching outfits!
Ellery being weighed

Emily being weighed

If you compare these pictures to some of the earlier pictures without clothes you can see a HUGE difference in the girls.

Baby Shower

Diaper Cake by Lindsay Williams

Yummy Cupcakes!

This weekend I had another baby shower. It was so much fun & it was great to see all my girlfriends. Thank you all for the amazing gifts!!

The girls are doing well. They are gaining weight like crazy. Emily now weights 3lbs 7.2oz and Ellery is 4lbs 1 oz. FOUR POUNDS! I can't believe how big they are getting. Its hard to imagine how tiny they started out.

Aside from the baby shower this weekend I was busy getting the girls' nursery put together. Once it's finished, I'll be sure to post pictures.

Emily

Ellery & Emily

Ellery after her bath

More bath time for Ellery - now in a real baby tub not a bed pan.

Ellery after bath in her Daddy's girl sleeper

This is what we do every day...change diapers and take temperatures.

Ellery & I

Baby Shower

Diaper Cake by Lindsay Williams

Yummy Cupcakes!

This weekend I had another baby shower. It was so much fun & it was great to see all my girlfriends. Thank you all for the amazing gifts!!

The girls are doing well. They are gaining weight like crazy. Emily now weights 3lbs 7.2oz and Ellery is 4lbs 1 oz. FOUR POUNDS! I can't believe how big they are getting. Its hard to imagine how tiny they started out.

Aside from the baby shower this weekend I was busy getting the girls' nursery put together. Once it's finished, I'll be sure to post pictures.

Emily

Ellery & Emily

Ellery after her bath

More bath time for Ellery - now in a real baby tub not a bed pan.

Ellery after bath in her Daddy's girl sleeper

This is what we do every day...change diapers and take temperatures.

Ellery & I