Happy Anniversary!

Today is Andy and my 3rd wedding anniversary! Wow times flies, I can't believe it's already been three years.

Almost Hitched! And just minutes before the infamous "wine glass" incident!

The new Mrs. Singer is all smiles now that her groom is back from the ER!

You mean the crutches didn't come with the tuxedo?

Happy Anniversary Andy! Here's to MANY MANY more!

Our Life Measured in Diapers

Super tiny, tiny, size 1, and size 2

When we were in the NICU the girls were in the smallest diapers I have ever seen. Even the tiniest one looked big on them. Ellery in her months of life has been through 5 sizes of diapers already. She started out in microscopic, moved on to minuscule, then to pampers swaddlers newborns, then swaddler 1's and now onto the big swaddler 2's. Emily is still in the 1's but not for much longer.

To put the sizes into perspective - here they are next to a normal pair of household sizzlers.

Poor Emily! She now has enough hair that mom can torture her with crazy styles!

Our Life Measured in Diapers

Super tiny, tiny, size 1, and size 2

When we were in the NICU the girls were in the smallest diapers I have ever seen. Even the tiniest one looked big on them. Ellery in her months of life has been through 5 sizes of diapers already. She started out in microscopic, moved on to minuscule, then to pampers swaddlers newborns, then swaddler 1's and now onto the big swaddler 2's. Emily is still in the 1's but not for much longer.

To put the sizes into perspective - here they are next to a normal pair of household sizzlers.

Poor Emily! She now has enough hair that mom can torture her with crazy styles!

On the Charts!

This week the girls had their 6 month check up. Things are still going great and the Dr was so excited to see their progress. We haven't been in for two months and things have definitely changed since then. Ellery now weights 13lbs exactly and is 23 3/4 inches long. Emily weights in at 11 lbs 6oz and is also 23 3/4" long (although I don't believe that they are the same heights). Every time the girls go in they are compared to the full term baby growth charts and we are told that we are in the -5th percentile. I think this is the lowest you can possibly be. But, I also don't think it's fair to compare them to full term babies considering they are 3 1/2 months behind. Well, after today Ellery & Emily are now on the charts. Ellery is in the 5th percentile for weight, height and 10th percentile for head circumference. Emily is still -5th percentile for weight but her height and head are also 5th and 10th respectively. This is the best news ever. Just to make it onto the growth charts used by full term babies is so great!

September will be a busy month for us as far as Dr. appointments. We've got a follow up for eyes, a follow up developmental OT/PT, and a cardiologist appointment. Hopefully all goes well at each of those.

On the Charts!

This week the girls had their 6 month check up. Things are still going great and the Dr was so excited to see their progress. We haven't been in for two months and things have definitely changed since then. Ellery now weights 13lbs exactly and is 23 3/4 inches long. Emily weights in at 11 lbs 6oz and is also 23 3/4" long (although I don't believe that they are the same heights). Every time the girls go in they are compared to the full term baby growth charts and we are told that we are in the -5th percentile. I think this is the lowest you can possibly be. But, I also don't think it's fair to compare them to full term babies considering they are 3 1/2 months behind. Well, after today Ellery & Emily are now on the charts. Ellery is in the 5th percentile for weight, height and 10th percentile for head circumference. Emily is still -5th percentile for weight but her height and head are also 5th and 10th respectively. This is the best news ever. Just to make it onto the growth charts used by full term babies is so great!

September will be a busy month for us as far as Dr. appointments. We've got a follow up for eyes, a follow up developmental OT/PT, and a cardiologist appointment. Hopefully all goes well at each of those.

Swaddel-less Night #2

Was a complete bust!! The girls didn't sleep for longer than an hour at a time last night, until early this morning when I finally moved them into our room and they slept for a few hours. Even when they were sleeping in their cribs I could see them moving around and sleeping very restlessly. Not sure if that has to do with the missing swaddle or what. I'm hoping tonight goes a lot better. I'm starting to dread our bedtime routine or lack there of.

Swaddel-less Night #2

Was a complete bust!! The girls didn't sleep for longer than an hour at a time last night, until early this morning when I finally moved them into our room and they slept for a few hours. Even when they were sleeping in their cribs I could see them moving around and sleeping very restlessly. Not sure if that has to do with the missing swaddle or what. I'm hoping tonight goes a lot better. I'm starting to dread our bedtime routine or lack there of.

6 Months Old....Can You Believe It?

We're how old????

On August 16th, the girls turned 6 months old! I can't believe that time has gone by so quickly after their early entry and time in the NICU which seemed to go so slowly. I also can't believe that in 6 more months they'll be a year! Augh! I have to stop thinking ahead because it just stresses me out. We're going in for professional pictures this week, so I'm excited to see how that goes. I'm fairly sure that there will be tears from one, both, or actually all three of us. And I'm hoping the photographer has the magic touch because I can NEVER get both girls to look at me and smile when I'm taking their pictures. Mind you, they'll be looking at me and smiling all the time until I bring the camera out. Darn flash!!!

We go to the Dr this week so we'll have official weights, length, and hopefully an overall wonderful report! The Dr is going to be impressed considering the last time we went in was over two months ago. These girls have great head/neck control and are just so much bigger and stronger.

You know Emily is a true Singer when the phone isn't far from reach

Ellery's typical nap position. She likes to relax and be comfortable.

Emily & her belly! She's looking more like Ellery every day!

"I think I can, I think I can..." Ellery trying really hard to sit in the Bumbo. Not ready yet, but close.

Mom & Ellery Self Portrait\

Finally! We can sit out on the deck. Thanks Andy! To celebrate we had our first drink as a family out there last night. Ok, two bottles of formula and Diet coke, but still....

6 Months Old....Can You Believe It?

We're how old????

On August 16th, the girls turned 6 months old! I can't believe that time has gone by so quickly after their early entry and time in the NICU which seemed to go so slowly. I also can't believe that in 6 more months they'll be a year! Augh! I have to stop thinking ahead because it just stresses me out. We're going in for professional pictures this week, so I'm excited to see how that goes. I'm fairly sure that there will be tears from one, both, or actually all three of us. And I'm hoping the photographer has the magic touch because I can NEVER get both girls to look at me and smile when I'm taking their pictures. Mind you, they'll be looking at me and smiling all the time until I bring the camera out. Darn flash!!!

We go to the Dr this week so we'll have official weights, length, and hopefully an overall wonderful report! The Dr is going to be impressed considering the last time we went in was over two months ago. These girls have great head/neck control and are just so much bigger and stronger.

You know Emily is a true Singer when the phone isn't far from reach

Ellery's typical nap position. She likes to relax and be comfortable.

Emily & her belly! She's looking more like Ellery every day!

"I think I can, I think I can..." Ellery trying really hard to sit in the Bumbo. Not ready yet, but close.

Mom & Ellery Self Portrait\

Finally! We can sit out on the deck. Thanks Andy! To celebrate we had our first drink as a family out there last night. Ok, two bottles of formula and Diet coke, but still....

No Swaddle For Me Thank You

Last week I wrote about Ellery's ability to move down a hallway while swaddled and the week before about Emily flipping on her stomach while swaddled & sleeping. They girls also fight being swaddled, and early on I knew it was necessary because they had crazy arms all over the place. Because of those little incidences we tried only swaddling one arm in and leaving one arm out last week. I thought that this would maybe help the girls soothe themselves since they LOVE to touch their hair, face, suck on their hands, arms, basically anything that is within reach. Good news is it didn't cause them to sleep any less than they have been, but I don't really think it made a difference. Emily still rolled over and Ellery still put up a fight every night. So last night I decided to be brave and swear off the swaddle. We put the girls in a sleep sac and said good night. To my surprise they both slept a few hours longer than we have been lately (note - not as well as they had been sleeping prior to moving to cribs (sad)). I checked on them a million times and they always had their hands up or in their mouths. They didn't fuss any more or any less and the actually slept. I even found Ellery (not Emily) on her tummy at one point (I've never seen her roll over that way!). They say that once they can roll over by themselves it's not such a SIDS risk, but it still makes me nervous so I politely rolled her back over. We're trying it again tonight....wish us luck!

I'd post a picture of the cuties swaddleless, but I don't want you to frown upon my non-SIDS prevention related items in their cribs. Emily has a sleep positioner that I started using last week to keep her from rolling over...guess what...it works! Yes she does push it around her crib, but it usually ends up around her feet. I have a nice fuzzy blanket tucked into Ellery's crib in hopes that when i give her a bottle at 3am I can actually put her back to bed there and not in the pack n play. I think the girls think the mattresses are cold and hard (which they are!) and when they aren't in such a deep sleep as their first portion of the night, there's no tricking them! So far not working, but I'm not ready to give up. GASP! Baby Mommy! (Yes I do know you are not supposed to have ANYTHING in a crib but a tightly fitted sheet over the mattress. I'm desperate, OK!) I do use a breathable bumper and I find the girls with their faces pressed into it almost daily or I hear them smack their heads into the wooden crib slats over the baby monitor. I'm picking my battles. :)

No Swaddle For Me Thank You

Last week I wrote about Ellery's ability to move down a hallway while swaddled and the week before about Emily flipping on her stomach while swaddled & sleeping. They girls also fight being swaddled, and early on I knew it was necessary because they had crazy arms all over the place. Because of those little incidences we tried only swaddling one arm in and leaving one arm out last week. I thought that this would maybe help the girls soothe themselves since they LOVE to touch their hair, face, suck on their hands, arms, basically anything that is within reach. Good news is it didn't cause them to sleep any less than they have been, but I don't really think it made a difference. Emily still rolled over and Ellery still put up a fight every night. So last night I decided to be brave and swear off the swaddle. We put the girls in a sleep sac and said good night. To my surprise they both slept a few hours longer than we have been lately (note - not as well as they had been sleeping prior to moving to cribs (sad)). I checked on them a million times and they always had their hands up or in their mouths. They didn't fuss any more or any less and the actually slept. I even found Ellery (not Emily) on her tummy at one point (I've never seen her roll over that way!). They say that once they can roll over by themselves it's not such a SIDS risk, but it still makes me nervous so I politely rolled her back over. We're trying it again tonight....wish us luck!

I'd post a picture of the cuties swaddleless, but I don't want you to frown upon my non-SIDS prevention related items in their cribs. Emily has a sleep positioner that I started using last week to keep her from rolling over...guess what...it works! Yes she does push it around her crib, but it usually ends up around her feet. I have a nice fuzzy blanket tucked into Ellery's crib in hopes that when i give her a bottle at 3am I can actually put her back to bed there and not in the pack n play. I think the girls think the mattresses are cold and hard (which they are!) and when they aren't in such a deep sleep as their first portion of the night, there's no tricking them! So far not working, but I'm not ready to give up. GASP! Baby Mommy! (Yes I do know you are not supposed to have ANYTHING in a crib but a tightly fitted sheet over the mattress. I'm desperate, OK!) I do use a breathable bumper and I find the girls with their faces pressed into it almost daily or I hear them smack their heads into the wooden crib slats over the baby monitor. I'm picking my battles. :)

How Funny!

Recently I've seen a lot of posts about other people with blogs who have had photo's and text stolen from their site and used on other sites. For example, one blog that I read has been around for 4 years. Apparently someone has been stealing the pictures of one (not both) of the twins featured and passing it off as her own child complete with the story of the babies journey on some other website. The original blog author found out and exposed this fraud. But, there were many people who had been following this fraudulent story for almost 3 years. Someone has that much time that they'd blog for 3 years about a child that isn't their own? So strange.

So every once in a while I do a little Google investigate work to see what pops up. Today I actually found something that even had mom mom's name mentioned along with E & E in the little Google blurb listed on the page. I was a little nervous to see what it was, however...it's completely harmless. And in fact, it's a product I would highly recommend. We loved these onsies and the hats that went along with them. The fit was amazing and they were so darn cute! Our Dr's office especially appreciated them because every time we brought the girls in we'd put them in their personalized outfits so there would be no confusion.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Personalized-NEWBORN-baby-onesie-bodysuit-twin-infant_W0QQitemZ170250292718QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20080813?IMSfp=TL0808131053r18204

How Funny!

Recently I've seen a lot of posts about other people with blogs who have had photo's and text stolen from their site and used on other sites. For example, one blog that I read has been around for 4 years. Apparently someone has been stealing the pictures of one (not both) of the twins featured and passing it off as her own child complete with the story of the babies journey on some other website. The original blog author found out and exposed this fraud. But, there were many people who had been following this fraudulent story for almost 3 years. Someone has that much time that they'd blog for 3 years about a child that isn't their own? So strange.

So every once in a while I do a little Google investigate work to see what pops up. Today I actually found something that even had mom mom's name mentioned along with E & E in the little Google blurb listed on the page. I was a little nervous to see what it was, however...it's completely harmless. And in fact, it's a product I would highly recommend. We loved these onsies and the hats that went along with them. The fit was amazing and they were so darn cute! Our Dr's office especially appreciated them because every time we brought the girls in we'd put them in their personalized outfits so there would be no confusion.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Personalized-NEWBORN-baby-onesie-bodysuit-twin-infant_W0QQitemZ170250292718QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20080813?IMSfp=TL0808131053r18204

Good bye 20's.............Hello 30's!

As Andy so kindly put it......I'm now 3/4 of the way to being over the hill.

Good bye 20's.............Hello 30's!

As Andy so kindly put it......I'm now 3/4 of the way to being over the hill.

Oh Minivan How I Love You!

There is no way we could have gone away for the weekend without the Minivan! That thing was packed to the brim. I was determined to get everything in there! It's amazing how much stuff you need just for a weekend. Hopefully the next time we take a trip the girls are a lot older and use less things, otherwise we'll never get all the stuff in there!

List:
2 parents
1 80 lb dog
2 cute little babies
2 carseats
2 bouncy chairs
1 duffel of adult clothes
1 duffel of baby clothes
1 dog bed
1 HUGE stroller (but smaller than the limo length stroller)
2 boppys
1 bathtub
1 play mat still assembled because I'm too lazy to dis-assemble
1 bag of bottles & formula
1 bag of misc. items for colds & emergencies: vitamins, reflux meds, infant Tylenol, thermometer, nasal aspirator, saline drops.
1 diaper bag
4 extra blankets
2 baby carriers (bjorn & moby wrap)
1 ipod missing the cord to actually allow it to work in my car. ANNOYING!

I'm sure I'm missing some of the other very important things. It's amazing how much I brought. Even more amazing is how long it took me (ok still in progress) to unpack it all!

Oh Minivan How I Love You!

There is no way we could have gone away for the weekend without the Minivan! That thing was packed to the brim. I was determined to get everything in there! It's amazing how much stuff you need just for a weekend. Hopefully the next time we take a trip the girls are a lot older and use less things, otherwise we'll never get all the stuff in there!

List:
2 parents
1 80 lb dog
2 cute little babies
2 carseats
2 bouncy chairs
1 duffel of adult clothes
1 duffel of baby clothes
1 dog bed
1 HUGE stroller (but smaller than the limo length stroller)
2 boppys
1 bathtub
1 play mat still assembled because I'm too lazy to dis-assemble
1 bag of bottles & formula
1 bag of misc. items for colds & emergencies: vitamins, reflux meds, infant Tylenol, thermometer, nasal aspirator, saline drops.
1 diaper bag
4 extra blankets
2 baby carriers (bjorn & moby wrap)
1 ipod missing the cord to actually allow it to work in my car. ANNOYING!

I'm sure I'm missing some of the other very important things. It's amazing how much I brought. Even more amazing is how long it took me (ok still in progress) to unpack it all!

Weekend of Firsts

Seaside

This was a big weekend for us! We took the girls to Seaside for their first vacation. This was the longest we've driven in a car with them (it's only an hour and a half!), and it went remarkably well! The weather in Seaside wasn't so great, but we got in a few good walks along the promenade and checked out the volleyball tournaments on the beach.

The girls also came down with their first cold. :( Earlier in the week Andy was feeling a little under the weather and sure enough after a few nights of hourly wake ups (E & E are retaliating against me for putting them in their cribs and own room at night) I started to sneeze and have a stuffy nose. I did my best to keep away from the girls, but sooner than later their little noses were stuffy. Luckily that's all that happened. We had a few nights of stuffed up noses, but they still slept like usual, smiled, and ate like usual so we got off easy this time. I was hoping to keep them healthy until at least daycare, but I missed the mark by 3 weeks. Oh well. I'm sure this is the first of MANY.

Ellery knows how to relax while on vacation....conked out on the couch.

Emily in her first ever jogging suit.

How do they do it?
So I wasn't sure where to have the girls sleep while we were in Seaside. I figured I'd put them on the floor as that was most similar to their rock hard crib mattresses that we've been trying very hard to get them to sleep on during the last week or so. I was afraid Andy or Chloe would step on them at night, so i put them in the bedroom right next door. I had their feet up against a wall and I blocked off the underside of the bed so they couldn't roll under. I rolled up the sides of the blanket so they had a 4x3 area to sleep in. See below for how that turned out...............

Both girls started out a few hours before with their feet touching the wall and they were parallel to each other near the middle of the blanket. Three hours later, Emily went from a vertical position to a horizontal one, and Ellery found the one 6 inch spot where the pillow roll and wall didn't meet. Even while swaddled she made it to that tiny little opening. So, I moved them back to their original positions. Then later that night I heard crying. I asked Andy if he had brought a baby into our room because it was so loud. He said no, he didn't. I went to check on the girls and I guess what I see....................
Ellery had made it out the little hole again and was now laying in the hallway. These girls are swaddled - their arms are bound to their sides. How in the heck do they travel and move around is beyond me.

After I found her sister in the hallway I found Emily like this. She's now upside down and on the other end of the blanket. They are amazing!!

Ellery thinks it's hilarious that she made it into the hallway.

Picture Comparison

Ellery & Emily one week shy of 6 months.....

Ellery & Emily two weeks after coming home from the hospital (2 1/2 months old)

Weekend of Firsts

Seaside

This was a big weekend for us! We took the girls to Seaside for their first vacation. This was the longest we've driven in a car with them (it's only an hour and a half!), and it went remarkably well! The weather in Seaside wasn't so great, but we got in a few good walks along the promenade and checked out the volleyball tournaments on the beach.

The girls also came down with their first cold. :( Earlier in the week Andy was feeling a little under the weather and sure enough after a few nights of hourly wake ups (E & E are retaliating against me for putting them in their cribs and own room at night) I started to sneeze and have a stuffy nose. I did my best to keep away from the girls, but sooner than later their little noses were stuffy. Luckily that's all that happened. We had a few nights of stuffed up noses, but they still slept like usual, smiled, and ate like usual so we got off easy this time. I was hoping to keep them healthy until at least daycare, but I missed the mark by 3 weeks. Oh well. I'm sure this is the first of MANY.

Ellery knows how to relax while on vacation....conked out on the couch.

Emily in her first ever jogging suit.

How do they do it?
So I wasn't sure where to have the girls sleep while we were in Seaside. I figured I'd put them on the floor as that was most similar to their rock hard crib mattresses that we've been trying very hard to get them to sleep on during the last week or so. I was afraid Andy or Chloe would step on them at night, so i put them in the bedroom right next door. I had their feet up against a wall and I blocked off the underside of the bed so they couldn't roll under. I rolled up the sides of the blanket so they had a 4x3 area to sleep in. See below for how that turned out...............

Both girls started out a few hours before with their feet touching the wall and they were parallel to each other near the middle of the blanket. Three hours later, Emily went from a vertical position to a horizontal one, and Ellery found the one 6 inch spot where the pillow roll and wall didn't meet. Even while swaddled she made it to that tiny little opening. So, I moved them back to their original positions. Then later that night I heard crying. I asked Andy if he had brought a baby into our room because it was so loud. He said no, he didn't. I went to check on the girls and I guess what I see....................
Ellery had made it out the little hole again and was now laying in the hallway. These girls are swaddled - their arms are bound to their sides. How in the heck do they travel and move around is beyond me.

After I found her sister in the hallway I found Emily like this. She's now upside down and on the other end of the blanket. They are amazing!!

Ellery thinks it's hilarious that she made it into the hallway.

Picture Comparison

Ellery & Emily one week shy of 6 months.....

Ellery & Emily two weeks after coming home from the hospital (2 1/2 months old)

Emily & her buddy the zebra

Emily & Ellery -- never smiling at the same time, especially if there is a camera present

Emily & her buddy the zebra

Emily & Ellery -- never smiling at the same time, especially if there is a camera present

Big Girl Rooms

On Thursday we put the girls to sleep in their room & crib for the very first time. I put them in the same one because it was a lot more space than they were used to. They slept 8 hours and then woke up for their bottles. After that I couldn't get them to go back to sleep in the crib and at 3am I could only handle a certain amount of crying and getting up so i gave in and put them back in their pack n plays. Each night gets a little easier although they aren't in the same crib anymore. I quickly realized that even when they are swaddled they still can move all over. Thank goodness for the breathable bumper - every morning their little faces are smashed into the side of the crib and their feet are usually where their heads started out. The scariest part is this morning I found Emily on her TUMMMMMMMY!!! Swaddling and sleeping on your tummy do not mix, so it was a little scary. Hopefully she doesn't do it again tonight. I've heard that is a sign they are ready to stop being swaddled, but I these girls are so not ready for that yet.

Big Girl Rooms

On Thursday we put the girls to sleep in their room & crib for the very first time. I put them in the same one because it was a lot more space than they were used to. They slept 8 hours and then woke up for their bottles. After that I couldn't get them to go back to sleep in the crib and at 3am I could only handle a certain amount of crying and getting up so i gave in and put them back in their pack n plays. Each night gets a little easier although they aren't in the same crib anymore. I quickly realized that even when they are swaddled they still can move all over. Thank goodness for the breathable bumper - every morning their little faces are smashed into the side of the crib and their feet are usually where their heads started out. The scariest part is this morning I found Emily on her TUMMMMMMMY!!! Swaddling and sleeping on your tummy do not mix, so it was a little scary. Hopefully she doesn't do it again tonight. I've heard that is a sign they are ready to stop being swaddled, but I these girls are so not ready for that yet.