Blogging for Three

The Birthday Party!

2010-07-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

At last, some photos of the big event!

Piper & Knox are 1!

2010-07-19T20:15:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from the big day. We waited to have their party on Saturday and there are a lot of great pictures from that day, but unfortunately none of them are on my camera! I'll post some photos when I can get them from our guests! We did get a video of the cake eating - and it was definitely a hit with both Piper and Knox, but especially Knox! We'll post that on YouTube because it'll never upload to the blog. I'll send out a link when it's up.

We need to get a video of Knox walking, too. He's getting a little more steady on his feet and sometimes he's able to take 4, 5 or even 6 steps before he falls down. But he never does it on command so I haven't been able to capture it on video. Piper is still cruising around on the furniture (or around other people), but she's not taking steps on her own yet. She did try to take a couple of steps toward me today but she quickly landing on her bottom. I know it's only a matter of time now until both of them are running (and most likely in opposite directions).

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T19:06:00.001-07:00

Holiday greetings from our little patriots!

Story time

2010-06-23T18:18:00.001-07:00

Everyone keeps asking if Piper and Knox are walking yet. They're not quite there yet, but Knox will take a step or two if you hold onto his hands and both are "cruising" around the furniture. Here is a quick video from tonight's storytime. I think Piper will be the reader...

Eleven Months!

2010-06-16T20:09:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when we try to get the monthly photos now!

Ten Months!

2010-05-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Piper and Knox turned 10 months old on Saturday! It's hard to believe that in just two months, we will start measuring their age in years :) We are working on lots of new things in preparation for their first birthday. In addition to standing and cruising around the furniture, we're working on a few basic signs for milk, eat and more and we're working to learn to drink from a cup and use a spoon. Hopefully we'll be able to master the cup and spoon by July so we can get rid of the bottles once and for all and start eating "big people" food for every meal.

Look at us!

2010-05-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, posts are getting few and far between because mommy and daddy are swamped, but here are some recent pictures. Piper and Knox and getting big and with the way they're pulling up to stand in their gated area, walking can't be far away!

Nine months!

2010-04-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it, but Piper and Knox turned 9 months old last week! It's getting MUCH harder to capture them on film together, especially with the blocks :) Someone is always hightailing it toward the camera or grabbing at the blocks or putting a hand in their mouth. Or all three. And the weather hasn't cooperated in getting another wildflower photo for the last two weekends, so we have to make due with the Easter picture!

We have lots of updates along with our 9 month old picture! Piper and Knox are getting much better with their finger foods. They can actually get the Cheerios into their mouths most of the time now, along with tiny cheese cubes, bits of banana and mango and little bites of toast.

We had to move both crib mattresses down because the babies had figured out how to pull up in their cribs - kneeling or standing in them and threatening to topple out! The babies have also mastered sitting up in the grocery cart (and mommy is quickly learning which stores have double carts!) And last night I ordered new car seats - Knox is about 1/2" from officially outgrowing his infant car seat! So we'll make the switch next weekend which means saying so long to the bucket seats and the snap and go stroller. From here on out, babies will be going from the car directly to the stroller, instead of staying snapped into their carseat "buckets." And when we take them to a restaurant, they'll sit in an actual highchair!

Time is sure going quickly! I'll get some videos posted when I can so you can hear them chattering, too.

Piper Crawls!

2010-04-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

I know you've all been worried about Piper's crawling ability :) She's stubborn and still seems to sometimes revert back to her "commando crawl" with her belly on the ground. But here's proof that she can actually crawl when she wants to!

Her brother is a speedy crawler now - check it out (if you look closely, you'll see him whiz through the corner of Piper's video as well!)

Piper's Easter dress

2010-04-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Piper was a little more cooperative later on at home. Here she is jumping in her Easter dress that Grandma Pam-Pam sent!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

We tried to take our first bluebonnet photos yesterday. Thanks to Lady Bird Johnson, every resident of Texas must take photos of their children in the bluebonnets each spring. Piper and especially Knox clearly didn't get the message yesterday! I think they were just mad when they learned that they are too little to eat chocolate!

Piper tries a rice cake

2010-03-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here is Piper trying a rice cake. She is a bit more adept at feeding herself than Knox is (although neither of them have mastered Cheerios yet!). Notice the nice scratch she gave herself during her nap one day this week. Poor thing!

Knox Crawls!

2010-03-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's official, Knox can crawl in a forward motion as of yesterday! Check it out on the video. I'm sure that Piper isn't far behind she's not going to let her brother leave her in the dust!

Lindi & Matt visit - Part 2

2010-03-17T19:03:00.001-07:00

Ok, here are the pictures from Lindi and Matt's spring break in Austin!

I think they had a good time visiting. The twins definitely enjoyed it :) But I know that our weather was a huge improvement over Michigan - sunny and in the 70s every day. They checked out campus and Stubb's for live music and of course we had plenty of Mexican food and bar-b-que! And I think we went to Amy's for ice cream almost every day. We were sad to seem them leave, but it's back to finish up junior year before another summer working in Charlevoix. It's hard to believe that in just over a year, Lindi will be a college graduate!

Eight months old!

2010-03-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest photo - the babies are getting so big!

Lindi & Matt visit

2010-03-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's been a busy couple of weeks here in Austin! Last weekend Chad and I went out to LA for Helena's big wedding celebration. Those of you who went to our wedding may remember Helena as the officiant at our ceremony. She had a really fun celebration at a restaurant in LA on March 7th and Chad and I got to have our first weekend away from twins. They stayed back in Austin with my Aunt Tracy and her friend, Emily. Or rather, Emily and Tracy stayed at our house with the twins! Although we missed the babies terribly, it was great to have a weekend away. I must admit that I spent a lot of time catching up on my sleep! And I'm told that Knox and Piper were angels all weekend. I'm not sure if I completely believe that, but they look pretty happy in these photos!

Then when we got back to Austin, my niece, Lindi and her boyfriend, Matt, came to spend their spring break with us! I'll post more about their visit a bit later - I hear some babies who are definitely ready to get up from their nap!

Seven months old!

2010-02-22T12:20:00.001-08:00

Ok, I'm a little late posting this from last week, but here is the 7 month photo. We were just getting ready for a walk! The babies are doing really well with solid food - they eat cereal and fruit and veggies twice a day and although same days are messier than others, they're doing well. We're looking forward to starting some finger foods soon :)

They're getting really close to crawling these days - in fact, Chad says they ARE crawling - but basically they only go backward and they go at a GLACIAL pace! So we are enjoying these last few weeks (days?) before they become mobile and chaos ensues!

Pam Pam Visits for Valentine's Weekend

2010-02-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

Amazing!

2010-02-02T15:19:00.001-08:00

This is a thing of beauty! Both babies holding their own bottles :) Knox has gotten quite good at feeding himself, but Piper still prefers to have someone else hold her bottle. Goes better with her high maintenance image, I guess!

New pics

2010-01-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

We've been pretty quiet on the blog lately. Daddy has been on a looooonnnngggg business trip (10 days in Slovakia and Las Vegas) but he's coming home tomorrow! On Monday night, I took the babies to see a free concert with Spoon at our cool record store, Waterloo. I think they enjoyed it - what's not to like about good music, people watching and nice, sunny warm weather in January?! Special thanks to my friend, Emily, who has been helping me to take care of them over the past few weeks (and for donning the Baby Bjorn carrier w/Knox at Spoon!)

Six months old!

2010-01-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe it, but the babies turned six months old yesterday! At his appointment yesterday, Knox weighed 16 lbs, 8 oz!! Piper was 15 lbs, 9 1/2 oz. As you can see, Knox is definitely filling out - he's a sturdy little boy. Piper has a more slender frame and at 26 inches tall, she is 1/2 inch shorter than her "little" brother.

Sleeping through the night!

2010-01-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is a picture of the twins' new "playroom!" We've relegated most of the their toys to this dog free zone. There is a nice soft mat under the whole area that should make it easier once they start to crawl and pull up to standing. We also got them these little chairs - so funny how they sit up and laugh at each other! Of course, nothing entertains either one for very long - but it's all about containment!

Last week I decided it was time for everyone to get some more sleep! So we started following our schedule VERY carefully. Three naps a day at very specific times and no more than 3 hours of sleep during the day. We've cut back to five "meals" a day (two featuring a bottle and solid food) and baths as part of our nightly bedtime routine. It's a lot of work - and we're definitely not as flexible as we were - but I'm happy to say that we've had three good nights in a row - the babies have slept until 6:30 or later the last three mornings with minimal waking (and no feedings) during the night. So I guess we'll be sticking to that schedule! I'm sure the solid food is helping, too but at this point, I don't want to change a thing!

New Year, New Food, Schedule, Playroom...

2010-01-13T19:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted, but we have been busy with big changes since the new year! We started with solid food (rice cereal) on the 1st and have been working our way up to twice a day and this week started on vegetables, too (Sweet potatoes and squash - poor babies!) As big as it seems that the babies have gotten, they look pretty tiny in their highchairs!

Knox took pretty quickly to solid food and now he's eating like a champ. It's messy, but he quickly grasped swallowing his food and he seems to like it all.

But poor Piper didn't take very well to the plain rice cereal. She was really excited and opened her mouth up wide for the first bite, with a big smile on her face. Then as soon as the cereal touched her lip, she made the most hysterical face. We tried to capture it with the camera but she was too quick! But let's just say it wasn't a happy face! Here is a few bites later. Since she seemed to hate the plain cereal so much, I found a rice cereal with apple to try. I'm not sure if she's just used to the texture now or if it's really that much better, but the apple cereal seems much more appealing to both of them. Although Piper still has a quite a way to go to master the technique for eating solid food! She has mastered rolling over, though, and now turns over and sleeps quite comfortably on her tummy every night. And she's almost sitting up. Or rather, she sits up but can't quite keep herself in that position and pretty quickly slumps to the side or the front!

I'll save the pics of the new "playroom" for the next post!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

Apparently Piper isn't excited about 2010! Or maybe she just doesn't like her tiara :)

Baby it's cold outside!

2009-12-27T16:05:00.001-08:00

Brrrrr!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T06:43:00.000-08:00

Twins!

2009-12-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here are Piper and Knox in their new holiday sleepers from Pam Pam. It's amazing how much alike they look when we put them in matching outfits!

Piper Smiles

2009-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

It's really tough to catch them when they smile, but I swear, they smile and laugh all of the time now! Here is the closest thing to a smile I've captured for Piper (with Pam Pam)

Pam Pam Visits!

2009-12-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

Pam Pam came to visit last weekend and we had lots of fun. Here are Knox, Piper and Shelby all watching as Pam and I make cookies!

It's hard to believe that the babies turn 5 months old this week! Can't wait to hear what they weigh now. They seem huge to us :)

Piper and Tracy

2009-12-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from Aunt Tracy's visit last week. I think I have these exact same pictures of me with Tracy when I was a baby!

Granddad and JJ Visit

2009-12-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pics from a recent visit with Jerry and Janis. Knox is cracking up Granddad!

Piper Speaks!

2009-11-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, shrieks is more like it, but she is making noise, and a lot of it! Nothing that we can understand, of course! And in addition to extremely loud shrieking (not when she's upset, she just thinks it's fun to make noise), she's also started laughing which is pretty entertaining.

I know it's been pretty quiet here on the blog - lots going on with the holidays quickly approaching, job hunting, and a nanny that quit (I'll save that for another post!). But we did go to our 4 month checkup and these babies just keep growing! At four months, Knox weighed 13 lbs. 13 1/2 oz and Piper weighed 13 lbs, 5 oz. Crazy! And they seem to get bigger every day :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T12:17:00.000-08:00

We are four months old!!

2009-11-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

Poor Knox!

2009-11-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

If you've been following the pictures closely, you may have noticed that Knox's hair is getting pretty thin. Poor guy, he's not even four months old and he already has a "comb-over!" The pediatrician said that they might lose their hair (something about the trauma of being born causing their hair to stop growing for a few months, and so really he's just losing his hair normally, but since there is no new growth, it seems like he's going bald). Luckily, Piper's hair seems to be staying put. Or possibly hers is just thicker so it's not as noticable (poor Knox got mommy's straight, fine hair!). In any case, at first we thought that maybe his hair was just looking thin because his head was getting bigger (and thus his hair is more "spread out" on his head!) But after a bath, the evidence is there...poor guy! Although I can't feel too bad for him because my hair is falling out these days, too. They say that pregnant women don't lose their hair, so 3 - 6 months after giving birth, all that hair that stayed put all those months starts falling out. Luckily I'm not dealing with a comb over (yet), but I do seem to be "shedding" all over my clothes!

Sleep Habits

2009-11-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

We've really been working on standardizing our nap schedules for the past few weeks. Some days are better than others, but wow, when Piper and Knox both nap at the same time, it is heaven :) We've also been working on more naps in the crib vs. in the swing or the bouncy chair or on the couch (or on mommy or daddy!) Again with varied success. Piper is a really good napper - in her crib, the swing, even on the mat under the activity gym! And she'll sleep for two hours easily - sometimes even three or four hours.

On the other hand, Knox isn't a very good napper. I guess he takes after his mommy. You can just see on his little face how he's afraid to fall asleep because he might miss something! So he fights sleep until he's overtired, and then gets cranky before he finally passes out. Or I should say, he gets as cranky as Knox ever gets. He's still the smiliest, happy little boy! He wakes up happy and generally stays that way all day, unless he gets really hungry or really, really tired.

Piper is also quick to smile these days, but she is also quick to let us know if she's not getting her needs met! But it's usually just that she's hungry, or gassy, or maybe bored!

We moved Piper into her own crib a couple of weeks ago because the babies were getting too tall to lie cross-wise next to each other in the same crib :) Not to mention that, even completely swaddled, they are both moving around in the crib. Most mornings I come in and someone -often both of them - has moved from lying longwise in the crib to lying almost completely cross-wise. A neat trick without use of your arms and legs (they are still sleeping tightly swaddled in blankets). One day I think Knox completely turned - he started the night with his head at one end of the crib and ended it with his head at the other end of it. We think it shows real patience and determination since they basically make small movements to turn themselves (think of a clock ticking). So this weekend I had to put the bumpers in both cribs because I keep finding Knox with his head right up against the solid side of the crib and I'm afraid he's going to slam his head against it one night in his rotation around the crib!

Here are a couple of pictures showing the evidence (notice how both of them have also worked one arm free of the swaddle!)

Boo!

2009-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Don't be scared!!

New photos!

2009-10-29T07:47:00.001-07:00

Piper and Knox enjoy a game watching/going away party for our friends, the Fitzgerald's who just moved to Annapolis.

I've posted the latest pics of Piper and Knox on Snapfish - here is the link to the new album:

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1329027012/a=100051087_100051087/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Good Morning!

2009-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Darn Wolverines

2009-10-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to a game watching party with the Michigan alums in Austin. Piper was not happy with the result of the game (actually, none of us were, but Piper was the most vocal about it!). Knox is just resigned to the fact that this will be another depressing season for the Michigan Wolverines. Luckily the Longhorns had a better day against Missouri.

Meleys in the Pumpkin Patch!

2009-10-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of the cool, sunny weather last Saturday to take some pictures in the pumpkin patch. Here we are waiting for the Great Pumpkin!

Fall is here!

2009-10-12T13:26:00.001-07:00

Brrrrr! It's getting really cold here! But don't feel too bad for us, it's supposed to get back up to the 80's later this week :) We've also (finally) been getting a lot of rain lately. But Saturday was beautiful and the whole family went to the UT tailgate this weekend. We all got dressed up in our fall clothes and while the babies were snuggly warm in their blankets, I was freezing by the end of the night! Here is a picture of me with Knox is the Baby Bjorn and my friend Kori holding Piper.

We are 12 weeks old!!

2009-10-07T14:19:00.001-07:00

Can you believe Piper and Knox are already three months old?!! Crazy how time flies! Check out the new outfits from my cousin Tom and his wife, Jen. They were in from Houston for the music festival this weekend and brought these. Yes, those are monkey ears on the hoods :) And although Knox looks bigger than Piper in this picture, they are really about the same size (for now!)

Interacting!

2009-10-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

Piper and Knox continue to get more and more interactive every day! This week we've begun playing with their "activity gym" and they really enjoy looking at the toys hanging above them and they've even begun batting at them. It's so nice to have a way to "play" with them finally! Not to mention another activity to keep them busy (and awake).

We're also working on schedules this week - mostly just getting a real bedtime set (8pm) and still trying to get Piper to eat enough to sleep for at least four hours. Some nights we're more successful than others!

This weekend is the big Austin City Limits music festival here in Austin. It runs Fri - Sun and Chad and I have been planning to be there for at least some of the days. I had babysitters secured for Fri, Sat and Sun but on Tuesday one of them (who was supposed to sit on Fri and Sat) called to tell me that her son had the flu. Since we are already really paranoid about the H1N1 flu at our house (Dell Children's Hospital in Austin in seeing an average of 325 new cases each day), I told her thanks but no thanks for this week! Not an hour later Chad called to tell me that two people on his staff had it! So Chad has spent the last two days quarantined from the baby, although I did manage to find people to look after Piper and Knox this weekend (thanks Joanne!) So we will be at the music festival this weekend (looking like we'll be in the rain, but at least it's only supposed to be in the low eighties!)

Babies' first tailgate and Auntie Paula visits!

2009-09-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend here - Chad went out of town for a couple of days but luckily Auntie Paula came to fill in while he was gone! Check out the cute onesies she brought for them :)

The babies made it to their first tailgate. Sadly, no photos were taken (bad mommy and daddy!), but they got to make a lot of new friends and see the setup for our tailgates. Although it was much cooler than the game two weeks ago, we still had the fan going and Piper absolutely loved the air blowing on her. We think this bodes well for her future career as a supermodel. Knox didn't like the fan, so I guess he won't be modeling anytime soon! Luckily that game ended well and UT beat Texas Tech (although we were long gone by then).

Sadly, Knox got his first major disappointment when his beloved Steelers lost on Sunday. Here is a photo of the happy fans at the beginning of the game!

Links to photo albums

2009-09-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, for those of you with time to kill, here are the links to the photos of Knox and Piper during Months 1 & 2!

Month One http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1160188012/a=100051087_100051087/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Month Two

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1157494012/a=100051087_100051087/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

and these are the professional photos that were taken in the hospital

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1159993012/a=100051087_100051087/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Some of these have been posted in the blog, but of course, there are MANY more photos to document their first few weeks of life. Enjoy!

Two month checkup

2009-09-17T08:58:00.001-07:00

Well, Piper and Knox went for their two month pedi appointment yesterday. I can hardly believe it - Piper weighs 10 lbs, 1 oz!!! And Knox has almost caught up - he is 9 lbs, 15 oz and only 1/2 inch shorter than Piper. It's crazy how fast they grow - that's 5 lbs that Knox has gained in 2 months - more than double his birth weight. So that's great news - the pedi is thrilled with their progress. They also got the dreaded first shots yesterday. We are doing an alternative vaccine schedule so they had their first two immunizations yesterday and will have 2 more in a month and so on. Basically, because they are so small, we are spacing these first ones out monthly vs every two months. Yesterday's vaccines were one shot and one liquid to drink. They cried out at the injection, but both quieted right down afterward like little troopers! And although they were a little uncomfortable that afternoon, a little (infant) Tylenol fixed them right up and last night they were totally back to normal. So we have passed a big right of passage!

I haven't posted on the blog for awhile, but I did spend a lot of time organizing our photos from these first two months and I've posted them all on snapfist (and ordered print copies for my "brag book"). I spent a half hour on Snapfish yesterday trying to figure out how to generate a link to the photos to post in the blog but I couldn't figure it out. I'll get a link posted ASAP, though!

We've had a great couple of weeks - we had a really fun visit with my sister-in-law, Mary, and Lindi and Austin. They were here for a long weekend over Labor Day. Knox and Piper were barely put down all weekend - we were afraid they were going to be totally spoiled after all of the attention! But they spent so much time cooing and smiling at them that Knox and Piper have become much more interactive and we've gotten some great smiles and funny faces over the last couple of weeks! Austin and Chad had a great time - they played golf and went to a rock concert and the UT game. So Chad had lots of fun "playing" for the weekend and everyone even got out on the boat one day. And I got a fantastic weekend of rest - Lindi and Mary played "night nanny" all weekend and let me sleep all night! Related to that - Knox has slept 6 hours straight at night twice now! Piper is still waking up much more often, but having one hungry baby at night is easier than two, so I'll take it!

Here are some photos to tide you over until I can get that link up! The opening UT game was Labor Day weekend so you can see the twins showing their spirit! With the Michigan win over Notre Dame last weekend, we might break out the maize and blue gear this weekend though!

The beard is gone

2009-09-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well, nearly 7 weeks after the babies' birth, Chad finally shaved his beard off yesterday. He kept a mustache for one day - doesn't he look funny?

But now it's all off and it's back to preppy Chad.

The babies are great - they are changing all the time and definitely developing their personalities. Piper has become the "easy" one - she is mainly interested in eating and sleeping these days. She only eats a little at a time (dainty little girl), but that means she wants frequent snacks! On the other hand, Knox eats a lot at a time, and sleeps for longer during the night - but during the day, he fights to stay awake. And when he's awake, he wants to be held! Preferably on my shoulder. Yesterday we broke out the Baby Bjorn. They are supposed to be 8 lbs before they can use it and I don't think we're quite there yet. But since it keeps Knox upright better than the other sling, I decided we'd try using it around the house now. He wasn't quite sure about it at first, but now he seems to like it. As I expected, having twins in all about "containment," - you can't hold them both at once, so it's important to have things/places to keep them contained and occupied. That's where all of our gear comes in - swings, slings, bouncy seats, boppy cushions...nothing really entertains them for a long time, either, so it's good to have an assortment! Of course, nothing beats being held - so I'm always trying to figure out how to hold both of them at once :)

Best Week Ever!

2009-08-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

Our nanny started this week :) Wow, I can't believe it's been two whole weeks since I last posted! Sorry - a bit hectic here as you might imagine. Even with the nanny here three whole days this week, I've been sooo busy - just trying to catch up on everything (sleep included). And it didn't help that my car battery died one day (66 days of 100 degree heat will do that!). On the plus side, I did get my teeth cleaned.

Ok, enough about me! I know you only really want to hear about the babies :) They are doing great! Growing so fast - each day they look bigger. And I know why - they eat CONSTANTLY! But it's a good thing - just keeps us on our toes, especially in the wee hours. We had a few rough nights this week but the last three or four l have been pretty good. Sometimes they even go four hours between feedings. Of course, that's four hours from when they START feedings, so it's not like we really get a four hour break. And sometimes it's only 2 1/2 hours. So we're all still a little sleep-deprived. But things could be worse - and we are managing to get out occasionally. We've taken the babies out to restaurants twice now (they slept in their car seats both times) and Chad and I have managed a couple of date nights. Not bad for the first six weeks!

Four weeks old!

2009-08-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

It's soooo hard to believe, but the twins turned 4 weeks old on Wednesday. Today is their actual due date (if they had gone full term - 40 weeks). Here are some pictures we took on their one month birthday!

Today we had our one month visit to the pediatrician and we were really hoping that Knox would be up to 6 lbs (he was 5 lb, 5 1/2 oz at his two week visit). Not only is getting bigger a good thing overall, but the pedi said that once he got to 6 lbs, we could go to feeding them both every four hours (vs. every three). Not that they will always wait four hours for their next meal (or even three), but in the event that they're still sleeping (e.g. the middle of the night), we can let them keep sleeping. Which of course means that Mommy and Daddy can also keep sleeping :)

So we went today and Piper weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs, 7.5 oz! Not bad considering that 2 weeks ago she was at 6 lbs, 2 oz! We could tell she was getting bigger and especially today when I went to put her into her car seat to go to the pedi and she wouldn't fit! I had to figure out how to adjust the harness in the carseat so we could leave (seriously, not an easy feat!) And today Knox weighed 6 lbs, 13.5 oz!!! So we are all thrilled that this seemingly constant feeding is really paying off!

A Few More

2009-08-08T18:51:00.001-07:00

Knox' first bath at home and three generations of the Meley Men :)

Updated Pictures

2009-08-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I'm not doing very well with the narration here, but we are all doing well, just very busy! Chad and I even had a date night last night and went to a movie. I should have a bit more time when the nanny starts - it's been a bit of a saga to hire someone, but I hope to have one lined up within the next week or so. In the meantime, here are some newer pics of Knox and Piper (still at the hospital - I'm also behind getting pictures uploaded, but these are pretty cute so I'm going to post them!) And check out the one of Chad eating pizza on our last night in the hospital, remote in hand, babies by his side :) And then heading home in our brand new car seats!

Best Friends

2009-08-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

Here's Piper!

2009-08-03T16:55:00.001-07:00

New Pictures!

2009-08-01T13:42:00.001-07:00

Ok, here are the first of the photos we had done professionally at the hospital. These are Knox alone. More to come!

Week Two

2009-07-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we've survived another week at home! We had some help this week as Chad's mom, Pam, has been visiting us and she's been doing more than her fair share of diaper changing, feeding, bottle washing and laundry - I think she's going to need a spa visit next week to recover from all the hard labor! But we thank her - it's definitely made life for Chad and me easier this week. And of course, the babies love their "Pam Pam!"

We went to our two week check up with the pediatrician yesterday and the twins are doing great! Piper is back at her birthweight (which is the goal, since babies usually lose weight after they are born). Knox is not only back to his birth weight, but he has gained another 5 1/2 oz!! So the pedi was very happy. And it's nice to know that the feedings every three hours are working!

We've gotten a bit of a system down, but that will all change next week when Chad goes back to work! I think I have found our new nanny, but she most likely won't start for a couple of weeks at least. So I've been lining up friends to come visit and help out over the next few weeks. Both Piper and Knox are still pretty content to eat and sleep, so I think we'll be ok on our own for the next couple of weeks. I hope I didn't just jinx it, though!

I promise we'll post some new photos very soon!

Day Four

2009-07-23T16:21:00.001-07:00

Well, we've been home from the hospital for 4 days now and we've all survived!! The babies have to eat every three hours to keep their weight up, and that often means waking them for feedings. So much for "Never wake a sleeping baby!" I have to say that they're really taking it easy on us, though. Aside from some tummy issues - particularly with Piper - they are really very good natured and hardly ever even cry. But I think that's probably a short term situation - right now, they're pretty content to eat and sleep :)

We've settled into somewhat of a routine. Although we're still working on breastfeeding, Chad is taking one night feeding on his own and he gives them milk I've pumped and sometimes supplemental formula as well. That allows me to get 4 - 5 uninterrupted hours of sleep each night, along with several catnaps as well. But I will be very excited to get a point where I can feed them both at the same time. Right now, the changing/feeding/pumping cycle is taking me a minimum of 90 minutes, which leaves 90 minutes to catnap (or return phone calls, catch up on email or post to a blog, etc.). But I think we just have to get through these first weeks and it'll only get easier from here! Chad's mom is coming in on Monday to stay for a week and I know she'll be a huge help. And I can't forget all of our Austin friends who have been bringing meals over to us all week!!

Ok, I'll post more pictures and even some video soon. If you can't wait to see Knox and Piper in action, check out these videos that Chad put up on you tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkGAyCwgDFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aicEXRdIGg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aicEXRdIGg

Ok, time to go start the cycle again!!

Introducing Piper & Knox!

2009-07-21T06:29:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a busy week since I last posted!! Knox Christopher and Piper Jane Meley arrived on Wednesday, July 15th, about 4 weeks and two days early. I guess all the complaining I'd be doing about how uncomfortable I was feeling wasn't entirely due to the twins' taking over my abdomen. I went to see my dr. on Tues for my regular visit and she diagnosed me with pre eclampsia - it can get bad pretty quickly, so she put me on bedrest and told me to come back the next day. On my visit the next day, she basically sent me straight to the hospital and told me she wanted to deliver the babies within the next two days! It must have been a slow day at the hospital, because I left her office at about 3:30pm and Piper was born at 6:05!

We spent several days at the hospital, mainly to let Mommy recover from her C-section. No one had to stay in the NICU - even though Knox was a tiny pip squeek at 4 lbs, 15 oz and even though Piper was quite a bit larger at 6 lb, 3 oz, she was still pretty tiny. But everyone has been doing really well and we all came home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon.

Here are the first pictures. We'll post more about life at home as time allows! Suffice it to say that we have our hands full :) But aside from some sleep deprivation, it's all going really well!

Fit baby, happy baby

2009-07-11T12:47:00.001-07:00

Look what I just read:

"Babies of pregnant exercisers tend to sleep through the night sooner, are less prone to colic, and are better able to soothe themselves. Scientists attribute this to these babies being stimulated by their moms through changes in heart rate and oxygen levels, as well as the sounds and vibrations they experience in the womb during workouts."

Thank goodness I've been doing all that prenatal yoga, water aerobics and other exercise!!

Getting huge!

2009-07-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, Chad says this doesn't really do my belly justice :) This is yesterday, so 34 weeks and 6 days! No real progress this week - my doctor told me to do whatever I can to stay comfortable (I laughed at this, there's basically no comfortable position anymore and we're in this crazy heat wave - 106 degress today!) In any case, it could still be the 28th, could be earlier...we'll keep you posted!!

Oh Boy!

2009-07-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I went to the dr yesterday for my weekly appointment - my doctor is on vacation this week so I saw her partner. She checked me out and said, "Well, I don't know if you're going to make it to the 28th!" It's not an exact science at this point - it could still be weeks - but that's the first time we've seen any kind of "progress," so it was pretty exciting. As of today I'm 34 weeks which is a big milestone and it basically means that if I went into labor today, they wouldn't try to stop it. Let's hope I don't, though!! I assume we'll know more at next week's appointment when we can see the progress over the week. Have a great 4th of July and we'll keep you posted! It's back into triple digits here (103 expected today), so I think we'll take it easy this weekend :)

Four Weeks to Go!

2009-06-30T13:18:00.001-07:00

Ok, it's getting a little uncomfortable! Although we got some rain today (finally) and for the first time in over 2 weeks, it's not supposed to get to triple digits in Austin. But it looks like we'll be back up to 100 degrees (at least) by tomorrow. Honestly, the heat isn't bothering me as much as I was afraid it would. It's just the feet (?? or whatever body part it is) poking into my ribs and the fact that I have a huge watermelon sitting on my midsection that makes it uncomfortable!

5 More Weeks to Go!

2009-06-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

Time is definitely ticking away! I saw my OB this morning and we have a date - July 28th! Assuming they don't decide to come early, the twins will share their birthdays not only with each other, but also with my brother :) The babies got measured on Tuesday and they are doing really well! Baby Girl weighs 4 lb 7 oz now and Baby Boy weighs 4 lb 4 oz. Pretty amazing to think that they're already that big!! Of course, I am definitely feeling it these days. It may be the 12 consecutive 100 degree days we've had, or the extra 35 - 40 lbs I'm carrying (but who's counting?!!), but I have definitely slowed down a lot over the last week or so. Chad calls it "couch rest," and I think he thinks I spend all day at it! It's not true, I'm still exercising and running errands and getting things ready, but I do find myself resting (on the couch) quite a bit these days. It's just the most comfortable position right now (not exactly comfortable, but the "most comfortable" one). Of course, I feel pretty lucky - I've talked to so many twin moms who've been on bedrest and/or delivered preemies that had to stay in the neonatal ICU for weeks (sometimes months), so we're not complaining about a little couch rest right now!

Diaper cakes and more

2009-06-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend the girls that I work out with had a baby shower for Chad! Beer & bratz :) And he got gifted more beer and baby bottles and Bill Cosby's book on Parenthood, among other things. We also got a fantastic diaper cake - I think until you're actually having a baby (or two), you don't realize just how handy these things are! I mean, they're diapers, first of all - and by all accounts we are going to go through some incredible number of diapers each month (1,000? 2,000? I think I have blocked it out, but it's a lot!!) And check out all the cute goodies on the cake as well - booties, mittons, "big treat" tethers and hands free bottles (again, all those things you have no idea that you're going to need!).

The second diaper cake came from my book club shower. They threw me a shower to stock the babies' library. So fun to get everyone's favorites - from "Guess How Much I Love You" and "The Hungry Catepillar" to books that I've never read or heard about like "Toot and Puddle" and "Go Dog Go" (a Dr. Seuss book I've never seen!). The bookclub shower was just the girls (like our bookclub) and we all met at a nice restaurant. I can't wait to share all these stories with the twins!!

Cake

2009-06-16T13:34:00.001-07:00

Here is a closer shot of the cake! Yes, those are tiny fingers sticking out of the baby carriages doing the "Hook "Em!"

Baby Shower!

2009-06-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

We had a huge couples baby shower last weekend! It was thrown by four couples and special thanks to Greg and Ellie Fitzgerald for hosting it! Chad's Uncle Jim and Aunt Beverly Meley came in from Houston, and his cousin Damina and her husband Robb and son Bryce (and Jesse James, their darling little dog) came in from Dallas. I think everyone had a lot of fun. We had bar-B-que and this fantastic cake! Check out the little hands. For those of you that aren't familiar with the University of Texas battle cry and hand signal, that is the sign for "Hook 'Em Horns!" Sadly, the University of Michigan was underrepresented on the cake (just like in the twins' wardrobes) - we Wolverines don't have any hand signals! But it's ok if they are longhorn fans growing up, as long as they go to the University of Michigan :)

Manners and crazy weather

2009-06-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

I had my weekly ultrasound yesterday and my dr. announced that Baby Boy has his butt right in Baby Girl's face! I suppose that is just a precursor of things to come :)

We had some crazy weather here in Austin last night. There are pictures of scary clouds that were taken north of Austin last night - the national weather bureau is now deciding whether they are actually tornadoes and just funnel clouds. I didn't know there was a difference! In any case, when they said something scary was spotted less than 5 miles from our house, Chad and I and Shelby and Madison spent about 30 minutes in the closet waiting for the warning to pass! In the end, we lost power for about 5 hours, but that was the worst of it - we got a little rain, but luckily no hail or high winds.

Little Longhorns

2009-06-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

You can tell we live in a college town - these are just of a few of the UT outfits the twins will be sporting this fall :) Hand-me-downs from other local fans. At some point, we will have to acquire some maize & blue outfits, too (although maybe only if there is serious improvement in the team this year!)

The Nanny Search (or Will We Ever Get Any Sleep??)

2009-06-08T19:00:00.001-07:00

Now that we're getting closer, it's time to start thinking about help once the babies arrive. I've been putting it off since it seems like you can't really hire a nanny until a month or so before you need one. But it's time to start thinking about it and boy, are there some strong opinions for other mothers of twins out there! I have two friends (w/twins) who swear that we ABSOLUTELY need a night nanny, at least 2 or 3 nights a week. Now, I'd never even heard of a night nanny until we had friends with twins - but just like it sounds, these nannies take the night shift, showing up at 10 or 11 pm and leaving first thing in the morning. As great as it sounds, they don't come cheap, and depending on how we end up feeding these babies, it's hard to imagine just how much help one would be, assuming we end up breastfeeding. I mean, I have to wake up regardless...

The other school of thought is that you need someone to help you out during the day. My job, once Chad goes back to work after those first two weeks, will be to take care of the babies. So I need someone around during the day to do laundry, straighten up, watch babies while I shower and nap, and that kind of thing to keep our lives on track during the first couple of months.

Like I said, it's a big divide among the families I've talked to, but the one thing that everyone agrees on is the need for some kind of help early on. And although we have lots of family and friends who are planning to visit us, I think we're going to have to rely on at least some sort of nanny for the first few months.

Which means I need to start searching and interviewing potential helpers now! I'm not really looking forward to it, but I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

29 Weeks

2009-06-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, the new measurements are in - Baby "Abigail" weighs 2 lbs, 13 oz. and Baby "Bartholomew" weighs 3 lb, 2 oz! No wonder my tummy is soooo huge! But all looks good with the babies - it's hard to believe that we are just over 2 months away from meeting them :) Check out this week's view of the tummy - it seems to be growing exponentially these last couple of weeks! It's funny, it took so long for me to grow into my maternity clothes and now I'm wondering if they're going to fit for another two months!

Cribs are up!

2009-05-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

Chad got the cribs set up this weekend. I was impressed - he got both of them put together pretty quickly (and it seemed to go really smoothly!). I ordered the crib mattresses yesterday and I've finally managed to find some (fairly) reasonable crib bedding that doesn't come in a set. It's strange - most of the crib bedding available comes in a set and it always includes crib bumpers and comforters and usually some other random stuff (do we really need a diaper stacker??) While those big, padded crib bumpers certainly look good, they aren't really recommended anymore. There is a risk that really young babies could get trapped against the bumper and suffocate. And you definitely have to remove the bumpers as soon as the baby can stand - around 6 months - or else they can use them to climb out of the crib. So I don't see much point in those! Anyway, the bedding is on a site called, appropriately enough, http://www.babybedding.com/! You can check out the bedding on the site now by locating my registry - I'll post a picture of the nursery when we have it all set up.

I've also been working on our baby registries - it's amazing how much stuff these little babies need! I mean, we have the strollers and the swings and one bouncy seat already thanks to the Moms of Multiples group, but the list of gear is still pretty amazing! We have a couple of showers coming up in June, so I've been trying to get us set up with Babies R Us and Target and I also found an online site I like - http://www.albeebaby.com/ - they have the car seats that fit into my car (barely) and some high chairs we like. As I was walking through the aisles of Babies R Us the other day, I thought back to the days when that store used to scare the daylights out of me :) So big, so much stuff - and now I feel like like I know it like the back of my hand!

Busy Weekend

2009-05-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Whew, I've been pretty slack about blogging lately - in my defense, lots of preparations have been going on at our house in the last week or two! My aunt Tracy was kind enough to help me out with wrapping up the painting in the nursery last week, and I finally got the closet cleared out (Chad had to give up his "Auxillary" closet), so the nursery is really coming along!

We did manage to have a little fun this weekend, too. We went to a friend's wedding here in Austin on Sunday night - here we are all dressed up :) The black hides the tummy pretty well, in the photo, at least! I wore this dress to another event last month and I have to say, it was A LOT looser back then! Notice how I am trying to accessorize to draw attention away from the tummy :) We also managed to make it out on the boat yesterday - the water was actually pretty chilly for Lake Austin, but it felt great to float around a bit. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend, too.

Eat More!

2009-05-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yep, I went for my weekly appointment with my doctor today and she told me to eat more! What a great thing to hear :) She's not really concerned at this point, but since I haven't gained anything for the last few weeks, she'd like me to eat a little more, especially since it's going to keep getting harder to eat as the babies take up more space in there! I've been eating what seems like a ton of food already, three meals a day and at least two snacks, so it seems strange to me that I'm not gaining more. Anyway, I know it's not an excuse to drink chocolate milkshakes every day (!!), but I guess I won't feel as bad indulging in one once in awhile. And since my back is really starting to ache these days, it's nice to find another positive aspect of pregnancy!

On the update front, I asked my doctor today about how long they'd let me go before they induce labor. I've heard that twins are "term" at 37 weeks, so it seems pretty safe to assume that I won't make it until my due date on August 14th. She said that usually they don't let twins go past 38 weeks, so I'll probably deliver by the end of July at the latest. Thirty-eight weeks puts me at July 30th (Tracy, I know you're pulling for that date!). She also mentioned that if we get to the point where it looks like the babies aren't going to cooperate with their positions and I'll definitely need a c-section, we can schedule an induction for that least week in July. Of course, there's still a good chance that they will arrive even earlier than that, but it's nice to feel like I'm narrowing down the dates a bit. We still have lots to get done before then!

On a happy note, the cribs are in! So Chad and I have a fun project this weekend :)

Names

2009-05-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

Lately, everyone has been asking us about baby names. Now that we know it's a boy and a girl, we are trying to make some progress on that. It's not easy. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that Chad and I both have pretty strong opinions! It's sure hard to find something that's distinctive, not too popular (Emma and Jacob are currently the most popular names for boys and girls, who knew?) and that rolls off the tongue.

We spent some time Friday night going through our name book and making a list of possibilities. Of course, we have to consider middle names and initials as well. But I think we're finally making progress :)

We are definitely enjoying the name suggestions that we've been receiving - keep 'em coming! And we were introduced to a pretty cool website

http://nymbler.com/

You can type in a name you like (for example, Emma) and it suggests other names that you may also like. In the case of Emma, it suggests Lisa, Olivia, Eliza and Ava, among others. I'm not sure how accurate these suggestions are, but it's fun to try different names and see what they suggest.

I'm sure we'll come up with something perfect for both of them - I just hope we have the names ready by the time we leave the hospital!

2009-05-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

As of this week's ultrasound, both babies are heads down. Still way too early to assume they'll stay that way, but it's a good thing nonetheless. Seems strange that they can hang out that way for months - doesn't the blood all rush to their little heads?

Busy week!

2009-05-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

We started our "Prepared Childbirth" classes this week. They started us off with a terrifying film showing the phases of delivery - I had to look away several times, but Chad was very brave! He may not pass out during delivery after all :)

I also picked up this very posh second-hand Maclaren double stroller today - gotta love those "Moms of Multiples" and their hand-me-downs! Of course, this is only one of the strollers that we will apparently need. This will be for shopping excursions and dr. visits when the twins get a little older. First we start out with a "Snap and Go" so you can snap the car seats directly into the stroller frame - thereby eliminating the need to wake the babies when they get out of the car. And of course, we will also need the jogging/off road stroller, too, for jaunts around the lake and other fun "off road" outings. As a marketer, it's pretty darn impressive to see how they market all this baby gear to us new parents! And since Chad and I both have shopaholic tendencies, this non-stop spending spree is easy to fall into.

Baby Gear Everywhere

2009-05-02T15:59:00.001-07:00

It's begun! The baby gear has started taking over our house. Last night was the spring Buy/Sell for the Austin Moms of Multiples (AMoMs) group that I joined. Two baby swings, two activity gyms, one extra large Pack 'n Play, one bouncy seat, one baby Bjorn carrier (I picked up two other sling type carriers a couple of weeks ago) and one extra large nursing pillow later, it's starting to be clear that our house isn't going to be our own much longer! Now that we've managed to wedge it all out out of my car and into our house, I think even the cat, Madison, and the dog, Shelby, are starting to take notice :) Of course, the nursery isn't set up yet, and Chad hasn't yet vacated his "auxillary closet" in the nursery, so there's no clear home for any of this stuff yet. See how nice it looks in our living room??

25 Weeks Today

2009-05-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

Today marks 25 weeks. Hard to believe it's still technically 15 weeks to go - although twins are considered term at 37 weeks vs. the 40 weeks for a singleton. Shelby still seems pretty oblivious - hard to believe she hasn't noticed my belly growing daily!

Measuring Day

2009-04-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

The babies got their 24-week ultrasound today. We get ultrasounded every time we go to my OB (we're up to weekly visits now!), but we also see the Perinatologist for longer ultrasounds to check out the babies. This month they measured their hearts - all chambers of both hearts. Baby "A" - we'll call her Anastasia today, wasn't really cooperating, so they didn't get all the measurements that they wanted to, but all signs are that her heart is just fine. Baby "B" - we'll call him Beauregard today, is on top and lying across my uterus. His heart looked A-ok as well.

Anastasia is tucked down on the bottom and as of today, she weighs 1 lb, 9 oz. Beauregard weighs just a little more, 1 lb, 11 oz. Guess that explains why my stomach keeps getting bigger almost daily!! We go back to the Perinatologist in 4 weeks for our next measurements. Hopefully Beauregard will shift a bit over the next few weeks so he's lying more head down, rather than across under my ribs. At this point, they still have room to move around, so it's too early to tell what their final positions will be.

The cribs have been ordered!

2009-04-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

At last, we've made the decision on the cribs and placed our order. We picked the Stanley "My Haven" convertible cribs in Antique White. They should arrive in 8 weeks (thanks Pam for the shopping and funding help with those!). We also ordered a matching changing table - but that's going to take 12 weeks! Although we originally wanted brown cribs, we couldn't find exactly what we wanted in a dark, chocolate brown. I think this one is beautiful in white and it will look nice in the nursery with the green walls and white trim. And we have the option of converting them to both toddler beds and to full size beds when the babies outgrow their cribs.

Crib mattresses are a whole other decision - one we'll leave for awhile since they are mostly in stock items. And we wanted to get to the Old Settlers Music Festival today, so the mattress decision had to wait. After that, it's the crib bedding and some sort of chair for the nursery. A big chair, apparently, to allow for feeding both twins at once. I'm told this is possible, and it would certainly save time during those late night feedings, so I'm going to hope for the best on that one. And find a really big, comfy chair to accomodate the three of us!

Thanks for stopping by!

2009-04-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've finally set up my blog to keep everyone updated on the trials and tribulations of planning for twins! Stay tuned for exciting updates on all the purchases we make, photos of the nursery and my ever-expanding belly, and general updates about life as a twin mommy to be!