Our First Thanksgiving as a Family

Happy Halloween!

Silas the sea otter and Liam the ring-tailed lemur

Family Photos

Two weeks ago we had family photos taken by a photographer friend of ours. Although it's pretty tough to get both boys to look at the camera at the same time, I was pretty pleased with them! Today the boys are 9 months old already! It's so crazy how fast the last 9 months have gone. I am so lucky and feel gratitude beyond words to K and her family! There are still days when I look at the boys and can't believe what an amazing life story they have to tell!

"Miracle Baby" Birthday Party

This past weekend we went to a birthday party hosted by our RE and his clinic. They do this every year to celebrate all the "miracle babies" they helped to conceive. The boys were able to meet their first babysitters, the embryologists, as well as some of the nurses and of course, Dr. S, our wonderful RE. The party was hosted at the Mall of America's aqaurium, Underwater Adventures, and the boys absolutely loved watching all the fish. While walking through the aqaurium tunnel Liam laid back to watch the sharks, rays, and large fish swim over our heads and also enjoyed standing up next to the sides with his hands on the plexiglass watching the fish swim by. Silas seemed to enjoy looking at the jellyfish in the small tanks, but seemed a little scared when J put him right next to the plexiglass of the tunnel. It was so much fun to watch them taking it all in. I love seeing life through their eyes where everything is new and so amazing!

A family photo at Underwater Adventures: (it's blurry but the only one we took)

The four of us with Dr. S (who's eyes are closed):

The boys with Dr. S:

Underwater Adventures Family Photo:

Still here

I am still here and enjoying life. Being a full-time working mom of twins is a lot more work than I expected, particularly when you're a high school teacher and have work to do outside of the normal workday. I vowed not to do any schoolwork while the boys are awake, which means that I'm busy in the evenings when they go to bed and during naptime on the weekends, and so far I've stuck to this plan. My biggest challenge since going back to work aside from being away from the boys is trying to cook well-balanced healthy meals. I've started using the crockpot more often and am prepping my meals on the weekends. Also, I try to make double batches of soups, lasagnas, etc that I can throw in the freezer for another week. It seems to be working well. My other big challenge is keeping my house as tidy/clean as I like it to be. As a Type A I have very high expectations for things, including the state of my house. I'd love to have a cleaning lady just once a month to alleviate this stress and am still lobbying for that with J.

The boys just got over a cold (as did their mommy) and are doing quite well. It's hard to believe that in a few days the boys will be 8 months old already! Neither of the boys has teeth yet, but I can see them just under the surface and they are constantly tongueing at their lower gums. Although they get around quite well by rolling, turning/pivoting and rolling, they haven't started to crawl yet. We've observed both of them on their knees for brief moments, but nothing beyond that. Before I started school we babyproofed the house, so we'd be ready the day they take off. Liam has taken to babbling with anyone who'll listen and Silas is a little more shy. Both boys have smiles that melt my heart and everyday I race home as soon as I can to see them.

Last week I celebrated my 34th birthday (I'm not too proud to admit my age) and our wonderful nanny surprised me at school with the boys. When they arrived at my classroom I was in the back of the room helping a group of students and heard a quiet voice say "Happy Birthday Mommy". I turned around to see our nanny with both boys in tow. They were wearing matching onsies that said "Happy Birthday Mom". I was so happy to see them and couldn't get over the cute onsies the nanny had made. She truly is a wonderful person and we're so lucky to have her caring for our boys!

Update on the boys

I apologize for not posting an update sooner, but I'm still adjusting to this new life with little sleep and even less time to myself (not that I'm complaining). I have been reading blogs in between feedings, diaper changes, bottle washing, and loads of laundry, but can't seem to find the energy to comment. I know that's no excuse, so I hope that you understand and accept my apology. Hopefully I'll get into a groove soon.

The boys are doing great and growing well--at the 1 month appointment Liam weighed 6lbs 6oz and Silas weighed 7lbs 3oz. Silas is still struggling with GERD (acid reflux) and had to have his meds adjusted again. Currently he's taking Zantac 2x/day and Prevacid once daily. Because Silas is so uncomfortable at night lying prone we started letting him sleep in the bouncy seat, which has made a world of difference for him at night. He no longer grunts and groans in discomfort all night long. We put one of the bouncy seats in the crib, so when the time comes the transition back to the crib will be easier. I noticed that Liam didn't sleep as well the first few nights that Silas was in the bouncy seat as he was used to his brother being next to him, but now he seems adjusted. Liam is fortunate not to have GERD.

Both boys are relatively easy going babies (knock on wood). They were previously eating every 3 hours, but have recently begun to eat every 1.5-2 hours, which makes for very tired parents! J and I do shifts at night--J does feedings up until 2am and I do the feedings after that. This allows us each a small block of sleep, but I'm on my own during the day as J is back at work. We typically feed the boys in shifts as we've found simultaneous feeding difficult at this point. Sometimes during the day I will prop them in boppies and feed them at the same time, but I find it to be awkward and prefer to feed one baby at a time. Plus, feeding them separately allows us individual cuddle time! Usually one baby will wait patiently for his turn, but this isn't always the case. Silas seems to be a little more patient than Liam, so I usually try to feed Liam first. This also gives me more time to hold Silas upright after his feeding, which is helpful for his GERD.

I quit breast feeding at the hospital because the boys weren't gaining weight (this was a suggestion of the pediatrician), but continued to pump. Unfortunately I was only getting about 2 oz/day with pumping every 2 hours around the clock. When I was putting the boys to the breast I was able to pump a lot more, but as soon as I stopped my supply dropped significantly. The constant pumping to get barely anything was so stressful and I began to resent it, so I quit pumping about 2-3 weeks ago. It just wasn't worth the stress it was causing me not to mention the time away from snuggling my little guys! I cried for an entire day and felt like a horrible mom, but in the end I'm content with the decision. I can't imagine trying to pump every 2 hours now that I'm home alone with the boys. I do feel good about what I was able to do for the boys for the first few weeks of their life and am glad that I took the time and effort to give them some breast milk.

It's cute to see the boys' personalities coming out already. Silas LOVES his pacifier and likes to sleep with it in his mouth, which is fine by us given that sucking on a pacifier is thought to reduce the risk of SIDS. He also loves to be swaddled tight. Liam will use a pacifier periodically, but isn't as attached to it. Liam absolutely despises a dirty diaper and will scream his head off if he has poop in his diaper. It's pretty easy to know when Liam is filling his diaper because he makes what we've affectionately come to refer to as his "poopy face" where he purses his lips and gets a very serious look on his face. If Liam poops while feeding, he starts crying as he's eating his bottle. Silas isn't nearly as sensitive to a dirty diaper. When Silas cries he actually sheds tears, which breaks his mommy's heart, but Liam doesn't tear when he's wailing.

Here's a few recent photos for your viewing pleasure:

Long-awaited Homecoming

On Friday we brought the boys home! It was a very emotional day for me. I cried tears of joy and cried tears of fear. I couldn't wait to bring the boys home, but was scared to death to findally do so. I think up until the point of putting them in our car it still seemed surreal that they were ours. It was as if we were going through the motions and falling more and more in love with these two little cuties, but I felt as though I was waiting for someone to pull the rug out from under us. The moment the nurse helped us load the boys into the SUV and we drove away from the hospital it became real and that's when the tears really started to flow. Crossing the threshhold of our door also hit me hard--this was the thing that we never got to do with Myles. I flashed back to, February 16, 2008, the day when we walked through the doorway to our house without Myles. It was finally happening for us we were finally bringing our children into our house. Liam and Silas are alive and well and they are our children. After a five year journey filled with heartache and devastation we have arrived at our much anticipated, longed awaited destination--we are finally parents to not just one living child but two living children! Our dream has finally come true and we have K (and big brother Myles) to thank for this most amazing gift!








We are settling into a routine and things are going well. At night J does the 10pm to 2am shift and I do the 2am to 8am shift. After 8am we tag team the responsibilities, which we continue throughout the day, but after J goes back to work in 2.5 weeks I'll be on my own for the daytime care (well with the help of my mom, neighbors, and friends). I'm quite amazed at how quickly the days goes by. I can't really even tell you what we do all day other than feed babies, change diapers, clean bottles, laugh at the funny faces the boys make, cuddle them, and admire the boys while they sleep. We are so in love and are already enjoying our new lives!