Our Kids

Gosh, that was a nice post from Jason. Even I enjoyed reading it. He is so thoughtful……group awwwww! Everyone who thinks Jason is great say, “Aye”. Wow that was a loud “AYE”.

It has been an interesting weekend. Piper has been testing our her lung capacity and I must say it is pretty good. Lela acted like she was hungry all weekend but was not and Piper opens up and eats no matter if she is hungry or not. Suffice it to say that we can’t tell what they want yet, hopefully that gets easier.

Jason watched the girls so that I could wander around Target for an hour or so and then run to the grocery store. It was nice of him to do that for us. I am sure I was a calmer, nicer person by the time I got home. Next week I can go for walks with the girls in our awesome stroller so that should do me for the getting out of the house bug:)

Mystique had the kids’ web site up last night, probably finishing up her post, and commented, “Oh, let me go read your last post…” and proceeded to simulate scrolling for a minute or so. “Oh, February 10th.” I took that as a subtle (for Mystique) hint to do some writing

So our live-in help left on Tuesday and are back home, safe and sound in San Antonio… we really appreciate all the help that Mystique’s folks gave us. Not only was I able to drive to Billings each weekend without having to worry about our mutts, but we also got a more-organized closet, newly-painted bathroom, more space in the garage, and a few other goodies, along with three great baby-sitters. Thanks!

My folks are headed up to Bozeman next week, and we’re excited to see them again. I think they’re going to be amazed at how much the girls have changed… of course they’ve been tracking the pictures and movies, but there’s nothing like actually holding them to see how good they’re doing. My parents last saw the girls when they were still around four pounds in the NICU… now they’re big babies who look around, smile (sort of), and cry (totally). And better yet, my brother is headed up this way for a weekend in March, too, so he can babysit the girls for us. What a guy

I think I’m in danger of turning this site into a typical, gushing parent site, but I gotta tell ya… these girls are awesome. When I get home after work, Mystique usually says “Poppy’s home!” and while it doesn’t register at all with the girls (yet!), it’s a great thing to hear right when you walk in. Usually the girls are downstairs, either hanging out in the bassinet or in a swing, but always looking as cute as a button. Such sweet girls… and mom’s not so bad, either. You couldn’t ask for a better place to come home to.

The girls definitely did not like “shot-day” at the doctor’s on wednesday… it was tough for them and Mystique and I felt horrible when they basically poked four times. Their reactions were delayed a bit… the first poke would come and their face would take on a shocked expression and half a beat later turn into a full-on cry. Our nurse did a great job with the three shots, though… poked them in one after the other, all three done in less than five seconds I think. They still have their american-flag bandaids on as a badge of honor.

The past couple of nights have gone pretty well… we’re back to just bottling them at night (still breast milk) which seems to keep them sleepy for 2.5 to 3 hours blocks. Occasionally one won’t go back to sleep, so one of us will sleep with them on our chest until the next feeding time. Sometimes that’s a funny way to wake up… the other night I had Piper sleeping on me and around 5am or so she was rooting around, moving her head back and forth searching for a source of food. I was in a half-awake, half-dreamy state, and it took a couple minutes of Piper’s wiggling to snap me out of it and realize that it wasn’t Rupert licking my neck, it was a baby in search of food. And boy, those little babies keep you warm… with one of them and a sheet and comforter over you, it could be 50 degrees in your room and you’d be as snug as a bug. Handy little heaters, these girls.

Last weekend we tried Piper in a Baby Bjorn for the first time… she’s still too small to face forward, so she was stuck in it looking up at my mug (poor child). She seemed to like it for about fifteen minutes, or so, and then decided she was done with it and started to fuss. It was nice, though, being able to walk around, work on the computer, etc… with a baby strapped to you but your arms free. And again, I was nice and toasty.

That’s it for now… hope you all have a great weekend. If anyone has any digital camera recommendations, please email us… we’re looking for a new one (5 megapixel, fast picture-taking, etc….).

Well I chickened out on the walk. The girls get their Synergis shot (to help them fight germs etc that could lead to RSV) on Tuesday. They have to get the shot every month and I am not sure if the shot tapers off at the end of the month or if the effects of it are even throughout the month. So as a precaution I decided not to take them out for a walk until after they get their shot on Tuesday.

Speaking of shots they got their 2 month shots the other day. They also had to have blood drawn. It is common for premies to have low red blood cell counts because they are not making them like they should. Many premies have to have blood transfusions because of this. Ours were right on the line when we brought them home so they have blood drawn to check their hematocrits. Good news is that Piper is up and Lela is making progress so it looks like we won’t have to do any transfusions (thank goodness).

Things are going very well and we just can’t wait to see what happens next with these beauties:)

Well the girls never seem to take much notice of each other when they are in the crib together but they have started a little communicating. So what happens is that when one grunts, the other grunts, when one squirms the other squirms and yep you guessed it when one cries the other cries.

Lucky for us we think everything they do is cute so we enjoy the back and forth. Even if one is upstairs grunting and one is downstairs but hears the monitor, she will grunt back. I don’t know if that is just because they are hearing each other or if they are actually grunting in sympathy.

Things have been going really well. Keeping track of who ate when is getting a bit cumbersome and the breastfeeding is still a real challenge. The girls are gaining weight and doing really well so I guess all the challenges on my side are not hurting them a bit.

Piper weighs 7lb 14oz (she gained 1lb in the last two weeks)
Lela weighs 7lb 8.5oz (she gained almost 1lb in the last two weeks)
Length for both 19.5 inches

We are still keeping them underwraps with no visitors and no trips except to the hospital. We have been given the okay to take them for walks and I am so looking forward to doing that. So I better go get my act together so we can go for a walk today.

So the last two nights Piper has been, well shall we say, different:) She eats and then dozes for about 10 min and then wakes up in a tirade. Then she is comforted sleeps for ten minutes more and then into another tirade. This goes on for quite some time. It is amazing how they can be sound asleep and know the minute that you lay them down! In Piper’s case she is kind enough to let me get back into bed before she lets it rip. HA!

I talked to a friend this morning and she told me that those are called the witching hours. When nothing seems to placate them. In my case Piper is placated by me which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. We managed to squeeze a few zzzzz’s into the night and she is resting peacefully today. So all is not lost, except for my beauty sleep and lord knows I need it.

This morning I chatted with Jason and sent him on his way. Then I went to the bathroom to clean myself up and I almost screamed at my reflection it was so frightful. I actually looked like a little girl that had gotten into her mothers hair clips. Apparently yesterday as a piece of hair would fall down I would grab another clip and pin it back up. So by this morning I had countless pieces of hair sticking up all over out of numerous clips. What a kind man my husband is to kiss me and wish me a good day when I looked like the witch from the witching hour! HA and LOL!

Well safe to say that Piper did not put her hand up when they were passing out the I’m full gene, a totally Slocum trait (that’s my side). Lela on the other hand has the instantly full gene, where as soon as she is full she spits out what is in her mouth and puts up the gate (her tongue). My little angels are doing great, we don’t go back to the doctor for another week or so but I am certain that I have got a couple of 7 pounders on my hands. Lela is getting some cheeks and is starting to look more like Piper, even though she is the long and lean variety (like Jason) and Piper is the fluffy sort (like me).

Technically they are one day old today if you go by their corrected age. Until they are two years old they will have a birth age and a corrected age. The corrected age is from the date they were supposed to be born, Feb 14th. This age is what we will use to map milestones etc. Piper is well on her way to month one milestones though, she holds her head up and moves around a bit when you put her on her tummy. Just like in the womb though, Lela is in no rush and enjoys being held. It is pure heaven to sleep with her resting comfortably on my chest for a few hours.

Happy zero birthday girls:)

We had our second doctor’s appointment today mainly just to check the weight of the girls, but they got the physical look-seee, too.

In weight news… Piper is up to 6lb 14oz which means she went up about 6oz in the past week. Lela powered her way up to 6lb 9oz which was a 8.5oz jump in just a week. I’d say they’re doing pretty good on mommy’s milk.

Nothing really new other than that… the girls are oscillating between a two-hour and three-hour feeding schedule. I just wish we could make sure they do the three-hour schedule at night but I don’t think they’re listening to me anymore. This morning Lela woke up a bit early pretending to be hungry. Mystique wasn’t fooled though, so brought her back to bed where Lela fell asleep on Mystique for over an hour.

Well… I’m already learning from the girls. Mainly do’s and don’t’s, which aren’t really what I was thinking about when I wrote about learning about life.

But, since I’m learning, I thought I’d share.

First off… when Piper’s hungry, don’t dilly-dally. Feed her fast! Wow that girl’s got some lungs, and quite the temper! It reminds me of when I was a kid… I had a horrible temper and would fly off the handle at the craziest things. Lucklily, I had an awesome brother who saw that. He’d have fun just prodding me, working me into a fit of anger… pretty much just messing with me. Even through high school he was doing that… we’d be playing doubles tennis for the team and I swear he’d double-fault on purpose if I started getting too mad at the game.

Ahh… the memories. Anyhow, by the time I got into college, I was done with my temper. After all those years, he had taught me a bit of patience. I’m sure he was having fun in the process, but thanks to him I can just smile when Piper’s so mad that the bottle just isn’t going fast enough, her little hands clenched into fists by her face as she screams while on the bottle. Maybe she needs her Uncle JJ to visit for a while.

Lesson number two, this one from Lela. When that little girl is hungry don’t get anything near her face that isn’t a nipple of some sort, otherwise it’ll be going into her mouth. Now, she’s a bit different than Piper… at some point she’ll let out some cries if you’re not feeding her fast enough, but unlike Piper who skipped this phase, she’ll spend some time with her eyes wide open, moving her head from side to side looking for the magical nipple that appears out of thin air. During this phase, even a kiss on the cheek is a dangerous thing, but sometimes she’s so cute I can’t resist.

Lesson number three, this one from Mystique. I need to set my alarm and/or figure out a way for Rupert to wake me up when he hears crying since Mystique’s pretty sneaky and didn’t wake me up again for any of the feedings after 1:30am. Apparently I can sleep through a lot, which is good to know, but not the best quality in a new dad.

And finally, a bonus lesson from both Lela and Piper… lots of motion, such as swinging the child when getting up from a chair, or moving them too quickly from the changing table to the crib, after a feeding invokes projectile spitup. That one seems obvious but everyone now and then I need a hands-on example to remind me of that. Thanks, girls…

Mystique took some cute pictures yesterday, I’ll add them to Flickr sometime today.

jason