Solids

The boys will be six months old on November 15th. It will also be my (Todd's) 32nd birthday which makes it kinda fun that their "half" birthday will always be on mine.

We have started introducing some variety to the boys' diets and a new-fangled way of eating...with a spoon. As you might can tell from the pictures below, it is going to take some time to get them accustomed to this. It's hard to keep their attention, and for that matter, keep much of anything down. It's a good thing that we already instilled in them the flying hand and airplane noises that it makes early in their matriculation. Although, I did have to remind Randi that it is much more effective when it is a "vwhoooooosh"-ing sound and not so much, a "reeeooooorrr" sound.

They are becoming fun, laughing in full bellows, and they are also starting to exhert some independence. I'm sure it won't be long before they are mobile and start to learn the dreaded "NO."

Parks, trying his hand at some rice and pears.

Wyatt with a mouthful, inside and out.

Parks getting the hang of it.

The boys out for a walk in their monkey hats.

Me feeding both boys and Duke in a precarious position.

Post Script- Pertaining to solids, Parks has recently been pooping only once every 2-3 days. We have tried all types of remedies, but the one sure fire way to "get it out" is to hold, yes I said hold, a suppository in place for several minutes. After that, he lets out some rock solid specimens that any full-grown man would be proud of.

Halloween Night

Only because I know this will not be the case for years to come can I say this, we did not dress the boys up in funny costumes, we did not go trick or treating, we did not have anyone come to our door for candy, and both boys were sound asleep in there beds by 8:30 p.m. We did have a little fun with them earlier in the evening. It was my job to hollow out the large pumpkin we purchased on our trip to the pumpkin patch. We placed them inside of it a let them play around with the "innards" for a little while. Much later in the evening I used the pumpkin the carve their names in before discarding it the next day. Here are some pictures for our fun, peace and quiet style.

Parks playing peek-a-boo.

Wyatt hanging out.

Baby's First Halloween outfits on both boys.

Wyatt pumping some iron.

Man, I love the night-vision function on my camera.

At least its not a vein-ladened picture of Randi's belly during pregnancy (April 23rd post).

Catching Up, Part 2

This last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch at a local church down the street. We took the boys for pictures and to pick out a large pumpkin to have some fun with later. I've got some pretty good ideas for the pumpkin...we'll see what happens. Randi's mom and two aunts were also in town, got to see the boys, and help take some snapshots. Here are a few of the better photos.

Wyatt and Parks holding hands.

Look at all those melons.
Parks lost amongst the pumpkins.
Wyatt--look at those blue eyes.
Randi and the boys.

All of us together.

Catching Up, Part 1

Hello everybody!! We are still here. It has been a while. I actually had to hesitate when entering my login name and password. I am going to attempt a series of posts aptly named, "Catching Up," in order to do just that. Both Wyatt and Parks are doing great. We missed posting updates on their 4th and 5th month birthdays. Here is a snipette of a drafted post from their four month birthday that never got posted and an update on their size now.

"Parks & Wyatt turned four months old yesterday, September 15th. I can hardly believe it's been that long since they were born. We have come so far in such a short period of time and we have so much to be thankful for! Wyatt has been completely off his meds since the beginning of the month and we no longer have to check his blood sugar. He now weighs over 11 pounds, almost five times his birth weight. He is an extremely happy baby, smiling and laughing constantly. The painful weeks after he came home from the NICU are a distant memory. He doesn't even seem like the same baby. Parks is doing great as well. He now weighs 15 lbs."

I am happy to report that on October 15th, Wyatt now weighs 13 pounds and Parks is probably close to 17 pounds. They are now only a couple of inches apart in overall length and are looking more and more alike than ever. Parks' hair is starting to turn darker, and his eyes have turned hazel. Wyatt appears to be bald his hair is so blonde, and his eyes are now a very bright blue. Parks is around the 50th percentile for his weight unadjusted. If you take his prematurity into account he is well over the 90th percentile. Wyatt has finally broken through on the growth chart for weight. He is in the 5th percentile unadjusted and 25th percentile adjusted, but his overall curve is trending about as vertical as you can get. We have had a few doctors appointments over the last month and a half, but I will post about those later. Here is a slide show of some random pictures over that time to get everyone reintroduced to our little men.

Anniversary

Today...four years ago...Randi and I exchanged vows surrounded by granite, stained-glass, and smiling faces. It was an Auburn football off week. All the old friends we got to see again, all the family members we were meeting for the first time, its was a blur.

I do have a few inescapable, frozen memories of that day. There was the Colonel's scrambled dog, pictures on the front steps of the church with Dante, the stretched Navigator surprise, the nod and the wink, missing out on not only our own dinner but also the leftovers, the band, the dance, the limo ride to Atlanta, and the flight the next morning with my new bride to explore not only a new part of the world but also each other.

After over a year of dating and several years as friends, the past four years have drug on and flown by all at the same time. If I had to describe each of them in one sentence, they would be:

Year 1: I get to live with you now...no, seriously I really get to live with you.
Year 2: Wow, are we really moving again?!
Year 3: So, what do you want to do now?
Year 4: Oh crap, we are having twins!!
Year 5 Prediction: Big changes are afoot and growing boys under foot.

Thank you to all for helping us make it through this last year. It was a tough one for both of us.

Dogs And Hams

Here are a few pictures from the last couple weeks we wanted to share with everyone. We would also like to send out our prayers for Holly, Katie and the triplets that are coming on Friday. We pray that everything goes well for all of you.

First, the ham...Parks LOVES mirrors. It's hard to pull him away.

Wyatt and Parks getting some floor time on the activity mat.

Dante getting some floor time on his back.

Dante not sure what to make of this situation, but odds are he'd rather Wyatt be somewhere else. Notice how big the bone is compared to Wyatt.

Wyatt ready for the game. Before you ask, he was posed and did not actually watch three hours of television. There will be enough sports to watch for years to come.

And The Answer Is...

It's Parks, all 14 pounds of him. He is now in the 25 percentile for his age and 90 percentile adjusted for his prematurity. They really are starting to favor one another, even though we are almost positive they are not identical. If we start having to paint their toe nails to tell them apart, then we will go get the DNA test. Wyatt is now 10 pounds and is starting to shoot up the growth chart.

Wyatt had two doctors' appointments today. The first was to a physical therapist. We have noticed recently that he is only looking to one side. It's hard for him to track object to his left or follow your voice. This is a condition called torticollis to where the muscles to one side of the neck become shorter and the other side elongated from him heavily favoring one side over the other. It makes perfect sense. Randi and I can only think of a couple times in six weeks at the NICU that he was rotated. It's onset can also be attributed to him being Saran-Wrapped in the uterus in an awkward position. Furthermore, this has also caused some plagiocephaly, which causes some deformation in the head due to constant pressure being put on one side over the other. One ear is slightly more forward than the others. We are hoping that the physical therapy will correct both conditions without us having to put him in a corrective helmet.

On a much, much brighter note, Wyatt also went back to the endocrinologist today. We have been able to successfully ween him off of all medications for his hypoglycemia. So, no more steroids and no more pricks in the heels. He has really been doing well regulating his blood sugars, and we are glad that his feet can finally start to heal. We only need to monitor any behavior out of the ordinary and we will have his cortisol levels tested before he has his hernia repair. This will tell us if his body can handle the stress of surgery.

We have more pictures, but its too late and this post is getting too long. I will post them soon.

Pop Quiz

We made it through the holiday weekend. I took a picture this weekend, and Randi could not figure out whether it was Wyatt or Parks. They must really be starting to look alike, if she couldn't even tell. So, just for fun, here's the picture to see if you guys can guess. It's a 50/50 shot. We have 5 doctors' appointments for Wyatt over the next week and I'll give the answer in the next update.

Our First Road Trip

WOW!!! What a monumental feat!! I did not realize everything we would have to pack that we use on a daily basis. Unbelievable. It's a great thing I'm a self-proclaimed "master packer." We had ourselves, the two boys, Dante, and all the trimmings stuffed into our Grand Caravan. Somehow we got it all in there. Not long after we got on the road, I realized that I had not been on an interstate highway since February. This coming from a guy that drove through 46 states and 6 countries before I was 26 years old. It was an odd feeling. I had forgotten the etiquette of high velocity travel.

We had to stop twice to feed the boys, once at a gas station--getting hot water for the formula from the coffee maker-- and stopping the second time in Auburn, Alabama only 45 minutes from our final destination, but we just COULD NOT go any further. We were actually able to stop at the house of one of Randi's high school friends. The trip otherwise was not very eventful. There were a few hiccups from the boys but no major inconsolable fits. We were also able to rig up the white noise machine in the car to give Parks and Wyatt a familiar sound. Randi and I, on the other hand, had to speak a little louder to get a conversation in over the constant "swooooooosh." We finally made it to Randi's parents house two hours later than it normally takes.

One of the main reasons for the maiden voyage of the "Goodship Lollipop" was for the season opener of Auburn "Allbarn" Tigers football. It will feel good to regain some minute semblance of normalcy. The other reason for the trip is to celebrate my mom's birthday. We have the whole "compound" descending from the hills of north Georgia to Randi's parents house on Sunday, plus most of Randi's extended family will also be in attendance. It will go on record as being the second largest gathering of our two families next to our blessed union of husband and wife, although my spidey-sense is tingling that Randi and I will not be at the center of attention. It will be interesting to see (A.) how much we can screw up Wyatt and Parks routine we have worked so hard to establish and (B.) how quickly they can bounce back and recover. We might live to regret making the trip and never leave our house again until the boys are ten years old...or maybe later.

On My Own

Today marked the first full day that I had both boys all by myself. We have been blessed to have had help since Wyatt came home from the hospital. I had my mother in law here for over a week, my mom here for a week, two of my best friends came for a few days at a time, my grandmother was here for three weeks and my aunt rounded up some of her wonderful friends to fill in the gaps. What a wonderful time I have had catching up with old friends, spending time with family and getting to know new friends. Thanks everyone!!

I most especially enjoyed my time with my grandmother. I am the oldest grandchild and my younger cousins began having children over 12 years ago. She has joked over the years that she hoped I had children before she died. I am so glad she's here to witness it and thankful for the time we had together. She fell in love with both boys, most especially Wyatt. That was largely due to the fact that she's 82 and it's a lot easier for her to handle an 8 pound baby than a 12 pound baby. Four pounds may not sound like much, but it makes a huge difference. So, Wyatt was largely her responsibility. While I missed out on some one-on-one time with Wyatt, I am so thankful she was able to be a part of this special time.

As for today, it actually wasn't that bad. I kind of enjoyed it. Just me and the boys. Me learning how to juggle two babies that needed changing, feeding and burping all at the same time and them learning that life with one mommy and two babies involves sitting in bouncy seats rather than being held. There was plenty of crying, but all in all I think we did pretty well. We'll see how tomorrow goes...

Thing 1 And Thing 2

Only in reference the Dr. Seuess would I refer to the boys as "things," but it seems to fit at times quite well. Here are some shots we recently took of Parks and Wyatt.

A great caption for a baby announcement: "Our family has grown by four feet."

Dante, still keeping his distance.

Parks all wrapped up after his nightly spa treatment.

Notice the difference in attitudes: Parks- calm and inquisitive

Wyatt- wide open

Parks and Wyatt (below) with Mickey Mouse ears that my family brought back from their recent trip to Disney World with my parents, my sister, her extended family, and three grandchildren.

Happy 100th Post!!

Actually 101st, but we wanted to extend a hand of gratitude to everyone out there that has been in prayer for us throughout this journey. It has been a whirlwind as I look back over the past eight months since we started this blog. We thank everyone out there that has stopped by for a visit and for all the returning guests into our home and lives. Again, we thank you all who have given us such encouragement with your comments. You have lifted us up and made us smile.

Old Rolls Of Film

So, Randi and I were setting up a mock studio in our living room to take pictures of the boys in some frilly lace outfits for their baby announcement, and I only had five pictures left on the roll of film that was still in my camera. Yes, call me a Luddite, I still love pictures on film. I also love finding old rolls and going, "huh, I wonder was it on here." Well, since I got the roll back I felt obliged to include some of them here.

Parks during our photo "session" with black cloth drapped over the sofa and red hot halogen job site lights.

One of the best pictures we had...so sad Parks is still wearing his bib.

Randi in the throws of pregnancy...and how did those two boys ever fit in there.

A face painter's palette at the New Orleans Jazz Fest that Randi and I attended in 2006.

"Vegas" sign on our trip to Sin City for Randi's work at Christmas 2005.

The famous Binion's in the old downtown Las Vegas.

Post Script-- it makes me sad that I haven't changed a roll of film since Christmas 2005.

Sleep, Sleep Tonight

It has been a while since we wrote last. I wanted to post a quick update while I had a minute. It seems like all I have now are quick updates. The boys are doing great. They will be 12 weeks tomorrow, 6 weeks adjusted. We have started a new bedtime routine in an attempt to cut down on the number of feeds in the middle of the night and get them sleeping longer. It's from a couple of women in Atlanta who have a service called, Moms on Call. With their help we are proud to announce that Parks has been able to sleep from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the last seven days. Wyatt has also been doing a lot better. He is able to sleep from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., take a feed, and them return to sleep until the 6 a.m. feed. So, we went from feeding two babies at midnight and 3 a.m. to feeding one baby once a night. This has really been a help for us. We do not know how much longer we could have kept up with the schedule we had in place.

Wyatt is now only on one medicine 4 times a day for his hypoglycemia. We tried to wean him down to three times a day but got some low blood sugars that caused us to return to the previous regiment. We will try again in a few days. He is awake, alert, and, most importantly, calm. He is still a sensitive baby and, we feel that this is just going to be his nature with all he had to go through. Parks is smiling consistently and trying to find his voice. We've even gotten a couple of smiles out of Wyatt. We can tell that they are both really starting to learn a lot about the world around them. They absorb everything. We have even started having some success with a Bumbo seat with Parks. Their will be more to come and tomorrow I might post something that is entertaining, although somewhat unrelated to the boys. Thanks for being patient with us.

I Need A Camera To My Eye, To My Eye

We are finally able to break in some of those matching outfits.

Dante's strategy is to ignore them to see if they go away.

My mom pulling "double-duty" during her most recent stay with us.

Introductions made all around.

Heading out for a mid-morning jog.

Happy Belated Birthday

Wyatt and Parks celebrated their two month birthdays on July 15th with copious amounts of breast milk, pulled an all-nighter with minimal sleep for all, played their white noise machine a little too loud, and some blood was spilled...on testing blood sugar. It was rockin'.

They got weighed this week. Wyatt is now 5 pounds, 12 ounces and Parks is 9 pounds, 2 ounces. They are both gaining roughly an ounce a day. Wyatt is eating about almost 3 ounces every feeding, which is outstanding for a baby his size. Parks is eating around 4 ounces. Unfortunately, often when their reflux acts us we ending up seeing a lot of this milk twice. We have also started adding rice to Parks's food to help with this, and, as an added benefit it should assist with weight gain. Maybe we should give Wyatt some as well.

It has been pretty tough around here recently. We are still trying to figure out their sleep behavior and get them into a reliable routine. They are starting to do a bit of a role reversal with Parks acting out during nap time and waking Wyatt up. We are trying a few new things to get Parks ready to sleep through the night in the nursery. This means kicking them out of our bedroom at night and the investment in a good video monitor. We are so fortunate to be able to afford (although barely) all the technology and the night nurse to give us the help we need.

Our Little Fighter

As I type this, Wyatt is beside me in the pack 'n play trying to sleep. He's grunting, groaning and just generally complaining about the fact that he's in the pack 'n play and not on someone's chest. How does a child who spent six weeks in the NICU come home spoiled? I choose to believe it's more a function of the fact that he was missing that human touch when he was in the hospital. He hasn't had much very good sleep at all today, and I am already dreading going to bed tonight. Although, I am so happy to have him home with us, I am really not enjoying this time. I find myself wishing for it to be three or four months from now when they might both be sleeping through the night. I know if I could just get a good night's sleep then I could make it through the days.

It's amazing what a bond is formed with other mothers immediately after you've given birth. I have so many close friends who are already mothers that I feel I have already bonded with on a whole other level. I have two friends in particular who have recently delivered boys and it has been such a blessing to be able to call them with questions and sometimes just to vent. As I was speaking with one of these women tonight she made a statement that Wyatt is a survivor...that it was just a few short weeks ago that we weren't even sure he would make it. From her perspective, he's an answer to prayer. He's here and he's thriving, and that's all that matters. But from my narrow, day-to-day perspective, I have just been complaining and wishing we weren't in this phase. I'm living the sleepless nights and endless days, fumbling around trying to learn how to be a mom to twin newborns.

How quickly I need reminding that this is my little miracle, who was literally starved in-utero, who at times we feared would not make it, who struggled for six weeks in the NICU, but who is thriving at home right now. How quickly I forget God's faithfulness. He brought me through that and He will bring me through this. We named him Wyatt for a reason and he continues to prove that he is our "little fighter."

Family & Friends

Here are some pictures I have been meaning to post. I just noticed that all the pictures are indoors. We don't get out much these days.

Parks with Randi's mom during her recent stay with us.

Randi's grandmother feeding Wyatt while visiting.

Me after a hard night attempting the first solo feeding of both boys while Randi went to dinner with her family.

Randi finding a new type of baby carrier for around the house. It's a good thing the reflux didn't kick in at that moment on some clean clothes.

Parks hanging out in the early a.m., not quite ready for the first morning feed.

A Needed Reprieve

We had a very good holiday weekend with one of Randi's high school friends and her husband coming to visit for a few days. Their first child is due in September. She was a ton of help for us and it was good practice for them. On Friday night we were able to get a night nanny to stay at the house. We went to a fun dinner and were able to get a full night's sleep. She kept very detailed records of when they slept, when they ate, and what the meds and blood sugars were. It was actually very informative to see exactly what their sleeping patterns look like, particularly Wyatt. We were very happy with her and are looking forward to having someone here a couple nights a week, most likely until we can get Wyatt sleeping consistently between his feeds.

We were also able to take both kids out to eat a few times this week. It's so odd to have to have people be accommodating to us, with our two infant carriers needing two high chairs and an extra large table. On one dinner and lunch occasion everything went off without a hitch. They both slept the entire time we were at dinner and were able to keep to their schedule even with all the distractions and breaks from our routine. On one other dinner night out, we went to a local pizza place. It was busy and we were a little worried. They were able to stay asleep during the dinner, but during the course of the meal the music in the establishment rose considerably to a crescendo. That night we had the worst night with both of them. They were so over-stimulated they couldn't help it. We had pushed them too far, and they made us pay for it.

We have now titrated Wyatt's steroids to what is considered a replacement dose or physiologic level. He has been sleeping better over the last few days, although he is still not a good sleeper and seems to sleep better during the day than at night. As a result Randi and I are extremely sleep deprived. He does seem to be much less agitated and in general a much happier baby. If his blood sugar continues to hold steady, we will titrate his other medication as well. The ultimate goal is for him to be free of these medications completely in the next month or so. They are both eating above the estimate amount for their size and age. We are hoping this will translate to more pounds for them both, especially Wyatt. They are holding their feeds pretty well, although Parks has started spitting up in larger quantities but does not appear to be in any pain. We are getting more efficient at feeding and getting them down without too many hiccups (literally and figuratively).

UPDATE: Randi took both boys in to the pediatrician's office today. Wyatt is now 5 pounds, 7 ounces, and Parks is 8 pounds, 12 ounces, 5th percentile on the normal growth curve.

Wyatt Update

Thanks so much for your prayers. Wyatt's blood sugars have remained well above 60, hovering between 100-130. If he maintains his sugars, he will be weaned on Friday to what's considered a physiologic or replacement dose. So far we haven't seen significant improvements in his demeanor, but we knew it would take some time for the medication to get out of his system. We'll keep you posted.