"New" News

I'm not in the mood for the long post needed for the Christmas update, but I wanted to record a few new things the girls are doing before I forget:-)

In the last few days, Natalie has sprouted 2 new teeth! She will now have the teeth on either side of her front two bottom teeth. As a result, however, she is constantly chewing on her fingers. I'm surprised she has any flesh left. It makes pictures difficult too, since you can't get her fingers out of her mouth. I can't blame her though. Growing teeth must really be a pain. I'm just glad that chewing her fingers is the worst of it. I'm hopeful that more teeth will mean she will eat more. Hopeful, I said, not delusional.

Abby has figured out how to go forward on her little car. It's great! I'm so proud of her. We first noticed it yesterday. It's really cute to see her do it. Natalie is going backwards on her car, which is still pretty cool. I know she will go forward any day now.

Abby is trying her hardest to talk. She is trying to repeat so many things. I swear she said rock, hot, dog, and sister in the past few days. She also babbles with lots of new vowels, my favorite being "nu-nu" - sort of like no-no, but with an uuuu sound. It's adorable. She also says, "uh-oh", which is equally as endearing.

Natalie is quieter but sometimes goes on a babbling bender - especially in the car. The other thing they do in the car sometimes is reach across and touch and hold hands. Oh my gosh - it is so sweet. Today I told them to give each other kisses - and they did - with big, sweet grins on their faces. It just melts my heart.

Adorable pictures of kissing babies to come soon....

Merry Christmas!

We are back from our Christmas travels, and really, really tired. We had a great time with family, received great gifts, but we are glad to be home.

A real update with Christmas recap is yet to come. Stay tuned....


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Weekend at Grandpa and Yaya's

The weekend of December 12th, Ben took the girls to their grandparents for the weekend. It was a two-fold visit. One: the grandparent's needed a fix, and two: Mommy needed a break.

The girls (and grandparents) had a great time. Ben actually just took apart their cribs and took them with him. (They were easy to take apart and put back together.) It made sleeping a lot easier - no Pea Pods to wrestle with.

Grandpa and Yaya went over board, as usual, and had some great gifts for the girls - early Christmas, I think. First, there were the cute little cars - complete with beeps and whirls.

The girls are slowly learning how to make the cars go with their feet. I've caught them going backwards on the cars we have at home, so I'm sure forwards is just around the corner. I'm actually pretty excited about that. Once they figure it out, we can go to the nearby lake/pond and "ride" around the track.


Next on the agenda was the Super Dooper Radio Flyer Little Red Wagon! Every kid needs a little red wagon. This one is pretty cool. It's tricked out with seats, back support, storage, and a nifty canopy. It's very cool.

Grandpa and Yaya took them out for a spin and from the looks of it, they had a great time.












So, what did Mommy do during her luxurious time-off. Well, Friday night I attended a Mom's Night Out sponsored by Triangle Mommies. It was Poker Night and tons of fun. Both my neighbors went and we had a great time. I tried my hand at Texas Hold'em with my paper "mommy money", but I am still not the poker genius I imagine myself to be after watching hours of Poker Tournaments on the Travel Channel. I spent the rest of Friday night and into the wee hours of Saturday reading the final book of the Twilight series.

Please stay tuned for a Twilight commercial... love it, love it, love it. While in New York, my sister watched the girls so I could hit a movie one night (Monday). I saw the new vampire flick, Twilight. I was mesmerized. I will say the movie wasn't as good as I expected - a little slow at first - but I think it was because it had so much press. But, I throughly enjoyed it and was intrigued enough to want to read the book. I sent Kimberly by the bookstore Tuesday night to get the first book, also Twlight. By Saturday morning, 4 books and over 2500 pages later, I finished the 4th book. It's an intriguing series. If you like sci-fi, you should love this. These are "good" vampires, BTW, so not too much blood and guts:-) End Commercial.

So, after Twilight and some internet surfing, I went to bed about 7am. I didn't really do anything important the rest of the weekend other than eat Chinese food, play on the computer and watch a lot of TV. What I didn't do is clean, cook, or do any house-related work whatsoever. I LOVE Mommy weekends:-)

Once again we are grateful to Yaya and Grandoa for being so great to Natalie and Abby. They will have their first sleepover at their house New Year's weekend, while Mommy and Daddy enjoy a baby-free weekend. We can't wait!

Goodbye Big, Happy Number...

It seems the Big Apple took a toll on Natalie and Abby. Between the traveling, the throwing up, and not eating as well, they lost A LOT of weight. I'm very disappointed.

So, the big news On Dec 2 was that Natalie hit 17# 15.5oz (and bumped 18# for a second) and that Abby was 18# 1oz. They then had a doctor's appointment that Friday and weighed in at 18#1 oz for Natalie and 18# 5.2oz for Abby. I was pretty excited.

Well, last week the girls had developed colds with Abby having a cough and fever with hers. Concerned about RSV, I took her in on Tuesday, Dec.16. She weighed 17# 12 oz. I was so shocked I told the nurse it had to be wrong and to do it again. Same result. So, down 9 ozs in less than 2 weeks.

Just to be sure, I weighed them the next day on my scale. Natalie - 17# 11.5 oz, and Abby - 17#12.5 oz. I was pretty sad.

That's what I get for being happy they were eating like "normal babies". The joke's on me.

Dear Santa,

Please bring us parents who won't torture us!

Sorry, girls, Christmas is Christmas and that requires a Santa picture. You'll love us for it when you are older and you have one for every single year!

19 months old and Merry Christmas

Here are the girls at 19 months old, and in their Christmas outfits. They have little colds, so their noses are a little red and they look a little out of it.


Just a reminder of last year's picture:












Nat on left, Abby on right.


And this year: Isn't it amazing how they've grown!

little girls, BIG CITY

Natalie and Abigail hit the Big Apple - or at least Brooklyn!

Last Saturday (Dec. 6) Mommy, Natalie and Abby hopped a plane to see Aunt Kimmy (who from now on wants to be called "Auntie"). Yes, you read that right. One mom, only two hands and two babies. It actually turned out to be easier than I thought. I have to say the people at US Air were wonderful. They helped carry the car seat and helped with the stroller. Strangers were very nice, too. For instance, while waiting at RDU, when Natalie somehow slipped and busted her lip on the arm of a chair, one lady went to get paper towels for all the blood and another brought back ice to help with the swelling (and the crying). Everyone was really quite wonderful, and it definately made the trip easier.

In case you are wondering how I did it: one double stroller, one car seat, and one baby sling (like baby bijorn). The car seat (with one baby) fit into the stroller (thanks Paula!) and the other baby sat in the front of the stroller. When I got ready to board the plane, I put the non-car seat baby in the baby sling (attached to me). The plan was to roll the stroller down the walk-way to the door, take out the car seat, fold up the stroller to check it, and carry the car seat a few feet to our seats near the front of the plane. The only glitch was that both coming and going involved going up and down the steps to the tarmac and up to the plane. Here's where the US Air employees were very, very helpful.

I purchased a seat for one baby and held the other on my lap - with the sling. I had a small bag of books and milk and it all worked out very well. The girls were SO good on the plane. Natalie cried a little when we first got on because of a combination of the noise of the tarmac and a stranger carrying her car seat. On the way back, she cried a little because she was so tired. But, all in all, they were excellent.

Auntie met us at baggage at LaGuardia which made dealing with luggage much easier. Somehow, we were roped into a trip straight to the mall. ?????? Anyone who knows me knows I'd rather do just about anything else. Kim was Christmas shopping and I actually did find some long-sleeve shirts at Lane Bryant. At least I got to pick my own things and will thus avoid the clothes my mom will try to buy me for Christmas (hint, hint, hint - mom. NO CLOTHES).

We traveled with the Pea Pods for the girls to sleep in. They were moderately successful. Once asleep, the girls were fine in them. Getting them in them to sleep is the problem. They cry like crazy when zipped up in them. Crying leads to puking. Puking leads to multiple outfit changes, for babies and mommy, not to mention the loss of calories. So,we took to spoiling them. Auntie was a pro at lying down next to them and getting them to fall asleep on her. Then we would sneak them into their pea pods.

They slept really well Saturday night. Sunday night was a disaster. I tried to feed them at 11pm, and they just woke up. Abby was up for at least an hour. Natalie was up until 4am. I finally just took her into my bed and went in and out of consciousness. Then she was up at 7:30am Monday morning! Crazy baby. Monday and Tuesday were slightly better. I didn't make the mistake of trying to wake them for a feed so we were able to get some sleep.

Sunday we had a professional photo shoot (remember Natalie's busted lip!). My sister has a friend who is starting a business and he agreed to shoot our pictures. It was fun and despite the cold (and Natalie's lip), they turned out great.



Natalie


Abigail ---->






Natalie and Abby












I'll probably post some more pictures later. If you are in the New York area, you can contact Adam at adamcohenphotos@yahoo.com. I believe right now he's charging about $150 for the session and then he GIVES you ALL the pictures - rights and everything. It's a deal.

Monday was bitterly cold. We had plans to meet with one of the mom's and her daughter from my preemie board. But, after the girls' restless night sleep and the ridiculous cold and the significant subway trip it would entail - we canceled and spent the day indoors. Gotta love NYC take-out.

Tuesday I was determined to take the kids somewhere in the city. Along with the twin girls my sister babysits, we visited a Brooklyn park. The girls climbed, slid, and played on the swings. It was great - a little cold, but thanks to the warm and comfy coats Grammy bought, they were quite comfortable.

Playing in the park made me feel very New York!


Tuesday night we drove into Manhattan for a drive by of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree (see the blurry picture at the top!) It was actually smaller than I thought it would be. Then again, maybe everything looks smaller when cruising by in a car. We also stopped in Greenwich Village, Kimberly's old stomping grounds, to eat our favorite dish, Catfish Tacos, at Miracle, a local restaurant. Okay, I know it's sounds gross, but I promise you it is delicious: crispy fried catfish tenders, wrapped in a soft tortilla with cheese, cabbage, a chipotle sauce and ginger. SOOOO good.

Wednesday - Our plane wasn't leaving until 7:30pm, so we had time to play a little before leaving. Again with Kim's girls, we visited, Power Play, an indoor play area and gym. It had a great little log cabin for kitchen play, things to climb, slides, cars to ride, these great little "roller coaster" tracks, and even an indoor sandbox - which we avoided. It didn't take the girls long to figure out how to crawl up the giant tunnel slide and slide back down - or run around and try to come down the stairs. It was a lot of fun and we had a great time.









Despite heading off to the wrong airport, we made our flight (also thanks to a delay), and headed back to NC. We were very happy to see Daddy and get back to our beds - all of us:-)

I was really impressed with how great the girls did in general. They were so good-natured. It's so great to be able to take them anywhere. They also ate fairly well - not great, but okay. They did throw up a lot. Crying at night set them off, plus their reflux seemed to be acting up. A few times Natalie would just look at the bottle, gag, and throw up.

Other than that, it was a great trip. We can't wait to go back in the spring when we can play outside more and see more of the big city. Thanks, Auntie, for making us feel so at home. We love you!

Another few pics: Natalie and Abby discovered Kimberly's cabinet of never-used cooking pots and pans )remember NYC take-out). It was so cute. That's Natalie who crawled inside.

Scroll down a bit for Thanksgiving Day recap

So, it took me two weeks to finish the Thanksgiving Day post. Because I started it a week ago, it posted by date. Scroll down a few days to check it out.

The Big 1-8

Pounds, that is! Yes, the girls have finally hit the 18 pound mark. I am so excited.

Tuesday is usually weigh-in day. I didn't weigh them last week, but the week before they had lost weight. Natalie was at 17.7.5, and Abby around 17.10 or 12oz. (I didn't write it down). Yesterday, Abby hit 18#1oz! Even more impressive was Miss Natalie, 17#15.5oz. The scale actually hit 18#, then bumped back to 15.5. Close enough, I think.

So, Natalie is giving Abby a run for her money. She has declared, "I AM the older sister, and I WILL be bigger!" Interestingly, she also seems to have become a little more aggressive with Abby. Maybe she senses she can almost take her. Abby better watch out.

Natalie has been eating really well. I think she must drink at least 20 ounces a day now. She usually drains at least 2, sometimes 3 of her bottles a day (that's 18 ounces right there). Oh, the return to Pedisure has done wonders, by the way. Just a few minor reflux spit-ups, but nothing like the two weeks of vomit. They are taking a bottle 3 times a day and usually another at nap time. They also drink from their sippy straw cups throughout the day. I still feel like they aren't eating very much real food, but it's hard to tell with all the smearing and flinging and dropping in their laps.

Abby is also eating well. She doesn't always finish her bottles but usually gets about 5 ounces from at least 3 a day. But, she tends to drink more from the sippy cup, so it makes up for it.

I'm so happy they are finally eating more like regular children. I never thought I'd see the day. They are even finally out-growing their clothes. Until the last 2 months, they have been wearing 6 months or even 3 month stuff. Now, it's 9 months and 12 months PJs. I've had a hard time putting away their clothes. I'm rather attached to a number of things. I guess it's because they wore them SOOOO long. Usually they grow so fast you don't have time to get used to any one outfit!

We have a peds appointment Friday, and I think this is the first time I'm not worried about going. I'm actually rather excited. I think the doctor will be pleased:-)

Mommy certainly is!

The Miracle of Language

We have a confession to make. We fell for an infomercial. First, I have to say, I am a sucker for a good infomercial. If I had endless amounts of money, I would buy everything I could for 19.99 - and wait - I'd get two! I'm not at all interested in QVC or other shopping networks - those just make me laugh. But, give me a good infomercial and I'm hooked.

I have seen on several occasions a commercial for a program called "Your Baby Can Read". I'd even done a little research, looked at some reviews, and looked at the material. I had actually considered adding the flash cards to their Christmas list. The commercial shows children as young as 9 months recognizing and "reading" words. I was very impressed, but as I said, that doesn't take much.

Needing a level-headed opinion, I DVRed the commercial for Ben to watch. It took about 5 minutes for him to be on board. So, we ordered it.

Just to be clear...it's not that we think babies NEED to learn to read at one year. We don't want to seem like those over-zealous, crazy people who over schedule their children til they barely have time to breath. I'm all for letting babies be babies and kids be kids. But, literacy is just so important. It's the foundation of all learning. Plus, those early years are so crucial to setting a child up to succeed in the future. We figured that it couldn't hurt to see if it worked.

The program includes a series of videos (5) and accompanying special flash cards that show the word and then slide out to show the picture, and flip books that do the same thing. The videos are actually pretty neat. It has about 20 words that flash on the screen, are then verbalized, and then the animal or action is shown. If it is an action, like waving, a baby or child does it. The words repeat randomly throughout the video with different pictures and suggestions, ex. clap - can you say clap? or can you clap your hands? or the baby is clapping - clap your hands with the baby. The first video includes the words, dog, cat, tiger, elephant, hi, clap, baby, arms up, arms down, eyes, nose and mouth. I may be forgetting a few. It also includes two songs, Twinkle Twinkle (the girls absolute favorite song) and Itsy Bitsy Spider. The program suggests they watch the video twice a day (about 20 minutes) and do the flash cards and the book a few times a day.

I started the program with Natalie and Abby on Monday. Ben and I are amazed. The girls love it. Abby is especially entranced. She watches the whole thing and does everything the words, voices, and babies do - touch her mouth, nose, put her arms up and down, woff at the dogs (and make the sign), meow at the cat (and do the sign) , roar at the tiger (which is hilarious), wave and clap.

The most amazing thing, however, is that in the last two days, Abby has several times responded to the written word BEFORE hearing the verbal or seeing the picture. She may woof or make the sign for dog or shout kittty when she sees the word cat. She has also learned the word cat. I think we were looking at the books or flash cards, and she saw the word and shouted "cat!". Ben was in tears.

We truly are amazed. Is she just memorizing the words at this point? Yes. But, she's also learning body parts, animals and has added at least one new word to her vocabulary. (I think tiger is close behind - it's hard to tell if she is saying tiger or kitty - I think it's tiger.) The idea behind the program is that they are also processing the phoenics of language (like the ph in elephant representing the "f" sound). Eventually they can transfer that knowledge to words they have never seen - "phone".

So, what about Natalie - since I've focused on Abby. Natalie likes the videos too, and also copies the motions and movements. She seems to have a shorter interest span, however, and will often wander off to do something else. She does often check back though and join back in. She loves the book though. It's really a great book. It's similar to others we have. The word is on the page, then you flip up the page and the picture is shown, and a sentence or two about it. For instance, it may say that the tiger has stripes. The pictures are wonderful too - beautiful, full color photographs. The flash cards are the same. Because there are so many animals, the girls really like them. But, back to Natalie...she has consistently been about a week behind Abby is many things. I think she likes to sit back and watch, take everything in, process it and then act on it. She has shown the same pattern with the signing videos. It will often seem like she is not paying attention, then I find her making the signs hours or days after seeing the videos. It's kind of amazing really.

Just so you don't all think all Natalie and Abby do all day is watch videos, I promise they stay very, very busy. They love their books and probably spend at least half of their play time looking at books on their own or bringing them to us to read. We actually don't "read" as much as we look at animals, label them and make sounds. They LOVE animals - especially anything cat or cat-related, such as tigers and lions. They also still play on their slide, including sliding themselves, toys, and balls down the slide. They have actually started sliding down the "right" way. Before they would turn around and go down feet first on their stomachs. Now they are staying in the sitting position.

They have also gotten really good at throwing and kicking the balls. Natalie started kicking the ball a few days ago and I will post some video soon. They are also learning to scribble with their aquadoodle - when I can keep them from sucking on the water-pen:-) Puzzles are becoming a favorite too. Grammy gave them a wonderful "Melissa and Doug" wooden farmyard animal puzzle. It has magnets that activate the animals sound when the piece is replaced. Of course, the kitty is the favorite. Abby has been able to replace the piece several times. Natalie is really, really close.

They are both learning so many new animal sounds. Although their main word is kitty, (and cat and maybe tiger for Abby), they can make the sounds for cat, dog, sheep, monkey, elephant, and cow. They also pucker their lips for fish. Sometimes they have to be prompted to make the sounds but sometimes they do them spontansiously. We are still working on saying more words and using more sounds to ask for things.

Their sign language is coming along too. Eat, dog, and cat are used frequently. They also do drink/cup, bird(sort-of) and have just added cracker. Cracker was quite a surprise since I never even reinforced it since they never eat crackers. They just picked it up on their own. They use the signs to indicate when they are hungry or thirsty or use more to ask for something. Abby will use the signs, "more book" (2 different signs) to ask you to read a book.

Natalie and Abby continue to impress us with their receptive language. Yesterday, as I was cleaning them up after eating, I told the girls we would take a bath. As soon as I put Abby over the gate, she went straight to the bathroom and started banging on the door.

Life at our house isn't all learning and education - it's full of amazing laughter and joy. Hearing the girls giggling is the most beautiful sound on earth. They get SO excited when Ben comes home from work. We have so many hugs and kisses and laughter and cuddling. The girls love each other too. They hug each other, reach for each other and laugh at each other. If one starts giggling, the other will too. They play games in their cribs - passing toys and books back and forth and laughing and babbling. So much love - so much joy.

We are so blessed and so happy. Life is so good.

A Day of Thanks

This year we gathered with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving - and eat ridiculous amounts of food. In attendance, from left to right - top to bottom:
Ben, Natalie, Reagan, Abby, Jeff, Wayne, Jane, Mema, Grammy, Ya-Ya, Johelen, Grandpa


This year I am thankful for many things. Here are just a few:

I am thankful Natalie and Abigail were born at 26.1 weeks and not one day earlier. Something amazing happens at the 26 week mark. The rates for survival go way up. We discovered the girls' TTTS at 24.4 weeks. Had they been born then, the survival rate would have been less than 50%. At 25 weeks, survival would have been about 67%. At 26 weeks, survival jumps to 80-90%. In addition, children born at 25 weeks or less have a 50% chance of having a disability that would interfere with their lives. A 2005 long-term study showed only 20% of babies born before 26 weeks had no problems.

The day we discovered the TTTS (and the day after), I received steroid shots to help the girls' lungs grow. The fact that they were girls also helped them. Girls mature faster than boys even in the womb! Combined with the 10 extra days they spent in the womb, they had a chance for survival that they would not have had if born even a few days earlier.

I am thankful for the doctors at Duke who helped keep my babies in every day possible. I'm thankful the doctors helped us find the right balance between letting the babies grow and putting them at risk. I'm thankful for the research and drugs that allowed my babies to live. I'm thankful for the parents and precious babies that came before who were the catalysts for research and advances in neonatology. Having a premature baby gives new meaning to the phrase, "one day at a time".

I am thankful for the health of my daughters. As a member of a preemie forum, I am daily confronted with what could have been. As 26.1 weekers, Natalie and Abby did have a high rate of possible survival . And although after the 26 week mark, the rate and severity of disabilities begins to dramatically fall, the chance for mild-to very serious problems always remained. From the forum, I am aware of so many children who were born at 26 weeks or even later who have mild to severe disabilities. We are so lucky so far. Actually, technically, the chances still remain for there to be repercussions in the future.. The girls are still at risk for learning disabilities or behavioral issues as they get older. Compared to what could have been, however, their incredible good health, especially for twins, is miraculous to me. Even their ability to eat considerably less than they should and still gain weight and thrive is incredible. I am so grateful they are so healthy and have had nothing worse than a few colds, a stomach bug and an ear infection.

I am thankful for the laughter and joy that Natalie and Abby bring to our lives. Watching Natalie and Abby run down the hallway laughing and giggling is a joy more overwhelming than I can describe. When they look at each other and start laughing, my heart melts. When they hug each other, I want to cry with happiness. My girls are happy. That makes me happy. The wonder on their faces as they explore their world is so beautiful to me. Watching their delight when they see Kitkat come in to the room just makes me smile. It's the simplest things that delight children and their elation at all the world has to offer is infectious.

I am thankful for our family. Ben and I are both blessed with amazing families. The girls are so lucky to have such amazing grandparents and aunts and uncles. They are loved from all directions and with such devotion. Our families have also been very supportive of Ben and me as well. Doy has come up to help when I and the babies were sick (at the same time), my dad, step-mom, sister and step-sister rescued us last Thanksgiving when I was losing my mind by taking the girls to a hotel for the night. Grandparents and aunts and uncles have babysat so we could have a night off. Everyone has generously showered the girls with toys, clothes, books and lots and lots of love.

On the aforementioned preemie forum, I have also seen moms share about some of the horrible and insensitive comments they have heard, not just from strangers, but from their own families. It's hard for me to imagine some of the things others have been told. I can honestly say that since the babies were born, our families have been wonderful and given us so much support. We are very grateful.

I am thankful for our friends, church and neighbors. We have had great friends, many from our church, who have stuck by us through all of the drama with Natalie and Abby. Again, to the preemie forum, some parents have had friends abandon them because their situation seemed to much to handle. We have only had people willingly to see the babies in the hospital, stop by to keep me company after they were home, bring meals, offer to babysit, and call and email to make sure we were okay.
Our church family has been amazing; they were as happy as we were when they heard the news we were expecting, and as just as concerned when the girls were in trouble. They have offered prayers, meals, a baby shower, cards, and friendship.
We have also been lucky to discover we have great neighbors. I have thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the moms next door. Kara, with 8 month old Bradley, and Felicia and 2 year old Ethan. It's been good for us all to share play dates, swap stories, lend an ear and do some stand-in babysitting. I am very blessed to have such a great support system right next door!

I am thankful for my Ben. My Ben is the most amazing husband and father. I simply adore him. He is so good to me and just the greatest father. I can't say enough how I love the way he lights up when he sees the girls and how they light up when they see him. We have the most wonderful little family, and I am blissfully happy.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time this year. We enjoyed a 4 day visit from Mema and Grammy which was wonderful. It's hard to get to see them sometimes. We missed having Poppy and Nanny, but we are looking forward to seeing them at Christmas. My sister also missed the fun, but we had just seen her a few weeks earlier and would again at Christmas.

Thanks to everyone who cooked or brought a dish. Ahhh, there's nothing like leftovers.