George's PT eval and nutrition stuff

Today was George (and Abigail's) PT eval. They evaluated Abigail since they were here, but we did not have any real concerns about her development. Abigail and George did not qualify according to the Sooner Start standards but they advised seeking private PT services for George. His torticollis is very mild and the PT felt that with a few ongoing stretching/strengthening exercises, we could stay on top of it. He tracks objects well with his eyes and head and reaches for objects all on his right side, which she felt was a positive thing. He also holds his head up well at midline while on his tummy which is a good sign of potential. That's the basic overview...for you clinical folks, sorry for the lack of detail. In summary, it is not something that will correct itself at this point and is something that will probably reappear as he hits each developmental milestone and growth spurt, thus the recommendation for private services. With exercises and our attention to his tendencies to use his stronger side (left), we could help him to correct it throughout infancy and childhood.

As I mentioned in previous posts, I am focusing on consuming more calories and fat in my diet to keep up with the babies' feeding needs. Unfortunately it is easy to grab a candy bar or something non-nutritious to get the calories, but I would like to eat healthfully and to get all the "good stuff" out of food. If anyone has any recommendations for snack items or recipes that are medium to high in fat and higher in calories, please email them to me at carriejank@hotmail.com. Matt is working on perfecting his high calorie/ high protein homemade granola bar, so we'll see how that goes!

Went to the Y again today and the babies did well in the nursery---got a great cardio workout and did some stretching. By the way it was 28 degrees when I was driving to and from the Y with a very brisk wind. Brrrrr...........

A cold winter's day...

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...it is a dreary, cold day in Oklahoma with winter weather on its way. A great day to be snuggled up inside drinking hot tea and writing on the blog...



George and Abigail have been sick this past week....typical winter colds with low grade fevers, stuffy noses, coughs, and sneezes. They tolerated it beautifully and only "acted" sick a few nights. As of today, they are back to normal with no fevers.

Sooooo....we took advantage of being well and went to the Y. Matt has started swimming in the early mornings before work, so I took both babies to the nursery and worked out on my own. It was great to be back in the gym for "mommy time". The Y has a closed circuit TV channel where I could watch the babies in the nursery which was great for my anxieties. They did wonderfully; Abigail even fell asleep! We will be back into working out mode and figuring out a new schedule to accommodate the twins and Reba-Grace's naps so Renee and I can go workout together again.

George and Abigail are doing really well with cereal. This past weekend, we thickened it up to a texture like grits and they were champions! It took them a few bites to get used to it, but both seem to be enjoying it. George studies me very intensely when I am eating as if to say "Mommy, when can I eat that?" Due to great appetites, they have both gained a pound in the past week, now weighing in at 12 (Ab) and 13 (Geo). Abigail's little short legs are getting chunky and her belly is huge! George is getting some meat on his skinny bones and though he still has chicken wing arms, his legs are gaining (which will be great to support him and hopefully he will be more motivated to stand!). I forgot to write that George rolled over from his tummy to his back last week!! Hasn't done it since, but I know he will again soon! Abigail mastered rolling from back to tummy on her left side this morning as I was getting ready to nurse.

Poor Matt always gets left out of the blog. I want to brag on my hubby and his awesome efforts of getting back into shape. He is currently training for the OKC Marathon in April with his brother Billy and has been running nearly every day to train. His warm up race will be the Austin Marathon (he will do 1/2 which is 13.1 miles) in Feb. He is quickly dropping a few pounds gained as "Sympathy Pregnancy" weight and looks fabulous! He has amazing will power as he is dieting and I am trying to eat everything in sight to keep up with my hungry babies. He has been cooking up a storm so I can pack in the calories in a nutritious way...two nights ago, he made venison steaks, broiled potatoes, green beans, and baked acorn squash. Last night, he made homemade granola bars and foccacia bread. I love being married to a chef!!

Tomorrow George is having his PT eval in the morning and I hope to get in another workout at the Y in the afternoon. This week should be fairly normal as we prepare to head to Shreveport this weekend. It's Dad's bday and Kendal, Lauren and the twins are also coming into town, so we'll have lots of visiting! Hopefully the Morris clan will be able to come up from Houston too.

Gotta run, Abigail has awakened from her nap!

Eating for Three

As I type, I have wet hair, a full belly, and one ear turned towards the nursery as I listen for my angelic little boogers to wake. This is an average day in our new life as parents. I have learned that prioritizing is a must and I have to make the most of each second. Thus, I have a load of laundry in the washer, I have showered for the day (others around me cheer with appreciation), I have consumed breakfast (at 11:30am), and it is time to breathe for a moment.

I like my new life. I love staring down into the eyes of George and Abigail. I like working parttime--I think it makes me a better social worker as I put more of myself into the two workdays and I really get excited to come home to be with the twins. Plus I have to stay on top of my paperwork, which is a good thing. Boomer is adjusting to not being top dog. And I am learning how to manage him, the two always hungry cats, and the babies. Spring will be nice when Boomer can be outside chasing squirrels more.

Breastfeeding is the focus of my every thought. I am so determined to do it (thanks Mom and Dad for those hard-headed genes). As the babies grow, they are eating larger amounts and I am struggling to keep up. I have my dad's bad habit of forgetting to eat, so maintaining 3000 calories a day has been tough. I am now tracking my intake (and beginning to enjoy eating high cal stuff) which has helped in the past few days. I realized that I was barely eating 2000 per day...no wonder George and Abigail were acting hungry after nursing. Part of me is happy to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight--though nothing is in the same place it was to begin and none of my old clothes fit yet. It is tough to switch my mental framework of eating healthy to cramming everything in my mouth I can. Thanks to my dedicated hubby, I have begun using calorieconnect.com, which is a really easy way to track anything in your diet. Eating has to be my focus, just as it is for my babes.

Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with formula and babies who have it thrive. But I made a commitment to myself and George and Abigail that I would breastfeed as long as I could, and thank goodness I have not had any major hiccups to cause me to think otherwise. Plus, I really enjoy it and love the bonding that occurs between me and each child. It is the most amazing gift of womanhood to be able to birth and nourish my children.

Sweet Babies...

Quick entry as Abigail is getting fussy...

Babies are doing well this week. Woke up with coughs, sneezes, and snotty noses this morning, so I hope we are not on the brink of another cold. They started cereal this past Friday and have very different opinions of it. Abigail loves it...thinks it is the best thing since sliced bread and can't understand why it takes so long to get the spoon to her mouth. She opens up like a little birdie ready for her food! George, on the other hand, is not so sure about it. He tolerates it but does not enjoy it (and he's the one who needs the calories!). He is getting the swallowing thing down slowly but it will take time and persistence to get him to come around to the idea.

Abigail is still talking up a storm and is starting to look more like her brother. She resembles Matt's baby pictures. Her little legs and arms are getting chunky which is great! And boy does she love to eat....not so keen on sleeping though. She goes down for naps okay but nighttime is not fun. She will scream and scream, working herself up to where she shakes with anger. Once we help her calm down (which I am anxious for her to learn to do herself), she will drift off to sleep. Last night was pretty funny...went in after about 30 minutes of her crying off and on, unwrapped her from her swaddle to change her diaper and she fell asleep with her arms straight up in the air within about 10 seconds!! So we put her blocks on either side of her and she slept like that until 1am. Chuckle!

George is just as sweet and cuddly as ever! His smile melts my heart. We have been working hard on strengthening his legs and neck. Sooner Start (ECI program) came out last week for intake and he will be evaulated for physical therapy next week. He loves to kick but primarily kicks with his right leg. I think he will do well in PT and will catch up to where he needs to be soon. Still working on getting him to eat more, but he loves to sleep like his mommy. I am going to start waking him up instead of letting him sleep so he doesn't miss any feedings. So hard to wake a sleeping baby though....

Off to wake him now...feeding and for a walk we will go...

Keep your spirits up Rita...we're praying for you!

Four Months Old!

The babies have reached another monthly milestone! They are growing and changing every day.

George weighs 12 lbs. and is in the 50% for head circumference, 25% for length, and 5% for weight. Basically he is long and skinny with a normal sized noggin. He loves to smile and has started to find his voice...cooing and figuring out different mouth positions for different sounds. He loves to laugh! He kicks his legs like crazy...maybe a budding soccer player or runner? His daddy would be thrilled! His right side of his neck is still weaker than it should be, so it is tough for him to hold his head up, though he does well for about a minute while on his tummy. He doesn't like to stand assisted and has not rolled over yet, so Sooner Start (early childhood intervention) will be coming out to do an eval for physical therapy to strengthen his little muscles and reduce some tone. We will be trying to get more weight on him so rice cereal will begin tonight--Matt is excited about that! His left foot is still turning in quite a bit, so we will go to the pediatric orthopedist in the next few weeks for an evaluation. He is a great sleeper (just like his momma) but stays awake the whole time on outings---too many bright lights to look at! His smile and laugh will melt your heart.

Abigail is still little and fiesty. She weighs 11 lbs. and measures 50% for head circumference, 5% for weight and length. Her weight is appropriate for her length...she just needs to grow a bit! She learned a new trick this weekend, she is able to roll over from back to tummy to back!!! As I write this, she is on the floor doing alligator rolls from one side of the living room to the other! She has definitely found her voice and seems to be following in her momma's footsteps with the chatter. Her favorite positions are standing and being held facing out. She loves to look at her surroundings. Her best friend is still Mr. Fan. She is on target for her developmental milestones and should be starting on rice cereal pretty soon. She also sleeps well but sometimes has a hard time falling asleep on her own. She grabs at toys and pulls them to her, which is neat to watch.

I am thrilled to say that both babies are still exclusively breast fed. I feel very proud as a mom to know that my body is providing for my babies...we will focus on trying to get them to eat more and adding cereal to their menu now to continue increasing their weight. They are tolerating baths better now... wouldn't say they enjoy them, but they don't scream through them anymore. Their dispositions are so positive and we feel blessed that they usually don't cry at the same time...in fact, their latest thing is one will laugh while the other is crying! We enjoy outings and have a pretty good routine. They stay awake about 1 to 1 1/2 hours after eating, then sleep for an hour or two. If we go out after their feeding, sometimes they will sleep in the car. They have been sleeping from 4-6 hours at a time at night which is wonderful!!! Last night, they went 6 1/2 hours between feedings--woo hoo! And Abigail woke up smiling to boot! Doesn't get much better than that...

We upgraded to a king sized bed last weekend which is so fun! Our mattress was REALLY old and now our new mattress takes up most of our bedroom. It is big enough for us, Boomer, and the cats, and as the babies grow, they will pile in with us! What a zoo we have!

Today is Matt's 31st birthday! Happy Birthday my love!

New Year's Eve

We had a wonderful evening eating crab, laughing, and telling stories with Robert and Renee, though the celebratory night had a different feel since we have infants who have to be fed every 3 hours and who must be tended to in the night. Even though we had to keep the noise down due to George, Abigail, and Reba-Grace sleeping in the next room, we had a great time! And to think, we even made it to midnight on our first New Year's Eve with babies....and then were up again at 2am to nurse....

We look forward to beginning a new year...a new time with hope and dreams on the horizon. It is amazing to think of what we will embark upon in the next 12 months...the twins will begin (hopefully) talking, walking, reasoning, learning, and continuing to make us fall head-over-heels in love with them and each other.

We are excited about 2008 and pray God's richest blessings upon you!