THANK YOU DAD!

Back on April 11th, we woke up to a sick and sad little Will. He had his first ever fever accompanied by a runny nose and extreme fussiness. I could tell this was going to be a difficult day trying to take care of two babies with one being sick and wanting to be held all day long. And who knows if Eli was going to get sick as well. Plus Nick was going to be gone all day out of town working and not returning until 8pm. I was panicking.

So, what's a girl to do? Why call in reinforcements, of course! And the best ones at that - my parents! My mom wasn't able to come due to other commitments, but my dear ol' dad left within the hour of me calling and drove the 3.5 hour drive to come to my rescue. (Thank goodness for retired grandparents!)

Oh, he'll never know how much he helped me out and how thankful I am he came to help me. We had a lot of of special father/daughter bonding time. I miss him so much. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful father. I love you, daddio!

Will says, "I don't feel well."


My dad held Will while he napped because Will wouldn't lay in his crib.


My dad cuddled Will and read him stories.


Will says, "I feel so much better, Grandpa!"

NATIONAL INFERTILITY AWARENESS WEEK

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week! As many of us know, difficulty conceiving a child is not uncommon. In fact, 1 in 8 women and men are diagnosed with infertility. (www.resolve.org)

If you know our story, you know that Nick and I are one of those eight. After almost exactly four years from when we started trying to have a baby, we were blessed with our two miracle babies by IVF, fraternal twin boys, Elijah and Will, who were born in September of 2010.

Infertility shouldn’t be a taboo subject. Be aware, be informed, and be supportive.

Take time to watch this wonderful video. It is the song, "I Would Die for That" by Kelley Coffey. It is very touching - have a tissue close by!




Here is another amazing video, which gives a little insight into how someone with infertility may feel.
http://www.tearsandhope.com/emptyarms_video.html

Want to learn more about infertility?
Here are a few of my favorite infertility links.
www.bethany.org/step/
www.infertilityeducation.org/brochure.html
www.dancinguponbarrenland.com
www.resolve.org
http://www.hannah.org

HOMEMADE BABY FOOD

We have been meaning to try making our own baby food for a few weeks now. We thought it'd be a nice way to feed our babies healthy, natural food and save money, all at the same time. Nick and I finally experimented in making green beans and peas last Saturday. And I'm happy and proud to say that it was a BIG success!

I was so nervous to make it. Honestly, I've been nervous about anything that has to do with baby food from what to feed them, to how much, to how often, etc. I'm overly paranoid, I know. And when I thought of making our own food, it made me even more nervous. I don't really know why I thought that, looking back. I just didn't want to do anything wrong and poison my babies. But how could you really? I mean, they're veggies and we eat them. It's all good, right?

Will and Eli are not so sure about the green goop.



Will and Eli say, "What, it's food?...Okay, we're excited now!"



I was so excited because it was super easy. And I'm the worst cook ever, so if I say it's super easy, you know it really is! Here's the simple steps we did:

1. Steam frozen (or fresh!) veggies
2. Add some of the water that was used to steam them and puree together in blender (if it still seems chunky, just keep adding water - use the water that used to steam it with as it is full of lots of good nutrients - and blend, blend, blend)


3. Pour into ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap


4. Freeze
5. Dump out of trays and into large plastic freezer bag (label and date)


6. Take desired amount out and microwave it for 30 seconds
(or thaw out in fridge overnight)
7. EAT!

We hope to try more veggies such as: carrots and some fruits too, such as: peaches, bananas, and apples.

Eli and Will have gobbled up the green beans and peas. WONDERFUL! We were so excited.

Will likes it!


Eli likes it!

OUR LITTLE PREEMIES AREN’T SO VERY TEENY

It’s hard to believe our tiny little preemies have grown so much in just 6 short months! I’ve taken photos of the boys every month on the 13th next to this same teddy bear to show how they’ve grown.

Here’s a photo of Eli at 2 weeks. He went from 4 pounds 15 ounces (weight leaving the hospital)...


to now exactly 17 pounds today, six and a half months later!


And here’s Will at 2 weeks. He went from 4 pounds 11 ounces (weight leaving the hospital)...


to now 17 pounds 3 ounces, six and a half months later.


It’s amazing that any baby can grow so fast in such a short amount of time! I am in awe of God's amazing handiwork. I read that babies double their birth weight by four months and triple it by one year. They also double their length at one year. Well, our little preemie dudes have tripled their birth weight already. Will had tripled his birth weight right at 5 months and Eli did right at 6 months! They sure caught up fast! Now, let's just hope they slow down a little.

Premature birth (meaning babies born prior to 37 weeks gestation) occurs in about 13 percent of pregnancies and approximately 60 percent of twins. Eli and Will were born at 35 weeks 6 days gestation.

We were told that preemie’s milestones should be based on their due date, not on their actual birth date. This means that even though today Eli and Will are 6 months old, developmentally they may just be doing what a 5 month old should do, because they were born 4 weeks early. So, when it comes to these milestones (first smile, cooing, etc.), we shouldn’t compare the twins to full-term babies. Most premature babies catch up to their peers by the time they are two years old.

But, I do compare. :) It seems that overall, Eli and Will are right on track with what milestones they should be achieving at the correct age. What a blessing! And I do compare them with each other. How can you not? They both learn different things at different paces. And that is just fine with me. They are such unique little boys, so different from each other. Definitely brothers, so similar and so different. I love it!