Our first mini camping experience

Let me just say, I love camping!! However, this summer I got to do none of it :(   Not one single time. BOO!!  Although, even if I wasn't pregnant and didn't just have twins, I'm not so sure what we would have camped in since we threw our tent away at the end of last summer and don't have a camper........but I still desperately wanted to go camping.

Friends of ours were camping in Yankton this last weekend so Saturday afternoon we decided to pack up the kids, and everything required for a night away, and take a drive down to spend the evening with everyone. We figured it would get late, so we rented a hotel in Yankton as we thought it would be easier with the kids. We grilled, played bean bags, visited, and just hung out. It was great to sit in our lawn chairs and enjoy the outdoors.

It was sooo windy. We tried keeping the kids covered up and out of the wind or let them sleep in the campers, but this was Kenley wide awake wanting to see what this "camping stuff" is all about :)

I heart Mommy-Hood

Ok, I know, I know. I totally stink at this whole blogging thing. SORRY!

We hit the 5 week mark yesterday and the only thing I can think about is....I'm already half done with my maternity leave! In just 5 more short weeks, I will be back at work, without my children. The dreaded "D-Day" is fast approaching.....DAYCARE...and it does not set well with my stomach, putting me in tears almost the whole day yesterday.

Here are a few random thoughts and pictures to give you a better look inside our daily lives:

*I feel like we are constantly feeding.
*We use about 15-18 bottles a day ~ give or take a few
*The first few weeks, the babies were eating about every 4 hours, which wasn't too bad of a schedule. Now they are needing to eat a little more frequently. They are now eating about every 3 hours. During the day, they are like alarm clocks, waking exactly every 3 hours. They can usually last a little longer during the night.

*During the night feedings Cody and I both get up, change and feed a baby. During the day when I'm by myself, I have to do feedings back to back...which, I'll be honest, can get a little hairy at times! By the time I change both of them, get both of them fed, and burped (which, if you know Kaden, can be a little time consuming) it takes me just over an hour. That doesn't leave much time in between feedings to get a whole lot accomplished, before we are at it again!

*Each of them are on separate formula. We go through 2 cans of formula in just under a week.

*If we're not feeding, we're changing diapers!!
*we go through approximately 20 diapers a day, not counting the unexpected "blow-outs" or catch-you-off-guard-free-for-all-pee-sessions, in which we might use a few extra. A box of diapers lasts us about 4 days.
*my baby girl has grown out of newborn diapers and has moved on to size 1 (sniff, sniff)

*Kaden has been on Prevacid, for his reflux, for this past week. He is tolerating this much better than the Prilosec. It's a pill that he gets once a day, but we crush it between our fingers and then drop the little particles on his tongue. It must not taste too bad because he usually starts munching away the second I put it in his mouth. I'd like to say I'm noticing an improvement, but it could take a couple weeks to really see a difference. But for now, it's working.

*In terms of whining-fussing-crying, they feed off of each other. When one starts in the other usually is close behind. They can tolerate many sources of noise without even flinching, but if one of them grunts, then the other one has to grunt. If one of them starts to fuss, the other one starts to fuss. If one of them starts to cry, the other one starts to cry. Not always, but often....it's actually rather amazing!!

*It's tough work growing into such a big boy....it wears him out :)

*One of the many faces of Kenley. (please excuse the blue bib...it was the first one I grabbed out of the drawer. Ooops)

 

***Aren't they getting big??  They are changing every single day. Literally over night I can see a difference in them.

LOVE      LOVE     LOVE  them!!

4 weeks

Time flies when you're having fun, right? Where in the world have the last four weeks gone? I have a feeling I'm going to be saying this every week....but, I can't believe our babies are already 4 weeks old!! We are staying busy but things are going well.

Kenley livin' the life :)

He's getting so big!

Kaden had an appointment on Tuesday and the doctor feels that he's probably experiencing some reflux. He prescriped him Prilosec....1/2 of a teaspoon, twice a day, which I am to mix into his formula. Oh.my.goodness. Apparently this child can tell when I have mixed a half of a teaspoon of medicine into four ounces of milk. He absolutely refuses the bottle and makes the most disgusted face. Unbelievable!! So I thought I would be tricky and cut down to 1/4 of a teaspoon and give it to him four times a day....NOPE!  He still won't take it. I mix him a new bottle with no medicine in it and he drinks it right down. We've wasted a lot of formula trying to get him to take this medicine. I've given up. Maybe we can try something different, but for now, the Prilosec appears not to be an option.

Is this for real??

So this morning I'm standing in front of the mirror doing my hair and something catches my eye....gray hairs....not just one, but several! No, they are not being bashful and hiding underneath, but rather sticking right out on the top. Yikes!! I showed Cody when he got out of the shower and sure enough, they are for real. Is this what happens after only 3 weeks with twins and countless sleepless nights?? We had our friends over for the day and nobody said anything about them, so I am hoping they are just really polite friends or they maybe don't stick out to everyone else as much as they do to me!

On to my babies...............they are amazing, beautiful, little miracles. I kiss them everyday and shed a tear in the aweness of them both. I'm struggling a little bit with Kaden though. He seems so uncomfortable, so often. When he is not sleeping he is often fussing or will bust out in the most horrific cry as if I just slammed his fingers in the door. I have made an appointment with the pediatrician in Sioux Falls on Tuesday just to touch base with some concerns I've been having. Hopefully we can get this little guy figured out.

For those of you who are not on Facebook, here are some pictures my sister took of the kids at 3 weeks:

Bath Time!

Sunday night we gave the kids their first bath in their real bathtub, rather than just a sponge bath on the bathroom counter. Kenley finally lost her belly button the other day...they recommend not bathing until after the belly buttons fall off. Kaden lost his on day 8, but because Kenley's was cut so short (because of the tubes they fed through her belly button in the NICU) hers took a little longer to work its way out. Ok, I think daddy had a little hand in helping it work its way out :) So now both are belly-button-stump free!!  We couldn't believe how awesome they both did. We expected a lot of crying, some pee, and possibly even the poops. But everything went off without a hitch! Not one tear shed...not even from our little whiner boy Kaden. It was soo much fun watching them and you gotta love the smell of a freshly bathed baby.

2 weeks

My oh my, how time flies!! We are starting to get settled into a routine here, but boy can these babies keep you busy. Not all the time, but when they want to gang up on you they can come out in full force! Cody took time off of work to be home with us the first week. That time went super fast. We felt a little shorted on time especially because we weren't even all home until Tuesday. The rest of the week was filled with appointments and we felt like we were always running. This week, Cody went back to work and my mom was able to come and stay to help out for the whole week....what a blessing!  I don't know what I'm going to do come Monday and I'm at it all by myself.

Kenley is our rockstar. She is such a good little baby. She eats like a champ, burps like a champ, poops like a champ, and sleeps like a champ. She is a very content girl. Kaden appears to be a little more unsettled. We don't quite have him figured out yet. But they are both bringing us so much joy it is unbelievable. We still can't believe these are our children. Our very own little miracles. God has changed our lives in an amazing way. We love them soo much!!

At 2 weeks, these are our little pukin'/poopin' machines. It wasn't even worth keeping their clothes on. We had gone through several outfits and MANY diapers before they both got their jobs done :)

nap time, soo precious!

grandma enjoying some Kenley snuggles

Tummy Time

Our little Kaden man has a pretty floppy head. Surprisingly he tolerates tummy time well.

Kenley girl enjoying some tummy time

Kaden trying out his bouncy seat...I think he liked it.