4 Months!!!!

We went to Maclay Gardens to take the boys four month pictures! As you know Greg and I were married there so it was the perfect place to do some photos! It was so fun but difficult because it is rare that we can get them both to look at the camera at the same time hehe. The boys are getting sooo big we cant believe it! They love diaper changes and they love being talked to! We get tons and tons of smiles daily! The new biggest thing is giggles! We are loving this stage because all you have to do is say anything to them and they laugh at us! It is the most adorable thing ever! Tomorrow at their four month check up we will find out how much they weigh. We are thinking probably close to 17 to 18 pounds. They are big boys! Most people can’t believe they are only four months old. We can’t either especially since they were born one month premature. 

Christopher

Jonathan

I think for sure their favorite part of the day is their bath time!! They absolutely love baths! They kick and splash the water all over me and Greg every night! Of course we get so many smiles! Their eyes are almost completely brown now! When I look in their eyes I see their daddy! They are the spitting image of him! They still love their bouncers, bumbos, and play mats. They seem to be liking their high chairs as well. We are introducing rice cereal and on occasion daddy convinces me to give them a treat which is bananas (which they absolutely love) hehe. They are doing better with the rice cereal and are not spitting it out as much as they were.

We are almost 100% sure that the boys are teething! Their sleeping schedule has been thrown way off. They wake up now about two to three times a night and have to be rocked back to sleep. Poor babies! They are constantly gnawing on their hands and are extremely irritable and fussy at certain points during the day ( more than usual). We will find out for sure tomorrow. We have some teething toys we have been sticking in the refrigerator and giving to them. It seems to help a little. 

They are both rolling from their stomach to their back. With a little help they can both sit up for about 30 seconds at a time!! It is very exciting!! They love tummy time and they try SOOO hard to move anywhere! They really get their legs kicking and they both flail their arms around. It is so cute! Also they both are extremely vocal! They make a lot of vowel sounds at us all day long! Its adorable! They think anything we do is funny!

Jonathan could not resist his fingers!

Car rides are not exactly their favorite these days. Especially if we are all packed in my car (which is next to impossible). In Gregs truck they do ok because they love the sound of the loud muffler. Sometimes I think they just do not want to be trapped in their car seats. Every day with them is a blessing! We still can't quite believe that we were blessed with twins. They are wonderful and make every day special :) Our baby boys are growing soo fast! We can't wait to see what milestones they cross over the next month! I'm thinking baby proofing is going to be in our near future!

Our story of TTTS

             I wanted to share our story about our obstacles with twin to twin transfusion syndrome. While I was pregnant with our boys it helped me to read about other stories of people that had went through the same thing. Maybe I can help ease another mother’s heart suffering from TTTS. I am going to post my story on a website where I read lots of stories about TTTS. I wanted to post it on my blog as well so that family & friends could understand and be educated on exactly what TTTS is and what we went through during my pregnancy with our identical twin boys.  So here we go….

               

               I found out I was pregnant on April fools day hehe. I had my first ultrasound at 8 weeks pregnant. Our doctor confirmed there was one baby with a strong heartbeat. He gave us the option of going to have routine down syndrome testing done. Not everyone wants to do this testing. We opted to have it done so we were sent to a Fetal Medicine Specialist. Around 12 weeks pregnant at our routine down syndrome testing the ultrasound tech found twins. We were in complete shock but very excited! They only found one placenta which is a common sign of identical twins. Our twins shared one placenta but were in their own amniotic sacs which was very good. This is called monochorionic di-amniontic. With sharing a placenta problems can present themselves. One of the main problems is Twin to Twins Transfusion Syndrome or TTTS. Before we left our appointment that day (still in shock I might add) the doctor sat us down and told us about TTTS and how there was a possibility it could develop but not to worry about it yet. Also he said not to go home and Google everything and read about things on the internet. Of course I did not listen.

                 

             When you have a multiple pregnancy you see a Fetal Medicine Specialist as well as your OBGYN. Ironically the Fetal Medicine Specialist that found our twins during the routine down syndrome testing turned out to be our specialist. At around 15 weeks pregnant I had another ultrasound and they started to notice fluid discordance. Fluid discordance between each separate amniotic sac is a sign of developing TTTS. TTTS occurs when blood moves from one twin to the other. The twin that loses the blood is called the donor twin. The twin that receives the blood is called the recipient twin. With our boys Baby A (Jonathan) was the donor twin and Baby B (Christopher) was the recipient twin. This means that Christopher was getting more blood and nutrients than he was supposed to and Jonathan was not getting enough. This causes major problems for both twins. The recipient twin risks being born larger, with redness, too much blood, and increased blood pressure. Because of the increased blood volume, the recipient twin may develop cardiac failure. The donor twin risks being born smaller and usually has paleness, anemia, and dehydration.

                 

             When the doctor noticed the fluid discordance I broke down because I knew that TTTS was developing. Greg and I were so heartbroken in some weird way it felt like our babies were not going to survive this condition. We were told that if things did not look any better in two weeks we would be sent to a Fetal Medicine Specialist in Miami to have a laser procedure done. At our next ultrasound the fluid levels had gotten worse and one baby was larger than the other. The doctor in Miami is world renowned for his research with TTTS. He performs a procedure with a laser that cauterizes blood vessels within the placenta to try and promote equal sharing of blood and nutrients from one twin to the other. It is very important to detect TTTS early so that it can be monitored closely, if it is not detected soon enough the results are fatal. With our military insurance our specialist thought we had a better shot of getting to the doctor in Miami if we went through the director of the Fetal Medicine Department at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. So off we went to Shands. Our specialist there got right on our TTTS. He did not want to send me immediately down to Miami without trying some other techniques first because that laser procedure has a 50% success rate. Usually one twin does not survive.

                 

            Our specialist at Shands had also been part of lots of TTTS research as well and discovered succession rates if you triple your daily protein intake. Immediately I was put on bed rest and was instructed to drink three Ensure protein shakes a day. Also, we had to go to Shands once a week ( sometimes twice a week) to have ultrasounds to monitor the baby’s growths and fluid levels. At first we were told that the babies would probably be delivered around 28 weeks. At 25 weeks I had steroid shots to develop their lungs quicker and also to help fight infection in case they were born extremely early. Babies born around 28 weeks do not have a high survival rate. Basically we were buying time with anything we could do.

              

               Each week sometimes the levels would get better and other weeks they would get worse. It was a roller coaster ride of emotions. I felt so helpless, like I could not do anything to help or protect my babies. Still our Shands specialist did not think we should have the laser procedure done once we got to 28 weeks because the babies had a chance of surviving with extreme neonatal care. As my pregnancy progressed I would go into pre term labor a lot. We spent many many nights in and out of triage here at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and Shands Hospital. I was put on medication to stop contractions to buy more time. After about 30 weeks the levels started to progressively get better as well as the boys growths, however the boys started to have heart rate problems. They would go into tachycardia and their heart rates would not come down for several minutes. At 36 weeks pregnant I went to triage and was developing preeclampsia in addition to the boys heart rates going into tachycardia. Our doctor decided it was time to take the boys out. All of our doctors were amazed with how well my pregnancy progressed with the TTTS. It is amazing that we made it to 36 weeks, this is very uncommon in identical twin pregnancy’s with TTTS.

               

             Born by cesarean section at 36 weeks our boys were completely healthy. Amazingly they did not have to go into the NICU. They were 6 pounds 4 ounces and 6 pounds 7 ounces ( fantastic for twins!) The only problem they had was not being able to regulate their body temperature for the first day. They had to be put under warmers. Jonathan (the donor twin) was very pale and Christopher ( the recipient twin) had more of a red color. At four months you can still tell the difference in their skin tones because of the TTTS. However it is not as noticeable as when they were born. TTTS is a very serious condition. We were very blessed that our twins were strong enough to get through it and not have any long term problems. Now you would never even know that our babies were born one month premature and had TTTS. The doctors can’t even believe their size, they have exceeded everyone’s expectations. Be optimistic, pray every day, and stay strong and things will take care of themselves. God has a plan for everyone; all you can do is keep your faith in yourself and in your babies.

               

               

Our weekend!

Yesterday was family day at the Army unit! So we got to go see daddy :) It was the first time bringing the boys so of course everyone could not keep their hands off of them. They did very good (surprisingly). They gave out lots of smiles and giggles which was adorable! Of course the most asked question was " How can you tell them apart?". I wrote a blog post about this a few weeks ago, but I was nice with my answer and simply said " They have a few different features". We only have two more weeks with daddy until deployment training starts. I ask myself everyday what we are going to do without him. All I can say is we are going to stay busy and we are going to take lots of pictures! For this training hopefully we will be able to skype at night when he gets done with his training. 

Daddy & Jonathan :) This picture melts my heart!

So happy daddy came home!

 

As for the rice cereal...... it is a work in progress. Last night they both screamed their heads off through the whole feeding..that was stressful hehe! Greg thinks it is easier to feed them when they are screaming because their mouth is open haha hilarious! Hopefully things will get better the more feedings they have with it!

 

We are kind of suspecting that possibly the boys could be teething. I know its early but everyone thinks they are already six months by how big they are so I have to say I would not be surprised if they really are. They gnaw at their hands all day long and they soak up their shirts in drool everyday. Their sleeping schedule at night has not been going as well as usual. The night before last they woke up at 3am ( not like them at all!) This morning they woke up at 6am. When they wake up they are very fussy and irritable. Poor babies.... they have their four month check up Friday so we are going to ask. Even though it was early this morning daddy could not help but to snap a few pictures of what we wake up to every morning!! No matter how tired we are it puts a smile on our face every time!

Jonathan.. Sleepy baby

Today we had a lazy day! Daddy was home with us which was nice. We dressed the boys  in a cute outfit because we were going to go to walmart. However, we ended up never going haha. But I had to snap a few pictures of the boys anyways! They are getting so big! They are sooo incredibly adorable! Christopher is getting so much more hair! Since they were born Jonathan always had more hair.. its funny because now Jonathan has lost most of his and Christopher has ALL the hair!! As far as their their temperaments go.. they switch roles on us everyday so it is hard to tell! Only time will tell I guess :)

Proud Nana!

Christopher watching Veggie Tales on Daddy's phone!

Tornados

Our morning definitely did not turn out as planned! The boys and I woke up at our usual time 9:00. Daddy had left early for training so it was just me, the boys, and Nana. As always the boys were extremely fussy and ready to eat. So we started our morning routine, diaper change, new clothes for the day, then bottle. It was already very dark and gloomy outside but we figured it was just a little rain. Boy were we wrong! Nana and I were feeding the boys and watching the weather and Comcast took over the screen and was beeping Tornado Warning!!!! We realized then that obviously it was not just a little rain. The warning informed us that the tornado was headed towards Killearn. We kind of sat there a while and decided maybe we should go get in the bathtub. ( Funny, but it is the safest place in the middle of our house). I threw the diaper bags in there, put Bellas collar and leash on, and we all camped out in the bathroom for a good hour and a half. Not fun at all!!

The ones who know me know that I do not take Tornado Warning's lightly. I am deathly afraid of them. Especially now that I have my two little babies I am like a mama bear protecting her cubs! Nothing is gonna happen to my babies! So in the bath tub we sat! I kept checking the weather app on my phone the whole time we were in there for any updates. Finally, they lifted the warning and it went back to a tornado watch. So we were able to put the boys in their swings for their morning nap because by that time they were exhausted hehe and mommy finally got her morning cup of coffee! I am not a morning person so missing out on my coffee is a big deal! Maybe I was being a little dramatic about the whole thing but I was trying to play it safe with the boys. It rained allllll day so I got a slow start to my busy schedule. Eventually I got the house clean, laundry finished, and cooked dinner! It has been a LONG day! As for my update of last nights bath time, Nana saved me in the middle of Jonathan screaming his head off. I had finished Christopher's bath and was getting his pajamas on and Nana rescued us! Bath time is definitely hard when you are by yourself. That was my first solo bath time experience. Daddy is home to help tonight so no worries!

Other than our tornado scare we had a pretty good day. We missed daddy as usual. But the boys took a long nap today which is rare these days. We played in the bouncers, jungle, and had lots of tummy time! They sat in their high chairs with us at the table during dinner. Now we are winding down for our nighttime routine. They are playing in the jungle and got extremely fussy!! Daddy put on the country music and they immediately stopped! They are our country boys :) So adorable!

Love.

Escaping time.

Is March really here already? Time has been flying by so fast. We want it to slow wayyy down so we have all the time with daddy we can! Deployment is coming at us full speed. We knew this was coming, but I guess there is just never enough time. Well I have been meaning to put my schedule up as promised. However, I need to revise it because the boys have been consistently sleeping till at least 9:00am! Sometimes they make it to 9:30 but its rare. We have been so lazy lately. Enjoying being together as a family. Tonight daddy had to leave us to go to training. So I am going to tackle bath time by myself!! Lets see how this goes. I am excited to say I witnessed with my own eyes Christopher roll over in his crib! I knew he could do it, my baby just needed his time.Both of the boys are so vocal!! When they have their baths we get so many smiles and giggles! No matter how cranky they are before their bath when those feet hit the water it is all smiles! So darn cute! Just when I think we have enough things for these two they out grow something!!! We have had a jungle play mat since a few weeks after they were born. They both have always fit under it, and were always fine together playing under it. Well, I do not think that is working out so well anymore! They always kick each other and try and eat each others hands. Basically when we put them under it we end up having two screaming babies!! Not a good sign... maybe they do not like to share?? Anyways, when we put them under it by themselves they are golden! See the problem? I guess we might have to break down and purchase another one. Have I mentioned how many things these two have! I swear we could open a baby store! Twins need a lot of equipment haha! We have been discussing lately how safety proofing the house is just around the corner. Lord help us is all I can say when these two start crawling! I never believed people when they said time flys when you have babies. It is soo true!! My little tiny babies seem to be growing up so fast. We have sort of put the rice cereal and fruits on hold. We meet with out pediatrician next Friday! We are so anxious to know how much they weigh and to talk about introducing solids. Although I am so not ready for it. The few times we have given them rice or bananas it has been a disaster. I am posting some new pictures I have taken. I better go and start bath time. They are kicking each other under the jungle! If I can get them both bathed, feed, and asleep by the time daddy comes home it will be a miracle!!!!