i'm tellin' ya

this was a week.  it was one of those weeks that could be great or a setback. we are good though. the boys have been off of their oxygen for a full week.  we all love the freedom to just walk  about the house. go outside unrestricted. they  have blossomed. they are taking in the world around them.  making eye contact. laughing. cooing. all great stuff. we do put both boys back on oxygen at night. i think that will end sooner than later too.
this was a week full of appointments. cardiologist in oklahoma city. i was on my own. i prepped for hours. let me set the scene. diaper bag is ready. bottles, diapers, nose sucker outer (ball syringe, i know. but i like my name better) extra clothing, burp cloth, binkies, blankets, hand sanitizer, wipes. jeez you get it. i prepped. car is cooling off while i feed the boys. after the feed we rush out the door as not to be late. i get lost. i always get lost. i call travis. over and over i call travis. he saves me each time. he never lost patients with me. props. once i enter the parking lot i let travis go saying that i'm a moron if i can't find parking lot e. duh i'm grown. ten minutes later i call the dr. wanting to know why i can find parking lot d, f and g but not e?? finally i get to the proper lot. boys are whimpering.... parking lot if full.  more than full. i call dr back asking what a girl is to do. can I park in parking  garage? NO. i may park in any other lot of my choosing and walk. great. my first outing and i'm going to break them.  i just know it. I park. leave car running while i assemble colossal double stroller. we are off in the heat. it is so hot. i see an entrance for the er? the er? noooo. but it is so hot. i make a run for it. in the er. grrrr. germs. ewww. i get out of the er and am on my way to getting  lost in the hospital looking for dr office. did u know that twins are a magnet for attention? i told travis that i could forget clothing and still the babies would have drawn strangers by the dozen wanting a peek. ok. eventually we made it. and the boys were such troopers. they were poked and prodded and had an echo. their hearts look tip top! who hoo! they are just the best. dr took them off over half of their medication. they are  on the mend. onward and upward. the entire dr visit took 4.5 hours not including prep time, but including two feedings on the go. i did not break or should i say bake them. i'm feeling good. oh btw the nurse wanted to know why i did not take advantage of the valet. i said that i did not have cash. wouldn't you know; it is free.
next appointment is the eye dr. for cal. checking the progress of his rop. last time he was stage three level one ish? this time he is the same but less. its getting better. not sure if you all are aware but it is the grace of God that the boys have not had any of the preemie problems. head bleeds, advanced rop, more severe lung disease, and about a dozen other problems. they were 25 weeks. under two pounds. i am in awe of Gods mercy. travis and i are overjoyed to be chosen by God to be part of their story. what great things he must have planned for them.
sooo hearts are great. meds are gone. eyes look great. next appointment in jan. we find out if they will need glasses then. awww.
physical therapist came by to chat with travis and i but will start working with the boys on monday.
the only major concern is their hearing screen in september when they are SIX months old! I was very concerned but now that they are home i know that they are able to hear. i am sure we will get the answer we are hoping for.
 today granny, grandad and grandma buell drove down to hold and spoil the boys. i think all had a grand time. tomorrow church and i can say with sincerity the our little family had a grand week.
i know i need to post more photos, i will get some tomorrow and post. :)

hey! i'm advanced.

dr appt went well. thank goodness ms. felicia was in town visiting to help or else bad things could have happened. boys had to have shots in their piggy thighs. frederick was very vocal about his disapproval while cal did one of those mouth wide open no sound coming out cries. thankfully they were over it pretty quickly.  the entire process was a bit disturbing. the nurse that gave the shots welded that needle like a knife. it was a one handed downward thrust...disturbing. weight is good both boys are eating well and gaining tons of weight.

boys are rolling over. above is frederick who has rolled out of crib space. we were sooo excited. any milestone met is another indication that our boys will be normal. normal is our dream for them. ok i love the whole rolling thing but think on this one; our boys are attached to a seven foot plastic cord. suddenly rolling over is not so cool. every few minutes i have to be sure that boys are not wound..not so fun. oh, and ya both are able to do this army crawl shuffle thing to get around their respective cribs. did i share that boys are in their own cribs now? frederick only does it every so often. mostly he just rolls about his crib leaving chaos in his wake  cal scurries off to the nearest corner to bury his head. every time. you put them down. they roll over. calvin is off to his hidie corner while frederick dances around. what to do?

hey! guess what? our boys are advanced! who hoo! sooner start came to see the boys. they are a great resource for parents of preemie babies. they check on how the boys are meeting milestones and keep an eye on their development. that way if any difficulties should arise we will be able to get help asap. such a sigh of relief. during the initial assessment. i must boast.  the boys are testing in the three month range in a few areas!!! hello! see they are smarter than mommy already. as nancy would say, go babies go. basically the boys are testing normal across the board. we are pleased. frederick is spending more time awake. he likes to look around so i put a mirror in his crib. i read little persons like this. i think mine does.  i made him a mobile also. he loves it..can't you tell??

cristina and colten are visiting from kansas city this week. i am way excited to have them. one because colten is so cute to look at/listen to.  two because cristina is a killer cook and cleans too! oh, and changes poopie pants, feeds hungry babies and most important tells me how cute that are. love it. seriously she is a big help. 

she also brought a ton of hand me downs. we love hand me downs!! she also brought the cutest shirts ever from kelli in kansas. we love love the cute shirts. love them. thanks kel!!

life after the NICU....

we are home. life is great. we love this whole being parents thing. life has changed though...a lot. I was just thinking about that through my haze. i have devised a list of the most obvious ways

a) bottles. what. how? Its a good day, or night for that matter if i am able to get the bottles clean.  they seem to dirty themselves. how can such little persons make so much dirtiness? how?

b) poop. never would i have guessed that poop would someday be the very vain of my existence. not sure about your home but in ours we rejoice as though the Royals have just won the series when a BM is had. i look at it was it hard, soft, big, small, green, yellow, solid, crumblie  and on and on. for the love this is not a joke.

c) sleep. don't do that anymore.

d) meds. cant believe we haven't broken them yet

e) laundry: how?  someone tell me how??  they are etty bitty. how?? i'm so lost on this one.

f) outings. i feel as though we should get the boys outside for buggy rides. i would say for the fresh air. seeing how they are having o2 pumped through the nose i'll say its for the vitamin D. it's more likely that my mom ingrained in me that kids belong inside only while sleeping or eating. whatever the reason its hotter than hatese right now so if i take the boys out its after the 6am feeding. um ya it takes me an HOUR to get out the door. after one block boys are sweating and starting to whimper...really? i am such a looser. we press on.

boys are good. really good. we took them both off the o2 for several hours on monday. they did so well. at the end their levels dropped a bit too low. bummer. dr says try again. two weeks

cal is our little bug. he can almost always be found legs tucked arms folded. just like a roley poly. he snorts, gurgles, sighs and is so darn cute.  the child eats as though we starve him. we don't. swear. and he likes to cuddle on his terms in moderation. oh ya he is rolling over now. he smiles too. there are no words...

frederick is huge. giant. eleven pounds. he enjoys being held, doing pull-ups- no joke. hold is little hand and let him pull himself up. he  likes to stand, as does cal. and both are loving holding their heads up. they cant do it for ages, but they are gaining strength. fredericks hair is out of control. the child has the hair of a nine-in-a-half child.  i joke you not. he is a hoot.

dr appt today..