Jensen & Everett: 18 Months!

Hey guys!  Long time no blog!  I've been putting more effort into my photography business lately and between that and some life changes I have let blogging fall by the wayside, and honestly, it's probably going to be a much more rare occurrence for me now.  But, I am checking back in because my awesome little boys are 18 months old today!  Woohoo!

Lots has happened since my last update on their one-year due date.  Blake got a new job and we moved out into the middle of nowhere.  The new apartment meets our needs so much better than our old one did.  It has no stairs (yay!), no carpet in the kitchen or bathroom (so much easier to clean under their highchairs), a brand new washer and dryer, and the perfect amount of storage space.  Plus an awesome closet in our room and a pantry in the kitchen!  We love it.  However, Everett had a hard time with moving to a new place.  He spent the whole night screaming instead of sleeping because he didn't like being somewhere unfamiliar.  After a few days he got used to it and loves his home now.

About two months ago, Jensen and Everett learned to walk!  They were about 13.5 months adjusted at the time, and their pediatrician said boys walk at 13 months on average, so they were right there with what's expected of them.  I'm so happy with how great they are doing with their milestones.  Now they are pretty much able to run, so that has made things interesting.  Luckily they're not faster than me... yet.

They have learned a few words, mostly ball, bear, bug... they like b words I guess.  They call any furry animal a bear, including dogs and a stuffed llama they have.  I could swear Everett is saying 'Thank you' sometimes too.  Jensen said 'yeah' once when I asked him if he wanted to get out of his high chair.  I think I've also heard them both say 'here you go' a couple of times.  I could totally be making this up in my head, but it seems like that's what they're saying.  They also make a vroom vroom sound when they're playing with anything with wheels.  It's super adorable.  They love playing with balls and cars the most.  Typical little boys.

They are still pretty shy around new people.  Jensen opens up faster though and starts giving his sweet smiles pretty quick.  Everett would rather stick with momma most of the time.  If they are tired or hungry though, they always just want me or daddy.  They get so excited when dad comes home from work.  I love seeing their big excited smiles when he walks through the door.  We have started some little trial runs of taking them to nursery at church on Sundays.  So far, they mostly want to stick around me and don't understand the little activities they are doing.  They don't get that they are supposed to do the hand actions for the songs, and they eat the crayons instead of draw with them.  I think they're a little young for these things still.  But they do rock snack time though.  They get all kinds of treats that I would never give them at home haha.

I love the stage they are in now.  They are more independent but not too much, they can get themselves places (although I can't let them walk around in a parking lot or near roads yet,) and they are getting really good at playing and entertaining themselves.  They have started throwing fits if they don't get their way, but not full on tantrums yet.  I am enjoying this fun little phase while it lasts.  I marvel at how cute they are multiple times a day.  This mom thing is super tough but also super awesome, and I'm so glad I get to spend my days with these precious little guys.

PS I totally forgot to mention that they weaned themselves about a month or two ago.  They slowly went down on the frequency of nursing until one night they woke up and refused to nurse and that was that.  It was so easy, I'd definitely recommend letting babies self-wean (if they will of course.)  The only bad thing is it left me with insomnia for a few weeks after that because of the shift in hormones.  It's gone now though and we are enjoying this new stage of life.

Nutritious Granola Bar Recipe

I will be the first to admit that I'm not a great cook.  I rotate through the same five or so things for dinner most of the time and make enough to have leftovers for several more days.  I prefer snacking on various fruits, veggies, and whatnot instead of actually making lunch.  So that just leaves breakfast.  For some reason I need to eat right when I wake up or else I get extremely nauseated, so cooking something for breakfast doesn't work well for me unless I have a little snack first.  But then what's the point of cooking breakfast, amirite?  In order to add simplicity to my life, I like to have the same thing for breakfast every day so I don't have to think when I'm feeling sick and hungry first thing in the morning.  I used to have greek yogurt every day, but that breakfast isn't working for me anymore.  I concocted my own granola bar recipe and I have that for breakfast now instead along with a glass of almond milk.  It's not the healthiest breakfast in the world, but it's packed with nutrients, and it's certainly better than cereal or waffles or muffins!

Here's the recipe:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter/any nut butter
• 3/4 cup honey (more or less to taste, I could probably get away with less personally)
• 2 scoops protein powder*
• 1/4 cup chia seeds*
• 1/4 cup hemp hearts*
• 1/4 cup freshly ground flaxseed*
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

 *-these ingredients are optional

Put all of these ingredients into a big mixing bowl and stir it together with a large spoon.  

Scoop it out into a 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

Cut into bars and enjoy!  What I love about this recipe is that it has a decent dose of protein and fat instead of just carbs like lots of breakfast foods, and that it has lots of micronutrients too!  The chia seeds, hemp hearts, and freshly ground flaxseed have lots of vitamins and minerals that your body needs and can be hard to find in the kinds of foods us Americans typically eat.  Cinnamon can be slightly helpful with stabilizing blood sugar levels.  Coconut oil has all kinds of claims surrounding it which I don't know if they are true or not, but it can't hurt.  I do think that fat is important and not necessarily something to always avoid.  I use the Garden of Life brand of protein powder because it is made out of vegetables and legumes only.  Normal protein powders made with whey or whatever they put in them makes my stomach really upset and this is the only one that I've tried that doesn't do that.  Together these ingredients make a pretty nutritious breakfast despite how awesome it tastes.  The best thing about this recipe is you can change up the ingredients any way you want to and it will still be great.  Add more cinnamon, leave out the hemp hearts (because who has that sitting around???) or double the chocolate chips.  As long as it's wet/dry enough it will make a great granola bar.  So please experiment with this recipe and let me know what you come up with!

Cloth Diapering One Year Later

I've been cloth diapering my little guys for a year now, so I thought I'd write down some of the tricks I've learned since the last time I posted about cloth diapers.  I am still so happy with our decision to cloth diaper.  I'm going to put in a little disclaimer here and say that I really, really am not offended or disappointed if you don't cloth diaper too.  I do not want you to feel bad if you use disposables.  There is nothing wrong at all with them.  Cloth diapering is just something I happen to enjoy.  People might not consider using cloth so I want to share my experience in case you would like it too.  I also still get lots of questions about cloth diapers (which is awesome!) and wanted to write about the things I get asked about most often.

First of all, I have completely switched over to Grovia diapers now.  I am so grateful that I was able to try out lots of kinds and find what I liked before I invested in a whole set.  I still love prefolds for little babies, but now my boys are too big for the ones I had and too wiggly for me to bother with snappis and folding.  I'm a big fan of Grovia's Hybrid Diapers.  These are an all-in-two system with an insert that snaps into the cover.  They are easy to use and you can use the shell multiple times.  I love the soft, stretchy TPU that the covers are made out of, instead of the stiffer PUL that most other diaper covers are made of.  I love the snap placement on the snap covers and the soft, much-cuter hook and look strips on the velcro covers.  My favorite insert is the No-Prep.  It is the most absorbent.  I also use Organic Cotton.  I don't like the Stay Dry because they do not hold nearly enough for my boys.  I've heard that Grovia is discontinuing the Stay Dry inserts so it seems they agree with me.  We use the hybrid diapers for daytime.  For nighttime, I use the Grovia ONE diaper.  It is seriously so amazing.  This diaper will keep my babies dry all night long.  It is extremely absorbent and less bulky than the other nighttime solutions I have tried.  I'm a huge fan.

One thing about cloth diapering that took some trial and error was the wash routine, but now I've got one set that is easy and works great for me.  I do a 'light wash' with line 1 of regular powdered Tide, then a 'heavy wash' with line 3-5 of Tide (depending on load size) and either 1/2 cup of Borax or a capful of Calgon.  Borax and Calgon are water softeners.  My water is very hard, and so the combination of Tide and a water softener is what is needed to get my diapers clean.  If I feel like my diapers need a little extra clean, I use a Grovia Mighty Bubbles pod or 1/4 cup of bleach.  Then I hang all the shells to dry and put the inserts in the dryer with wool dryer balls.  Do not use dryer sheets or anything with fabric softeners on diapers ever.  We just moved to a new place that has a water softener, so I'm going to have to tweak my wash routine by taking out the Calgon and see how it goes!

My advice for cloth diapering on the go is to bring along a wetbag that has a zipper and a carrying strap with a snap.  As long as you have that, it's just as easy to cloth diaper away from home as it is to use disposables.  I also pack a small spray bottle with water in it and some cloth wipes.  You can usually dispose of the poop in a toilet, but if you don't have access to one, I like to use a second wetbag to keep those ones separate.  This makes it easier to take care of when you get home.

I think that's all the extra tips I have to share with you today.  Cloth diapering has been so great for our family.  I am so grateful that I have not had to buy any disposable diapers ever!  Let me know what other questions you have about cloth diapering.  And those of you who do cloth diaper, what are some of your best tips and tricks?  I'd love to hear them!

10 Tips For Surviving the NICU

 

Being pregnant with twins, I knew that NICU time was very likely, but I certainly wasn't ready when they were born at only 30 weeks.  For the next 51 days (7.5 weeks) my babies called the NICU home. 

Your first time in the newborn intensive care unit is extremely overwhelming and sometimes even terrifying.  Here are some tips to help you survive your baby's stay.

#1-Be there when you can.  Don't feel guilty about when you can't.  Be realistic.  No one can be at the NICU for every care/feeding time.  Do not feel bad if you can only make it once a day or even have to miss some days.  I didn't have any other obligations besides pumping, sleeping, and eating and I was still only able to be there 3-4 out of their 8 care times each day.  I know it feels like you should be with your babies 24/7, but they need a mom who takes care of herself.  

#2-You can breastfeed if you want to. I think I was lucky because I picked a hospital that was very pro-breastfeeding.  After my babies were born one of the nurses came to tell me some things about the NICU and she said that regardless of my long-term plans for breastfeeding they wanted me to start pumping because giving preemies their mom's colostrum is so important.  I was spoiled by getting to use the NICU lactation nurses for help whenever I wanted.  I've heard some people say they didn't get good breastfeeding support in their NICU and formula was pushed on them, and that makes me sad.  I want you to know that it really is possible to get your NICU babies nursing!  Of course there are things that might make it not work out, but for the majority of you, with lots of determination you can make it happen.  It was really, really hard in the early days.  They were several weeks old before we even got to try latching.  Soon before they went home we had worked up to two breastfeeding attempts per day.  After they came home, we slowly worked up the amount of times we tried every day.  I would try to nurse them, then finish their feeding with a bottle, then go pump.  It was exhausting and took so much effort.  But I knew it would pay off when I could finally ditch the pump.  I've heard some people like exclusively pumping, but I was not a fan.  It took until a couple weeks after their due date before I got them both exclusively nursing.  If you make it that far, celebrate!  If for some reason you don't, it's okay, I promise your baby will be just fine because they have a mother willing to try so hard to do the best she can for them!

#3-Don't feel like you have to let anyone visit.  Having a baby in the NICU is an experience that no one can really understand until they've had their own NICU baby.  It can be extremely overwhelming.  If what you need is to be alone with your baby and having other people there will cause you extra stress, then that is what you should do.  Everyone else can see the baby when he/she is healthy.  This time is about your new little family.  You really should be limiting their contact with other people as much as possible anyways, especially during the winter months.  Having a baby in the NICU is something that you can only understand once you've done it yourself.  You don't need to take the advice of people who haven't had NICU babies. 

#4-Ask people to come with you if you want them to.  On the flip side, if you need emotional support, ask for it!  There are lots of people who would love to be a shoulder for you to cry on when you need it.  They might be able to help you feel happy about your baby when they come ooh and aah over them and remind you that you can be proud of the little baby you gave birth to.

#5-You are the mom, so you're in charge.  It is so easy to feel intimidated in the hospital environment.  There are nurses who have done this a million times and doctors who have studied premature infants for years, and that can make you feel like you don't really have a say in anything that happens to your child.  I definitely believe that you should listen to and consider what your baby's care providers have to say, but the bottom line is you are the mother and you get to make the decisions for your child's care.   If you don't feel comfortable with something, speak up!  I've noticed that opinions differ even between different nurses and doctors, so you don't have to take everything they say as gospel.  Do your research, and trust your mother's intuition.

#6-Don't be afraid to ask questions.  Your baby might be hooked up to a million different tubes and being given all kinds of stuff.  You will probably feel very confused by it all.  Your baby's nurse is there to help you!  Ask her what each of those things are for.  Knowing what is going on can really help you feel more comfortable there.

#7-It can be hard to feel like a 'real mom' when your baby is in the NICU.  Your baby might not look like what you expected a newborn to look like if they were born premature.  It might be hard to feel connected to them when they are covered with all kinds of wires and tubes.  When nurses spend more time than you do taking care of your baby, it makes you feel more like a visitor than an actual mother.  Asking for permission to touch or hold your baby is strange and makes you feel like you're simply a guest there.  These are all normal feelings.  But know that you are just as much of a mother as any other mom.

#8-Kangaroo care/skin to skin.  Start skin-to-skin as soon as possible.  It is so good for your babies and for you too!  I liked to wear a hospital gown with the opening in the front so I didn't feel as exposed.  There are so many benefits to kangaroo care, especially for premature/ill infants.  There are websites dedicated to this so I'll let them explain the pros of skin-to-skin.

#9-Get enough sleep.  If there could be a silver lining to having a NICU baby, it's that you get a few days, weeks, or months to recover from childbirth before you have a baby to care for 24/7.  You might not get a full night's sleep, especially if you are waking every 3 hours to pump, but do your best to get as much rest as possible.  You are already under so much extra stress because of your baby's condition.  Adding sleep deprivation to that will not help anyone.  Take care of yourself so you can give your best to your baby.

#10-Take it one day at a time.  Sometimes it feels like your baby will never get to come home.  There was a day that I was getting extremely frustrated about that, and then the next day I was told they would be coming home the following afternoon.  Your NICU stay will feel endless, but I promise your time will come and soon the NICU will be a distant memory.  You can do this! 

Did you have a NICU baby?  Leave your tips below!

The Biggest Preemie Milestone: Jensen & Everett's Due Date

Everett's having a bad day

Today is one year from Jensen & Everett's due date so that means they are 12 months adjusted!  I feel like we need to celebrate their birthday all over again.  One of my biggest regrets in life is that these guys didn't get to cook as long as we were hoping they would.  But they are doing so great all things considered and I am so grateful for that.

At 14.5 months old/12 months adjusted, Jensen and Everett are becoming quite busy little bees.  They are great at getting around by just keeping a hand or two on the furniture, and can even stand unassisted for a few seconds.  They could start walking any day!  I'm not sure how I feel about that... They have also recently learned how to climb onto tall objects like boxes and into their stroller and want to climb on everything.

They interact so much lately.  It is adorable.  They love to play with each other, but also tend to want to play with the same thing so sometimes they get in little fights over toys. They babble at each other and even learn tricks from watching the other one.  Everett learned to do this funny face where he breathes loudly through his nose during his cake smash when some cake got in his nose.  Since he got lots of attention for doing he, naturally he does it pretty frequently now (and I love it.)  The awesome thing though is that Jensen saw that everyone though his brother was cool so now he does it too.

My FAVORITE FAVORITE thing they do is dance!  Whenever any music comes on, whether it's from a toy or a ringtone or an actual song or a more upbeat hymn in church, they start boogie-ing.  Jensen gets really into it.  I am so happy that they love music.

They both know how to wave and Jensen is clapping too.  They are getting pretty good at throwing balls.  They love pushing around little toy cars.  They love going to church because everyone around us gives them lots of attention.  But they are also shy too sometimes.  They had their first trip to the park recently and seemed quite bored by the swing and the slide.  They were content just to ride around in their strollers, thank you very much.  They looooove being outside and get upset if the front door opens and they don't get to go out.  Their favorite things to eat include cheerios, cheese, grapes, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes.  Everett seems to be slowly weaning himself, but I think Jensen will nurse until he's 10 haha.

Everett still only has 2 teeth, but Jensen has 6 now.  He finally got his middle front teeth in addition to the next two upper teeth so soon he will look less like a vampire.  But I'll admit I kind of like his fangs.  He does seem to have a hard time with bright sunlight, maybe he really is a vampire.

The annoying thing about going out with twins is that so many people stop you to look at and ask about the babies.  For some reason EVERY SINGLE PERSON asks "twins?!?!?" and then "a boy and a girl?"  *Sigh*  My boys are dressed in matching, boyish outfits every time too.  I can't figure out why they think one of them is a girl and it drives me nuts.  Maybe because Everett's hair is longer?

We hit a big milestone a few weeks ago.  We had a weight check appointment and for the first time in their lives Jensen & Everett are both on the non-adjusted growth curve!  That means they weigh as much as a normal 14.5 month old would weigh.  Okay, they're like less than 5th percentile, but still.  I love how chunky they're getting.

I'm so grateful that I get to be the mommy to these two precious souls.  It is exhausting and hard, and I am always afraid of doing the wrong thing.  But I also get so much joy from watching them learn and grow, getting to know their individual personalities and dying over their cuteness.  They are becoming such wonderful little people and I am excited and terrified to see what comes next.  My only wish is that they'd stop growing up so fast! (And sleeping through the night would be great too.)

And now, a peek into a day in the life of Jensen and Everett.  I have entitled it: Everett Is Sad Because He Wouldn't Take His Morning Nap, Jensen's Just Happy To Get To Play On The Bed

Home At Last

One year ago today, I received a phone call from one of Jensen and Everett's doctors.  "We've looked at his charts and decided that Jensen will be able to go home today along with Everett," he says.  I can hardly believe it.  My OB had told us that twins almost never get to go home from the NICU at the same time.  Blake and I finish getting ready and drive the route to what I then called our second home one last time.

Blake drops me off at the front door, as he unfortunately has an important meeting to go to that he can't miss.  We plan on him being done by about 3pm.  I ride the elevator to the top floor and approach the handwashing station for the last time.  Faucet on.  Soap, scrub, rinse.  Up to the elbows and in the knuckle creases.  Under the fingernails.  My hands cracked and cuticles peeling from seven and a half weeks of vigorous washing multiple times a day.  Soap, scrub, rinse.  The front desk lady greets me, and asks if today is the big day.  I confirm, and she says she'll let everyone know.

I head towards room 3 and greet today's nurse.  She's excited for me.  I tell her that I didn't bring in any milk today, for obvious reasons, so she moves some out of the freezer to thaw.  We have a whole cooler full of milk in their freezer that we will bring home with us.  My babies are waiting for me in our little private room at the back.  It's care time, so I go through the normal process.  First up is Jensen.  Change his diaper and drop on the floor for the nurse to weigh, take his temperature, change the probe from one foot to the other.  Then I get to try to nurse him.  It's difficult to get a weak little baby to latch, even with a nipple shield.  He gives it his best go and then it's time for Everett's cares.  Repeat process.  Everett is difficult to nurse too, but he doesn't usually need the shield at least.  I tell them that today is the day they get to go home.  They don't seem excited, but I think they'll enjoy being with mommy more.  When they are both in their cribs, I use the hospital pump.  I'm going to miss that thing, it is so much better than the one I have at home.

The first person to visit me is one of the NICU lactation specialists.  She checks to see how everything is going.  "I'm going to call you in a week and see how you're doing," she tells me.  She wants us to attempt nursing two times a day like we had been doing, and move it up as they become stronger.  I am so grateful for the help they had given me over those last several weeks.  Then the social worker comes and asks for the name of our pediatrician so he can get that information to my insurance.  He gives us information about financial assistance if we need it and tells us to call anytime.  After he leaves, I nibble on the snacks I brought.  I'm not sure if you're supposed to eat in the NICU because I never asked.  It's a little late now.

Three hours have passed and it's the next care time.  Diaper, temperature, probe.  We do a bottle this time.  Nursing is hard work for preemies and they need to rest.  Hello hospital pump.  The next person to come visit is the NICU dietitian.  She is a cute girl with red spirals for hair and freckles all over.  She hands me a packet about nutrition for the babies.  She also gives me a box full of human milk fortifier, that will be mixed into their bottles to help make up for the 10 weeks of growth and nutrtion they missed out on in my belly.  We set up an appointment for a month after discharge to check on their progress.

It's 3pm.  Blake is supposed to be here but of course things are running late.  The nurses change shift at 4 and we don't have anyone assigned to us.  The guy from the oxygen rental company comes to deliver Jensen's oxygen and show me how it works.  I wanted Blake to be there to see that too.  It's simple enough though so I can teach him later.  Then the guy from the pulse oximeter rental company comes to give us our oxygen monitor.  It makes terribly loud beeping sounds when the oxygen level is too high or too low, which we will get to enjoy for the next month.

The next care time comes around, and they were able to find a nurse to cover for us.  Later, I look at the pictures from their birth and realize that she was there too.  She tells me that her husband is named Everett and it's not a name she hears often, and that her maiden name was Jensen.  So many coincidences.  My favorite nurse, Angie, comes in to say hi and tell me congratulations.  She gives me a hug and requests that I send pictures to the NICU so that she can see how the boys are doing.  I can't say enough how wonderful the nurses were to us.  Blake finally arrives a little while after she leaves, and the man who teaches infant CPR gives him his own private class so that he doesn't have to come back two days later to take it.  Infant CPR is a requirement if your baby goes home on oxygen.  I had taken the class the day before.  After his class, Blake brings our stroller and a large cooler up to our room.  This is it.  It's time to go home.

It's 6pm.  I hold Everett without wires for the first time.  We put the babies in their carseats strapped into the stroller.  We pile the stroller storage high with everything we can fit.  The cooler full of frozen milk, the buckets and leads and tiny blood pressure cuffs that will make mementos.  The piles of papers and box of fortifier that was given to me earlier.  A tote bag with handmade blankets in it that they give to every baby at discharge.  Somehow we fit it all in and our nurse escorts us out of the NICU.  The lady at the front desk tells us congratulations and for the first time in their lives, Jensen and Everett get to leave the NICU.  The nurse helps us get into the car and then we drive away.  These babies are all ours.

We bring them inside and then the tears come.  This is real.  They are home.  They are mine.  My heart is full at last.

My parents and sister come over to bring us dinner.  I'm starving because I hadn't eaten much that day.  My mom sets up a cute little cake that she made along with banners and balloons welcoming Jensen and Everett home.  My mom is awesome.  My dad sets up our new Mamaroo swing for us and puts it in their room.  Then they leave and it is just our little family.  At home.  Together. 

Many people say the day their child was born was the best day of their lives, but for us, the day they came home was even better. 

J & E's Birthday Party & Cake Smash!

We had Jensen & Everett's first birthday party on Saturday!  I had some people ask me to show them pictures because they couldn't make it so I figured I'd make it into a blog post.  We went with a woodlands theme and I think it turned out great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mom just whipped this cake up because she's amazing

 

Jensen chilling with his buddy

Ev hanging out with daddy

'Oh my gosh it's cake!'

Before I had kids, I totally thought cake smashes were weird.  Like okay, they're eating cake, whatever.  But then I had kids and now I know that it is adorable to watch your baby go to town on a cake.  So at the end of the party we had a cake smash for J & Ev. 

 

 

Thanks so much to everyone who came and especially to my amazing mom for hosting, helping me plan, and doing pretty much all of the decorating and cooking! Jensen and Everett were spoiled with so many presents and they had a great time!