Addison and Fischer got their birthday gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Suttle a little bit early. After Fischer walked across the kitchen with the Leap Frog table, we thought they both might be ready for the actual walkers, since the table isn't very sturdy. I knew that Grandma and Grandpa Suttle bought these, so I asked them to go ahead and send them so they could be put to good use! At first, the babies were a little confused, but they seem to be getting used to their new cars.

Things are still going well with the sippy cups... in fact, check out this picture:

There are no bottle parts in there. We are still using bottles for their last feeding each night, but I'm not sure why. The babies had no problems at all with the transition, so we will be switching those over to sippy cups very soon. Then, we will be completely done washing all of those bottle parts. I'm not going to lie though - a part of me will miss it. 

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend:

In the last picture, Fischer is holding up a magnet. He has started holding out his toys and food to me and saying "Da." Then he will hand it to me and go on to something else. I will always hand it back and say "Now you eat it" or "You play with it." I'm not quite sure what "Da" means, but he says it every time!

Official Birthday Countdown: 23 Days!!

A year ago I was 31 weeks and 3 days pregnant, and still on bed rest. I wasn't having many contractions according to my monitor. I'd had a couple of "scares" where the nurse would call me immediately after receiving my monitor information and tell me to drink a lot of water, give an extra dose of medicine, hold still, and monitor for another hour. Luckily this only happened a couple of times, and the contractions always went down in the second hour. My weekly doctor appointments were my only outings, so I guess I sort of looked forward to them. My doctor was thrilled that things were staying so quiet with the babies!

This year, the babies are busy discovering new things. Scott and I discovered this recently:

We definitely have some teething babies...both of their cribs are like this! They even came with the plastic protection strips, but we are going to have to go buy bigger ones that somehow cover the entire rail.

This is one of Fischer's favorite things to do now:

He tries to do it on his own, and will sometimes grab my finger and put it in his mouth and move it back and forth. I can even hear him doing it sometimes over the monitor. Addison has started trying to do it too.

Addison is loving this toy they got for Christmas. When it rolls towards her, she gets so excited. Then she will (sometimes) attempt to roll it back...this game could go on for quite awhile. Of course when I was using my camera, she lost interest in the alligator and tried to get the camera.

Official Birthday Countdown: 25 days!!

Addison and Fischer are getting so big. And it's happening so fast!! Looking at old pictures just proves to me how fast they are growing. They got a wagon as a gift in June. We were very excited but knew it'd be awhile until they could use it. We did play with it a little bit that day, though.

Fischer was still so little, and could only lay in it! Yesterday, they could actually sit in it, and we went for a little walk. They really seemed to like it. There is a hole in the bottom and Fischer kept sticking his finger through it trying to touch the road.

Here are a few more pictures from the last few days.

Official Birthday Countdown: 27 days!!

I would have said, without a doubt, that Addison would walk before Fischer. She sat up first, crawled first, pulled up first and stood on her own without holding on to anything first. But now, I'm not so sure who will walk first!! Last night, I finally put the legs back on the Leap Frog Activity table (we took the legs off and put it on the floor so they could actually play with it since they couldn't stand yet). Once the legs were back on, they pulled right up and started playing. It was in our kitchen, so the legs were sliding on a floor a little bit. Fischer got behind it, held on, and started walking. He walked all the way across the kichen!! I was in shock since he just started pulling up and standing last week. He walked a little tonight and I got it on video.

Addison is still very steady on her feet when standing on her own. She will do it for 10 (sometimes more) seconds at at time. I keep waiting on her to take a step forward but it hasn't happened yet. I can never get it on video because the camera distracts her and she falls... but tonight, we did manage to get a few seconds on video.

The babies have tried all kinds of new foods this weekend! Yesterday, we went out to eat Mexican for lunch. We ordered a cheese quesadilla for Addison and Fischer to try, and they loved it! Hardly any pieces made it to the floor. They must take after me because I love mexican food!

Today, we went out to lunch again. We tried a new barbecue place. We got Addison and Fischer a miniature barbecue sandwich and some mac 'n' cheese to go with it. They ate everything we put in front of them, including some samples of different barbecue sauces, and also had some of Scott's lima beans.  So far, they aren't picky at all about food. I hope it stays that way.

They've had 4 feedings in their sippy cups since yesterday morning. They are doing great with that, and are still drinking water fine out of them as well. Soon, washing bottle parts several times a day may be a thing of the past! I just can't believe it's about time to completely transition from bottles to sippies and formula to whole milk.

Official Birthday Countdown: 29 days!!

Yesterday, Addison and Fischer turned 11 months old. Now, the countdown to their first birthday is officially on!

Today, we decided to try their 9:00 formula snack in sippy cups instead of bottles. As I expected, they didn't care about the switch and drank it as normal. The only difference is that it took Addison longer to drink her 6 ounces. I'm anxious to see if they will still drink water out of the sippy cups later today.

Here is the video of Fischer standing up in his crib! You can hear that I'm cheering him on, and at the end, Addison cheers for him too.



Once he stood up, he and Addison had a little conversation.

Fischer had another first yesterday! He stood up in his crib for the first time. I was changing Addison's diaper so I didn't actually see him stand. When I looked over, he had the biggest smile on his face - he was so proud. Later last night, I managed to catch it on video. I tried to post the video but it wouldn't work for some reason. I'll keep trying, because it's a cute one! Here is a picture of the babies "talking" while standing in their cribs.




I'm pretty sure that both Addison and Fischer are saying "Bo." It's not the actual word "Bo" but they both have their own version of it, and they seem to say it every time they see him. Addison's comes out more like "Bbbbbuh" and Fischer's is just the "B" sound. It's too bad that Bo is so unimpressed that they love him so much.

Here is a picture of Fischer reading to me during his bath last night.

Last year, I was behaving and staying in bed (or on the couch). I'd already had one follow up visit with my doctor, and things seemed to be going well. I was now 30 weeks and 2 days pregnant. We were all very excited that I'd made it to 30 weeks!!

This year, the babies continue to amaze me on a daily basis. Over the past couple of days, Addison has started to wave more and more. She is also cruising more, and standing on her own without holding onto anything for many seconds at a time.  Fischer pulled up twice on his own tonight! Both times were on the bathtub, but he has tried to do it on many other occasions. He is beyond frustrated and lets us know it! He also crawled on his knees yesterday for the first time. He managed to take a few "steps" at a time, and he did it several times. Today, however, he hasn't even tried. I guess he likes the army crawling better. He also clapped today... I've been working with them for awhile to get them to clap. He finally did it twice today but wasn't nearly as excited about it as I was.

Both babies are doing well without their pacis. We are coming up on 3 weeks without them (on Friday) and it's almost as if they were never around! The transition went much better than I had anticipated.

We've also tried some new foods. The babies tried lima beans for the first time, which they both seems to really enjoy.  Tonight, they tried spaghetti-o's with meatballs. While they seemed to enjoy them, they were both having a hard time picking them up, and got very frustrated. They were also very messy. I think we'll wait awhile before trying those again.

Last year, I was "busy" laying down. I survived my first weekend at home on bedrest. It wasn't easy - Scott and I were used to going places and doing things on the weekends, so staying at home the whole time was tough. It seemed to be paying off though... my contraction monitor was showing only 1 to 2 contractions per hour, and sometimes even zero. If I got to 5 or 6 contractions in an hour, I would have to give myself an extra dose of medicine and monitor for another hour. If they were still that high, I would most likely be sent to the hospital.

On Friday, I went to visit my friend Christine's 2 week old baby, McKenzie. Even though it wasn't really that long ago that Addison and Fischer were that small, it felt so strange to be holding a tiny newborn.  I spent Friday night with them so that I could help out, but McKenzie has turned out to be such an easy baby so far, that my help wasn't really needed. It was fun getting to spend time with her and her older sister, Madison. It made me realize just how fast time is going and how big Addison and Fischer are getting!

Baby McKenzie

Here is a picture of Fischer's 3rd tooth - we call it his fang. It isn't his front middle tooth, but one off to the side.

Last year, I finally got to go home! Monitor, ultrasound and check for dilation were all good, so I was free to go. I had mixed feelings because at the hospital, doctors and nurses were right there if anything happened. At home, I was worried that something would happen and I wouldn't make it to the hospital in time. I was also worried that I wouldn't know when I went into labor since I hadn't felt many of my previous contractions. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about in that department!

I was so excited to see Bo and Sassy when I got home. My parents stayed the weekend too, which was nice. I was on strict bedrest and had to do a contraction monitor twice a day. I had an appointment that Monday, so I knew I'd be getting out of the house a little bit. So once again, we waited...

This morning, I am happy to announce that Fischer slept all night. He had been waking up about an hour or so every night after going to bed (during naps, too). When he woke up, we'd pick him up and he'd have these awful, painful burps.  I talked to his pediatrician yesterday about increasing his Zantac dose. We purposely left it lower than he could have for his weight to see if he really needed it or could be weaned off. Obviously, he really needs it. Last night, he got the increased dose and didn't make a peep all night!  Addison is still on the lower dose and seems to be doing just fine with that. Hopefully he'll sleep just as well tonight!

Last year, my emotional roller coaster continued. The terbutaline pump seemed to be working, although it made me very jittery (a common side effect).  The doctors wanted to monitor me for contractions, do an ultrasound, and check dilation progress before they gave the OK for me to go home. The monitor and ultrasound looked great, and I was still 4 cm, which meant there hadn't been a change in a week! Just when I thought I was going to get discharged, it seemed that my water was leaking. After numerous tests, it was determined that my water wasn't leaking and that the babies had plenty of fluid. But, they wanted me to stay another night just incase. At this point, I didn't think I was ever going to go home.

Yesterday, I felt like the babies were developing right before my eyes... They have this toy that is on wheels and I was pushing it towards Fischer. He would stop the toy, then push it back to me! We did this for at least 5 minutes before he lost interest. It just surprised me that he was ready to play a "game" like that! Later in the day, we Skyped with Scott since he is out of town. This is a great way for he and the babies to see each other. When he said "hi," Addison waved to him on the screen! I couldn't believe it! She's been waving a little bit, but I really didn't think she'd do it to the computer screen.

I don't think I've mentioned that Fischer has started clicking his tongue, and it seems to be his new favorite sound. He will always do it back to me if I do it first. Addison even starts doing it every once in awhile. It's pretty funny when all 3 of us (sometimes 4 when Scott joins in) are sitting there clicking our tongues. :)

I also think I experienced one of my favorite baby moments yesterday. We went to Wal-Mart yesterday afternoon. When we got home, I took them to Addison's crib to play while I unloaded the Wal-Mart bags.  When I walked back into their room, they were sitting very quietly in the crib. Each baby was holding a book and flipping through it, as if they were reading it. They looked up and saw me, then returned to "reading" their books. So, so cute.

Last year, I woke up happy to still be pregnant. The Doctors were hoping that I'd make it to 32 weeks, so each day was a small success. Since the Procardia wasn't working as well anymore, the Doctors decided to switch me to a Terbutaline pump. This would go in my upper thigh and would automatically give me a dose of medicine every 3 hours. If things settled down using that, I could possibly go home! A nurse came and showed us how to insert the needle into my leg (that was Scott's job), and how to replace the cartridges holding the medicine. The cartridges had to be replaced daily, and the needle site had to be changed (alternating thighs) every 5 days. The pump was finally in place around 10 pm and then it became another waiting game.

Today, I can't even believe how much the babies keep changing.  I now have two "standers" on my hands... Oh my, things are going to get crazy soon!

Here they are with one of their favorite "toys"

Last year, I was still in the hospital, and still worried. I was 29 weeks and 2 days pregnant.  My contractions had been very minimal while on Procardia which was great news! On Tuesday, however, it stopped working as well and I was having to take each pill (which was supposed to be taken every 6 hours) every 5 1/2 hours, then 5, etc... The doctors spent Tuesday trying to figure out what my next step should be. Luckily my mom was there with me keeping me company, and Scott was there a lot too! This distracted me, which helped keep me calm.

Today, Addison now has her third tooth. That makes 3 for each baby! Also, Grandpa Suttle is not the only one who has been kissed by the babies - my persistence paid off and Addison gave me a kiss yesterday when I asked and Fischer gave me one today. Yay! :)  Their version of a kiss is putting their wide open mouths on my chin, but that works for me!

Last year, our weekend was filled with worry and unanswered questions. I was still in the hospital, and still having contractions. They had slowed considerably though, which was very promising. Over the weekend, I received my 2nd steroid shot, and was moved to a new room. I lucked out and got a large corner room, so that was nice. I was taken off "the mag" and started on another medication. Immediately I started feeling contractions and they were coming strong and fast. So, they stopped that medication and started me on Procardia. I took a pill every 6 hours and it seemed to be working very well! We even started throwing around the words "going home."

My weekend was also filled with visitors, which was a very welcome distraction. My parents were there, and several friends came. Saturday was supposed to be our baby shower, so we had somewhat of a mini-shower in my room since our friends brought gifts!

This year, our weekend was filled with family time and relaxation (as much as there can be with 2 very mobile babies).  We spent the weekend in Ocracoke Island, NC with my parents.  Scott and my dad hunted on Saturday, so my mom and I spent the day with the babies. We even took them out to lunch! It was a fun weekend, even though it was abnormally cold.

The house we rented was right on the water, and the babies loved crawling over to the windows and looking out at everything. It was very pretty!

Addison looking out at the cold water!

The view from our kitchen... can't beat that!

Fischer enjoying some Grandma time.

While we were gone, the babies were very busy. Addison started pointing, and she also blew back in my face as I was gently blowing into hers! She is also now very interested in our teeth - she will try to grab them, rub them, scratch them, etc...  Fischer pulled himself up last night at our friends house all by himself for the very first time! He's been trying to pull up into a standing position and has been getting very frustrated because he couldn't quite do it. Last night, he finally had his moment!! Things will get very interesting around here once they are both standing.  Also, Addison and Fischer BOTH gave Grandpa Suttle a kiss (the open-mouth sloppy kind) when he asked for one. This, of course, made me jealous as I've been trying to get some kisses of my own for quite some time.  It was so cute though!

The babies did ok with all of the traveling. They don't sleep great in their pack and plays, so we are all glad to be home and in our own beds.  We started a new nap schedule last week, and so far it seems to be working pretty well. We've gone to two naps... one at 9 am and one at 2 pm and that transition went much smoother than I was expecting.

What a difference a year makes...

January 7, 2009

January 5, 2010

On January 7, 2009, I went to a routine appointment. I was 28 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Up until that point, I'd had an uneventful pregnancy and everything seemed normal. So, you can imagine my shock when the doctor thought I should go next door to the hospital to see if I'd been having contractions.  And you can imagine my shock that once I was hooked up to that monitor, they told me I was having contractions every 3 minutes and I was 4 cm dilated. I was pretty calm, but I think that's because I was in shock.  Looking back, it was pretty obvious that the doctors thought the babies were coming sooner rather than later.

I spent the night at one hospital and was taken by ambulance to another that had a NICU the next afternoon. During my first night, I was given my first of two steroid shots (the 2nd was given 24 hours later). I was also started on magnesium to help stop the contractions. As awful as the magnesium made me feel, it worked and the contractions stopped.

I was able to sleep a little bit that night, even though a nurse woke me up every 2 hours to check my magnesium levels by taking blood. I wasn't sure what the next day would hold...

Fischer has been busy this week! He is now putting him into the sitting position with such ease, it's as if he's been doing it all along. For a few days, I'd find him sitting but never saw him do it. So, on Monday, I didn't take my eyes off him until I actually saw him do it.  He has now joined the club of sitting up in his crib when he's supposed to be sleeping.

He also pulled up onto his knees on something other than my lap. He's been doing it on my legs for a couple of weeks. Yesterday they were in our closet playing with my shoes, and he pulled up onto his knees on the step-ladder we have set up in there. I was so excited!! 

Addison seems to be getting more confident each day with stepping to the side. Yesterday she stepped from the ottoman to my lap and even turned her whole body while stepping.  She has also become very fast with her crawling. Scott's new nickname for her is "turbo."  She is especially fast when she's trying to get to Bo and Sassy. 

It's so fun to see what new thing they will do each day! 

Here are some pictures from the last few days!

Addison wanted to help with chores

Playing with a new toy

Addison was watching Scott grill and banging on the window to get his attention

Fischer's hair is getting so long!

Another new toy

No day is uneventful with two babies. Today was no exception. I had to take the babies to the Doctor this morning (my first trip alone to the doctor with both babies!) because they both have rashes on their face. Last night it got so red they looked like little cherries. Fischer also has some red bumps on his legs. Luckily, they don't seem bothered by it at all but I wanted to get it checked out.  So, it seems that both babies have a mild case of eczema. We will have to start using different detergent. I thought Dreft was the best option but apparently there are some other scent-free options we should use. We also have to use different soaps and lotions, along with some over-the-counter creams. Hopefully doing all of that will do the trick and they will be rash free soon!

The babies got weighed this morning at the appointment. Man, are they chunking up! Keep in mind they both had two layers of clothes on when they were weighed...Addison was a whopping 19 pounds 14 ounces and Fisher was 18 pounds 4 ounces. She almost has 2 pounds on him!! We go again on February 25th for their 1 year well visit, so we'll get weights again on that day. 

Other than that, things are going pretty well since taking away their pacis. Addison has slept through the night 2 nights in a row. Fischer has woken up a couple of times each night, but we are pretty sure his teeth are really bothering him lately. I'm thinking he'll have tooth #4 soon. 

I haven't posted any pictures lately but hope to do so tonight or tomorrow!

Scott and I decided to start out our new year in a not so fun way. We decided it was time to get rid of Addison and Fischer's pacifiers. So, at 7:45 a.m. on New Years Day, they were gone. Never to be seen again. Hopefully.  We are now in our 51st hour without them, and we are all still alive.

As expected, Addison has had a harder time with it than Fischer. We already had it to where they were just using them for naptime, bedtime and car rides. Our first test was naptime... Addison cried for about an hour while Fischer laid there and "talked." Once Addison stopped crying, Fischer went to sleep immediately, and she slowly drifted off. They only slept for about an hour, but we were surprised they slept at all, to be honest.  Then came bedtime. Addison fell asleep while drinking her bottle, and Fischer went to sleep pretty quickly... I just knew it was too good to be true. Addison woke up about an hour later, and stayed up for a little over 2 hours and cried the whole time. We would let her cry, then try to soothe her, and I eventually rocked her. She fell asleep while we rocked, but she knew when I was trying to put her back in the crib and she would cling to me and start screaming again.  That's when I decided there was no turning back with this because I would feel awful if we made her go through all of the crying for nothing.

Yesterday's nap went very well. They both went right to sleep. After about 1 1/2 hours, Bo barked and woke Addison up. UGH!!!! Fischer slept for another 1 1/2 hours though. Last night at bed time, Addison again fell asleep while drinking her bottle. Fischer cried for a few minutes, and then both were asleep. We kept waiting for them to cry, and they never did! Until 4 o'clock this morning, that is. It only took me a few minutes to calm Addison down though, and I was careful not to pick her up or touch her too much. She was sitting up in the crib, so I laid her back down, rubbed her back for a second, then left. She cried off and on for about an hour, but I'm pretty sure she was at least half asleep the whole time.

So, we will see how naps go today. I can only hope that things continue to get a little better with each day. I feel a little guilty for taking their pacis away, but it would have to be done eventually, and our Doctor highly recommended trying to do it before their first birthday.

In other news, Fischer's 3rd tooth has officially broken through. You can barely feel it, but it's there. It's the top tooth to the left of the middle two. How strange... I've never heard of that one coming before the middle ones.  Also, Addison has officially started "cruising." She walked (sideways) the entire length of our coffee table yesterday. As usual, things are changing everyday.