Happy Birthday Boys

Today is the twins' 2 month birthday! (OK, really it was December 10th, but hey, mommy's actually blogging and she's still up from their birthday, so cut her some slack!)

I can't believe I haven't blogged at all since the 25th of October, but life has been such a whirlwind of enjoying every second with them.

We spent tonight with the snow coming down outside (yes - SNOW) eating stew and relaxing in front of the fireplace, looking at the Christmas tree.

It was such a wonderful family night and so many millions of miles away from our last few Christmases, and especially last years', when we had just lost our kitty, Fazzie, and had just had our 4th IVF failure in a little over 1 year of IVF. We were so sad and lonely and we wondered if we'd ever have a Christmas like this one.

This year we are a blessed little family with the two most adorable boys anyone could ask for - here is a list of what they've been up to since I last blogged - I promise to start doing better...

Brewer -
This little one is mommy's big boy...he has gotten so heavy! I can't wait to see what he weighs when we go to the doctor on Friday...at his 2 week appt, he weighed 6lb 10oz up from 6lb 7 oz at birth...I'm guessing he will be over 10lb, but less than 12lb...maybe right at 11lb.

Brewer is a quick study - at about 5.5 weeks, he manipulated mommy into pulling him out of 'crib time' early by spitting out his binky and crying everytime mommy left the room...At 7.5 weeks, he flipped over for the first time - from his belly to his back. Jon and I were so thrilled that we both saw it. It was the most fun - we were jumping up and down and so excited! He's working on going from back to belly now...

He's also all his dad - sleeping with that foot kicked out from the blanket...I've even found him a couple of times with a bare foot stuck out between the snaps of his footed pj's...he's a mess!

Brewer's personality so far has only 2 speeds - sleeping and screaming...ok, so there is a little wiggle room, but when he is awake and happy, he seems as though he could nap at any moment. The only time he seems completely wide awake is when he is very displeased with me for not showing up for bottle time 15 minutes early!

All in all, our quiet, strong boy is really coming along and getting more adorable by the day.

Bonham is a little charmer...everyone is crazy about him and raves about how good-looking he is. He is also very bright and likes to interact. While his brother seems to be desperately in need of his beauty sleep, little Bonham is awake and alert what seems like ALL of the time. He's been this way since birth. I have friends who feel really connected to Bonham v. Brewer because they have yet to spend any time with Brewer when he is awake...

Bonham started cuddling with his burp rag early on - I found this to be disgusting, so we introduced some taggies as 'lovies' and now Bonham cuddles it, and pets it and quietly chews on it when he is hungry (as opposed to his brother - the screamer!).

Bonham still makes 'kissy faces' when he is done eating, as well as doing them in his sleep, which is hilarious. He frequently coos and constantly grunts and he LOVES being talked to. He is my social baby - I guess he'll be just like his dad and his granny!

Bonham was the first of the two boys to find his thumb, though neither of them use it much...he's also started trying to help mommy hold his bottle - this excites mommy and daddy to no end, as it will relieve us of some work, though I am almost sad to see him growing up already!

He's not as stocky as his brother, but he is long - he fills out the feet of his footed pjs quite nicely while his brother doesn't get there quite yet. I am guessing he will weigh about a lb less than his brother friday, but we'll see!

Neither of the boys are smiling just yet (not for sure anyway) but they are both trying and I see lots of little 1/2 grins. I'm still waiting for 'the big one'.

The boys have really enjoyed all of the visits from mommy's family - especially their aunts who let their mommy sleep and spoil them by holding them constantly!

They also look forward to their near-daily visits from Granny! They can't wait to get these nasty shots out of the way on Friday so they can start spending time out and about with Granny!

I'll come back and update this post with some pics momentarily- oh, and watch your mailboxes - announcements will likely be mailed out this weekend (better late than never, right!? Hey, I'm a MoM - I'm BUSY!!)









As promised, here are some pix from birth to 12/11...

the boys, hanging out together....

Bonham - LOVE that sweet face...

the boys with mommy on her birthday! The best birthday ever...

Brewer - trying to flip over - he's about 5.5 weeks in this pic - one strong little boy!

Happy 'Birth'day!

Hello, Everyone!

Wow, it's been so long since I could check in, but these boys are keeping us sooo busy!
My birth story is pretty short and sweet. After my last 24 hour protien test came back high, my doctor called me up and said, "Let's have babies tomorrow!" She said there was really no good reason to wait any more, so we went in and had babies.

I was 35 weeks 6 days and it was Friday 10/10. We went in at 6am and they got me ready. We had to do a c section because baby A, soon to be Brewer, was breech. My back was so swollen, that the anesthesiologist could not thread the epidural so they just gave me a big shot of the anesthesia medication into my back w/o putting in the epidural. I was really scared I was going to feel something bc of this, but before I knew it, the nurse beside me assured me they were already working on getting the babies out. I felt much better once I knew things were underway and I wasn't in pain.

They were really funny in the operating room - everyone was in a great mood - talking about cars and sports - it was all very comfortable. They were so happy with Brewer when they took him out! He looked great. Jon said that when they popped Bonham's water bag it went all over everyone, especially my doctor. It was funny because I heard them ask her if she needed to stop and she was like, "No, it's in my hair, but it's not dripping into my eyes or anything, let's keep going..." SO casually - how funny.

They took Bonham out and he looked great too...Jon took a couple of quick snaps and then went with the babies to the NICU while I went to recovery. The babies only had to go to the NICU for observation because they were early. They were perfect and breathing on their own so they went to the regular nursery as soon as observation was over. Our pediatrician told us the nursery nurses were refering to them as his little rockstars. I love it! They were able to come home with us - we are so very lucky.

Anyway, we are over the moon and so glad to have Brewer and Bonham home. Here are a few pics from the kids' birthday!

Brewer Walsh
6lb 7oz












Bonham Frazier
6lb 5oz












with Mommy













brothers












A big thanks to all of our doctors and nurses who so wonderfully cared for us and our boys while in the hospital! We are so blessed to have been in your care. Thank you also to our family and friends for their visits, calls and gifts. We love you all and are eternally grateful for your support.

NST #2 Coming Soon....

Hey all! I haven't been feeling well and have had symptoms borderline (err....more precisely just across the border - but you know me, I live on the edge) to what I'm suppposed to call the doctor for according to my HHC nurse. I talked to her tonight and she wasn't thrilled we had not called the doc, but agreed to wait and see how my NST #2 goes tomorrow before she totally narcs on me. I have an OB appt on Wednesday anyway, so I'm hoping to make it that far before I land myself in the hospital.

Today I got dressed and everything and went to the dermatologist to get some help with my prego acne and prego rash. All will be ok I guess. I just have to get all the junk the doc recommended and start slathering it all over me. Blech. I miss my pre-prego skin. Hopefully it will come back.

Tomorrow, Jon gets to go to MY Eagles concert - I am so jealous. The doc said 'no way' to me going, but I know Jon's taking a friend in my place who will have a great time and he'll bring me back lots of awesome souvenirs. I hope my kids don't mind hearing about how I missed this for them for the rest of their lives, because they will...(sigh)...and thus my life of sacrifice for motherhood begins...sorry, Eagles, I know you will miss me terribly.

Now I also need to find a new promotion gift for myself, since that was it - maybe I'll just add that to my 'push' present for the boys and get one REALLY supersweet gift...

Quick Update on all things Twink

We started home healthcare monitoring on Friday at the doctor's request. What this means is in-home NST tests administered by nurses here at the house 2x a week, plus Jon and I will be monitoring other vitals on a daily basis and calling anyone if things go out of range.

I also received betamethisone shots to help develop the boys' lungs in case they have to be delivered prior to 34 weeks. This will only happen if my pre-eclampsia gets out of control before then, so lets hope that doesn't happen.

I never imagined these would be September babies, but 34 weeks is just 3 weeks from today - September 27th. WOW. I guess Dr. Dunn was right all along. ;)

Today, Kim, Chris and Megan came over to watch the A&M game. It was a nice little distraction for me. Thanks, guys!!

I am laughing at the myth that is 'bedrest' - right now, I have either a doctor's appointment or an in-home NST test every day next week.

I just hope the contractions stay away. I have one every now and again and I had three during the NST test on Friday - the nurse seemed to think that the next step if that happens again will be that Jon and I will also be doing in-home monitoring of my contractions - Oh, well, whatever keeps the boys safe and keeps me out of the hospital.

In other news, little sister found a sweet bargain on one of my car seats at Target - $57 for one that normally goes for between $230-280...If only I could get three more at that smoking price! Thank you, SeaStar. Love you.

That's all for now!

We like to scare our parents...(30 weeks on the inside)

Is what my kids would say if they could talk...



At around 6 weeks, they gave us quite the little scare when I had a bleed and we were sure it was a miscarriage...



About 12 weeks later when they decided to send us bad quad screen results...many u/s's later, I am convinced all is well...



AND NOW...at 29 weeks, they landed me on bed rest with some nice high blood pressure and (undetectible to mommy) contractions...since our little emergency jaunt to the hospital, brought on by the high bp, I've had some reassuring (albeit not-quite-normal) test results, but I was told by my specialist this week that it is only a matter of time until I develop pre-eclampsia and I am officially 'out'. Jon has strict orders to keep my bed-rest, well, strict. I am anxious to see my regular OB this week to see what is and is not permissible for me to be doing.



I'm sad to be off of work so soon and so suddenly, but I know that the doctors are only telling me to do what is best for the boys and I will never do anything less than what's best for them.

Hi! Welcome to our family blog. At the request of many friends and family, I've started this blog as a way for everyone to keep up with us. (Us, who am I kidding? It's all about the boys!)

After 2.5 years of trying for a child and 5 rounds of IVF, Jon and I were blessed to find out earlier this year that we will be welcoming twin boys into the world this fall (well, we hope to make it to fall, anyway).

This blog will serve mainly as a place to chronicle our new life as a family of four, though I am sure there will be some reflective posts on all that has led up to now (pardon my self-indulgence).

Currently, we are 27 weeks along in our pregnancy. In the words of my doc, the boys look 'seriously beautiful' and although I often am tired and generally not myself, I could not be happier to be where I am today. For so long, I really never thought we'd be here (there I go getting reflective) and I really couldn't be happier or more excited for what lies ahead.

Darling hubby, Jon, has been a prince the entire pregnancy, heck, our entire marriage, taking great care of me and I know he's going to make the best dad ever! Now if I can just get him to change a diaper.... :)