3 months and Our First Trip

On February 21st the twins turned 3 months old!

We don't have official stats but on this birthday you were both about 12.5 pounds! What are you guys up to at 3 months? You are eating 4-5 ounces of milk every 3 hours during the day and you will now go anywhere from 6 to 9 hours at night!! Woo hoo! You were still eating mostly breastmilk on your 3 month birthday but shortly after we made the decision to switch you to all formula because your little tummies just could not get over the gas issues my milk was recently causing. Not to mention pumping for half an hour 4 times a day while keeping you two entertained was becoming quite the circus act! :) So now you are on Similac Alimentum and you seem to be doing well! You are sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed (ahem) which I did not want to do but the whole 4 hours of sleep a night wasn't working for anyone anymore! We tried on your 3 month birthday to move you to your cribs but you are still a little young so we will try again at 4 months. You still do great in the car so we took your first trip this month. Mallory you have outgrown your colic and we are all so thankful for that! You love napping in your swings during the day. You both have great neck control and can hold your heads up unassisted. Mallory can sit for a couple seconds without help and Mason has just started trying real hard to roll from his back to his tummy. Mason enjoys tummy time but Mallory is not a fan. And the biggest change... you are both smiling and talking and interacting and just so animated and we love it!!!! Mommy and Daddy are still working really hard to keep you healthy and so far so good but we still limit taking you out too much although we have been out a lot more recently.

Everyone always asks me if the kids are different. My answer is VERY! Mason is rather laid back and go with the flow. He is impatient in the mornings when he is super hungry so that is when he is most upset but other than that he does not cry much. Mallory is fairly high maintenance and loves to be entertained and held. She cries often but if you can figure out what she needs it stops quickly. They are both so different and I love it. I love watching their little personalities grow!

So more about our first vacation! Dusty's sweet Granny has access to a condo in Durango through her employer that she retired from and she was kind enough to book it for us for a whole week! We went several years ago with friends and had a blast so could not wait to go back! Dusty's parents, Gamaw and Papaw, were able to take off work and go with us. It was such a great trip! The babies traveled well and we just stopped every 3 to 4 hours to feed them in the truck and get out to stretch a little. They slept most of the drive so that helped. We spent the week hanging out in the beautiful condo, shopping and eating downtown and doing other fun things. Dusty and his mom and dad all went to ski a couple of days. Gamaw and I got to go snowmobiling one day and although it was 15 degrees, we still had a blast on our 3 hour tour through the mountains of Durango. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the babies didn't even mind the cold. We are ready to go back!

The beautiful condo which is nicely remodeled inside with heated tile floors and an awesome steam shower!

The whole gang!

Our first family vacation!

The babies in their adorable swimsuits ready for their first swim! The water was a little too cold otherwise they would have loved it.

Feeding babies by the fire at the condo.

Dusty and Papaw on the mountain skiing!

Dusty and Gamaw on their ski day!

Gamaw and Me enjoying snowmobiling! So awesome!

The family in the snow!

Me and my sweet guy on the mountain shopping after our lunch date.

We can't wait for our next trip together. We look forward to making so many more fun memories with the kiddos as they get older!

Lots Of Lovin

You babies have been quite popular since your birth! In your short little life of almost 11 weeks you have had many visitors. You are so blessed and lucky to have many people in your lives who love you and would do anything for both of you!

I did not do a great job of getting pictures with everyone who came to see the babies but we appreciate all of you who brought meals and came to love on our little bambinos! Gamaw and Papaw, Honey and Poppy, Granny, Aunt Ami and Uncle Adam, Aunt Sandy and Lisa, Aunt Karen, Aunt Lacye and Uncle Brad, and friends Brian and Taffy, Landon and Cara, Shea and Andrea, Allison, Amanda, Toya, LaRae, Sara and Brianne. And there are many more who can't wait for the chance to meet you both!!

Some pics of the babies and their company...

2 Months and Catching Up!

I have sat down numerous times over the last few weeks to write another blog post...and then a baby cries and needs my attention more than my silly blog! But I still want to do my best to document some of the things about our new lives with the babies, even if it is just playing catch up once a month!! Phew, life with two newborns is controlled chaos I tell ya, that is the best way to describe it. And I am loving every minute!!

So, I left off with when the babies came home. It took a couple of weeks to get adjusted and into a routine which basically consisted of sleeping, eating every 3 hours day and night, and lots of diaper changes! 

On December 21st the babies turned one month old!

Then we had our first Christmas. Because the twins were premature we opted to sit out our families Christmas celebrations this year. It was hard but a common cold in an adult can be fatal for our babies because how easily they can contract RSV. On their immature respiratory systems they would be hospitalized and we will not be doing that again!!

So we celebrated at our house with our immediate families, and just our family of four on Christmas day!

Christmas morning

Santa brought stockings

They were so excited! Can you tell? :)

After Christmas and New Years we were back to our normal routine. We loved all the extra time with Daddy home and were sad when he went back to work!

Baby Playtime

Daddy and his babies

Naptime

Baby Bathtime!

Dressing Up

First trip with Mommy to the park

Sleepy Babies and their pacis

On January 21st the babies turned 2 months old! My time is just flying by and the babies are growing to be so BIG!! 

Some of things you babies are doing at 2 months: eating 3-4 ounces every 3 hours during the day and going anywhere from 4-6 hours at night (a little more sleep for mommy than one month ago), eating primarily pumped breastmilk and 1 or 2 feedings of Similac Alimentum a day, sleeping in your swings (you don't like to sleep flat so we have ditched the bassinet and are holding off on cribs), love riding in the car (once we are moving that is), Mallory you are pretty colicky in the evenings poor little baby, you both love hanging out in your boppy pillows and bouncy seats during the day, and we make frequent visits to Honey and Poppy's, Gamaw and Papaw's, and Granny's house. You still have not been in public much as we are working hard to keep you well through flu/rsv season!!

At our 2 month well check Mason weighed 10 lbs 12 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. He was in the 20th percentile for weight. Mallory weighed 10 lbs 6 oz and was 21 inches long. She was in the 45th percentile for weight. Both babies are nice and healthy and right on track developmentally! Both babies have fairly good head control although Mallory is much stronger with hers. Mason has quite the strength in his legs and can kick himself all over the place! We are so thankful that things are going so well! Here are the babies at 2 months!

A few days after their 2 month appointment the babies really started smiling and reacting to us! Now we enjoy lots of smiles and coos everyday and we are loving how they are starting to respond to things we do!

Mason's little baby grins

Mallory's sweet smile

And the most recent picture of our sweet little babes...

Love you little guys! Can't wait to see what fun the next month holds!

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures including 3 months and our first vacation as a family to Colorado! So excited!

Love you all!!

The Babies are Here!

So this is a VERY LONG OVERDUE post! Wow, the last month and a half has been a whirlwind. I don't even know where to start.

Friday November 18, 2011

Before Dusty's work holiday party. Little did we know this would be our last picture as a family of 2!

My last post at 34 weeks we were scheduled for our 35 week ultrasound on November 21st. That weekend I packed our hospital bags. Call it instinct or just pure luck but I am so glad I was prepared. At our ultrasound the tech started with Baby A (Mason's) measurements as she normally did. Quickly I could tell by her silence that something was not right. She began explaining that Mason's abdomen was quite small for 35 weeks, only measuring 30. She immediately went over to Mallory's side and her abdomen was significantly larger. She went back to Mason and checked the blood flow from his placenta through his cord. She then began to explain that it was abnormal and basically in reverse. Our sweet baby boy was on a forced diet and was compensating for his vital organs by weight loss in his tummy. According to the ultrasound measurements, he was a whole pound smaller than his sister. This is a common complication with twins. She wrapped the main checks up quickly and went and got my high risk OB. While we waited the tears flowed as I told Dusty I knew they would want us to deliver that day. I was nervous and scared for our tiny little babies. Sure enough he suggested we deliver and after a quick call to my doc, they were on the same page. That was it, our babies were coming that night!

Because Mallory was still breech, I was scheduled for a c-section at 10 pm that night. Dusty and I went home loaded our bags and the carseats, went and had a nice big lunch at Furrs, and then I was admitted to the hospital just after noon for monitoring until the surgery.

After visits from family and friends I was taken into the OR just before 10 that evening. I have never had surgery but oddly enough was more nervous for the babies than I was for myself. After my spinal and some prep Dusty came in the room. And just a few minutes later out came Baby A and then our little Baby B!

Mason Alan Burger

November 21, 2011

4 lbs 11 oz

17.25 inches

Mallory Grace Burger

November 21, 2011

4 lbs 13 oz

16.5 inches

We expected some breathing troubles but after evaluation it was clear the babies needed a little more help than the hospital nursery could provide. While in recovery the pediatrician came in to inform me that they would be transporting the babies by ambulance to Medical Center Hospital's NICU.

I was devastated because I knew that they would not allow me to go but I just wanted what was best for the twins. So about 4 am that morning (with all of our family still waiting and praying) the NICU nurses took the babies to Odessa.

First pictures in the NICU.

It was heartbreaking to see my babies intubated and hooked up to monitors. Dusty and his parents went with the babies to the NICU while my sweet friend Lacye spent the first night of recovery with me and my dear sister the second night. I was so thankful for those girls and their willingness to sleep in a yucky hospital to keep me company!

The babies breathing issues quickly resolved and we spent the next two weeks helping the babies learn how to eat and maintain their body temperatures. It felt like forever but we are blessed that they did so well.

Some of the hundred pictures taken while in the hospital!

On December 5th we were finally discharged!

READY TO GO HOME!

Home at last!

Since then the babies have been doing great! I will update more later with pictures of our first Christmas and other fun things. We are so blessed with 2 healthy babies who are now over 8 pounds each!!

Thanks to everyone who prayed for our family over the last couple of months. We appreciate all of our family and friends!! More updates and pics coming soon!