8 Weeks.

The days are long, but the weeks are short. This statement is resounding truth for me since January 29, 2011! Last Friday, one day before the twins were 8 weeks old, was (by far) the most stressful day we've encountered. We've had bouts of problems with their tummies since they were born and thought we'd found the solution to our problems, but NO! The Similac Sensitive formula was causing all sorts of gas and we were still having to give the girls Karo syrup EVERYDAY and at least an ounce of prune juice. I gave it several weeks to see if things would get better, but they didn't. The gas was causing them anguish. They would wail every time they'd need to pass it and it was happened at least 10 times every hour....that's 20 farts an hour......that's hours upon hours of screaming, whimpering, crying, snubbing. They wouldn't stay asleep very well, either. Guess what woke them up....a rumbling tummy. Brent and I learned how to do the "I Love You" tummy massage, which did calm them and help them, but I was having to do that ALL day long. This is not what I bargained for. Some would say that with children, you never get what you bargain for, but I beg to differ. I've been asking God for children for 3+ years now. I asked specifically for happy babies. God does know the desires of my heart and I believe that He grants us those desires when we ask. As of Tuesday, March 22, I was tired of it. Tired of thinking, "If they're awake, they're crying." Tired of dreading the girls to wake up. I prayed, again, telling God that I wasn't happy with how things were going. Amy Grant sings a song, Better than a Hallelujah. The initial lyric is this: "God loves a lullaby
In a mother's tears in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes."I took comfort in those lyrics, knowing that my tears are like a melody to God's ears. That same day, both Brenlee and Cadence smiled several times. Grant it, it may be followed by wailing cries, but I celebrate the small stuff! Thursday, when both girls were inconsolable, I researched some more formulas. This would be the 5th different thing to try. I had been avoiding trying the Similac Alimentum because it's priced as liquid gold. $25 a can. At the rate they are eating this week, that's $75 a week. Again, this caused me to be upset that I couldn't breastfeed. Anyhow, our last ditch effort, Brent went after work Thursday and picked some up. I had read that it smelled worse and some babies didn't prefer the taste, so we were prepared. To our surprise, both girls gulped it down and wanted more! Well, Friday, however, I guess with the adjustment to the new formula and many other factors, the girls both screamed bloody murder for a grand total of 3 hours and 20 minutes. Cadence threw up everywhere from her state of hysteria and Brenlee was sweating head to toe. I was helpless and so were they. My mom came over during her lunch hour. I had both girls on me in the recliner asleep. I hadn't eaten or taken a drink of anything since before 8am, it was now 3:30pm. She gave Cadence another bottle, since the last one didn't stay down and laid her down to nap. I kept wearing Brenlee in my Moby to comfort her. The day was so long. I'm not even going to take the time to explain all the techniques I tried that day to console them, that'd be a blog in itself. Well, I reminded myself that it could take a few days-up to a week-to notice a change in the girls on the new formula. It happened. Saturday, the girls would sit in their swings and just look around for 1/2 an hour to an hour at a time. They were awake, not crying! We still had crying during pooping, but I can handle that. I'm just glad they are! (We haven't given prune juice or Karo since Thursday, either.) Saturday evening we decided that we'd lay the girls in the nursery to sleep that night. They'd been sleeping in a crib in our room. We set them up a laptop and attached some speakers to it. I purchased several white noise cd's off of Amazon and downloaded them. We set the mood in the room and things looked/sounded so great.  Low and behold, they did excellent. Brenlee sleep consistently for 4 hour stretches. She'd *almost* get  worked up, but we were able to keep her calm and she'd go right back to sleep. Cadence did the same thing! They didn't wake at the same time, either. This is something that I have been wanting to happen--since I've found that with them, it's mere impossible to keep them both happy and fed coincidingly. Sunday morning, we all woke up at 9:00am. Brenlee cooed and smiled at me for 30 minutes as I sat and chatted with her. She ate and then I put her in her swing and she fell asleep! I am so thankful and know that God has sent angels to be here with me and girls. They are comforting all of us! Praise the Lord! Thanks to all of you take time to read my lengthy blogs...partly they are for me to remember all of this---so I'm always able to celebrate even the tiniest of moments--and partly to keep family and friends involved in Brenlee's and Cadence's lives. Love you all, and keep up the prayers, we appreciate them SOOOO very much!

Mobiles

Go outside and look up at the beauty in the sky. Unless your in Lamesa, TX, you'll probably see beautiful clouds, birds, airplanes and an occasional leaf flutter by. Those of you reading from West Texas, you may see clouds of swirling dirt. Sorry. Well, Brenlee and Cadence are starting to notice everything. What a blessing that we are allowed to see the beauty that God creates for us daily. Yesterday Brenlee was sitting in one of our swings and I noticed her gazing at the zoo animals on the mobile above her head. I turned it on so that it would spin and she followed it with her precious little eyes. She sat for 30 minutes just gazing and thinking...oh and I know she was thinking since she got that real serious look and put her finger to her chin! Well, today my Mom laid Cadence in that same swing as she had to leave and go to work. I turned on some white noise so that they would go to sleep. After 15 minutes, Cadence was still just gazing around the room, so I turned the mobile on. Immediately it caught her eyes! She sat amused for several minutes captivated by the new vision she's been given!
 I'm so very thankful that both girls have been blessed with eyes that work! :)
On another note, Cadence is already starting to laugh! She laughed with Bruce one time last week and I really thought it was just a coincidence that she happened to make a noise that sounded remotely like a laugh while she was smiling-since she wasn't even 5 weeks old.....or adjusted age of 2 weeks old since she was born early! Well, Lolli was holding her last night after her bath, which by the way-she enjoyed, and she nodding off to sleep. She had a full-blown grin from ear-2-ear and she was laughing. Grant it, it wasn't a loud laugh, but it WAS definitely laughing! Brenlee will smile occasionally when we're talking crazy or making silly sounds; she'll start breathing harder, too. It's reassuring to see those smiles and my heart melts every time! Well, better go for now....the shower is calling my name!

What you thought you wouldn't do....

"I'll never do that!" Yeah, right! While I was pregnant, I read alot of information, mostly from public forums. Much of the information was not medical advice and as I read *thur* the posts, I'd think, wow, I'll never do that! Well, now that motherhood has officially hit me, I find myself doing whatever it takes to make these girls happy! I mean, how can feeding Karo Syrup to an infant be good? Well, it's good when they make a poop after sucking down a tablespoon full! Watering down formula?? No, can't be right....the FDA approved it like it is---but, a little extra water sure does help the formula stay down! Fruit juice before 3 months.....no way. Well, prune juice sure helps lube things up! We've just about figured Brenlee out. She needs watered down milk, 2 ounces of prune juice a day, and Karo syrup in a few bottles each day. When getting fussy, add a teaspoon or so of Gripe Water into her formula---oh and don't forget a few Mylicon drops! Now Cadence, she's a different story. We still haven't quite figured out how to keep her poopin'! Co-Sleeping. Well, we will just leave it at that! I was just thinking over the course of this past week that as I was pregnant, I didn't account for all this. I pictured me at home with two sweet babies, just smiling, cooing, pooping, singing, bathing, dressing up.....hah! It's more like: crying, screaming, bicycling legs, qtips up butt, glycerin suppositories, constantly cleaning up spit up, and a few minutes of eye gazing, smiling and sleeping! Things are changing daily, for the better, so I do look forward to the future. Here are the things from the past that I wouldn't trade for anything, though: the feeling I get in my chest when I am holding Brenlee and Cadence to my chest; it's an immense feeling of satisfaction, unconditional love and sacrifice. I love the sound that Cadence makes when she's eating, too. It's a little gulping sound that will always be music to my ears. The squeaking dinosaur noise that Brenlee makes when she is stretching. She throws her head back, arches her back and sticks her butt out-it's too cute to really describe! Both girls are very appreciative when I'm feeding them, too. They will gaze into my eyes for several minutes and I know that they are enjoying it just as much as I am! One last thing that I wouldn't trade for anything are the relationships that have been established with family and friends. I've thoroughly enjoyed the time I've spent with my Aunt Janna. I've spent more time with her since the twins were born than I have in the past 28 years. My cousin Kristi and her girls have also came over for a few nights and will be back! (I HOPE) Bruce got to spend a week here helping with the girls, too. He changed diapers like a champ, became a bottle making Scientist and we can't forget that he kept my cup full of water or tea the whole time he was here! Randi is great help, too :) She comes over every Tuesday and Thursday for the afternoon before class and I always look forward to that time. And, my Mom. I love her more than I ever thought a daughter could love. She's the best grandma, Lolli, that any kid could have. She's the least selfish person that I've ever encountered. She's given up many hours of sleep to care for the twins. She does this not because she feels like she has to or because she doesn't think we can do it, but because she loves these girls with all her heart. It's written all over her face, all over her heart. She's so patient, kind and loving. I'm privileged to see her interact with Brenlee and Cadence and learn from her. There are just some things that Momma knows best! I look forward to spending more time with other family members, as well. In May, Brent will be leaving town for an entire week. I've asked Connie to come stay with me. I'm very excited about that time, and hope that she'll be able to come! :) So, Randi, Dawn, Daddy, and everyone else that wanted me to write another blog, here it is! I COULD'VE been sleeping or watching Desperate Housewives.....but I love you all so much that I did this instead ;)
Until next time, hasta la vista! (Due to time constraints, I didn't proof read this...hope it makes sence!)

One Month Old!

Everyone says that time flies. Well, almost everyone. School-aged kids, and I was one of them, seem to think that they are stuck in a time warp. I've now decided that it IS true-time not only flies, it leaves a sonic boom ringing in our ears. The girls are no a month old! They were born almost a month before their due date, so now we're starting to see what most newborns do on a daily basis. It's so much different! They actually suck a bottle, yeah, they eat without forgetting how to each and every time! We've had some really hard days and nights in the past month for sure. My dad, Connie and Nanny Fran came one weekend and they will vouch for me that twins are hard to handle-much different than caring for one! We've tried 3 different formulas and breast milk so far, trying to get their tummies settled. My milk never came in, so I lasted a week and a half attempting to breast feed. This was a HUGE disappointment for me :( I did enjoy the time I had bonding with Brenlee and Cadence while I nursed. After we figured out that it was a losing battle for me to nurse, we decided to try out Similac Advance--which we had already been supplimenting with. (Cadence was fed Similac Neosure in the NICU for her stay.) They seemed to be doing well on it, but then they wound up constipated. Like BIG TIME! We then were advised to start them on Enfamil GentleEase for gas and fussiness. Well, Brenlee had more fun blowing bubbles with it and Cadence choked on it like we were feeding her toilet water. So, this wouldn't work! We then went back to a Similac product, since we knew they'd like the taste. We are still using Similac Senstive--both girls seem to like it. Problem, they are still constipated! I feel like a Scientist when making their bottles now. A bit of extra water, a tad of gripe water, some prune juice added to the formula--we're trying to get the "just right" mixture to keep their tummies settled! Bruce, Brent's dad, has been here to help us with this hiccup. Oh, and speaking of hiccups; they get them far too often! It irritats them so bad, too! My good friend Nanechka showed us some tricks to try to get them to go away--many times they work, so we're thankful for that! Well, I hear someone starting to "whimper" in their swing...and I hear grunts. The grunts usually come from Brenlee, while Cadence has the sweet little whimpers...time for another feeding :)