30 weeks

Today Addyson and Braden are 30 weeks old. We've been able to hold them in our arms for just as long as God was forming them inside of me!

Here's what we've been up to lately --

Braden decided that he LOVES to sleep on his tummy. And he wanted to bury his face flat in his crib - which made for some scary nights.

But after a call to the pediatrician to reassure me that I was doing absolutely everything there is to do to make sure he doesn't suffocate, I was able to rest easy and trust that he would be just fine! And he has been - and he decided that it is ok to turn to the side and most of the time he doesn't have his face buried anymore!

The other big news is that we are now eating baby food!!! Addyson and Braden have both been eating squash since Sunday night. And they like it! Braden thinks it is great and couldn't open his mouth any wider if he tried! And Addyson is surprisingly doing pretty well - she likes squash better than cereal! So far so good!

They are rolling all over the place. And being kind of cranky the last few days - sometimes they get themselves stuck places and need help moving around. They also were around a lot of people over the weekend and just seemed totally wiped out. Our schedule is changing with them eating more food, and it's getting tough on all of us I think. It's taking a little bit to adjust. But we'll get there!

This is one of Addyson's favorite sleeping positions - thumb in her mouth and one hand over her eyes - SO CUTE!!

Braden still enjoys his swing - here he is taking a snooze with his buddy - he really likes to snuggle with his puppy. They are good friends!

Here are some other pictures from this week -

rolling along & sweet sleep

Braden is now rolling over both ways! So we have two babies rolling all over the place. They are just good enough to get themselves in a position they don't like and start crying for help. Braden is so proud of himself. It's pretty fun to watch. And also pretty scary since Braden likes to bury his head when he gets mad and can't get rolled over. This makes for a nervous mommy at night - but he usually only does it when he's awake. I'm glad to know that Jesus never sleeps so He's taking good care of them while we're snoozing.

We had their 6 month checkup this week. Addyson weighed 9 pounds 9 ounces and is 22 1/4 inches long. Braden weighed 16 pounds 3 ounces and is 25 1/4 inches long. Both of them grew about the same amount in length and head circumference. Addyson continued on her own curve for her weight. This again convinced our pediatrician that Addyson is developing just fine - she's just a slow weight gainer! The big news is she can now go longer at night without eating! Both Addyson and Braden have been sleeping between 5 and 6 hours at night and I'm waking them up when it's time to eat. This also might be too much info for some of you . . . but it's my blog and I'm excited about this so I'm sharing! I have been pumping breast milk for the kids since the day they were born. At least 7 times every single day. Addyson has so many meds added that she wasn't allowed to breastfeed and as hard as we tried Braden just couldn't get it. I had goals along the way, but was really wanting to make it 6 months with full breast milk for them. And we reached that goal (they got 1 formula bottle a day so they were used to it if we needed to supplement and in preparation for the day I quite pumping). Recently we decided it was time for me to start the process of stopping. So I've started slowly dropping pumps and the kids are starting to get a few more formula bottles. The first pump to go was the early, early morning pump. So for the first time in over 6 months I got 7 hours of straight sleep while Ryan took an early morning feeding!!! It's amazing how great that can feel - or even just the 5 hours in a row instead of the 3 we have become used to!!! I am still adding to my store in the freezer and the plan is to be completely done pumping around the end of October. We should have enough frozen to get them several bottles a day for at least a couple months which makes all the hard work more worth it too! I'm glad I was able to give them at least this much. I know it has helped keep them well and gave them a great start.

In other news, I about fell off my chair when the pediatrician said to start giving baby food to the kids in a couple weeks . . . and sippy cups. I just couldn't believe that my preemies are supposed to be using sippy cups!!! It will be a little bit yet but that was a wake up call to how grown up they are getting! Addyson is slowly starting to manage a couple bites of cereal and Braden is downing it like a pro. Here's some pictures of Addyson in her high chair as promised.

Both kids are really starting to play with their rattles.

And learning what they can do with their mouths and the funny faces they can make.

And here are some pictures that I'm sure Addyson and Braden will surely be embarrassed of some day . . . but I can't help it. They are way too cute. This is Braden after he again totally pooped himself waiting for new clothes.

We've been going out for walks and enjoying the pretty weather. The kids were grumpy after their immunizations but they're starting to feel more like themselves so we're having fun playing again. We're so thankful for Addyson's good growth and their good report - God is so faithful! I've been putting together a little scrapbook with our sono pictures and it brings back all the scary feelings again and it's so good to be able to go give them both a squeeze and enjoy God's goodness.

Busy, Busy Babies!!

On September 3rd we started a new tradition and celebrated Addyson and Braden's first half birthday! I couldn't resist the urge to make a birthday cake - Ryan and I enjoyed it even if the kids couldn't! Addyson did stick her hand in the frosting so she tried to eat some - which is more than I can say for her attempts at cereal. She is less than impressed!!!

The kids seem like they have been busy, busy babies learning lots of new things! They LOVE to play under this toy and bat and hold the stuff with their hands.

We got Addyson and Braden high chairs! Here's Braden enjoying his cereal - he really goes after it - why should we be surprised??? I'll have to catch a picture of Addyson in hers. She looks way too little to be sitting in it - it is pretty funny.

Addyson has learned to grab on to the handle to this toy on her bouncy seat that plays music. She played so hard that she fell asleep holding on to it!

And she is up to her old shenanigans. She managed to wiggle her way sideways and fall asleep in Braden's bouncy seat.

She can roll and scoot all over the place. I found her playing under the crib the other day.

And she is liking tummy time and staying there some when she doesn't decide it's more fun to roll over.


Braden is starting to roll to his side and he still loves to be noisy! Here he is looking pretty comfy taking a snooze.


He's still loving the swing and he is really liking to hold onto things and snuggle with them!

It's been a fun, busy week! All the sudden it seems like the kids just grew up while we weren't looking! They are so much fun to play with! Addyson is still eating good; we have our moments but overall things seem to be moving in the right direction! How blessed we are!!!

6 Months Old

Today Addyson and Braden are 6 months old! Their first 1/2 birthday!!!

What a long way they have come! Addyson weighs 9 pounds 2 ounces and Braden weighs 15 pounds 2 ounces. It's amazing how much they learn to do in such a short time! Addyson is now rolling over both ways. Braden rolls from his tummy to his back. They are trying cereal - you can see how much they like it by these pics!

Addyson still is a challenge when it comes to eating . . . some days. We had about a week of horrible fights. Now when she's done eating there's no forcing her so she just makes it up later in the day. Over the last several days though she has been eating AWESOME! In about 5 minutes and more than normal - so we're enjoying this phase for as long as it lasts! We still have to wake her up every 4 hours at night so Ryan and I are still severely sleep deprived . . . but we're glad the kids are growing and doing well. Braden has made huge strides in his eating and has gotten his suck-swallow-breathe down and was even able to move up to a faster flow nipple on his bottle. He still loves to eat!

They are both really noisy and learning to use their voices. Braden has lots of smiles and laughs - especially for his mommy :) and Addyson is hilarious. She can scoot herself all over the place! I can only imagine how much fun she will be to chase once she starts crawling!! They are both sucking on their fingers and Braden likes to suck on his arm, so they're drooling like crazy. Braden still loves his swing. They are now sleeping in their cribs in their own room at night and doing great at that. Braden still amazes us with his pooping abilities - just today he pooped out the top and side of his diaper and got a bath because he had poop seriously from his hair to his toes. What a boy!!! Both of them are grabbing and holding things.

They are both tons of work and tons and tons of fun. Life has changed so much but I wouldn't want to imagine it without them. We are so thankful for lots of things today. Back in January I wasn't sure what life would look like at their 6 month birthday - whether God would let us have both of them and whether they would be healthy, happy babies or not. I never dreamed they would be doing so well - they have never even had a sniffle. As challenging as two infants can be, God has continued to give just enough patience and strength to make it through. And just when things are the craziest they give big smiles and make it better! What a blessing they are.

Here's some more snapshots of our precious miracles!