Girlies

The girls are nearly 10 months old! They are busy busy busy. They are doing all the typical stuff; crawling, pulling up, cruising, and getting into EVERYTHING! They are really good eaters and look forward to meal time... They crawl over as fast as they can when they see I'm getting their highchairs ready. They are just starting to eat finger foods, it's taking some practice. A lot of it ends up on the floor at this point.
It is really fun to watch their personalities emerge. Rosie is a watcher, observer. She notices a bow in her sisters hair and imeadeatly pulls it out, she just sits and watches everything going on, quietly patiently watching. She seems to be a little more cautious than her sister. She takes her time to start conquering that next milestone but when she does she gets really good at it right away. She likes to watch Hattie figure it out then she'll try it. She is a very happy little girl and she has a big toothless smile that is contagious. She will just catch your eye and smile so big... Love.

Hattie is the doer. She just dives right in to the newest activity... Sometimes, literally she dives right in. She doesn't hesitate when she wants to try something new. Like pulling up, she just kept trying and trying and falling down and falling down until she got it. Also, she is loud and wants to make sure everyone knows she is there. She seems to want to be the first to do everything. She also has two teeth!

They really do love each other. It's easy to see. It is fun to sit back and watch them play. Typical babies at this age are just parallel playing with their peers at this point. But you can see that they are actually interacting. Passing toys back and forth, fighting over them, exploring together -if you find one you can be sure the other is nearby, and as I put them down to sleep they usually look over at the other crib to make sure sister is there. They giggle together and get silly for no apparent reason - the inside jokes have already begun. And these girls LOVE their daddy. They hear his voice when he walks in the door at the end of the day they both stop what they are doing and b-line for him. Cute.

Oscar update

Oscar is such a sweet boy... Most of the time. He also a two year old. He is curious about life and eager discover the world. He is learning new things everyday. He loves his sisters, a little too aggressively at times -not very aware of other people's personal space yet. He always wants to make sure they are coming with us when we leave the house, he wants to check on them when they are sleeping and he can't wait for them to be able to play (wrestle) with him. He talks to them in a funny high pitched voice that is very sweet. Also, he calls both of them Hattie... He knows there is a difference but its just easier to stick with calling them the same name. They do look so much alike it will be fun to watch him learn their differences and I'm sure at some point he will know who is who.
Another thing about Oscar... He loves his daddy! He want to do things just like daddy does. He misses him everyday and looks forward to their together time.
At the moment he is doing a great job learning to use the potty. He is very close. He is wearing big boy underwear, pretty successfully during the day! He recently got a fun book from Gigi, Bear In Underwear along with "bear" wearing his own pair of undies! It has really helped him get excited about it! He also stopped using a paci a few months ago. He only had it for naps and night time. We used a technique from www.bye-bye-binky.com. He handled it like a champ and doesn't seem to miss it. Though he did ask for it a few nights ago when he was having a hard time going to bed. I'm surprised, but he doesn't mess with the girls paci's either. It makes him seem older, he is really not a baby any more.
Over ther summer Matt purchased a wakeboard. We took it up north in July and tried it out, including me -that never happens! Oscar was in the boat for some of the runs and has been talking about it ever since. Everything is a boat; a blanket, the couch, the stairs and he has gotten very creative with his wakeboard imagination too; pillows, cardboard, books. So, I decided he should be a boat for Halloween!! So Matt dressed as a wakeboarder for trick or treating. Matt is already looking forward to teaching him how to ski and wakeboard and I think Oscar is looking forward to following in his daddy's "barefoot"steps.

Long over due

I can not attempt to catch up from the last several months but I will make an effort to share more now.

The fog has lifted. Life is becoming more manageable and routine. The girls are nearly 9 months old! How did that happen? It is so much fun getting to know these little girls. They have very different personalities that shine through more and more everyday. They love each other, you can see that, they play, they fight, they just want to be together. They also have a great big brother who loves them so much. He thinks they are pretty fun and special. He has really stepped up to the role of big brother. Which also means doing all kinds of big boy things. Life as a mommy of three under three is busy. Keeping everyone happy, or at least safe and cared for is the focus of the day. I love them so much and I am so thankful everyday. I know how lucky I am.


And if I can figure out this new blog app I will try to post some recent pics too.

Two Months Already?

It has been an amazing, busy, whirlwind the last few months. We spent the first few weeks at home getting settled into our new roles and new routine. We had lots of help and support from our family and friends. We are so lucky to have a strong support system... it takes a village, really. Everything we read before the arrival of the girls said that we should try to keep them on the same schedule, for our own sanity and to be able to have time to do anything else. Fortunately they started a three hour schedule while we were still at the hospital and have stuck with it. We have been tandem nursing, which was really intimidating at first, and we had some difficulties which have been resolved. We have a nursing pillow that is made for twins, and it wouldn't be possible without that. I can't imagine nursing them one at a time, I would have time for nothing else. Every time I am holding them to nurse I am in amazement that there are two of them!!! They are so sweet and special, we are so lucky. Seriously, we have three kids! I'm still in shock.

When we finally got home from the hospital we decided that we wanted to find out if they are identical or fraternal twins. As far as we could tell it looked like there was only one placenta, but it was inconclusive. Also, we didn't find out their blood type, which would have been another clue. So, we ordered a kit that provided the supplies to do a cheek swab on each of them and we sent those in to be tested. It took a few weeks to get the results and the anticipation was killing us! But the results showed that they are IDENTICAL!! At this point we can still tell them apart. They are different weights and half a pound makes a big difference at this point. They also have a different look about them, we can't quite tell exactly what it is, but their heads have a little bit different shape... Possibly from the different ways they were delivered? What ever it is I have a feeling it won't last for long. As the days go on they are starting to look more and more alike. Matt and I have both been unsure at times, at first glance, who is who. It's also a fun game for the family and friends to try to tell them apart. I'm sure as they get older, their personalities will help to tell them apart as well. Everyone keeps asking if we can see their little personalities developing yet. Not exactly, but there are little things about them... For example, Rosie loves her paci, which can be nice sometimes, but she has a hard time keeping it in and it wakes her up when it slips out - not so fun in the middle of the night. Hattie, doesn't have the same love of the paci, she'll take it, but she can sleep without it if it slips out. I think as time goes on we will start seeing more and more of these differences.

When the girls were about a month old they came down with a cold. After a few days we could see that Hattie was struggling a little more to fight it off. She was having a hard time breathing and we ended up taking her to the hospital. After some monitoring and a few tests they told us that she had RSV, which is a respiratory virus. RSV is really just a standard cold for most of us. But for such a young infant, especially a preemie (they were just getting to their due date), she was not able to fight it off. We aren't sure why she ended up with the virus and Rosie did not, you would think they'd been exposed to the same things. She was having spells of apnea, which means that she was not getting enough oxygen and that was causing her heart rate to drop. She ended up spending the next week in the NICU being monitored and hooked up to oxygen to assist her breathing. They finally sent us home, but a few days later we could see that she was still having a hard time. We ended up spending another five days at the hospital. The doctors have told us that typically infants this young that have RSV will end up having some respiratory challenges in the years to come. She is more likely to develop asthma and may have more respiratory distress along with future colds. It was a real challenge being separated for those weeks. Fortunately, Matt's parents and my mom and GiGi, who were in town visiting, were able to help out with Oscar and Rosie at home, so that Matt and I were able to split our time between the hospital and home. I am so glad that we made it through and we were so relieved to get home together again.

SAD AND SICK LITTLE HATTIE

THEY MISSED EACH OTHER.

Oscar has been such an awesome little guy through the last few months. He has taken this all in stride and has adjusted better than we could have imagined. He loves to help out when he can, getting a diaper or blanket, or helping Rosie get her paci back in her mouth. If he hears them crying -"sisters!", if they are fussing a little -"it's ok, it's ok", and if he's been gone, the first thing he looks for when he gets home is " sisters". He was very worried about Hattie while she was sick and talked about her all the time. He loves being a big brother. We just wish he wasn't sharing all these yucky germs with his new sisters. He has also surprised us the last few weeks with his new found interest in potty training! He has been sitting on the potty for the last nine months or so, and right before Christmas he used the potty for the first time. So last week he told me "Mama, stay right there" as he headed to the bathroom. I quietly followed just to observe. He turned on the light, got his pants off, took his diaper off and put it in the trash, got the stool and his potty seat in place, climbed up and sat down- by this point I was in the room watching... And he actually used the potty! I was so proud of my little guy. Since then he has frequently had dry diapers (even after a nap!) and has been happily using the potty when we suggest it. It is hopefully becoming part of his routine. We really hadn't been pushing it or really even working on it because we didn't want to put any pressure on him especially with all the big changes he's been dealing with in his life. I've heard that when they are really they will let you know... I hope we are there. I would love to have one less diaper to change! He's really becoming such a big boy, and he'll tell you "I'm two.", like duh I'm a big boy!

POTTY TIME!!

So this past Sunday the girls were officially eight weeks old! We took them in for their two month check-up today. They are healthy, aside from another little cold, and are doing great! Rosie is weighing in at 9lbs 14 oz and Hattie is 10lbs 6oz... I'd like to point out that they are still not as big as their brother was when he was born! They got their first vaccinations and did not like them, but were very brave. We are looking forward to the next eight weeks with these little girls. Hopefully we will have warm weather and healthiness coming our way soon!

Its is impossible to imagine our life any different. Matt and I were just talking about how it's hard to remember what life was like when it was just the two of us, before we had kids. It's going to be so much fun to watch these kiddos grow up together. We love our big family! Our house feels so full of love and we couldn't ask for anything more.

***I WILL TRY TO ADD/POST MORE PICS SOON***

January 30th - The Birth Story

... Matt and Oscar were right next to me wrestling on the floor and "oops!" my water broke!!!

The time was approximately 5:30... we called Matt's parents to come over, we called my mom so she could get on a plane and we called Karen, our doula. Everyone sprung into action. Matt was running around the house gathering the bags and other gear we wanted to take to the hospital. Oscar was feeling the excitement and was also running around trying to be helpful... mostly keeping me company (and distracting me). Matt's parents arrived shortly after 6 and Matt and I left for the hospital. I had not yet timed contractions until we were in the car -nearly 3 minutes apart from what I could tell! Is this really happening right now!? A few hours earlier I was not suspecting this was how our evening was going to go.

We were greeted at L&D by Vicki, one of the nurses that was present at Oscar's birth, and I was so thankful to see her! We were in our hospital room by 6:45. She got me hooked up to the monitors, and checked me - 9cm! She stepped out of the room for just a few minutes leaving Matt and I alone, the reality was sinking in. This was happening now.

Within minutes the room was full of nurses, both our doctors, and warmers for each baby... unfortunately we had still not spoken to Karen but messages had been left and we were sure she would arrive any minute! "You can try to push if you feel like it." Pushing? Already? I still had my clothes on, we'd only been here a few minutes! Ok, here we go. A few pushes in and Karen arrived - we were thankful to see her! Baby "A", as she had been know for the last several months, was presenting forehead first (her chin was not tucked to her chest). Dr. Grande used the vacuum to tuck her chin and out she came. Rosalie Marie was born at 7:30pm weighing 6lbs. Matt was able to cut the cord and Rosie was wonderful and healthy...

now it was time to prepare for Baby "B". Typically they prefer to deliver twins in the OR just in case of an emergency. I'm not sure if it was because things happened so quickly when we arrived but we were able to deliver Rosie in the labor room. Because Baby "B" was breech our doctor insisted we move to the OR, which was fine with me. Once in the OR they did a quick ultrasound to identify the exact position of the baby. The urge to push wasn't as strong this time. Was it because of her position or from me being tired already? It definitely felt different to push a breech baby. Nurse Vicki was holding my belly to help guide the baby from the outside. Dr. Grande was trying to get a grip on both of B's feet and Dr. Larkin and a few nurses pushed on my belly. Needless to say this was not comfortable for me... but out she came! Harriette Tyler was born at 8:07pm weighing 6lb9oz and healthy as well!! Welcome Hattie!

Two and a half hours after my water broke our beautiful baby girls were born! After the labor we had with Oscar I would not have expected things to go this quickly, smoothly or easily. Birthing these girls was nothing compared to Oscar's birth - piece of cake! We would not have been able to do it with out the amazing team with had with us. Dr. Larkin, who delivered Oscar, suggested Dr. Grande as soon as we found out we were having twins. He felt confident in the experience and skill that Dr. Grande had. Very few doctors these days will deliver a breech baby. Dr. Grande was very clear that as long as Baby "A" was head down he had no problem delivering Baby "B" breech if that was her presentation. Karen, our Doula, was also there at Oscar's birth, and it was great to have her with us again. We are so thankful to have had another amazing un-medicated, natural birth. It was a wonderful experience and we feel so lucky that it all happened the way it did.

Because the girls were born premature (35 weeks 4 days) they needed to keep a close eye on them for the first few days. They were moved to the special care nursery kept under a warmer, on an IV, feeding tube and monitor right away. Mostly it was a precaution due to their early arrival. By the next day they were taken off the warmer and we were working toward taking them off the NG tube. Each day things were looking better and better. Originally the doctors and nurses prepared us for at least a week in the nursery, maybe 2, but as the week went on the girls were exceeding the highest expectations. On Wednesday morning they were un-hooked from everything and we were finally able to take them to our room! When Oscar arrived that morning he was able to hold them and talk to them... what a great birthday present! He just kept saying "hi! hi! hi!..." holding them and nuzzling them. Love.

Thursday morning we were given the OK to go home! Hurray! 5 days old, happy and healthy little girls! Now that we are home we are all making the adjustments to our new life. We are waiting for the results on the genetic testing to find out if the girls are fraternal or identical. Because of the difference in their weight they are easy to tell apart but they are very similar looking. We are so excited and overwhelmed by the gift of 2 beautiful baby girls - at once. Being parents of twins is as amazing as it is exhausting. Oscar did a great job of teaching us how to be parents, and we couldn't do this without him! We are so happy to be a family of 5, and look forward to what the future holds.

Time to catch up

Apparently the last few months have kept me busy. I just noticed that my last post was from Halloween!!

To quickly sum things up...

At the beginning of November went for one last visit to St. Louis to see the family before I would be restricted from travel and the 24week point in the pregnancy when I would be on "modified bed rest". We celebrated Thanksgiving here at our house surrounded by lots of friends and family... it was quite a feast! Before we knew it Christmas was here and then New Years (and yes we managed to have our annual new years eve party)!! As much as we missed our traditional holiday routine it was nice to be home and not traveling. Waking up at home on Christmas morning was special. It also made us think about the logistics of traveling for the holidays next year with 3 little ones in tow! The "bed rest" was officially over at the end of December but by that point I was having a hard time getting around due to my GIANT belly. January kept us busy with all the birthdays in the Zabel clan, nearly every weekend we had celebrations to keep us busy and distract us from the anticipation.

the feast

visit with Santa

going out to do some scoopin'

Santa didn't finish his nog and cookies

kitchen from Santa

Happy New Year!

more scoopin'

Mid-January things seemed to change. At my 32 week appointment they noticed I was having regular contractions (though not painful to me) but after a few visits to the hospital for further monitoring they decided to put me on meds to hold off labor for a bit longer. My next few weekly appointments continued to show the same thing but because there was no cervical changes (not significant anyway) they were not concerned. At my 35 week appointment they decided something was happening. I was instructed to stop taking the medication because it seemed like these girls were ready to arrive and the med wasn't doing too much to stop them. Dr. Grande actually told me I was in labor and that I should just go straight to the hospital. I was very surprised since I still didn't feel like I was in labor. I opted to just go home and get my self organized and wait for some real action to start. I had been having contractions for weeks and this day didn't seem any different... maybe a little stronger at times but not consistent. We all got excited and let everyone know that things were going to happen soon - this was Tuesday. Matt stayed home from work the next day, sure that it was the day! We did some nesting, cooking, organizing, preparing for the babies... and still nothing. By Thursday we decided it was just a false alarm and that it might possibly be weeks before they actually are here. Through out the whole pregnancy I realized that twins often arrive early (on average between 34-38 weeks) and I had said many times that I hoped they wait till after Oscar's birthday party.

Olive shows up to the party like a rockstar!

"choo choo!"

do I look like I'm about to have some babies?

secrets

Sunday was Oscar's 2nd birthday party at Choo Choo Bob's. I had a terrible night sleep but was excited to celebrate Oscar's golden birthday. Oscar had a wonderful time at his party. Trains, pizza, birthday cake, presents and his friends and family... doesn't get any better than that! We were all exhausted after the party so we headed home for nap time. Oscar and I napped while Matt went to get a haircut. After tossing and turning I was not napping, feeling very uncomfortable and feeling very emotional. I felt like something was happening, but I was still not having regular or "stop-you-in-your-tracks" contractions (if I kept busy I wouldn't even notice them). A friend of mine that recently had a baby had "silent labor" and without even noticing it she was nearly fully dilated and it was time to have a baby! I was starting to worry that this was happening to me. I put a call out to our doula, Karen, just to talk things over with her... maybe she could ease my mind? Then I started googling "silent labor" looking for some clue. Matt and Oscar were right next to me wrestling on the floor and "oops!" my water broke!!!

to be continued....

Halloween

Oscar discovered pumpkins mid-September. He would see a few here and there, and once he was paying attention he started seeing them everywhere! Then he got a book about pumpkins and a stuffed one too! He started getting into the holiday spirit.

First Fitting

Muppin Man

Oscar has developed an obsession with muffins (or as he calls them "MUPPINS"). So, a few months ago when we were trying to decide what he would be for Halloween, we thought it would be fun for him to be a muffin. I found some inspiration online but most of those costume ideas were cupcakes. I found a laundry basket that was Oscar sized and wandered the fabric store till I came across the perfect fabric. It was a pretty simple design and I got it done in one afternoon.

3 Little Birds Halloween Parade

Hanging out with Michael

As soon as Oscar saw it he knew right away that is was a "MUPPIN!" and was happy to put it on... but only for a few minutes at a time. On Halloween weekend we went to a few parties and once he saw other kiddos dressed in costume he seemed to "get it" and then didn't want to take the costume off! (which made getting into the car a bit of a challenge) As for Trick-Or-Treating, he totally got it! The first house we had to of show him what to do and that was all it took, he was an expert after that. We walked 2 blocks in our neighborhood with our neighbors and their daughter, Alice. Halloween was a success and I'm already looking forward to next year. I wonder if Oscar will start requesting his own costume or will I get to keep coming up with them for the next few years?

"Where the treats at?!"

"C'mon on we're ready to trick-or-treat!"

"Hello Mr. Pumpkin."

"Treats go in here."

A few weeks ago we went in for the big 20 week ultrasound... and got to find out that the twins are GIRLS!!! and apparently identical. We got to see them wiggling around, fingers, toes and everything seems to be in the right place. They are measuring right on schedule and weigh within a few grams of one another. So, a good report and everyone is healthy! The ultrasound pictures were not too exciting this time... but fortunately I will be having an ultrasound every other appointment from now on.

The baker with his buns in the oven.