Double Trouble

[buckeyegal]

tolbee--hang in there, I"m hoping they'll cooperate more for ya! I remember a nurse at the hospital saying that little white boys were the "laziest" nursers....she said that's why my little Braeden had a hard time latching on and nursing. He's still slow with the bottle too. Go figure!

Kimberly--I would also find it hard to separate during a cold...even when mine had their most recent colds, I had to go in on a few occassions....I'd wait til he feels better. But that's me. THe zoo deal sounds AWESOME!! The closest zoo for us is in Cincinnati. I'd have to drive through a real bad part of town to get there, and I"m not willing to do that right now. I'm just paranoid when I have the kids in town. Good luck with the website! I've got a ton going on right now over here, but maybe when things settle down???? By the way, can anyone access your site or do they have to have "clearance?" Just wondering....the net scares me sometimes....again.....paranoid.....

gotta run....two babies are NOT napping......

[tolbee]

Hi everyone!
The babies will have their second HPb shot tomorrow. Whenever we have to go out with the twins, it take a while for us to get out of the door. Hope we get better at it. If you add a two-year-old to that, then we'll never be able to get out of the house in time!

My friend had a healthy baby boy on Friday. I just went to see him today. The baby looks just like his sister (also conceived through IVF). I think of my twins and it is so interesting that they are from the same batch of eggs as Sean. To think that they were frozen at one point, the medical technology these days amazes me.

Alyson has officially graduated from the newborn-sized clothes. Her cheeks, belly and thighs are getting very chubby and cannot help but poke her. Noah is also getting big. He has the softest cheeks! The newborn stage passes so quickly and it's all blurred, so I am trying to absorb and enjoy it as much as possible!

Kim - Thanks! I hope bfding works out but then if it doesn't work out, be it. I am not going to push it very hard anymore. Haha, little boys need to toughen up. There is something about little boys that grabs Moms' soft spot though. Little Alyson is a toughy and she cries less in general than Noah.

Well, my night shift just started. I am contemplating on trying to sleep at night like the rest of the world soon. Maybe if I put them on the same schedule, I can sneak in a couple of hours of sleep between feedings... Right now, I am feeding on demand and it can be exhausting. I haven't had a chance to check out the babywise book yet. I should... Sometimes, Noah takes an hour to finish nursing plus formula. And then it's Alyson's turn. Will see... I was going to wait until they are able to sleep longer.

Anyway, Alyson's making noises and have to see what she needs!

Take care!

Kimi

[kholtan]

Hey everyone!

Kimi~ Just a quick note to perhaps help things along for you. When my babies were in the NICU , the staff all informed me that I shouldn't let the babies nurse or eat longer than 30 minutes. They use so much energy nursing and they never get that full feeling that it will be a never ending cycle. So, I followed that and it helped a TON! I would only tandem nurse for 30 minutes and then pull them off. If they acted hungry soon after they would eat a lot better at the next feed and it eventually sped things up a whole bunch. That information was priceless for me. Sometimes when we were still adding calories to breast milk, I would nurse for 20 minutes and bottle for 10. We gave the bottles up so quickly but now my babies can nurse and be done in 5-8 minutes. WHOOOHOOOO!!!

Congrats on the babies moving up in clothes! We were in NB for the first 3-4 months and Bodie still can't wear anything bigger than a 3 month! Annelise has some 3-6 that fit and a few 6 that are big on her but they work. It such a mile stone to start putting the old clothes away. Bitter sweet!
So Sean is from the same ER as the twins? Technically are they triplets? We need some pics of your little ones! PLEASE!!!!!! I just love the itty bitty things!

Speaking of embies. . . who has some left and what are your future plans? We have 26 left. 26???? We only froze the top grade as well so I'm pretty sure that many of those could make the thaw but I'm not sure if we are doing IVF again. I would LOVE 10 babies if only someone else could pay for them! We really want to give them an amazing life filled with adventures and the lifestyle that we love to live. It would be so hard to do everything we want with a ton of babies but I can't imagine no more either. What to do? Dh is pretty set on the two we have. . . most days!

Kim~ I don't blame you for not driving thru a bad neck of the woods to get to the zoo. I'm funky when it comes to that as well. That web page is super easy to do. It has taken me little to no time and now I don't have to e-mail everyone a thousand photos! It's already saving me time. The page is www.batesbabies.blogspot.com. I have some spelling errors on there and some sideways photos but I'll fix it whenever I figure out how. . . and the time to figure out how! It's pretty fun to do and since it's so easy I can do a quick post in about the time it takes to do photobucket. YEAH! Love the pics of the Irish babies!!! They are so dang cute I can't help myself. I show dh everytime. Something about your two remind me of my own. If you need a babysitter in Idaho, let me know! Also, your cold suggestions have helped a TON!!!! My babies haven't gotten any worse and may be on the mend already! Love the vics plug in!!! Thanks so much!

Well, lastly, we were supose to be heading to the Oregon coast this weekend but I think we are attending a funeral instead. A local man was just found this morning in our small town where we have property after having gone missing since Friday. I guess he snowmobiled to a cliff ledge and was sitting on a rock with a friend when the rock and gave way and they fell to the bottom. What a loss our small community will feel. He was a genuinely warm and good hearted man and will be missed greatly. This week had really been teaching me some lessons. Perhaps I was taking things for granted or something because all week I have had such strong reminders to love those around me.

Hope everyone has a great day!
Take care~
Kimberly

[kholtan]

Hey everyone!

Kimi~ Just a quick note to perhaps help things along for you. When my babies were in the NICU , the staff all informed me that I shouldn't let the babies nurse or eat longer than 30 minutes. They use so much energy nursing and they never get that full feeling that it will be a never ending cycle. So, I followed that and it helped a TON! I would only tandem nurse for 30 minutes and then pull them off. If they acted hungry soon after they would eat a lot better at the next feed and it eventually sped things up a whole bunch. That information was priceless for me. Sometimes when we were still adding calories to breast milk, I would nurse for 20 minutes and bottle for 10. We gave the bottles up so quickly but now my babies can nurse and be done in 5-8 minutes. WHOOOHOOOO!!!

Congrats on the babies moving up in clothes! We were in NB for the first 3-4 months and Bodie still can't wear anything bigger than a 3 month! Annelise has some 3-6 that fit and a few 6 that are big on her but they work. It such a mile stone to start putting the old clothes away. Bitter sweet!
So Sean is from the same ER as the twins? Technically are they triplets? We need some pics of your little ones! PLEASE!!!!!! I just love the itty bitty things!

Speaking of embies. . . who has some left and what are your future plans? We have 26 left. 26???? We only froze the top grade as well so I'm pretty sure that many of those could make the thaw but I'm not sure if we are doing IVF again. I would LOVE 10 babies if only someone else could pay for them! We really want to give them an amazing life filled with adventures and the lifestyle that we love to live. It would be so hard to do everything we want with a ton of babies but I can't imagine no more either. What to do? Dh is pretty set on the two we have. . . most days!

Kim~ I don't blame you for not driving thru a bad neck of the woods to get to the zoo. I'm funky when it comes to that as well. That web page is super easy to do. It has taken me little to no time and now I don't have to e-mail everyone a thousand photos! It's already saving me time. The page is www.batesbabies.blogspot.com. I have some spelling errors on there and some sideways photos but I'll fix it whenever I figure out how. . . and the time to figure out how! It's pretty fun to do and since it's so easy I can do a quick post in about the time it takes to do photobucket. YEAH! Love the pics of the Irish babies!!! They are so dang cute I can't help myself. I show dh everytime. Something about your two remind me of my own. If you need a babysitter in Idaho, let me know! Also, your cold suggestions have helped a TON!!!! My babies haven't gotten any worse and may be on the mend already! Love the vics plug in!!! Thanks so much!

Well, lastly, we were supose to be heading to the Oregon coast this weekend but I think we are attending a funeral instead. A local man was just found this morning in our small town where we have property after having gone missing since Friday. I guess he snowmobiled to a cliff ledge and was sitting on a rock with a friend when the rock and gave way and they fell to the bottom. What a loss our small community will feel. He was a genuinely warm and good hearted man and will be missed greatly. This week had really been teaching me some lessons. Perhaps I was taking things for granted or something because all week I have had such strong reminders to love those around me.

Hope everyone has a great day!
Take care~
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

Kimi--I got the same advice as Kimberly. In fact, I think I was told only 15 breast, 15 bottle. But that was really early on. I'd try to get some sleep if possible. What else could you possibly do?

Kimberly--HOLY COW--26 embies????What's the rent on those? Wow, you made a lot of eggs, gal! Was that just with one cycle? OMG.....like I've said before, we don't have any frosties. In fact, I have to have laproscopic surgery in April cause my ovary has been KILLING ME! I guess I have a pretty big cyst that won't seem to drain. My OB said she might possibly have to remove my ovary if that damage is too bad. I'm praying that it's not. (She said we could still get preggo with one ovary, but come on, I had a hard enough time with 2! ) Sorry to hear about the snowmobiling accident. How scary! I'll try to check out your blog tonight! I'll try to set one up someday!

Talking about baby clothes, I'm going through ours to see if I want to sell anything at our twin sale at the end of the month. I know I should probably hold onto stuff, just in case. But DH and I figure, "If we save it, we won't get preggers, If we get rid of it, we may have a chance..." That being said, we don't even know if we want anymore! But I've been getting very teary eyed when I pull out some of the little outfits that Ellie and Braeden used to wear....OMG, they were soooo small! It's unbelievable how fast it goes! Although, I do love this age...most days!

[buckeyegal]

Kimberly--love the blog!! What great photos! All that snow.....

That reminds me...Braeden is starting to crawl for real! I'm going to try and post a video to the bucket in a little bit.

[tolbee]

Hi Guys,

Kim and Kimberley, I didn't know about not feeding them longer than 30 mins. That makes sense! Thanks!! I will try to cut it short. Actually, Alyson finished feeding in 15 mins today, so I was quite happy about that.

Kimberley, 26 embies? Oh wow! I only could produce about 10 eggs and 7 fertilized. We used up all the embies and we have three kids anyway, so our baby making is pretty much over! For you guys, never say never! It's wonderful having three kids. If I would do things differently, I would have waited another year maybe. Sean's still two and he's still a baby himself... so it would have been nice if we could pour more attention to him. I guess they are sort of like triplets! It is quite interesting!

I am sorry to hear about the accident. That is very tragic.
By the way, the blog looks awesome! It's a good way for your family and friends to read up on what's going on in your world. Your little ones are precious! SO cute. I went to the blogpost and created my own, too, you are right it is very easy! Thanks!

Kim, your babies sounds like they are hitting milestones pretty early on. That is great! I have a question for you. Do your babies get constipated? Sean was a formula fed baby but he didn't have this problem. Since my twins get more formula probably than Breastmilk, my daughter strains so much and she looks very uncomfortable. She goes maybe once a day, where as my son goes about 5 times a day. She grunts so loudly, it wakes her brother up.

The babies are so restless since yesterday. I wonder if the HepB shot did something to them. It's going to be a long night... They are constantly whining...

Anyway, gotta go as they are up and making noises!
Oh, my blog is http://thecampbell-ozawa.blogspot.com/

Kimi

[kholtan]

Goodmorning everyone!

Kimi~ Your page is so sweet already! It is the easiest page ever to create is it not? It's the only reason I have time to do it. Sean is ADORABLE!!!! You and dh sure make lovely babies. What a sweet faced boy and I LOVE the long hair. I am going to grow our little guys hair out for sure. Dh is on the fence but I am doing it regardless! I'm a rebel!
Our little ones had some fierce constipation! I hate to say it but a little cotton swab w/ vaseline just barely inserted motivates even the most stubborn bum! Also, taking the temp rectally helps as well. People gave me all sorts of other ideas but none really worked. My Dr. said to just stimulate the area and forget about the cornsyrup ( it needs to be dark corn syrup and in every bottle all day to really work he said) and mineral oil tricks. Prunes have been my saving grace!!!! We never have a prune-free home anymore! Good luck!

26 embies! I know. . . what to do??? We had 49 eggs at ER and 36 fertilized making it to the 3 day stage so we used 3 and froze the best of the rest leaving us 26 small people. We are so torn with what to do! IT gets more expensive every year to store them and I think my time frame for wanting to be pg is about 35 or 36. I know I could do it older and be fine but idealy I would have like to have been totally done at this age so who knows? Life throws ya some curve balls! We'll see what happens.

Kim~ Braeden is SOOOOOOO cute!!!!! I must have watched that thing 10 times. I love the part where Ellie takes over! They are so sweet I can't stand it!!!! So sorry to hear about your ovary. Hopefully they can save it but if not I hope it all goes well. It's probably hard to be chipper 24/7 w/ twins while being in pain! Hope all is well soon!

Better run~babies are sleeping so I need to get ready!
Take care~
Kimberly

[Lindsey_08]

Hi ladies,

I don't think many of you know me but I have been around the boards for about a year now. I am great at keeping up with the reading but not so much with the posting... I am 29 weeks with twins boys and just started bed rest on Monday. It is my dr. offices policy to put all moms of multiples on preventative bed rest at 28 weeks. Since I am going to have so much time on my hands I figured this would be a good time for me to stop reading and get involved. I hope you don't mind me crashing. Did anyone else have to do preventative bed rest? I have to say ...I think I have been feeling worse since I stopped being so active. It is not that I was running marathons before but this whole not leaving the house and being on the couch or in bed all day makes my whole body just ache. I hate to complain because I have had a healthy pregnancy thus far and worked way too hard not to get here not to enjoy it. Any thoughts or advice? Hope all of you are doing well!

Lindsey

[buckeyegal]

Lindsey--Welcome and good luck! I did cut back my work schedule at 30 weeks, but I wasn't put on any "bedrest"--I use that term loosely--until about 34 weeks or so? I agree with you...my blood pressure was FINE until I went on b/r. Then, it started to creep up. I personally felt better being somewhat active. Wishing you the best!

Tolbee--same advice as Kimberly. Rectal temp. That's what our ped told us to do, and it usually worked. I didn't do prune juice until they were nearly 5 months, I think? My son used to get pretty plugged up. Not anymore. Yikes, it's like every other diaper now! I don't have much time right now, but I'll check your blog soon.

I'm taking tomorrow off work to go get our 9 month pics! I hope they turn out okay. A new cold started brewing over here a few days ago. (They just got OVER a flippin' cold....arrrgggghhh!) I think the hardest part will be getting them to sit still.

Woodcliff, you hanging in there? How are the rest of our preggo mommies?

[tolbee]

Hi Lindsay! welcome!
It feels like it was yesterday I was 29 weeks. My OB did not have a bedrest policy like yours but I was asked to take it easy on after 32 weeks. I went on Mat leave from 32 weeks but only to give birth 2 and half weeks later. I felt cheated because I was going to rent some movies and enjoy some quiet time. Anyways, I hope all goes well with you. I hear bedrest can get to you, but as other twin mommies would agree, it gets a little hectic after your babies are born... so enjoy your rest!

Thanks for the advice for constipation. I tried the cotton swab thing, and let's say we had an erruption (sorry!). But she looked quite relieved afterwards, so it was worth it. I hope it does not get habitual.

Kim - Braeden and Ellie are doing such a good job at crawling! so cute!! Your video made me smile really big. Congratulations! Once they are mobile, there is no stopping them! Sean was a pretty mellow boy up until he started to crawl. Now, he will just take off without looking back which scares me. Good luck with the photo session! I have to call a photographer, too. I was going to ask you. Do you work part time? I am on Mat leave until Oct 1. I have not decided if I want to go back to work yet. My work is very flexible and I work from home anyway which makes me want to keep working... but then I really hate the idea of not having enough time to spend with the kids!

Kimberely - Yeah, I understand the storage gets very expensive. Would you consider donating your embies to other couples who cannot conceive otherwise? It is a big subject and I totally understand your dilemma!

I hope to update my blog as frequently as you! You are a supermom! But you are right it is quite user-friendly. It beats sending email to all my friends and family for updates. Yeah, I want to keep Sean's hair long, but my DH's not really into it, either. I like boys with long hair. It's kind of trendy looking... But he does get mistaken for a girl all the time, although he's wearing boy outfits. I think Bodie looks like Daddy and Annelise like Mommy? That is perfect! Noah looks a lot like my husband. Sean is a good mix of us and Alyson, I really don't know! They still look like newborns so they will change a lot.

Yeah, how are other twin mommies and prego mommies?
Hope everyone is doing well.

Kimi

[buckeyegal]

New pics on the bucket!

[woodcliff]

Hi ladies!
Quick update, as I am sneaking on the computer
Got home from a 2-day hospital stay last night...protein in urine, elevated BP...
now I am on total bedrest...
it has made all the diff.
My BP has dropped from the 130s over 80s to the 130s over 70. Amazing.

My OB thinks I'll deliver within a week or so...
3 appts this week...we shall see.
I can't believe the time has come! I've LOVED being pregnant (Koltan, I forgot or didn't return a message response to you re: that topic, am happy you had a nice pregnancy as well...feel sooooooo bad for so many of our 'sisters' out there who suffer)

It's day by day at this point...the BP is down, but that means they still have to watch the protein, blood work, etc.
GOOD NEWS is babies scored a '10 or 10' in their BPP yesterday, and their NSTs ROCKED.
Just wish mom didn't have mild pre-eclampsia!

wish me luck...
BEST to all of you fabulous mommies whose words have helped me so much.
I am ready...kind of
xxoo

[buckeyegal]

Woodcliff--Good luck! You've done a great job. Try to keep them in there as long as you can manage. Pre-eclampsia is sneaky....drink lots of h20! Looking forward to a smooth delivery for ya!

[kholtan]

Happy Easter Everyone!

Woodcliff~ Congrats on making it this far! This is so exciting to be waiting for more twins! Cannot wait to see pics! Hopefully you can get to the 36 week mark. I always heard that was a magic week to get to although I didn't see it happen. You've done so great that I'm sure they will be fabulous! Good luck!

Kim~ ADORABLE pictures! They did a fantastic job. The profile ones are so precious and the Oliver Twist is one to make you smile for sure. LOVE them!!!!!!

We are off to get pies made this morning before we hit our Easter fun. We had an egg decorating contest here last night and I'll post pics on our new page later. (batesbabies.blogspot.com). That page has made my life so much easier! Tons of fun and pretty humorous as well.

Take care!
Kimberly