18 Weeks Old

Hello Again!

Another day late and another day older! It's getting tough keeping up, even with the extra help. My Aunt Susanne is down visiting until March 1st. She has been a big help. Ava is now eating with the rest of them, but still getting her two medicines. We started giving the kids rice cereal in their bottles at night so that they sleep. So far so good. The last feeding is between 10:30-11:30pm at night and the first two up are usually Sarah & Ava. I guess because they only eat between 4-5 oz. a feed. They are up around 5:00am-5:30am. Not bad, huh? Lily & Luke eat between 6-7oz. a feed, so they sleep a little bit longer. They all seem to be adjusting well. It's quite a learning experience! Frustrating as well...who are we kidding?

They did go for their shots and check-up on February 19th and the results are::::::
Sarah: 9 lbs. 8 oz. 22 in. long
Luke: 11 bs. 13 oz. 23 1/2 in. long
Ava: 9 lbs. 2 oz. 21 3/4 in. long
Lily: 11 lbs. 3 oz. 23 3/4 in. long

They have grown a great amount since the last visit. They doctor is very pleased. We are still not allowed to take them out in public, but Nick and I snuck them out to have their first portrait done today....a spring picture! They look so cute...we get them in a few weeks. Of course I will post a few. I never realized how expensive it is! I guess that's why most people only get it done once a year.

I forgot to mention that Early Steps came out to evaluate them to let us know where they are all developmentally. Because they are preemies, they develop at the gestational age (Dec. 21st) versus the day they were actually born (Oct. 11th). Right now, they are all right where they are supposed to be as a whole. There were a few above averages....Sarah & Ava are above average in their cognitive abilities, Luke is above average in motor skills, and Lily is above average in the social/emotional areas. It all averages out in the end they said. They all look great though!

They have inherited some new nicknames as well over the past week. Luke, since his head has gotten extremely large and most of his hair has fallen out with the exception of a little in the back, has been called everything from Peter Boyle (the father from Everybody Loves Raymond), to Humpty Dumpty (egg shaped head), to Lex Luther (courtesy of my Dad). Luke just laughs at it all. He thinks everything is hilarious. Sarah has been called Bino (my name as a baby) and still holds the title of the Screaming Mimi (she can be a little fuss budget!). Ava has a few nicknames as well...Miss B (because she has a case of bulimia...she loves to puke after she eats!) and she also earns the title this week for drama queen. She is constantly whining for attention and her cry sounds so fake. Lily has been called everything from Lily the Load to Jumbo and Beefcake. I know, it sounds mean, but we mean it in the cutest way possible...she will never get those names when she knows what's going on. It's a way that we all laugh to keep our sanity. She is however, the most complacent baby right now! She smiles a lot and is very happy most of the time.

They have a few choice places to go for fun....swingtown (which my Aunt Susanne named because of all of the swings going at the same time) or Romper Room (which my Mom named the gyms that lay on the floor). My Aunt Susanne and I took them all for their first wak yesterday. They had a great time. We can't use the big quad stroller because they are too small just yet, so I bought two double strollers to hold us over until they can fit. I guess they will come in handy incase we can only take two at a time somewhere or we have to split up. I just couldn't sit in the house anymore. I had to get out and I had to exercise! I haven't been out in the sun so long that I got extremely burnt after only an hour and a half. I should have worn sunblock I guess. I just didn't think the sun would be that strong this time of year. I was wrong....and very pale! Now I am a lobster.

Oh, one side note...I forgot to mention that my friend Jenny gave me a pedicure when she came over the last time...it was great! She did a great job and it felt wonderful! What great friends I have....who would be willing to touch my feet?

Ok! I guess I'll talk to you all again next week! Enjoy the pictures! I did.
Kelly

17 Weeks Old

Hello all.

This week is just another week of changing diapers, feeding, and not sleeping. All the days are the same. We don't know what day of the week it is...ever. They all seem the same. Before we know it, a whole week has past. It's definitely hard work, but when you see them smile at you now.....it's amazing and then you realize what it's all about. We can't even begin to express how we feel. It's the best feeling in the world when they are crying...and they stop when you talk to them or you pick them up. They know who we are. I just find it unbelieveable!

They are laughing and cooing! They still cry quite a bit, but over all they are happy babies. We pretty much have a schedule now. They go down for naps after the 1:00-2:30pm feeding in their cribs until the 5:00pm feeding. They have been pretty good with it overall. Then they go to bed after the 9:00-10:30pm feeding. They are getting so big so fast, I can't believe it!

They go to the doctor on Thursday for their shots and check-ups. I let you know next week what their weights are.

Enjoy the pictures. I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day! We did...spending it with the kids!

Kelly
Remember, if you want to see the pictures bigger, just double click on the sideshow!

4 Months Old

Hello again!

It has been a very interesting week to say the least. To say we have been losing sleep is an understatement. Now that Ava is home we are as happy as could be, but at the same time it is another baby and we have to make adjustments and so do the other children. Ava eats every three hours plus she has to get 2 different medicines that have to be taken with a little bit of food seperately. So...here is how the day goes:

4:00 am - Give Ava Reglan
5:00 am - Feed Sarah & Luke
5:30 am - Feed Ava
6:00 am - Feed Lily
8:30 am - Feed Ava
9:00 am - Feed Sarah & Luke
9:00 am - Give Ava Prevacid
10:00 am - Feed Lily
10:00 am - Give Ava Reglan
11:30 am - Feed Ava
1:00 pm - Feed Sarah & Luke
2:30 pm - Feed Ava
3:00 pm - Feed Lily
4:00 pm - Give Ava Reglan
5:00 pm - Feed Sarah & Luke
5:30 pm - Feed Ava
6:00 pm - Feed Lily
8:30 pm - Feed Ava
9:00 pm - Give Ava Prevacid
9:00 pm - Feed Sarah & Luke
10:00 pm - Give Ava Reglan
10:00 pm - Feed Lily
11:30 pm - Feed Ava
1:00 am - Feed Sarah & Luke
2:00 am - Feed Lily
2:30 am - Feed Ava

And the day starts all over again! This is not accurate however because we do not live in a perfect world and some days they don't eat fast enough or there are major spit ups and bumps along the road that mess up the schedule. It's pretty crazy around here. I can't wait until Ava is on a four hour schedule. That will make things so much easier. We may finally get some rest.

Ava has certainly blossomed with personality since she's been home and it was wonderful to get pictures of them all together. All of them are smiling beyond belief. They are so adorable, if I do say so myself. They are starting to lose their hair now. They all have such wonderful personalities and are so different. Ava and Luke have started to soothe themselves by sucking on their hand or fingers. They are getting big as you can tell by pictures. I can't wait to see how much they weigh. Their next appointment is on Feb. 19th for their shots and check-ups. It will be an experience having them all together. I have to take Ava to her final eye appointment tomorrow and early steps is coming out tomorrow afternoon to see how they are doing developmentally for their age. I am very excited for that.

Our friend Tom, who lives on the east coast came over to stay with us for a few days and visit! It was a great time. My friend from work, Kathy, came for a visit today and brought us dinner and dessert. It was wonderful and a great break from having to cook dinner. Thank you Kathy!!! She also has a wonderful way of calming the children and putting them right to sleep. I guess that comes with experience. We need her here every night around 9pm or so!!

Nothing else new to report. I'm sure you all don't care about what I'm writing, you just want to see pictures....especially them all together. It is exciting! It was for me and Nick anyway!!

Enjoy!!!

Kelly

15 Weeks Old

Well, another week has passed with no visitors or help and we are still alive! We are on a pretty good schedule, but we are getting a kink tomorrow.....a good kink though............AVA IS COMING HOME!!!!!! We are very excited and I hope she is too! She is coming home with no oxygen and no wires! Yipee!!! She will be on medications for her reflux...prevacid and regulan (not sure of spelling). We had a wonderful visit with her on Sunday and she seemed so excited to see us. The nurses said that she must know who we are because they have never seen her so joyus and alert and fun! She was such a pleasure. Not sure of her latest weight, but as of January 30th, she was 8lbs. 4oz. She is eating a little over 2 oz. every 3 hours. That will be a tough one because the others eat every 4- 4 1/2 hours. We'll manage. Anything to have her home.

Everyone else is doing great. They are all smiling on their own now, not because they have gas, but because they are smiling at us! It is so fun! I could play with them all day ....when they are happy that is.

Luke has really come a long way. I believe the change in formula and zantac have really helped him. He is really quite a happy baby now, except when he is hungry.... watch out! He can really hold his head up good and he loves to sit in the entertainer and play. He does get tired after about 15 minutes and wants out, but it's fun for him for that amount of time. He gets so excited when we put him in it. He seems to be a momma's boy though. I seem to be the only one that can calm him...lately anyway.

Lily is still as big as can be, but as dainty as can be, the little princess. She has a hard time holding her head up,.. I think because she is so big. She loves to smile and talk to you. She makes the qwirkiest faces. It's so funny!

Sarah......the little cute devil in disguise! Lately that is what I have been calling her. She has been crying a lot latey and does not want to go to sleep. She is a smart one...I swear she knows what's going on. She knows when it's time for be..she starts screaming....she knows when it's time to eat..she starts screaming...when she is getting a bath, every time I sit her up to wash her, she scrunches down lower to get her whole body in the water (it's actually pretty funny). She always wants attention and is extremely demanding. I don't know what I'm going to do with her when she is a teenager!!! Lord help me now.

Things are really going good, honestly. We have our bad days, I'm not gonna lie...sometimes many in a row, but over all things are good. They will get even better tomorrow!!!!!

Remember, if you would like to see the pictures bigger and slower, just double click on the slide show and it will go to the picture page!

Kelly

14 Weeks Old

Hola!

Well another week has passed and we have had a great one. I took (Nick's brother)Uncle Teddy and Aunt Jackie to the airport on Tuesday and picked (Nick's sister)Aunt Tara up on the same day! Everyone has been a great help. We also had visitors on Sunday. Jenny and Sarah came over to visit and take over a feed so the rest of us could take a break. Just so everyone knows...if you want to visit... just give a call...make sure you are not sick...and no kids are allowed right now.

They are all doing very well. They have been a little fussy, spitting up still, and not sleeping very well. So, I asked the doctor if we could change their formula to Enfamil Lipil AR (added rice), which is what Ava is on. So far..it seems to be working. They have all seemed to find their hands and fingers which is a great thing for me. They suck on them when their binkies fall out. So, I don't have to run and put them back in when they fall out. Yeah!!!!!

They all love to play in their gyms. Luke and Sarah love to grab at the hanging toys and Lily loves to stare at herself in the mirror. Luke can almost stay in a sitting postion on his own. He can really hold his head up. His colic seems to be getting bertter. He loves to eat though. He gets very mad if you are even a minute late. Sarah is very demanding. She wants you to talk to her and play with her when she is awake. If you don't, she will yell at you. Lily hates to go to sleep. She thinks she is gojgn to miss something. She is the cuddle bug. She loves to hug. She is working on holding up her head. She is so big and her head is so heavy, she is having a hard time. She's like a big sack of potatoes.

Ava is doing very well. Tara and I went to visit her on Saturday and I had the honor of taking her oxygen mask off. She has been doing great without it. She has had it on a total of 4 hours since. She seems to fall into deep sleeps and starts breathing shallow. They said this will improve. She seems to be taking the new formula well and has had very few spits. We are hopeful that she will be home soon. They said hopefully early next week pending her oxygen! Please pray for her to be strong so that she does not need it anymore.

They all had thier final eye test today and they are great! They will have to go again when they are a year old!

Aunt Tara leaves tomorrow and she is sad to go. We will all miss her, but hopefully we will see her again real soon! We have no other visitors coming until the end of February.. Great Aunt Susanne is coming for a visit. I guess our next group of visitors will be coming when we have the Christening. We're not sure of that date just yet until Ava comes home. Stay tuned!

Enjoy the pictures! We love to read posts!!!!!

Kelly
Don't forget to click on the slideshow if you would like to get see the pictures individually and bigger.

13 Weeks

Hello!

First, I want to apologize for not having the post up yesterday, but we have visitors and I was so tired that by the time I thought about it at 1 am, I said forget it...I'll do it tomorrow.

So here we are. Uncle Teddy (Nick's brother) and Aunt Jackie (Teddy's wife) came down for a visit and the kids were so happt to see them as were we. We had a great visit and they helped out a lot. We also got to see the NFC Championship game where are beloved Eagles screwed up again!!! Maybe next year. Luke seemed very upset about the loss. He is already a true Eagles fan as you'll see in the pictures. We also took a visit to see Ava. Aunt Kris and Uncle Robert also came for another visit and My Grandmom is still here helping out where she can! Teddy and Jackie leave tomorrow and I pick up Aunt Tara (Nick's sister) at the airport a few hours later. Grandmom leaves on Wednesday.

We've had a great week this week. I took Luke Lily & Sarah to the pediatrician and they got another round of RSV and Hep B shots. I also told the doctor about the excessive spits and projectile vomiting. She put all three of them on Zantac and since Lily and Sarah had a severe case of projectile vomiting, I had to take them to the hospital for an ultrasound to make sure everything was working through the stomach properly. Everything looks good! There are no problems.

Sarah now weighs 7lbs. 2oz.
Luke now weighs 8lbs. 12oz.
Lily now weighs 9lbs. 4oz.
Ava now weighs 8lbs.

We went up to visit Ava today and she is doing great as you see by the pictures of her in her green outfit. They have switched her formula again and it seems to be working great! She is now on Enfamil AR and loves it and is drinking it down with no problems. They tried to take her nasal canula (oxygen) off today when I was there (I got some good pictures of her and you can finally see how beautiful she is), but had to put it back on because her oxygen level dropped a little bit below what they wanted it at. They are going to try everyday until she can do it! I asked when she may be coming home and they said maybe by the end of next week. At least it's something! We're excited.

Well, gotta go! We want to spend the last few hours with Teddy, Jackie, and the kids before they leave!

Till next week,
Kelly

If you would like to see the pictures individually and close up, just click on the pictures on the slide show and it will take you to the regular website just like in past weeks.

3 Months Old

Well today they are officially 3 months old. This week has been an exciting week filled with visitors. My grandmom is still here visiting and is helping out where she can. My friend Shalena, whom I haven't seen in about 10 years, came down from Orlando to visit. I went to school with her in St. Croix, U.S.V.I. We had a great visit catching up and she was excited to see the babies. Now I have to go and visit hers. My friend Jenny (I work with) and her husband Mike came to visit and brought dinner and dessert for us. It was delicious and needed. She wanted us all to take a break and enjoy....so we did. She couldn't wait to get her hands on those babies! She is truly a natural. She stopped Luke from crying with no problems and put him right to sleep. The only other person that can do that is my Aunt Jeri! We also got lots of gifts this week. Some beautiful clothes from our visitors and Nick's Aunt Lisa sent down some Disney hand rattles for the kids. They are very cute.

They are all doing well, but are learning very quickly how to get picked up......CRY! Lily seems to do it best with her heart wrenching cry. Luke is still colicky, but seems to be improving a little. Sarah is still yelling when she has poop in her diaper. She hates to be dirty. All three of them are now eating 4oz. every four hours. They all seem to have a bit of reflux. I will have to talk to the doctor about it!I'm not sure how much they weigh. I'll find out how much when they go to the doctor next Monday. When I step on the scale and then hold them on the scale.....it's not accurate, but it seems Lily is 9lbs. or more!!!!.....Luke is about 7lbs. or so and Sarah is probably about 6 1/2lbs. They are getting big. My mom has nicknames for the girls already....Lily LaRue (becuase she is so dramatic) and Sarah is Mimi (as in a screaming mimi). Luke is....well I don't want to tell you what we call him. We never have just one name. Let's just say that we need to come up with something nicer. His screaming and colickyness is driving us crazy!

Miss Ava......She is doing well although she is still in the hospital. They have changed her formula to see if that will help with her reflux. She is now on full feeds and as of 5 minutes ago seems to be tolerating them. She is eationg 2oz. every three hours. She does get tired and doesn't want to finish, so they have been putting whatever is left through the tube. They have changed her formula from Similac to Alimintum and it seems to be working so far.....fingers crossed. She had 2 spits during the day shift today and no spits tonight. She now weighs........drumroll please........7lbs. 8oz. So, she is definitey keeping some of her food down! They said they will send her home with the little bit of oxygen that she is getting, but they have to get the severe (as they call it) acid reflux under ontrol. By that time, she may be off of the oxygen....which may be caused from the reflux!

Well that's all the time for today folks! I have some reading to do. Nick is sleeping and awaiting the 1 am feed and I am going to relax until then!

Enjoy the little hams! It's a slide show. If you would like to see the pictures individually and close up, just click on the pictures on the slide show and it will take you to the regular website just like in past weeks.


Adios!
Kelly