Growing boys

These boys are growing so quickly! We took them last Thursday for an appointment at the Breastfeeding Center with Mission hospital to check in and see how well they are doing. Both boys were weighed before eating - Alex weighed in at 6 lbs, 6.2 oz and Charlie was 6 lbs, 14 oz. They are both getting about two ounces when they nurse so we are still supplementing with a bottle of breastmilk afterwards. However, now they only need about an ounce in the bottle. Hopefully in the next two weeks, they will get to the point where they can get all they need in one feeding. The good news is that they are growing at an impressive rate - who cares which container they get their milk from? ;)

The boys also had a doctor's appointment today. Over the weekend, they both grew quite a bit. Charlie is up to 7 lbs, 4 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. Alex is 6 lbs, 14 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Using a growth chart for premature babies, they are in the 20th and 13th percentile respectively for weight and in the 53rd percentile for height. They have made it onto the regular growth chart now too though - Charlie is in the 2nd percentile and Alex is in the 1st for weight and in the 5th percentile for growth. I know it doesn't seem impressive, but considering that for the first 6 weeks of their life they didn't even register on the chart, we are headed in the right direction. Both boys got very good reports - everything about them looks great. They both had their first round of vaccinations today and did great. Charlie didn't even cry during the first shot he got! They are now asleep after eating lunch and hopefully will be able to take it easy this afternoon.

At this rate, these boys will be ready to move into their 0-3 month clothing around the beginning of October. Now that we have passed their due date, they are awake more often so it's been lots of fun to sit and play with them. Lucy has especially enjoyed it because she loves to interact with them. Yesterday, she was sitting and talking to Charlie and I swear he gave her his first real smile! His whole face lit up as she was talking to him. Of course, we haven't seen it again, so it could just be a coincidence, but it sure looked real to us.  :)

Everyone is doing so well, and while Michael and I could use a little more sleep, we couldn't be more happy. We are so blessed by our three wonderful children and are enjoying every moment of our crazy little life.

Today is the day!

September 19th has arrived - today is the boy's actual due date. I knew they would never wait this long before making their appearance, but it has still been a significant date for us. I can't imagine the past six weeks without them here and while the beginning of their little lives was a little stressful with our time in the NICU, I wouldn't change anything about it. We are so blessed by these sweet little angels and so thankful for every (sleepless!) moment with them.

The boys are doing well. As you can tell from their pictures, they are growing every day. We have an appointment tomorrow with the lactation specialists to see how well they are doing with taking in enough when they nurse. This will help us know how much we need to keep supplementing afterward. Both boys can do quite well - however, the bottle is so much easier and these boys can be a little lazy at times. But it's breast milk either way, so it isn't worth stressing too much over.

We have had a few sleepless nights around here lately. Both of these boys tend to like to snuggle and sleep. . . which is fine during the day, but at night time it is difficult to get them to settle and go to sleep on their own. They also have had stuffy noses and so I think that maybe they keep waking themselves up because they are having a little trouble breathing with all this junk in their nose. I'm not sure if it's a cold or what - they have always seem to have stuffy noses, even in the NICU and so the snorting sounds they make just seem to be normal. Hopefully tonight will be a little easier.

In other news, does anyone want a dog? Baxter is quickly working his way out of the Flack family. He is a sweet dog and so good with kids, but lately, due to a lack of attention to him, he seems to be acting out and I have had enough. He is always in the trash and always seems to find something to do that he isn't supposed to be doing. This evening, when Michael came down the hall, he snuck around the gate and ran back into the bedroom. In a split second, he was up on the bed and looking around on Michael's night stand for any food that might have been left up there. In the  process, he knocked over a Large Coke from Zaxby's, and everything of course, went UNDER the bed. So my evening has been spent moving the mattress and boxsprings, mopping, and then putting everything back together. The area rug we had under the bed is pretty much ruined. . . I don't think a cream colored rug is coming clean no matter how I scrub it. So I guess I will be looking for something new now. . . The sad part is that the dog doesn't even seem to care that we are mad at him. He used to pout and act sad whenever he got in trouble and now he just looks at you from the pen as if to say, "Whatever." I know we have neglected him lately (attention wise - please don't think we don't feed this dog!), but I cannot have someone else in this house to clean up after. So if you know anyone who wants a sweet pug who will be good as long as someone will pay attention to him, you are welcome to this one!

And finally, here are just a few shots from hanging around the house. . .

Makes you wonder what Alex said to Charlie. . .

These two crack me up when they are playing with each other - they make such funny faces!

The flash startled him. .  not Charlie's most attractive look ;)

Look how big Alex is getting!

I'm cool and I know it :)

Not the best picture, but you can see the hint of  smile here :)

Lucy loves playing with her brothers

The adorable Flack children!

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

Lots of sleeping

Some quality brother/sister time

Being silly, of course

All the Flack children after Saturday night baths

Charlie and Lucy playtime

 

Big sister and Alex

Funny brother moments 

 

The best little boys in the world

 

Lucy and Charlie

Lucy loves talking to her brothers while they have tummy time. I started videotaping this towards the end of tummy time, but Lucy spent most of the time saying, "Charlie! Hey, Charlie! Hey, Charlie! Hey, Charlie!" She loves being the big sister!

One month old!

Charlie and Alex are one month old! Hard to believe, right? I guess it seems that way since they have only been home for a week now. Things have been a little crazy around here (in a good way), but I think we will begin to settle into a routine this week.

They both are eating well and sleeping a lot. We are beginning to have some alert times with each one of them during the day so that's nice. Lucy has really enjoyed playtime with the boys. . . I'll post an entry on that later. Needless to say, when they learn to speak, their first sentence will probably be, "Leave me alone, Lucy!" ;) She is a great big sister though and loves to talk to them and play with them. It will be even more fun the older they get and can begin to interact with her.

We gave the boys their first bath at home tonight. They handled it so much better than they did in the hospital. After their bath, I thought we'd get a picture of them for their one month birthday. . . probably should have picked another time, since Charlie was so sleepy. . . .

But Alex was wide awake!

One month old (38 weeks developmental age. . . still technically have about a week and a half before they were even supposed to be here!)

A wild, but wonderful few days

Whew - I can hardly believe that it's already Friday evening! Time sure flies when you're having fun! It has been so great having the boys at home. Although I have done three loads of laundry (just for them!) in the past three days, have a dirty house, and am running on some sugar, caffeine, and about four hours of sleep, I wouldn't change any of it. :)

As we try to figure out what our routine at home will be like, Michael and I are keeping track of everything on this great app called BabyConnect. I know it sounds ridiculous but it has been so helpful to have something keep track of how often they nurse/bottle, wet/dirty diapers, etc. It's hard enough in a sleep deprived state to remember when I last went to the bathroom, let alone keep up with these two boys! So at least until we settle into a schedule and a little more sleep is had by the grownups, this handy app keeps us on track!
 
We had a day at home on Wednesday and then the rest of the week has been filled with appointments. On Thursday, Charlie and Alex had their first appointment with their pediatrician. Charlie weighed in at 5 lbs, 9 oz. and was 20 inches long and Alex was 5 lbs even and 19 1/2 inches long. Both boys had gained two ounces in two days. .  just like we want them to! Their pediatrician declared them very healthy looking boys. . .just on the small side! We'll go back again in two weeks and hopefully they will continue to gain weight like they are supposed to. Of course, with the way these boys have been eating, they will be big boys in no time!

We want them to grow just a little bit more so that they can fit into their diapers. Because they are so long and lean, we have a lot of diaper leaks. Even with using preemie size diapers, they don't always stay in place. Alex will wake up frequently because his sleeper and blanket are wet. Often, the sheet and the mattress protector are wet too. . . ;) Charlie has had the same problem, but because he has a little more weight, he fills them out better. They have had a lot of outfit changes in the past three days. .  sometimes, they even match.

Hard to tell which one is which, right?

(Alex is on the left, Charlie is on the right)

Today (Friday), the boys had an eye appointment to check their eyes for ROP. Preemie babies are often at risk for immature retinas. This appointment consisted of dialating the boys' eyes and then examining the retina from several angles. It was not a pleasant procedure for the boys and they made sure to let everyone around them know that they were NOT happy! However, they quickly calmed down afterwards and have spent the better part of the evening sleeping - all that screaming can really wear a baby out!

 And while these boys do spend a lot of time sleeping right now, we still have some active time as well. (After all, these boys technically shouldn't even be here yet!) Here they are, having a little tummy time on their Noah's Ark mat. Aren't their little pants cute??

Charlie and Alex are such sweet little boys - we are truly blessed here at the Flack house!

All about Lucy

All of our entries lately have been about how Charlie and Alex have been doing. Of course, Lucy has been included but usually in the context of her brothers. So here's an update on the Flack Princess. :)

Lucy went with Grammy and Poppa down to Bluffton to surprise Uncle David for his birthday. She was so excited and came back with lots of stories to share. She enjoyed staying at the hotel - the revolving door, elevator,  and snacks and drinks (Happy Hour) were her favorite part. She also got to go swimming. :)

I don't know who was more excited to spend the day with each other - Lucy or David. From what I hear, a fun time was had by all. :)

Lucy, flying a plane while Grammy shopped

 

Lucy has been busy learning lots of things in her new three year old class at preschool. She has "Computer Pals" twice a month where she gets to learn all kinds of computer skills. . . and play games of course. She loves this so much - one day after school she came home in tears because she didn't have Computer Pals that day. . . it is difficult to explain to a 3 year old that she has to wait two more weeks before it comes around again! Another thing she is learning is how to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Lucy told Grammy that there was a witch on the American Flag. Finally, after a long conversation to figure out what she was talking about, it came out that she was talking about the line, "for which it stands." Ha ha. They also are learning the months of the year during their calendar time. Lucy comes home every day singing her Months of the Year song. Of course, her version goes something like this, "January, (mumbled sounds), March and April, (more mumbled sounds. . . ), July and August, "Sep-ta-tember", (more mumbled sounds) and December. These are the months of the year - yeehah!" It's so cute to hear and eventually, she'll get the rest of the months in there. She has really been enjoying school and it has been good for her to be able to keep that routine now that her brothers are home. Usually, she wants Daddy to take her to school and Mommy to pick her up, but since Alex and Charlie came home, she asks that "all the Flacks" come to school to get her. 

As for adjusting to having two little babies in the house competing for attention, Lucy is handling it as well as can be expected. Sometimes she is a great help and she loves to sit and talk to them when they have alert times. However, she is not fond of having to wait for someone to do something for her. She gets very whiny and needy every time that the boys get fed, which with newborns is quite often! She can be perfectly content in an activity but the second that Michael and I have our hands full with the boys, she has immediate needs that cannot wait. Sigh. . . change is never easy, especially when you're three!

I'm trying really hard to make sure that Lucy has a little bit of special time every day, just her, so today we went out to color with sidewalk chalk and blow bubbles. (Thanks to Cheryl and Ronnie!!!) She has been wanting to do this for days, but we ran out of time one day and then weren't able to the next day. So we headed out this afternoon while Daddy and the boys napped.

 

 She didn't want me to take any pictures at first. .  .

We traced the Fairy stencils that came with the chalk and then looked at them with the cool 3-D glasses that came with them . . . who knew you could have 3-D chalk designs?

After we sufficiently decorated the sidewalk, we went around to the porch and blew bubbles. Lucy particularly enjoyed the Bubble pipe. . .

We blew bubbles until it was time for me to feed the boys and then everyone else got to eat. Thankfully, we had yummy food from a church member. . . I haven't quite figured out yet how to fit anything in to my day besides making sure everyone stays fed, dry, clean, and happy! :)

So that's what Lucy is up to lately. She is such a sweet, intelligent little girl and she is growing up so fast. Every time I blink, it seems, she has learned something new. What a blessing she is to our family!

WE ARE HOME!!!!!!

 That's right - as crazy a day as it has been, all five Flacks are asleep under one roof and that feels good!

Alex had his hearing test this morning and both boys had their Hep B immunizations. The team came by for rounds and let us know that these boys were definitely ready to go. Of course, when you leave the NICU, you can't just walk out the door. First we met with the lactation specialist to talk about our breastfeeding plan once we got home and to discuss scheduling another pre/post weight measurement. Then the nutritionist came in and talked with us about the fortifier the boys need in their bottled breastmilk to help add some extra calories. We also looked at their growth charts and discussed the importance of gaining about an ounce a day. Next, the nurse practitioner brought in our discharge papers followed by the case worker to discuss insurance. (Of course, for us, that just means, good luck paying for everything!) In between all of this excitement, Alex wet the bed straight through two times!  Finally, our amazing nurse (more about her later) came and went through all our follow up appointments and everything we needed to take with us when we left. So finally, around 2:45, we got to walk out the door with our boys!

Hanging out in our crib right before we go home

 

 I cannot say enough about the amazing staff at Mission Hospital. Everyone of them provided amazing care for Charlie and Alex. We had some awesome nurses, but our favorite one, Julia, was there for the boys this past Sunday and Monday and she wasn't scheduled to work today, but came in anyway so that she could be there to help with our discharge. She worked so hard to make sure that the boys always had everything they needed and made sure that things got scheduled and taken care of for the boys so that we were ready to go home today. Had she not been so on top of things, I don't know that everything would have gotten done. It was so obvious that she loves our boys and we were so grateful for everything she did.

In our car seat, ready to go home!

We left the hospital and drove and picked Lucy up from daycare. She was so excited when she found out that her brothers were waiting in the car for her. We got home and our new normal began. Lucy was super wound up this afternoon and much louder than normal - I think she's struggling with finding a balance of excitement and love for her brothers as well as making sure that she is getting the attention she wants. Of course, how could anyone forget to pay attention to the little princess? ;)

 Sleeping in our twin pack-and-play. . . .Mommy picked us up and moved us to our crib for naptime because Lucy was too loud!

Lucy seems to be responding well to having special jobs to help with as the big sister. Tonight she got to help me make dinner, she brought the bottles to Daddy once Mommy fixed them. We even walked down to show the boys to the UM Women at their meeting and Lucy was in charge of making sure everyone used the hand sanitizer. She said, "I'm going to make sure my peoples get rid of their germs before they see my brothers." :)

One of her cutest moments was when the boys laid down in their crib. I showed her the monitor and explained to her how it worked. We told her that her special job was to listen and let us know if she heard her brothers crying. So, being the amazing big sister that she is, she pulled her rocking chair up next to the monitor and sat and listened. It only lasted about five minutes or so, but it was just precious!

So as of now, all children are fed and sleeping. Alex is curled up in our bed for the moment.  Just as he did at the hospital today, he wet the bed here at home twice already this evening! After we got everything cleaned up, he never seemed to settle back down. Of course, once he got picked up and loved on, he fell right asleep. So at least until next feeding, he's cuddled up here. Charlie has been asleep since his last feeding and I'm sure will sleep right up until time for the next one.

Two sweet boys, ready for bed

Do you know which one is which?? ;)

 I know that we are in for some sleepless nights and lots of new adjustments, but nothing warms my heart more than looking over next to me and seeing one sleeping angel, standing in the doorway and glancing at another precious angel in his crib and walking down the hall to see my sweet girl stretched out in her bed. What amazing blessings God has given to us. I am so undeserving but so grateful that he chose me to be the mother to these three little ones.

NICU - Day 24

Hopefully, tomorrow's post will be titled - "We're Home!"

 Car Seat Tests

The boys had an eventful day today as we get ready to go home. They are still saying they think we will go home tomorrow - fingers crossed! We gave the boys a bath this morning, which was definitely not their favorite thing. But they smelled so good afterwards and had a nice relaxed nap. . . hopefully, they will learn to enjoy them. They also had their circumcision today. Both boys were extremely unhappy (as you can imagine) for the better part of the afternoon. This evening though, they seem to be doing just fine.

Charlie weighed in at 5 lbs, 7 oz. and Alex's weight remained about the same. He gained 9 grams, so we still had growth, which is good. It isn't surprising that their weight gain was minimal though after their stressful day.

Right now as I type, they are sitting in their car seats and having no issues - in 15 more minutes, they should be able to check that off their "to do" list. All that will remain is their Hep B immunization in the morning and Alex's hearing screening. And of course, all their discharge paperwork. .  .

The only thing I need to ask about at rounds tomorrow is about Charlie's diet. He has been extremely gassy these past few days and at times, it seems to cause him a lot of discomfort. We had similar issues with Lucy as a baby and the pediatrician wanted me to cut dairy out of my diet. She outgrew those issues by around 6 months and after that, we didn't have any more issues. I may need to do the same thing again this time for him, but we'll see what they say.

It's so hard to believe (and exciting!) that this may be our last night here in the NICU. One of the nurses today was commenting on how "big" the boys seem. Not necessarily size wise. . .although, they both have gained more than a pound while being here. . . but rather developmentally. Both these boys in the past two days have acted much more like newborns than preemie babies. They are definitely ready to come home.

We are so thankful for their good health and blessed beyond measure by these two precious boys. I can't wait for tomorrow evening when all five Flacks are finally under the same roof together and the next chapter of our journey can begin.

NICU - Day 23

Homeward bound! (or at least, close!)

Both boys have done amazingly well in transition. They are waking up for all their feedings and we're now feeding them on demand. Tonight when they were weighed, Charlie was up to 5 lbs, 6 oz and Alex is not far behind at 4 lbs, 14 oz. So both are gaining weight just like they should. Most of our time is spent eating and sleeping but they have both had some great awake time time. Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Ronnie came by and Charlie stayed awake for most of their visit!

Charlie had his hearing screening today and passed - Alex will have his tomorrow. Michael and I checked off all the videos we needed to watch. The car seat is in the room, ready for them to be tested. Both boys are scheduled to be circumcised tomorrow. They will also get their first Hep B immunization. The nurse practitioner came by today and told us that best case scenario, they boys would be discharged on Tuesday. I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but they really are doing so well and definitely showing everyone they are ready to graduate from the NICU!

And here are a few photos from today. . . both boys are dressed in outfits from home now. As cute as they were in their NICU clothes, I think they are even cuter in their own! :)

Charlie

Alex

Letting our brain grow! (AKA - Sleep!)

This photo was taken after Charlie refused to breastfeed at one of his feedings - he wanted it in a bottle because it's so much easier. This is his pouty face until he got what he wanted. :)

NICU - Day 22

 Yay - we finally made it!!!

We are now in the the transition area. It has been a great day for the boys. They have woken up and taken all of their feedings so far today by either nursing or by bottle. If they can keep this up until rounds tomorrow, they will have their ng tubes taken out of their noses and will be able to move to a cue based feeding system. This means that they will let us know when they want to eat and how much they want to eat - the way that "normal" babies do. If they can do this and show that they are gaining  between 30-50 grams a day, they will be able to go home!

We still have a few things we have to check off the list but we are one step closer. These boys have decided they are ready to go home too, so it shouldn't take long now!