Babies and the Chiro...

Having heard how effective chiro can be for niggly / colicky babies, we took the twins to a referred chiropractor on Saturday. She was lovely - really intuitive and has great energy. Using a mixture of kinesiology and chiro skill, she found that both babies were slightly out of alignment and treated this in both of them. She explained that any emotions I had been feeling after they were born would still be with them as they are not seperate from me yet.  I was quite taken aback when she asked me what I had been feeling when I saw them after being in ICU and I burst into tears. I said "fear", "anxiety". She said, no what else? I couldn't pinpoint the emotion, but it has come to me since and I think it is a little guilt as well. Guilt that I let them down and couldn't keep my babies safe inside my body longer. She then said to me...okay, now it is time for the good side, okay? Okay.

The difference in Finn especially  has been remarkable. After leaving the appointment, he fell into a deep sleep and has stopped his incessant crying for no particular reason.  He stopped shrieking during every nappy change, and generally seems to be a far more content baby.  Rebecca on the other hand, was very unsettled and didn't want to sleep and has since been a little more niggly than usual.  We went for another session today, so time will tell as to what impact this session has had. Finn was very unsettled this morning, but both are sleeping like angels right now. I love it when they are chilled and happy.  Makes me happy too.

A very chilled Finn

A year ago...

A year ago or so, this was my post.... Faith and Trust

How incredible that our miracle did indeed happen in 2011.

We are so so doubly blessed.

Paed check-up

The twins are 9 weeks old or corrected age, actually only 6 days old today and it was off to their Paed for their 2nd checkup since discharge. They are doing so well! Finn weighs 3.920kg and Rebecca 3.320kg! So in one month, Finn has put on 1kg and Rebecca 860g! Little munchers!

Everything was spot on and the Paed is happy with them. From a developmental point, we were right to assume we treat them as newborn and a week old.  So in about 6 weeks time, they should start smiling and tracking our movements to about 10 degrees or so. Cute hey! I already think they smile for real - not just windy grins...but who knows lol. It is the cutest thing when they both breastfeed together and then drop off with big milky grins on their faces!  Like the babies that got the cream lol.

On a sad note we heard about one of the babies, also a twin, that was in NICU with the twins, got a fungal infection from the pipes and tubes in that NICU!  He has had to have open heart surgery as the fungi developed into a growth blocking off one of his valves and now has developed a brain bleed as the fungi travelled to his brain and has started growing there.  Really scary so please send love and light to him and his parents. I was so nervous knowing that our twins actually were in the same incubator as he had been...please let our babies not have any infection of any kind!!!!

I love my babies so so much, the thought of them being ill or hurt in anyway makes me want to wrap them in cottonwool forever.

Twins update...

I have been inspired by Michelle D to record the development phases and other cool info as the twins grow...so have used her fab template with a few changes as we go along...I have been wanting to start recording all their amazing developments and I don't want to forget a thing!

 

Age: Birth age = 9 weeks old. Corrected age = 4 days old.

 

Height/Weight: Well okay...I haven't measured their heights but on Monday, Finn weighed 3.5kg and Rebecca just short of 3kg.

 

Developmental notes: I have been thinking a lot about how being prem has affected their developmental progress.  If we consider that their corrected age is actually only 4 days old, they have achieved some newborn milestones already weeks ago yet they have already been here for 9 weeks.  For eg - they have already unfurled their limbs and can straighten out completely. They have also already been exposed to so many sensory experiences that a newborn is not normally exposed to, and not all of it positive if one considers the NICU experience - noise, bright lights, injections, etc - how does this impact on their sensory development?

Eating: Mostly exclusively breast milk, with 2 formula feeds at 10pm and 2am. They are on 7-8 feeds per day at 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6-7pm (split feed or two depending), 10pm and 2am.  They sometimes wake before feeds starving and crying for food...so we try to hold off a little but if they cannot be soothed, we feed them early and then try to catch up later in the day otherwise the routine goes completely wonky with one eating an hour before the other etc! I am starting to take eglanol now to increase my milk supply as I cannot commmit to exclusive breastfeeding and dont want to live at my pump - both the only ways to increase milk supply!  So hoping the eglanol with increase it enough to keep up with their demand for the next 6 months. Expressing breast milk and bottle feeding is working well, however they do get a little confused between the style of sucking at the breast and then the bottle. Despite this, I am hoping to still breastfeed as often as I can, even if only as a top up or for comfort and closeness early in the mornings and late at night.

Sleep: They generally stay awake during the feed and a while after, falling asleep about 1 1/2 hours after the feed or so. At night however they tend to go straight back to sleep unless uncomfortable in which case they can be crying and awake for hours. Generally they sleep about 10 hours during the day and 6 hours during the night...but often it is less!

Favorite Things: They aren't really at the stage of having favorite things, but they kinda like their boppy pillows sometimes. They LOVE their bathtime and chilling out in the water. They like being massaged. They love comfort breast feeding, but want bottles for fast food!

Dislikes: Mommy trying to make them latch on when they are starving and want instant gratification from the fast flow of the bottle. Being put down for a  nap when they don't want to go to sleep! Passing winds - makes them so uncomfortable and painful for their little bodies sometimes.

Their Accomplishments:  They are growing so beautifully and doing so well.

Our Accomplishments:  Being such a great team. There is no one else I would want to be doing this with other than my DH.

Sleep: DH and I share night duty (2am feed and on duty in the bedroom with the babies) on Mon, Tues, Wed and Thurs.  On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays we are both on call with the babies and share the night feed. This way, we each get 6 hours sleep every 2nd night and on shared nights, feeds go quicker and we share who gets up to deal with a miserable tot. It seems to be working but it's luck of the draw as to how much sleep you actually will get when it is your night.  If they aren't niggling, you could get up to 5 hours sleep.  Sadly, this is rare as they make a lot of noise and have been so niggly that you don't get much uninterrupted sleep.  Oh I am hoping for a good night tonight!!!

 

Looking forward to: Them passing this colicky phase!! It is so tough having to watch them writhe in pain red faced, screaming and arching their little backs trying to get the sore wind out.  Shame man.

Mommy musings:I still sometimes can't believe they are really here. All that kept me going after yet another failed cycle was hope that I would one day be a mother. I knew it was meant to happen. It just took such a long journey and it seems strange somehow to have finally reached the reality of having not one but two beautiful babies. I am so so very grateful that we didn't give up.

40 Weeks today!

The twins due date is today! They are officially full term. 

We got the photographs of our newborn shoot yesterday...here are some of my favourites...beyond beautiful memories to keep forever...our precious babies.

 

2 Months today!

Sunday morning bliss...

The twins are two months old today give or take a few days...they were born 8 weeks ago!

And yet, they would only have been about three weeks old had they been born on their scheduled caeser date. Their full term date is 17 November (40 weeks), so we will have to celebrate that too. It is quite difficult to know what developmental stage they are supposed to be at, but we are counting them as being newborn and three weeks old.

They are growing so beautifully and doing so well. Finn should weigh about 3.4kg now and Becca about 2.9kg. So they have both put on about 1.5kg since being born! We will have them weighed tomorrow at baby clinic. They are having their first innoculations. Quite controversial amoung most parents I have found (either totally anti or totally pro), but I have to trust our paed who says we must not take any risks as they were prem and an infection at any stage in the first year can be critical for them as their immune systems are not as strong as full term babies.

Apart from some bouts of colic niggles and discomfort from immature digestive tract issues, they are doing great.  Finn is more niggly and seems to battle more with this.  He has four phases, hungry and screaming, full and happy (brief periods),  in a colic attack screaming or asleep. Rebecca also has a lot of discomfort and screeches in pain. It is so hard watching your baby writhing around in agony, crying, red faced, kicking and scratching themselves without being able to do anything to help.  You try rub tummies, dance with them, swaddle them, lie with them on chest, but nothing really helps until it passes. I really hope they grow out of this soon so they can become happy chubby bouncy babies!!!

We are going into week four next week...and it is getting easier in some ways.  We are not as scared of the newborn unknowns, we are getting to know their different responses and how to react. There are still many occasions when either DH or I will look at each other and ask "What do we do now? They didn't come with a manual!!!" Especially when they are miserable and you don't know if it is from digestive pain or nappy or hunger. You can check the nappy but once this is eliminated, how do you know? You assume not hunger as they had their feed at the right time, but maybe it is a growth spurt? You have to guess and try various things to soothe the babe. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't.

Snoozing with dad...

I am going to make an appointment for a baby chiropractor as apparently this can really help with the digestive issues. If it does help, I will be so happy for the babes. So...here we go...into week four. We are looking forward to seeing how these little treasures grow and change and can't wait for the smiles, the recognising grins and grabs and all the new things our babies are going to show us.

From NICU to home...pic memories

Finally, I have copied all the pics off my phone so here goes a quick memory lane glance of the last 7 weeks...the twins are 7 weeks old today...adjusted age (if basing their birth date on 20th October rather than full term date as 17 November) about 2 weeks old...

Kangaroo care in NICU...

 

Holding them together for the first time...

Rebecca stretching out in her incubator.

Learning to suck!

Learning to burb

Rebecca's first bath...

Finn's first bath....

1 Month in NICU!

When I got the call to come fetch the babies!

All packed and ready to leave NICU!

At home!

Finn happy to be home!

Rebecca smiling - also happy to be home!

First sleep in their cot in our room!

Puppy baby!

Sleeping in our bed!

Brother and sister - so cute.

Big eyed boy.

Beautiful girl!

Little cuties...

Together in their Ubbababba sling with mum.

First outing to the beach for a walk!

7 Weeks old today!

In their futuristic Mammaroo Pod!

Back 9 months ago to when it all started...wow...

It has been an incredible journey so far.  Far harder than I thought it would be but far more perfect than I could ever have imagined. I still look at these babies and can't believe that we have created such perfect little people.  Who cares how, they were always supposed to come to us this way. I will treasure every moment, even the bleak hours in the middle of the night.  The milky grins and glazed stares are all I need to keep going. And what special times await us...their first smiles, their grasps, chuckles, hugs...we are so blessed to be the parents of these little miracles.

Our beautiful babes...

I just couldn't wait...I know I have to load so many pics before these, and I still will...but here is a sneak peak of the photographs at their "1 week old" newborn shoot (corrected age as they would have been born 20 October, but actually 6 weeks old or 37 weeks old - all depends how you look at it)...how precious are they?