Five Months Old

A little late. Not on my game this month, definitely failed at weekly pictures...

But nevertheless, we are 5 months old!!

Updates on what happened this past month:

Both Molly and Max are now excellent rollers and squirmy wiggle worms :) They notice each other much more and like to look at, laugh at and kick each other, it is very cute - even the kicking (for now).

They have been slowly trying some new foods and so far have tried: avocados, bananas, apples, oatmeal and sweet potatoes. Favorites so far are apples and sweet potatoes and they are getting a better hang of actually eating it instead of just tasting and spitting out. I love making them their baby food, picking out the fruits and vegetables, steaming pureeing and freezing - it makes me happy!

Two firsts in the past month, one excellent and one not so much - first Christmas and first cold.

The babies first Christmas was WONDERFUL! We had a weekend of fun and excitement with our families and Molly and Max got s-p-o-i-l-e-d. Seriously. Never have I seen so many presents. Our families, especially two crazy aunties, love to shop for these little munchkins who will now be the best dressed babies on the block once they grow into their new sizes! The babies also got some awesome books and their first highchairs and we have been putting those to very good use.



My dad also came from California for Christmas and got to meet Molly and Max for the first time which was awesome. It was good to see him and especially for him to meet his first grandbabies :)



(can we please note the ridiculously cute navy blazer on Max thanks to aunties)

My cousin also came and took some pictures of M&M and we finally got a picture with all 4 of us!!!

Love

A little early - sharing our Valentine's Day Card

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

4 Months Old

Our babies are officially 4 months old!

We had their 4 month check up and here are the stats:

Molly weighs 13 pounds, is 23 1/4 inches tall and her head circumference is 15 3/4 inches
She even showed off for the doctor and rolled over from tummy to back for the first time ever! The Dr said her head control is great and if she is interested we can start her on solids in a couple of weeks. We also discussed her hip ultrasounds. Dr. Roye, her pediatric orthopedist says that Molly's right hip is fine but that ultrasound does show a slight looseness in her left hip so we will do another ultrasound in about a month to see how things progress and to see if it is an issue that might just resolve itself as she gets bigger.

Molly is such a happy baby. She is always talking and laughing. She loves to have conversations with you to look at faces of the people she knows :) She is also very vocal and will quickly let you know when she is not happy. She also, much to our dismay, loves to watch tv. We are trying to keep it off around her but if it is on in a room she will turn her head to try and look at it. She seems to be the happiest in the mornings when I go to pick her up from her crib. She always gives me the best smiles then. She is also super strong and sometimes when she is laying in her rock n play it looks like she is doing baby crunches and might just get right out of there :)

Max weighs 15 pounds 9 ounces, is 24 inches tall and his head circumference is 17 3/8 inches
The Dr said his head control is good but needs to be a bit better before we try to start him on solids but that he might be ready in a few weeks to a month.

Max is such a good baby and an awesome sleeper! He always seems so laid back and just happy to be hanging out. He loves when you talk to him and kiss his cheeks and neck. If you get the right spot he will crack up laughing and it might be the cutest thing I've ever seen! He also LOVES when daddy sings the abcs to him or plays guitar, he is definitely a music lover! He is working on holding his big noggin up and does great baby push ups when he has tummy time. I think he wants to work extra hard on it so he can have some real food!

I am excited to try giving them some solids in a few weeks, I think we are starting with avocado, yum yum

The babies had their first sleepover this week and stayed at their Nonnas house Tuesday till Wednesday. Mommy had a little nervous breakdown about it earlier that week but got over it and everyone was fine and it ended up being a pretty productive evening Shawn and I went grocery shopping, wrapped Christmas presents, did all our laundry and even put away all the clothes that they have outgrown. I missed them though and like when they are here much better - even if the laundry doesn't get done!

Here are some pictures from the past month, I've been better about taking them each week :)

14 weeks old




15 weeks old



16 weeks old



17 weeks old

How cute is this?

Just ordered a couple for my parents for Christmas :)

Mug

View the entire collection of cards.

3 Months

I am a bad blogger...

I had wanted to do an update at the very least once a month so I can try to keep track of whats new with the babies since they grow and change so quickly and if I don't record it somewhere it all just gets lost. Anyways, I failed and haven't done any sort of an update since they were 1 month old so here goes...

At their 2 month check up Max weighed in at 11 pounds 11 ounces and Molly was catching up at 9 pounds 7 ounces. They each got 5 shots at their check-up which was not so much fun but the doctor says both babies are doing great. We will see a pediatric orthopedist to re-check Molly's hips since an ultrasound showed slight dislocation from being transverse and so squished in my belly.

I started back at work on November 7th. I was so sad to leave my babies but thankful that between myself, Shawn, and our moms they will always be with family. Now in my second week I'm doing ok, we are really busy and I am definitely juggling but we are making it work and so far so good.

At three months the babies have started to interact a lot more and are so much fun! They smile and laugh and love being talked to. If you talk to Molly she will give you tons of smiles and maybe even a laugh and Max loves to smile at you if you give him kisses on his cheeks. Molly loves to look at her brother and Max loves to lay on his play gym and look at his toys or in the mirror. They are really good and easy babies and for that I am incredibly thankful. We have them on a pretty strict schedule and they are still eating about every three hours during the day but sleep 6-8 hours at a time at night. That makes for one very happy mama!! Our next pediatrician appointment is not until December but I'm sure they have gained tons of weight, Molly, once in preemie clothes has grown out of all her preemie and newborn size clothes and wears 0-3m and Max, who never really was in preemie clothes is now between size 0-3m and 3-6m.

Today is officially their 3 month birthday, look how much they have grown!!!

One Week

One Month

Two Months

Three Months


I have some pretty cute babies if I do say so myself :)

One month old!

Happy one month birthday babies!

We went to the doctor today and babies are perfect and growing quickly! Molly was 7 lbs today and Max was 8 lbs 8 oz.

Time is going quickly for me and I'm loving being a momma but sad that my maternity leave time is ticking away. I love spending time with my babies and getting to know their personalities. Max is laid back and silly, eats his bottles with his hands behind his head and Molly is sweet and serious and loves to sleep snuggled up on my chest. It seems like they both like to pee as soon as their diaper comes off or before I can get a new one on. This is especially interesting with Max or in the middle if the night. I know they hate having their clothes changed and I try to tell them that if they don't want me to change their clothes they shouldn't pee on their momma but they don't seem to listen...

It has been a whirlwind first month and lots has changed. We have a new wonderful normal that includes talk about poop and vomit but I wouldn't change a thing.

Mommy loves you babies, happy one month birthday!!

Happy Due Date Babies

Today is my due date but I'm writing this as I hold and feed one of my two sweet munchkins. My babies are almost a month old already, I seriously can't believe it. We are oh so in love.

Molly and Max were born on August 15th at 12:29 and 12:31pm, weighing in at 4 lbs 15 oz and 6 lbs 10 oz, respectively. My babies were born prematurely by c-section at 36 weeks and 1 day after a pre-eclampsia diagnosis and a week of hospital bed rest. I will try to recount the events of that day, though it seems like ages ago now, I'm a bad blogger...

When my last pre-e test came back positive and doctors told me on a Thursday that I would be delivering the following Mon
day part of me didn't believe them. I was scared and excited all at once. It was the longest few days of my life. The night before my section was like Christmas eve, I don't think Shawn or I got hardly any sleep, we were way too anxious and excited to meet our babies. Monday morning came along with more tests and surgery prep. We ended up heading down to the labor and delivery floor at around 11:30. I was taken into the operating room to get my spinal block while Shawn changed into scrubs. I was so scared for the epidural and wished that Shawn could have been there but instead i cried and held on to a nurse as the anesthesiologist placed my epidural (twice since the first needle wasn't thick enough - yuck!) The epidural worked quickly but was not how I thought it would be. The bottom half of my body felt warm and then tingly and heavy but I could still wiggle my toes and I was scared that I was going to be able to feel the surgery. This whole part was scary for me, especially before Shawn was allowed in. Once I was numb and prepped Shawn came in and sat by my head. At this point I think they had already started cutting. It was strange because though I couldn't feel pain, I definitely felt a lot. At one point, I felt a doctor using scissors to cut part of my belly. Snip, snip, snip...gross... Shawn could tell I was super nervous and uncomfortable and tried his best to talk me through it and keep my mind occupied through the first part of surgery. And then, the most wonderful moment in my life, I heard my daughter cry for the very first time. My heart melted and even though I hadn't seen het yet, I was so in love. Next came Max, and he came out peeing on my OB, what an entrance my little boy :) Shawn even peeked over the surgical curtain I heard him cry too and at this point both Shawn and I couldn't hold back our tears of joy. Molly was cleaned up and swaddled and placed in Shawn's arm while they reviewed Max and completed my surgery. She was perfectly healthy and to think I was so worried about my tiny baby girl. I could tell something was wrong with Max. Though he cried it wasn't as loud or consistent as Molly's had been and I tried to listen to what the doctors were saying. They brought him over to us and I was able to see my sweet baby boy and give him a kiss before they took him away and the neonatologist came over to explain that he was having some trouble breathing and that they were taking him to the NICU to better access him. Once my doctors finished my surgery I was taken to recovery where I would stay for the next, very difficult 24 hours.




Because I was a pre-e diagnosis I had to be on Magnesium Sulfate for the 24 hours following delivery to make sure I didn't have a seizure. I was told I reacted well to the Mag but it was a very uncomfortable 24 hours. On top of recovering from major surgery I was hot, loopy, itchy and generally not myself. And besides the fact that I couldn't see my little boy at all since he was in the NICU, I also was not allowed to be alone with Molly since the medication makes patients unpredictable. I'm glad that that time is fading to a more distant memory.

When I was finally discharged from the labor and delivery floor at around 3pm on the 16th I was finally allowed to go see my baby boy. I was transferred to a stretcher and wheeled up to the NICU to be able to spend some long overdue time with my little boy Max. When I got up to the NICU the nurses wheeled my stretcher up next to Max's isolate and I was able to put my hand in and touch and talk to my boy.




Once I was back in the maternity ward I was thankful to be able to be with my daughter and though it was really difficult the first time trying to get up out of bed I knew I had to do it so I could get into a wheelchair to go up and see Max again. The following days were difficult and wonderful; recovering, bonding with my sweet tiny Molly and trying to get up to see Max as much as possible. I knew the NICU was the right place for Max to be to take care of his little lungs but it was awful to be separated from one of my babies.

I started this post at 2am this morning and am finishing it at 10pm. We have been super busy and there is much more that I want to record and remember from the past couple of weeks but babies are hungry again so it will have to wait for another day :)

The Garanimals!!!

This is a special guest blog from Auntie Emmie and Auntie Rinney!

As Ashley spent the last few days on bed rest at the hospital, we had fun making her some of her favorite foods (key lime pie, blueberry muffins, omelettes) and bringing her sushi (no raw fish, of course).

And this is us (the VERY proud aunts with our VERY pregnant sister) just before the Garanimals (yes, we call them the Garanimals) joined us on earth! We will save the good stuff for mama bear once she is a little less loopy, but for now, just know we are all smiles!! :) :) :)

SORRY for the sideways picture - We don't know how to do this whole blog thing!!!

<3 the proudest/happiest aunts in the whole wide world!