One More Day until Giveaway Ends!

See previous post on how you can win a custom header and grab button for your blog! Ends tomorrow evening! :)

PICTURES!! :)

Camden, Christian

Christian on top, Camden on bottom

Christian, Camden

Christian

Hubby with Christian

Camden

Christian

Christian's oh so kissable lips

Hubby, Christian and Jack

:)

I love this

Handsome Jack

Jack playing with Camden's toes

This is my FAVORITE!

My family

All Pictures by Catching Memories Photography

Link on my page :)

Win a custom header and grab button!

I'm super excited to have already reached 50 followers on my new blog here! I promised a giveaway and so here it is!

Melanie over at Elegant Custom Designs has donated her time and skills to design a custom header and a grab button for your blog! She does beautiful work, so I know you will be quite pleased! This includes installation if you are a Blogger user. If you use Word Press you will get the code, but you will have to install it yourself. :)
Here is how you can enter to win and make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry!

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment letting me know you are a Google follower!

Extra Entry: Follow Melanie at Only a Breath

Extra Entry: Tell me why your blog name is what it is!

This giveaway will end on Friday April 1st at 8:00pm West Coast time :) I will announce the winner that evening (if I can get on the computer hehe)

Good luck :)

Giveaway Time

We've hit 50 followers! Time for that giveaway :) Stay tuned for more information!

Hop on over here....

Today I want to tell you about a friend of mine. We met at church and have served in youth ministry together. She's hilarious, passionate, smart, loyal, kind and she is looking to be challenged and to "live a better story" as she puts it. She has an awesome story. Here are a few tid-bits:

Had a baby girl she put up for adoption as a teenager, and now her and that girl have an incredible relationship. God was so faithful.

Has three boys, two of which are in the military.

One of those boys is a paratrooper in the army and is recently recovering from an awful injury while jumping from an airplane.

The other boy just recently deployed to Afghanistan.

She writes. She writes good.

So....here is her post from today. I want you to go check it out. I want you to follow her blog. She's someone you will love and will enjoy what she has to say. She challenges me, and I know she will you too!

Click HERE :)

Just a reminder...

Just a reminder that once I reach 50 followers, I am doing a giveaway for a custom blog header and grab button made by Melanie from Elegant Custom Blogs

And I'm at 40 now...so 10 more to go! :)

We've made it to 6 weeks without losing it!

Wow. We've made it to 6 weeks and we are still alive. For a moment there I wasn't sure we would. Sleep was non existent, puke was more prevalent than water and I couldn't say whether or not my teeth had been brushed in who knows how long.

Best word to describe life? Intense. I can't think of anything more fitting. Crazy, fun, amazing, beautiful, insane, busy, tiring, exhausting, yes. But intense sums it right up.

I'm so thankful that I know God knew what He was doing when he gave us these twins, because at times I've told him "I don't know what I'm doing!!!" I feel like a first time Mom all over again some days.

This past week has been about 10x better than the weeks before, and I feel like we're starting to go uphill. And we're breathing again.

I can tell you that I am more in love with these boys than I ever thought possible. How could I share my love with Jack and these two? Well, my love for Jack has grown a million times and my love for them is unexplainable. And my love for my husband? I did not know I could love him more...and I do. Every day.

Let's give ya some updates on the boys, shall we?! We'll start with my main little man:

Jack:

Poor little mister has a cold. I have no idea how because we haven't taken him anywhere but the grocery store. Can he get a cold from a shopping cart the ONE time I forgot to sanitize the bar? Ugh. Praying he does not spread his goobers.

He's the biggest little helper ever. He is getting down where all of their things are and is having fun picking out their outfits (we aren't taking them out really yet, so I'm not bothered by the brown pants with a totally mis-matched shirt at the moment) He's into his Lego's that his Great Aunt Sandy got him, his Cars as always and his guitar. He loves PJ's. He would live in his PJ's and lately he has...so have I :)

Camden:

Oh child...you have been a small handful, but your big blue's kill me. So I will not hold it against you.

We had your blood drawn to check your thyroid which was of course fine. Mommy almost took out the phlebotomist who started to dig around in your arm, but she refrained and politely told her to "get it out now!" You should be proud of Mommy. You had to drink barium for an Upper GI to check and make sure you did not have a blockage causing your massive vomit. You of course did not. You did fabulous though. We took you off of your medication after seeing the side effects of "upset stomach" and guess what? You've been much better. Still lots of puke? Yes. Still gross? Yes. But not near as much (if you can imagine) as what

there was. Praise Jesus. You have taken the lead again in the weight department and for the amount you spew all over the house it is amazing to me that you are gaining what you are! You now weigh 8lbs 2.5oz!!

And you are ON the growth curve for height and head circumference. GO BOY GO.

You smiled at me, a real smile. Two days ago and I died. You won me over with your sly little grin (as if you hadn't already) You look so much like Jack it throws us for a loop. I swear sometimes it's him and not you. You are actually a pretty chill kid. You can lay in the crib and just stare at things and you are pretty content unless you are poopy or need to be fed. You love your pacifier but spit it out all. the. time. :)

Christian:

You, little man, forget that you are a twin and also have a bigger brother to share us with. You like to be held, looked at and talked to all the time. You smiled at me a day before your brother did. You lock eyes like a champ and melt my heart. You love to eat. You now weigh 8lbs. And you are also ON the growth curve for height and head. You have some jaundice still, it's actually called breastmilk jaundice and crazily enough is caused by a chemical in breastmilk. SOOOooo for 36 hours you are on formula. Bummer yes, but it will go away and not come back so we are doing it. You have no happy medium. You are either silent or screaming. You look like your Mommy. You found your fingers today and sucked away. Maybe you'll like those better than the pacifier. You have not had all the tests that your brother has had. You've been pretty chill. We've been told that jaundice is like a sleeping pill....so it will be interesting to see what happens when it's gone. I fear...just a bit :)

You are loud. You are a grunter and a groaner. When you have gas you growl until you burp. You grunt in your sleep. You are such a man.

So basically the first 6 weeks have been tough to say the least. But we've got a little system going now and I've let go of my need for a "plan". I think I thought every twin mom had their twins on schedules right away...that's not true. That's unrealistic at this age for any baby. So I had to tell myself to chill out. I have also stopped tandem feeding for now. With Camden's puke issues it was really difficult. So I am feeding one right after the other and we will address tandem feeding when they are older. They are actually eating much better this way and I am way more relaxed. I'm also pumping and bottle feeding at night along with my hubby who takes the first shift so I can sleep. Have I mentioned how amazing he is? I love my boys. The cloud has lifted and I can see the light! :)

I tried uploading pics and it wouldn't work :( Will try again tomorrow!

I have a blog?

Oh hi there...blog. I forgot about you. You don't cry, smell or need to be fed so I forgot you existed. I will learn to weave you back into my life again...but it might be awhile. Our time together will be sporadic and random. It's not you...it's me.


Twins are 6 weeks today and tomorrow is our check-up. Will post a nice long one for ya...with pictures. :)

The Boys

It's amazing that at just shy of 5 weeks these two boys can be so different and have such distinct personalities.

Camden. You of course are our 'puker'. You give us quite a fright when we wake up to you gagging on your puke. We cannot wait for you to outgrow this stage and although we love our new washer, we have come to use it several times a day.
You like riding in the car as long as it's moving, we hit a red light and you let us know it's time to get going! You like a pacifier, but you don't rely on it too heavily.
You have the biggest eyes ever. And they are so blue, I hope they stay that blue. You look bald but you have a fair amount of hair...it's just white blonde. You love to cuddle up with Mommy and rest your head on her chin. You are beautiful. When you cry you sound like a baby velociraptor (see Jurassic Park)...it's super high pitched. We hope you outgrow that before you are in Jr. High....for your sake. Oh and you just graduated and are no longer using the shield! So proud of you!

Christian. You are our dark haired, olive skinned beauty. You have some big cheeks. You have a chin dimple. No one in our family has a chin dimple. But you do. Oh wait....you are named for Cary Grant and HE has a chin dimple....this makes your Mommy very happy. :)
You have an extremely angry cry. Like...you sound downright mad when you cry. And there is no medium with you...you are silent or you are angry. You love to eat. You'd eat all day long if I let you. You are not a fan of bottles or pacifiers. You love the swing. You sleep your best in the swing. You smiled a real smile at your Mommy two days ago. You are beautiful.

And what is Jack up to these days? Well, he is Mr. Helper. He loves to feed to kitty, help with laundry, throw away dirty diapers, do dishes and sweep the floor. He likes his brother's feet. He doesn't seem to be bothered by their crying...in fact, it's kind of like they aren't even here. He always makes sure we don't forget them if we are headed out. He asks us "where's Canen an Chirt-shun Daddy Mommy??" "Why's Canen crying? Canen hungry?"
He is enjoying his Bible stories...in fact the only one he wants to read is David and Goliath. And he says "Jack do it"...and this is how it sounds
"Goliath was mean man. He want hurt God's people. He make mean faces. David picked up one, two, three, four, five stones..." I love that my 2 year old is learning his Bible stories! He also loves to sing Zacchaeus and Tiki Tiki Tiki Room. Disneyland is right up there with the Bible for us. Just joking just joking!!!!
He is pretty darn cute.

Camden was tested today for hyperthyroidism (his initial newborn screen said he had it) Turns out it was wrong, a false positive. PRAISE THE LORD!
Christian has what is called breastmilk jaundice...basically there is a protein in the breastmilk that can sometimes inhibit the bilirubin from being removed by the liver and it just takes a bit longer for the jaundice to clear up. His level is pretty low so there are no worries there...it will just take another week or so to completely leave.

Deliriously tired...**Updated**

I'm so glad we had Jack first. Had we not, I would think there was no end in sight to the sleepless nights and the puke spewing everywhere. I would not believe anyone who told me "this to shall pass" and I would think I was never going to leave the house again.
BUT...I know that there is an end, and it's not too far off in the grand scheme of things. We just have to push through these sleepless nights and get used to Camden puking all the time, everywhere....and before we know it, we will be telling them to stop throwing food at each other. :)

Here was how last night went down....

Feeding at about 8:00pm after which they decided they did not want to sleep. Not too long later Christian decides to scream.......really really loud.....for quite some time. His cry is extremely angry sounding. I finally had exhausted all other ideas and at 11:00pm I nursed him. He fell asleep.

Camden on the other hand, wide awake. I took Christian to our room and went to bed. Trevor stayed in the front room trying to get Camden asleep. He'd fall asleep and as soon as Trev would try to bring him back to the bedroom he'd wake up wailing his high pitched wail. So...

another feeding at 2:00am and I can't remember what happened after that...Christian did go back to sleep.

5:00am and time to feed again....Trev and Camden still in the front room, Trev asleep on the couch and Camden in the pack-and-play.

After the feeding Christian goes back to sleep. Camden pukes. So we take him and try to change his clothes. He pukes again. Then he pees everywhere. Get second set of pj's ready to change him into....he pukes on them. Then he pukes again and again. Every time we moved him, he puked.

After 3 sets of attempted pj's and 2 blankets he's mad, awake and hungry...so I feed him. Then he pukes.

Then Jack wakes up.

And when I say puke, I don't mean a little spit-up. I mean a lot. And it shoots out and it drenches everything in sight.

** UPDATED** We have a doctor appointment tomorrow for Camden just to make sure his weight gain is okay and see if there could be anything else going on. Prayers appreciated! :)

Sigh....

This too shall pass............:)

This "multiple" world I now belong to....

It's a strange thing, an odd realization that I am now a part of this community of parents of multiples. It really is a community. The support is amazing, the resources are incredible and you really feel a part of something cool, unique and desired.

It really is true that only parents of multiples can get what you are going through, and although other parents are an incredible support and the friendships they bring are irreplaceable...there is something to be said for the friendships you form with other multiples parents.

I feel like I got access to this secret club that no one else knows about, or that only famous people can get in to.
We have names for each other like, MOMS (Mother's of Multiples) and we refer to parents without multiples as parents with singletons.

We have cool websites just for us and we see everything in doubles or more.
The other cool thing is that being a Mom of multiples puts you in the group of twins or more. There isn't a special 'triplets' club or 'quads' club....more than two babies at once and you are all friends for life.

I have found an incredible community of MOMS in the blogging world...it's been fantastic and I feel like I could call any one of these amazing MOMS and have a heart to heart. I feel like in an instant we would all be best friends.

I met Samantha, (we actually haven't met yet)...we were introduced via Facebook through a mutual friend and her twin girls were born about two weeks after my boys. We have walked through the last several months of our pregnancies together online and have given each other tips and encouragement.

All this to say....this Mom of Multiples thing is crazy. It's intense and it's wild...but thank the Lord that because of it, there is a great and deep camaraderie amongst other MOMS and it's not about competition, it's about helping one another and supporting each other no matter your background, belief or location.

I have to say...it's just pretty darn cool.

One Month Old Today!

The twins are ONE MONTH old today! I cannot believe it! Especially since they've only been home for two weeks...it just is surreal!

We had a follow-up visit with our pediatrician yesterday and the boys are doing wonderful! They both gained 10oz in 7 days, which is an ounce and a half a day, and that is from exclusive breastfeeding!! So Camden weighs 6.13 and Christian 6.14 :) I was one proud Momma! They are both ON the growth curve for height...I got some long boys :)
We started Camden on Zantac to see if it helps his puke issue...although it's probably more a laundry problem than a medical problem we thought we'd give it a shot.

His newborn screen test came back with elevated thyroid levels but they are thinking it was a false positive because I have no thyroid issues and he is showing no symptoms. So we will just keep an eye on him and trust that all is fine.

They are both focusing so well on our faces and I feel they are both on the verge of a huge smile :)
They are fitting better in their newborn clothes, and this was about the weight Jack was when he was born.

Tomorrow we are doing newborn pictures, a little late because of the NICU stay, but I'm super excited and I hope it all goes well. Check out my photographer's website...Catching Memories

Well, the boys are swinging away and Jack is asleep so it's time for me to snooze!

Night-time with Twins

I knew sleep would be a precious thing and come in small amounts...but nothing can really prepare you. The whole "sleep when they sleep" thing doesn't work when you have a toddler. I knew this would be the case, and I do remember lack of sleep with Jack...but two babies...it does make a difference!

Here is our nightly routine, somewhat:

Last feeding is at about 9:00pm, takes about 30 minutes to tandem feed and then another 20 to burp and change if necessary (20 because of our puker Camden) So...now it's about 10:00pm and we hope they are tired enough to sleep. Usually ONE of them is...the other one is wide awake and needing lovin'. We're lucky if they both are ready to go to sleep.

At midnight it's time for another feeding....we may or may not have been able to fall asleep because one baby may or may not have slept between this last feeding. Again...we go until about 1:00am with the whole routine and then up again around 3:00am...unless they choose to wake at 2 1/2 hours instead of 3.

This continues and is only worsened if Camden decides to majorly puke several times in which case the time between feedings is shortened.

So...we're getting maybe 3 hours of sleep, broken up, through the night.
Yikes.

So....any suggestions out there for our night-time schedule? Something to maximize our time and get us more sleep? Hubby is up with me at each and every feeding, so we're running on the same amount of steam :)

40 weekers

Tomorrow is my original due date, and they are considered "full term" now and our NICU nurse said things will start to be more like "term" babies now (like hopefully Camden will come off the shield soon!) Crazy...I can't imagine still being pregnant...no thank you!

I believe we are destined to have high maintenance children....Jack was such a handful at this age and it looks like history is repeating itself! BUT Jack has turned out to be an incredible toddler...so I think the rough first few months were worth it. If these boys turn out like Jack...ok, I can hang in!

I tried the pump/bottle feeding thing. First of all I hate pumping, second of all Christian hates the bottle and third of all Camden puked twice as much after a bottle feed. SO...not a gonna happen :)

We've continued to tandem feed, mostly because they keep waking up at the same time to eat! Maybe once a day they are waking at different times and then I solo feed. They were going every 3 hours and now it's 2 1/2-3...even at night, but it usually is one late night feed and one early feed.

I'm trying to do the whole keep them awake during a feed, and after and then having sleep time after wake time, but since they were early they are a little more sleepy during feeds. We'll see how this goes...hoping to make night time much better for us :)

I have another appointment with the lactation consultant on Wednesday, so I'll be able to chat with her more on what's been going on.

They are so darn cute I can't stand it! I want to nibble at them all day long :)

Here are a few pictures...I'm trying to do better at snapping away!
Thank you for all your comments and emails, it helps to know I'm not alone!

Have I mentioned how thankful I am to have my sweet husband at home helping me?! :) He walked in the door earlier with a beautiful bouquet of roses...ahh I love him more and more every day. Even with all this stress and craziness I feel closer to him than ever before!

Professional Birth-Day Photos :)

http://animoto.com/play/o0DpRpOI7jS1SPj0Nfo0Xw

Welcome to my new home!

So here we are! The new blog is up and running! Thanks for coming over :)

I posted this on my old blog, but decided it's the perfect first post for over here!

Don't forget...once I reach 50 followers here I'm doing an awesome give-away hosted by Melanie at Only A Breath for a custom blog header and grab button!! WOO-HOO!

Ok...so here's what is up...

* Update* I tried to bottle feed Christian a couple times...he hates it. Takes him forever and he does not like the bottle! Breastfeeding. I am so darn thankful that I am able to, it was a huge prayer request of mine. I did tons of reading before I had the boys and everything I read was about TANDEM breastfeeding and how getting them on the SAME schedule was the only way I'd sleep or stay sane (especially with a toddler)
So I put the pressure on myself to do it. And to do it every time. And to do it well.

Well, Christian is a great eater. Latches on great and eats efficiently and doesn't puke it all up. Camden on the other hand still needs a nipple shield, kinda crazy at the breast, takes awhile longer to eat and is a MAJOR puker. I'm talking lots and lots and lots of puke. Doesn't matter if I take him off sooner, hold him upright for a long time after, burp lots etc....he is a BIG puker. So....yes...stress.

Is tandem the only way? If I do it one after the other will I be feeding all day long? Should I pump and then bottle feed? If so, when and how long do I pump for? Why should I do that when Christian eats so well at the breast? It makes me sad to think that Camden would miss out on it if I bottle feed. Do I need to just try something for a few weeks until they are old and try tandem again another time?

I know I am WAY hard on myself. But I'm going crazy here trying to figure out what is going to work best for us.

So....give me your thoughts, your stories, your tips and advice. Tell me what you did, what worked for you etc.
You can email me at krystle.bowen@gmail.com :) I so appreciate it.
I don't want to stress about it and I want to do what's best for all of us. Other than this things are going great!

They are the cutest little things ever and Jack is totally in love with his little brothers! I will get some more pics I PROMISE!! :)

For my breastfeeding twin mommies...past or present :)

First of all I totally accidentally messed up my HTML and that is why my beautiful blog looks weird. I have an email in to my designer Hannah to see if she can fix it! :(

Ok...so here's what is up...

Breastfeeding. I am so darn thankful that I am able to, it was a huge prayer request of mine. I did tons of reading before I had the boys and everything I read was about TANDEM breastfeeding and how getting them on the SAME schedule was the only way I'd sleep or stay sane (especially with a toddler)
So I put the pressure on myself to do it. And to do it every time. And to do it well.

Well, Christian is a great eater. Latches on great and eats efficiently and doesn't puke it all up. Camden on the other hand still needs a nipple shield, kinda crazy at the breast, takes awhile longer to eat and is a MAJOR puker. I'm talking lots and lots and lots of puke. Doesn't matter if I take him off sooner, hold him upright for a long time after, burp lots etc....he is a BIG puker. So....yes...stress.

Is tandem the only way? If I do it one after the other will I be feeding all day long? Should I pump and then bottle feed? If so, when and how long do I pump for? Why should I do that when Christian eats so well at the breast? It makes me sad to think that Camden would miss out on it if I bottle feed. Do I need to just try something for a few weeks until they are old and try tandem again another time?

I know I am WAY hard on myself. But I'm going crazy here trying to figure out what is going to work best for us.

So....give me your thoughts, your stories, your tips and advice. Tell me what you did, what worked for you etc.
You can email me at krystle.bowen@gmail.com :) I so appreciate it.
I don't want to stress about it and I want to do what's best for all of us. Other than this things are going great!

They are the cutest little things ever and Jack is totally in love with his little brothers! I will get some more pics I PROMISE!! :)