New Dresses & Silly Girls

Here are some fun random pictures of Lilly..some days we just get great pictures of one baby and not the other! Look at the cute way Lilly's hair sticks up...

Lilly was crying the other night and I had to run grab something in the other room. So I quickly handed her some toys and ran...Eric goes into the living room and starts laughing because it looks like I just buried her in all the toys. He said,"Lilly, where are you?"

Lilly just hanging out in my lap!

And here are both babies...being silly little girls!! In the first set of pictures, we were playing dress up in their new Thanksgiving dresses. I got these on clearance from Baby Gap and thought they were super cute! I went in looking for something completely different but those were sold out. Then I saw these little preppy numbers....

Look at Lilly's face below...she has started sucking in her bottom lip and making noises with it! Eric and I cracked up at this picture...she looks like the bitter beer face guy..remember that commercial?!! But way cuter!!

This next group of pictures is just the girls being silly in between outfits. They are so easy going. Eric and I are so lucky! It is just so easy to take care of these 2 babies, because they are genuinely laid back and sweet! They make having twins extra fun. This is Lexi below and then Lilly below her...

Above, Lexi is on the left side and Lilly is on the right. They were just so natural and gorgeous in these pictures.

Now, the pictures below are funny. I bought some "leg warmers" for the girls the other day. I saw a baby wearing them at the Olive Garden a while back and thought they were too cute! Unfortunatley, I think the lady who said that her baby was wearing leg warmers, meant that she was wearing "leggings", but oh well! Lexi is modeling what happens when I put them on my girls....the quick progression of on, to off and in the mouth!!

Sweet Babies

Sweet Angel Babies!!

So the milk supply is still low, but it is staying consistent. That's better than it getting worse. I called the nurse today to ask a question and she said that they could give me a prescription to increase my milk supply...not sure about that. I have a real fear of taking too much medicine, especially if it could affect my babies. So I told her no for now.

I heard that baked potatoes work, so I ate a nice big one for dinner tonight. We shall see! Other than that, I am following other natural remedies, such as plenty of rest, trying not to stress out, drinking plenty of water, etc. Thanks for your prayers!!

Here are the newest pictures!! Yesterday we had some tummy time with their little giraffe friend, that we have loving named, Karl (don't ask, it makes no sense!). Lilly looks like she is scolding Karl for some reason. :) Lilly is in the pink.

The next two pictures after that are some adorable close-ups of the girls posing for mommy!

Lilly laid her little head on Lexi's shoulder...such great friends!
Then today, daddy got on the floor with them for tummy time and they had so much fun cuddling! Here is Lilly pointing at Lexi as if to say, "She did it!!"Daddy and Lilly Bug!
Above is Daddy and Lexi...so sweet! Can you see the resemblance? :)

Next is Lexi looking super huggable...

This is funny...Lilly sucks her thumb all the time. Remember the Homecoming story where she gave Eric a hickey on his arm? Here she is giving herself one...you could hear her sucking really loudly. In the bathtub tonight, I wondered for a second what the little red marks were on her arm! :) Those will be there for a day or two.

This is Lilly all snuggled in her pajamas, once again, sucking her hand.

Lexi is perfecting this little look of "you gotta love me!"

One last thing...

I forgot to write this earlier and I debated back and forth all day whether to write it at all, but I feel that I should...

I really need some prayer for my milk supply. I get pretty stressed out when my supply lessens. They were on formula for the first day and a half or so of their lives, but as soon as I got anything from pumping, the nurses gave it to them in the NICU and they have been getting it ever since. Occasionally, I will make a little less for a few days and then it will pick up again. But right now, things are bad.

I know it's because of the mastitis, but it is stressing me out. I have not stopped nursing or pumping since I was first sick, but now instead of getting 8 ozs. in 15 minutes, I am getting maybe 2 ozs. The girls eat 7 ozs. about every 3-4 hours and I have run out of my refrigerated stockpile. I have a lot frozen away (thank goodness!!!) but want things to improve. Right now, I am having to pump, then go warm up the thawed frozen milk, and then wash all the bottles after feeding. This greatly reduces my play time with the girls and makes things much more complicated and stressful...did I mention stressful, yet? :)

Besides the fact that it took the girls until they were almost 2.5 months old before they would nurse properly, and I finally feel like nursing is really going well. I was so proud of the time I was getting to spend with each baby nursing. I know it won't be the end of the world, if I have to keep pumping and using frozen milk, but I really prefer to nurse them and do bottles every now and again. Just please pray that I do not lose my supply. It is important to me to keep them on breastmilk for a while longer.

This leads me to one last "first" that I neglected to write in the earlier blog...

3.) Yesterday, Lilly was sooooo funny. I showed the girls a piece of a cinnamon apple and said, "Yummy!" Lilly suddenly opened her mouth really wide and begged for it..acting like it was a bottle. She so wanted that apple. I guess when they get to 6 months, she will definitely be ready to try rice cereal. :) It was adorable.

A Week of Firsts

First of all, I just have to say, go Maddie! Laura, I hope she keeps it up for you guys!! Now for my week of firsts...

1.) This one is gross and funny too. I have now become accustomed to the girls peeing in their bath water as soon as their toes hit the water. I have a plan in place for this occurence. This I can handle...but pooping in the water, that's a new story. I have not thought about that happening in a very long time and just assumed it wouldn't happen. Well, Lilly let a good one rip last night and her mommy freaked out. I yelled for Eric to help. He was in the bedroom playing with Lexi. I quickly figured out a plan and Eric helped me out. The whole time, Lilly is laying there smiling so big and kicking her feet like a happy little girl! So I lathered her up again and got her all clean. Thanks Lilly bug!

2.) Then there was tonight and it was a sweet first that almost made me cry. For the first time, while starting to cry, Lexi reached her arms up for me to pick her up. She was in her bouncer and was getting sleepy, so she whimpered and when I asked her if she wanted mommy to hold her, she stuck her arms straight in the air towards me. My heart melted and I picked her up and held her tight!! It was the best. They have both been holding onto Eric and I the last couple weeks when we carry them, and that's pretty cool too!

I think we are going to move their bedtime up to 8 pm. Since they were born, we put them down at 9. It just seemed to be the best time back then. Now, since the time change, they are extra tired and sleepy and rarely make it until 9. I think tomorrow we are starting the 8 pm bedtime!! Yea!

Well I see a pouty face from across the room...gotta run!!

Antibiotics

I got into see the doctor yesterday afternoon and she agreed that I had some pretty good problems. So I started my antibiotics last night and will be on them for a week. I have to take them 4 times a day too..yuck! I am pretty happy to be taking them, but have never liked taking medicine. I worry about side effects, and of course, I worry about how these might affect the babies. The ones I am taking are the only ones given to breastfeeding mothers because it is not supposed to affect the babies...please pray that it does not! I guess I worry too much! :)

On a lighter note, I am sooooo excited about the hoildays. I can't wait to decorate with the girls and show them all the fun, special things about Thanksgiving and Christmas! So here are a few more fun pictures from this month....more to come, of course!!!

Tagged

I think I was tagged by Laura...she said Sarah E., so in case that's me (maiden name), then I will do this. Plus, it's fun and Jennifer tagged me months ago and I forgot to do it! Sorry Jen, you know how it is! :)

TYPE ONLY ONE WORD FOR EACH ANSWER. IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? bed
2. Your significant other? class
3. Your hair? Up
4. Your mother? gone :(
5. Your father? sweet
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? milk
9. Your dream/goal? mother
10. The room you're in? bedroom
11. Your fear? Scorpions
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? bored
15. Muffins/donuts? muffins
16. One of your wish list items? clothes
17. Where you grew up? Dallas
18. The last thing you did? Clean
19. What are you wearing? Capris
20. Your TV? On
21. Your pet? dogs
22. Your computer? On
23. Your life? Amazing!!
24. Your mood? Relaxed
25. Missing someone? Yes
26. Favorite pastime? Babies
27. Something you're not wearing? Jewelry
28. Favorite Store? Target
29. Your summer? Exhausting
30. Your favorite color? Red
31. When is the last time you laughed? Today
32. Last time you cried? Yesterday
33. Who will/would re-post this? Jessica
34. Four places I go over: Church, Walmart, HEB, Target
35. Four people who e-mail me? Dad, Eric, Betty, Laura
36. Four of my favorite foods? Enchilidas, Fajitas, Pickles, Chocolate
37. Four places I would like to be right now: Puerto Vallarta, Mountains, Paris, Ireland
38. Four people I tag? Jessica, Jennifer, Eric..I don't know anyone else with a blog besides Laura and she already did this :)

Bad Day and Cute Pictures

Well it's been a pretty bad day! I started feeling terrible yesterday afternoon and it only got worse overnight. I thought I had the flu, but now think it may be mastitis..not sure yet, but it looks pretty likely. Yuck! So all day I was thinking I had the flu and was contagious, so Eric stayed home from school to help out. This is a HUGE week for him too, but he didn't tell me that until after coming back home this morning. He is such a sweetie! He made sure that my water glass was always full and played with the girls all day. For some reason, they were extra sleepy today too...that helped him a lot. The reason it was so terrible for me, was the fact that I thought I was contagious and could not hug and kiss my little ones. They did, however, think my mask was funny. I just laid in bed while Eric played with them and made them laugh. It was torture because I wanted to spend time with them so bad and it made me sad not to be able to do that.

If this turns out to be mastitis, then they are getting extra love and attention tomorrow!!! :)

This picture is all my "kids" playing on the bed the other morning after I brought the girls in to visit daddy...Toby was up there too, but hates the camera, so he hid for this one.



This group of photos was taken on their 5 month birthday. They got these adorable outfits from Nana Epps and FINALLY fit in them. They are 3-6 months. So we put them on and decided to take lots of pictures for their birthday! I am so proud that they are growing and doing so well. I had a lot of anxiety with the bedrest and then the premature complications and birth. I am just more and more relieved every day. I can see how God has protected them every step of the way and how he continues to take care of all of us. Having two little babies at once also stresses the finances a bit, but once again, God always provides. We are so blessed as we have always been able to afford diapers, wipes, and anything else that the girls really needed!!

Lexi is in the hot pink headband and Lilly is in the white one! :)


Lexi up close...love the chubby cheeks and big blue eyes!! They have their daddy's eyes! The rest of these pictures were from later in the afternoon when we went outside to sit under our tree. The girls were hamming it up with Eric and smiling away.

This one is one of my favorites..Lilly has a new habit as of the last few days. I think she is trying to imitate a funny face I make at her, but we aren't sure yet. All I know is that she sticks her tongue out and scrunches up her face in a huge smile while squealing. It's too cute!

And last but not least, here is one of the pictures from the UMHB Homecoming game. We had just walked in the door and as you can see, they were all tuckered out! Lexi woke up when we set them down, but Lilly continued to sleep for a while longer. I will post the pics from the game later.