Jan 8th, 2008

Emerson and Stella on New Year's Eve
Mommy, Emerson, and Stella resting

Emerson and Stella had a busy day! We went to the doctor for their four month shots. Emerson weighs 7lbs 11oz and Stella weighs 7lbs 1oz! They weren't very happy about getting all of their shots, but they are tough. Over the last week, both girls have had some problems with acid reflux, and the doctor has put them both on Zantac. We are hopeful that the Zantac will help. Last week, we tried changing the girls' schedule a little bit. They are now eating every 3 hours during the day, and then they sleep for 6 hours during the night! That extra sleep has been great for mommy and daddy! The girls didn't feel up to having their pictures taken today, but these are pictures from last week.

Dec. 30th, 2007

The girls had a great first Christmas! Now, we just need to figure out where we are going to put all of their toys and clothes! Thanks to everyone for all of the great gifts! There is not much to report right now. Because of the holiday, we didn't take them to be weighed last week. If I had to guess, I would bet that Emerson is over 7lbs and Stella is around 6.5lbs. I think we will try to have them weighed on Wednesday. If we have them weighed, we will be sure to post their exact weights. Stella has started smiling and laughing more. Emerson is smiling some, but she seems to be a little bit more laid back than Stella. We are starting to have a lot of fun with them, as their personalities are starting to emerge. One of our friends came over and took Christmas pictures for us (thanks, Sharlla!) Here are a few of them:

Stella

Emerson Emerson and Stella

Dec. 23rd, 2007

These pictures were just too cute not to share. When the girls came home, they were being swaddled and we put them in bed right next to each other. We have stopped swaddling them at night because they have been kicking out of their blankets and/or scooting down and covering their faces. Then we had to stop letting them lay right next to each other because they were rolling into each other. Last night, we put them a in their crib with about two feet in between them with no blankets or boundaries (for safety reasons.) We fed them at 6am and went back to bed. When we got up for their next feeding, they had both managed to scoot all of the way down to the bottom of the crib and had turned sideways! We had to take pictures because it was so cute. In the NICU, they were given boundaries to help them sleep better and feel secure. At home, we have not given them those boundaries because we don't have monitors and are concerned about them rolling over or turning their heads. Obviously, the girls are still looking for those boundaries. We are going to have to figure out something different today....

Emerson (eyes open) and Stella (eyes closed)
Stella and Emerson

Dec. 22nd, 2007

SIX POUNDS!

We are officially over six pounds, and we have worked hard for every ounce! Emerson weighs 6 lbs 6 oz and is 18 1/2 inches long! Stella weighs 6 lbs and is 17 3/8 inches long! It is so hard to believe that they shouldn't even be here yet! Christmas Eve was their due date, and they will be 15 weeks old! We are having a lot of fun with our girls, and our boxer, Rambo, is starting to show a lot of maternal interest in them (see pictures below). They are both starting to smile more, and Stella has laughed twice! As you can probably guess from their weights, they are both eating very well. We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas! Merry Christmas!

Tummy time for Emerson and Rambo
Rambo loves Emerson
Rambo loves Stella

Tummy time for Rambo and Stella

Dec. 16th, 2007

The girls are three months old now! We went back to the eye doctor on Friday, and the doctor was impressed with the progress that they have made. The eye doctor didn't feel like the girls will need any surgical intervention, and we don't have to go back until May! The girls also survived their first ice storm, snow storm, and power outage this week...welcome to Missouri! As we are approaching their due date, they are starting to eat well and seem to be growing before our eyes. It is hard to believe that the girls still shouldn't even be here yet, since we have watched them grow for the last three months. We are so thankful for all of the help and support that everyone has given us. The girls would also like to say, "Happy birthday, Brittni!"

Daddy and Emerson
Emerson

Daddy and Stella

Stella

Dec. 13th, 2007

To all of our faithful followers: I am sorry! I know James said we would try to post weekly, and I know it has been longer than a week. Everything is still crazy, and the blog has been the farthest thing from my mind! The girls are fabulous. They have officially gained a pound since they have been home! Last week Emerson weighed 5 lbs 5 oz and Stella weighed 5 lbs even. Today, Emerson weighed 5 lbs 14 oz and Stella weighed 5 lbs 7.5 oz! They are getting so big. I swear you can see them growing! We are officially retiring our preemie clothes and moving into newborns! We are also on a four hour feeding schedule most of the time (which is so nice.) My cousin is here from Alabama for a few weeks, and the extra set of hands has made a huge difference! We have our last appointment with the eye doctor tomorrow, hopefully everything will be okay. Having the girls home with us has been a little bit stressful, but it has also been amazing. It is so nice to see them all of the time and not driving to Columbia everyday is also very nice. Although, after having them home for over two weeks, I will admit that I am starting to miss our NICU friends. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful nurses, doctors, techs, RTs, PTs and OTs that we met during our stay at the hospital. They all helped get us through some of the hardest days of our lives, and made a difficult situation bearable. Thank you Boone Hospital staff! Thank you for giving us two beautiful little girls!

Stella

Emerson

Dec. 4, 2007

The girls are doing great! They are keeping us busy and keeping us entertained! We went back to the eye doctor on Monday, and we will have to go back again in a few weeks for (hopefully) our last appointment. Emerson's eyes have improved but not as much as the doctor would like. However, he doesn't feel that she will have any long term problems from it. Stella's eyes have also improved and are just a little bit more mature than Emerson's. We are so thankful for all of the progress that the girls have made and we know that they truly are miracles. At this point, it appears that the girls will not have any long term issues from prematurity! We are blessed! James took videos of us giving the girls a bath. Here they are:

Stella

Emerson

Papaw Marty resting with Stella