Tuesday, December 20, 2011

17 months (8+9 months in one fabulous blog)

It has been 2 months since we've blogged and I do apologize to those of you who are still checking this site and have been anxiously waiting an 8 month post. Here it is! A month late BUT the 9 month post is right on time-pretty good, right?!? I need to have a day off school every time CJ and Keagan hit a month milestone.

I just had to look back at our 7 month blog so I could remember what it was that we were doing two months ago and it is AMAZING how things have changed in such a short time.

  • CJ and Keagan are now eating three meals a day! Once we tried cereal again (2 months ago) it went much better and it quickly progressed to adding fruits and veggies. We are making our own baby food (with the help of Grammie and Mamaw)! So far we have tried and enjoyed: sweet potatoes, squash, avocados, broccoli, bananas, apples, peaches, and prunes. We also eat green beans and carrots but we have to be a little sneaky and combine these with other foods. The doctor told us that we can start adding in protein (yogurt, turkey, chicken) but we (Mom and Dad) aren't quite ready yet-this is all happening so fast...so, we'll fill you in with how that goes in the next post.
  • We were evaluated again by our early intervention team and both kids have now qualified to receive physical and occupational therapy. When they were first evaluated 5 months ago, they didn't need any interventions but they now both a little help for totally different reasons....
    • Keagan: She is stiff as a board-if you look at her laying on the ground, most of the time it looks like she is in "plank" position (legs stiff-feet lifted a few inches off the ground). The same thing goes for when you pick her up-she is always super rigid. Also, she still has some reflexes of a much younger baby (about 3 months old).
    • CJ: I call him my "love lump." He is just totally happy laying down or snuggling. He doesn't have much interest in putting weight on his legs or reaching for things. He IS rolling over from tummy to back (but I think he only figured it out because it gets him out of tummy time which he does NOT like). The good news is that the therapists that evaluated him said that he isn't doing a bunch, but what he is doing, he does very well! Apparently, Clayton Eric was a very lazy baby so we are hoping it is more genetic than anything else...only time will tell.
    • We haven't had any sessions yet with the therapists so it will be interesting to see what they do to help with these issues. We do know that both babies need to get stronger so I keep envisioning them lifting weights :) 
  • We saw a neurosurgeon from Children's Memorial last week to follow-up on our NICU stay. It went well and she said that from the physical exam both kids are pretty much doing what she would want to see them doing at this age-yay! We will be getting an MRI for each baby next month to get a really clear look at their brains. We knew this was coming but it still will be a bit tough...they will do it downtown at Children's and CJ and Keagan will have to be sedated. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that things go smoothly. 


I haven't had to write this much is long time! That isn't everything but I'm ready to start the pictures now so anything I haven't included will be in captions. I'll do the 8 months pics first then do some more updates with the pics from today!
8 months old


FORMER WOMBMATES (say it out loud)
I found these when shortly after I found out we were having twins and was super excited that they finally fit! 







Moo cows-1st Halloween! 


And now the 9 month pics:...a day in the life of Keagan and CJ
(pink sticker=Keagan  blue sticker=CJ)

I'm getting so big-over 16 lbs. and finally on the the 8 month growth chart in the 5th%!

I'm still big :) I weigh about 21 lbs. now and am in the the 75th% for 8 month olds! I am a preemie phenomena-seriously.
I sit on my own for a few seconds at a time!
I stand too!!

I can also sit up but need a little more help from the boppy pillow still. 
We EAT-it seems like ALL the time...
We like to put everything in our mouths-including each others limbs.
We PLAY!!


We continue to laugh and entertain everyone who hangs out with us!
We hope that you all have fantastic holiday with your family and friends.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!













Sunday, October 23, 2011

SMILE big


Big smiley babies...
CJ is about 18 pounds and Keagan is about 14 lbs! 

Another month down-seriously...where is the time going?!? CJ and Keagan were 7 months old on Thursday, October 20th! They are continuing to do well and are quite the happy babies! They seem to be hitting the milestones almost exactly on pace with their "adjusted age" (the age based on when they SHOULD have been born). So that means that developmentally, they are 4 months old at the end of the month. Here are some of the fun baby things that we've done this month:

My brother and I tried eating cereal for the first time! After eating it once a day for about 2 weeks and still thinking it was a game and not really "getting it," Mom and Dad have decided to take a break for a bit longer until we really seem interested in actually EATING!


I'm (Keagan) rolling over now! Mom and Dad still haven't captured it on film yet but be looking for a video post next month. I currently only go front to back but am pretty close to getting over the other way too.
I (CJ) rolled once a couple of weeks ago but have yet to do it again. This head weighs a lot...leave me alone :)  
Mom and Dad's favorite part of our 6th month is that we now LAUGH.   This is a pretty great picture of me doing it...don't you think? We included a video below if you would like to see us in action.


Friday, September 23, 2011

Halfway to ONE (3 days ago :))!!!


Six months old-holy smokes!! It is hard to believe. CJ and Keagan have only been HOME for just over 3 months so to realize that they have already been alive for half a year is unbelievable. The past month has been a good one and it seems that with everyday the kids are growing and changing. They have become super alert and will follow us around the room wherever we are. They love to hear us talk and read. And they absolutely think playtime is the best-it is when they are laying on their blanket or playmat on the floor with us that we get the most smiles!

Keagan is done seeing the retinal doctor because her eyes are fully mature! CJ has one more appointment just to make sure that his eyes have reached maturity and then he will be done too.  Keagan will be following up with her cardiologist at Children's Memorial next week to check on her open PDA. We're hoping that they will continue to want to wait until she is bigger so they can do the less invasive surgery.
The fantastic news is that she has been on reflux medicine for the past few weeks and it has made a HUGE difference in her eating so gaining weight is no longer a concern.

She has been eating 3.5-4 ounces every few hours and then sleeping 6 hours at night!! We are so thankful for that :) CJ eats 6-7 ounces every few hours and continues to sleep for 6 hours (he should be able to go 8 or more with how much he eats) -I think this might explain why is so much bigger than her...We don't have official 6 month weights until next week but our scale has CJ at almost 16 lbs. and Keagan around 12!! 



I'm ready for my close up...


These shirts should be changed to "Best Babies"


Bumbo fun. 
It sort of looks like Keagan is playing an "air saxophone" and CJ is busting a move.  It's the start of our family band.





Bottle + Mom = SLEEP


Dad snuggle time.


Seriously, how cute am I?


"This Bunny keeps following me"






Happy Boy!!!  Yes, I have love handles...


"Seriously, we can't get away from these bunnies."

Sunday, August 21, 2011

A Whole Hand!



Yesterday the little nuggets hit the five month mark! It has been a great month for them. We will do our updates in each picture caption this time around to mix it up a bit :)



Have we talked about how hard it is to get both kids looking cute in a picture?!?  It looks like we told Keagan to make a funny face and CJ's looking at her like she is a goof :) Thanks to Nurse JoAnn for our sweet onesies!! 

We haven't had the official five month weigh in but  he is floating right around 14 pounds! CJ  is constantly moving his arms and legs and LOVES his activity mat where he can swat at various toys that hang down. His core strength has gotten better so he is  holding his own head up really well-not a small feat for a kid with a large noggin.

This young lady has also been packing on the weight and is now around 11 lbs!  Where gaining weight and eating well comes very easily to her brother-it takes a lot of effort for Keagan. During the day, she eats every 1-2 hours if she is awake. She can only eat about 2 ounces at a time before she wears out. The doctors think this due to her open PDA but we are trying to get her bigger so they can do a less invasive surgery to close it. So lucky for our daughter who is a born snacker-when the girl wants to eat, she gets to eat!


Keagan has been very alert now for a few weeks. She is quite nosy and likes to know what is happening so her favorite position is sitting up. She completely holds her head on her own and Clayton likes to do balancing "tricks" with her to demonstrate this...

We had to get a pic with our new pacifiers-a stuffed dog that is attached to the paci-it is  pretty fantastic!  We don't go anywhere without them-they get swaddled into blankets and stuffed inside the car seat straps. The are called Wubbanubs (we got ours on Amazon). They have made these babies and parents very happy :)

We tried to get a shot of these kids with smiles on their faces but couldn't capture one this time around. I''m pretty sure that you'll get some good smiley pictures at 6 months. Kendra goes back to teaching this week so CJ and Keagan will be spending their days with their babysitter (Nurse JoAnn's cousin Samantha-we are so happy how it worked out) and Mamaw (Clayton' mom).  It will be a tough transition but she is excited to get back to the classroom after 5 months away and know that the babies are in excellent hands! 







Wednesday, July 20, 2011

4 months old



It has been the longest and the shortest four months we have probably ever experienced. It feels like forever since CJ and Keagan were born and we started this blog. Yet, it is hard to believe that it has been four months already...weird :)

Updates:
  • CJ and Keagan finally surpassed their due date of June 30th! We had a home health nurse visiting that day so that we could have a weight check...they never would have gotten this big in the womb but it is fun to know that the potential was there.
    • Keagan: 7 lb 2 oz and 19 1/2 in.
    • CJ: 9 lb 9 oz and 20 1/2 in. 
      • Can you imagine Kendra carrying over 16 1/2 lbs of babies?!?  
  • The last we blogged, the kids had just recently gotten off of their oxygen and monitors and we are happy to say that they are officially gone for good! 
  • All doctors appointments have gone well and we are happily getting used to having pretty "normal" babies where our main concerns are about poop and spit up :) 
  • Keagan did have to have laser surgery on her right eye last week because her ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) had progressed. It was done right in the office and the doctor said it went well. We'll know more next week but it seems that she is going to be just fine. 
CJ is showing off his muscles while Keagan cheers him on! 



These blanket dolls were the first things that were in the incubator with the kids. When CJ and Keagan were first born, the dolls were bigger than they were! 



Totally obnoxious but fun-we had to put on the tutu and headband since they have been fan favorites! 
At our 4-month doctor's appt. last week, Keagan weighed 8 lb. 4 oz-she is really finally getting some chub on her little cheeks.



Still the happy, carefree guy that he has pretty much been since birth-he is pretty easy to please...we just don't let him get too hungry! He weighed 10 lb 14 oz last week :) The kid seriously likes to eat...just take a look at his belly below! 



We had professional pictures taken last week and the whole gallery is up online (they are pretty amazing pictures!).
  • If you want to see more Hutch Nuggets here is how you get there:
    To access your gallery, please go to the website:
    • In the upper right-hand corner, click on "Client Lounge"
    • Enter your username in the space provided: Hutchinson
    • Enter your password in the space provided: Twins
    • *** Both your username and password are case-sensitive***
    • Click on "Submit"

    Lastly, we know that we haven't been keeping up with the blog very well so the new goal (just so you all know) is to update every month around their birthday with pictures and how we are doing. As always, thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, kind words and support!!