Marcia's blog

A mirror for Christmas

2009-12-14T10:40:00.000+02:00

Kendra discovered mirrors a few weeks ago and is totally entranced by her reflection.

We can leave her on the playmat for 20 happy minutes while she stares at herself...

So we're getting her a mirror for Christmas. See how she's smiling at herself... :)

Connor's smiles

2009-12-11T20:48:00.000+02:00

Connor and Kendra both started smiling around 9 weeks but in the beginning the smiles were so fleeting I was never quick enough to grab the camera so I could document them.

And, of course, they stop smiling the minute they see me approach with any of my cameras, even the cell phone.

Until I set my mind on it one Friday and tricked Connor by holding the camera to the side and just snapping away - later I saw that there were actually some good ones in the bunch :)

"okay, give me just a LITTLE break"

"I told you I'm getting tired"

"That's it - enough already!"

Winter in November

2009-12-02T11:21:00.000+02:00

On Tuesday 17th it suddenly got bitterly cold in Jhb.

We have a VERY cold house (the perfect summer house, not so good in winter) so had to dress up the children in their winter woolies to keep warm.

Kendra

Connor, looking like a gangster :)

More Kendra

and then these were taken two weeks earlier, also on a cold Joburg day.

Connor - his hands were BLUE from the cold

Kendra, 20 weeks, and nanny drama

2009-11-28T11:03:00.000+02:00

I took one "together" pic of these two and then Kendra was looking so cute I started focussing on her.

Of course then she decided no more smiles.

But this is her - intense and totally on her own mission!

Our existing nanny, C, couldn't start at 7 as I need her to do when I go back to work, so I've been interviewing like crazy!

Interviewed 5 in total, loved the last one. The last one! After discussing with D, I emailed the agent to give her the news and let her make the offer.

Nothing, no response from the nanny for days and days on end.

So stress!

Eventually Friday morning Ruth tracks her down through some creative sleuthing (friend of the nanny also on books) and she accepts the offer.

We can breathe again.

The nanny's phone was indeed stolen as I suspected (D called me Sherlock when I told him). She offered to start today (Saturday) so that we could get the training started asap.

I told C that I'd found a new nanny immediately even though she hadn't yet accepted so that we could start her notice period (a week) asap. Last night was her last time with us for the moment but she has to come back for one night in December if she wants her full November salary.

As I type this, the new nanny, V, is busy playing with the babies.

P.S. This baby thing is stressful!

Today I'm thankful for...

2009-11-26T11:22:00.000+02:00

my two beautiful, healthy children (these pics were taken at 18 weeks)

doesn't K look naughty?

Connor defending his space

it's the angle; he's not really that huge!

she sticks her hand near his mouth so...

he's "well, if you insist on putting your hand near my mouth, then I'm going to suck it"
Look at K's surprised expression

the best husband in the world
God, who supplies my every need
finding a new nanny (even though she still has to accept the offer and come start work)
my kitchen that is finally repainted after being grey for months since I burnt something I was cooking while pregnant
Rod Stewart who never fails to cheer me up with his raspy voice.
only having another 0.5 kg to lose of the preggy weight

What are you thankful for?

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to all my US blog buddies. Enjoy the turkey :)

Four months

2009-11-25T11:30:00.000+02:00

They were 4 months on Sat 7th and we had our check-up the day before. I'm funny like that; I like the dates very close together.

Imagine how happy I'll be at their next appointment in January when I can make their 6-month appointment on the actual day!

It's the small things in life, isn't it? :)

We always take the first appointment of the day at 10am. I just don't see the point of waiting with twins.... when one of them screams!

With all due respect to Kendra, she's stopped the excessive screaming. Looks like the paed was right - she grew out of it. She still has a Very Healthy pair of lungs but these days they're used for a real reason like hunger or tiredness.

Moving along.

D comes with me because he LOVES these appointments. It's actually quite funny - days before he starts adding questions to my list in anticipation of the appointment.

It also helps that we really really really love our paed.

Starting with Connor

He weighed 6,2 kg and is 63 cm tall - a very big boy. If we adjust his age due to the prematurity, he's on 73rd percentile for weight and 93rd for height. But if we consider him an actual 4-month-old baby, then he's on the 50-something percentiles for height and weight. (I stopped listening to the details when I heard how well he's doing because I was just BEAMING - it's like I'm doing the growing :))

We didn't have lots of questions about Connor - only the usual suspects - yip, eating and sleeping.

She told us that the babies are doing JUST FINE and that it is rare for babies to sleep through at 4 months, especially since these ones are actually 2 months. She feels it's good that they're sleeping longer stretches (K 6 hours and then 3 - 4 hours and C 5 hours and 4 hours) at night. And to just relax about it as much as you can relax when you just want to sleep.........

Also he will eat when he's hungry - looking at him he's clearly not starving :)

One thing I liked is she said babies can eat from 120 - 150 ml per kilogram of body weight, so not to stress if the boy doesn't have his full 900 ml a day.

But the best news of all - he was pronounced ready for cereal, one tablespoon every night! She warned me that he will drink even less milk.

Now onto Kendra.

Kendra weighed 4,2 kg and is 57 cm tall. If we consider her an actual 4-month-old baby, then she's on the 3rd percentile for weight.

Which we know since she is tiny and light as a feather. I call her my little baby doll.

The paed is not at all concerned about her because she's not vomiting, no diarrhoea, is eating nicely now and is perfect in every other way. I'm small-ish, D's tall and thin and in fact, Kendra is just like him. She said K probably has a really high metabolism because I took The Notebook with us to prove how much she's been eating.

Funny thing is on the Monday before the appt it's like Kendra suddenly realised that we have a Doctor's Appt on Friday so she started chowing down in earnest :) Over 600ml for many days since then and she's even done some 700 ml days (she's supposed to have 630ml).

We also spoke to her because K fell off the couch - oh, didn't I mention that? :) - and we didn't take her in to get checked. We monitored her really close for the next 24 hours but she was exactly the same as she usually is so I didn't feel the need. She cried but then calmed down when I held her, the same as when she wakes up to be fed, etc, etc.

I said that I didn't want to be one of those mothers who is at the doctor's rooms every day for the silliest things. She said that was fine because the couch was low and she fell on blankets, etc.

Big girl panties

2009-11-16T10:03:00.000+02:00

Normally I don't like driving if I don't know where I'm going .... especially when I know there are a gazillion roadworks.... and traffic standing still.... but I'm sucking it up and driving all the way to Broadacres for cheap baby vaccinations.

I've paid R1300 per baby for the first two sets; today I'll only pay R300 each.

Now we know what my big motivator is - SAVING MONEY :)

Feeding pillow versatility

2009-11-09T14:54:00.000+02:00

This feeding pillow has been WELL worth what I paid for it.

As you can see, both babies use it in different ways.

Connor uses it as an armchair when he watches TV next to Daddy.....

and Kendra uses it as a prop to model :)

They're 17 weeks today!

2009-11-03T16:57:00.000+02:00

They've now had three vaccinations; one more to go until 9 months!

poor Connor thinking about what's to come...

Well, it was horrible. Kendra's reaction this time was similar to last time (slightly more niggly but nothing major); Connor, on the other hand, was TRAUMATISED. He was quiet and out of it for a few hours but at 4pm exactly, he started screaming (and he's not a screamer) non-stop for hours and hours on end. Poor baby.

Kendra

Connor - does it bother anyone else that his vest is up around his armpits? I am trying very hard not to be a control freak so I don't boss the nanny's every move but oy!

that's how they numb their thighs for the jab

this was the calm before the storm...

And we have this same fun to look forward to in two weeks time!

Playmats and play dates

2009-11-02T18:13:00.000+02:00

Kendra was content to lay on the playmat first. Then again, she didn't have the patience to stay there for long periods like Connor has.

Here's Kendra - weeks and weeks ago... not really interested in looking at the balls, etc. but very interested in the frame!

Then David decided to visit Connor. The two of them had no idea of the other but the mums were excited. David is 17 days younger than the babies but he was born at 38 weeks so is way ahead of them.

In these three pics, the babies are 14 weeks old.

Our nanny trying a spot of match making with Kendra. David looks a bit scared :)

and here's where they realised what a rattle is for - making a noise!

Their first ride in the pram

2009-10-23T11:48:00.000+02:00

I waited until they were 11 weeks old before buying their pram - the Graco DuoRider for those who are interested.

We then waited another 12 days before taking them out, on a lovely crisp Sunday afternoon.

They're wearing their Baby Naartjie beanies which I love!

Kendra

Connor

More Kendra cuteness

2009-10-19T00:36:00.000+02:00

Kendra likes lots of kisses and cuddles so while changing her clothes or feeding her, there are lots of these moments...

Moments like this are rare.... so when she sleeps like this, we don't touch her!

This is her praying. When she does this with her hands, I tell her, "that's it, baby, pray and ask God to give your parents wisdom on how to deal with you" :)

Connor's thriving!

2009-10-17T21:49:00.000+02:00

When I first heard the doctor say the babies were thriving, I thought, "how nice of him to say that!"

Turns out it is actually a proper term these medical people use to describe babies who are doing well.

So here is my thriving Connor.

10 weeks - not a fan of bathing

11 weeks - protecting his modesty :)

he hates having his photo taken

so I have to catch him while asleep - look at his cute mouth

loves sitting in the feeding pillow -
very cute when he sits next to Dion and they watch TV together

12 weeks

in the morning when I get the babies from Mabel (night nanny), Connor's wrapped up like this :)

*sigh* "will you please stop with that camera?!"

What's wrong with these pics?

2009-10-12T15:32:00.000+02:00

That's right - Connor has a PINK blanket! And if you see their cupboard, it has a clear GIRL pile and BOY pile of blankets. No surprise to you if you know me in real life :)

Somehow this is not priority for the nanny as I often find this going on and it drives me batty. At least she doesn't dress him in pink!

Is this unique to my babies?

2009-10-10T16:29:00.000+02:00

or do babies not like the heat?

I told them they're African kids and need to get used to the heat - maybe they're like me? I also don't enjoy extreme heat.

Connor slept for a grand total of 30 mins yesterday from 7am to 7pm - he just couldn't get comfortable.

The windows are open, they're in short-sleeved vests, so I believe they're cool enough...

Does anybody have any tips to get babies comfortable in the heat?

The babies - prem medical updates

2009-10-07T21:06:00.000+02:00

They're 3 months old today!

The babies went to see the opthalmologist yesterday - 3rd time overall - and he pronounced their eyes perfect.

So they don't need to go back EVER!

This is so exciting - one less medical expense :)

We also saved one set of consultation fees at the audiologist as we booked their first two appointments together. Thank goodness both ears on both babies are perfect, including the nerves from the ears to the brain, so they have just one more appointment in January next year, a 6-month check-up, and then that's also DONE!

********************************

The mornings look like this at our house - it's one of the only times they are both equally awake and wanting attention, so this is how I do it...

and this is how Mabel (the night nanny we have twice a week) does it

Cute feet

2009-10-06T17:41:00.000+02:00

When I went to check on Kendra, look what I found...

I don't actually leave my children half-dressed. She was wearing leggings when I put her down to sleep but she wiggled out of them :)

The eye doctor

2009-09-24T20:07:00.000+02:00

I'm learning so much about premature babies.

When Connor was discharged the paediatrician told me to make an appt for him with the opthalmologist.

Which I eventually did.

Those appts are horrible. We went in an hour before our appointment time to have his pupils dilated. When the doctor eventually saw him, he used a speculum (otherwise called metal instrument of torture) to pry Connor's eyelids open. The poor baby was understandably distraught.

Kendra's initial eye check was done while she was still in the NICU so I didn't have to witness the torture.

Everything was okay at that point but he wanted to see both of them a few weeks later.

So this time I was clever and took Chelesile, our nanny, with me. The dilation took even longer than before (this time 2 hours and 15 minutes) so I took some pics while we were waiting.

Connor asleep on Chelesile's lap
"don't bother me"

Kendra, still for once

Kendra in my arms just after finishing her bottle

This time I was prepared so I asked him exactly what was he looking for. Apparently there are membranes and blood vessels in the eye that develop right up until birth. When babies are born early, those things don't always continue to develop properly and in some cases, can actually burst because the eye is working now that the baby's born.

Hmmm.

So we're checking to see that everything is normal (as at their 40 weeks gestation everything was fine).

We now have one more appointment with him in about 3 weeks time. I can't wait for this to be over - he checks their eyes for less than 5 minutes and charges us R398 per baby!

This guy only works in the afternoons from 3pm (lovely job, isn't it?) and I swear he sees about 10 people in 15 - 20 minutes. Trust me, I was counting... R400, R800, R1200, etc. :)

The many faces of Connor

2009-09-21T14:37:00.000+02:00

You can see he's not the happiest of campers when I start snapping away :)

Sweet Kendra

2009-09-17T13:10:00.000+02:00

this pink top says "friendly bunny" :)

How do you handle two babies at once?

2009-09-13T18:29:00.000+02:00

This is a question I get from a lot of people and the truth is, I try not to :)

I was under no illusions when I found out they were twins and knew I'd need lots of help.

So we have a day nanny Monday - Thursday from 8am to 5pm (she started on 1 Sept), and a night nanny twice a week from 7pm to 7am. Last week we transitioned to the day nanny working Friday nights for us, also from 7 to 7.

Yes, it is a lot of money (the night nanny was totally unbudgeted but we found out very quickly that we need our sleep to function) but hopefully they'll start sleeping for longer soon and she won't be needed any longer.

On Friday we went for their 8-week check-up (at 9 weeks because their paed was on holiday) and after Dion dropped us back at home, this is more or less what it looked like the whole day.

My left arm is under Connor, supporting Kendra's back while I try burp her
and simultaneously hold the bottle for Connor

Kendra drinks her bottle in fits and starts - needs about 3 burps along the way. Here we are with her drinking again. You'll see Connor hasn't changed position (thank God for one "chilled" baby) but my right hand is now holding Kendra's bottle

Pics taken by D just before he dashed off to work.

The babies' stats
Connor
Weight 4.08 kg
Height 57 cm
Head circumference 38cm

Kendra
Weight 3.14 kg
Height 50 cm
Head circumference 37cm

They're now on new formula - Kendra on Nan lactose-free because we want to see if it's the milk causing the screaming - and Connor on Nan lactogen "for the hungry baby" since he is easily polishing off 8 X 100 ml feeds, enough for a 5.3 kg baby!

Apparently the lactogen will keep him full for longer, which means he should sleep better! They started the new formula on Sat at 8am and last night woke every 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Hmmm...

However, Connor's just slept for 5 hours so maybe this is it?

Random baby pics from my phone

2009-09-13T17:44:00.000+02:00

Connor loves to stretch out on the changing table.
He's much bigger now - those babygrows don't fit anymore
21 Aug

One of my favourites of my two men
24 July - the day after Connor was discharged

29 August - look at the start of Kendra's double chin :) and the cheeks
- she's fattening up nicely

15 Aug - we're propping Connor up in the feeding pillow

10 August - I'd just bought The Sling Thing and I was testing it out

16 Aug - Connor fast asleep on my chest

Today is their due date and they're 8 weeks old

2009-09-02T16:26:00.000+02:00

At first with all the photos I'd look for ones where Kendra was not crying. Since those are virtually impossible to find, I've now accepted that she will have LOTS of pics looking like this.

The babies were 8 weeks old yesterday - amazing. On the one hand it feels like time's just flown and then again, those nights are so, so long...

We have a night nanny on Mondays and Thursdays. One of her jobs is to give them a bath before bedtime. I don't think she could find the normal babygrows so she dressed Kendra in cute clothes. This is also the one she came home from the hospital in.

She was still totally sleepy but sleepy or not, the attitude is all there - "back off lady, get that camera away from me" :)

And then later that day once she'd been changed, we decided to put them together. They are NOT into one another at all as you can see.

Connor is totally not bothered and Kendra didn't like posing with her brother either.

She gets more upset - see how red her face is getting. Connor still unimpressed - "as long as I have my dummy, I'm a happy camper"

We did manage to get one peaceful-looking shot later in the evening and of course, we treasure these moments where she's looking like an angel. Don't be fooled.

They're 6 weeks old

2009-08-21T22:43:00.000+02:00

Well, the babies are 6 weeks old.

Which means Connor's been home for 4 weeks and Kendra 2 weeks.

Kendra went for her check-up last week and weighed 2,23 kg - it was only an "acceptable" weight gain so we upped her feeds a bit and this week, her weight gain was "good" as she now weighs exactly2,5 kg . The new weight enabled her to be immunized. She screamed so loud the sound echoed all round Bedford Gardens hospital and surrounding areas. If you were in the vicinity, you probably heard her :)

Connor was immunized two weeks ago when he was 2,57 kg. I weighed him today (both of us on the scale, then only me.... so not very scientific) and he weighed 3,4 kg. Take off the heavy nappy and clothes and a more accurate number is probably 3,2 kg.

So they're growing nicely but are still considered prem.

Guess who this is?

Kendra, of course - the only pic I could get of her and such a familiar sight :)

And this is Connor

The first nappy I ever changed in my life was Kendra's and then Connor's. Since then, I feel like I've changed millions. On the bright side, I am now a pro. I think nothing of grabbing the baby and lifting its bum to sniff if there's a poo.
Connor has tried his best to aim his pee at me but I'm too fast for him :) He nearly got me today but my super fast reflexes beat him to it. That's a joke - I have the worst reflexes ever.
Another thing I am a pro at is the bottle thing. I (kind of) joked with D and said my life consists of bottles, babygrows and babies (maybe I should start a new blog?). I wash, sterilise and make 16 bottles a day, sometimes more, because when Kendra cries, I give her a bottle whether it's her time to feed or not. We checked with the paediatrician to see if you can overfeed a baby and she said no, the baby will vomit what she doesn't want/ need.

Kendra comes home after 27 days in NICU

2009-08-11T14:15:00.000+02:00

Kendra reached the goal I set her (by 3 days) which was to come home before my birthday (yesterday).

Incidentally, Connor came home 4 days before his goal of coming home before Dion's birthday :)

Last week we knew Kendra was about ready to come home because they'd moved her to a bassinet (which means she was regulating her temperature) and she was feeding from the bottle on almost all the feeds.

She still had the feeding tube though.

So when the feeding tube came out she would have needed to finish her complete feeds from the bottle for an entire day.

I got a call from the paed on Friday telling me her haemoglobin levels were a bit low and they wanted to do a blood transfusion if that was okay with us (of course it's okay). They went ahead and everything was well so she was "nice and pink" again on Saturday.

Then came the snotty nose.

She'd needed to be suctioned (gross!) before each feed because her nostrils were so blocked and we had atrocious weather on the weekend so they wanted to keep her in until her nose was better.

That happened to be Monday and is when she was finally discharged.

we'd just arrived home

displaying some awesome lung capacity - my word, this girl can SCREAM!