Our old neighbors the Tzortzos stopped in to see Ethan and Emma

Vicki and her daughter Agatha dropped in to meet Emma and Ethan today. It was so nice to see them. It has been way too long since we got together. We have been very lucky and had great neighbors both at our old house and in the new house as well. Look out Agatha if you hold a baby too long you will be wanting one (or two) :-)

Cousin Kayla, Dave and Abby come to visit

Kayla, Dave and Abby came to see Emma and Ethan today and did a great job entertaining and feeding them. It was nice for them to meet you, and we enjoyed the company. Thanks for coming

Where Twins Come From

Aunt Laura sent this and it was too cute I can't resist sharing. They are not Ethan and Emma, but they are cute.

Why Babies need Mommies

Ethan & Emma's Aunt Polli sent this cute video of why babies needs Mommies. I have to say though that I do not have the issue the men in the video have. 

Uncle Tom, Aunt Cheri and cousin Jessica come to visit Ethan and Emma

  

Here's some pictures of Jessica and Cheri with Ethan and Emma. They really enjoyed meeting you. Thanks for coming by and seeing us.

Ethan and Emma celebrate their one month birthday

I can't believe it has been a month already. What a great month it has been. Click on the video to see Nanc and I singing them Happy Birthday, but I cannot be responsible for any hearing loss you get from my singing.

Ethan's no longer tongue tied

I guess gettng his frenulum cut wasn't too bad, since he is sleeping like a angel upon returning home. Frenulum is the medical term for the small translucent piece of skin that runs vertically under the tongue, When it attaches too far along the tongue it can cause issues, We made the decision to get it cut so that he could nurse better and not have speech problems when he starts talking. Since we did it so young all it did was bleed a few drops of blood. :Last week at the consultation the Dr. had stated that I could be in the room, but someone from his office would have to hold Ethan during the procedure. Today when he saw how relaxed Ethan was in my arms he let me hold him and pull his front lip down for the procedure. I was happy that I got to do it other than someone that he did not know. He was a trooper and only cried a few little cries and his tongue was much more mobile immediately. He can now stick it out his mouth like his sister.

It was a crazy morning though, as at 5:30 when I got up to feed the twins I heard a weird noise like water going through pipes and went to basement to find out that the hose to refrigerator icemaker had split and was spraying all over haalf the basement. So I had to clean that up before the Dr appt at 8:40. Soaked the sleeper sofa and a bunch of other stuff. At least I knew how to shut it off and we were able to make appt. on time. Everything is drying out as I type.

Aunt Jan, Uncle Dave and cousin Lauren come by to visit

Cousin Lauren was back from college and stopped by to see Emma and Ethan today. It was so nice for them to get to meet her.

Grandma S, Aunt Laura and cousin Logan dropped by

Here's Logan getting himself really into Ethan's new rattle. His birthday is next week and he will be 1 year old. He is sooo cute.

Notice Grandma S once again got Emma to eat all her formula. We have reduced her from 2oz. to 1.5oz and it seems to be helping with her spitting up after feeding.

Dad caught slacking off on baby watching

I was only being a good role model for sleep and acting the part. I was not sleeping... reallu mu eyes only look shut. I was keeing an eye on Ethan all the time.

Donna from Kohls came to visit Friday

Donna that I worked with at Kmart and then Koh's came by to meet Ethan and Emma. It was so good to see you. It has been too long since we got together. Donna was a natural with the twins.

Grandma and Grandpa G visit for Ethan and Emma's 3 week birthday

Ethan and Emma are 3 weeks old today. Their Grandma and Granpa G came in to visit and had lunch with us. Grandma G says she doesn't like newborn babies as they scare her, but she did great with both babies and quieted them both right down when they were fussy.

Ethan and Emma are growing so fast they don't even look the same this week. Ethan's little cheeks are all plumped up and now has a double chin. Emma is finally getting a little fat on her body and her cheeks are plumping up nicely. Emma is just over 6 lbs. now and Ethan is just over 7 lbs.

Top Ten Things I Didn't Know About Babies

10. Cover that peepee or you get the weewee!

9. Wow... Poo can fly that far!

8. There may be a gas shortage for cars, but babies have plenty, and it's not easy to burp out

7. They go thru at least 16 bottles per day in addition to breastfeeding.

6. Yes they are on a schedule, Problem is they have us on a schedule, not us on having them on a schedule.

5. When they said we need to feed them every three hours, I didn't know it meant from beginning of feeding to beginning of feeding and included the 1 hour it takes to feed them. I thought this meant 3 hours after feeding ended, This means 2 hours of sleep is the most you get at one time

4. People are so nice, We have been overwhelmed by all the gifts, kind deeds, words and cards

3, 96 diapers won't even last 4 days with twins,

2, Twins means you never have to fight over who gets the baby.

1, That my love could expand so much for these two bundles of love. You don't love anyone else less, your capacity for love just grows immensely.

12 hours worth of bottles

Behold the aftermath of 12 hours of formula supplimenting the breastfeeding. I am the chief cook and bottle washer....and loving it!

Liz from next door dropped in to see us today

Liz our next door neighbor Liz dropped by today to see Emma and Ethan today. The weather was so nice that Liz had her office window open and Ethan was crying so loud to be fed that Liz could hear him. She decided to drop by since she knew they were up. She did a great job holding Ethan. Thanks for dropping by.

Jean from work visits with her son Cole

Jean from Old Navy stopped by today with her son Cole to see Ethan and Emma. Cole is growing so fast I cannot believe it. Thanks for taking time on your day off to visit us and also thanks for running the store while I am on leave.

Here's Cole entertaining us with one of Ethan and Emma's toys we received.

The Rogers visit

No not that Mr. Rogers from the kids tv show. It was Karen, Chris, Hannah, CJ and Halle. Emma and Ethan enjoyed meeting their Dad's cousins. It was great seeing you and I hope Hannah's foot heals sooner than expected.

All 3 of my sweeties crashed out

You can just barely see Ethan in his striped blanket in the bassinet with Emma and Nanc is taking a well deserved nap before we head upstairs. Can't believe this is the 1st day of week 3. Time just fly's (except when they don't want to eat at 3am ☺),

8 ounces in 4 Days!

Ethan and Emma each gained 8 ounces since Tuesdays appointments. That is 2 ounces per day and well above the 1-1.5 ounces that are the norm and we were hoping to achieve. We are thrilled of course.

Emma now weighs 5 pounds 7 ounces up from her birth weight of 4 pounds 12 ounces.

Ethan now weighs 6 pounds 7 ounces up from his birthweight of 5 pounds 6 ounces.

Grandma and Granpa Samson visited today

Ethan and Emma were visited by Grandma and Grandpa Samson today. They were a big help with feeding them. Grandma came along for the visit to Dr.'s office as well. We treated everyone to Dairy Queen on the way home to celebrate Emma and Ethan's great weight gains. Too bad they were too little for some ice-cream. They had to settle for extra formula.

Ethan crashed out

Not to be outdone by his sister; Ethan shows his version of crashing out in the bouncy chair while Mom and Dad eat dinner. Ethan is starting to wake up on his own to eat as he gets closer to his real due date. Emma is a little smaller and still has to be woken up to eat. I am sure she will start waking on her own in the next few days and we will have our hands full. Now it is convenient as we feed Ethan when he wakes crying and then wake Emma and feed her. Will be more interesting when they are both waking at the same time.

We go to Dr. tomorrow and will get weighed in. I will post with what they are at after the appointments.

Grandma and Grandpa Gustafson and Great Aunt Ruth come in for a visit

Grandma and Grandpa Gustafson and Great Aunt Ruth visited today and showed us how good they still are with babies. They were a big help with feeding Emma and Ethan and brought lunch. They also helped us get the shots of the twins in their first Harley gear. It was great seeing you, wish you could have stayed longer.

Emma crashed out after our visit to the pediatrician

Emma was crashed out big time after visiting the pediatrician and getting fed upon our return.

Her and Ethan both had grown big time. They are sparring with each other. Since Friday (4 days ago) Emma gained 6 ounces and our little welterweight is now weighing in at 4 lbs. 15 ounces. In the other corner is our heavyweight champ Ethan who gained 10 ounces! and now weighs in at 5 lbs. 15 ounces.

Both are beginning to wake up on their own for feeding occasionally and Emma can now lift her head off my chest when I am laying with her. So she is catching up developmentally with her brother. Mom and Dad are thrilled with their progress.

Fred and Polli visit

Uncle Fred and Aunt Polli came in for a visit to meet Ethan and Emma. They were a big help with taking car of Ethan and Emma today.

Off to bed after a big weekend.

It's off to bed with the two little bundles of love

They had a really big weekend with visits all three days. Friday Aunt Jan, Uncle Dave and cousin Kelley came.

Saturday Aunt Laura, Uncle Jeff, cousin Brian and his son Logan visited first and then Aunt Linda, Uncle Jim, and cousin David came later. Then Sunday Uncle Fred and Aunt Polli came.

We look forward to visits from both sets of Grandparents in the next few days.  

Ethan's First Bath

Twins day 8 - Family visits

It was a busy for Ethan and Emma today. Their umbilical cord stumps fell off, so we gave them their first baths. I uploaded small videos on separate posts, but here is one with cousin Brian overseeing the bath.

Dad makes sure Ethan is warmly bundled after his bath in one of his cute hooded towels we received

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Here is Emma and Ethan's second cousin Logan. He is so cute and thought our steps were the best toy ever. He would crawl up the steps and slide down on his belly with the biggest smile on his face. Emma and Ethan look forward to being his posse as he is the ringleader in crime in years to come.

Here's aunt Laura holding Emma after her bath.

Here's aunt Linda changing Ethan's diaper. Thanks for the help.

Meanwhile uncle Jim feeds Emma her bottle.

Here's David feeding Emma. He was a little concerned about holding her at first since she is so small (not TINY), but as usual he was great with kids.

Emma's First Bath

Uncle Dave, Aunt Jan and cousin Kelley come to visit Ethan and Emma

Jan, Dave and Kelley came to visit Emma and Ethan for the first time. Thanks for coming up after a long day at work. Ethan and Emma were thrilled to have their first at home visitors. Sorry they were a little out of it at first. We had fed them just before your arrival.

Ethan and Emma are gaining back their weight

Good news, after losing 5 lbs each both have gained weight over the past 2 days. Since Tuesdays weigh in at the pediatrician Emma has gained 2 ounces and Ethan has gained 4 ounces. This means Emma still needs to gain 3 ounces to get back to her birth weight and Ethan needs to gain only 1 ounce to regain his.

We were relieved they are back on track. Emma was starving tonight, and ate so fast she started howling and 15 seconds later gave me back a large portion of what she had gobbled. All down my arm, into my leather watchband and down my leg, and I was only upset because she did not keep it down after I was so excited how she was eating. Earlier I had her on the bed and was changing her poopy diaper when I reached for a wipe I heard a noise and she was squirting out poopies several inches out straight a my face, luckily I was out of range. I laughed my butt off. Then twice today Ethan did the little boy pee as I am changed. Nothing like a diaper and outfit lasting 60 secongs. Who would have thought I would not care about being "annointed" repeatedly all day. They fill us with such love we don't care.

Nanc is having some discomfort with the incision and now has to start feeding more like 2 hours than every 3 since the babies are really starting to nurse and want to be fed more often than the 3 hours feedings with formula. As usual she is super-woman and never complains. We go to her Dr. for week after delivery check-up tomorrow.

Got to go, it's only 15 minutes till the midnight feeding.

It's been a great (and long 2 days)

We went to see the pediatrician for the 1st time this Tues and all went well other than both Emma and Ethan lost 5 ounces. This is normal for newborms to lose up to 10% of their birth weights in 1st week or two. We go back Thurs to see if they have lost anymore. If too much they would have to take in for feeding. Think things will be ok, will let you know if not.

Emma was really worrying Nanc and I Tues night and Wed. a..m After the trip to the pediatrician and the trip there and back she was totally worn out, lethargic and would not stay awake to eat. We were beside ourselves and then finally little angel 1 got awake and eating around noon. Then ate pretty darn well 3 times before 10pm. and staying awake and/or alert for long periods of time. We were really relieved.

Ethan is great allowing us time to take care of his smaller twin by being very low maintenance and eating well. He is now nursing and Nanc's ,milk is letting down and we are hopeful he has gained back some of the weight. He is content to lay and look around and amuse himself.

Got to get to bed and get a hour of sleep before next feeding. Only getting about 4 hours per day so far. It will get better, and we would not trade places with anyone. It is so great having them in our lives.

Will post more after dr. appointments tomorrow. Hope it does not knock Emma out again.

Crashed out

I don't know who was more tired. Ethan or me. I just got back from running to Walgreens for the 2nd time to get Nanc's prescription and was giving Ethan some snuggle time inside my shirt and I slmost fell a sleep.

We made it home!

Well Nancy's Dr. finally arrived at 6:30 and released her so we could leave. Check out how little and cute the babies look in the bassinet we brought downstairs upon arrival so Nanc would not have to truck up and down the stairs. Thanks Dave and Jen for passing it along once the girls we done with it.

Emma and Ethan in car seats ready to leave hospital

Belted in and ready to go. They slept like angels on the way home. We were so scared since they were so quiet. We had to use pacifiers for the first time in their lives b/c the cried so much when we first placed them in the car seats

Comments should work now

Just select anonymous from the list of accounts under comments section and you should be able to post comments. There was a "glitch" that did not allow anonymous comments. Think I have it fixed.

-John

Goodnight for Day 3

Dad did double duty while Nanc was busy. Looks like both should be coming home tomorrow. What a perfect birthday present that would be.

Arlene and Steve visit the twins

Our friends and neighbors Steve and Arlene came by to visit the babies. It was so nice of them to come by and see how everyone was doing. Thanks for dropping by.

They were womb-mates and now they are room-mates

First they were womb-mates for 9 months and now they are room-mates. They finally are letting both babies stay in the room with us all the time. Emma has graduated from the incubator and light-therapy for bellyrubin to just the cradle at least a day earlier than predicted.

Grandma Gustafson and Great Aunt Ruth visit Emma & Ethan in the hospital

Mom always says she is no good with newborns, but she took to feeding Ethan like a pro. It was really nice of her and my Aunt Ruth to make the long 2.5 hour trip in to meet the babies. Grandpa Carl will be in as soon as his killer cold is gone, he does not want to make the babies sick.

Aunt Ruth also was a pro at feeding Emma. Thanks so much to both of you for coming in.