Avery and Matilda say "Hi"

Bonding with Mommy and getting big!

What a fun week we have had--especially for me--the Mom:). We learned on Monday that Avery was low enough on her oxygen dosage for us to do what is called a "non-nutritive feeding," and Matilda just made the mark yesterday. Basically up until this point the girls have been fed breast milk through that little tube in their nose, and I have been pumping like crazy. But now, I get to be a little more personal with my girls! Now a part of our daily time together includes one of these special feedings. Basically, I go to the hospital, pump until I am empty, and then I am able to bring the girls to breast to practice without drowning them--they still have to develop the ability to breathe and swallow simultaneously. They have both done really well with it, and I have been absolutely giddy over the bonding that takes place between us! They can't go too long without getting totally exhausted and falling asleep, but we are just wanting them to get used to the idea. What helps is the nurse will have their tube feeding start a couple of minutes after our "practice" so that they associate the "full tummy feeling" with being at the breast. So hopefully, after lots of practice the girls will get good at alternating the breathing, sucking, and swallowing so that they can nurse solely. Speaking of the girls' nutrition, I feel like they have gotten so much bigger! We just gave them their baths last night and they both seemed so big to me (even at a whopping 4 lbs:)). Recently another set of twins born at 27 weeks were bedded near our girls... and they look so small to me-- it is just so fun to see how far our girls have come!
Matilda last night... love the smirk:)
Itty-bitty Matilda last week

Avery last night--giving her admirers a good wink!
Avery about a week ago...



Holding both...
Enjoying my time with my girls...
Closer shot so you can see the girls' faces...they loved sleeping like this.

Our two peas are finally in one pod!!

Avery and Tilly are finally sharing a bed! It has been such a nice change! We love seeing them together, and we can't help but feel that they probably missed each other. This is a picture of the previous set up. Jordan and a nurse are at Avery's bed in the back there, and then Matilda's bed is on the right, closer to the foreground,in front of the curtain. We were grateful that they were as close as they were (it could have been worse), but it was kind of a challenge to stay at one bedside at a time-- and to make sure each was getting the same amount of mommy and daddy time.


Avery's giraffe bed, Matilda had one just like it... these beds were actually really cool because they helped the babies keep their temperatures, but now they are big enough to hold their own temps-- woohoo! And the result....... an open bed! Yes, those are two little babies in there. I have to admit, it kind of looks like a little jail cell... but we are just so thrilled they are together in the same crib, we can live with it.They look a lot alike to me in this picture... it's so fun to actually see them side by side and compare!Coordinated onesies, compliments of Nana...Jordan doing a "double hold" for the first time!Now that they are co -bedding, they are also able to co-bathe. Here they are keeping each other company in the tub.Hi Matilda!
After their bath we put them in these cute little matching onesies we got from my Aunt Julie...

All snuggled up, ready for bed. I absolutely LOVE this picture-- It looks like Matilda is having a conversation with an almost-asleep Avery. "So anyway, I was like..."

Eating lobster and getting smart...

Well, we did it! We have been married for a whole two years--and survived:)! It has been an absolutely wonderful two years-- I am so grateful to be married to Jordan. He is truly the man of my dreams, and such a wonderful dad to our little girlies. Since I hadn't craved sea food since before my pregnancy, we decided that it was definitely time to go out to Red Lobster (cheddar bay biscuits anyone?). After stuffing ourselves silly, we went and saw Get Smart at the dollar theater. HI-LARIOUS! It was nice to have an evening to celebrate-- especially while we still have such excellent babysitters in the NICU:) We spent the rest of that evening holding and snugging our cute girls.  It was such a fun day-- I can't wait to do this forever!


I found these on the internet, and they turned out to be the most delicious little shortbread cookies! yum!

Jordan looking drunk on lobster. We ate soo much and it was all soo good, but we felt super glutenous afterwards...
Us and our yummy desert. Have I ever mentioned how much I love being in the foreground of pictures?;)

We just can't help ourselves!

These girls are just too cute, and so photogenic! Plus, I promised to post pictures of Avery's first tub. So here are some more pictures that we have taken in the last little while.

p.s. If you do not like looking at pictures of cute little girls, this is not the blog for you.

p.p.s. Happy anniversary Jordan! Love you:)

Matilda & Avery

Okay, sorry for the poor quality of this photo. It is actually a picture of a picture... but I thought I would post it so that you could see what they look like side by side.

I love this picture because it actually makes Avery look somewhat "chunky." I was so glad I had brought these preemie onesies in for them to wear because, as you can see, they are almost too small already!

Little Matilda. I definitely think she has a lot of me in her.
Daddy and Tilly making one of their favorite faces.

Avery slowly going into the tub...
Washing her face... look at those cheeks!
Washing her arms.I love this picture! She is totally relaxed and enjoying herself until this rude awakening... but we have to clean the baby's back, right? They are both so good in the bath though... even if they really do hate it, they never cry!
Here Avery is thinking "I could get used to having my head scrubbed."

All done!
So, when we got to the hospital one night we peeked in on Avery, and this was her position. Just chillin'--feet crossed-- funny girl...

Some firsts...

Well, my mom has been BEGGING me for more pictures and a new post... so I thought I would post some pictures of some of the girls' firsts. As for an update-- our girls are doing really well! Since they have started on breast milk, they have only progressed-- weighing in now at about 3lbs. 15 oz.! Matilda is now up to a full feeding, and completely independent of any IV fluids. Avery is not far behind. In fact they are going to be taking out her last IV today, so she too will be up to full feedings of breast milk only. Also, because Matilda was able to get her IV out, she is able to wear clothes now and take baths in the tub! Woohoo-- no more sponge baths! The nurses told us that we could bring clothes in for them to wear--which made me really excited-- and then they warned us that sometimes they get lost in the laundry:( So while I am chomping at the bit to bring in cute clothes for them to wear, at the same time I don't want any of them lost, so we are just going to borrow the hospital's clothes I think. They have gone on a higher flow of oxygen, but since their IVs are out, they should be able to co-bed soon! I am so curious to see if co-bedding will help them progress even more rapidly, because I am sure they miss each other--they were womb-mates after all;). We have also been able to hold them A LOT more, which is such a treat! It is amazing to see how their heart rate goes down, and their breathing stabilizes when they are being held. There is definitely something to be said for that human to human contact. Here are some pictures of Tilly's first bath--hopefully we will be posting some of Avery's soon. Anyway, we are just thrilled with all of the progress they have made, and so grateful for the love and support of all of our family and friends. We cannot thank you enough for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!
Undressing Tilly for her first "tub"
They have you swaddle the baby naked so the warm water can be soaked up in the blanket to keep their little bodies warm
Washing baby's hands and armsScrubbing her backAll finished!


Tilly's first manicure
...and her first thumb-suck... like mother like daughter:)

Just because...

Here are some random pictures for your viewing pleasure:


Taking Tilly's temperature

Eyes open! This picture of Avery cracks me up--she looks like a little bunny with her hands like that:)
Tilly opens her eyes too!



Avery is always making the funniest faces-- if only we could snap pictures fast enough!