Picture this!

The boys are getting cuter and cuter by the minute. Of course, I'm a little biased too! I made a snap decision to go to Sears for some quickie photos tonight since my mom was in town to help me. I'll try to post one of their shots. I was surprised, they turned out so cute!



Let's see...what's new this week? Grabbing onto things a little more now and definitely kicking and moving their arms a lot more. I guess that means that they're getting ready to want to start playing with toys. Yippee!! If they can entertain themselves for a few minutes it would help me out a ton!! I also got some great video the other night of them playing together. I think it was the first time they really "Noticed" each other. It was darling! They grabbed each other's hands and smiled at one another. I hope they're always such good friends!

Grandma & Grandpa Psota are visiting again this weekend. The boys are so excited!! It will be the last chance we get to see them before we head off to Aruba for Aunt Julie's wedding next month. We can't wait!!!

Ready for Summer!

Here's a cute picture that Daddy took of the boys tonight. They're smiling so much now and starting to laugh a little. I was washing all of their little bottle parts tonight and holding Eli at the same time. I had all the little parts spread out on a towel so I held Eli down close to them so he could put his hands in them. He loved it! He started grabbing all of the little pieces and spreading them all around. I'm so excited that they're starting to want to play with toys and stuff now!

First week of school! (Mom's back to work)

Well, it wasn't so bad. I thought going back to work was going to be the most miserable thing ever. I hate to admit it, but when I dropped the boys off at daycare for the first time on Tuesday morning I actually drove away with a sense of "Freedom!" Of course, about an hour later I was dying to call and see how they were doing. Picking them up in the afternoon is still the best part of my day though. I miss them so much & wonder what they're doing (and what I'm missing!) all day long. Having time to myself is a nice balance though.

My camera battery was dead on the first day of school, so I didn't get a picture with it but they did take one of them at daycare when we got there. If they give me a digital copy then I'll share it. Otherwise it will definitely go in their baby books.

We took them in the pool and in the lake for the first time last week. Eli loved the pool. Ben, not so much. I didn't get any pictures of Eli in the pool, but for some reason got several of my "Crabby" little Ben. They both enjoyed the lake water. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of that either!

I also had to put a picture of their friend Ross on here. He has the most adorable eyes you've ever seen on a kid. Isn't he cute! I just loved his "Billy Bob teeth" pacifier too!!

Matt took some pictures of them early in the morning yesterday. They're always so smiley and cute in the morning! I think they look different (ie. Non-identical) in this picture. What do you think?

Enjoy your week!

Happy Memorial Day!!

<---- Ben

The weather actually ended up being quite nice this weekend. We spent our first night out at the lake on Friday and the boys did very well. I think they like the fresh air and everything out there. On Saturday we had a huge picnic at the lake house and today we had a family picnic & watched the race and stuff. Continuing with tradition, we all drew race car driver's names for $1 apiece today & Ben picked the winner!! We added his winnings to his new piggy bank. Good job Ben!

Eli & Ben ----->

<----Eli

So I guess the "New" thing is still the smiles. They're getting bigger and more regular now...and are still so cute!! Ben has all the sudden started sucking his fists. They used to do that when they were hungry, but now he just does it to pacify himself. It's kind of cute. I don't know if he'll eventually start sucking his thumb or not. Eli is getting close to rolling over, I think. It will be interesting to see who does it first. They both are kicking & moving their arms a lot more now too. They're also starting to get some little bald spots on their heads from rubbing and turning their heads more now. It looks so funny. I just hope their hair grows back soon!!

Here are some cute shots from the weekend. My camera is sort of broken, so it's hard to take many pictures anymore. I really wanted to get a new photo printer, but now it looks like we're going to need to buy a whole new camera instead. Oh well....here's a few that I got anyway.

Look alike?

Matt calls this one "Tickle me Eli!" He thinks he looks like Elmo.

3 months old!

We made our first trip to Cleveland this past weekend. It was also the boys' first overnight trip as well. They were great on both the ride up and back! We bought a new Odyssey Minivan (I know, "Welcome to the club!") last week and that made the trip so easy. They slept through both trips!

I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. This one is from Monday morning. I went to take a shower and when I came back into our room Daddy was sound asleep and so were the boys. Playing sure wears you out sometimes! Daddy also caught them holding hands one night after we put them to "Bed" in the pack-n-play. They're not used to sleeping in the same bed, but they did very well at Grandma's house. Obviously they liked it!

I also got pictures of Great-Grandma Psota & Great-Grandma Scicchitano with the boys. It was their first time meeting them!

They're starting to suck on their fists and grab onto things this week. Smiles are also getting better, bigger and more frequent every day. Ben has started making lots of voice sounds too. Eli does a few, but Ben can really entertain himself now with all of his "Ooh's and Aahh's!"

Tonight we're going to the lake. If we take the boys for their first big boat ride I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Baptism--11 weeks old!

What a big weekend! We weigh 10 pounds now and are smiling all the time. Mommy's heart melts every time!!! They're so much more alert now too. They love sitting in their new Bumbo chairs & are starting to grab at toys. I also pushed them in their stroller this week without their carseats. (The car seats snap into the stroller). They're getting to be such big boys!

I had the best Mother's Day ever!! Okay, so it was my first one, but it was still so special. They boys "bought" me some new pretty plants for our front porch and garden. They also got me a sweet little card. (Thanks, Daddy!) My favorite present was the huge smiles they were giving me that morning. Okay, so they're not very happy in the picture...trust me, they were smiling at one point!

Sunday was also their Baptism. We shared it with another couple who also had twins. Pastor Bloomenberg said it was the first time he'd ever Baptized two sets of twins. I think he was a little nervous! He did a great job though. We had lots of family and friends there to help us celebrate. The boys were so good. Actually, they were too good---they slept through the whole thing, and the after-party! The weather this weekend was perfect, too. We thank all of our family that came into town to see us. We hope you had a good time!

We've doubled our weight!

It's hard to believe that they're now twice as big as they were when they were born. They're getting so chunky around the cheeks and legs. I love it!!!

We're patiently waiting for smiles to start cracking. Eli stared at me the entire time he was taking his bottle this morning and smiled really big towards the end of it. I think he meant it too! They smile a lot in their sleep and stuff, just not when you're looking right at them. I know it will happen any day now and by their baptism next weekend they'll probably be grinning at everyone!

They're holding their heads up really well now, which makes it so much easier to carry them around. We also love the Baby Bjorn! Without that little thing I think I'd go crazy!

I'm going back to work :( on May 29th. We have an appointment today with their Daycare sitters. It's going to be the hardest day of my life leaving them there on my first day of work, but I've listened to so many of my friends who have done the same thing and I know I'll make it.

The boys got their first round of shots last week. They were a little fussy for awhile, but overall it went well. I think it was harder on me then on them!

Not much else to share. I'll have more pictures after the baptism!

Getting SOOO big!!

<------Grabbing onto a toy for the first time!!!

Well, the boys are now 8 weeks, and I'm officially past my due date! I was afraid they'd be 7 weeks behind a normal baby's schedule, but I think they're catching up fast. All the books say that they'll be a little behind developmentally, since they were preemies, but I think they'll be caught up soon. They're starting to hold their heads up and smile on cue. They also weigh over 8 1/2 pounds!!!

Watching "Baby Einstein" --------->

<---- Sharing a pillow Aunt Julie was here this week too, which was so awesome! Matt and I got so much accomplished. We even ventured out to look at some new minivans. I can't believe we're getting one! Anyway, she was such a huge help. Thanks, Jules!!

<--- Julie Multi-tasking!

Last night Matt and I had a breakthrough with them sleeping at night. I read a little more of my "Baby Wise" book and learned how to properly let them cry themselves to sleep. It seems that maybe we were holding them too much before. It was hard to do, but we let them cry in their cribs after each feeding and they both, miraculously went to sleep on their own. They also slept for 4.5-5 hours between feedings. Woo hoo!!!!

I also had to share this picture of my hot, "Spanish pool boy!" Actually, Matt was carrying one of the boys while sweeping the pool & trying to keep the sun out of his face. I just had to get a picture!! Matt keeps telling me to get a big hat to shade them while I'm carrying them outside. I jokingly remembered the sombrrero we had with the Halloween stuff & brought it out to him. If you can tell, he is holding a baby too. So funny & so cute!! (Click on any of the pictures to enlarge)

7 weeks old!

<----Ben

Hey! I finally found the charger for my digital camera, so I was finally Eli----> able to take a few more pictures. The boys are getting so big! I weighed them 2 days ago and they each were a little over 7 1/2 pounds. That's nearly 3 pounds they've each gained since birth!!

(Ben, below. Eli, lower right) Overall, things are going really well. Matt and I were talking the other night and we both commented on how much easier this all is compared to what we had really expected. The boys are sticking to a schedule very well. They eat every 3 hours during the day and every 4 at night. They're usually pretty good about falling asleep in their beds on their own too, which absolutely amazes me!

Ben had a little trouble with reflux last week, which in turn made him quite an unhappy baby. His pediatrician prescribed some Prilosec for him though and it has made a world of difference. Both boys love to lay and stare at the toys hanging over them in their little play

mat. Eli is even starting to grab onto them a little now. He loves holding onto my finger when he's eating too. It's so sweet!

I'm loving soaking up every minute of all of this. I get so excited when they gain even an ounce, yet I tear up every time I "Retire" one of their preemie outfits to a storage box. Let the "Hellos & Goodbyes" emotional rollercoaster of being a mom begin!

Photo shoot!

The boys are 5 weeks old now! What better way to celebrate than with a professional photo shoot. I wanted to capture some "Newborn" pictures before all the little wrinkles went away and turned to chub. Although, chub is cute too...we'll probably go back for a 3-month shoot too!

Check out my photographer's blog for a sample of some shots. I can't wait to see the rest!
http://regruthimagery.blogspot.com/ They are pictured under her April 1st post entitled, "A Happy Ending."

One Month Old!!!

Well, the boys turned the big 1-month last Sunday. It's so hard to believe...it's all gone so fast! We think they made a little mistake at the doctor last week when they said they weighed 6 pounds each. We took them back in this week and they were 5.11 and 5.14. The doctor said that was actually more like what they should weigh for being 4-weeks old, so we're throwing out their old weights. Yesterday they weighed 5.15 each, so I'm hopeful that they'll finally be over the 6 pound mark by Monday. I can tell they're gaining weight in their faces and legs. They're getting much chubbier now--& cuter too, might I add! (If that's even possible!)

When they're asleep they look so much alike! When they're awake though, they look totally different. What do you think??

(The first two pictures are of Ben. Then we have Eli & (Screaming) Ben and B&amp;W Eli & Ben. The last picture is of Eli.)

3 weeks old!

Here are some pictures of Ben and Eli that we took over the past week. They're changing so much already! We had another doctor's appointment this week and found out that they now weigh a whopping 6 pounds!! That's a pound and a half more than they did 3 weeks ago at birth. Way to go boys!!!

Grandma & Grandpa Psota came to visit last weekend as well as Aunt Jenn and Nana & Grandpa Terkhorn. We've also had lots of visits from friends and neighbors as well. We love visitors!!!

To answer the infamous question: yes, we can definitely tell them apart. We're 99.9% certain that they're fraternal. Eli is wrapped in his cute little frog towel (Thanks, Meko!) and Ben is the one below in the sleeper. I've noticed an adorable set of dimples on my little Ben and his face is much fuller and longer. Eli has a wider face and chubbier cheeks. He also has a mole on his left leg, just in case we decide later on that we can't tell them apart again!

The other day Eli found his thumb! This helps when the pacifiers fall out, but getting him to remember that it's there has been a problem. Both boys are eating very well now. Mommy and daddy are hoping the doctor tells them they can drop one feeding during the night very soon!!!! We've learned that they don't like for us to wake them at night to feed. If they wake on their own they're much, much happier! Nights have been a little crazy, but that was to be expected. Dad and I have a system down where we can usually get them both changed, fed and back to sleep in 45-60 minutes. That leaves 2 hours of sleep before we have to wake and do it all over again!

Both boys are asleep in their swings right now. Not sure how long that will last so I'm going to catch a shower (and maybe a nap) while I can!!!

Thanks for visiting our web page. If you haven't stopped by the house to see us, please feel free to come by anytime!!

Homecoming!!

The boys were released from the NICU yesterday and, after 2 weeks and 1 day they FINALLY got to come home! Upon release, they both weighed exactly 4 pounds, 14 ounces. Both are feeding well and should continue to grow into healthy, big boys now. We're so excited to have them home!!

(Christy is to the right, Karen to the left)

It was really hard saying goodbye to our favorite NICU nurses though. Christy was their primary day nurse and Karen was there at night. They were both so helpful and sweet. Matt & I and the boys were so attached! We're happy to have them out of the hospital, but we will miss everyone there so much. We promise to keep in touch and share pictures though!

PS. Just in case Christy and Karen are reading this, we wanted to let you know that our trip home was a smooth one and our first night was pretty uneventful. Matt turned his hazard flashers off once we passed Greenwood on the southside of Indy, but the grip marks from his hands are still present on my steering wheel. He was also the first to get initiated (ie. "Sprayed") by one of the boys. No really, he's doing a great job at being a dad. He's holding Ben right now, who is a little fussy at the moment. I think he got him to calm down though. Eli is asleep in the pack-n-play.

The boys will have their first outing tomorrow, as we have an appointment with their pediatritian in the morning. Wish us luck!

Ben & Eli 1 week old!!

Wow, what a difference a week makes! Ben & Eli have both been thriving very well over the past week. It's hard to believe it's already been a full 7 days!

Both boys are off all of their breathing devices and are breathing normal room air. Ben's lungs still have a little more developing to do compared to Eli's, but he's the better eater. Both boys are eating breastmilk through a tube and will probably start to bottle feed within the next few days.

Eli was the first to show signs of jaundice so they put him under the billi-lights for a couple of days. He's out from under them now, but Ben still had one on last night. He should be out from under his soon as well. (Pictured left is Eli)

Other than that, things are going really well and the boys have shown remarkable progress! We still have no definite time frame as to when they will go home, but we're hoping within the next two weeks or so. They need to continue to gain weight consistently for 5 days in a row and show that they can bottle/breastfeed before they're released. Keep praying for no new setbacks and we should be on the road home soon!

Most importantly, daddy and I have had lots of chances to hold the boys now. We're bonding very well and just love the little buys so much!!! We still don't know if they're identical or fraternal, but we can definitely tell them apart. We'll post more pictures over the next few days so you can decide for yourselves!

(Pictured right is Ben)

We have names!!

We finally decided on names for the two precious little boys. Baby "A" is now Benjamin Joseph, or "Ben" and Baby "B" is Elijah Matthew or "Eli." I couldn't really bond with them much at first, so it was very difficult for us to name them. I still haven't had a chance to hold them yet, but have gotten to know their personalities very well over the past few days. The names just came naturally after spending a lot of time with them Monday and Tuesday.

(This is little Ben, to the left. Eli is pictured below).

Both boys are doing remarkably well considering their size & age. Ben, unfortunately, had to go on a ventilator early Tuesday morning. Luckily it was not an emergency or anything that led to the change. The doctors just felt that he needed a little more help than what he was getting from the pressurized oxygen. They're supposed to slowly wean him off the vent tonight and tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!

Eli is our little fussy one. He keeps trying to pull out his lines and tubes. He also cries and gets very jealous when Ben's getting more attention than he is. It's actually pretty cute!

I'll write more and add pictures to these comments tomorrow. I'm SO tired now!! They keep us so busy here. The only nice thing about having babies in the NICU is the fact that they let you sleep at night. I know it's not exactly a trade-off, but we'll take it!

Good night!

33 weeks, 2 days: PSOTA TWINS ARE HERE!!!!

Well, I was hoping to write about my last shower this weekend and fill you in on an update of my last doctor visit but that all seems unimportant now. (PS. I got a picture though. This was taken on the day my water broke!)

THE BABIES HAVE ARRIVED!!!! Baby A & Baby B, both BOYS came into this world Sunday (02/25/07) at around 1:35pm. Everyone is doing very well considering the fact that they still had about a month more to "Cook" in my womb. (Guess I got my wish from my last post!)

Now, you should know by now that there have been little uneventful moments in this entire pregnancy. D-Day was no exception to the rule. Here's the whole story:

Last Wednesday I had a lot of uncomfortable, yet painless tightening going on in my abdomen. This has been occurring for several months, but usually only at night. On Wednesday, however it just never let up, so I called my doctor. They had me go to the hospital for a stress test & confirmed that I was having a few small, yet consistent contractions. They gave me a shot to stop them and checked to see if I had dialated at all. Doc said the contractions had not affected my uterus, so they sent me home and said to take it easy.

I felt great, no more contractions, nothing at ALL that would lead me to believe that these little guys were ready to be born. Matt left on Friday morning for a quickie work trip to Denver. He was supposed to return Saturday afternoon, but with weather delays to Indy his flight was cancelled. No big deal...until my water broke!

I was just hanging out at my parent's house. I had decided to spend the night with them because the weather was bad out and I figured Matt wouldn't get a flight home until Sunday anyway. We were just sitting in front of the TV and all of the sudden, GUSH!! Mom and Dad took me to Columbus Regional Hospital and Matt frantically started searching for any flight to come home.

The best flight he could find was one from Denver arriving in Nashville, TN at 12:15am. He took it, rented a car from there and headed north. The doctor at CRH confirmed that I had indeed broken my bag of water and they decided to send me to St. Vincent's in Indianapolis where they had a higher-level ICU for the babies...just in case it was needed. I took off in an ambulance and Mom & Dad followed.

En route, I remembered that I had left our brand new video camera & still camera at my parent's house. I was sobbing hysterically at this point, fighting one-on-top-of-the-other contractions (OUCH!!) and worrying that Matt was going to miss the whole thing, or hurt himself trying to get to me. I called my parents from the ambulance and told them about the camera saying that I HAD TO HAVE IT so that I could at least capture everything for Matt to see. They called my cousin, Rachel and had her and her husband meet us at the hospital with theirs. When I arrived, I was stunned to hear a tap on the ambulance window. It was them with their cameras already filming!! They followed me into my room and left the cameras with my parents.

Initially, the doctors here tried to stop my contractions. The medication they used worked very well and slowed them down considerably so that we could at least get some sleep through the night. The intention of stopping labor was so that they could give me a 48-hour dose of steroids to strengthen the babies' lungs. My parents, bless their dear hearts, were right here in the room with me the whole time. Matt, safely arrived at around 6:30 am!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was overjoyed, to say the least!!!

The next day my contractions started coming back pretty regularly and they ultimately decided that these babies were going to be born within the next few hours, despite anything else we could do. They scheduled a c-section because Baby B was still breech. Everything went very smoothly and at 1:32 I heard the first healthy cry from our dear, sweet baby BOY! Matt and I were both flooded with emotions, but before we could even soak it all in we heard another very healthy cry from Baby B...another BOY!!!!! They took them into a small room next to the OR for observation while they finished with my surgery. Matt got to go into the room and take a few pictures, and they let him carry them out, one at a time for me to see. I couldn't hold them, but I could kiss their little cheeks and sob all over them. It was truly the most amazing thing I've ever experienced!!

They are now both resting comfortably in the NICU. They are getting a little extra support/oxygen from C-PAP and have some IV's in their arms, but overall they are doing very well. I'm so proud of them! A very drugged-up me was wheeled in to see them in my hospital bed after surgery. It's about 10:30 am now and I'm getting ready to go over and see them in a wheelchair this time. I still haven't been able to hold them yet, which is why we haven't settled on names either. I need to bond and hold & look at them closely first before we can truly decide what to call them. I'll keep you posted!

32 Weeks!

Had another appointment with ultrasound yesterday. The good news is that everything is going very well and the babies and myself are all healthy. The bad news is, I DON'T THINK THESE GUYS ARE COMING OUT ANYTIME SOON!! I know, that's actually good news...I want to keep them in as long as possible so that they are big and strong when they are born. I was just a little surprised when I asked the doctor what he thinks the timeline is and he said he'd schedule a c-section if Baby "B" is still breech at 38 weeks.

38 weeks??? What happened to 36??? I guess I've learned to not trust everything they say at this point. I can sympathize with other moms now when they go to the doctor at 38-39 weeks and their doctors say they'll be delivering early...and then they end up having their babies at 41 weeks or so. It happens all the time, doesn't it!

Here are a few pictures from the scan. You really can't tell what you're looking at anymore. They're so big!! I can't tell you how much they weigh now, because that might influence peoples' guesses for the big "Baby Pool." Let's just say that they're measuring very nicely for twins, or even singleton babies at this point. I'm so happy! Baby "A" is head down, or vertex, and is resting comfortably on my bladder. Glad I could provide a pillow for him/her. Baby "B" is head up, or breech, and is resting his/her feet on Baby "A's" head. Also nice for my bladder.

Speaking of baby pool, if you still want to play, there's still time. I've had several people send their guesses to me, so I'll be sending Jenn a check after March 1st for all of their entries. If you want to do that, just let me know. I can't wait to see what the overall consensus is on what we are having!! I'm not sure what the pot is up to now. I'll have to get back to everyone on that one.

Have fun!