A FOND LOOK BACK....

Tomorrow marks Charlotte and Jacob's six month "birthday". It is so hard to believe that this time six months ago I was lying in the high risk obstetrical unit at Sunnybrook Hospital wondering whether my labour was going to continue or whether, by being on "hospital bed rest", it would stop and I'd be able to carry the twins a bit longer. It was around 2:40 p.m. that I started to feel more uncomfortable and that my tightening / contractions were feeling longer and slightly stronger. I'd find out just after 3pm that I was in fact progressing and by 4pm they decided it was time for me to be wheeled from the high risk obstetrical unit to Labour and Delivery - which was really just on the other side of the floor. 


So on the "eve" of the kids six month "birthday" I thought it would be fitting to look back at the past five months and share with you the milestones we've all accomplished since their arrival:


ONE MONTH OLD

This was a significant month for Charlotte and Jacob. Not only was it their first month alive but because they were premature they spent almost four weeks in two different Neonatal Intensive Care Units. The first 6 days of their life were spent at Sunnybrook and the following three weeks were spent at St. Michael's Hospital. So many changes took place from December 30, 2010 - January 30, 2011 including:

• Gaining weight - they went from 3 lbs 15 oz (C) / 3 lbs 5 oz (J) to 5 lbs (C) and 4 lbs 10 oz (J)
• Moving from an incubator to a bassinet - Both kids started out in incubators because they were unable to regulate their body temperatures. Once they got stronger and had gained some weight they were able to regulate their temperatures on their own in the outside world so they were moved to a bassinet in the NICU
• Learning to eat from a bottle - Before 34 weeks babies do not know how to eat from the breast or bottle so Charlotte and Jacob needed to learn how to suck, breath and swallow while on the bottle
• Getting their feeding tube removed - The kids were fed via a tube through their nose from the day they were born until three days before they came home from the hospital. Even while we were introducing them to the bottle they still received some of their food via this tube. 
• Losing the wires that connected them to their monitoring machines - The wires were removed from the kids 48 hours before they left the hospital. It was amazing to be able to pick them up and not have to worry about the wires. It was also a little scary because we no longer had machines to watch for their heart rate and breathing levels. 
• Coming home from the hospital - On January 28, 2011 Doyle and I brought Charlotte and Jacob home from the hospital. Although it was a very exciting day for us we couldn't help but feel a little scared. 

TWO MONTHS

Month two was exciting because we no longer had to travel to the hospital to visit the kids. They were truly ours and it was now up to us to keep them alive! The milestones from January 30 2011 - February 28, 2011:

• First visit to Dr. Greenberg - The kids have a great paediatrician at Yonge and Eglinton named Saul Greenberg (http://www3.sympatico.ca/saulped/) 
• Road trip to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania - Doyle won a contest at work to go and see a Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey game from Sidney Crosby's box. So on the Sunday of the Family Day long weekend we packed the kids in the car and drove 5 hours south to Pittsburgh. The kids were so well behaved and we enjoyed seeing a new city. 
• Gaining weight - The kids continued to gain weight this month. Charlotte weighed 6 lbs 1 oz and Jacob weighed 5 lbs 5 oz.
• 3 hour feeding schedule - The kids enjoyed eating every three hours and consistently consumed 3 oz worth of formula or breast milk from their bottles
• A new sleeping routine for Mom (Heather) and Dad (Doyle) - One huge milestone that Doyle and I had to get used to was our lack of sleep. We are two people that love our sleep so going from a full 8 / 9 hours a night to sleeping in 1.5 hour increments was an adjustment
• Passport photos - We took the kids to get their passport photos taken. Taking pictures of a 7 week old for their passport is challenging and the government doesn't help with their "rules"...eyes must be open, baby must face forward and there must be no shadows behind their ears. I think it took 50 pictures before we got one that worked for Charlotte and about 20 something for Jacob. 
• Adventures outside the house - The kids enjoyed their first TTC ride, walks around the neighbourhood and lunch with "Mommy's" friends

THREE MONTHS

By month three it was setting in that Charlotte and Jacob were not going anywhere anytime soon! We loved having them home and it really felt like they had been a part of our lives for much longer than three months. This month from February 28, 2011 - March 30, 2011 saw more firsts including:

• Charlotte's first smile - And no it wasn't gas ;) by mid month Charlotte cracked her first smile and it made Mommy so proud! It was the cutest thing to see her smile. 
• More weight gain - At each doctor's appointment the kids continue to gain weight from the previous month. Charlotte weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and Jacob weighed 8 lbs 6 oz
• Meeting their cousins Kieran and Quinn and Norah and Luke for the first time - It took three months but Charlotte and Jacob finally met Kieran and Quinn and Norah and Luke for the first time. It's not that we didn't want to see the cousins before this time we just had to make sure everyone was healthy before meeting Charlotte and Jacob and it took until March before this happend!
• Longer periods of awake time - Charlotte and Jacob started staying awake longer between feeds. We still fed every three hours but we found they liked to stay awake for a bit after their feed instead of just going back to sleep
• Stronger necks - Charlotte and Jacob's neck strength started to improve this month - Charlotte even tested out the Bumbo chair. We tried Jacob in it but quickly realized he wasn't ready yet.
• First NICU follow up visit - Because the kids were born prematurely and based on their smaller birth weights the kids qualify for the NICU follow up clinic at Sunnybrook hospital. It is a great clinic and the kids will continue to be followed by a group of physicians, nurse practitioners and occupational therapist until they are 6 years old. The team thought the kids looked great and were progressing well. We were told to work on their tummy time as an at home exercise! 
• Structured bedtime routine - We started a structured bedtime routine with the kids. This routine includes a bath every night and a bottle before bed. Bedtime ranges from between 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. This was one of the smartest things we could have done because it means that Doyle and I have a few hours to ourselves before their "dream feed" - so we are able to enjoy a quiet dinner, a nice bottle of wine and most importantly for me "adult" conversation. Thanks to our many friends for suggesting the early bedtime routine!  
• A new car - With the addition of twins to our family we quickly realized the Jetta was just not going to cut it as the "family" car anymore. So we said good-bye to the Jetta and hello to our new Honda Pilot - a much more practical family car - too bad it wasn't more practical on gas. 
• Activities outside of the house - We saw a few "Stars and Strollers" movies this month including The Kings Speech and The Lincoln Lawyer. We love going to the movies on Wednesday's it's a great outing for the kids and even more fun for Mommy! We also went on a few lunch dates and I even took the kids to Queen's Park to see some of my Press Gallery friends! We love our time outside the house. 

FOUR MONTHS

We started to notice even more changes in the kids over the course of this month. Milestones  from March 30, 2011 - April 30, 2011 included:

• More alert time - Both kids remained awake after their feeds and started to interact with us a little bit more. They would listen to what we were saying and follow us with their eyes / heads if we walked away from them. 
• Stronger necks - Although this was a milestone noted during month three we continued to notice that both kids necks were getting stronger and we needed to support their heads less when we held them. Jacob even spent some more time in the Bumbo chair this month
• More formula - The kids went from eating 3 oz of formula to eating 4 oz. 
• Solid food - We got the green light from Dr. Greenberg to start the kids on solid food. Their first meal...rice cereal! 
• Weight gain - Need to get their weights from the Dr - will insert them shortly
• Jacob's first smile - Although Jacob had made some smiley faces prior to this month we noticed that he really started to smile more when we interacted with him.
• First plane ride - We took the kids to Boston to cheer Doyle on in the Boston Marathon. They were great little flyers and cheerers!
• First Easter - We celebrated our first Easter with the kids. Grammy Pam came over for dinner. 
• Activities outside the house - We continued to go for walks in the neighbourhood, see "Stars and Strollers" movies and meet friends for lunch. We had our first reunion with our "twin friends" from the St. Mike's NICU - was quite the sight to see three sets of twins out for lunch with their mom's!

FIVE MONTHS

This was another exciting month in our household. The changes we see in the kids continues to amaze us. From April 30, 2011 - May 30, 2011 we saw:

• Weight gain - The kids continued to gain weight like champs. Charlotte weighed 12 lbs 14 oz and Jacob weighed 12 lbs 5 oz
• First time the kids slept through the night - Although this wasn't a regular thing, the kids slept through the night for the first time on May 6th. Their last feed was at 10:30 p.m. on May 5th and they woke up at 6:30 am May 6th! Of course the "sleeping through the night" didn't last every night but it was a start at least!
• Longer more alert awake times - The kids continue to stay awake longer between feeds. They are also much more alert than they were a month ago. Both are also very smiley too. 
• Larger amount of formula - The kids went from eating 4 oz of formula to 5 oz
• My first Mother's Day - The kids and Doyle spoiled me on Mother's Day! We went for lunch at Duff's, Doyle BBQ'd a lovely steak dinner for me and my mom and he gave me the neatest present - someone came in and did plaster 3D hand and foot prints of the kids. I know I'll look back fondly on these when the kids are all grown up
• Baptism - The kids were Baptised on May 29, 2011. We had a great weekend of visiting with many friends and family - including ones that flew up from the States! 
• Activities outside the house - Took the kids to Gymboree at Bayview and Eglinton. They weren't sure at first but each week we went they seemed to enjoy it more and more. Continued to go for walks around the neighbourhood 

It has certainly been an action packed and very exciting five months with our kids. We love them more each day - they both have very distinct personalities and constantly make us laugh / smile. Charlotte is much more impatient and demanding than Jacob. When she wants something she wants it now. Jacob on the other hand will wait patiently for his turn and is much more laid back...hmmm traits of their parents shining through??!! 

Thanks to everyone that has visited, sent gifts, called, dropped us an e-mail and shown an interest in the kids. Your support means the world to us and we can't wait to share the next six months with you. Now that I have the blog up and running I will do more frequent monthly re-caps - trying to remember what's happend over a five month period is hard work (I started writing this post at 2pm this afternoon - mind you I had a few interruptions along the way)