Monday, February 22, 2010
Differences between Anderson and Samuel
Anderson has 10 teeth, Samuel has none.
Samuel is taller and has longer feet, Anderson is shorter and has shorter feet.
Anderson weighs more, Samuel weighs less.
Anderson is calm, Samuel is WILD. (just like they were in the womb)
Anderson had baby acne, Samuel did not.
Anderson had cradle cap, Samuel did not.
Samuel can crawl, Anderson cannot.
Samuel has green/hazel eyes, Anderson has brown eyes.
Samuel has blonde hair, Anderson has brown hair.
Anderson sleeps better than Samuel.
Anderson eats better than Samuel.
Samuel has reflux, Anderson does not.
Samuel has a high pitched cry, Anderson has a low pitched cry. (Samuel squeels and Anderson grunts!)
Anderson loves to be cuddled, Samuel likes to be free and do his own thing!
Anderson has eczema, Samuel does not.
And I'm sure there are many more that I'm just missing at the moment!
They do both love their stuffed animals though. Anderson has a monster, and Samuel has a puppy. Very fitting I think!
It just amazes me how many differences there are between them! I thought they may be more similar since conditions in the womb were the same for them, but it just really shows how different people (even siblings) are even before they are born! Before I had kids I thought.....how different can babies really be? Sure, there may be a few differences but they all basically just eat, poop, sleep, and play, right? Wow, was I wrong! When I look back on how Audrey was as a baby, she was totally different than Anderson and Samuel, too! I'm so thankful that I have such beautiful and distinctively different children. :)
Samuel is taller and has longer feet, Anderson is shorter and has shorter feet.
Anderson weighs more, Samuel weighs less.
Anderson is calm, Samuel is WILD. (just like they were in the womb)
Anderson had baby acne, Samuel did not.
Anderson had cradle cap, Samuel did not.
Samuel can crawl, Anderson cannot.
Samuel has green/hazel eyes, Anderson has brown eyes.
Samuel has blonde hair, Anderson has brown hair.
Anderson sleeps better than Samuel.
Anderson eats better than Samuel.
Samuel has reflux, Anderson does not.
Samuel has a high pitched cry, Anderson has a low pitched cry. (Samuel squeels and Anderson grunts!)
Anderson loves to be cuddled, Samuel likes to be free and do his own thing!
Anderson has eczema, Samuel does not.
And I'm sure there are many more that I'm just missing at the moment!
They do both love their stuffed animals though. Anderson has a monster, and Samuel has a puppy. Very fitting I think!
It just amazes me how many differences there are between them! I thought they may be more similar since conditions in the womb were the same for them, but it just really shows how different people (even siblings) are even before they are born! Before I had kids I thought.....how different can babies really be? Sure, there may be a few differences but they all basically just eat, poop, sleep, and play, right? Wow, was I wrong! When I look back on how Audrey was as a baby, she was totally different than Anderson and Samuel, too! I'm so thankful that I have such beautiful and distinctively different children. :)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
An amazing thing happened today
A LOT has been going on lately and I have not been able to keep up my blog...so I'm trying to get back into it.
Samuel and Anderson did both end up getting helmets to help correct their head shape. It's common in twins to need this treatment since they get so squished in the womb that their heads become misshapen since there's limited space....and I did deliver them full term with almost 14 pounds of baby in there! The problem? Each band costs $2000 (this is the DISCOUNTED price...they usually run 3200 or 3600...can't remember which) and is NOT covered by insurance. We found out about a week ago that Anderson will also need a second band to complete his head shape correction which totals $6000 so far out of our pocket for helmets. On top of that in the past two months we have payed for our sewer to be unclogged and a brand new water heater...neither of these are inexpensive! We are also just had our downstairs heater fixed today....it was freezing outside and we had no heat downstairs.
I drive and hour and a half each way to the babies' helmet appointments and they have them every Thursday and take up most of my day. As I had plenty of time to ponder how I was going to come up with the additional $2000 for Anderson's next helmet (that he MUST have measurements for done next week and they won't even start the process until you have paid), I found myself praying about the situation. I have pondered about 4 different ways we could make this work on top of all our other expenses (i.e. we are still paying for Audrey's surgery each month as well as the twins' delivery) While I could have been very depressed about the situation (and sometimes am) this time I wasn't. I was just THANKFUL.....thankful that I live in a place where my babies CAN have this done. The ladies at the office tell me that people come from not only different states because it is the closest place but even different countries because this technology is not available where they are at. The families just sacrifice and will live in the U.S. for the 3-6 months it take for the correction to be completed. I drive a long way, but I always hear other people in the waiting room who have come so much farther. The lady I met today in the waiting room has to drive 3 hours one way each week! I was also thankful that I have FOUR different options on how I am going to try to pay for this. Basically....I know we'll find the money somehow and I'm grateful for that. I'm also grateful that I did go full term with my babies and that this is the problem we are facing instead of the same money we could be spending on NICU time they may have had if they were born earlier as MOST sets of twins are. I'd rather be in this situation. I'm also so grateful just to have my babies. It seems so long ago, but it wasn't THAT long ago that I thought I wouldn't be able to have any children at all....EVER! So, my prayer was mainly about THANKS! Thanks for the home I live in now that comfortably houses all my children - we moved in just 2 months before they arrived. Our previous home would have never held us all. So, even though there's bills to pay on repairing things for this house...I am so grateful for this lovely home! I'm so thankful that I am a stay at home mommy and I can take them each and every week to this appt. and that I can take Audrey to the Dr. whenever I need to and not have to worry about taking time off of work and how much sick time I've already used up or vacation days. It is my JOB to take care of them and even though its hard ...... I really do love it. I LOVE being their mommy and being the one who is there for them all day long....and I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. I'm so glad I have a true partner in life. He really is my best friend. :)
Normally when I pray, my prayers are full of thanks because we're asked to do so. Even if I had a terrible day, whenever it was time to pray, I would begrudgingly pray about what I was thankful for because its what you're supposed to do. Some people find this strange because its not the way they pray (I'm shocked at how many people thought this was strange until I found out I was in the minority at a bible study not too long ago.) but I hardly ever pray for anything about myself.....ever. I can think of so many more important things than myself to pray about. Whenever I pray....I think about my niece, Lindsey, who has Tay-Sachs and then suddenly all my concerns seem trite and absolutely ridiculus to pray to the Creator of the world about! I know some people say....pray about everything....even if you lose your keys or are having a bad hair day....but my relationship with God just isn't that way.
So anyway today as I was praying in the car on my way back from the helmet appt. I was saying a prayer of thanks as I normally do....and the amazing part? I ACTUALLY felt completely and totally thankful without the feeling of "I am thankful but I really wish we didn't have this bill to pay" or "I am thankful but it'd be better if it was this way instead of that way." I didn't feel resentment or overwhelmed....just peaceful. Now THAT is of God.....to be peaceful in spite of all of this. I know I will be taken care of and so will my children. I knew that as I was thinking of the FOUR ways I have available to me to try to pay for my children's helmets.
My point is....I try to be respectful of God and pray for all the good things he has given me and not to complain or ask for things. A lot of the time though I would still be upset or frustrated about all the things that don't exactly go my way or seem so unfair in life....I just wouldn't mention them in my prayer. (I've discussed in a previous post how I'm usually a cynical person.) This time I was truly happy and just at peace and grateful for everything.....now that's amazing! :)
_______________________________
Anderson in his helmet
and Samuel in his.
Samuel and Anderson did both end up getting helmets to help correct their head shape. It's common in twins to need this treatment since they get so squished in the womb that their heads become misshapen since there's limited space....and I did deliver them full term with almost 14 pounds of baby in there! The problem? Each band costs $2000 (this is the DISCOUNTED price...they usually run 3200 or 3600...can't remember which) and is NOT covered by insurance. We found out about a week ago that Anderson will also need a second band to complete his head shape correction which totals $6000 so far out of our pocket for helmets. On top of that in the past two months we have payed for our sewer to be unclogged and a brand new water heater...neither of these are inexpensive! We are also just had our downstairs heater fixed today....it was freezing outside and we had no heat downstairs.
I drive and hour and a half each way to the babies' helmet appointments and they have them every Thursday and take up most of my day. As I had plenty of time to ponder how I was going to come up with the additional $2000 for Anderson's next helmet (that he MUST have measurements for done next week and they won't even start the process until you have paid), I found myself praying about the situation. I have pondered about 4 different ways we could make this work on top of all our other expenses (i.e. we are still paying for Audrey's surgery each month as well as the twins' delivery) While I could have been very depressed about the situation (and sometimes am) this time I wasn't. I was just THANKFUL.....thankful that I live in a place where my babies CAN have this done. The ladies at the office tell me that people come from not only different states because it is the closest place but even different countries because this technology is not available where they are at. The families just sacrifice and will live in the U.S. for the 3-6 months it take for the correction to be completed. I drive a long way, but I always hear other people in the waiting room who have come so much farther. The lady I met today in the waiting room has to drive 3 hours one way each week! I was also thankful that I have FOUR different options on how I am going to try to pay for this. Basically....I know we'll find the money somehow and I'm grateful for that. I'm also grateful that I did go full term with my babies and that this is the problem we are facing instead of the same money we could be spending on NICU time they may have had if they were born earlier as MOST sets of twins are. I'd rather be in this situation. I'm also so grateful just to have my babies. It seems so long ago, but it wasn't THAT long ago that I thought I wouldn't be able to have any children at all....EVER! So, my prayer was mainly about THANKS! Thanks for the home I live in now that comfortably houses all my children - we moved in just 2 months before they arrived. Our previous home would have never held us all. So, even though there's bills to pay on repairing things for this house...I am so grateful for this lovely home! I'm so thankful that I am a stay at home mommy and I can take them each and every week to this appt. and that I can take Audrey to the Dr. whenever I need to and not have to worry about taking time off of work and how much sick time I've already used up or vacation days. It is my JOB to take care of them and even though its hard ...... I really do love it. I LOVE being their mommy and being the one who is there for them all day long....and I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. I'm so glad I have a true partner in life. He really is my best friend. :)
Normally when I pray, my prayers are full of thanks because we're asked to do so. Even if I had a terrible day, whenever it was time to pray, I would begrudgingly pray about what I was thankful for because its what you're supposed to do. Some people find this strange because its not the way they pray (I'm shocked at how many people thought this was strange until I found out I was in the minority at a bible study not too long ago.) but I hardly ever pray for anything about myself.....ever. I can think of so many more important things than myself to pray about. Whenever I pray....I think about my niece, Lindsey, who has Tay-Sachs and then suddenly all my concerns seem trite and absolutely ridiculus to pray to the Creator of the world about! I know some people say....pray about everything....even if you lose your keys or are having a bad hair day....but my relationship with God just isn't that way.
So anyway today as I was praying in the car on my way back from the helmet appt. I was saying a prayer of thanks as I normally do....and the amazing part? I ACTUALLY felt completely and totally thankful without the feeling of "I am thankful but I really wish we didn't have this bill to pay" or "I am thankful but it'd be better if it was this way instead of that way." I didn't feel resentment or overwhelmed....just peaceful. Now THAT is of God.....to be peaceful in spite of all of this. I know I will be taken care of and so will my children. I knew that as I was thinking of the FOUR ways I have available to me to try to pay for my children's helmets.
My point is....I try to be respectful of God and pray for all the good things he has given me and not to complain or ask for things. A lot of the time though I would still be upset or frustrated about all the things that don't exactly go my way or seem so unfair in life....I just wouldn't mention them in my prayer. (I've discussed in a previous post how I'm usually a cynical person.) This time I was truly happy and just at peace and grateful for everything.....now that's amazing! :)
_______________________________
Anderson in his helmet
and Samuel in his.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Just plain awful
Awful day yesterday complete with over 14 hours of screaming (from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and its an awful night tonight. It's 2:45 a.m. while I'm writing this and I've managed to sleep roughly 2 hours earlier this evening only because Granseur let me while he dealt with babies. I just got done with another feeding and I am praying to God that they GO TO SLEEP!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
A day in the life (movies)
Audrey eating an apple - the dog you see in the video is our dog, Heiko. He is the one that Granseur's grandmother thinks is "vicious." What do you think?
All three kids upset
"I wish I could have twins"
Audrey's now oblivious to the screaming It only stressed her out for a few days....now she just tunes it out and does her own thing. (like dancing!)
See a theme?
Daddy Duty
Daughter of an engineer
All three kids upset
"I wish I could have twins"
Audrey's now oblivious to the screaming It only stressed her out for a few days....now she just tunes it out and does her own thing. (like dancing!)
See a theme?
Daddy Duty
Daughter of an engineer
Update
So the night I posted about Samuel screaming....he continued to scream until 4:30 that morning. It was awful. He slept until their next feeding which was at 6:00 a.m. I couldn't sleep though in that time even though I was exhausted because I was so worked up about the whole thing. The night after that they had the best night since they were born. Things have continually gotten better right after the worst night ever. They are sleeping longer at night and when I feed them in the middle of the night they go right back to sleep for a while! It's great and such a relief. I'm starting to feel more human now and not just like I'm barely surviving. It's so nice not to have one of our kids be up 24 hours a day now! I hope this continues.
In other news.... Audrey had her very first day of pre-school! Well...it's actually a mom's morning out thing and it's from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00. She will be going three days a week. I decided it would be best for her to make friends her own age and learn how to share and also have fun being outside .... things I can't do at home while I'm stuck on the couch feeding babies. I don't want her just watching TV at home while I'm feeding the babies. I dropped her off for her first day this past Tuesday. I couldn't just leave Anderson and Samuel in the car, so I put them in their double stroller while I carried Audrey in. I put her down so I could open the door and she started crying. One of the nursery workers saw her crying and picked her up. She stood there holding Audrey like she was going to wait on me to sign her in and everything....so I signed her up, checked her in, etc. and by the time I turned around, she was gone! The lady had already taken her into the room and I didn't get to say "goodbye" or "mommy loves you" or anything! I think it broke my heart more than it broke hers. I looked in the classroom to see how she was doing and she was sitting calmly in one of the ladies' laps. I didn't want to upset her by going in and saying goodbye so I just snuck her diaper bag in and left. I hated that her very first day of something like that I didn't get to say anything to her....I hope she doesn't think I just dumped her off. When I came back to get her, she did seem as if she enjoyed herself. They had a packet for me to pick up too telling me what she did that day. They read books about friends and learned about friends. They went outside for a while and she really enjoyed the swing. They also colored pictures about friends. It was so cute! She only went that one day last week because she got sick that evening.
Audrey started throwing up around 5:30 that evening. It was so bad. When she would throw up, it would be like 3-4 vomits in one session and then she'd throw up 30-45 minutes later with another 3-4 vomits. She had about 8 separate times that she threw up like that. You could tell that she was so weak and whenever she'd start to throw up again she wouldn't even make a fuss like before...it was just like she knew....this is what I do...I just have to throw up. It was so sad and pathetic. I ended up having to take her to the emergency room around 8:30 because she was so dehydrated and just kept throwing up. She threw up twice more while she was there. They gave her a shot of zofran to stop the vomiting and then she was able to keep her liquids down. I was so glad that I took her. We got to come back home about 11:30 that evening....not too bad.
Two days later I got sick! Around 3:30 on Thursday I started throwing up and threw up frequently too. I got some medicine to stop the vomiting...but it didn't help. Granseur came home early to help me out with the kids. It was a good thing too because Anderson and Samuel needed to eat at 4:30 and that was exactly when I started throwing up again. However....Granseur got sick that evening around 12:45!! He threw up about once an hour until 7:00 that morning. So we had two sick parents trying to take care of our babies without getting them sick and while trying not to pass out or vomit on them! Yesterday we still felt kind of weird but were starting to feel better. Today we feel totally back to normal so we're able to enjoy some of the weekend. The babies have not gotten sick yet, either! YAY! It took us a couple of days to show symptoms though from when Audrey got sick, so I'm just praying they stay healthy.
In other news.... Audrey had her very first day of pre-school! Well...it's actually a mom's morning out thing and it's from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00. She will be going three days a week. I decided it would be best for her to make friends her own age and learn how to share and also have fun being outside .... things I can't do at home while I'm stuck on the couch feeding babies. I don't want her just watching TV at home while I'm feeding the babies. I dropped her off for her first day this past Tuesday. I couldn't just leave Anderson and Samuel in the car, so I put them in their double stroller while I carried Audrey in. I put her down so I could open the door and she started crying. One of the nursery workers saw her crying and picked her up. She stood there holding Audrey like she was going to wait on me to sign her in and everything....so I signed her up, checked her in, etc. and by the time I turned around, she was gone! The lady had already taken her into the room and I didn't get to say "goodbye" or "mommy loves you" or anything! I think it broke my heart more than it broke hers. I looked in the classroom to see how she was doing and she was sitting calmly in one of the ladies' laps. I didn't want to upset her by going in and saying goodbye so I just snuck her diaper bag in and left. I hated that her very first day of something like that I didn't get to say anything to her....I hope she doesn't think I just dumped her off. When I came back to get her, she did seem as if she enjoyed herself. They had a packet for me to pick up too telling me what she did that day. They read books about friends and learned about friends. They went outside for a while and she really enjoyed the swing. They also colored pictures about friends. It was so cute! She only went that one day last week because she got sick that evening.
Audrey started throwing up around 5:30 that evening. It was so bad. When she would throw up, it would be like 3-4 vomits in one session and then she'd throw up 30-45 minutes later with another 3-4 vomits. She had about 8 separate times that she threw up like that. You could tell that she was so weak and whenever she'd start to throw up again she wouldn't even make a fuss like before...it was just like she knew....this is what I do...I just have to throw up. It was so sad and pathetic. I ended up having to take her to the emergency room around 8:30 because she was so dehydrated and just kept throwing up. She threw up twice more while she was there. They gave her a shot of zofran to stop the vomiting and then she was able to keep her liquids down. I was so glad that I took her. We got to come back home about 11:30 that evening....not too bad.
Two days later I got sick! Around 3:30 on Thursday I started throwing up and threw up frequently too. I got some medicine to stop the vomiting...but it didn't help. Granseur came home early to help me out with the kids. It was a good thing too because Anderson and Samuel needed to eat at 4:30 and that was exactly when I started throwing up again. However....Granseur got sick that evening around 12:45!! He threw up about once an hour until 7:00 that morning. So we had two sick parents trying to take care of our babies without getting them sick and while trying not to pass out or vomit on them! Yesterday we still felt kind of weird but were starting to feel better. Today we feel totally back to normal so we're able to enjoy some of the weekend. The babies have not gotten sick yet, either! YAY! It took us a couple of days to show symptoms though from when Audrey got sick, so I'm just praying they stay healthy.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Why are my kids so AWAKE?!
Samuel has been up since at least 6:00 p.m. and now its 2:45 a.m. and he's still awake. I don't get it. It's not like I let them sleep all day. Audrey used to be like this, too. It was not uncommon for her to scream from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. The only time she wouldn't scream in between then was when I was feeding her which was every 2 hours at the time. Yep....and there's Samuel crying again. Ugh.
My shift usually starts at 1:00 but tonight it started at 12:45 because the kids have been fussy since around 7:00. Even when it was my turn to sleep I couldn't really sleep because I can hear the screaming so I just came downstairs at 12:45 since I knew I wouldn't get to sleep at all the next 15 minutes anyway. I don't know what's worse....being the one down here dealing with them when they're like that and then getting to sleep later on or it being my turn to sleep but hearing them screaming so not really being able to sleep for a few hours but then starting my shift at 1:00 and staying up all day.
Samuel is still screaming and I just tried feeding him again and changing his diaper so I guess I'm just gonna go hold him even though it won't matter. I am so sick of this. This is why I've never understood how parents can keep their kids in their room with them when they are babies. Don't they cry ALL NIGHT LONG and keep you up? How can you even sleep at all if they are in there with you?
My shift usually starts at 1:00 but tonight it started at 12:45 because the kids have been fussy since around 7:00. Even when it was my turn to sleep I couldn't really sleep because I can hear the screaming so I just came downstairs at 12:45 since I knew I wouldn't get to sleep at all the next 15 minutes anyway. I don't know what's worse....being the one down here dealing with them when they're like that and then getting to sleep later on or it being my turn to sleep but hearing them screaming so not really being able to sleep for a few hours but then starting my shift at 1:00 and staying up all day.
Samuel is still screaming and I just tried feeding him again and changing his diaper so I guess I'm just gonna go hold him even though it won't matter. I am so sick of this. This is why I've never understood how parents can keep their kids in their room with them when they are babies. Don't they cry ALL NIGHT LONG and keep you up? How can you even sleep at all if they are in there with you?
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