Our Little Chunky Monkeys

Last night, we decided to have an impromtu photo shoot while putting the babies' pajamas on. They might not seem overly chubby to some folks, but when you start out at only 5 or 6 pounds, at this point they seem pretty roly-poly to us! They have their 2-month check-up on March 20th, so they haven't been weighed in a few weeks. So yesterday we got on the bathroom scale with them (highly scientific and accurate measurement, I'm sure!) and they each were in the neighborhood of 8-9 lbs! Like I said, the measurement probably wasn't overly precise, but at least we know they're growing!

Ellie also decided at the last minute to insert herself into the photos, and judging from their expressions Alex and Maguire didn't exactly appreciate it.....

More Weekend Fun

A weekend with Grammie and Papa is always action-packed, and this weekend certainly didn't disappoint.

Ellie had a blast making hats out of paper with Grammie (where does she come up with these craft ideas?) The scary face is her "pirate" face.

And taking a walk on a sunny afternoon -- the boys' first outing! -- to Burger King for some ice cream.

In Search of a Smile....

While Grammie and Papa were visiting, Grammie spent the better part of a morning waiting for the boys to smile so she could capture the moment on camera. Maguire is our smiley baby, and it only took her a few minutes for him to give a big one. But I'm not kidding you, she spent a good 45 minutes waiting for Alex to crack a smile. And even though we all know they're just gas and not quite 'real' smiles just yet, Grammie will tell you it was worth the wait!

Here are a few of the results:

The Leaning Tower of Poop Catchers...

There's something to be said for preparedness. But early on I thought this might be a little overboard. For months before the twins were born Carrie and I would go to the store for groceries and every time we would bring home a package of diapers. "Must be prepared..." she would say. The books on multiples (of which Carrie has read every one written of course) say you should plan to go through 25 diapers per day. I could often be quoted as saying, "25 a day? No way. Are you kidding?" They're not kidding. It's ridiculous how much these kids poop. You wouldn't believe it.


So we built up a healthy supply on our own before the babies came, and then several people (bless their hearts) bought us diapers as gifts. It was a true blessing because I could never have imagined how many we would go through. About a week ago Carrie decided she would start a running tally. How many diapers would we use in a 24 hour period? The final count: 21. That's about $5 every day! (Daddy needs another couple of jobs I think) It was a little less than 25, but that was a good day. I'm guessing there have been days when we've changed 30. It's hard to tell though, because you often lose track. The poop starts to run together (no pun intended there...sorry).


So we'll keep wipin' butts and try to stay ahead in the diaper count. But the way these boys are growing, we might need to cash in the newborn size for a bit bigger sooner than we think. I keep telling Carrie we need to start the potty training process soon. For some reason she says, "You're ridiculous." Like I haven't heard that before...

<--This is the top shelf of the closet...over and above the leaning tower!


<--The little poopers in the flesh...no doubt workin' up a little surprise for mom & dad...

Happy Birthday, Boys!

Well, today marks Alex and Maguire's one month birthday. We whooped it up like the true party animals that we are, and here are the results:




Alex, big sister Ellie, and Maguire.










Alex, showing his disdain for the whole set-up. (We're kind of having flash-forwards to teenage birthday parties, with Alex's mad case of baby acne...)















Maguire, sleeping through the entire process.

A Family Affair

After two posts in a row by Carrie (keyboard hog), I thought it was high time I get back on the mic (or keyboard, but mic sounds cooler). The public has been demanding it, and I'm all about pleasing my public ya know...

Anyway, it's been exactly 2 weeks since the boys made their way home from the NICU, and it's been a wonderful couple of weeks. My mom was here for 10 days to help out, my dad came Friday, and my brother and his family came down to visit this weekend too. It was great to have everyone and spend time with the boys. Ellie had a blast playing with her big cousins, and it was good to get everybody together again.

But now everyone's gone, the house is about as quiet as it's been in a month, and it's just the 5 of us. It's a little weird I have to say. We've grown accustomed to having an extra pair of hands (or two) to wipe a butt, hold a baby, or give a pacifier. We're really going to miss the nightly meals provided by one grandma or the other, and then the dishwashing they did afterward. Does that mean I actually have to do dishes again? I'm not sure I know how anymore. But Carrie's parents are coming again Friday, so maybe I'll just "forget" to do them until they come. I am busy you know...working and everything :) (Love you Grammie and Papa)

The boys are doing extremely well. They both weighed in at over 7lbs on Friday morning (Alex was 7lb 10oz, Maguire: 7lbs even) and have been gaining weight like mad. It's been awesome, and the doctor said we don't have to come back until they're two months old! Here are a few of the latest snapshots of our two little men and those that love them!

<--My Big Bro with his nephews...

<--Sister-In-Law Heidi with Alex

<--G-ma & G-pa Studer with all THREE of my kids!












<--Grandma and Ellie bakin' some Valentine's Day cookies...










<--Cousins T.J. & Alyssa (T.J.'s hair isn't always purple and yellow...it's dyed for swimming playoffs, looks pretty tough eh? :)













<--Cousin Bri gettin' a little hold time.

Delivery Room Flashback

This post may seem a bit out of order, considering that Alex and Maguire are already 3 weeks old. But we thought it might be fun to share the few snapshots we have of the boys' birth. Although we sat around the hospital for a few hours before active labor started, once it started things went very fast. With twins, they require you to deliver in an operating room in case a C-section becomes necessary. So since I arrived at 10 centimeters so quickly, our trip there truly must have looked a little like a typical TV show labor .... picture us wheeling quickly down the hallway, the doctor telling me not to push, Chris running after the whole group (he was mistakenly given two sets of scrub pants rather than a whole set of scrubs, so he was a bit behind the rest of us)....believe it or not, the boys were born and we were back in the labor room in less than 25 minutes!

So all this to say, in the rush to get to the delivery room, our camera was forgotten. We have a random nurse and good old Sanford hospital to thank for these pictures from a disposable camera they keep on hand in the delivery room -- they informed us it would only cost an additional $7 on our hospital bill! And really, what's $7 compared to the bill we were about to rack up over the coming two weeks?!?!?!?






These first two pictures are Mom and Dad with Alex. Although I got to hold both babies on my tummy for a few seconds after birth, we didn't get to hold Maguire anymore after that since he wasn't breathing well enough on his own.

First picture of the brothers together, moments after birth.

Alex

Our first view of the boys together, before they whisked them away to the NICU

One Week at Home

<--Maguire

<---Alex

Well, we are settling into what kind of resembles a routine here at the Studer house as we start our second week at home with the boys.

Here's what we've accomplished:

Swapped one set of grandparents for the other.

Had our first baths in the kitchen sink.

Accumulated over 3 gallons of milk above and beyond what the boys have consumed (okay, that's taken three weeks instead of just one, but still!)

And last but not least, it seems that a house full of babies has turned poor Ellie into something resembling a celebrity mug shot or a homeless person.......only kidding! Just a bad hair day and a run-in with a York peppermint patty. Ah, good times!

Mom's 1st Post!

Hello all! Carrie here -- as I'm sure you've all noticed, Chris has a hard time handing over control of the blog to anyone else. But at the moment, everyone is fed and content (for a few minutes, anyway!) so I convinced him to let me give this a try.

We are busy enjoying every moment of having the boys at home. It's hard to believe they will be 3 weeks old on Sunday already! Strangely enough, now that we are not back and forth from the hospital several times a day, I feel like I have quite a bit of free time. I'm sure my thoughts on that will change as we settle into a routine -- and once all of our live-in help goes home.....

Both of the boys continue to be great nursers, and last night we even got a stretch of sleep that lasted 3-1/2 hours! It's a good thing that being Mom/food provider is all I have planned for the next several months, because I know once the initial "they're home!" excitement wears off, extreme fatigue will hit in a big way. Last night, I found myself wide awake eating Pop-tarts at 4:00 AM.....maybe middle of the night blogging will be my next challenge!

One sweet thing that we have noticed about the boys being in close quarters together is their ability to cozy up to each other. When we lay them down, they start out several inches apart, but somehow they end up wiggling over to each other and they're almost always touching heads when we find them, too!

Ellie is continuing to adjust to two babies in the house. For the most part, she is very gentle with the boys and loves to give them kisses while they try to take naps. She is very good about telling all of us that "it's very important to have clean hands when you touch a baby" and that she can only hold one baby at a time because it's not safe to hold both. However, the other night after we took this picture of all 3 kids together, she suddenly channeled her inner Evel Knievel and attempted (successfully, thank goodness!) to jump over poor Alex laying on the floor. So, maybe a little more baby safety teaching is in order.....

Some of you might know this already, but I submitted my notice at work last Friday. So as of February 15th, I am officially a stay-at-home mom!!!!! While I will miss my co-workers (and leaving the house...), I can't wait to start this new job.

Well, someone's got to be hungry by now, so I will sign off. Thanks to everyone who's called to check on us since we've been home -- please call again in two weeks once all the grandparents leave! :)