July 28, 2006

I took this photo of the girls last night. It's not as easy to see as it was in real life, but I walked into the girls' room after their baths and found them all cuddled up, Grace with her head resting on Faith's shoulder.



Cuteness factor on a scale of 1 to 10: 907.

And a Devin's Doozie for you...

As the girls slept peacefully in their crib yesterday evening and after Devin was tucked securely into bed, Todd and I settled in to watch our favorite TV shows, "The Office" and "My Name is Earl."

We were interrupted numerous times, though, as Devin kept coming to the top of the stairs to give us an update on what his friends were doing in the yard outside of his window. He couldn't stand it that they were all out there playing while he was in bed. Who can blame him?

At one point, we thought he'd finally gone to bed for good, but heard a voice from the stairs. There he was, sitting on the steps (for Lord knows how long), watching the TV with us. We told him, AGAIN, to go to bed and he was silent for awhile. Moments later, though, he spoke again.

"I have stinky on my finger."

*Laughter from Mom and Dad*

Todd: "Why do you have stinky on your finger?" not really sure what it was he was talking about.

Devin: "Because I got poop on it!"

My wondeful husband went to investigate. I owe him.

Have a great weekend!

E

PS - The girls did two (count 'em, TWO) five-and-a-half hout stints last night. One from 9 pm to 2:30 am and one from 2:30 am to 8:00 am. I feel like a new woman!

An hour or so later...

I was going through some photos and realized that I have quite a few cute ones to share. Why not just post them now? Enjoy!



Have you ever seen more identical identical twins? We have to paint Faith's toenails to tell them apart.




Life in the Boppies.




Feeding time at the zoo.




My very glamorous life (check out the hair and makeup, too. Aren't I a beut?).

July 27, 2006

I just had to make sure I found time to blog today because I have exciting news: Grace made her first of many delighted squeals!

Each night, we bathe the girls, one after another. While the first one is bathed, the second is placed in the crib to watch the crib toys and wait patiently (hah!). Then, we switch.

Well, tonight, Grace went first. After her bath, I lotioned her, diapered her and jammied her. Into the crib she went, and Faith came out.

I got Faith bathed and as I walked from the bathroom into the nursery, I heard Grace let out a screetch. I braced for the usual onslaught of screams that were sure to follow, but nothing but silence ensued. I turned toward the crib to see her, and she was just happily watching the crib aquarium (thanks Beach family -- thank you note is forthcoming, I swear!). I laughed, thinking it must have been a fluke, but two more times while I was getting Faith ready for bed, the same sound was uttered from behind me! She was happy with her aquarium and was telling us all about it!

I called Todd and Devin to come in, but when Devin ran into the room, he scared Grace and her happy coos turned to angry screams. So much for that. But it was sure fun while it lasted.

In munchkin news...

I took the girls for their upper GIs today (more on that later) and while I did, good friend and neighbor, Gina, took Devin for me. But she didn't just watch him -- she took him to Six Flags Fiesta Texas! She, Devin and her three girls (ten-year-old twin daughters McKenna and Jordyn and six-year-old Alyssa) all ventured to the theme park and rode all of the kiddie rides! Devin was a trooper, from what I hear, and was ready to try everything! He came home around 1:15 and was so tired that he never gave a fuss to taking a nap. He just marched up the stairs and climbed into bed without so much as a, "But Mommy..." Nearly for hours later, returned downstairs and told me, "I had a good nap!"

The upper GI outing was a hoot, too. I got the girls there at 9:00 and, as promised, they had been fasting for more than five hours. Needless to say, I arrived with some pretty angry babies. The nurse immediately took me to the back where the girls could scream without bringing everyone in the waiting room to their knees. While back there, the nurses flocked to them like ugly on an ape. At one point, the doctor came looking for his nurses because they were all in the back cooing over Faith and Grace. Even in a bad mood, they still charm the socks off of everyone they meet.

They were taken to the exam room, given their Barium bottles (now I know why they wanted them to fast - no one would drink that stuff unless they were famished) and were studied beneath the x-ray. The doctor said all looked fine, which was great news. Hopefully, the reflux can be treated with medication and be put under control soon.

When we returned home, it was only 10:30. Knowing that Devin wasn't due home for another two hours or so and having some pretty sleepy girls (they cried themselves into a hungry frenzy and tired themselves out!), I settled into the couch. I watched some TV, read my book, dozed off, had lunch, dozed some more, read my book and then greeted Devin. It was awesome! It was the first, peaceful, to-myself day I have had in a long, long time. It was just what I needed. I'm feeling good.

Well, Devin has built a space ship out of pillows on my bed and apparently I am the next passenger on the trip to school (he isn't quite aware of outter space yet). I must hop in for my trek.

Bon voyage,
E

July 26, 2006

This may be an all-time low for me. Ten days since my last post. Ugh. I'm so ashamed.

Just like all of my other too-long-in-between posts, my lack of information is due to lack of information. Things are going along just swimmingly around here with no real news.

The girls are doing great. They had their two-month check-up last Friday and Faith weighed in at 7 lbs, with Grace weighing a whopping 7.5 lbs. They weigh more now than Devin did when he was born! I'm very proud!

Both are experiencing a little bit of reflux that is causing them to spit up and cry after just about every meal. Fantastic. They are on reflux medication and are having Upper GIs done tommorrow morning just to check and make sure it's not something caused by an anatomical defect. I'm not worried.

The past two weeks have been tough, though. I'm starting to get a little stir-crazy around here. All day long, I either have someone crying for me or whining at me. I rarely get more than 15 minutes of silence (that's total, not at a time) and by the end of the day, I'm ready to pull my hair out. I don't see Todd very often, as all of our time in the evenings is spent tag-teaming with the girls while getting Devin ready for bed and getting them bathed. It usually takes from around 5:30 when Todd gets home until around 8:30 or 9:00 to get everything finished that we need to get finished -- just in time for him to go to bed so he can get in a few solid hours of sleep before his shift starts around 3:00 or 4:00.

I have to admit, I'm a little frustrated. Wait...I'll take that back. I'm a lot frustrated. I know this isn't forever, but I'm the kind of person who can really appreciate some good quiet time. Obviously, quiet time isn't something I get much of and it's starting to get to me. This is more than a full-time job (what did I expect?) and I'm pretty burned out already.

I have to keep reminding myself that it won't be like this forever. These fussy, colicky days aren't around forever and, when you look at it on a time line, three or so months is a tiny blip on the radar. But when you're in the middle of it, having not slept in your bed in over a month, it seems like an eternity.

Please don't get me wrong, here, though...I wouldn't change this for anything. I love my girls and my little boy. I love my husband and my title. I wouldn't change anything. It's just weird to be so happy and so miserable all at the same time.

Anyone got any happy pills? I like the ones that say "Prozac" on them. :)

Luckily, I have the support of great friends and family. Todd and I went out on a date on Saturday while friends Tyler and Linda watched the three devils...er, children.

We went down the street to Trilogy Pizza and Wine Bistro where we had a glass of wine and split a salad and a pizza. Bliss. No interruptions! They are a cool little place

Afterwards, we headed next door to my favorite place in the neighborhood, Copa Wine Bar and Tasting Room. This place has an enormous selection of all types of wine and is one of these establishments with big, cushy chairs and comfy couches. It has a relaxed atmosphere, but one that is sophisticated and warm. Jeff and Angie, the owners, know their regulars by name (should I admit that I am one of them?) and are always willing to give you a few tastings to help you find the wine of your dreams. I could live there. Check them out at www.copawinebar.com.

After a glass of wine and a slice of cheesecake, we drove north toward Spect's Store, a typical Hill Country restaurant with live music on the weekends out on their big patio. But as we walked across the gravel parking lot, we heard the lead-singer of the band say, "Good night! You've been a great audience!" Nevermind.

We headed home and enjoyed the few moments left of silence as we approached the house. It was a great night out. I loved reconnecting with Todd and having a conversation with him that wasn't interrupted by anything more than, "Another glass of wine, ma'am?"

I guess that's all for now. I'll try to be better about posting, although between the spitting up, the crying and the whining, I don't have much time these days. But I'll do what I can. Thanks for the patience.

With love,
Moi

Devin's Doozie

Devin was playing on one of the ottomans in our living room last night. In true three-year-old style, he got a little rambunctious and fell of the ottoman, hitting his foot on the end table that sits nearby.

Of course, crying ensued and Todd picked him up to comfort him. Through the sobbing, he looked into the kitchen, saw the fruit sitting on the counter and said in a miserable, more-tears-than-necessary voice, "I want a banana to make me feel better!"

July 16, 2006

It didn't really occur to me to post today. In fact, the day has seemed pretty ordinary to me. Church this morning, come home, have some friends over for a Sunday afternoon bbq, take a rest, have dinner, bathe the kids and relax. Seems like a typical Sunday to me...

I just talked to my dad, though, and as I was going through my day, I realized that this is not really such an ordinary day at all.

First of all, today (or tomorrow, depending on who you ask -- Dr. Harden or Dr. Higby), would have been the girls' due date. If I had gone 40 weeks, they'd just now be arriving. Instead, they were born shy of 32 weeks and yet, are still perfectly healthy young ladies. Two of God's miracles.

But even more profound was Mass today. It was our first church outing with the girls. The doctors recommended that the girls not be taken out in public for a few weeks. We dutifully kept them in, but I asked our pediatrican on Thursday (who is also a personal friend, parishioner and ACTS sister) if we could take the girls to church and she said, "Oh yes...they're free to go wherever!"

So that was it. We planned on 9:00 Mass on Sunday.

And so, we were up and getting ready at 7:00 this morning. We were at church at 8:30 to make sure Devin got a spot in the all-too-crowded nursery and were in the pews at 8:45. As friends and fellow parishioners trickled in, people began to notice Faith and Grace. Lots of hugs, kisses and well-wishes. The couple sitting behind us, who we do not know, both gave us the Sign of Peace at the appropriate time, but along with saying "Peace be with you," also said to us, "And sleep too..." It was great.

It took us a long time to get out of Mass, as we greeted quite a few friends. We finally got into the van and as we were leaving the parking lot, Todd said something so profound.

"This was closure."

That statement rang in my ears all day. This really was closure. In February, our community learned of our devastating diagnosis and began praying for us feverishly. They sat with us as we cried, held our hands during scary doctors' appointments and begged the Lord for mercy. He heard them and He answered our prayers. The girls arrived safely.

But they arrived not without complications. Five weeks in the NICU brought more prayers and offers of help. Friends from all over came to visit and support us. Faith got sick and our community waited with baited breath as they wondered with us if she'd recover or not. Complete strangers who read this blog offered help, advice and love. Phone calls rolled in one after another as friends and family called daily for updates. We were surrounded and found out quickly just who our friends really were.

The girls came home and joy rang out in our house. But again, there were stipulations. Don't take them out in public. Restrict visitors. Don't let anyone touch them. We felt like it would never end.

But finally, today, our girls met the community that brought them here. I believe in God, I believe God and I believe in prayer. My girls are proof that it works.

I know that Faith's and Grace's Baptisms on August 6 will also be a meaningful and faith-filled experience for us ... but today, as we introduced our twins to the men and women who made sure they got here, I felt that same feeling that Todd expressed so perfectly: Closure.

All we can say is thank you...

E

Side Note

I put up a post on Friday afternoon, but then Friday evening added another one. If you haven't read the post from July 14 and/or the one titled, "Urgent Prayer Request," please do so. Once again, my family needs you.

Oh, and Kathie Barrett -- I have your red bowl. If we don't set up a time for me to give it to you soon, I just may keep it, even though I know someone made it for you. It's so pretty and matches my decor perfectly! :) I may be persuaded to give it back in exchange for the recipe of the chicken-pasta salad that Charlie made to fill it...

Urgent Prayer Request

Throughout my blog, I've written about my sister, ZZ, and have mentioned her daughter, Presley, who will be four in September.

If you haven't heard me talk about it, Presley has some behavioral issues. We've laughed about them for years, but recently it's gone far beyond funny. It's safe to say that she's out of control. ZZ and Brian became worried when Presley started to exhibit even more weird behavior: In the middle of a sentence or action, she'd stop everything she was doing and just stare straight ahead. She would be totally unresponsive for 30 or so seconds, and then resume what she was doing as if nothing had happened.

Our pediatrician, who thankfully is a personal friend to both ZZ and me, took no chances and immediately ordered CT scans and blood work on Presley. Both were done today.

As of this evening, Presley has been diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis, a condition in which calcium deposits form on major organs like the brain, eyes, kidneys, skin and heart. Presley has tested positive for deposits on her brain and more tests will be run to look for other areas.

Many, many people live perfectly normal lives with TSC, while others are profoundly affected. There is no way to predict how a person will be affected and there is no cure or treatment for the disease. Presley's behavior is positively linked to TSC.

So I'm asking for prayers for Presley and for her entire family - for healing, for peace and for acceptance. Presley was a gift from God four years ago when Brian and ZZ were desperate for another child. She was created by God for her parents and they never let a day go by without thanking the Lord that she became theirs. If you remember her adoption story, it almost didn't happen.

Please pray, too, for the doctors who will treat Presley. Hope is in their work.

Thank you.

Erin

Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance

July 14, 2006

My very good friend Alicia blogs every few days about the comings and goings in her household. She has an executive-by-day, volunteer-firefighter-by-night-and-weekend husband and two precious little boys. There is never a lack of excitement or humor in her house and I love to read her blog.

One of the things that she does is quote her oldest, JamesThomas, 3, in some of his more spectacular sayings. She calls it the "JamesThomas Quote of the Day." There are more than a few that have made me laugh out loud.

Well, I think the time has come for me to include some of Devin's funnier sayings, starting today. I'll title them, "Devin's Doozies." Thanks for the idea, Alicia.

Devin is currently being punished for taking a pen and marking on my solid wood footboard. Does anyone know what will get ballpoint ink out of maple?

So, in my need to make him understand that I am this close to killing him, I packed up all of the toys in his room and made him sit on his bed. As expected, he fell asleep, but woke up way too early when the trash truck outside scared him.

I told him that even though he was awake, he was expected to stay in his room, sans toys, until I told him he could come out.

True to toddlerhood, every few minutes he would arrive at the top of the stairs and ask, "Can I come out now?" My answer was a steadfast, "No."

A few minutes ago, though, I heard rustling in his room -- a sure sign of fun being had. I wouldn't have any of that!

I went into his room and saw that he had managed to get his Thomas the Tank Engine from one of the lower shelves in his room that I didn't think he could reach. Apparently, I was wrong, because Thomas was resting on his bed.

I asked Devin, "Why did you get Thomas down?"

Devin's Doozie is his response:

"Because I like him. He's a nice guy."

Enjoy your weekend!

July 10, 2006

Yes, I am aware that it's been a week since I last posted. But, as you know from the past, when I don't post it means that things are status quo. Such is the case this time around, too.

We're still adjusting to life as a family of five. The girls aren't exactly sound sleepers at night (but, of course, during the day they could sleep through a hurricane preceeded by a marching band), so we've been trying and trying to get them on a schedule that we can live with. For the last week or so, it's gone mostly like this:

8 PM: bathtime, bedtime
10 PM: evening meal
10:30 PM: screaming commences from one twin
1:30 AM: meal time
2 AM: whoever wasn't screaming at 10:30 starts screaming
3:30 AM: they both finally shut up
5 AM: meal time again
6 AM: Todd's alarm goes off
6:15 AM: Devin wakes up and demands to watch the Disney Channel
Rest of the Day: Erin and Todd try to sleep when they can

Obviously, this schedule was not going to work. So we set forth a new schedule last night. It goes something like this:

8 PM: bathtime, Todd goes to bed
10 PM: evening meal (after being kept up, not put to bed)
10:30 PM: Erin sleeps with or near babies in case of crying and/or screaming
1 AM: meal time
1:30 AM: Erin does what she can to keep both girls happy
3 AM: Todd relieves Erin and takes care of the next feeding while Erin gets some sleep
6 AM: Todd gets up and makes Devin happy when he gets up. Erin continues to sleep
7:30 AM: Erin gets up to feed the babies and see Todd off to work

Okay, it's not a perfect schedule and we've only been on it one night, but it worked well. We're also doing our best to keep the babies awake during the day so they won't stay awake all night long. They slept much better last night (as did Todd and I) and here's to hoping for more of the same. I feel like a relatively normal person today.

Aside from all of this, though, the girls are doing well. We took another trip to the hospital on Friday for more blood work and they both came back extremely anemic. They are now on grape-flavored iron supplements. Boy can that stuff stain. I have purple spit up on everything I own.

In other news...

Yesterday we celebrated Devin's 3rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's. In attendence was the Mylar Clan along with pals Ethan, Colin, Nate, Dale, Reid and Macy. Pa-pa, Nana (my parents) and Grandpa came too, while Grandma stayed with the twins.

Now this was a great experience. In the past, we've celebrated D's birthday with a bbq at home with the family. I mean, you don't have a whole lot of friends at one and two years old*, so it's to be expected. But this year, we needed to do something more than just have the cousins and grandparents over and boy am I glad we did.

For the past two years, we've purchased fajitas, fixins and sides for 15 or so people, cleaned the house to prepare for the onlsaught, spent numerous hours cooking and cleaned up after everyone left. It was a two-day event, at least.

At Chuck's place, all we did was show up. There was pizza and Sprite for each kid, along with game tokens and free reign of the place. The cake was provided, as was a personal appearance by Chuck E. Cheese himself. We got an extra table for gifts and they even cleaned up the wrapping paper during the gift-opening extravaganza. At the end, we just paid the bill (about HALF of what I would spend on a home party) and walked away. Ahhh...the sheer bliss. No cleaning, no endless bags of trash. Just the quiet solitude of the car.

So, the party was a success. Devin will officially be three tomorrow, so we'll do presents from Todd and me then, along with cake and a meal of his choice. I see chicken nuggets in our future. :)

As more exciting stuff happens in the Pruetz family, I'll post.

Love to all...

E

*My brother-in-law, Brian, has a short commentary on first and last birthdays that I'd like to share with you. I think it may ve courtesy of Jerry Seinfeld.

Your first birthday and your last birthday are almost identical. You're dressed in some outfit you didn't pick out and are wearing a diaper. Your family plops you down at a table with a cake in front of you and points to the people around you saying, "These are your friends..."

July 3, 2006

A blog quiz for all of you readers:

Who is the nurse whose name I told you to never forget? You remember the story - the wonderful woman who was less than compassionate shortly after my c-section? I told you to never forget her name. Did you?

Post a comment if you want to take a stab at it.

AND NO CHEATING! (This means you, Blake. I know how competitive you are...)

June 30, 2006

Todd has been busy snapping photos at every opportunity, so I am titling today's post as:

Gratuitous Baby Photo Montage


One word: Angels.


This is mommy heaven.


Devin with his two little sisters.


Have you ever seen anything so cute?


Our girls.


The modified "Welcome Home" sign, courtesy of PaPa.


My dad and Devin decorating the yard. I am sure our homeowner's association just loved this.


That's one happy Nana of NINE!

June 29, 2006

Working on 90 minutes of sleep. Too tired to write anything of worth. Wouldn't make sense anyway.

But I do want to share this article, shared with me by good friend and blog-inspirer Meg Beach. It goes along with my post from the 27th of June.

"Top Comments You'll Hear as a Parent of Twins"

June 27, 2006

As will be the trend in my upcoming posts, this will have to be quick. I'm sure that someone very small and very pink will be hollering for one thing or another soon.

Things are going very well here in the Pruetz house. Sleep is a very elusive thing, especially last night when Grace decided that she would cry from 1:30 a.m. until 5:30 a.m. Todd's alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. You do the math.

But aside from walking around like zombies, we couldn't be happier with our little bundles of (noisy) joy.

Today I took the girls to see their pediatrician for the first time. I harbored a lot of anxiety about the trip -- getting the girls and their stupid apnea monitors in and out of the building using the enourmous double stroller, what to do with Devin and keeping him in line (as if that's possible) and what Dr. Trexler would say. I took Addison, my eight-year-old niece with me as a diversionary tactic for Devin and she was a huge help. Learning to manuever the stroller will take some time and I'll be so darned happy when we can rid ourselves of the monitors. I felt like a bull in a china shop with all of my "equipment."

The appointment went as any other pediatrician appointment would go. Take their temps, weigh them, check limbs and joints and measure stuff. Happily, the girls are doing perfectly. Faith weighs 5 lbs, 0 oz while Grace is tipping the scales at 5 lbs, 13 oz.

Just for good measure, Dr. T sent us over to the hospital next door to do a CBC (complete blood count), just to make sure there are no abnormalities in the vitamins and minerals present in our blood.

So we packed up all of the stuff and the kiddos into the minivan (Todd calls it Black Thunder...) -- an event that takes at least seven or eight minutes -- and drove a block-and-a-half to the hospital parking lot. Once again, Addy got Devin out of the car, while I fought with the stoller, got the girls out of the car and into the stroller and tried doing so without setting off the very loud monitors. Success. But it took nearly ten minutes. I kid you not.

The hospital was fine and the bloodwork looks good. Both girls are perfectly healthy.

But my first outing with Faith and Grace was an eye-opening experience. The world loves a set of twins. The world especially loves a set of identical twins. And the world has no problem letting you know how much it loves them.

I'm not usually one to shy away from attention. In fact, give me the spotlight and it'll take a hook to get me off stage. But when it comes to my very small, very premature children, I get a little antsy. And so, as stranger after stranger after stranger stopped to say, "Oh look twins!" or to tell me about their niece in Chicago who had quadruplets last summer, I started to get a little frustrated. First of all, I couldn't get three feet without someone stopping me. Secondly, why did they all feel the need to touch them??? I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

As we were leaving the hospital, a tour was coming through and when we passed them, all 15 or 20 men and women sighed, "Awwwww..." in unison. Do they rehearse this stuff?

Okay. I'm outta here. Devin is requesting a "Thomas the Tank Engine" book this evening and I must oblige. Poor kid -- his center-of-attention status has been ripped away. He's doing well though. We're very proud.

Pray for sleep for us. We need it. :)

E

June 25, 2006

By now, you've probably figured out that the girls are home. Otherwise, I would have posted something here! But between feedings every three hours, sleepless nights and trying to keep a toddler entertained, writing has sort of become an elusive pasttime. I have a few minutes now that the girls are fed and Devin and Todd are downstairs.

We started this whole process with the rooming-in experience at the hospital. Personally, I think it was a huge waste of time. I mean, I understand that the situation is different because the girls are preemies and because there are two of them. But really, the only difference is that I was up every three hours to feed them. Otherwise, I may as well have been at home. There was nothing significant about the event.

I was up at 8:00 on Friday morning and, after feeding the girls, I jumped in the shower and got dressed so that I could be ready for discharge. I was ready to get my girls home!

And then I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited.

With NICU discharge, you have to jump through a lot of hoops before they let you go. I needed to see the respiratory therapist, the physical therapist, the lactation consultant, the doctor and the nutitionist before I could even get the paperwork started.

And, of course, this is a hospital, so each of these people are own his or her own schedule. I was hoping to be out of there by 11:00. We left at 4:45.

It was fun, though, in that Dad, Jean and my stepsister Amanda all came to the hospital to see the babies. They stuck around for the discharge (Todd was there too, of course) and it was this big celebration as they wheeled me out of the room with my two pink bundles in my arms. Dad got lots of video -- It's so awesome.

We arrived home around 5:30 and shortly thereafter, Dad, Jean and Amanda arrived with a full party of fun -- balloons, pink plates, napkins and forks, champagne, etc. ZZ showed up with a seven-foot-tall inflatable stork for the front yard and Dad put out a sign that once read, "It's a Girl," but that he modified to say, "It's Girls!" The entire Devins/Buller/Mylar/Pruetz family dined on Pei Wei and celebrated the twins' homecoming.

The dust cleared a few hours later and it was just me, Todd, Devin and the girls. It was so nice to have the whole family together at last.

The past couple of nights haven't been easy, but did anyone expect differently? Around 4:00 this morning, after only a few brief moments of sleep here and there, I told Todd, "Let's put them in separate cribs and see if they are more comfortable apart than they are together."

Sure enough, with one in the pack-n-play and one in the bassinet, they slept much better. No doubt they love to be together, but they scootch around too much to be comfortable right up on one another when they sleep.

So now I type, bleary-eyed and hazy, but living and so happy to have all three of my kids (wow!) at home.

As soon as I get a little bit of sleep, I'll type more. Remind me to tell the story of our first night at home with the girls and how their apnea monitors, all seven of our smoke detectors and our intrusion alarm all went off at the exact same time. It's a real hoot. :)

With love,
Erin

June 22, 2006

It's been a wild and wooly few days here in the Pruetz household. Let me see if I can make this quick (sure -- and hell's about to freeze over...).

Currently, my entire family is vacationing at Lake LBJ. We do this every year -- my dad and stepmom rent a house in some mutually agreeable place and the two of them along with ZZ, myself, our four stepsisters and all of their families spend a week of family time together. It's tons and tons of fun.

But this year was a problem because of the girls and Todd's new job. So we decided not to go. But then I thought about it. Lake LBJ is only 90 minutes from here -- Devin and I could easily drive up, spend one night and drive back, giving us both a little vacation. We decided to do it and we left Tuesday morning after I went to see the girls.

But we almost didn't go because I got the news that the girls would be coming home on Thursday (today)!

That's right -- Faith and Grace have been deemed well enough to come home! It's been a long five weeks and there's still a lot to do around here. I don't even have any diapers for them! So much to think about...

But I decided that Devin (who's feeling a little neglected these days) and I needed one last hurrah before the girls come home and we went to the lake. We rode in the pontoon boat, Devin (along with Aunt ZZ, since I can't get into the water yet) was pulled in an intertube behind the boat (it was a disaster -- he was terrified), swam in the pool, took a tour of a local cave system and generally had fun just hanging around. Lake LBJ is beautiful and the cabin we rented was spectacular.

We returned yesterday afternoon to get the final preparations made for the arrival of the rest of the family to our home.

On my way back, though, I got a phone call from the nurse-practitioner in the NICU. Apparently, both Faith and Grace had had apnea episodes during a feeding on Tuesday. Apnea isn't much to worry about as long as it's happening during feeding times. It just means they got a little ahead of themselves and forgot to breathe. Pretty typical, even at their gestation.

Regardless, they want to send both girls home with Apnea monitors. It's a machine that will tell you if they don't breathe for 15 seconds. It's a safeguard, but I'm pretty happy to have it. Peace of mind for me, if nothing else.

They also want me to "room-in" with the girls tonight. It's a dry run, often done with families of preemies and/or multiples. It gives you a chance to sleep in the same room with your kids and do everything just like you would at home, but have a nurse at your disposal should you need one. I'm not tickled about spending another night at Chateau de Methodist, but if it means my girls will come home, then I'll do it.

So, we're pushing the homecoming back from today until tomorrow. If all goes well tonight, then we'll just do discharge in the morning and I'll be home with three kids by lunchtime.

I can't lie here -- I've got a certain amount of anxiety. In fact, I have a lot of anxiety. How am I going to do this? How does one take three kids to the grocery store? Where do I put the two car seats? Where does Devin sit? Devin is also a pretty typical three-year-old boy. He's loud, rambunctious and defiant at times. How am I going to get him to behave when I'm trying to take care of two infants? It's a full time job as it is.

I know that I did this when I was about to be hospitalized. I over-thought the whole thing and was a victim of my own mind. But I know the next few months are going to be very tough and I apologize in advance if I go for a long time without updating this blog. Luckily, writing it therapeutic for me, so maybe this blog can be my escape. We'll see...

But certainly my joy and relief over Faith and Grace coming home is outweighing my anxiety. They'll finally be here. Five weeks, to-the-day, since they were born and home they will come. It's a dream come true.

More updates to come...

E

June 19, 2006 Continued

Usually, if I update a date, I do it under the same blog date, but this time I decided I would stray from the norm because I have extra-special great news: The girls are coming home!

As is my usual custom, I went to the hospital around 9:00 today. I got there a little late and the girls had taken their feedings already. I was a little disappointed that I had missed being there for the feedings, but the nurse said, "Well -- they are on all feedings by mouth now, so there are a lot of opportunities."

I was thrilled to hear that -- all meals by mouth is one step closer to home! My friend Linda was with me and I turned to her and said, "That's the last step out the door!"

The nurse said, "Oh yes, you're close. In fact, they are on ad-lib feedings (which means that they can have as much as they want) The nurse-practitioner wants to talk with you."

Sure enough, in walked the N-P, Jane, and she said, "Both girls are doing so well. We'd like them to take their feedings by mouth for a few days and make sure they gain weight. If all goes well, they could be home by the end of this week, at the earliest. Early next week is probably the best estimate though. We'll need you to bring in their car seats so we can do a car seat study on each of them."

You all have no idea what hearing this did to me. For a month now, I have been picking up on cues as to what will be said when they are getting closer to home. I knew that they would be on all feedings by mouth (no feeding tube), would be asked to do a car seat study (to make sure they "fit" in the car seat, despite their tiny sizes, and don't have any fluctuations in their vital signs) and would have ad-lib feedings. To think that I heard all of those things in one day -- it just blows my mind. My girls will likely be home in a week. Together.

My eyes welled up with tears right there in the NICU Annex. It was so emotional. I just can't believe that we're to this point. They are such fighters and so strong. And soon, they'll be here for me to hold and love all day long. It's almost more than I can fathom.

More as it comes... :)

E

June 19, 2006

It was a warm, sunny summer morning at the house of Orville, Dorothy and Jill Pruetz in Yoakum, Texas. Dorothy, eight months pregnant with their second child, settled her three-year-old daughter Jill down at the table with breakfast while she started her daily chores.

As she tidied up around the house, though, a familiar pain rang through her abodmen.

"Hmmmm...it seems a little early for this to be happening..."

As she progressed through her day, the pains began to get more intense and closer together. She feared she was in labor, so she called the doctor.

"You should probably head to the hospital, Mrs. Pruetz," said the nurse on the other end of the line.

"Well, I'll get there when I can. I need to finish the laundry."

A few loads later and after making arrangements for Jill, Dorothy walked the three blocks for her house to Huth Memorial Hospital. Hours later, Todd Orville Pruetz was born. And the world was never the same.

These are the basics in the birth story of Todd. I'm sure I've got a few details wrong, but Dorothy waiting until the laundry was done and walking to the hospital are facts.

Todd is 38 today. Happy birthday, honey -- I love you so much.

Todd's birthday present -- he bought me a minivan. :)

E

June 18, 2006

To all of the dads out there, especially mine and the dad of my three kids, happy father's day. Anyone can be a father -- it takes a real man to be a dad. You deserved to be honored.

I am sure you are all sitting around on pins and needles saying, "Oh my gosh! When is Erin going to post again? It's been days since I've heard from her and I'm starting to have blog withdrawal, since I hang on her every typed word, wondering what exciting installment of the Pruetz family life will come next..."

Ha.

The reason for my lack of posting is this: lack of things to post about!

This makes me very, very happy. Lack of information to post means that life in our house is status quo. The girls are still doing great, with Faith gaining on her sister at nearly four-and-a-half pounds, and Grace tipping the scales at over five pounds! Faith is up to two by-mouth feedings each day, while Grace is eating two-thirds of her meals by mouth. Once they are taking all meals by mouth, they will be monitored for 48 hours. If they gain weight and do well, they'll come home! Each day brings us closer and closer...

But that's about it. Tomorrow, June 19, is Todd's 38th birthday. Of course, since he looks like he's 17, it really matters not.

And the biggest news from the Pruetz front: We did it. We bought a minivan.

Funny how life likes to bite you in the rear-end. I swore up and down, my whole life, that I would not drive a minivan, but logic took over when the girls were born. SUVs are great -- I would have prefered one, in fact -- but they are not nearly as practical or useful as a minivan. When you have to get three little ones into car seats in the cramped conditions of a parking space at Super Target, you realize just how easy it is to have big, sliding doors and seats that you can walk in between. They are also better on gas mileage than an SUV and have more standard features (seriously). Like it or not, it's a no brainer.

So we have invested in a Kia Sedona. It was between that and a Honda Odyssey. The Kia won out because it had a higher safety rating, more standard features, a longer warranty (ten years!) and was significantly cheaper. Again -- a no brainer.

I told Todd that if I was going to drive a minivan, I was going to do it right. So we got all of the bells and whistles: DVD system, power doors (the sliding doors and liftgate open with buttons, not manually), heated memory seats, six-disc changer, tri-zone climate control, reverse sensor, etc. I have to admit, it's a pretty nice car. In fact, it's a really nice car. It drives like a sedan and is very comfortable. I am actually very happy with it.

That's right folks -- hear me now: I like my minivan. I like it a lot (said like Jim Carrey from "Dumb and Dumber...).

My point -- and I do have one -- is for all of you moms-of-many out there: Do not be afraid of the minivan! You may not look cool, but I guarantee you're not as cool as you think you are anyway. So go ahead, buy that Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest or other ones out there. You'll love it, even if you only admit said love in private.

I'm off to see my girls. And I am secure in the knowlege that I am well-equipped in the automobile department should they come home at any time. :)

Below are some photos of the girls this week, in their new co-bedding environment. Have you ever seen anything cuter? (Hint: if the answer isn't, "Yes," I don't want to hear it. :)

With love,
E

Faith on the left, Grace on the right


Faitharoo and Gracie Too

June 13, 2006

Now I'm not sure why so many of you are out to see me look like a doofus in a minivan, but my last post received more comments and emails than any other of my 42 posts to this blog. May I remind you that this blog is about my ridiculous pregnancy and the two beautiful girls who miraculously made it -- not, "Oh gee, Erin has to buy a minivan...let's all poke fun at her!" Remember, I have a lot of dirty secrets on most of you and I'm not afraid to use them.

*Big Smile*

All kidding aside...

Things are still going well in the lives of the Pruetz twins. When I went to see the girls yesterday, Faith had been placed in an open crib. Finally, I had "access" to both of my girls, without having to carefully slide them out of the isolette, wrap them up and swaddle them tightly just to hold them. I could just pick them up and snuggle them right there. I was so proud of her!

This morning, though, when I walked into the blue room, the nurse said, "Oh -- the girls are in the NICU annex!"

Apparently, there are so many babies in Methodist's NICU that they had to create an "annex" on the third floor. It's an overflow room for the blue room, but only the wellest-of-the-well babies from the blue room get to go. It's not really a step up from the blue room, but rather just a separate area. But since it's two floors away, they only take the babies who are doing exceptionally. It's the same level of monitoring and such.

So I trekked through three buildings (Methodist is four hospitals in one -- medical, heart, women's and children's) and up two floors and found my way to the annex. Turns out, it's really just a large patient room that they put babies in. Only six at a time can be held in the annex.

The girls were immediately inside the door, next to the window (a room with a view!), but I was surprised to see that they were in one crib! Finally, after 25 days, they have been reunited! I have to admit -- I got a little teary-eyed when I saw them together again.

I have heard, over and over again, how multiples do better when they co-bed, because they like being near one another. I never put much stock into it, truthfully. I really thought it couldn't make that much of a difference.

But they were sleeping so soundly! Fluke? Maybe.

So I picked Grace up to start feeding her and sat down in a chair just next to their crib. She began to wake up and as she did, so did Faith. In fact, Faith started to howl after a few minutes. I thought, "Certainly she's not crying for Gracie." The nurse did what she could to calm her down, including changing her diaper and rocking her for a few minutes. She calmed down mostly, but laid in the crib, fully awake for the next 20 minutes or so.

After my time with Grace, I put her down in the crib and picked up Faith. Sure enough, as soon as I did, Grace started to ootch around and cry out. She wasn't happy to be alone, either.

I spent a good hour with Faith and then put her back next to her still-awake sister. I put them a few inches apart, but within seconds, they had snuggled up to one another and had both peacefully fallen asleep.

It was incredible -- they really do sleep better together. It was adorable.

I've held my two girls at the same time a couple of times now and have gotten to see them together. But each time I hold them at the same time, I end up with one in the crook of one arm and one in the crook of the other. So trying to see both of their faces at the same time is nearly impossible. I had to turn my head to see one or the other.

But today, as they were lying there together (both in the same position), I got my first real look at my twin girls. They still don't look identical to me, but they are twins for sure. Their noses are exactly the same. So are their chins and eyes. Faith's face is longer and thinner while Gracie has a rounder shape to hers.

But regardless of how identical they are, they are gorgeous. My heart just sang when I saw their faces there together. It was a moment I'll certainly never forget. I could hardly pry myself away from the sight of them.

I'm going back up tonight, with a camera. I'll be sure to take photos and post them here.

Peace,
E

June 11, 2006

Here's a little story that will certainly make you laugh -- on many levels.

Before ZZ left for Kazakstan, I went over to her house to pick up the baby essentials that she has collected with her twins. Two car seats, four car seat bases, the double stroller, etc... She's an excellent resource. :)

I wanted to get all of these things from her before she left on her trip, as Grace may come home before ZZ gets back and I really need this paraphernalia.

Currently, all of this "stuff" is sitting in my formal living room and at the base of the staircase. It's not very pretty, but right now there is no other place to put it. As soon as the nursery is finished, we'll have more room (I hope...).

Todd went to the hospital yesterday afternoon and while he was gone, I decided I would try to get the car seat bases into the back seat of my Honda Accord.

An hour-and-a-half later I was completely defeated.

It seems that sedans are not built to have three car seats in the back. No matter how I arranged them (Devin's seat on the end with the babies' seats in the middle and on the other end; Devin's seat in the middle with the girls' seats on each end), I couldn't make them fit. At one point, I had them all in there, but couldn't manage to get the baby seats to pop into the bases. There just wasn't enough room. There would have been enough room if I didn't have to close the doors to the car, but I think the police department might frown upon me traveling down I-10 with the doors open and three kids in the car. Just a hunch.

Now you need to picture this as it really happened. It wasn't just me putting car seats into a car and rearranging them. There was a lot of swearing involved (although I tried to keep it to a minimum, as we have a lot of kids in our neighborhood), some crying, a few "tossings" of key pieces across the yard and a toddler who insisted on sitting in the front seat, honking the horn. It was hysterical -- in retrospect. It was less than funny at the time.

I finally gave up and called Todd at the NICU. The phone was handed to him and the first thing I said was, "We need to buy a new car now." No, "Hi," or, "How are you?"

So this week, Todd and I will make the trek to a car dealership and come home with a ... *gulp* ...

Minivan.

I'm not 100% thrilled about this idea. I mean, I realize I'm no longer the 20-year-old cutie driving the red Mustang around SMU's campus, but at least in my Honda, I had some elements of cool -- Satellite radio, navigation system, voice automation, etc. You know -- old people cool.

There is just nothing cool about a 30-year-old driving around a minivan with a DVD system playing, "Finding Nemo," or something equally as obnoxious (don't get me wrong -- I'm a huge Disney fan and love Nemo. But certainly you get my point). The last bit of coolness that I have managed to hold onto is now being taken away from me by a Kia Sedona minivan, or something of the like.

So there you have it. Erin Pruetz will soon be driving a minivan. It's laughable, I admit it.

I'm off to see my girls and then, this afternoon, Todd and I are taking Devin to see "Cars" in the theatre. It's his first in-theatre movie and he's very excited. He deserves a special treat, too. He's been so good and patient since everything turned upside down in his world. I am consistently impressed with how easy-going he is and how adaptable he's become. I think this afternoon will be some much-needed mommy and daddy time for him. I'm looking forward to it too.

I'll update on the girls later this afternoon or tomorrow.

Peace,
EDP

June 10, 2006

This entire week has seen such rapid progress for the girls and the last two days haven't been any different. They're just moving right along like the champs that they are!

As expected, I went to the NICU on Thursday night to breastfeed The Roo. And as expected, she was less-than-interested in the whole thing. She just didn't seem to understand that there was food in there. We tried for 15 minutes or so, without much luck. I was told this could happen and was expecting these types of problems, so I wasn't too disappointed.

We decided to see if she would take a bottle and I popped the nipple into her mouth with no problem. She responded by making a face and pushing the foreign object around with her tounge. Then she must have gotten a taste of the milk, because she started sucking and didn't let go again until the bottle was nearly drained. What a pro!

While I was there, I breastfed Gracie, too (who is up to two breast/bottle feedings each day). Talk about a champ! She's just the opposite of her sister -- she likes to breastfeed, but isn't very interested in the bottle (although she will take it for a few minutes at a time). Just when I think she's done with nursing, I lay her on my lap, in the crook of my arm and she turns her head toward my chest, as if to say, "Um...hello? More, please." It's pretty funny.

On Friday, I got to the NICU around 9:00 to feed The Too and hold The Roo. It was the usual drill with Gracie -- lots of breastfeeding, not much interest in bottlefeeding.

When I got to Faith, though, I noticed that she was all swaddled up and clothed (she graduated!) while lying in her isolette. I asked the nurse and she said, "We're going to wean her out of the isolette and co-bed her with her sister."

Now this was just about the best news I could have gotten -- topped only by, "They're going home, Mrs. Pruetz, and they're both sleeping through the night already!" My two girls will be in the same crib together -- reunited at last. My heart is just brimming with pride...

As of this morning, Faith is still in the isolette, but the nurses were talking about moving her into a crib (the crib, I guess) today. Todd will go up this afternoon and I hope to get a good report!

Both girls ate for me this morning (in their typical, "I like the bottle"/"I like the breast" fashion) and I got to spend a good amount of time just staring at them and singing to them. It's so peaceful, even with everything going on around us.

If I had to guess (and this is a totally uneducated guess), I'd say that by this time next week, we'll have at least one of the twins home. They're just doing so well...

On a completely different note:

My sister, ZZ, and her lifelong friend Anjanette are flying out today to go to Almaty, Kazakstan in the former USSR. Anjanette is adopting her second child from Kazakstan and ZZ is going with her to bring Bennet home while Anjanette's husband, Ronnie, stays home with their first child. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, as it will be a long and difficult trip. Nine hours to Amsterdam, ten hour layover, another seven-and-a-half hours to Almaty. Then, four days later, they get to do it all again, but with a 14-month-old in tow. Lord have mercy... :)

With love,
E

June 8, 2006

Well, it's been another eventful day in the life of the Pruetz twins.

I walked into the NICU this morning at about 9:00 in an effort to feed Gracie. When I was up there last night, she never woke up for breast or bottle feeding, so I was feeling like I had missed out on the daily experience. Hoping she would be awake and ready to eat, I decided to get there for one of her morning feedings instead of waiting until late at night.

As usual, I walked through the doors of the NICU, through the pink room and made a left into the white room. As I peered down the long, narrow room, I noticed that the station where they were yesterday held only one bed. My heart skipped a beat -- one of them was taken back to the pink room again. Why hadn't anyone called me?

Before I could panic, though, I realized that the bed that was in their place was not Faith's or Grace's. It was a boy. Hmmm...I'm certain both of my twins are girls. I am sure I would have noticed by now if they weren't. I mean, I change their diapers daily and all...

A nurse noticed me looking perplexed (it's a normal thing for me) and said, "Are you looking for your baby? We did some switching around last night."

I told her yes, that I was looking for the Pruetz twins and she said, "Oh right this way."

She led me back through the white room and just before we hit the doorway to the pink room, we turned. Hmmmm...there's another room? I was unaware of this. I'd never really taken notice. The door was sort of nestled back behind the front desk and pretty unassuming.

Sure enough, though, there were my girls, just inside the door. Their nurse, Javier, who has been their nurse a number of times, welcomed me to the blue room.

"What's the blue room?"

Apparently, it's the last step on the way out the door. I thought that the white room was the last step, but I guess I was getting ahead of myself. Javier told me that babies are discharged from the white room all the time, but that the blue room was really where most were discharged to go home from.

Well how proud was I? I was beaming from ear-to-ear. My babies are in the blue room... My babies are in the blue room...

Of course, my heart aches for the little ones (and their parents) who are still in the pink room. Like Jadin, who was across from Grace during her first week. Or the little 24-weeker who was brought in when Faith was back in the pink room this past weekend. They have long, long roads ahead of them. It gave me a lot of perspective in just how lucky we have been. Our girls were small, but they're pretty strong and healthy.

I said hello to both of my over-achievers and sat down to nurse Gracie. Luckily, I had called Javier just before I entered the hospital and told him I was on my way. He had The Too (remember -- Faitharoo and Gracie Too = The Roo and The Too) all wrapped up and ready to go. And boy, was she. She was wide awake and looking around with those big, blue eyes that just make my heart sing. I just had to laugh -- she's so cute.

I put Gracie on the Bobby (nursing pillow) and she immediately turned her head toward me. She was ready to eat and instinct was taking over! She nursed for about ten minutes on one side, but started to fall asleep. I switched sides with her, but she was still pretty sleepy, so I gave her the bottle. She took 13 mL and was tube-fed the rest. What a pro!

Afterwards, I Kangarood The Roo and spent some good, quality snuggle time with her. Bliss, as usual.

Todd called from the NICU just a few minutes ago and asked a question I've been dying to hear for three days now: How would you like to come up here tonight to feed Faith?

I was so excited! She's ready to breast/bottle feed! I can hardly contain my excitement! This is one of the final steps before she comes home and it means that she's catching up with Gracie, who has been consistently a few days ahead of her. Now if we could only get her to maintain her body temperature...

So, I'm outta here tonight to go try this whole thing out. I was pretty sure Gracie was ready when we started earlier this week -- she was showing all sorts of signs. I'm not so sure that The Roo is that ready, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up that she'll be as good at this as Gracie right off the bat. But I know she'll catch on. I just need to be patient.

Thanks for sharing in our excitement. We could possibly be only days away from having our whole family together. It just makes my eyes well-up with tears. God is so good.

Blessings,
Me