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8 months old. Where does the time go!!

I am finally getting a chance to post some updates on Mr. Cooper and Mr. Wesley. It has been forever but I guess better late than never. My life has been so busy and I think I'm getting the hang of it...for now.
I'm amazed at how fast the time flies. I can't believe the boys are 8 months old already. They have started sitting up, eating solid foods, finally getting rid of reflux (thank god), & grabbing whatever they can get they're hands on. They are also getting two bottom front teeth that are taking forever to finally come in.
We've had two colds. One that lasted through the holidays. And one that turned into a ear infection that both boys had. Cooper ended up with a tiny hole in his eardrum and Wes had bronchitis. They are doing much better now. They're circumcision was scheduled for Feb. 7th and we had to cancel because they were sick:( We decided to reschedule for April 30th when cold and flu season is over. I'm not looking forward to the surgery. But I know we should go on and do it.

We have been busy hanging with our new friend Carter who was born in December. Aunt Casey is watching Cooper, Wesley and Carter 3 days a week. I do not know how she has the patience to take care of 3 babies. But I am so grateful for her and all she does for us.
Hopefully I will be able to post more often. I have got the blogger app for my phone so I don't have a excuse for not posting as much any more. We are having the boys 8 month pictures made this weekend so I should have some good pictures for my next post.

Fall Festivities

We have been so busy these days with all the fall events. I have finally gotten a Sunday afternoon to sit and post some new pictures and fill everyone in on how "The Boys" are doing.  We are getting used to going to work everyday and finding somewhat of a routine. We have our four month check up tomorrow so I guess we will find out how much Wesley and Cooper have grown. It is hard to believe that it has already been 4 months. 

The reflux has been a challenge with projectile vomiting. But we have realized feeding the boys sitting up and making sure they are up for 30 minutes prior makes a huge difference. Both are taking Prevacid and it seems to help. But we have our accidents every once in awhile. My sister and I were at the mall a couple of weeks ago and while shopping we stopped to feed the boys.  They ate and all was well so we started off to another store. Cooper started to fuss a little so I picked him up and started walking around. Should have known not to move him but I wasn't thinking. Before I know it I have puke in my hair all over my clothes and all over Cooper. I doubt the poor guy had anything left in his stomach it was all over us. That was quite a experience, even after I washed the throw up out of my hair I kept smelling it, who knows. We have all realized it's a good idea to have a back up outfit in the car for us just incase.  Ready for the boys to grow out of the reflux. 

Wesley and Cooper are little social butterflies. They have been on quite a few outings. We have been to the Fair, to 2 weddings, a funeral, a fall festival and Trunk or Treat, a pumpkin patch, church, and of obviously shopping. They really do good out and about. But I do not go out without help yet. I haven't gotten that brave. I do not know what we would do with 4. Thank god for my sister because she has graciously given up even her Mondays off to help me take the boys to the doctor and run errands when we need to. 

Cooper at the fair

Wesley at the fair

The boys love to lay and kick around. One night they kicked so much that they wore their selves out and slept for a whole 8 hours. I woke up at 4, 5 and 6am thinking surely they will be up in another hour and they made it from 11pm to 7am. That was awesome but hasn't been repeated since. They are both smiley and happy for the most part. We are working on head control and grabbing for toys now. They are coming right along learning and growing.  I worry about their development because they were so early. Their adjusted age is only 1 month and a few days. But they seem to be moving on schedule.

This is our pumpkin patch picture made with our halloween art we made with grandma. Its our footprints made to look like ghosts. 

Back To Work

We are finally 1 week away from our due date. It is amazing how much the boys have grown since they have come home.  Being with them at home was so rewarding.  I am so glad I took the time to enjoy them. Now it is time to go back to work. Thank goodness I own my own salon and the boys can come with me to work everyday until Justin gets off. Our doctor advised us not to put the boys in daycare for the 1st year since they were premature. We all made it through our first week, our first earthquake, and Hurricane Irene. It was defiantly a eventful week but we took it in stride and had a great week back at work. I am so lucky because my awesome sister is nice enough to take time to watch the boys while I work. It is so nice to be able to have them with me and I love introducing them to all my clients. They are like family to me so I am so glad they can finally meet them.

We won a years worth of free photography in a ultrasound picture contest back when we found out we were having quads. The photographers name is Michelle LaPrade and I couldn't have asked for better photos. She did such a great job, as you can see. These are just a few I picked but they were all so good.

At our 2 month doctor appointment Cooper weighed 6lbs 5oz and Wesley weighed 6lbs. They are 11 weeks now and I would say both are right at 7lb or a little over. It is amazing how fast they are growing.

Wesley 

Cooper

Coming home!!

Wesley and Cooper had been making progress with bottle feedings and had no episodes in a week. By the start of last week the feeding tubes were out and both boys were taking every meal by bottle. They told me to bring their car seats in because it would be next week sometime when we would be bringing them home. Thursday July 28th the nurse called me that morning and told me that we should be making plans to spend the night and that we could bring the babies home tomorrow. I just kept thinking I would get to the hospital and they would have changed their mind. But when I got there that day they had started scheduling everything for our discharge.
We came to the hospital that night and practiced giving the boys a bath and spent one sleepless night in the NICU parenting rooms. They pretty much let you have a practice run and hook the baby up to a monitor so they can see how the baby does for the night with eating and things. By the end of the night we were so tired so we packed up and headed home to get things ready and rest before our first night with the boys at home.

That Friday night we got to the hospital around 6:30 and fed the boys for the last time in the NICU. The best part was they were wireless so we didn't have to worry about beeping. We got our paper work signed and as soon as my mom got there with the coming home outfits (that had just arrived) we dressed the boys and got them in the car seats ready to go. We were so excited but pretty nervous considering we were bringing home two 5 pound little babies. Here we are strapped in and ready to head home

Cooper

Wesley

Our first night home wasn't to bad but I think we were mostly running on adrenaline. We slept probably 3 hours. The boys did good though they probably thought, what have we got ourselves into these guys have no clue what they are doing. Im sure they think mommy is crazy because I check to see if they are breathing quite frequently. Thank god for the Angel care monitor or I would never sleep. Our little family has had to adapt to change alot this year. I'm hoping the next 6 months of our life together will be full of fun and great moments and that all the troublesome things are behind us. We are so blessed to have such smart and healthy boys. And especially lucky to have been able to bring them home together. Thanks again for all the prayers and support. I will to keep updating maybe not as frequent considering my life is getting more and more hectic these days.

Feeding and Growing!!!!

Holding hands.(Cooper on right Wesley on left) 

The boys are doing well starting to both take bottles and breast feed a little everyday.  We aren't sure when they will come home. We haven't started a count down but they are definitely making progress everyday. Next Monday they will hit the 34 week mark. That means when they start to take all feedings from a bottle and if they stay stable and have no episodes for 7 days straight they will start talking about us bringing them home. We aren't trying to get our hopes up because any day can be different in the NICU.

We have had such great nurses one of our favorites, Emily, makes us the cutest little notes for when the boys turn a week old or have a milestone. Thinking about the boys coming home makes me a little nervous I wish I could bring her home with us. We have a great NICU and all the nurses have been so good and they take such great care of our boys. I want them home but I know they are in the best place until they are ready. We just have to be patient and wait. We are so lucky things have been smooth so far and hopefully they will continue to go so smooth.

Both over 4 lbs!!!(Cooper right Wesley left)

1 month old!!(Cooper right Wesley left)

3 weeks old and moved to the big boy bed together!!!

On 4th of July we had the wonderful surprise of getting to see our sweet boys together for the first time since being in the womb. They have moved to an open air crib together. We are so excited for them to be together again and so proud of our sweet boys. God has been so good to us.  It is hard going back and fourth to the NICU but we are so lucky to have such strong boys and awesome friends and family. One of the best things has been having the meal train our church friends started on Facebook.  It is so helpful to have a the delicious meals brought to us everyday so we don't have to worry about cooking. For everyone who has and will in the future make us a meal...Thanks So Much! You have no idea how helpful it has been.

Wesley and Cooper in their new bed!!

Wesley is making progress he is up to full feeds for his weight and tolerating them well. He does have some reflux after his feedings though.  He had a positive urine culture come back from last week and docs decided to put him on antibiotics to treat a urinary tract infection. They took a second culture and we found out today it is negative. So they decided to stop the antibiotics. As long has Wesley and Cooper are doing well next week we get to try practicing breast feeding!!! We hope it will goes well bottle feeding is our next big step. 

Wesley 3lb 5.2oz

Cooper is doing well also. He is also up to full feedings and tolerating them well. He seems to like it in his new bed with his brother. He is holding his temperature well out of the incubator and keeping it stable. They also decided that since they are doing so well they can start infant massage. It is supposed to be very beneficial for premature infants. This sounds like something I would like to have everyday, who doesn't love a massage.

Cooper 3lb 9oz