Painter Crew Updates

Oops I fell behind! We had our second (for Michael) and first appointment for Austin this past week. Michael is now 7 lbs 1 oz. Austin is 8 lbs 2 oz. Doctor said Michael is showing more advanced signs than most 2 month olds and agreed he would be rolling from back to belly soon. Austin was in his chill mode so the doctor didn't get to see his abilities.  Michael also rolled over from his belly to his back on Thursday! I don't think he realized what he did especially based on the face he made 🤣 We are pretty much in a rhythm now and sleeping is...well getting better. 

As a parent you want to see your kids grow and learn new things. However, it's bittersweet when they start growing out of the newborn traits (especially when we didn't fully get to experience them). Austin has gotten VERY close to rolling into his belly so we've been working on stopping swaddles at nap and bedtime. Today was the first day and he did great at nap time. Fast forward to bedtime figured I'd swaddle him to help him sleep. He was so uncomfortable, he wanted to be able to stretch out. Here was nap time. Michael on the other hand has been FUSSY! and we aren't sure why. He was free during nap time today as well but is still swaddled tonight. Here he was attempting to sleep without the swaddle. We met the other twins in the family tonight too! Corey and Daniel are identical twins who are 9 years old (Philips cousin's) they got to see the boys tonight for the first time and it was so wild seeing both sets of twins together. Pictures...

While the boys are 3 months old- in a doctor's world they are only 4 days. For those who don't know, when babies are born early of course they have a birthday. However, developmentally they are "adjusted" to when their due date is.   Raising Children website   explained this perfectly Corrected age can help if you’re trying to work out whether your premature baby’s development is tracking in a typical way. For example, if someone notices that your baby is 6 months old but not sitting up yet, you could explain that your baby was born 3 months early. If you look at your baby’s corrected age, they’re really only 3 months old and they’re doing everything a 3-month-old usually does. Corrected age is most relevant during your child’s early years, because it might explain things that look like delays in development in these years. We've had the boys home one week and here is just a few of the things we've learned so far... Austin -likes bath time -not sure about tumm...

Ahhhhh! We made it. Our NICU journey is over!!  Michael, being the tiny but mighty guy he is, got to graduate and come home on 9/6 after 74 days (10 weeks 4 days) in the NICU. Our first night home wasn't too bad although we are still figuring out things he likes and doesn't like.  Leaving Austin behind at the hospital was frickin' hard not going to lie. There were tears shed and I felt so torn about being excited to take Michael home but leaving Austin behind. However, I knew that it was going to be short lived because if all went well Austin would be home in 2 days. The nurses assured me he wouldn't be lonely and would get all the snuggles.  Austin got to graduate on September 8! 76 days (10 weeks 6 days). Having both home has been a lot. His first night home was... ROUGH. But we're figuring it out one day at a time, hell one minute at a time 😂 Looking back, we've come so far. I can't believe they are now 11 weeks. My due date was September 13 ...

Hiiii every one! We have the stinkiest farts and diapers. I got to spend more time with them this weekend since I was off!! I'm trying REALLY hard to be strong but I will be honest... I'm struggling with them not being home yet. I'm losing my strength to keep going to the hospital and coming home empty handed. I keep thinking "all we have left to do is eat!! It can't be that hard" but it is! It's exhausting for these guys. Of course I want them to be ready and healthy when they come home but I'd be lying if I said I was okay with them still being in the hospital.  Austin has been doing so much better with breathing. The doctor is going to try and remove it in the next day or so. Michael has his MRI tomorrow, again I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about it. When they were smaller and ultrasound was done and it showed something on his brain. It could be nothing, it could be something. The decision was to wait and ...