1st dr appointment

Today we took the boys to their first doctor's appointment. Travis had an eye infection so we moved their 2 week appointment up to today. They were still a little yellow so the pediatrician checked their bilirubin levels again and thankfully they are both at safe levels.

William - 8 lbs 11 oz (50th percentile) 19.75 in (25th percentile) 75 percentile for head circ.
Travis - 6 lbs 12 oz (10th percentile) 19.25 in (1oth percentile) 10-25 percentile for head circ.

They are both past their birth weight, but the difference in weight has grown to almost 2 pounds. I need to keep eating well and feed my little peanut!! If you see me with an empty hand, put a milkshake in it! Or something with butter!

Travis

Great Grandma Rech with Will

1 week and return of the size frog

Can't believe that a week has already gone by! We had a few firsts on Thursday:

- Joe worked his first full day, poor guy

- We gave the boys their first baths

- I witnessed both boys peeing without a diaper. Until this point I had heard about it but never actually saw it. I imagined a 3-6 inch stream of pee so imagine my surprise when William peed in his own face and even over his head. Then while Joe was bathing Travis, he peed all over the place - on to the floor, running down the cabinets, just everywhere!

- Emily also attempted (for the first but not the last time) to pick up Travis on her own. Luckily Grandma Reynolds saw it happening and was able to get to her before she hurt him. His poor little head was dangling.

Assembly Line

Clean babies

With the traditional size frog - Travis on left, Will on right

Will

Travis - his face is getting rounder

One of our biggest helpers!

Day 7: Wednesday

On Wednesday, Mom and I took the boys to the hospital again for Travis's 3rd bilirubin test. Finally it went down and they said we didn't have to come back. My efforts in nursing paid off because the boys gained weight and are both less yellow.

William 8 lbs 3.5 oz (birth weight 8 lbs 2 oz)

Travis 6 lbs 6.5 oz (birth weight 6 lbs 9 oz)

TMI ALERT: I had some hard uncomfortable lumps in my chest and was afraid I already had a plugged duct. I need some relief so I asked to speak to the lactation consultant and she gave me a lot of really good information that I never knew before. One thing that was really helpful was learning that the side of the breast where the baby's bottom lip is corresponds to the milk ducts that empty most. Since then I have nursed in some really weird positions in order to get some relief.

She also looked at Travis' latch because he was hurting me every time he ate. She taught me some exercises to do to help him latch better. Kinda weird doing exercises with your baby.

After the appt, my mom and I took the boys to their first lunch out at Rome's which is one of my favorites from my working days. It was so nice to relax without worrying about feeding a toddler or preschooler. But don't feel bad for the girls, because Daddy took them to lunch at Momak's which has an awesome outdoor playground.

Will and Travis in their new handmade blankets from Margaret and her mom

Will - he sleeps a lot

Silly picture of Travis - so red!

Skinny Minny and Chubby Wubby - they are about the same length, but Will always has his feet pulled up high. I guess that was his position in my belly. These are the only preemie outfits that we ended up with. We have a bunch of matching outfits, but we don't have sons that are the same size!

Day 6: Tuesday

On Tuesday, Joe and his mom took the girls to the playground and Babies 'r Us while I was supposed to rest. It was my first time to try to feed the boys by myself. Instead of it taking 40-50 minutes like when I have help , it took 80 minutes. I know I will get better at it, but it sure was frustrating that day.

Grandpop stopped by a quick visit to hold the babies and do some puzzles with Maddie

Playing with Daddy

Day 5: Monday

Day 5 also started with a trip to the hospital for Travis to have a bilirubin test. It was a cool rainy day and it was pouring when Joe loaded the boys in the van and when he dropped us off at the front of the hospital. Very fun...

Travis' bilirubin rose to 14.9, but at a slower rate, so that was an improvement but they still asked us to go back in 48 hours. He also gained weight to 6 lb 2.5 oz. The pediatrician asked me to nurse every 2 hrs for 20 minutes each in order to help the jaundice. This became my life - nurse, eat, sleep - repeat. Thank goodness for all the help changing diapers and watching the girls.

Here is the big sister so excited to hold her little brother. Poor Will is still sporting the conehead.

The 4 Reynolds kids

Day 4

Day 4 started with a trip to the hospital for a bilirubin test for the boys and ended with a vist from Shifi.

Dress Up!

Grandma Reynolds brought some fun new things for the girls to dress up in! They are so girly, sometimes I wonder if they really belong to me!

Dancing in the kitchen with heels

Day 3

On day 3, we came home from the hospital where we were greeted by 2 very excited little girls! They can't get enough of their brothers. Maddie also loves their car seats.

The boys moved into their new home. I know it looks crazy, but this is working for us right now. The boys like to be close to each other and this way we can easily carry them from room to room. And it keeps certain pokey little fingers at a distance. Travis is on the left and Will is on the right.

Also, Grandma Reynolds ("Braska MaMa") and Great Grandma Rech ("Great MaMa") arrived from Nebraska.

Think she's happy to be here?? Holding Will

Quick Update

I have a sudden adrenaline surge and I can't sleep. (I will hear about this from my mom tomorrow!) I guess its because I am a little worried about Travis. We go back to the hospital today, for the 2nd time to check his bilirubin level. Yesterday, Will's level was good, but Travis' level was still rising at a rate that requires monitoring.

Edited Mon afternoon: Travis's bilirubin level rose a small amount, but he is out of the danger zone. We take him back Wednesday to make sure it actually goes down. He gained back a few ounces so we know he's getting something to eat!

Here is our little guy before he turned yellow

A few pics from the hospital

Sisters holding the twins. A big thanks to Aunt Lorrie who came to SA to watch the girls so Mom and Dad could be at the hospital.

Uncle Nate holding Will


Aunt April with Travis

Uncle Eric with Travis??


One of our first family photos. Wow, we are a family of six

In case you hadn't heard

The boys are here!!

William Joseph Reynolds (Baby A) - 8 lbs 2 oz, 19.5 inches, 8:47 am

Travis Scott Reynolds (Baby B) - 6 lbs 9 oz, 19 inches, 8:50 am

My first time to hold them together

Travis and William

37 weeks appt

Short story: I am being induced early tomorrow morning. We are supposed to show up at the hospital at midnight. We should be holding our little ones by tomorrow afternoon! Joe and I are very excited and anxious! Please pray for a safe delivery with no complications.

Long story: I had my 37 week appointment today and we were packed and ready. We had no idea what my OB would say, but we were hoping to have an end in sight. We really did not expect for me to still be pregnant!

This paragraph gives the nitty gritty details, so feel free to skip it if you aren't interested. I had my first internal for this pregnancy and I was 3 cm dialated and 50-60% effaced. I was surprised because I've never had any progress at my internals with my previous pregnancies. My OB began calling around looking for a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist who was available to assist/oversee a breech extraction delivery. See the below picture to see how the boys are in my belly. Most doctors will not attempt a vaginal delivery when the top baby is breech. With my history of successful deliveries of large babies, my OB is willing to give me a shot. However, she had to have a MFM on duty with her. Finding one proved to be pretty difficult so when she found one available for tomorrow, we jumped on it. If I were to go into labor spontaneously, most likely the dr on duty would not give me a choice and would force me to have a c-section.

There is still a chance that I will have to have a c-section if something goes wrong, but I appreciate the opportunity to try not to have one. Please pray for me to have an uncomplicated vaginal delivery with 2 healthy babies as an end result.

Here I am at a few days before 37 weeks. From the front, I look pretty normal


Oh, but I'm huge from the side!

Birthday trip to the zoo

On Emily's actual birthday, Joe took the day off and took the girls to the zoo. It was hot and humid but they had a good time.

She conquered the fear of the Komodo Dragon

Well checks

Last week Emily and Maddie had their 3 yr and 18 mo well checks. It had been more than 6 months since either of them had been to the dr so I had no idea what to expect for their height and weights. Basically they are both average sized little girls

Emily - 32 lbs (50-75 percentile)
37 inches (50-75 percentile)

Maddie - 24 lbs (40-50 percentile)
32.5 inches (50-75 percentile)
head circumference - off the charts, big surprise

It drives me nuts that they give us this huge range when they have a perfectly good chart on the computer that could give us a more exact number. Seriously, does the plotted point have to be the size of a pencil eraser??

Happy 3rd Birthday Emily!

Our oldest baby is now 3! She brings joy to our lives and gives us reason to laugh and smile everyday. She is so affectionate to anyone who is receptive. She loves babies - toys and real ones - including the ones in my belly. She kisses and hugs them and loves to find hard spots in my belly.

She reminds me of a certain little brother of mine who used to have trouble with volume control. Her voice carries and its a frequency that sometimes makes me feel like a dog around a dog whistle. Luckily, she is starting to understand the concept of "use your inside voice".

Emily has learned to watch TV (oops!) and Dora is her favorite show right now. She is in a picky stage right now but will still eat all fruit, most meat, dairy, and some bread. I guess its really the veggies that we are having trouble getting her to eat. She is also not that fond of pasta, even macaroni!

Noelle posted some other cute pictures of Emily here - and of course she beat me to it!!

Newborn Emily in her Cornhusker gear

First Birthday

2nd Birthday

Playing with the bubble grill present from Aunt Lorrie on her 3rd birthday

Maddie - 19 months

Maddie is 19 months now and she has changed a lot this last month! She is talking so much more - she has recently said please, something similar to Jackson, and she pretty much attempts to repeat all the words we say. She has stopped calling me "Mom" and now calls me "MiMi". Not sure where that comes from but I think its cute (for now).
She puts her baby to sleep by bouncing them in her arms saying 'shhh shhh shhh' over and over again. All of a sudden, she likes puzzles almost as much as Emily does and she's getting better at them everyday. She also has learned the concept of 2 and she is very upset that she is only 1 and not yet 2 years old. I'm interested to see how she deals with the arrival of her brothers.

Playing a Dora game with Daddy

About a year ago - just a crawler
And as requested, with the size frog