Newbornish Photo Shoot

Based on my babies adjusted age, they are newborns.

But in reality they are 9 weeks old.

Of course while pregnant, I had already planned out everything that I wanted to do during a newborn photo shoot. I wanted to hire someone local to come out to our place & take photos of beautiful sleeping babes in funny positions.  I wanted professionally edited photos that I would turn into giant canvases and hang on our 24 foot walls. Basically I wanted what every new mom wanted...right?

At first I was really excited to hear about an organization called Pictures of Hope. They link up with local photographers that will come out to the NICU for free & take pictures of your babes.  I quickly looked up their info & was thrilled to find out that one local photographer, Laura Brett participated in their program. Thinking it was too good to be true, I went to her website & she had a button on her site saying she participated!! Woohoo! When you are a NICU mom, lots of things don't go right - so thinking I might get some quality photos of my precious babes was really special. I emailed her almost instantly. However, I woke up the next morning to an email from her saying that she no longer participated in the program. Heartbreaking. I responded that she might want to remove the button from her website that said she participated in Pictures of Hope. I recently visited her site & thankfully she has. Now no other mom will be so disappointed like I was.  I also emailed Pictures of Hope about the situation, but they have yet to remove Laura Brett Photography from their site. Sadness.

Fast forward now.  Hospital bedrest, birth, & NICU bills are all rolling in.  Not fun. Seriously puts a financial damper on my dream "Anne Geddes" like photo session for my babes.

So the professional scenario is now out.

We start researching chains. I know that we won't get the experienced photographer, the editing I want to see & the just the general patience that a pro can offer, but that's the way things go.

We choose the Picture People & scheduled a session for last Saturday morning, right when they open, hoping to beat the rush.

Yea, apparently even if you have the one of first sessions of the day, you still wait 25 minutes before your session starts.  Doesn't make sense to me either.  So now because we had to wait, we are getting closer to the girls next feeding time. Ugh. I can already see what's going to happen in our future.

The photographer was pretty nice, but really had no creative insight for us whatsoever. We brought one outfit to change into & figured the rest would be au naturale...yet there was no place to really change the babes. We basically laid one of our blankets on the hard floor & used the another one to support their little heads.

The babes are now ready to get their pictures taken & here's where that reality sets in. There will be no sleeping baby pictures. It was all that we could do to even keep them still.  My babies aren't newborns, even though their adjusted age says they are.  Ten minutes in and all we could do was laugh in order to keep our sanity.

Hence why this is my favorite shot from the entire shoot:

Once we wrap it all up my attitude changed completely.  These photographers are completely over worked & are in a high stress situation with all these families running around.  They probably aren't paid much & are doing the best that they can.  I have a lot more respect for them now.

We waited another 40 minutes to an hour for the editing & printing.  I was thankfully, during this time, able to get everyone fed.  The photographer took some good shots & for a reasonable price we got a really big/nice framed portrait of the babes, lots of extra prints, birth announcements, & the high resolution copies of all the pictures.  All in all we left pretty happy, much more so than when our day there began!

So would we go back there? Maybe.

Do I still want my glorious dream version with a professional who makes my babes look like beautiful cherubs? Of course.

But until then this will have to do...

{The blankets the babes are lying on were crocheted & donated to them by a local charity for NICU babies.}

{Maddie}

{Amelia}

{Top: Maddie - Bottom: Amelia}

{Left: Amelia - Right: Maddie}

{Left: Madeline - Right: Amelia}

Due Date & 2 Month Birthdays

Pretty unbelievable that the girls have been here exactly 2 months on what would have been their due date.

We had a nurse come out to the house yesterday to weigh them. Apparently, because of their low birth weights, they qualify for a government funded program that does monthly weight checks & milestone screenings.  I was pretty excited to find out that both girls now weigh 6 lbs 12 oz! Both have gained around a pound since leaving the hospital!

The girls are still on a good routine from being in the NICU.  We've been on many walks around the hood & entertained the odd visit or two. Most of all we have been relaxing with the girls, trying to do the best we can as new parents!

I just had to add this one because I thought it was too cute.

Learning the Ropes

I've been writing this post in my head for the past week or so, but all free time so far has been spent snuggling my girls. {I'm trying to make up for all the lost time in the NICU!}

Having both girls home is amazing & oh so tiring! Twins are no joke! Having Maddie home before Amelia was a piece of cake compared to double trouble.  But honestly, the NICU got them on a great schedule & we have been able to stick to it pretty well.

The girls are still napping a lot, as they still haven't even met their real due date {May 24}. Nighttime is pretty similar to day time. Most of the time they make it to their next scheduled feeding, but even now and then someone {mainly Maddie} will get to sneak into bed for a little snack.

Dave & I certainly have different parenting styles & we are still working out the kinks. As expected, I'm hovering over the babies constantly, checking if they are breathing, & always looking for a cuddle. I'm up at every cry, wanting to comfort the babies the best that I can. Dave obviously has profound hearing loss at night, because he can sleep through any wail, no matter what the decibel.  So I'd say we are both falling into our stereotypical roles as parents.

Amelia has been settling in really well. She still snoozes a lot, but will certainly let you know when she is hungry. She is still on the diuretic for her PDA Valve, however, at her first appointment with our Pediatrician, he couldn't even pick up her murmur with his stethoscope. We have a follow up visit with the Cardiologist at the end of the month, and hopefully it will be closed.

Maddie on the other hand has completely made herself at home. She is more alert than Amelia & loves to play, or scream, either one works just fine. This is truly my child. The girls have been having a blast sitting on their play mat together.  All the fun parts on the mat aren't even glanced at, instead they intently study each other, & then promptly bat one another in the face.

We have made a few trips out here & there. The girls are always a hit. Well, more like a novelty, because of their size. We have lots of "tiny, small, new baby" comments, which I instantly have to defend. "Well they are actually almost 2 months old, but born premature." Small & tiny comments hit hard to a preemie mom.  On the flip side, there have been several moms who have in turn shared their story about their premature infants. I chatted with a lady at Costco about her 24 weeker, who is now a healthy 11 year old.  Same with the lady at the post office, who had her twins at 27 weeks, & are now giant 15 year olds. I love these stories. Keep them coming.

We celebrated Mother's Day by stuffing our face with delicious food & I enjoyed the flowers given to me by my husband & parents.  I can't say I had a relaxing day off, maybe those come in the next few years, but at least the day was enjoyable.

So all in all we are happy to have everyone home! We are grateful for all the support from our family & friends. Thank you so much!!

Rebecca

The Tubbs Twins are Home Together!

Quick post from my phone...

After clearance from the cardiologist, Amelia got the okay for her discharge!! We are happy to say that the Tubbs are all under one roof!

Tomorrow will be the first day since Feb 23 that I have not been at the hospital. Crazy. I plan on sitting with my girls and snuggling them ALL day!

Thanks for all the well wishes & love. We have been so grateful of your support!

1 down, 1 to go!

We came home with our Madeline today.

We are thrilled, excited, nervous, & we miss little Amelia!
{Who will hopefully come home soon}

Happy Day!

Maddie is Coming Home!

There will probably be many typos & grammatical errors in this post, but I want to get everything down as fast as I can because we are scrambling to get things ready.

Over this past weekend we asked the doctor if she had a timeline for us taking home the girls. She somewhat laughed and told us that it looked like around 2 weeks. The girls were still 36 weeks, not quite full term. We were disheartened, but knew when they first arrived in the NICU, the prognosis was they would be there till their due date {May 24}.

Fast forward to yesterday. The doctor called me in the morning & started with "Looks like Madeline really wants to go home! She's doing great on her feeds & I see her going home by the end of the week!" So after letting out a big "woohoo," I was thinking by Saturday or Sunday we would have one of our girls home!

Now on most days I take the train up to the hospital. I don't have to worry about traffic & I can get in some good reading.  Just as I plopped myself down to wait for my next train at Five Points the doctor calls. I figured it was just the daily check up, but right off the bat the doctor says "Looks like Madeline can come home tomorrow!"

I cried. I was so happy.

She explained more that the nurses had fed her all her feeds off the gavage & pending a car seat test she would be able to go home tomorrow.

When I finally arrive to the hospital, little Madeline had no feeding tube in.

She's beautiful.

I fed both girls & then we get ready for the car seat test.  During this test Madeline cannot suffer from apnea or experience any oxygen desaturation.  This test is one and a half hours long!!!!!!!! So we start to buckle her in & quickly realize she doesn't fit. Not even close. Even though she is 5 pounds & that's what are seat starts at, she was so far away from the crotch strap.

Crap. We got these off our registry way back in December, so we didn't have the boxes & we weren't sure if we could return them. After a quick phone call to Babies R Us, & an explanation of our situation, they kindly agreed to let us return them for ones that would work. {Thank you BRU for amazing customer service & being so easy to work with! You just earned a customer for life!}

So note to all...if you have preemies a Graco Snugride is not for you. However a Graco Sungride 30 is! Yay!

So after a quick exchange we hustled back up to the hospital. {Ok, I lied we actually grabbed some Galla's Pizza First. Yum!}

The traffic on Peachtree-Dunwoody was hell. This is a nice reminder why I don't want to move back to Dunwoody any time soon.  I was nervous we wouldn't make it in time & would have to delay the test.  But, once we finally made it, Madeline was finishing up her bottle. Perfect timing. We got the car seat all strapped up into the mock seat & we were on our way!

Maddie didn't seem bothered by the test at all. A few cries here & there. Some straining {probably working on her nightly poop.} Some sneezing...which actually scared me because she started to dsat, but the nurse said not to worry, that didn't count. Phew.

{Princess Leia}

An hour & a 1/2 later...

SHE PASSED!

Madeline is coming home tomorrow!

Little Amelia is still working on things. She is an amazing breast feeder, but with both the breast & bottle, she gets a little over zealous & can choke or forget to breath.  Hopefully in the next few days or weeks she will get better at her breathing & eating coordination. We want her home with her big sis!

{Amelia}

Dave's Vlog 4/27

I wanted to start contributing more on the blog & decided that a vlog might be a better way to do that.

Here is the first installment!

Follow me to the girl's hospital room to meet Madeline & Amelia!

- Dave

Mini Update

Fabulous news from the girl's doctor today.  At two weeks old, head ultrasounds showed both girls had possible grade 1 brain bleeds. Yesterday's scan showed that all issues have resolved themselves & they won't need to scan them again!  This is a huge weight off our shoulders!

{Madeline}

Amelia also hit another milestone...she is 5 pounds! Well 5 lbs 2 oz to be exact! She is up to 3-4 bottles or breastfeeding a day & her sister is up to 4-6.

 {Amelia working with the OT}

 {Amelia working with the OT}

The anticipation of having them home is almost harder to handle than all the worry at the beginning of their stay. We know they are so close to making it!

We Are One Month Old!

{Madeline}  

 {Amelia}

{Caught a little smile from Maddie!}

Are We There Yet?

We are starting to get antsy because we want the babes home so badly.

But we know how important it is for them to learn how to feed properly, so we sit patiently and wait.  We visit the babes daily, feed them, and snuggle them in our arms.  It's absolutely wonderful seeing them grow day by day. No longer do they look like the fragile little babes that were born almost a month ago!

The twins have yet again had an awesome week. Amelia's echocardiogram on Monday showed that her PDA valve was smaller!! They are now very confident that it will close on it's own. The cardiologist won't do another scan till just before she goes home.

Madeline hit an amazing milestone on Saturday & is now 5 pounds!! We couldn't be more ecstatic. She is becoming more alert when we feed her & she also likes to have play time with us after. Amelia on the other hand likes to have a good snooze post feeding.  Although she has been on the diuretic for her PDA, she still continues to gain weight & is 4 lbs 12 oz.  I can see her hitting 5 pounds in the next few days!

Both girls have had on & off days with feeding, but as the week progressed, it seems like we are having more on that off.  They are now 35 weeks & apparently that's when a lot of feeding cues kick in.  The girls are now up to 3-4 feeds a day from the breast or bottle.  They have also had their tube feeds lowered from an hour and a half all the way down to thirty minutes.  As long as they can keep the spits away, then they will continue at this rate. The idea here is to make them hungrier for feeds off the tube. Once the tube is obsolete, these babes will be on their way home!

Today I let the girls know that a perfect birthday present to me would be their discharge from the hospital.  But in all reality, I am hopeful that they will be home in the next couple weeks!

Feeding & Growing

Both girls have had a great week & are really starting to gain weight. Madeline is now up 1 pound since birth! She weighs 4lbs 9oz & Amelia is 4lbs 6oz. Their little preemie diapers are starting to get too small!

Dad on diaper duty

Right now we are really excited that Amelia is gaining weight, since she is on a diuretic for her heart murmur. {This could cause her to maintain or lose weight} Her echocardiogram last week showed that her PDA valve has not yet closed, & in fact looked larger. They will check again tomorrow to see if it has improved at all this past week, as they can still hear the murmur.

caught a little smile

We have been working hard on breastfeeding. Right now they can feed from me or a bottle twice a day, & I'm hoping that this can get bumped up to more sessions soon.  The closer they are to getting their feeding tubes out, the closer they are to going home! Both girls have their shining moments in the eating department, while on other days, they just play around or snooze.

In certain light both girl's hair looks strawberry blonde

We have a checklist of all the things the girls must be able to do/or have done. So far only two things have been checked off. Dave & I have taken the infant CPR test & both girls have passed their hearing exam. Hopefully this week we can really make a dent in that checklist. The Braves season has started & these girls need to be home watching the games with us!!

A week in pictures

The girls have had a pretty good week! We are really working hard on feeding & growing. We want these girls home with us!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from the girls!

By the time we took those pictures, we had already fed & played with the girls for the day, so they were way passed out.

We didn't spend our Easter like most. No church, no family brunch beheading a lamb cake @ Carranor Hunt & Polo Club {a Winder family tradition}, & no Easter egg hunts. Instead we went to visit our beautiful babes in the hospital. 

We got the good news today that Amelia is now 4 pounds!! Madeline is almost there at 3 lbs 15.2 ounces. Both girls are getting some protein & calorie additives to my breast milk, so that should fatten them up nicely in the coming weeks. The girls have been attempting bottle & breast feeding. Maddie has picked it up a little quicker than Amelia, but both are showing great progression.

eating is hard work!

Maddie worked on breastfeeding today & did a great job. Even after she was through, she still wanted some time with her paci. This girl sucks so loud, all the nurses can hear her at their station around the corner. Pro! 

Well it wasn't like most people's Easter, but we still enjoyed every minute!