Tobie here: OMG!! Are we in some kind of torture reality? Some freaky weird experiment? I feel like I’m going through the motions of living…but the minute I wake up I start counting down the hours until I can go to bed again. Drew is still dreamy…he’s just an eating machine. He’s eating every two hours (which we read is totally normal), but it takes about 30 minutes to feed him…leaving only 1.5 hours in between feedings. Aaghhh! It feels like that is all I do is feed Drew. Thank god we’ve had grandparents these last two weeks to help out! Did we mention we hired help full-time for the week after the grandparents are gone?

Speaking of help…I think this has set Paige back with her anxiety. It’s returned full force and is almost unbearable (especially on limited sleep). We can’t leave the room or be out of her eyesight or she goes bonkers. It’s really bad when Daddy is home…then it’s forget Mommy. But when Daddy’s at work, then her next choice to cling to is Mommy. We need you Aunt Nancy! You broke her of this last time.

Another baby update: we are discontinuing feeding therapy for Cole. This is ironic since we had a GI appt on Tuesday and he hadn’t gained any weight in 6 weeks. The doctor thinks this could partially be due to the rotavirus he’s had. They aren’t that concerned, no changes to diet, and we have a follow-up weight check in two weeks. I think he’s been eating better than ever which really seems odd he didn’t gain any weight.

So instead of feeding therapy we are going to begin speech therapy. The babies are babbling great, no real words yet but that’s not uncommon. Our speech therapy is going to consist of teaching the babies sign language (and Mommy so I know what the heck they’re telling me). Apparently there are studies that show that babies that learn sign language early on will have an increased vocabulary when they actually do begin to speak. I’m excited. The words that we’re not going to learn are “no” and “more” because these words can backfire on parents.

Special thanks to Aunt Nikki! We got your packages and the baby stuff is awesome! I think we’ll use everything you sent us!

Got to go…can’t stand the screaming!!!

The babies have kicked the rotavirus in the butt, I think. They been doing progressively better each day. Cole now seems to be back to normal. He was bouncing off all the walls today and had solid poops (sweet, solid poops, oh yeah). His eating is off the chart (which is good because he definitely lost some weight this past week). He’s been getting physically upset if we don’t give him his bottle when he wants it, and he’s polishing off 6 ounces in minutes. Who is this kid and what have they done with Cole? Let’s hope this continues. Maybe he has some competition in him after seeing how much Drew eats each day. My mom came out this past week to help with the babies. I think she’s ready for another vacation. There is no rest in our house anymore! She did a great job like always.

Paige is still not a 100% but I don’t think she has a virus. Looks like she has her molars coming in. She’s been so clingy lately. All she wants is daddy. She’s only happy when she’s laying on my chest. I can’t believe how upset she gets when I go to the bathroom or to the kitchen. Isn’t too much of me a bad thing? I think not.

Both babies are starting to perfect the art of the “tantrum”. When really upset, both will throw themselves back, which is fine, but most of the time they are near a wall or some other object (can you say ouch?). Lately they seem to whine whine whine most of the day. When they are ready to eat, whine. When wake up, whine. When it’s time for a nap, whine. When they need their diaper changed, whine. When you aren’t playing with them, whine. When it’s time for bed, mommy and daddy wine. You get the idea. This should only last 3 or 4 more years right? How much do babies go for on the open market? Capitalism, is there anything it can’t do?

Drew is still dreamy, but his schedule is off. He’s a total night owl. He’s up every 1.5 hours it seems. Come night time, he’s so alert. We need to change that ASAP. Not to take away anything from P & C, but he’s so easy compared to taking care of the babies last year. He is feeding like a champ. He’s already had a few 4 ounce feeds. It just seems like yesterday we got Cole to drink 4 ounces. On Drew’s nose he has some milia. It looks like a cluster of whitehead zits. Oh how I want get him some pore strips for his nose. They should be gone within the next month or so. Oh his umbilical cord fell off. The babies still do not pay that much attention to him, but to be honest, we don’t really give them the opportunity to bite, grab, or climb on him (maybe in a week or so we’ll let them haze him).

The babies are definitely developing more and more each week. Like I’ve mentioned before, Cole’s walking is getting pretty good. Instead of running/falling, he’s much more controlled now and occasionally walks to the middle of the room and stands for about 5 seconds before walking elsewhere. Paige so wants to walk, but she’s a little more cautious. I have a feeling once she figures out she can walk safely, she’ll be doing it all the time.

Something strange happened today, both babies were playing with each other. I left them alone in one of the rooms and didn’t hear anything for a while (silence = trouble). Both babies were in a corner sharing a toy. I then came back a few minutes later, and both babies were standing up playing with one of the exercise saucers. It only took 15+ months for them to start noticing each other, that’s not so bad, right?

Oh lastly, C & P if you are reading this, when did 5:45 AM become the new 7:30 AM? Please don’t wake up before 7 AM. Mommy and daddy need their beauty sleep.

Well we made it almost a year without really being sick since coming home from the hospital. Almost. It started with Cole on Friday. He was vomiting everything we would put in him. Saturday the vomit got a tad better, but the diarrhea got oh so much worse (definitely a double bagger). I haven’t held Cole this much in my arms since the good old days of kangaroo care in the NICU. He’s gone from a pinball to a limp noodle for the past 3 days. He was still pretty out of it today, but he’s shown some signs that he’s coming back to his old self; so we were feeling pretty good the stomach bug was almost through him.

Of course at that moment in time, Paige starts vomiting everywhere. Ugh, how did I know this bug was going to go from Cole to Paige. Paige is now playing the part of the limp noodle. Being a parent is one of the greatest jobs there is, but man does it suck when your kids are sick. I definitely felt helpless when we were in the NICU for 4 months, but this helplessness is much worse because they are sick under our watch. Yep, kids get sick, that’s a fact, it just doesn’t mean we have to like it! Boy how I’m dreading the day when Tobie and I and the kids are down for the count. I’m putting the national guard on my speed dial list now, just in case we need some reinforcements! It’s too late for Paige and Cole, but we can still save Drew. Save the newborn, save the world (eh, a Heroes play on words anyone?).

Heart Breaker Breaking

Looking good right before vomit fest 2007!