One Month Already?!

I can't believe the twins are already one month old! They are growing like weeds and starting to really wake up. I can almost see a smile on it's way. I can see personalities starting to blossom and I have a feeling they will not be as identical as their looks. Ian cries more during the day and just wants a cuddle. Finn cries more at night and wants to sleep in our bed for a bit, falling asleep only after stroking one of our faces before he drifts off.
We had their one month check up today and the doctor could not have been more thrilled. He thinks that by two months they will be caught up both physically and developmentally. This is so unbelievable to me, but then again everything about these twins is unbelievable to me. I can't believe I carried them so long, how strong they were at birth to not need the NICU, that I was able to bring them home from the hospital with me, and now they will be right on track so early. Some twins take a few years to catch up to other children their age. I feel so blessed to have healthy children after hearing so many many many stories. The boy's good fortune is not lost on me and I hope it continues forever. God is good!

At one month a few more things are changing. I feel like my body is starting to remember what it is like to function on little to no sleep. The fog is lifting and I can almost think again. This is a good thing because my mom leaves tomorrow. She has been so important to my family this last month. I could never thank her enough for giving up her summer break to come live with my big family in my small and cramped apartment. She shared a room with my two-year-old and woke up every morning with him to make him pancakes. After dishes, laundry, feeding babies, teaching Tristan to read, and doing some baking she would get up the next day and do it all over again. I feel a little bad that she saw me at my parenting worst with my lack of energy, but she's my mom so I'm sure she will forgive me for that. After enduring a difficult pregnancy, recovering from surgery, and trying to figure out how to take care of two babies I needed my mom and she stepped up big time!! I hope I'm as good a mom to my kids.
As we get ready to say good-bye to her, I feel more confident than I did a few weeks ago that I can do this on my own. She has filled my freezer with pancakes and gowamki and will now head out to Cape Cod for a much needed and deserved vacation. Now how do I explain to Tristan why Neannie is no longer in his room when he wakes up?

Sunflower Farm July '10

We took Neannie to our favorite farm this last Saturday. Sunflower farms is the greatest farm to go with a toddler. Everything is kid friendly but still has all the fun farm stuff to see. I was amazed when Tristan rode the pony without any assistance from Neil. What a dare devil, but I already knew that. T's favorite part was the chickens. He would chase any bird that was loose and could not keep his fingers out of the chicken coop. I thought if they pecked him he might stop, but he liked it and kept letting them peck him.

Finn and Ian seemed to enjoy the fresh air and the shade of the big trees. They even had their bottles while being rocked on a porch swing hanging from a big oak tree.

The farm even had a John Deer tracker just like both of Tristan's great grandfathers had. My favorite part was seeing T with the baby goats. He even gave one a kiss. SO SWEET!

2 Week Doctor Visit

The boys had their two week check up with Dr. Stietz this week and it went really well. Finn has not only gained his birth weight back, but he is now 1 lb 2 oz bigger for a grand total of 6 lbs 10 oz!! Ian being the littler one, it's hard to always notice just how well he is eating and growing. If there was not another baby right next to him eating a bigger bottle and tipping the scales a little heavier then we would think he was growing like a weed, too. Ian weighed in at 5 lbs 5 oz at the two week check up. That is one pound bigger than birth weight! The doctor was thrilled that these boys are growing so quickly and he rewarded us with the option of doing two 4 hour stretches at night in between feedings. The only hick-up in that plan is that the boys were only half listening when the doctor said this. So far one boy each night has followed this plan... maybe tonight is the night they both get it at the same time. Mama could really use the sleep. Having two babies now puts into perspective how "easy" one baby was. Not that one baby is easy, but if one baby only followed the sleep plan half the time, at least I would get a good night sleep half the time. These boys are working together to quickly sleep deprive their loving mother. I guess I should just think about what it would be like to have triplets and that will put into perspective my two babies! Next doctors visit is in two weeks and comes with the great door prize of their first shots. Keep growing, boys!

First Baths

First baths are done and the boys look squeaky clean and as cute as ever. Thankfully there was no crying or fussing during either bath. Finn loved it and was cozy and comfortable while I scrubbed away. Ian was SO relaxed that he slept through the whole bath! It was really cute and I hope they both love baths this much for years to come.
(First 2 pics are Ian, next 2 are Finn)

4th of July

We all made it out of the house today. It truly is Independence Day! Mom, the babies, and I missed the parade because it was right before a feeding, but we walked down in time to enjoy the pancake breakfast put on the the police and firemen. Tristan and Neil enjoyed the parade. We met up with our friends Todd and Rina and their kids Ari and Zev for a nice playtime at the playground. I missed the picture of Tristan and Ari walking to the playground holding hands, but it was so cute! Perfect weather to have the babies out and a little fresh air did us all good. Now to rest up after that big outing and the longest walk that I have done in 9 days.

Big Boy Bed

Neannie got a big boy bed for Tristan to use after she leaves and she found the PERFECT one! Besides the wonderful drawers for storage and the great shelves for his books, water, and cars, there are doors on each end that lead to a "storage" space. Well, mom and I took one look at that "storage" space and knew it would be a great place for T to play!! He loved "helping" put the bed together and could not stop squealing with delight in his new play tunnel.

Those baby photographers make it look SO easy...

Wow twins are a lot of work! We hardly ever sit down here and the to do list is never ending, but we are enjoying most of it. I'm thankful for all my friends that have been bringing meals because that means one less thing we have to think about. Now we just have to find the time to get the food to our mouths.

Today my mom and I looked through a book of newborn pictures and thought "we could do that." HA, HA, HA!! It was NOT easy and we only got a few pictures that I could work with. We laughed a lot and the babies didn't get too upset.

Big Brother

From the second we got home from the hospital, Tristan has been in love with the twins. The first thing he did was cover them up with their baby quilts that Great Grandma Yuhas made for them. He really does not like it when one baby is being held and the other one is not, or anything that one has and the other does not. He is helping us keep it "fair" for the babies already. He is a great help taking diapers out to the porch, throwing bottles in the sink when they are empty, and generally looking out for these babies. Most of the time Tristan can even tell the twins apart which is amazing I think. I think he has the makings of a great big brother.

The Twins Have Arrived!

Well, the boys made it safely into the world! On June 25th at 8:18am and 8:20am Ian Thomas and Finn Thomas joined the Conway family. The c-section went as planned, but it was still the strangest experience ever. I didn't like the lose of control of my body at first, but then it was easy and I just laid back and waited to hear those two beautiful cries. Hearing those babies cry was awesome. They were here and they were breathing! Dr. Stietz even came to the delivery so he could check them out right when they were born. What a blessing that was to have a friendly face in the room that I trusted. When he looked me in the eyes and told me they were both doing great, I was then able to relax. The boys didn't need more oxygen than just the normal c-section stuff right when they came out. No oxygen beds, no tubes, no craziness. God blessed us with two healthy baby boys. Small but healthy. Finn was 5 lbs 8 oz, Ian was 4 lbs 6 oz.

While we were in the hospital, the boys were a little jaundice, but after a few days and some "suntanning" in my room their numbers were in a good range. We sent them to the nursery every night so we could get some good sleep and I could start to heal before we came home. Our nurses were outstanding and I am even more in love with the hospital this time around! Staying there for five days was an absolute must. I needed the rest before coming home to care for these babies. My mom came to see the babies most days, and Tristan was able to come twice. Tristan was more interested in my room, the presents, and the snacks than the actual babies. It was always an emotional thing for me to see T, I missed him so much while I was there. That was my first time away from him, but I knew he was in good hands. I knew he was having fun with Neannie because he was always happy to see me but never sad to leave with her.

After all the things that could have happened during pregnancy and/or after birth, we were left with two beautiful boys that ended up going home with me from the hospital. The one outcome I had not even let myself think about was being able to take BOTH babies home with me. I still can not believe what little miracles they are!