Different Looks, Different Personalities

It's becoming more and more evident that the personalities of our two boys are pretty much polar opposites. While they were in-utero, Tristan was the feisty one, always kicking, jerking around, hiccuping....the one who I ALWAYS knew was present. Everett on the other hand was more quiet. He would stretch, squirm, gently push, but nothing sporatic or too surprising. I find it funny that out of the womb, those behaviors are continuing.

Tristan

We like to say that he's just a bit high maintenance. He's extremely vocal, has a bad temper, agitated quite often, grunts, growls, in general he just has a hard time relaxing. He eats like there's no tomorrow. He'll inhale four ounces in a matter of 10 - 15 minutes, produces burps that any bar mate would be proud of, and always wants more. He would eat 24 hours a day if we let him. That's why he's such a chunk! Other than his eating habits, he reminds us a lot of Natalie. Natalie was a very wound up baby, even after her stomach issues were resolved. Unfortunately I don't think I can blame these traits on Kevin. I believe they are most definitely traits they inherited from their mother! I believe Tristan also inherited my body shape. He's a chunky little boy, long torso and short little legs. He has my olive skin tone and dark brown hair. He definitely has a Nipper chin and a Whitish nose. I can definitely claim this one as my child.



Tristan's growly face.

Everett
Everett on the other hand is our ONE child that is relaxed!! Kevin refers to him as "chill-dog". We can put him on the floor to play, and he plays. We can put him in his swing, and he swings. We can just hold him and he'll simply look around, happy as can be. He takes his time eating and I'm sure gets upset that his brother wants to eat all the time! He rarely finishes his bottle, takes his time burping, falls asleep during feedings, and unless he has an air bubble, rarely fusses. He takes a long time to fall asleep because he just looks around. He always looks like he's on the verge of telling you the world's most important secret. He has pale skin, reddish/blonde hair, and a long lean body. In a nut shell, this is a miniature Kevin. Thank goodness for Everett. I love my Tristan and Natalie, but I was ready for an Everett!


Everett after a rough night.

Even as I type this, Everett is sound asleep in his swing and Tristan is squirming, grunting and fussing. He just can't let go of that control! So, as you can see, these boys' differences go far beyond their appearances. We are asked all the time if they are identical. We think this is such a bizarre question. They look completely different and I don't believe that I think this because I'm their mother. They really truly are their own little persons.

And what about Natalie? Natalie calls Everett her little duck (because his hair looks like a little duck after his bath) and Tristan her little rabbit. We have no idea where rabbit came from. I think she's getting a little tired of "the brothers". She's always saying now "Put down that brother and ......", "The brother can go to bed now." It's much t0o time consuming to figure out which brother it is!


The boys first time on their bellies.....definite personality differences!

Growing by Leaps and Bounds

Natalie and the Brudders

One month old and growing like weeds! The boys have been growing and changing. The one thing that is not changing is their eating schedule....still eating every three hours. That means we're still not getting much sleep at night. I'm hoping that'll change sometime soon!

The boys had their one month check-up yesterday and we found out that they are little chunks! Everett weighed in at 8 lb 1 oz, and Tristan is up to 7 lb 14 oz. When they were nearly two weeks old, they hit their lowest weight. Tristan was 4 lb 15 oz and Everett was 5 lb 1 oz. So in three weeks Everett gained three pounds and Tristan gained three pounds one ounce. The first question our doctor asked was "What are you feeding these boys?!" At our appointment about ten days ago he cautioned us about feeding them too much, telling us not to give them more than 1.5-2 ounces per feeding. At that time they were easily downing three ounces. Since that time they've worked up to four ounces per feeding.....we didn't mention this to our doc! Overall the appointment went well. Everett is on another round of antibiotics to see if we can clear up his nasal passages.



Tristan and Everett



Natalie has been a big help with the boys. She loves making sure that they have toys to play with, pacifiers in their mouths, and burp rags on hand. She has enjoyed playing with them on the floor. She shows them her toys and shows them how to play with their toys. She especially enjoys showing them her Thomas the Train engine along with the others in the set. When they grunt or make funny noises she always says that they are talking "crazy talk". She also laughs when they contort their faces just before they get ready to cry. She points and laughs at them and says "look at his face!!!".



Princess Natalie and and her Prince Everett



Natalie showing Tristan how to play with Thomas the Train.





Baby Natalie.....may be a little big for this toy now!





Our little chunky monkeys. Already sharing their toys...like they have a choice!

Life is busy. I had no idea how busy I'd be. I'm exhausted and stressed yet have never been happier. This past month, although sleep deprived, has probably been the quickest month of my life. I can't believe how much the boys have changed and how our family has adapted to all of the changes. My Mom spends the night on Sundays and Tuesdays (Thank God for MOM!!!!). Monday and Wednesday nights are mostly up to me, but I enlist Kevin when I'm at my wits end! Kevin works Monday through Thursday, so he's up with me Thursday night through Saturday night. Coffee and Spark are my go to's in the morning. My stressful times are at night when I'm exhausted. Yet when the light of day comes, Natalie wakes up and everything starts rolling, I get a burst of energy and can't wait to get the day started and enjoy all three of my kids! My Mom helps me throughout the day and I'd definitely be insane by now if she weren't here!

Growing and Changing

All five of us piled into our car today and went to see Dr. Krause. The boys had their one week check-up for their circumcisions and Natalie was seen for a constant runny nose. All three kids came home with prescriptions for antibiotics. They boys are a bit swollen, which indicates a slight infection, and Natalie seems to have a sinus infection. So between giving Tristan his eye infection medication, Natalie's Dimatapp, and all three of their prescription antibiotics, when is there time to do much else? The business of life sure does multiply when you go from a family of three to a family of five!

On the upside, all three children were weighed today and all had weight gain. I wish this was a good thing for me as an adult! Natalie is now up to a whopping 29 pounds....almost into the 30th percentile for weight! I swear we're going to bring her to her first day of kindergarten in a car seat! Tristan weighed in at 6 pounds 1 ounce and our hungry boy Everett weighed in at 6 pounds 4 ounces. This puts the boys at almost the 10th percentile for weight. Granted, these percentiles are based on full term babies. Considering they were four weeks premature, I believe they're doing extremely well!

Our three kiddos.

Like I said before, life is very busy.  I remember with Natalie how extremely exhausted and overwhelmed I was. I couldn't find time to do anything and just wanted to sleep. I don't know the exact reason for the difference in the way that I feel after giving birth to these boys, but I actually feel great! Yes, of course I'm tired, but that's to be expected. I've thought of some possible reasons for this change in disposition.

Everett & Tristan

1. I felt absolutely miserable for eight months, and even worse than that for the last month of pregnancy. So now I'm thrilled to be able to sleep (when I'm allowed), move the way I want to, clean what needs to be cleaned, cook, play with Natalie, and do all of the things I haven't been able to do since last September.

2. Disproving everything people told me about having a c-section, this birth and recovery seems to be a lot easier than the previous with Natalie. Yes, the first few days were very painful and I'm still reminded of the damage that was caused to my midsection, but overall I feel great. I have a lot more energy and am able to move around really well. We go for walks everyday and I've lost almost all of the pregnancy weight. Only 8 pounds to go. Of course my body looks completely different!

Family time at the park.

3. I have amazing help! Kevin, Natalie and my mom have been absolute life savers. It will be a sad day when Kevin goes back to work on Monday! Natalie helps me so much and always wants to be part of the action. My mom helps us at night a few times a week and is always ready to come over and help us at any time. We are so blessed to have so many people who want to help us!

Gramma and her boys.

4. I'm not a novice. It's amazing how much calmer and confident I am with these boys compared to Natalie. Even though there are two, the struggle seems to be with scheduling, not caring for them. I'm not as uptight, worried or anxious. I'm able to lay them down even if they're not sound asleep. I can listen to them grunt and whine while they're sleeping and not run over and pick them up. I'm able to give them a pacifier and walk away. I don't worry about their runny nose or their spitting up. I know they are healthy, happy and that makes me the same!

Already fighting with eachother!

So, for those of you wondering how things are going here.....they're going extremely well! We're busy feeding, diapering, cleaning and cuddling, but all in all life is good. We have three very healthy children, a wonderful extended family, great friends and a supportive church family. We're also very thankful for Kevin's great job and great health benefits. After racking up over $80,000 in medical bills since March, we've had to pay a total of $200 out of pocket! Thank you tax payers! (Kevin's a government worker!)

I hear someone filling their pants......better check who the culprit is. More to come......

And then life changed once again!

I can't believe I haven't updated this in a whole month! Obviously a few things have happened during that time! The last two weeks of pregnancy were down right miserable and I prayed daily that 1) The boys were big and strong and 2) I'd go into labor. The weekend of May 14-15 was filled with aches and pains and random contractions. I felt Everett push out some ribs that caused a lot of pain. I made an emergency appointment with my fabulous physical therapist Lisa on Monday to get my ribs back in place. After an hour and a half of therapy, I left feeling better. An hour later Everett moved again and there went my ribs. This time the pain was even worse. I remember laying on the couch just crying, wishing the pain would go away and wishing the pregnancy would be over with.

On Tuesday, May 17th, I had to head home from Mom's house at 8:00 AM to go to my house to meet up with the Dish Network repair guy. I sat at the computer and wrote a few emails while he worked. I began having contractions at 8:30, not thinking anything of it. Once they started becoming pretty painful and coming every 8 minutes I began to worry. At 9:45 when the contractions were 5 minutes apart, I asked the repair guy if he would be much longer. I thought his eyes were going to pop out when I told him that I was having contractions. I had Mom bring Natalie over and told her about the contractions. I didn't want to call the dr. until the repair guy left because I knew that I'd have to explain that I couldn't come in until the repair guy left. At 10:00 I called and got the word to head to the hospital. That REALLY scared the repair guy. I never saw someone leave so quickly! I then called Kevin and told him what was going on.....of course he was in Arlington.

At 10:30 AM I was hooked up to monitors at the hospital. At 10:50 I was told that they had just taken a patient in for a c-section and I would be next. I didn't expect things to happen that quickly. I didn't have any idea what was going to happen. I automatically began to cry.....I wanted this to happen, but now things were happening too quickly....and would Kevin get here in time? After awhile I was told that there was an emergency and someone else was taken in for a c-section and I would be after that patient. Even though things were happening quickly, due to the pain, it seemed like it was taking forever. At 1:45, the nurse came in and said "It's time!" Kevin still wasn't there and wasn't answering his phone. Mom suited up in scrubs and in we went.

On our way to the operating room.

Just as they were about to begin, I heard that Kevin had arrived. He would wait outside and go to the NICU with the boys once they were taken out. I won't go into details with the birth....let's just say they came out quickly. Tristan Andrew was born at 2:20 PM and Everett Asher was born at 2:21 PM. Tristan weighed 5 lb 9 oz and Everett weighed 5 lb 7 oz. Both were healthy and beautiful! I got to see them that night. They were the plumpest babies in the NICU! They were in there for two days, then came into my room.

The boys in the NICU.

It really hit me that I had twins when they brought the boys into my room Friday morning after spending the night with the nurses. They told me to call them when I was ready for the boys. I was waiting for my Mom to come before I called them. I also knew their feeding schedule and knew they wouldn't need to be feed until 10:00 AM. So at 8:30, a nurse comes in my room with two babies. "Here they are, and they're hungary!" Wait a minute! I didn't call yet! I'm not ready! I'm here by myself! They're BOTH hungry?!!!! HELP!!!!! Mom was there within ten minutes, but during those ten minutes I think I had a nervous breakdown!!

Natalie meets her new brothers.

Daddy and his boys.

Our boys came home on Friday May 20 and have been absolutely wonderful additions to our family and home. Besides being sleep deprived, we're all doing well. It's quite an adjustment to have two newborns, but my recovery is going extremely well and I'm so thankful to be able to care for both of them with the help of my family. More to come when more time presents itself!!!

Natalie thought her brothers were bored, so she gave them toys to play with.