Did I say in my last post that I'd give anything to have a sleepless night, holding and cuddling my girls?? Well, Maddie must've read the blog and decided to take my words literally. The girls had been fighting congestion for a few weeks. Every time we thought it was clearing up, it would come right back, but that's all it was - congestion - no fevers, nothing indicative of anything more than a cold. Until I typed the words that I'd love to have a night of holding my babies. I think it was actually the following night, Maddie developed a low grade fever - and beyond that, she was completely inconsolable. I spent my entire night with her laying on my chest - literally unable to put her down without her screaming and throwing a little mini temper tantrum - this was very unlike her. Melia tends to be the dramatic one, but not so much Maddie. So after a few attempts to put her down and seeing her reaction, I decided that if sleeping on my chest was what she needed to be able to rest comfortably, then so be it. The following day the girls happened to be scheduled for their final shot of synagis, so with that appointment already scheduled, I just called the doctor and asked that Maddie be seen for a medical visit while we were there. As suspected, Maddie had an ear infection. Dr. Luke gave us some amoxicillin and unfortunately, Maddie wasn't able to get her synagis shot that day. Melia still got her synagis shot since she was showing no signs of a fever or infection. Maddie went home with a 10 day supply of antibiotics and went back to the doctor once the medication was done - she was all cleared of the infection and got her last synagis shot on that day. Phew! RSV season is just about over and we made it through!!!
From the beginning of March it seems that the girls are doing something new every single day. It has been a very eventful month, and the title of this blog is true to it's name for sure! Before we left for vacation the girls were just about getting the hang of the spoon feeding thing, but then they got sick and wanted no part of it. So while we were away we decided to give them (and Grandpa and Grandma Rosie) a break from the spoon feeding. When we got back, we resumed and there was this huge difference. From the very first attempt they were there with their mouths wide open and asking for more, not even giving us time to get another spoon full. They're at the point now where the seem to enjoy their food more than their bottles. Dinner seems to be their favorite meal - something about that pureed meat in a jar does it for them I guess, because they L-O-V-E it!!
On St. Patrick's Day (which also happens to be daddy's birthday), Madison popped out her first 2 teeth!! I've been checking their mouths for teeth everyday because it's clear that they're teething. Their moods didn't really clue me off, because they were still in a good mood, but the drooling and the constant need to put anything and everything in their mouths was at an all time high. I had just checked their mouths the morning before and there was no sign of a tooth, but while Mike was home with them on St. Paddy's Day he felt Maddie's bottom two teeth! I couldn't believe it! She's such a champ - popped two teeth and didn't make so much as a peep! The drama queen on the other hand, she didn't handle it quite as well. About a week and a half later, on March 29th, Melia popped her bottom two teeth also. She had one really bad day where she was inconsolable, but the next day, the teeth had popped through and she was perfectly fine. So, all in all, the popping through of the bottom teeth went pretty well - I'd say that one day of being inconsolable isn't really much to complain about.
On March 20th we had Mike's family over for dinner to celebrate his birthday. We were all talking about how close the girls seemed to crawling. They weren't quite pulling themselves up on all fours yet, but they seemed like they were on the road there. Everyone left for the night and I brought the girls up to the nursey to change them into their jammers and it happened...I was changing Melia's diaper and I had Maddie in her crib...I looked over to her and there she was, up on all fours, rocking back and forth!! I called Mike upstairs, but by the time he came up, she collapsed onto her tummy. He took her out of the crib and put her on the floor and it didn't take but a couple minutes and sure enough, she did it again! And since that day, she's been on all fours constantly! She is trying soooo hard to crawl! If she could just realize that she needs to lift her hands and move her arms, she'd be in business! It's coming...it's coming really soon! Everyday I think it will be the day - hopefully she's waiting for the weekend so I can be home to see it. Probably not, but a mom can dream! :-) Over the next few days Melia tried to follow in her sister's footsteps - she would get up for a few seconds but couldn't quite hold the position long enough to get a good back and forth rock going on - but sure enough, a week later, on Mardh 27th, she was right there next to Maddie - two little crazy rocking babies!
On March 25th, Melia started sitting up on her own. She still gets a little wobbly at times, especially if she reaches for something, but she's pretty solid. Maddie just started doing the same over this past weekend (April 3rd)- she doesn't quite have it down as well as Melia, in fact, on Easter she took a couple head shots to the hardwood floor from toppeling over, but she's definitely getting more solid with it every day.
It was total March Madness at the Marcino's...and I can't wait to see what April has in store!
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- Mike and Amanda
- I am a 29 year old mother of identical twin girls, Madison and Melia. They were born at 29 weeks, 1 day gestation and spent 8 weeks in the NICU at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, NJ. They hit 40 weeks gestation on August 20, 2009 and are now considered full term. Even though they are actually 11 weeks old, they are just now considered to be newborns. I started this blog as a way to keep friends and family informed on what was going on with the girls while they were in the NICU. It has turned into a keepsake and a therapuetic outlet. I hope that everyone continues to follow along and enjoys sharing this first hand experience of first-time parents of premature twin girls.
Words that I came to live by while on strict bedrest for 6 weeks during my pregnancy, 4 of which were spent in the hospital ~ Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination. Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results.
