Sophia celebrating Memorial Day!

Uncle Bryan and Cousin Sophia

The long day at the zoo was exhausting for Jake!! :)

Big Jake!

Aunty Nicki and Ben at the zoo!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

We had such a great day! The boys were extra good today!!! :) :)

I spent the day with my mom last night and spent the day with my mother-in law today!

We had a lovely brunch and lots of great family bonding time!

This was a very special day!

Aunty Nicki and cuddle bug Jake!

Jake & Ben at 7 1/2 months old!

The boys are doing very well. Ben is 13 1/2 pounds and Jake is 18 pounds. We took Ben to the pulmonoglogist last week and they are very happy with his progress. He does have a cough that they are not happy about so they suggested an inhaler. We told our pediatrician about this and she actually thought this was unnecessary...so we are not sure what we are going to do?? She told us that specialist often treat aggressively. They are quick to medicate. She knows Ben well and thinks his cough is nothing to be concerned about. So once again, the decision is left in our hands. We are going to do some research and go from there.

Thank you for staying in touch and we hope all is well! :) :)

Ben & Jake's Nursery!!!

At 7 months old, the boys finally are able to enjoy their nursery!
It has been so fun putting it together!
We did a nautical theme with light blue, navy and white colors.

Jake in his crib!

Ben in his crib!

Do we look identical?

Great Grandma Stephens, Jake & Ben

Great Grandma Wren cheering on

the Tigers with Jake and Ben!

Play Time!!!

Jake's favortie time...DINNER!

Sweet Little Benny!

Update

We have had a very busy week with the move! We are starting to get settled but have come to realize that unpacking is a LOT slower with two babies around! :) The boys finally get to use their baby furniture and sleep in their new room! We have also started to get a routine down! The boys have finally started to go to bed earlier! They have been going down around 8:00 p.m. and sleep until 7:00 a.m. I have to admit, it is really nice to have some down time at the end of the night. I am sad to report that I think I may have to separate the boys into their own cribs. It is just getting too tight. It makes me sad because I know they love sleeping together. We always put them on separate sides of the crib and they always end up wiggling toward each other. I am sure they will eventually adjust.

They have been doing much better with their solid foods too! I think I may be crazy...but I have decided to make my own baby food. It actually isn't as much work as I thought! I have gotten some great tips from Grandma Sue, Aunt Linda and Cousin Kelly! All experts in the area! Kelly recommended this great book called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I knew it was meant to be when I read that the author also had ten week premature twin boys!!! Her doctor always told her he couldn't believe how healthy her boys were...and she attributes it to their healthy diet! I think it is worth a try. So far so good!

The big update of the week is regarding an extensive evaluation the boys had this past Wednesday. A program called Early On Intervention came to the house to assess the boys and see if they qualify for their services. The program is for preemies and helps them to catch up to their peers a bit faster. It also gives parents the resources necessary to help with their child's development. After the three hour long evaluation, they concluded that the boys are not delayed and do not qualify. They assessed them as 4 1/2 month olds...not 7 month olds. She said that if they are doing things in their adjusted age frame then they are not considered delayed!! She told me it is very important not to rob them of those 10 weeks they were premature! She told us that most preemies catch up to their peers by the age of two. It was so informative and very reassuring!!

The good news is that they did not qualify based on their development but because Ben has a pre-existing health condition (CLD) he would automatically qualify. I am going to take advantage of their services and then apply the information to Jake too. I think it will be very beneficial!

That is really the big news here! It feels so good to get our life organized and get some sort of a routine established! I will post some pictures of the boy’s nursery soon!
Have a nice weekend!
Danielle

This could be trouble!!!

We are going to have to keep an eye on Mr. Ben!

Saturday we celebrated the big move, Easter,

and Auntie Nicki's birthday!

Jake enjoying his Easter gift from Grandma!

Jake learning to share his favorite toy with his nice friend Gavin!

Jake was fascinated with his friend Kara!

Ben couldn't handle the excitement...

so he fell asleep! :)

Aunt Olivia, Ben, Jake & Uncle Jeremy on Easter

Grandma, Jake, Ben and Aunt Olivia

The Boys on Easter Sunday

Aunt Kim & Cousin Sophia

Ben, Little Miss Shayla & Jake

The boys are going to have to fight over this cutie pie!

Grandpa & Ben

The serious side of Jake!

Happy Jake!

Ben enjoying solid food!! Not as neat as a bottle!

Ben sporting his Tiger's baseball cap!

The boys enjoyed their first opening day...even though the Tigs lost! :(

Uncle Josh & Ben Maxing and Relaxing!

Kevin and his boys!!!

More Up North Pictures!

This is for Liz from the comments.

Liz, I am saying lots of prayers for your sister!!! I am so glad we could give you hope!!! What is her name on the message board? Please keep us posted!

31 weeks is a good place to be!!

:) Danielle

MSU Football Player right here!

Mom & Ben

Poor Jake got a scratch from his little bro!

Our Last Week at the Parents!

Ben & Jake at 6 Months

(Ben is 11 pounds, 9 ounces

Jake is 15 pounds, 12 ounces)

We saw the pulmonologist today and are happy to report that Ben is doing well. Sadly, he is not off of his medication. The doctor explained to us that the damage from the Chronic Lung Disease takes time to heal. Ben needs to out grow his dosage. The good news is that we have not increased his dosage in months. He is at the low end of the theraputic range. Once he is out of the theraputic range (which they think will be in 1-2 months) we can stop giving him his medicaiton. We are really looking forward to the day that he can just enjoy a bottle with no medication added. All in all, they couldn't be more pleased with his progress. We did also have a long talk about taking the boys out and about. My doctor had a heart to heart with us!! He told us that we need to continue to protect them until their at least one years old. No grocery stores, no restaurants, no big crowds, etc. etc. We also can not expose the boys to smokers or sick people. He explained that their lungs are damaged from prematurity and they take a long time to heal. With time, they will fully recover. I don't know why..but this conversation upset me! I just can't wait to take Ben and Jake out and show them off to the world!! We are planning a baptism for them in June and my doctor was even hesitant about this! Again, I am sad that the boys have to have such a sheltered life but I do know it is well worth it! We are going to plan the baptism and then a small gathering with immediate family. My family knows the drill so I think it will be ok to go ahead and move forward with the plans. I really look forward to the day that we can take them out and about! I know it will be one day soon! We can't thank everyone enough for your good hand washing and being careful about not exposing the boys to illness. I believe that is why they are as healthy as they are!!

Update on House: We will be in by April 1st!!

We can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!

Talk to you soon! :)

Happy 6 Months Ben & Jake!!!!

Mom and Dad are so proud of how far you have come!!!

:) :)

Grandma Sue getting some baby love!

(This is an older picture, but I had to post it! I think it is very sweet!)

Grandma Wren Rocking the Boys!

Jake, Aunty Maria, Kev and Ben

We were all enjoyiing the sunny day!

The boys were not enjoying it as much as we were...as you can see in this photo!! :)

A Trip Outside!!!

Today we bundled the boys up and took them on a walk. It was such a beautiful, sunny day! It was so fun to do normal mom things! They loved it! They loved it so much they fell asleep minutes into the walk.

Now that things have calmed down, I have started to think about going back to see the doctor who gave us no hope about our pregnancy. I am really nervous to see her again but feel it is my responsibility to educate her on TTTS. I have ordered information packets to give her but for some reason can't bring myself to follow through. I don't know if I am afraid to relive the memory or what..but it has been a difficult thing for me to do. Hopefully, I will get the courage to go down that path again. I know that by doing so, I could help a family avoid the pain we went through. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

That is all for now!

Enjoy the weekend!!