9 month stats and a visit to school

Last week Thursday the boys had their 9 month well-check at the pediatrician.  Wow. That pretty much sums up our visit.  To start here are there "stats":  Aiden is 28 inches tall and weighs 19 lbs. 15 oz.  Noah is 28 1/2 inches tall and weight 21 lbs. 8 oz.  Reese is 27 1/2 inches tall and weighs 18 lbs. 2 oz.  Those are some big numbers! Noah's weight can no longer be charted on a low birth weight scale!!  He was WAY above the 95th percentile for weight.  She was teasing him that he is obese on the preemie scale.  Who would have ever thought?!? My 3 and a half pound baby is off the charts!  Too funny.  She was very impressed with their interactions with her and their ability to verbalize.  She is just overall very impressed with their progress.  We were a little concerned that Reese would need a helmet.  His head is still flat in one spot in the back.  She said there has been enough progress without that she sees no need for one.  Phew!  That's a big expense that we don't have to worry about.  They did have to get 1 shot.  It was the first time Nate was there for a shot.  He was able to hear the sad cries along with me.  It made me feel better that he had to comfort them this time.  Noah barely cries because he has enough meat on his leg.  Reese is especially thin and has very little fat on his legs, so he cries the hardest.  I was also concerned about Noah's ears.  We stopped the medicine from his ear infection almost as soon as we started it because it was hard on his system.  She said both ears are a little pink, but that we should try to let it clear up without antibiotics.  I was happy about that!  At their next visit they will get a referral to have a hearing re-screen (they were screened before they left the hospital and passed).  We will also have vision testing done (for sure on Noah).

I also had to go to school this week and clean out my classroom.  It was so hard!  It was a lot of mixed emotions.  I was happy that I am now able to stay home with my boys.  I was sad because I loved what I did and loved the people I worked with.  I know this is a new stage and my life and I am really enjoying it.  Probably the best part of being a stay at home mom is making my own schedule.  I get up when I want, get dressed when I want, do what I want during the day.  Don't get me wrong, it's a TON of work to stay home with them, but it definitely comes with some pretty great perks (especially that I get to spend all my time with my guys!).  My friend Donna, who was our reading specialist at school and retired last year, came with to help me.  No, I still can't go anywhere alone.  Who knows how long it will be until I can.  I was very grateful she was willing to help!  We had a great time visiting!  Here are a couple of pictures.  The first one is of Aiden sitting in the front seat with me while we ate lunch.  The second one is (left-right) Donna holding Reese, Nancy (my friend who is the speech pathologist at school) holding Noah and me holding Aiden.  Next time I visit they'll be running around like maniacs!  They are all mobile and crawling to some degree now.  Let the madness of movement begin!

Continued...

I was having some issues with my last post, so I'll continue with a whole new post.  Anyways...

We also participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies.  The boys were great and we had a great time!!  We walked in honor of a baby named Camryn who died of a heart defect.  We looked around and saw many "in memory of" shirts and people who had babies born early who live with many disabilities.  We felt the same feelings we felt many times sitting in the NICU.  It's a mix of emotions.  It's joy that we made it through and now have 3 healthy babies, but a sense of guilt that we came away from this with 3 healthy babies and some people lose their 1 baby.  It's a constant reminder of God's faithfulness to us and the reality that things could be so much different for us.  We are blessed!!!  (notice the 3 exclamation points) :)   We also learned that we can keep raising funds for the walk.  So if you would like to support us in memory of Camryn and to celebrate the health of our boys the link is:   http://www.marchforbabies.org/mbrouwer

Yesterday Nate didn't work so we took advantage of the nice weather and had a "family fun day".  We went to the Michigan City Zoo, walked by the beach, had a picnic at a park and went to the outlet mall.   It was a fun day with lots of sunshine!

Last but not least here are some things that the boys have learned recently:  Aiden is army crawling all over the house.  Noah rocks on hands and knees.  Reese drags his legs behind him and pulls himself to where he wants to go.  Reese and Noah are waving "bye bye".  Noah has joined Reese in shaking his head "no"  (it's cute now, but I know it won't be soon).  Aiden says "Mom" a lot!  They all say "Dada".  Reese has learned how to take off his diaper (that child is too smart for his own good!).  We were missing most of our pacifiers.  We found 7, yes 7, in between Reese's bed and the wall.  Oh boy.  We are in trouble when that one grows up.  :)  

Well, that's about all for now.  I'm sure I missed something, but I'm really itching to get outside in this nice weather!  

So much fun in one update!

Again it has been too long since I wrote an update.  Last week was absolutely crazy around here.  I was so busy that I hardly had time to think.  So, this week I'm catching my breath and updating about the fun of the last couple of weeks and posting pictures of some things that have happened recently.

Just before Easter the boys got their very first haircut.  They didn't mind a bit.  My sister-in-law cut their hair (she does hair out of her house-so nice for us!).  She did a fabulous job and they loved it!

Reese before (and half asleep)

Reese after..I told you he loved it!

Noah after

Noah before (and excited

Aiden before

                                    

Aiden after

Busy

The last couple of weeks have been so busy around here!  Here's a little recap...

Reese had a check-up with the surgeon.  It went great!!  Dr. Liu couldn't believe how much he's grown.  He was shocked to learn that he's the smallest.  :)  He's very happy that we didn't put in a g-tube (feeding tube that goes directly into the stomach).  Reese has done great without it and it's one less complication to worry about.  Most kids that have a Nissen get a g-tube.  We often look at Reese and can't believe how fortunate we are.  Things could have turned out so differently.  One of the first things I asked when he was brought back to Comer was whether or not he would have brain damage from not breathing for however many minutes he was gone.  They said there was no way to tell until he was older, but that he looked okay at the time.  Last week we found out that he's not only okay, he's developing better than expected.

They all 3 had an appointment with the developmental specialist. This is an all day affair.  My mom came with me.  We left at 9:00 so the boys could nap on the way to the hospital.  They had appointments at 10:45, 11:15 and 11:45.  By the time we fed them lunch, ate lunch and drove home it was somewhere between 3:00 and 3:30.  Long day!  They did great though.  They are developing at or above their chronological age.  They have until the age of 2 to catch up in growth and development.  They are there and even past in some respects.  Their language skills are especially ahead of typical development.  Reese is the furthest with language.  In short they look terrific!  That's part of why we are doing the March for Babies next Sunday.  We were blessed with 3 healthy babies.  They were born early, but we received great prenatal and neonatal care that they have done remarkably well.  Anyways...

Things were starting to slow down when Thursday night Noah would not sleep.  He slept with us part of the night, in the bouncy seat part of the night (he really does not fit in there).  By Friday night he had a 102.3 fever.  Ugh!  It seemed like his ear was bugging him.  So, off we went to immediate care.  It was already about 9:00 when we got to immediate care.  The wait was well over an hour.  We loaded back up..I should clarify that Aiden and Reese stayed home with my mom and dad.  We went to another immediate care where we walked right in.  A mild ear infection was all they found.  They gave him an antibiotic and we finally got home at about 11:30.  Last night his fever was 102 again.  Hopefully he kicks this soon!

This was sure a long update!  If you're still with me here's the latest on their growth...
Aiden- 28 in.  18 1/2 lbs.
Noah 28 1/4 in. (one foot of growth since birth!!)  21 lbs. (17 lbs. gained!!)
Reese 26 3/4 in.  17 lbs.  (our peanut)  :)

Praise the Lord for big, healthy boys (who all now say, Dada)!

A few of my favorite things

As I go about my day I often think of things that I love and things that I don't love so much.  Here are a few.

Things I love:
1.  Naps..specifically long naps.
2.  Cleaning and organization.  I especially love vacuuming.
3.  Belly laughs.  Those laughs that seem to come from their toes.
4.  The way the boys "talk" to each other by screaming, babbling and coughing at each other.
5.  How excited they are when I get them out of their beds in the morning and after naps.
6.  Coffee.
7.  Toys.  How would I keep 3 kids occupied without a variety of toys.
8.  Netflix.  It's a cheap way to get shows we wouldn't normally be able to watch because we don't have cable.  Watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 makes my life look so simple!
9.  Folding laundry.  It's like therapy to me.

Things I don't love:
1.  When Reese is tired and refuses to nap or sleep in his own crib.
2.  Getting up in the middle of the night.  I am not one of those people who enjoys getting up and snuggling in the middle of the night.  I love my kids, but I need my sleep.  Please don't bother me between the hours of 10:00 and 6:30.  :)  I'm a much happier mom when I get my sleep (and lots of it).
3.  Changing crib sheets.  Worst. job. ever.
4.  When strangers ask questions such as whether or not our children are products of IVF and whether or not we're done having children.  Some even tell us they hope we're done.  It drives me crazy!!

Well, laundry is calling my name.  It has to get done today (it is laundry day after all) and tomorrow the boys all have an appointment with the developmental specialist.  Hopefully they are on track!

Easter (continued)

Perhaps I'm a little biased, but I think they turned out great!! 

Finally I just wanted to put in a little reminder that we are participating in the March for Babies.  Our boys have done so well despite the fact that they were born 7 weeks early.  Any continued advancements in helping preemies is another step forward.  If you would like to support the team we're walking with the link is: 
http://www.marchforbabies.org/s_team_page.asp?seid=1759571

Easter

The past week has been pretty busy at the Brouwer house.  We took the boys to church for the first time since they were baptized in October.  I was a little crazy on Saturday night (to say the least).  It was a lot of planning and preparing to get us all out of the house on time.  We made it and the boys were great!  It was so nice to bring them with us.  Will we do it every week?  No way.  We had them sit with us-still pretty leary about germs.  Noah and Reese slept most of the time.  Aiden was too nosy so Nate took him out and he eventually fell asleep in the back of church with Nate holding him.  The craziness of the day caught up with them on Monday.   To say it was a long day was an understatement.  By the time Nate got home I was ready to lose my mind.  We left the boys with my mom and went to the grocery store just to be able to get away.  I never thought I would say the grocery store was my escape.  Tuesday and Wednesday were so much better!

Yesterday my mom and I took the boys to have their picture taken in their Easter outfits.  We haven't had their picture taken professionally since they were 8 weeks old (again, germs.  Picture places are like germ factories).  So, we dressed them up and took them in.  They did great!  Here are a few: