Ethan and Mia turned 1 on December 19th! This past year has gone both fast and slow. I can still remember every detail the day they were born. I worked a 12 hour day shift and went to bed shortly after getting home. Everything was normal until my water broke at 3am. I told Mike that my water broke and he asked me if I was sure I didn't pee on myself. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I didn't do that! We arrived at the hospital at 3:30am and they wanted to verify that my water broke (it did.) They were going to give me steroids to help the babies' lungs develop and hold off labor for at least 48 hours. Out of curiosity, I asked the doctor to check me to see if I had dilated. At 5:15am, he checked me and I was all ready at 8cm. He said, "oh, it's too late for steroids." They rushed me to labor and delivery and I requested my epidural immediately. The contractions were really starting to hurt and there was no way I was doing it naturally!! I was dilated to 10cm by 7:00am and was ready to start pushing, but my doctor wasn't there yet. Mike and I were able to get a little bit of a nap in. They took me back to the OR at 9:00am and I started pushing. Ethan was born at 9:12am and Mia was born at 9:21am. It went so incredibly fast that I didn't quite grasp everything that had just happened! How different our lives would be!!
Ethan and Mia were born at 32 1/2 weeks and were in the NICU for 20 days. Ethan weighed 4 pounds 4 ounces and Mia weighed 3 pounds 11 ounces. They did really well and didn't have any complications from being premature. We were so lucky and fortunate that they did so well. The first couple of months after they were born were quite honestly a blur. We had to wake them up every 3 hours to eat. The sleep deprivation was overwhelming! We were able to get through this trying time with the help and support of family and friends. Thank you all! We appreciate you!
Our sleepy newborns are now little spit-fires. Both babies are crawling all over the place and getting into everything. I would say Ethan is the instigator and Mia is the follower. She watches everything he does and then joins in.
Ethan is cruising around all of the furniture. I think he's getting closer and closer to walking. He loves getting into anything electronic. His favorites are Mike's PS3, remote controls, my laptop, and our cell phones. He gets so involved in what he's doing that it seems he sometimes ignores us! He now has 8 teeth and has figured out that he can bite. He bit Mike on accident and got a reaction out of him, so now Ethan thinks it's funny. We've been trying to get him to stop biting. It really does hurt and he tends to leave little teeth marks on our skin. I think he's starting to catch on because he doesn't do it as often. He still wakes up once a night and wants a bottle. We're trying to cut out the bottle, but it's hard. He puts up a huge fight. It seems that we're going to be doing this until he reaches kindergarten! He takes 30-45 minute naps once or twice a day. He's not a huge sleeper. He can now say quite a few words: Mama, Dada, baba, dog, here kitty (he kiki), num num. Ethan only likes to be cuddled when he's tired and wants to go to bed. Otherwise, he'd rather be off exploring the house.
Mia isn't cruising yet, but she's perfectly happy crawling around. She also likes electronic things. Her favorites are my cell phone, the remote control, and my lap top. She still doesn't have any teeth. The doctor said that if she doesn't have any by 15 months, then we'll get an x-ray and go from there. I am not in any hurry for her to get teeth! Though, I think she'll be easier when she teethes than Ethan. Mia has been sleeping through the night for months! She's a good little sleeper. She takes 30-45 minute naps once or twice a day. She's not a huge nap taker, but I'm thankful she's sleeping through the night. She can also say quite a few words: Mama, Dada, baba, kitty (kiki), num num, uh oh. Mia is our cuddler and loves to give kisses and hugs.
Their birthday party was quite small thanks to a roaring blizzard the day before their party. Aunt Sarah, cousin Noah, and Uncle Mark were able to make it. We still had fun though! They loved the chocolate cake. No surprise! I gave each of them a huge piece and set it in front of them. Ethan dug in right away with a big mouthful of frosting. Mia was a little more inhibited until I gave her a bite and then she dug in too! They received quite a few toys and some much needed clothes!
We love you so much, Ethan and Mia! I thank God every day for you two. Our lives are very different than before, but we wouldn't do anything differently! Being parents to twins can be difficult at times, but we're lucky because we get twice the love and reward! But please, God, don't give us twins again! :)
The morning of their birthday. All ready getting into stuff. It's amazing the stuff they find.
You tell me what you want and I'll get it down for you.
Opening our presents from Aunt Sarah.
Playing with our toys.
Playing with Mia's doll.
Mom and Dad bought me a Tonka truck!
Do I get this entire piece?
Yummy!
Cake is good!
I wish it was my birthday everyday!
Making a mess.
Can I have some more?
Our big happy family.
I'm on a sugar high.
Ethan's first!
Almost done.
I've had enough.
Don't I look cute?
I'm glad to be done!
Enough with the pictures!
We survived our first haircut!
