I haven't forgotten....

Please don't think I have forgotten about my bolg! The contraption that loads my camera memory card to the computer is broken so I can't post any new pictures. Plus life has been so busy with the Thanksgiving holiday and Aaron being crazy busy at work (Black Friday and all). But in the absence of new news (except to say that Lola and Jack are adorable and amazing), enjoy a few older pics and know that I'll be back with a real post by Monday.
Their little behinds are so cute!Fabulous Jackson faces:What do you do with a fussy Lola? Stuff a pacifier in her mouth and have Dad carry her around in a baby back pack! I promise it's far more humane than it looks.Look how hard Mom is laughing at Lola in that cutie pie hat!

My baby is SOOOOOOO SWEET!

The Petition for Preemies

I have added a link to the March of Dimes' Petition for Preemies on the left side of the page. Please take a second and sign this petition that will urge our government to dedicate more resources to combating prematurity. The number of babies born prematurely in the country is staggering and (no big surprise here) Louisiana ranks among the worst.

Lola and Jackson benefited so much from the treatment we received in CO and here in NO. If they would have been born when I first went in to pre-term labor (at 25 weeks) our lives would be immeasurably different. Because I was able to hold on until almost 34 weeks Lola and Jack seem indistinguishable as preemies. They are hitting their milestones and certainly aren't off-the-charts small.

But this is not always the case. For some women the various blood pressure and asthma medications that are used to stop contractions do not work (there are currently no medications approved by the FDA specifically for stopping contractions and preventing pre-term birth). Some women are afflicted with preeclampsia much earlier in their pregnancy and are forced to deliver their babies as early as 23 weeks. These are only a couple of reasons for premature birth (the ones that affected our family). Unfortunately there are many more.

The March of Dimes is doing amazing work to combat the many causes of premature birth. Please take just a second and help let our government know how important education and research are to the health of our babies! Mom and Dad, Lola and Jackson, and families everywhere say thanks!

My Jammie-time workout

The kids are getting soooo active! Last night I was trying to put pajamas on them and they were literally crawling all over me. And I mean it... literally. Imagine me sitting on the floor with Lola lying in front of me trying to get her dressed. Jackson is working hard to climb over his sister and in to my arms, cackling as he steps on her . And of course Lola isn't helping with all of her rolling and squirming. So after 10 minutes it's finally Jackson's turn. Lola is a cross between really aggravated and jubilant at her freedom so she makes getting Jackson dressed even harder than she was. After both were jammied I sat on the floor and they crawled and climbed all over me. What does a mother of twins need a gym membership for! I was actually winded!

Since I couldn't take any pictures of my "jammie-time workout", enjoy these great ones instead!
She doesn't understand that we all benefit when Jackson gets his rest.Lola finds yet another way to play with the excersaucer.One of those "Awww" moments of parenting twins.

8 Months old!

Lola and Jackson are 8 months old today! 8 months ago this morning I had no idea we were going to see Lola and Jackson for the very first time. Here are some pics from the first night:
Dad looking in on Lola the night she was born.Dad smiling with his new son Jackson.
The morning of March 11th, 8 months ago, I was trying to force down yet another protein shake (on order of the hospital nutritionist) and watching the Golden Girls. I already had my morning visit from the nurse to check the babies' heartbeats and my vital signs. My blood pressure was high (again) and the nurse reclined my bed all the way and told me to lay down on my side and drink the rest of my delicious shake (every drop of it) through a straw. "Another lame day waiting for nothing," I thought. Yeah, right.

8 months ago today around 3 pm my doctor came for a routine visit before she left town. It was Tuesday and she would be back on Friday. We discussed whether I would be discharged for home bed rest after she returned and decided that was not such a good idea. She would get back on Friday, check in with me at the hospital, and then we would wait out yet another boring weekend. That was the plan. But before she went, "Just one more liver enzyme check, in case..."

8 months ago today at 5:30 pm the very sweet but firm Nurse rings through the intercom, "Honey, when was the last time you ate anything." Thinking she was about to scold me for not finishing my delicious lunchtime protein shake, I lied "Not too long ago I had some milk and sting cheese."

8 months ago today at 6:00 pm I called Aaron and told him "Not to rush or anything, but you might want to come on over cause we're gonna go ahead and have the babies." People have a funny way of minimizing big scary things. Like when my mom used to tell people "We had a little house fire" when the entire attic burned, a large portion of the roof fell in onto the second floor, and the whole house had to be re-done. I meant it when I said to him, "Finish your emailing and just come on whenever." Of course he was in my hospital room in what seemed like seconds.

At 6:30 pm I was pumped full of some IV liquid that flushes out any food and drink before I get an epidural (a fitting punishment for exaggerating my food intake for the afternoon). My night nurse had just arrived (she was 8 months pregnant herself) and we joked about how different our situations were despite being the same gestation.

8 months ago today at 8:00 pm my hysterically funny pregnant nurse and I walked down the hall to the operating room (the first time I had walked down ANY hall in weeks) and Aaron took a final picture of the 2 of us belly to belly, laughing our way to deliver Lola and Jackson.

At 8:35 and 8:36 pm 8 months ago today we got our first glimpse of Lola Belle and Jackson Forrest before they were whisked off to the NICU. They are perfect and amazing and I could not image, at that moment, how wonderful and terrifying and joyous and trying and absolutely amazing our lives would become.

A little perspective on how far we've come:
Mom feeding Jackson in the NICU, less than a week old (fyi, the IV is in his head because he kept pulling on it; feisty little guy from the beginning!). Jackson feeding himself at 7 months old.Lola asleep in Mom's hand, 4 weeks old.Lola with her head on the arm of the couch, 7 months old.
Jackson sitting in his bouncy chair at 3 weeks old.Jackson climbing into his bouncy chair at 7 months old.
Lola all wrapped up after her very first bath, 3 weeks old.
Lola playing in the bath tub, 2 days before turning 8 months old.
Dad holding Lola and Jackson in the NICU, 1 week old.
Mom holding Lola and Jackson on the way out of the hospital, 2 weeks and 5 days old.Mom holding Lola and Jackson at 7 1/2 months old.
8 months ago today Aaron and I met our kids for the first time and boy has it been a wild ride since!

Babies Everywhere!

Lola and Jackson are all of the sudden everywhere I turn (and step)! It started slowly. I would walk in to the kitchen and by the time they made it halfway I was already walking back to the living room. Now it seems like they are always underfoot. And even worse than almost tripping on Lola or Jack is not knowing where they are! Since we don't have a babygate that will fit the doorway to the side hall yet, I have tried to get in the habit of keeping the bedroom and bathroom doors closed. Well, it hasn't really become second nature yet and the first time I walked in to the living room and couldn't find my daughter I totally panicked! It was such a weird feeling not to find her close to where i left her. I'm slowly getting used to this new mobile lifestyle. I'm sure as soon as I do they'll be on to a new stage!
Here are some great pictures of the kids and their newfound freedom:
Can't you just see them conspiring to put a peanut butter sandwich in our DVD player...
No longer satisfied to actually sit in the excersaucer, Lola and Jackson have started playing with it "like big kids."Pulling up everywhere... "If I can't reach my toy down there...maybe I can reach something interesting up there!"
Here are some pictures of Jack and Lola in their Halloween jammies. Unfortunately they slept through most of Halloween (were at our friend Tracy's house with some friends) and these were taken the next morning. Under the picture on Jackson's outfit it says "Hair-wolf" and under Lola's mummy it says "Mummy loves me." Very cute and appropriate for a Halloween they didn't really participate in. Next year we'll do costumes.And some "just because they're so cute" pictures:
Here are Lola and Jackson ready for their walk in the arctic. Mommy got a little excited during the little cold snap last week. Jackson finally lost his battle against the nap.Cutie pie with big smiles coming at ya!Oh, and Lola has 2 teeth! No pics of them yet but I'll keep tyring and post one as soon as I can.