Lily Smiles

Everyone is doing well ~ I swear Reese smiled at me today, not in the sleep-induced way she usually does unconsiously, like looked at me and smiled. I will have to keep trying to get her to do it again and get Lily with the program too. Maybe I can get them to say "mom" by the time I go back to work in April so I don't miss any good developmental stuff. :)

I vow to get to the gym this week if it kills me. I went out last night to buy some new jeans and confirmed that I need to juice up the IPOD and get on a treadmill, at least walking to start. I refuse to keep the mom tummy past the end of February. This also means I have to retire my candy bar habit which is going to be tough, but a must. Remember, dietitians have to be skinny or else no one listens to you. Well, not even skinny but at least in some sort of shape. Gotta drop those last 10 pounds. When the girls are big enough, maybe by the summer I can maybe start them in those mommy and me swim classes,but I may have to squeeze in a daddy since I have two. That would be funny. Rich in the pool with a bunch of moms and babies.
How do I video tape that?

All Clear

So for those of you that don't know, Rich had his follow up, annual colonoscopy Friday which was giving me an anxiety attack all week, but after all that, came back all clear. Me, Reese & Lily were all saying our prayers for dad and despite 4 weeks of disrupted sleep and 2 months (while I was in the hospital) of horrible eating habits, everything is ok. Now I am back to making my morning organic fruit salad for us (high in antioxidents) and Rich is drinking is daily pomegranite or other high antioxident juice in the AM. I have also realized that I have much more productive days when I commit to taking a shower after thier 7am feeding vs. laying around on the couch and inevitiably falling back asleep until 11. I keep reminding them that I have a masters to complete so they can go to college one day. They don't seem to understand but that doesn't mean that I won't keep reminding them.

In the world of baby news, we have 99% finished the nursery, which means Rich has hung thier shelf and I hung up thier cool wall stars today. I hope you can see this in the posted pics. Thier room is the best looking in the whole house at this point, but thats ok. The girls continue to eat and eat and grow and grow. Reese is getting cute chubby baby cheeks and Lily is not far behind her (that is her in the posted pics). I still call her chicken butt and probably will until she is 18 years old. It just sticks.

Oh another interesting fact, today is their original due date, so they are offically 40 weeks today or just over 6 weeks old in real time.

6 Weeks!

So I went for my 6 week follow up yesterday, I can't beleive they are 6 weeks old. We actually have been working on the nursery (above) and Reese & Lily slept in thier cribs for the first time Saturday night. We were having them sleep in a co-sleeper next to our bed but they seem to love the cribs. They pass right out in them. Maybe it is the Sir Leaps Alot mobiles or Baby Beethoven CD's. Or maybe its the fact that no one is snoring all night? Whatever the case they have been loving it. I weighed both of them yesterday with my at home neurotic mom digital scale and discovered that Reese now weights 7 pounds 5 ounces and Lily is about 6 1/2 pounds. Its kinda nuts but recently we have noticed now heavy Reese feels compared to before. They are almost the weight of alot of full-term babies which makes since considering my due date was 1/27 which is this Saturday. I would be just dying if I was lugging them around at the size they are now inside me. I don't know if I could walk.
Enjoy the pics. I will post more when the finishing touches are complete on thier room.

Sleepless in Milltown

Just some new pics from this week. The girls have decided to be on the same feeding schedule which has made the overnight shift that much more interesting. So now they are eating at 11 pm-ish, 2-3amish, 5-6amish, and then 9amish ~ I think I am actually adjusting to sleeping in 3 hour intervals. And Lily has turned into an eating machine, eating the SAME amount as her sister who has over a pound of weight on her more than the little peanut. I think she is trying to catch up, maybe she has caught on to me calling her chicken butt.

Turkey Birds

So today was the ladies one month doctors appointments. Reese weighed in at 6 pounds 9 ounces and Lily topped 5 pounds 4 ounces. They are gaining almost an ounce per day. Wheew. We definately have 2 more mouths to feed around here. Now if they could only eat enough to sleep more than 4 hours at night. That would be wonderful.

Old News

So I found the following email in my inbox and it was so sweet I had to post it, although it is from 12/21. I know many people already got it, but I had to post it in order to save it versus deleting it.

Family and Friends:

I know, I know where are the pictures. Well, first things first.

Heather is home and doing well. She delivered the babies last
Wednesday or day 37. All total she was in the hospital 41 days.

The Cunningham Girls are doing well. Both are being bottle fed. Are
loving their mom and dad's visits to see them at the hospital. We
hope to have them home as soon as we can.

Once things settle down we will get busy planning our "the babies are
here" celebration sometime in the March or April.

We are increadibly lucky to have you all in our loves. Thanks for all
your love and support throughout this last year especially the last
few months. For those who have sent along gifts, we are very thankful
and will be tracking you down one way or another.

Well you stayed with me this far. So here is a link to a few of the
first photos of the babies.

http://web.mac.com/greatusahero/iWeb/Site/Babies%20to%20Share.html

lots of love,
Heather and Rich

1 Month Old! Holy Cow!

These are some recent (as in the last 2 days) of the ladies.
I will give you some 1 month stats as well:

Reese Sydney Cunningham
DOB: 12/13/06
Last weight (3 weeks ago): 5 pounds 6 ounces
Likes: Licking her sister, bouncy seats, watching her dad build cribs, doing leg exercises including bicycles and leg lifts, pacifiers
Dislikes: Any wait for bottle/breastmilk service, wet diapers, bright camera lights, dog barks
Major Accomplishments: Trying to lift her head from a tummy down position, outgrowing ALL preemie clothes
Favorite Music: Dad's singing, Soundscapes New Age-y Music, was interested in Bob Mould today when I was feeding her

Lily Ava Cunningham
Last weight (2 weeks ago): 4 pounds 6 ounces
Likes: Being held before going to bed, being around people so much so that she won't go to bed if there is company, the lamby and sir leapsalot mobiles
Dislikes: Baths, bright camera lights, loud noises, being licked by Reese
Major Accomplishments: Head lifts, eating as much as her sister, trying to crawl
Favorite Music: Much like Reese, New Age works when its 2am, Dad thinks she likes his singing, forced to listen to Mom's bad 80's music

Home Alone

Well this is day #2 of Rich going to work for more than 3 hours and me home with the girls. I have realized that I have changed from one of the most productive people in the world, to one of the LEAST productive. Not without any help from Reese and Lily. Between cleaning bottles, being a glorified baby waitress, diaper changer, and baby clothes laundry machine, I can't get anything done. Tomorrow they will be one month old, I can't believe it. I plan on posting some new pics as soon as Rich downloads them today. They will no longer be zero, they will be 4 weeks. I will work up some one month stats on them and post them tomorrow too.
I went to Pottery Barn Kids the other night and the cashier asked me when I was due. Should I find this insulting? I have lost about 35 pounds as of my last doctors appointment. I had to tell her I already had my babies, silly girl. I don't think I look pregnant anymore, maybe she was just starting conversation. Then I realized I was surrounded by very pregnant women. Like 8 months pregnant and got kinda bummed that I wasn't pregnant anymore. Not that I miss St. Peters, but I missed out on that whole last trimester being out and super preggo. I never thought I would be sad about not being uncomfortable and pregnant but I was. I guess with all of the high drama in the hospital it distracted me from the fact that I was not doing all of the fun things you do your last 12 weeks, like prepping for the babies to come home. I still haven't finished the nursery (the ladies are sleeping in their pack and play next to our bed) or gotten all of the nesting (scrubbing my house down) out of my system yet. I can't mop our kitchen floor enough or swiffer the furniture too much. Kinda strange. Well maybe not considering all of the work that was being done on our house (painting, new electricity, a plumbing overhaul).
Sooner or later I am convinced I will have some sort of routine and I will be adjusted to lack of sleep, hopefully by tomorrow so I can get some work done around here.

As a reflection of my pregnancy, I was thinking about things that got me through those 8 months, including the last 1 1/2 in the hospital.
1. Campbells Vegetarian Vegetable Soup and Saltines - this is basically all I could eat for 2 months in the beginning. Who called it morning sickness, its all day nausea and it stinks.
2. Apple Juice - Add to point #1.
3. Sprite - I avoided all things artificial, as in diet stuff, and still do while I am nursing. However, at one bbq this summer I was craving something to drink other than water and had a couple sips of Sprite. It was delish. I don't know if high fructose corn syrup counts as artifical does it? Well, I am off of it now.
4. Egg Salad Sandwiches - Thank god they made these in the crappy cafe in the hospital because Rich must have bought me one every other day. Protein, its important for babies.
5. Milkshakes - Again, calories, protein, calcium. When these babies are big enough they will probaby be addicted to them too since its what they got everyday for 8 months in me.
6. Milky Way Midnights- For some reason, being in the hospital brought out my worst dietary habits. To this day I eat candy bars, just for the calories I guess while I am nursing, but I have developed a bad habit with these bad boys. Maybe that's why that last 10 pounds of baby weight isn't budging yet. I shouldn't lie, I could add 3 Musketters to this candy bar list. They are the healthier of the 2 candy bars I guess, but still candy....
7. Scrambled Eggs and Cheese - Rich made these for me almost every day of my second trimester. I was worried about eating anough protein, so this hit the spot everytime. I actually could go for some right now...unfortunately Rich is working. Rats.
8. Dharma&Greg- OK, not a food but for some reason I became addicted to this stupid show when I got home from work and I was exhausted. I think I got Rich hooked too. They play two episodes back to back from 5-6pm on TNT I think. I can't stand Jenna Elfman but for some reason loved this show, and still will watch it if I can catch it. Oh, another show I re-found, Judging Amy. Again, on back to back from 12-2 on TNT.

Feedin' time for the little ones,
Heather