A New Year and 2nd Christmas

Saturday Brent and I took the girls out to their Gran and Grandaddy's house for our Christmas with the Huse family. We had a great time spending time with family and opening gifts for the girls. The girls received some great toys and outfits and had a great time smiling and "talking" to Gran, Grandaddy, Aunt Elizabeth and their soon-to-be Uncle Adam.

Gran and Grandaddy with Reagan, Addison and Baylee

Uncle Adam and Aunt Elizabeth with Addison, Baylee and Reagan

Here's a little update on each of the girls.

Addie sweetie

Addison remains to be just a little sweetheart. She loves to "talk" to us and smile. She loves to study faces and she had a great time looking at Grandaddy yesterday and "talking" to him. She loves her ducky paci her Grammy gave her for Christmas and she loves to look at the butterfly on her boppy playpad she got for Christmas as well. She holds her head up and looks around during tummy time and right now she weighs 13 lbs. Addie was our first to sleep through the entire night, as of now she is consistently down to one feeding a night!

Addison with her Ducky paci from Grammy

Sweet Addie bear New Years Day 2010

Addie before bathtime

Reagan Baby

Reagan loves to "talk" as well. At their doctor's appointment last Thursday, she was just staring at Gran and talking to her about her day. So cute! She loves to be on her tummy and she LOVES her Daddy. She loves her colorful toys and will track them across her field of vision, and she will smile but she makes you work for it. :) Our Reagan baby is very close to 13 lbs and is also consistently down to one feeding a night. Last night was her first night to sleep 12 hours without a feeding. We will see if she does it again!

Reagan sweetie New Years Day 2010

Reagan before bathtime

Reagan hangin with Mommy in her "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" onesie

Daddy with Reagan baby before bedtime

Baylee Boo

Baylee has been our first baby to smile and giggle, even though she is our youngest (by 2 minutes) and she is also the smallest. Right now, Baylee weighs a little over 12 and 1/2 lbs. I also think that Baylee may be our first to start crawling. She lifts her head the highest during tummy time and will push with her feet to move forward but she hasn't quite gotten the hands moving along with the legs to crawl. She will get there. :) She loves to laugh and smile at us and at everything around her. Each morning when I wake her up she just smiles up at me and then when I put her on the changing table she smiles at her little bulletin board with the bows and animals from the diaper cake her Aunt Mandy made for their baby shower. She really likes her paci, we have a hard time going anywhere without it.

Baylee Boo smiling New Years Day 2010

The girls' bulletin board above their changing table Baylee before bathtime
Baylee during Tummy Time Baylee with her Monkey paci from Grammy

Our sweet Baylee and Reagan during tummy time

The girls' 4 month checkup is this Thursday and Grammy will be in town to help me get them ready for their appointment. We aren't looking forward to the shots...I hate to see it more and more every time but I know they will love seeing their Grammy. :)

White Christmas 2009

You can't even imagine how horrible it is to have to drive 45 miles listening to three babies scream in the backseat. Try to imagine it and then multiply that times 20....that's how bad it was. Thankfully, that was the very end to our Christmas travels and we won't be traveling for a long distance again for at least another month. The girls just don't like the car yet....we seem to get them loaded up and on our way and about 45 minutes into our trip the crying begins. I climb into the backseat to try to give pacis and when that doesn't work, we stop the car somewhere to try to feed a little, but nothing was working on our way home Saturday. So we just had to drive and let them cry. It was awful. I think they were just DONE with traveling and were so tired.
By the time we got home Brent and I both were at our limit...after we fed them and got them down to bed we were just delirious. We ended up laughing until we cried about it while we shard a Digiorno pizza for dinner.

Our car packed to the limit for our trip...

Our extra cargo carrier Brent got...thank goodness because we never would have been able to take all of our gear without it

On our way to my parents North of Dallas, we had to stop outside of Plano and feed the girls (45 minutes into our trip). I was frazzled as always from the crying...Brent had to run into this quick shop to warm the bottles since my car-bottle warmer wasn't doing the trick fast enough.

Brent - smiling away while I am about to lose it completely :)

We didn't make it to the candlelight service Christmas Eve because of the snow and ice on the roads. We thought it would be better not to risk it with the girls even though I really, really wanted to go. So we decided to get all dressed up anyway and take pictures :). This is our great family pic that Aunt Susan took. Thanks Aunt Susan for braving the cold to take pictures of Brent and me outside...we love you!

Our happy family!

The girls' Great Papaw and Mamaw Chambers - WE LOVE YOU!

Addison, Reagan and Baylee in their Christmas jammies...so cute! Reindeer feet!

A white Christmas for the girls' first Christmas...this picture was out the back, upstairs window of mom and dad's house Christmas morning

Cutie CJ opening the Transformers helmet we got him for Christmas

Finally getting to wear the helmet after it took Pop and Uncle Tim 45 minutes to put it together :)

Adorable little Marky...walkin' around in his cape Santa brought him with his name on the back

Santa's big gift to CJ, Marky and Peyton (when he is old enough)...the Gator. They were so excited even though it was SO COLD! :)

Us at 2:30 pm Christmas Day...we were already exhausted

CJ, still kickin' it on Grammy's coffee table with a peanut butter sandwich after a full Christmas morning...not tired at all.

We had a great Christmas spent with family and we are learning how to work the girls' schedule around everything so we can still enjoy all the happenings and not miss a thing.

Saturday after Christmas, we left Pop and Grammy's house with the girls and headed West of Fort Worth to Brent's sister's house to see Brent's family. We got to meet Elizabeth's fiance, Adam's family and spend time with Gran and Grandaddy as well. The girls did okay with naps at Aunt Elizabeth's house but the naps they were supposed to take in the car just never happened. They were so pooped last night when we got home that we didn't even have to go back into their bedroom to replace pacis or soothe them once they were down. They were down for the count!

I am also SO HAPPY to tell everyone that Addison slept her first full night last night! 8pm to 8am without any feedings and she even slept through Reagan and Baylee crying to be fed. We only had to feed Reagan once last night and Baylee twice. So we are REALLY seeing great things from the girls. OH! And they are all smiling now! Baylee was first, Addie second and Reagan cracked her first smile at Grandaddy yesterday. The girls like to watch their Daddy make noises and faces and then they will smile at him when he does something they like.

Attentive Parents...we just call that parenting

Brent and I feel like we avoided something tonight that could have potentially harmed Baylee or worse...we'll never know.
We had a busy day today getting things ready for our holiday coming up. I spent the morning running errands while Brent watched the girls and when I got home he left for his Christmas lunch at work and then to spend the afternoon with his good friends Justin Slovak and Cody McCauley.
I called our pediatrician's office this morning to ask the nurse to call in a new prescription for Baylee since we are running out of the Reglan (metoclopramide) syrup she has been taking for her reflux and we will need a refill within a few days. The nurse told me she would call in the new script to the local pharmacy that we use.
When Brent got home this evening, we fed the girls and put them down for bed and I went up to the pharmacy to get Baylee's refill. As I was pulling away, I opened the package and noticed that the prescription name seemed different from what Baylee had been taking before. I thought to myself that I would check when I got home.
When I got home, I pulled out her almost empty bottle and checked the prescription name - Metoclopramide. The new bottle said Dicyclomine. Hmmmm...what to do next? You got it...Google. I Googled the new prescription name and found that Dicyclomine is prescribed for Irritable Bowel Syndrome...not reflux.
Brent got the two bottles from me and called the pharmacy to ask them about the prescription. When the pharmacy answered the phone, Brent explained the issue and they put him on hold. Not two seconds later the Pharmacist was on the phone asking if we had given Baylee any of the Dicyclomine. Brent said no, we hadn't. She said, "Oh thank goodness, I almost died when he told me what had happened..." referring to the man who answered the phone. Brent said, "What WOULD have happened had we given this to her?!" All she would say is that we would have noticed her getting increasingly tired and drowsy and this medicine isn't prescribed to infants. I have a feeling she didn't tell us all of the things that may have happened if we hadn't compared the old bottle to the new. Brent then asked her if this was the pharmacy's fault or the doctor's office and the Pharmacist replied that it was THEIR fault. She then added that they will be refunding us the co-pay for the prescription and giving us the correct prescription for free and a gift card. They will also be calling our doctor's office to tell them what happened tomorrow morning. She then added, "Thank you for being attentive parents. "
Attentive parents! We just call that parenting. You really think we are going to give our three month old whatever you hand over to us and not ask some questions?
Needless to say, Brent and I were very upset about all of this. What if they made this mistake when Baylee first started taking reflux medication and we didn't have anything to compare it to? What if....
We all need to be reminded sometimes that we are our own health advocate and we are the health advocates for our children. You can't always trust doctors and you can't always trust your pharmacy. Pay attention. Ask questions.

Our Routine

Hello my blog followers! Over the past weekend spent with family and friends I have been reminded of how many friends and friends of friends follow my blog and enjoy reading about the girls and our every day lives. I don't get out of the house much :) so seeing all of you was refreshing to me even though it was a sad occasion for all of us grieving the loss of Brent's grandmother.

Reagan baby

Naturally, I had a lot of questions about the girls this weekend. How are they doing? Am I getting any sleep? How do we survive? :) So I thought I would post the girls' routine and some tricks and tips we have learned from our newborn care specialist aka. Christy.
Last night was a pretty good night for us. Addison made it 9 hours between feedings! She only woke up once to be fed at 5:00 am. Reagan and Baylee woke up to be fed twice at 12:00 am and 6:00 am. So we are definitely making progress with the girls.
The girls' eyes are also really coming into focus. They will focus on our faces and on toys and they will track toys across their field of vision. Baylee is also starting to smile more and more. Tonight, she was just smiling and smiling at Brent and me singing along to the Christmas music in their room. We can't wait for Addison and Reagan to start smiling at us. They are also loving their tummy time more and more every day.

The girls daily routine starts at 8:00 am.
8:00 am - Wake to feed, bath time or playtime depending on the day
9:30 am -Nap time
11:00 am - Lunch, playtime
12:00 pm - Short nap
1:00 pm - Wake to feed, playtime
2:30 pm - Nap time
4:00 pm - Wake to feed, playtime
5:30 pm - Nap time
7:00 pm - Wake to feed, start bedtime routine, jammies and baby massage
8:00 or 8:30 pm - Bedtime
We usually have one to two feedings during the nighttime hours right now, eventually the girls will sleep from 8:00 pm to 8:00 am.

A few things we have started utilizing to help the girls.
Miracle Blankets
We swaddle the girls tightly in Miracle Blankets for all naps and bedtime.

Sound Machines

We started using sound machines (Homedics sound machines we got at Bed, Bath and Beyond that includes the waterfall sound) for all naps and bedtime. It continuously plays while they sleep and helps to soothe them back to sleep if they fully wake up between sleep cycles. We actually use two of these, one is right next to Baylee since she seems to wake up the easiest when the other girls wake up and the sound machine so close to her helps drown out the other girls crying so she can stay asleep with the constant white noise.

Gripe Water
This is a natural remedy that we mix with a little warm water and give the girls a few sips to help clear their throats out if they are grunting from the reflux.



Nap Nanny
As I said before, we purchased three nap nannies (http://www.napnanny.com/) and the girls sleep in these for bedtime and naps. It keeps them at an angle at all times so the reflux has a harder time going all the way up their throat.

All of the changes we have made seem to really be benefiting the girls. Their moods are better after good sleep and I am starting to learn how to read them better and realize when they have just had enough playtime and are cranky/tired, are still hungry, just need to be held, etc.

Baylee boo

Addie

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas holiday with family planned for this week. We can't wait to spend time with all of our family and celebrate the girls' first Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Viola Thiele (Grandma)

Brent's maternal grandmother, Viola Thiele, passed away Tuesday of this week. We will all dearly miss her precious smile and wonderful laugh.

Grandma

Viola (Mueller) Thiele, age 89, of West, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009, in Waco. Funeral services will be 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at St. John Lutheran Church near Gatesville, with the Rev. Dr. Kenneth Moerbe officiating. Burial will follow at St. John Lutheran Cemetery. The family will receive visitors 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, at the funeral home. Mrs. Thiele was born July 5, 1920, the daughter of Albert Julius and Julia Ann (Weiss) Mueller. She attended Prairie Chapel School and Crawford High School. On January 22, 1944, she was united in marriage to Rudolph M. Thiele in Coryell City. He preceded her in death Dec. 5, 1998. Viola was a homemaker and worked as a seamstress for the Aamco Company and Wolf Manufacturing in Waco for over twenty years, until her retirement. She was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Coryell City, where she was active in the Ladies Circle. She was also a charter member of the Christ Lutheran Church in Waco, where she served on the Altar Guild and the Women's Guild. Viola loved spending time with her family. She also enjoyed gardening, canning, sewing, net-darning for her family and friends, and tending to her cattle. Her parents and a brother, Ervin Mueller, also preceded her in death. Survivors include two sons, Alton Thiele and wife, Twila of Temple and Dalbert Thiele and wife, Luann of Aquilla; a daughter, Brenda Huse and husband, Ronald of West; six grandchildren, Lisa Scoble and husband, Bill III, Kristi Thiele, Denise Hachtel and husband, Jason, Elizabeth Huse and fiancŽ, Adam Crews, Brent Huse and wife, Michelle, and Lindsey Thiele; six great-grandchildren, William IV and Alyssa Scoble, Kylie Hachtel, Addison, Reagan and Baylee Huse; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. John Lutheran Church, St. John Lutheran Cemetery Association or West Rest Haven Activity Fund. Memorial guestbook found at aderholdfuneralhome.com July 5, 1920 - December 15, 2009

Pictures with Mommy :)

Mommy with Reagan

Kisses for my sweet baby :)

Mommy with Addison

Mommy getting Baylee's pacifier out for a picture :)
Mommy with happy Baylee