Grandma Flannery and Great Grandma come for a visit

The four generations. Great Grandma Sachs, Grandma Flannery, Mama Labhart and the little babies.
Great Grandma with her first Great Grandchildren.
First time Grandma with her new babies.
Among all the chaos and confusion the Labharts finally got a picture taken together as a family.

They're Finally Home!!

Kaelin: Kaelin, aka "Miss Piggy" has been feeding very well. She doesn't cry much and seems to respond well to Lucy constantly trying to sniff her and drink her bottle.

Jack: aka "Little Man" and "Jack Attack" has been doing well also. He and Kaelin are still getting used to the Dog constantly trying to sniff them and get to know them better.

Grandma Flannery: Just like any new Grandmother, Grandma Flannery was very excited to see her new Grandchildren. (She also wanted to make sure that Uncle John was giving the utmost attention to the new parents and the little peanuts.) Of course she did not come empty handed. She brought some of Laura and John's favorite dessert, chocolate and caramel bars. Daddy even had some. She walked right into the nursery to see her new Grandchildren and then fed them.

Great Grandma: Yes Great Grandma even made the trip downhere. She also went straight to the nursery to see the little babies. She started feeding them rightaway (at the same time the dog was sniffing around her and the babies). She could not be happier to be with the new babies and away from the cold weather in Minnesota.

Grandma Labhart: Unfortunatley Mike's parents just left, but we were all quite busy doing chores around the house. Donna seemed to always be doing laundry, cleaning, or holding her Grandbabies. She was always ready to whatever task Mike or Laura asked of them and we are all very happy that they came.

Grandpa Labhart: He was just like his wife, dependable, and hard-working. He seemed to always be painting, hanging shelves, or holding the babies. It was great to have both of them here. The long ride home went well, and the babies sppear to be a little sad after their departure.

3 Week Pictures

Here are a few new pictures of Jack and Kaelin - they are now 22 days old. The plan was to bring them home this weekend - which kicked off by Mike and I (Laura) spending the night with them at Children's. We didn't get much sleep with the nightly feedings, it wasn't too hard to get out of bed every few hours considering the mattress was awful. Jack has had issues with acid reflux surface again which causes his heart rate to drop. Instead of taking him home Friday, they ran tests to ensure they understood the problem and he is now on medication (that he & Kaelin had both been on in the past). They also started Jack on caffeine to help him with continuous breathing and a steady heart rate - all things considered, the number of events he has are minor and he corrects them himself, but they still need to keep him to ensure the medications will help. We are disappointed not to have them home with us this weekend, but we want to bring them home healthy - and Kaelin is there to keep him company and share her secrets on good feeding. Kaelin has earned the nickname Miss Piggy as her appetite is increasing every day - she is still only a few ounces bigger than Jack, but her round cheeks make her look much bigger. Tuesday will be the earliest they come home, so I will be continuing to spend my days with them at the hospital. (While Mike is at home delegating more projects to John)

On the home stretch.

Little Kaelin seems so relaxed with Mike's cousin Julie.

Mommy and Daddy just chillin with the peanuts.

STOP taking pictures of me already I want to sleep!

Kaelin: Kaelin is doing well. However it does appear that she is sick of getting her picture taken. She got taken off of her tube feeding and is taking the bottles like a champ. Her weight is still just over four pounds, but she is gaining weight. She seems anxious to come home and get acquainted with the outside world. Who knows what trials and tribulations lie ahead.

Who are you and why are you taking pictures of ME!?

Jack: Jack has also been taken off of his tubes and is just doing bottles whenever he is hungry now. He is also still slightly over four pounds and is making progress. Lil' Jack attack seems ready to get busted out of the slammer and start causing trouble at home. I think that someone woke him up from his nap in order to take this picture. (It must have been Mommy.)

Laura: Laura is doing well. She spends a lot of time at the hospital with those babies. Mike and I think it is her way of getting away from us. In order to get her to spend more time with us John tried bribing her by making cookies, but that did not even seem to help.

Mike: Mike also could not be better. He called in more reinforcements. His cousin Julie came in to help with some of the feedings and meet the little peanuts. He is still hard at work and shoots over to the hospital everyday to check up on his little munchkins. Laura, Mike, and John all took a CPR class on Sunday and you can be assured that these babies are in good hands.

Passing the Torch - 2/1/08

It looks like I will be passing the blog torch to Laura's brother, John for a while (see previous blog). I'm sure he will do a great job of keeping you all informed about Laura and the babies (and if his initial blog is any indication, their bodily functions). He is driving Laura to the hospital every day and helping with the feedings plus a million other things around the house, not the least of which is taking Lucy Bug on her twice daily constitutional. So he should be well informed (hopefully not too well informed) with the happenings around here.

-Mike

Pictures Loaded by John - 2/1/08

Laura - Mommy is doing good (even though the babies have been sucking the life out of her , breastfeeding, pumping etc.) She is still hard at work even though she is a new Mommy. Mike and John don't see much of her as she seems to constantly be pumping in the bedroom. (Maybe she is just avoiding us.) Well it is always good to see a new Mommy so devoted to the well being of her children. (aka the peanuts)



Jack and Kaelin - Jack Attack and Whalin' Kaelin are doing well. Jack had a major blowout Wednesday night. (Thankfully the nurses ended up having to clean that mess up! Hooray!) But just when we thought we were in the clear Kaelin decided to drop an atomic bomb with more power than Fat Man or Little Boy. Laura without even thinking about what toxic fumes she might enhale dove straight in to take care of the mess. Amidst all the action Uncle John just stood back and prayed that they would both be o.k. After the cleanup Kaelin got her bath and was screaming like the American Idol wannabes. Jack of course soon followed with his bath and had pretty much the same reactiom that Kaelin did. They both feed every three hours. Kaelin has been taking all of her bottles quite well while Jack still has some catching up to do. (Come on Jack don't let Kaelin beat you!) They are both a little over four pounds.



The Bug - Bug is doing what she is good at. Running around, begging for attention, and of course cleaning the scraps off of the floor. She is always willing to help out with household duties such as laundry cooking, cleaning, and any other projects that may arise.

Mike- Hey what about Mike!? He is the one who started this page and he deserves a little bit of credit. He of course is hard at work and is always giving Laura and Lucy all of the love and attention that they both deserve. Every day is Valentine's day at this house! The minute he gets off work he flies down the I-40 (even though police sit on it every day) to get to the hospital to check up on his little peanuts. The fuzzbuster is getting put to very good use. On the days Mike is feeling a little stressed out he just goes to his happy place. Better known as the workout room and gives Bob a few good punches. The project for this weekend is to put together the playpen.(Which John almost destroyed while trying to put it together on Thursday.) It will be quite an adventure as the box it came in seemed to be lacking directions.

Pictures -