Laura's 2nd Week Back at work

Laura just completed her second week back at work and tommorrow will be the beginning of the third. Laura's parents Linda and Larry have made her second week back very easy. They have been staying with us and watching the kids during the day and sometimes during the night. Jack and Kaelin have both become very expressive over the past few weeks. They smile a lot, especially in the mornings and they are starting to try to talk. It's been fun to watch. Here are some pictures :

Laura's First Day Back

I put a before (NICU) and after (Today) picture in so you can see how much the twins have changed since they were born.

Today Laura went back to work. Since our Day Care doesn't have an opening yet, we have asked the Grands to come in and pinch hit. This week the Grand Labharts are here. They braved the high winds and nasty weather to make the trek from Kentucky. They arrived Sunday night. At this time (still daylight outside) they are in bed. That may give you an idea of how it is going. All kidding aside, they are doing a great job. They both have bonded with the kids already. Both Jack and Kaelin can't keep their eyes off of Granpa Labhart.

Caption: "Payback is coming Mike!!!"

Caption: "The Very Hungry Catipiler eats what! Shouldn't someone alert the authorities before this thing gets out of hand?!"

Caption: "Oh, thank goodness it's only a story. Now that I think about it catipilers can't eat that much."

Caption: "But Grandma, it says right there in black and white that the Very Hungry Catipiler eats everything it sees. Are you sure we are safe?"




Caption: "The Very Hungry Catipiler neighborhood watch."


Caption: "We're staying in the ocean. We have it on very good authority that catipilers can't swim."

Baby Pictures

Kaelin had a CT scan of her brain on Friday - we do not have the official results, but the tech gave me a positive message indicating he did not see any cysts during the initial scan...however, we will need to wait for the official results from the neurologists. In other news, we have made great progress in the sleeping department - Jack has consistently been sleeping 8 hours for 3 nights now. Kaelin is less consistent, but usually goes back to sleep with a pacifier and some love from Mom. Last night, Mike & I actually watched an entire movie through with no interruption - unfortunately for Mike, the movie was 27 Dresses.

We have continued our habit of giving presents early - so true to form, I already have received my first mother's day gift. Jack & Chippy made the Top 10 above - Mike said the kids only asked him to pick up the picture at Walgreen's. It's a wonderful gift, I couldn't ask for a better family.

Sadly, I am going back to work next week and Grandparents Labhart & Flannery are alternating weeks caring for the kids until day-care starts in June. They're in for a great surprise as this is the first time they will see the kids now that they're smiling and cooing. I'm sure for the kids, this means they will spoiled to death being held and loved on for 3 weeks straight. Mike and I also have a night scheduled at a nearby resort - an early anniversary gift - likely, I will spend most of it enjoying uninterruped sleep and hopefully a massage.

Enjoy the pictures below - both are doing great starting to grab for toys and hold up their heads.

Where is Kaelin?

Mom is funny.....sort of

Give it to me Mom!

Jack loves his Chippy

We have SMILES

Chippy's Brain

Chippy and I are working from home this afternoon. We're putting our heads together trying to figure out what is wrong with the calender rolls on the paper machine that I work on. I'm in bed on my laptop and she's laying beside me in her Boppy. She does some of her best thinking from the Boppy ... so she says. Currently her eyes are closed. She says she is "resting her eyes" but we both know she is sleeping. I guess I'm on my own with work although before she checked out on me she came up with some pretty insightful observations. All good signs that her brain is functioning well which is also the opinion of the doctor that we visited today. Chippy has two grade 1 Intraventricular Hemorrhages (IVH) in her brain which are apparently pretty common among premature babies. We had a good chat with the doctor. She did a tacticle exam of Chippy and concluded that we have very little to worry about. We have a CT exam scheduled for next week. If that shows that the hemorage has not grown then we will be pretty much home free. If the hemorages do not grow (which the doctor said they most likely will not) then the long term impact of these hemorages will be zero. If you want to find out more about IVH, click on this link http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/PrematureBabies/Intraventricular-Hemorrhage-IVH.aspx?articleID=7511&categoryID=PI-nh1-07c

Laura and Jack are in the living room watching TV. Chippy thinks they are a couple of slackers. She's concerned that if Jack does not start showing some initiative he'll have to go to his back-up pre-school. She does not want to be separated from him but has made it clear that she will not be letting Jack hold her back.

Bug is conducting a survey of all the potential resting spots in the house. She rates each spot on softness, warmth and proximity to anyone that may potentially drop food on the floor. Her rating scale is 1-4 paws. Chip called Bug a pseudo-scientific hack. Bug was flattered. Currently she is checking out the foot of our bed.