Today was a nice, calm day!!

Like my friend Courtney says it, "Wordless Wednesday"

Well, that is what my day was like yesterday.  I took Landon, Reese and Grady in to the doctor for the usual runny, snotty nose and cough.  Grady had also started running a fever.  Grady weighed 10.8 and Reese weighed 9.11.  They are getting so big!  Reese and Landon had sinus infections and the doctor thought Grady had RSV, so he swobbed his nose and then sent us over to have an x-ray on his chest to make sure he didn't have pneumonia.  Well, at this point my mom had to leave and so me, and the 3 kids headed over to Tomball Hospital for the x-ray.  I walk in and it was like an ER waiting room.  There were people everywhere.  I was thinking oh my gosh...how in the world am I going to wait here with 3 kids and 2 that are about to want their bottle and one who hasn't had lunch...AND it is now noon.  Well of course both the babies started crying and I look over and Landon has now stripped off his socks and shoes and thrown them in the floor.  I took a deep breath and said to myself...okay Melissa, I can either freak out right now, or I can not care what people in here are thinking of me and deal with the situation.   I took the "I don't care" route.  I couldn't help but start laughing.  And let me tell you, ALL eyes were on me.  I tried to calm the babies and then I got in Landon's face and very calmly told him to put his socks and shoes back on or else...hahaha

So, in the end of all this, my dad finally got to the hospital and was able to help.  Grady's RSV test came back negative and his x-ray was normal...few!  But, there is more to the story.  While we were at the doctor, he told me that he was concerned with Grady.  Grady prefers to turn his neck to the left most of the time, and has somewhat of a difficult time focusing.  He also arches his back and doesn't like for you to sit him up.  We will be taking him to see an optomologist and neurologist later this month and are having a physical therapist come out to our house to evaluate him.  Deep down I feel he is probably okay, but is just maturing slower than Reese.  He was also stuck in a really weird postition in utero because Reese was on top of him, poor guy.  As a doctor, they probably want to cover all basis, just to make sure, but of course now all this is in my head and I'm freaking out.  Seriously, I couldn't have any more on my plate.  This cannot happen.  Grady has to be okay.  I will not be able to handle news other than he seems normal.  I mean, for the moment I am feeling sorry for myself.  NOTHING having to do with pregnancy and babies seems to be going smoothly.  I just don't get it!!  I know things could be worse, but geez.  Please just keep him in your prayers!  I will keep you posted once we see the specialist.  

A "glimpse" of my life

I know this might seem mean that I filmed them crying, but it was laugh at the situation or jump off the nearest bridge!

End of year 2011...

WOW, what a year we had looking back on it.  It is absolutely amazing when you look back at how much can happen in just one year of your life.  Time is just flying by here on earth.  I heard it in a bible study once perfectly, we are literally just passing through life and are here for a glimpse of time.  If this is just a glimpse of time here on earth, I can't wait to see what Heaven is like!!  Things that have happened in 2011 for us:

1) We sold our first home we built together and moved into our second.
2) lived with Jacy's granny for 6 months
3) received news we were expecting twins
4) Landon turned 2
3) I resigned from being a teacher to stay home with my 3 amazing children
4)  the babies were dedicated at church
5)  "lived" in a hospital bed  for 4 weeks...(boy am I glad that's over)
6) Reese and Grady were in the NICU for 14 days
7) Landon started mother's day out

I'm sure there is more, but I can't think of it right now.  I am so thankful for another year here with my family, but am excited what 2012 will bring.  I am very overwhelmed some days with 3 month old twins and a 2 1/2 year old.  It is a lot to take in, and still sometimes is not real that this is my life.  Do I question God why me sometimes why this is what he had in mind for me?  Well, yes, honestly sometimes I do, but at the end of the day I tell myself to put on my big girl panties and DEAL with it!!!  Truly, what gets me through my difficult days, is just reminding myself everything I do should be to glorify my God!

I am really having to push through this time in my life.  I want to enjoy Reese and Grady as babies, but there are TWO people...TWO!!  It is more like a job you have to be really good at managing.  Get up, feed the babies, Landon needs breakfast, feed the babies, Landon needs lunch and nap, feed the babies, Landon needs a snack, feed the babies, dinner, baths, and it goes on and on.  I continue to pray God will give me the patience and love to poor out onto my children and husband and continue to strive to be an excellent wife.  It's not always easy, but thank goodness the Lord is there to listen to my cries for help!  I seriously could not get through some days, much less, some hours without Him..and a glass or two of wine some nights...seriously!   I think 2012 will be a fun year for us.  The babies will be a little older, Landon will be a little more independent, and I'm ready to get the party started :o)    

Tis the season

We made a trip to see Santa last week and thought mabye, just maybe we could convince Landon to sit on Santa's lap....boy were we wrong!!  He clenched onto me so hard, I didn't even know he had that many muscles..HA So, we decided to let Reese and Grady give it a shot.  They did just fine.  The funny thing is, we were told it was for liability reasons that Santa couldn't hold both babies at one time just in case he dropped one...haha  Sorry, but I found that very humorous for some reason.  And after the fact, I thought to myself...wow Melissa, how smart was that to let Santa hold your newborn babies after the other 100 kids he let sit in his lap that day.  I guess you live and you learn, right.

  Waiting in line to get their pics taken.

I just love this Santa!  He is so adorable. 

                   I just love this kid!!       Landon loves holding the babies.

My first Gingerbread house!

Didn't I do a good job?!!

Potty Training

Okay, so you know when your son tells you he pooped in his diaper and exactly where he wants to lay for mommy to change it, don't you think it's time to get out of diapers??  He can even tell me if it's a "big poop" or "little poop"...disgusting!  I mean, seriously!  We tried a few weeks ago to potty train him but it just wasn't working out.  He would cling onto us and cry.  Even scream sometimes.  I told Jacy that potty training was a form of child abuse.  I hated it for the one day we tried.  If you have any suggestions or have been through this before, please help me out.  I'm very frustrated about it.

I think I can, I think I can

I can do this, right?!  WHAT a night we had last night.  Grady was up until about 1 or 2 crying and then once we got him settled down and asleep, Reese started.  Oh my, I officially know the definition of sleep deprivation...HELP!

A busy life...

Everyday I think to myself I need to update the blog, but when I have a free moment, I just want to close my eyes :o)  One day when we find our camera charger, I will be able to upload some recent pics I've taken.  Things have been going pretty smoothly.  I guess as smoothly as having newborn twins and a 2 1/2 year old..ha

Last week Landon fell down the stairs twice...not once, TWICE. I know, mom of the year is what your thinking!  And the sad thing is I was fairly close to him both times.  The first fall was pretty harsh.  He instantly got a huge knot between his eyes and the next few days after that had two black eyes.  The second fall was just a bloody nose thank goodness.  It scared the devil out of me!  :o)

Reese and Grady are doing good.  They both have a little congestion, but nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year I guess.  We visited the doctor yesterday and Reese is weighing 7lbs. 8oz. and Grady is 7lbs. 14oz.  They are gaining weight SO fast.  I'm ready to get them off of this high calorie formula.  During they day goes very smooth and they are always in great moods, but from about 5pm to 10pm is a little crazy.  This is Reese's "time to shine".  Grady is a little more fussy during this time, but Reese over does it!  Hopefully she will get through this phase pretty quickly.  They eat about every 3 hours during the day and then we try to feed them around 9:30, 10 at night.  If we stick to that, they wake up about 2:30, 3:00 and again at 6:30am.  It isn't that bad really.  I can function during the day, so that was my main concern.  I have it down to an art now feeding two at a time.

Well, speaking of Reese, she is gearing up again.  We love you!

Melissa

This shows you how little Reese and Grady actually are.  In the pictures they look big, but check out the picture where you see our hands.  Their little heads are so tiny!

A sneak peak...

Well, we are all home and one BIG family :o)  Reese and Grady have been home since Monday evening.  It has been so fun all together and finally all back under one roof!  The babies have been doing great, and at their first doctor's appointment last Friday, Reese weighed 5 pounds and Grady weighed 5.3 pounds.  Reese is a little oinker and takes her bottle so well.  Grady is hit or miss-he will do a great job taking his bottle one feeding and then the next, take his time.  He is SO laid back!  They are eating 2 ounces every 4 hours.  I can't believe how much they have already changed since we brought them home.  I want to freeze this moment in time with them being so little and Landon at such a fun age.  We are just so blessed!  I am so in love with my family.  Do you ever stop and think how much you love your children, and how God gave us his Son, Jesus....Wow, God MUST really love us!

Saturday morning!

Yesterday was an exciting day for us.  We had called early Saturday morning to check on Reese and Grady and right before we hung up the nurse asked us to bring their car seats...Well, once they ask that, you know they are about to come home... We were TOTALLY caught off guard.  And on top of all this, they had told us they will probably go home separately.  They are coming home together!!!  If all goes well the rest of today and tomorrow morning, they will be with us tomorrow afternoon!  We are soooooo excited!  Tonight will officially be our last night of sleep ever...yikes!

They have been doing really well, it just takes them some time to eat their bottles.  Sometimes their oxygen level drops because they let milk sit in their mouth and not swallow, so they have taught us how to handle that.  The neonatologist has pretty much ruled out the heart condition she thought Grady had.  We were very ecstatic about that!

So...needles to say, as of yesterday we have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off.  We have so much to do before they come home Monday.  We weren't expecting them that soon, but are thrilled Monday is the day!

Off to church...we have so much to be thankful for!

Hugs-
Melissa

Pics

Reese and Grady are doing pretty well.  The main thing they are working on currently is regulating their own body temps and how to suck from a bottle.  Slowly but surely they are learning and growing. Reese got her IV out!!!! YEAH!  Grady's IV is back in his head :o( but they think they will be able to take him off his IV once this one is no longer good.  Here are some cute pics we took last night.  We weren't able to take Landon because he had a 24 hour bug that was vomiting and 102 fever.  Today is much better for him though.

P.S.  We have the yellow gowns on because we were afraid of giving the babies Landon's germs.  That is the last thing they need.

 I am also posting some pics of this past Saturday.  We took Landon to the Dewberry Farm.  He loved it!

Day 5 of the babies NICU stay

Today is day 5.  That means that is 5 less days of Reese and Grady's NICU stay we have to wait until we get to bring them home!  Jacy and I visited last night and were able to stay for a while.  It was a great visit.  We were both able to hold Grady, and that was my first time to hold him.  I was in Heaven!  We were also able to feed both Reese and Grady.  We were back and forth between the two rooms...it was pretty funny.  I kept thinking to myself, I can't believe there is two of them :o)

As of yesterday, Reese was taken off the Jaundice treatment.  Her levels were back to normal.  They did end up putting a feeding tube in her, because she was having to work too hard to eat.  They are now feeding her some from a bottle, and then they feed the rest of her food through the tube.  Her heart rate started to drop yesterday for some reason.  At one point it dropped into the 80's and they had to document it.  While we were there, it was dropping into the 90's.  That was a little scary, but when Jacy visited this morning, they had said her heart rate was back into the 140's and 150's.  She is weighing 4.3 pounds as of now.  We love you Reese and are already so proud of you!  We can't wait to bring you home and let your big brother smooch all over you!

Grady is doing better.  His blood pressure b/w his upper and lower extremities has a slight difference, but nothing like it was.  His mag levels are starting to go down!  He is weighing 4.9 pounds.  He finally got his lines out of his belly button and that is why were able to hold him.  His IVs have been taking better, so they have been able to place them in his hand and foot versus his head!  This made me so happy.  He also has a feeding tube, and is being fed just like Reese.  Grady, you are so dear to our hearts.  The Lord is watching over you and your sister each and every second!  You are so strong and are such a little fighter.  You did upset big brother when you started crying :o)

The nurse told us last night that hopefully their IVs will be out in a few days.  They are having to drip a liquid called TPN because they aren't able to eat much.  Once they are able to stop that drip, they will come off.  They also promised they will put them in the same room as soon as they can.  We are looking forward to that. 

A very proud daddy!

Reese and Grady are finally here!  It was such an amazing experience and went very smoothly.  Monday morning, 10/3, at 3a.m. my mag was turned off and at 7:30a.m. my doctor was in.  By this time I was dilated 8cm.  Grady was born first at 10:10a.m. and he weighed 4.14.  Reese was born second at 10:19a.m. and she weighed 4.11.  We were very excited the doctors let Jacy hold them long enough for our family to meet them.  This has been very hard for us, because they are not able to come home.  It breaks our hearts like nothing I have ever experienced before.

Reese Nichole Henderson

I love this picture!  It makes my heart smile.  Does she look like her daddy or what?!

I love my new sister!

Reese has definitely been stronger of the two.  The neonatologist told us from the beginning that little girls will do better than little boys.  She is stable, just learning how to do a few things on her own.  The first day she was born, she was running a fever.  That now has subsided.  She also was having to work too hard to breath, but they turned her on her tummy and it helped her alot.    They have started feeding her every three hours and she is doing pretty well with it.  She is having to learn how to suck, swallow and breath all at the same time.  Jacy and I were able to feed her for the first time today and the nurses had to teach us how to do it, so she could breath and eat at the same time.  Also as of this morning the doctor told us she has jaundice.  They started her on the jaundice therapy.  We are able to hold her now, so we are thrilled.  If you are a mom, you know what it's like to be able to just cuddle with your baby!  Her mag level was also high at birth, but is slowly coming down!  

Grady Cabot Henderson

I know this picture looks scary with all the wires, but it isn't as bad as it looks.  Grady is already SO dear to our hearts.  He is such a little fighter.  His new journey in life hasn't started out the way we had hoped for.  The day he was born the doctor and nurses worked with him for literally 6-7 hours.  They had a very hard time finding a good vein for his IV, so they had to put these lines through his belly button.  The lines served for several purposes.  They could give him fluids through them, draw blood from them and they also gave a constant reading for his blood pressure.  His blood pressure is what has been the problem for him.  His upper and lower blood pressure wasn't matching up, which is a sign of a specific heart condition.  What parent wants to hear that??  His overall blood pressure was also in the lower 20's and it needed to be in the upper 30's.  They take his upper and lower blood pressure at 8a.m and 8p.m. daily, so when we called this morning, he had a normal reading last night and again this morning!  PRAISE GOD!  These are great signs.  If he didn't start improving, they would need to transfer him to Texas Children's downtown where there is a cardiologist.  They also found out today that he is slightly anemic, which could be a factor of the differences in blood pressure.  He also has a very high mag level, which could also be affecting the blood pressure.  So, it could be several different things, but only time will tell, and as his mag level lowers, we should see improvement.  That is the goal!  Tomorrow they are going to pull out the lines in his belly button...I'm not sure why.  Two days ago they started an IV on his head.  When I saw it for the first time, I couldn't stop crying...I just feel helpless and I can't make him feel better.  They had to shave his head in a spot that they tried to put it in, but failed, and then shaved it again in the spot it's in. They will continue to shave it as they move it.  The nurse told me they are lucky to get 2 days out of an IV.   I can't handle this part of it.  It really breaks my heart!  His poor little hands and feet are all bruised from where they tried to start IVs.  At this time, we cannot hold Grady.  He has only been fed twice since he was born, because he isn't handling it very well.  He has been spitting up a bunch.  We can't wait to get our hands on that little man!!

Please just pray that they will gain strength not only every day, but every hour.  More than anything we want to be together as a family.  We are so thankful my body at least held off for four weeks.  I can't imagine how that would have been.  

Landon is doing great!  He hasn't missed a beat me being in the hospital.  It sure has been nice to be home with him and love on him.  I have missed being a mommy for 4 weeks!  As you can see, this is his new favorite hobby!