Story Time

Please enjoy a story from Emma. Please ignore the commentary from mom :)

5 months old

Adalyn & Emma are doing great! On March 5 they turned 5 months old, crazy! Today Adalyn weighed 10lbs 11oz and Emma weighed 9lbs 12oz. Let me tell you they have got some chubby cheeks...on both ends :) As well as some nice thigh rolls...I am one proud momma! Yesterday the girls saw Dr. Droste and he said there are absolutely no signs of ROP or prematurity in either of the girls eyes. He said that they should not have any future eye problems as a result of their prematurity. Awesome! Both girls make eye contact as well as fix on objects and follow or track them. They are both smiling like crazy and have also started to give some excited squeals at times. When they are nice and happy they also like to coo which is super cute. We get a lot of the ahhhhhh sound and a little oooooooo and what I like to call the pirate sound, a nice hearty aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh...cutest pirates ever! On average both girls roll from stomach to back about 4 times a day.

Adalyn & Emma enjoying some tummy time. Look at how good they hold their heads up...soooo strong!

Some of you have asked how we are managing their reflux. They are on feedings thickened with barley cereal and a little xanthan gum. Emma is on Zantac once a day and Prevacid once a day. Adalyn is on Zantac twice a day. How did we get to this plan you ask...oh after many many trials and errors. We occasionally get some large & some small spit ups, but for each girl that happens less than once a day which is a HUGE improvement.

We have been loving the warm weather. Every nice day we have had so far we have taken the girls out for a walk. The whole family can use the fresh air. Here are some before walk pictures:


Emma ready for a walk with her cool shades on.

Adalyn looking super cool in her shades from Gramps & Gram Maat.

We are so proud of our strong girls. They are such miracles and we are reminded of that every day. We feel so blessed. God has and continues to take such great care of his children. Thank you Lord for watching over Adalyn & Emma. For keeping them safe, healthy, and for helping them to continue to grow & develop. Thank you also Lord for the awesome news about their eyes, your healing power is amazing!

Happy Babies!

Adalyn smiling at Grandma L.



Emma smiling at Grandma L.

The girls are doing great! We really feel like we have their reflux under control and they rarely spit large amounts anymore. They are both starting to roll over multiple times during their "tummy time" and have now started to coo with their smiles. On Wednesday Adalyn weighed 10lbs 2.5 oz and Emma weighed 9lbs 3.5oz. They both seem so big to us that we forget that to those who have not seen them before they are still tiny. We are really happy with their growth and development so far a continue to praise GOD daily for our little miracles. Please continue to pray that GOD heals their reflux further and that they continue to stay healthy. Also pray that their development continues at a fast rate so that they can "catch up" to their birth age. Thank Him for Abi and I's continued health as well as our girls and for the strength and support that He has given us.

Feelin Like A Family

Adalyn left, Emma right

Emma left, Adalyn right

Everything is going really good at the Lamar house. After having the girls home for 9 weeks, Abi and I now have a routine down and even though life is busy we finally are starting to feel like a "normal" family. It is a struggle every day not to take the girls out and show them off but we know that the less they are exposed to the better. The girls seem to now be gaining wait like Dr G. wants them to and yesterday Adalyn weighed 9 lbs 3.5 oz and Emma weighed 8 lbs 4.5 oz. Both girls measured 20 5/8" long. They continue to struggle with their reflux but the thickening/adding cereal has stopped most of their spitting. We now feed the girls every 4 hours at night which means we only have to wake up 1time each night, this has helped Abi and I both get enough sleep and the girls also seem to sleep better and quieter. We have come to realize that we have really good babies, despite all that they have been through they just roll with all of the punches and take every thing in stride, they are rarely fussy, they eat great, sleep great, and are happy babies. Abi and I get frequent smiles and seeing their little faces light-up when we talk to them is the biggest gift GOD has given us yet. While we feed them the girls just study our faces like they are trying to memorize everything. Oh, I almost forgot, both Adalyn's and Emma's eyes are mature!

Please continue to pray that GOD heals their reflux and keeps them and us free from illness and infection. Thank Him for all of our good health so far and our for girls great development. He is in Control.

March For Babies

Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. On April 17, 2010 March of Dimes is hosting the March for Babies in Holland, MI. March of Dimes provided our family with a lot of resources and support throughout the time that Adalyn & Emma were in the NICU. Our team is walking in March for Babies because the money we raise will support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it will be used to bring comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care. We would love it if any of our friends or family want to join us in supporting this great cause by either walking with us on April 17 or by donating money to March of Dimes. You can join our team, Lamar Twinners, or make a donation by following this link http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1377506.

Walk information:
April 17, 2010
East 10th St. & VanRaalte Ave
Holland, MI 49423
Walk Distance: 5 miles
Registration Time: 8:00 AM
Start Time: 8:30 AM

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Thank you for helping us give all babies a healthy start!

Caught On Tape

We finally were able to catch some video of one of the girls rolling over. (Adalyn) Enjoy!!!

Wireless Babies

Hello everyone!!! So needless to say we have been very bad bloggers ever since the girls came home. Things at the Lamar house are busy. However, we should still be blogging because Adalyn & Emma could still use lots of prayers. So do not take our lack of blogging as a sign that we do not need your prayers, because we still do. The girls are doing great & we LOVE having them at home! The have been home for 6 weeks now...wow! They will be 2 weeks old corrected age tomorrow, 17 weeks old true age on Thursday, & 4 months old on Friday. There have been lots of changes with the girls. As of Saturday Adalyn weighs 7 lbs 9.5 oz & Emma weighs 6lbs 11 oz. Both girls are 19.5 inches long & we no longer have to roll their newborn pants up...yay! Both girls are off caffeine & their heart & breathing monitors. So Dave now loving refers to them as wireless babies. At the eye doctor last Tuesday Emma's eyes were completely developed and there were no signs of ROP...praise God! Adalyn's eyes are not quite mature yet and she has slight stage 1 ROP in both eyes, but the doctor said it is almost healed. So she has to go back in a couple weeks to make sure it heals the rest of the way & her eyes fully develop. Both girls have about 2 times a day where they are awake for 3 hours straight and then each tend to stay awake for a half hour after each feeding. They are very alert and love to lay on their boppy pillows and look in their mirrors...their eyes just light up it is so cute. They both are smiling as they fall asleep...our favorite. Adalyn rolled over yesterday while she was doing tummy time. They are both doing a great job at holding their heads up. It is exciting to see them gain strength. Pray that God continues to help them develop. Both girls continue to struggle with reflux, Emma still more than Adalyn. We continue to thicken their feedings and both girls are on prevacid. Please continue to pray that God heal their reflux. It is hard for us to see them be uncomfortable at times. It has also made it a little tricky for them to gain weight. Adalyn has been averaging about 1oz per day of weight gain & Emma just under 1 oz a day & their doctor would like to see them gain closer to 2 oz a day so that they can catch up to where their weight is supposed to be for their true age. So pray that God help them to gain weight better. Also praise God for keeping all 4 of us healthy & pray that he continue to protect all of us from infection.

Dave & I are both back at work full time so that definitely has added to the business in our lives. Both of us cannot wait to get home each day and see our lovely ladies. We are reminded each and every day what a beautiful and truly amazing miracle they are. God has absolutely blessed this family.

I will leave you with their 3 month pictures. I know...almost a month old...what can I say...we will try to be better bloggers :)