Doing great

This morning started off with both girls wide awake and ready to hang out after their 6am feeding. While I enjoyed my morning coffee the girls and I chated about our day. Here is a video, this time of Adalyn with a little help from Emma.



This afternoon the girls went to their first appointment with Dr. D the neurodevelopmental pediatrician. Before I talk about how the appointment went, let me tell you how old the girls are today. Today the girls are 10 weeks corrected. For those of you who are not familiar with corrected age, allow me to explain. For preemies corrected age refers to how old the infant would be if it had been born on its due date. This age is used to assess growth and development in preemies often until they are 2 years old. On Thursday the girls chronologic age will be 25 weeks (meaning their age from their birthdate). The reason I wanted to get that straightened out is because Dr. D assesses the girl's growth, feedings, and development based on these ages. Dr. D was very pleased with how the girls are doing in all three areas. In terms of their weight she said they look great and are actually getting close to being on the growth chart for their chronologic age. She is happy with their feeding, amount, thickening, schedule etc. which is fabulous. The best news of all, she said their development is closer to their chronologic age than it is to their corrected age...AWESOME! God continues to help Adalyn & Emma grow and develop everyday. What a faithful God we serve! So we do not have to go back to see Dr. D again until the girls are 1 year chronologic or 9 months corrected. At that visit they will assess the same things they did today and they will also be doing a hearing test on the girls. The girls both passed their hearing screening in NICU, but Dr. D said they routinely do hearing tests on preemies in their office to make sure there are no problems as they develop.

On another note. We have had some people asking us whose baby picture the girls look like. Well Dave thinks they look like my baby pictures so we thought we would share some with you.


Abi 3 months old


Emma


Adalyn

Oh and the girls weights from their doctor's appointment today:
Adalyn: 11 lbs 15 oz
Emma: 10 lbs 15 oz

March for Babies

Saturday was the March for Babies. It was the first big outting the girls have had since birth and they did great. It was sunny, but windy & brisk, but we enjoyed ourselves. Adalyn & Emma even got to see their friend Melanie Westra from the NICU, she looked so cute all bundeled up in her stroller! Several other friends came out for the walk as well and the twinners enjoyed seeing old friends again and meeting new ones. Thank you to those of you who supported us & March of Dimes through your donations and by walking with us on saturday. Team Lamar Twinners officially raised $2,385 to help support the mission of March of Dimes! Enjoy some pictures from the walk.


Adalyn ready for the walk



Emma ready for the walk



Kennedy Van Nuil taking a nap after the long walk :)



Hudson Windemuller



Rylie Lawrence


On another note here are the most recent weights on the girls from Saturday morning.
Adalyn: 11 lbs 5 1/2 oz
Emma: 10 lbs 5 1/2 oz

The girls are growing & developing great. God is awesome & He is in control!

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!