Look at what Addison can do!

He's been walking more than crawling today. I think we may have turned a corner in his progress. He's been taking steps for a few weeks now but now he's actually walking to and from things and across rooms and down hallways. :) He's made me so proud lately!

Riley is also taking 2-3 steps at a time. He is so proud of himself when he stands up and takes a few steps and then he gets so frustrated when he falls. I have no doubt though, that as soon as Addison is running away from him, that Riley will have no choice but to start to walk so that he can keep up with his brother.

It's been way too long

Life has been crazy. Football, school, work, therapy, and everything else that suddenly pops up. I've got so much to share and hopefully the boys will nap long enough for me to be able to type everything.

Addison is WALKING! He's not walking all of the time but he can get halfway across the living room. He runs toys through the house and he wants so badly to just go but he can't. He loves playing hide and seek and he loves chasing Leah around the kitchen.

Addison had a broken collar bone back in August. He took a tumble off my bed at 3am and that was all it took. He healed perfectly with almost no discomfort and is good as new.

He weighs about 26lbs. He says a bunch of "words" now. baba, cat, dog, bus, car, and night night. Recently he's become obsessed with vehicles. Every time he hears a car or truck drive down the road, he drops what he's doing and points to the door and says car or bus.

Riley is also running toys through the house and he can stand independently but he's still not strong enough to take steps. Riley loves animals. He goes crazy over the cats. He's about 24lbs. now.

We've had a super busy summer. The kids all got to go to Dewey Beach for a few days in August. The boys LOVED the ocean. They loved everything about it.

They're enjoyed spending time outside this summer. They don't mind the grass at all and actually really like going in it.

They've both got 8 molars and they have no problem eating anything. They're off of formula but still having a few bottles of milk every day.

They're such beautiful children. They have such distinct personalities and when they're together, they're a hilarious duo. They've developed their own way of communicating between each other and they continue to amaze me every day.

They're still getting all of their therapies once a week and the therapists continue to be happy with their progress (even when they're not feeling like cooperating).

Addison at the beach

Addison's first time in the ocean

Riley's first time in the ocean

Riley at the condo

Lots and lots of updating to do

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! It has been a very busy couple of months for us. Lots of changes are happening and I guess the biggest one is that Ian and I are no longer together. We decided, back in March, that we just weren't good for each other and so we've remained friends and have a great co-parenting relationship. I've started working nights and weekend so pretty much all of my time without the kids, is spent at work. Skylar just finished 3rd grade and Leah graduated from preschool.

The boys are doing so well!! Addison is now about 23lbs. and Riley is almost 22lbs. Addison is so close to walking. He'll walk across the whole house just holding onto one of my fingers. He easily walks toys across rooms and can stand up on his own without holding onto anything. Riley is starting to walk while only holding my hands but he is just a little too wobbly. He can walk a toy across the room but it's not pretty.

They're both climbing onto furniture. They love to climb onto the couch and play. Addison stands up, with his arms straight up into the air, and then falls down on the couch. He thinks it's the funniest thing (and it is pretty darn funny). They're both easily going up the stairs. Addison crawls all the way up the steps in only a minute or two. They don't know how to get down from the furniture or stairs but we're working on that.

Their therapies are going really well too. Ian usually has them during their physical therapy sessions and he tells me that the therapist is really happy with their progress. They're doing great with occupational therapy. Speech is where I think they're making the most progress right now. They can sign "more" "eat" and "please". They're starting to try and say the words "cat", "dog", "baba (for bottle)", and "baby". They're saying "mama", "mom", "out", and they're babbling with a lot of new sounds. They follow directions wonderfully. If I ask them if they're hungry, they'll crawl to their high chairs and try and climb into them. If I tell them it's time for a new diaper, they go to where I change their diapers. I can ask them where something is and they'll either crawl and look for it, or point to it. If Addison wants something, he'll crawl to it and point. We're finally able to have some basic communication between us and it's made things a lot easier.

They're eating basically any food that you put in front of them....and they eat a lot. A normal breakfast for them is 2 scrambled eggs with cheese and milk added, either a half or whole banana, and usually some crackers or toast. We're slowly working on getting them off formula (and bottles all together). When I weaned them at 13 months and switched them to formula, if I had thought for even a second that they would still be drinking formula a year later, I would have tried to stick it out and continue nursing.

They're definitely toddlers now. 2 weeks ago, they were still somewhat babies...but they're 100% toddlers now and many people have commented on it. They each have their own personality and like and dislikes. Addison will definitely be the ring leader and Riley will be the one to watch Addison to make sure it's ok before he does it. Addison gets this sneaky grin on his face and he gives the funniest expressions. He knows when he's not supposed to do something and he'll turn his head over and down but look at you out of the corner of his eyes. Riley is my love bug. He loves to snuggle and be rocked to sleep.

They give each other high five's and shake hands. They love to give hugs and kisses. They make car motor sounds when they play with their trucks. It's hard to believe that they're 2 already. It has been so fun to see them grow and become individuals AND brothers.

Riley enjoying cake that the neighbor made

Addison didn't waste time picking it apart

Both of them sleeping together is a rare sight

Addison being a goof

We're TWO today!!!

Happy Birthday to Addison and Riley!! I'll try to write a long update this weekend but I couldn't let today go by without writing about their birthday!!

The boys are so happy and healthy and they're doing amazingly well!

Here's some pictures that I snapped today.

Riley playing with his balloon

Addison taking a break after lunch
Addison on the left and Riley on the right

Look what Addison can do!!!!

This is one of Riley's favorite new games

Surgery went well

We were only at the surgery center for about 4 hours. Surgery went well for both of them. They're home and trying to rest. Poor little guys just want to rub their eyes and they have these plastic shields taped over their eyes.
I was told that day 2 & 3 will be the worst and then they should start to improve.

Surgery tomorrow

Last Monday, the boys had their routine eye exams to check how their ROP was. We ended up being there for almost 3 hours. Both of the boys were diagnosed with Strabismus. Essentially, the muscles behind the eyes aren't aligned properly and it causes one eye to turn in when they move their eyes. If it's not treated early, the brain will learn to ignore the problem and it will cause a lazy eye. Their surgeries tomorrow will be what's considered a minor outpatient surgery that shouldn't take more than a half hour each. The opthamologist is going to re-align the muscles behind their eyes so that their eyes move together.
Riley definitely has a worse case than Addison but I opted to have them get surgery at the same time so that it can be done and over. They say the recovery time is 1-2 weeks but that they should be up and moving around in a few days. I cancelled all of their therapies next week so that they can just be at home and healing.
I, of course, am a ball of nerves thinking about my boys. This will be the first surgery for both of them.
We have to be at the surgical center at 6am and I hope to be home sometime in the afternoon. I'll try to update tomorrow evening.

We Marched for Babies!

I'm still waiting for the final totals to come in but team Macomber Miracles raised almost $1,700 for the March of Dimes this year!!!

It was lightly raining all morning and it was windy and about 50 degrees but there was still a great turnout. The kids didn't have such a great time but they toughed it out and walked almost the whole 3 miles.

Unfortunately, because I was also volunteering at the event, I didn't have a chance to take a picture of our team. I'm waiting for the photographer that was there to post his pictures and hopefully I'll have some more pictures to share.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated.

Finally!

After 1 year and 10 months...the boys are finally on the growth chart for their weight!! This morning, Addison weighed 21lbs. 15oz. and Riley weighed 20lbs. 12oz. Addison is in the 2nd percentile and Riley is in the 1st percentile!! Never before have my boys been "on the chart" for their weight or height. They are both 29". They are both proportionate for their sizes though. Addison was in the 76th percentile for his weight to height and Riley was in the 43rd. They're slowly coming along...chipping away and catching up. It could be all of the happy meals they've been eating lately. Yeah, they're not good for them but I'll happily give them the calories any way that they will take them.
I had a fundraising night at my local Chick-fil-a last week to benefit my March for Babies team. Between the two of them, they polished off 12 chicken nuggets plus a few fries. And, the most awesome part is that team Macomber Miracles raised $165 in just 4 hours!! Last night, was "McTeacher Night" at our local McDonald's to benefit Skylar's school so we loaded up the kids and took them there for dinner. They shared a happy meal. Addison was having no part of his broken up fries. He only wanted them whole. They both drank from a straw for the first time too! They've understood the concept for a while but hadn't actually been able to get anything through the straw.
In other news, Riley was referred to a pulminologist and we were able to go see him last week. Riley has been having horrible problems when he gets sick and he ends up on a ton of meds to help him breathe. He's now on only pulmicort, once a day, for 2 months straight. Pulmicort only works on the lining of the lungs so it will give his lungs a chance to heal and have a break. We go back in September to see how he's doing.
I've been so busy with the March for Babies. Our walk is only 4 days away and as a team, we've kicked butt! I have 5 other people walking on my team this year. I've sold tickets to our local hockey and baseball teams home games, hosted a fundraiser at Chick-fil-a, and have practically begged my friends and family for donations. Here's my last plea for donations. I'm only $135 away from reaching my goal. You can donate any amount by clicking on the purple March for Babies box in the upper right hand corner of my blog.

Surprise, they're not sick!

So, I'm actually getting a chance to update even though they're not sick. They're currently slipping and sliding on the kitchen floor because they splashed water all over the place. It's hot and they love the water so I figured they couldn't do too much damage by splashing in a little bit of water!

They have been doing so well! They're still hanging on to a little bit of their cold from months ago but they're managing ok without breathing treatments and medicines so I'm thrilled.

We've been getting outside a lot now that it's finally nice. I got an awesome new double jogging stroller that I LOVE! We've gone to French Creek, different playgrounds, walks and jogs through our development, and more. It fits perfectly in the back of my van and man...i should have bought one of these a long time ago. lol.

The boys are progressing well with their different therapies. Addison is walking along anything he can hold onto with ease. Riley is pulling up to a stand and is very, very close to walking along the furniture. It's not looking like either of them will walk for the March for Babies in 3 weeks but I suppose anything is possible.

So, we haven't been to the doctors in probably a month or so but the boys are gaining weight. Last time Riley was at the doctor, he was 19lbs. 8oz. He's easily 21lbs. now. Addison is probably close to 25lbs. They've grown into 18 month size clothing. It blows my mind that at this time last year, they were just barely big enough to fit 3-6 month size stuff. They both eat so much food. The bottles are decreasing and we're constantly introducing new foods. This past week they had chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and baked ziti with ground beef. They loved all of it. They actually ate more ziti than Leah and Skylar.

We've finally accomplished one of our big goals that I've had for a long time. I took them grocery shopping and they were able to sit in the cart!! What a huge deal it was for us to be able to do that. Addison loved it but Riley was kind of freaked out by the vibrations of the cart so he wanted to be held a lot. But...they did it!!! No more pushing the stroller and pulling the cart behind us. Addison also reached another goal. He got his first bath in the bathtub! No more kitchen sink for him!

Riley is sitting with no problems now. He'll crawl to whatever he wants to play with and sit down and just play. They both dance when music is on.

We also plan to finally move them out of their infant car seats at the end of the school year. They'll still be rear facing but we'll move them into big boy convertible seats.

Addison is starting to fuss so I have to wrap this up. Before I go, I want to remind everyone that there's only a few weeks left to donate to our March for Babies team. Our walk is on Sunday April 25th! You can click on the purple March for Babies box on the right side of the blog to make an online donation. Or, if you're local, come out to the Exeter Chick-fil-a on Tuesday April 13th between 4-8pm. Team Macomber Miracles is having a fundraising night and our team gets 15% of the sales from anyone who brings a flyer or mentions they're with our team!

Enjoying their books while at the Please Touch Museum

Addison at French Creek State Park

Playing with easter eggs at Nana's

Splashing water all over the kitchen floor

March update

So, I know it seems like the only time I write is when they're sick. The truth is...when they're sick, they need lots of mommy snuggling time and it's essentially the only time I can sit at the computer and type out more than a few words.

So, as you have probably guessed, they're sick again. It started out with a cold and turned into a pretty bad cough. Saturday, Riley was gasping for air and the pediatrician sent us to the ER where he got a shot of steroids (decatron or something like that. It reminded me of a transformers name) and a double breathing treatment and after RSV came back negative and the lung x-rays were clear, we were sent home. So, they're both still coughing but they're improving. For the first time in 5 days, it wasn't raining and we were able to open up the house and get some fresh air.

Other than the cold, they're both doing so well!! Riley is crawling all over the place and starting yesterday, he go from crawling to sitting and sit unassisted! He's up to 18lbs. 12oz. and he has a huge appetite. He pulls up to his knees on the furniture and with only a little bit of help, he'll get up on his feet. He can even get back down without falling! His therapists are all noticing that he has more endurance and he's working really hard to keep up with his brother.

Addison is a fearless tank. The kid just continues to do new stuff. He walks along the couches now. He pulls right up onto his feet and can sit back down from standing. He's sitting totally unassisted and has been for a few weeks.

They both LOVE to read books. I try to get a book from the dollar section at Target every time I go there. They'll sit with a book for 10-15 minutes and just flip through the pages. They both play peek-a-boo and clap when I sing "If you're happy and you know it". They can both put shapes into the correct holes of their shape sorter and can stack cups and rings.

They're enjoying life and learning so much every day. It's amazing to see them start to turn into little toddlers. They have different personalities, different likes and dislikes, yet...they're best of friends. They follow each other through the entire downstairs. If one is playing with something, the other will stop and go join them. Rarely are they more than a few feet apart from each other.

I think we're all very much looking forward to warm weather, no sickies, and lots of outside time.

We sold tickets to a local hockey game for the March of Dimes. Here's a picture of Riley with my baby sister.

Addison snoozing away in the exersaucer

Do they look alike? Addison is on the left and Riley on the right.

We're still trying to raise money for our March for Babies walk on April 25th. You can click on the purple box on the main page of my blog to make a donation for our team. No donation is too small and every one is appreciated! We only have a little over a month left and we're still about $750 away from reaching our team goal.

My March of Dimes- March for Babies team

So, as many of you know, I'm very open about what we went through having twins born at 25 weeks gestation. I'm happy to share our story with other moms of micro preemies or anyone who is curious about the many obstacles that preemies face. I have talked with many other micro preemie parents who have been through and will continue to go through much worse than we have. I'm forever thankful that our story is one of the more positive stories out there.
Our story may have been much worse if it weren't for the research and funding of the March of Dimes. As far as I know, the March of Dimes is the only national charity that helps premature and sick infants have the best start possible. The March of Dimes uses 77% of every dollar for lifesaving research, education and innovative programs that offer hope for preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects.
My oldest son was born at 32 weeks gestation back in 2001. He, luckily had no issues and only spent 21 days in the NICU. He caught up within months and at 8.5 years old, nobody would have guessed that he was a preemie. In those few years between my oldest being born, and the twins birth, so much had changed in terms of treatments.
So, having said all of this...I am walking in the March of Dimes March for Babies. This is the second year for team Macomber Miracles. Last year, we had to push the boys in the stroller. This year, I'm hoping to have at least Addison be able to walk some of it! This is a cause near and dear to my heart and I feel like it's one of the ways I can give back and say thank you to anyone and everyone who helped my boys thrive.
So, if you're local to us, I would LOVE to have you join our team and walk in honor of Skylar, Addison, and Riley. If you're not local or not able to join us on April 25th, please consider making a donation to our team. You can click the March for Babies box on the right side of my blog to make an online donation. Any amount, no matter how small, will help.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any help you can give our team.

Long, overdue update with pictures!

I know it's been forever since I've written anything. The boys have kept me so busy and life just takes over. A few days after my last post, Riley ended up spending 11 hours in the ER getting various breathing treatments and oral steroids. He was having retracting when he was breathing and was wheezing a lot. I had done a few breathing treatments at home and it wasn't helping and I wasn't comfortable going to bed for the night with him having so much trouble. Tested negative for RSV so it was just some virus/cold that really took the boys out of commission for a few weeks. We've made a rule for at least the winter months, that all of the toys used for therapy sessions will be toys we have at home. Having the therapists come in with a duffel bag of new toys is always exciting for the boys but I just can't chance them being exposed to all of those germs.

Therapy is going so well for them! Addison is crawling on his hands and knees and pulling up to stand on anything he can reach. Riley is pulling up to his knees and crawls on his knees and elbows. Addison is putting shapes into the shape sorter and both boys can go from crawling to sitting with no assistance.

This past Friday, while I was at a doctors appointment, Addison stood up in the middle of the living room by himself! Ian said he nearly jumped off the couch to grab him before he fell over.

Both of the boys are developing their own personalities and they are so much fun to watch! They're constantly playing together and they'll follow each other through the house. They have huge appetites and are eating so many new foods. Addison ate an entire piece of pizza for dinner the other night.

Addison enjoying cheese curls!

Sitting all by himself!!!

Riley taking a nap

Cheese curls and yogurt makes for a messy snack!

Feeling better

After a very long week, the boys are feeling better! They went through the week with 103-105 fevers. The pediatrician wanted us to come back on Thursday if they still had fevers. We went back and they did a nasal swab test for the flu and sent Addison for a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. Both tests were negative so again, we were told to just wait out the fever. They went to bed Thursday night with temperatures above 104 and Friday morning, they woke up with no fever. They didn't spike a fever all day and they were both acting like nothing had ever happened.
Today, they each ate a huge pancake for breakfast and snacked throughout the day. They hadn't eaten solid food all week because they didn't want to do anything but lay on Ian or myself.
Neither of them have broken out into a rash (a rash usually appears within 24 hours of the fever breaking) but honestly, I'm just happy to have them feeling better.

A horrible, no good day

Today is one of the hardest days we've had since the boys came home. The have both been running low grade fevers for the past few days. We assumed it was teething since neither of them have shown any other symptoms of being sick. This morning, Riley woke up and had a fever of 103.6. I gave him tylenol right away and had him sit on my lap with a cool washcloth on his head, while we waited for the pediatricians office to open. When I called, they wanted me to bring him right in. I made the appointment for both Riley and Addison since I was already going to be there and Addison had been running a fever also.
I assumed it would be something simple like ear infections. The doctor seems to think that they have roseola. It's a virus that shows no symptoms except a fever (that can go rather high) for 3-5 days and then they break out in a rash. We were sent home with instructions to just be sure we keep the fevers down and to come back if they still have a fever on Wednesday.
So, at about 3pm today, I was sitting on the floor with my legs straight out on the floor. I was holding Riley while Addison climbed back and forth, over my legs. He did a face plant (like he always does when he climbs over things) and just stayed there. At first I thought he was playing but after a few seconds, he hadn't moved. I picked him up to find that his whole body was stiff and his eyes were rolling back into his head. He didn't respond to me at all so I laid him on the loveseat and just tried to get him to regain consciousness. After about 1 minute, I called 911. I was frantic and the poor operator had trouble understanding me at first. He dispatched an ambulance (which luckily is less than 2 miles from my house) and by the time the ambulance got here, he was starting to move his limbs and babble. The medics said it was likely a febrile seizure and asked me to call the pediatrician to see if he should be transported to the ER or if they wanted me to bring him to the office. The ped. instructed him to be taken to the hospital to be checked out. He was stable and acting normal and I loaded him into the carseat and handed him to the medics who took him to the ER. I followed the ambulance with Riley. He had blood drawn to check his CBC and they did a urinalysis which came back clean so the ER doc. agreed that it was a febrile seizure. When he got the the ER, his temp was 101. I had given him a dose of tylenol just before he left.
I hadn't given Addison any medicine today since his temp was under 101 all day. When we were at the doctor, his temp was only 99 so I thought since he was acting just fine, I would give him a break from medicine.
He's fine now. He's been sleeping most of the evening and he ate a bunch of food. Hopefully, this virus comes to an end soon and I can not worry about this happening again.

19 months

I'm a few days late, but the boys turned 19 months on Sunday. It seems that they've recently taken off and I'm so excited to have so much new stuff to share!

Addison now pulls up to stand. He can't stay standing without help but he will stand up and just use one hand to hold himself. He's just starting to get the idea of being able to put one foot in front of each other. He can very slowly walk across the room with us holding his hands. To see him not only vertical, but vertical and moving, is something we couldn't even wrap our brains around. I mean, it seems like just yesterday I was telling everyone that he crawled. He's now crawling up on his hands and knees unless it's somewhere he wants to go to right away, then it's faster for him to just army crawl. He plays peek-a-boo. Just, out of nowhere, he started covering his eyes and doing it. He has one bottom molar and another just about to pop through the gums. He's starting to chew his food but we still have to break apart stuff for him. Addison sits completely unassisted and is able to go from sitting to crawling with no problem.

Riley is starting to put some weight on his feet. He loves the exersaucer and he spins himself around and uses his legs to help. He's also starting to pull onto his knees. He's been receiving the bulk of the PT and OT since he really seems to be not getting it as quickly. Riley is by far, the better eater. He bites and chews food. I rarely have to break things into pieces for him. He easily eats toast, french toast sticks, veggie sticks (like the potato chip straw things), and more. He's also drinking from a sippy cup. He is starting to be able to sit with his hands propping him but he's still pretty wobbly.

They're both eating most table foods. We've finally done away with baby food and those over priced gerber puffs. They're still drinking a lot of formula although we're slowly trying to replace all of those calories and vitamins from formula with tables foods and drinks. Everything I make them has extra butter, cheese, or full fat.

I've got more to write but both of the boys are awake and demanding my attention!

Addison 1-6-10

Addison 1-11-10

I have the brag for just a second. I got a new camera as an early birthday gift so I've been taking TONS of pictures. Addison usually charges full speed at me as soon as I grab the camera so I don't get many good shots of him. Riley, however, I think looks fantastic in these pictures. He has the most striking eyes and I could just stare at these pictures all day.

Riley 1-6-10

Riley 1-10-10

Riley- 1-17-10