A Race Against Rip Van Winkle

Thirteen and half hours later we are still in the car but nearing our destination. We stopped at two rest areas, two gas stations and Panera. As if we didn't need it before, now we REALLY need a vacation.

Family Vacation

We are locked and loaded headed to Florida on our first family vacation. I am pretty sure I made it to Australia faster than we will make it to FL.

We had the NICU graduate reunion today! We will post pictures if, I mean when, we make it to FL.

And They're Off...

Rather than bore you with all the details of what's going on, we'll give you the highlights. We made it!!!!! RSV season is over and we are allowed to be in public. So far, Clara and Wilson are hitting the developmental milestones, physically and mentally. Morgan is working very hard on the campaign - the election is May 22 and we are all counting down the days! We are lucky to have friends and family helping us- they aren't kidding about it taking a village.

Clara getting an EKG at the cardiologist follow up!

Wilson helping the ultrasound tech administer his echocardiogram. Great news, no heart problems! We will no longer be followed by the cardiologist.



Our mom is CRAZY! She put a mosquito net over the stroller to keep strangers from touching us!



Wilson started crawling. It's a rough life carrying this caterpillar around the house. Wilson is now standing and getting into everything!

Clara started physical therapy and is now rolling over. We do ab workouts together.

Clara decked out for Derby - her first Derby hat.

Wilson after Derby...he decided to go to the infield.

Their first visit inside a retail store - we went to Lowes to buy light fixtures for the garage!

Check out Clara dancing (the music is soft in the beginning) - click here.

Kiss Me I'm 9 Months Old

Clara and Wilson turned nine months on St. Patrick’s Day! If we really had our act together they would have been in matching St. Patrick’s Day outfits for the picture.



Oh great, here we go again with the hats!



After spending four days and three nights in Miami, I'm happy to report everyone survived Spring Break 2012! Sadly, someone(s) did not want me to get too comfortable with a solid eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Morgan managed all the morning and evening feedings alone, but the bloodshot eyes told the story: everyone was happy about my return. The last night in Miami the fire alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. and we had to exit the hotel. Really!?!

Since our last post, we've welcomed at least six new teeth to the McGarvey household! Clara’s bottom front teeth came in together and Wilson’s top four are coming in one right after the other. Wilson is also rolling around everywhere! He is on the cusp of crawling, here are some pics of our little rolly-polly. 

This is so much better than sitting upright!





Ha! Mom leaves the room, I hide. Oh baby let the good times roll.

Next is a series of what we can expect for years to come -

What? We are just playing, everything is good here.

Clara you better learn how to roll over quickly.

Ohhhhh Clara is MAD!

As you can see, Wilson is everywhere all the time. Clara observes and lets the rest of us do the work for her. Clara's upper body strength has improved but not enough so we went back for an evaluation. It was recommended we see a physical therapist to make sure we are helping her correctly at home.  Hopefully it won't be too long until she is rolling around tormenting Wilson. 

Born to Run

You may be wondering why you haven’t heard from us lately. The short answer is by the time we get both babies to sleep, have dinner, and clean bottles it is time for bed. We wonder what we did before kids when we thought we were “so” busy. Overall Clara and Wilson are doing really well. Big news, Clara now outweighs Wilson! Clara weighs 14 pounds and ½ ounce. Wilson weighs 13 pounds and 13 ounces. We are just a few weeks away before we are released from house arrest. We go to the pediatrician on Friday for their 9 month check up, yep, more shots. 

So, what’s new? Well, we are running a five star restaurant, serving up meals every two hours! Stop on in for some pureed veggies or fruits, butternut squash is the daily special. Clara and Wilson are eating solids three times a day plus two ounces of milk after the meal and three big bottles in between the meals. We tried dropping the 11 pm feeding (we were waking them up to eat) but they were not eating enough throughout the day and waking up at random times for a feeding. We are back at it, feeding at 11 pm.

In addition to needing the 11pm feeding, both babies are teething. Wilson lays on his back and screams, no tears, just screams at inanimate objects. Clara randomly lets out shrills and starts crying and it is a cry like no other.  Based on her outburst, there have been several times we were convinced we broke her arm or foot. As of today, both arms and feet are intact, not so much our sanity. Chris could not take it anymore so she took off for Miami (okay, she had a conference for work) and left Morgan to keep the home fires burning. Let’s just hope there is no home fire while she is gone. There were tears of sadness leaving the house and tears of joy boarding the plane, the thought of eight solid hours of sleep is a dream come true – Adult Spring Break 2012!!!!!!!!! It is so sad that the thought of spring break on a beach is eight hours of sleep and the thought of going to a club or drinking too much is absolutely repulsive. I completely get the onesies that say “My parents use to be cool.”

Team McGarvey is ready for Spring! Finally both babies are willing and enjoy being in the jogging stroller. It has been a great way for all of us to be outside in this nice weather. Let me tell you, pushing the stroller on a run is an intense workout! While we are out running, so is Morgan. Morgan is working hard on his campaign knocking on doors and talking to voters. Lucky for all of us the primary election is in May and there is no republican running, therefore, if Morgan wins he will not have a general election in November.

First jog together!



Walking in the Highland's St. Patrick's Day parade. Clara and Wilson had to stay home.



Celebrating Eight Months!

I just returned home from the Louisville Mothers of Twins Club which meets once a month. That should have been my first clue that having twins was "different"; there isn't a "club" for parents of singletons. But it is a great resource and I made a friend who also has boy/girl preemie twins. 

Speaking of preemies, we had our neonatal follow up appointment last Thursday and the doctor, Dr. Bibb, was very pleased with Clara's and Wilson's weight gain and development. She looked at us and said "you are doing a fantastic job". That was so great to hear from an expert who truly sees it all. Clara gained 6 pounds and 7 ounces since our last appointment (October 6) and Wilson gained 6 pounds.  After the appointment with the neonatal we were re-evaluated for First Steps. First Steps is a federally funded program that provides early intervention for children with developmental delays. Fortunately, we did not qualify. However, there are exercises we have to work on with Clara and Wilson. If they do not improve in holding weight in their arms while on tummy time, we will qualify for First Steps and a physical therapist will come to our house once a week. Unfortunately, the baby casino (exersaucer - the thing where they sit in a seat, feet hanging down and play with toys attached to this circular device) is closed for business. Any standing toys are off limits for them because preemies have different muscle tone than full term babies. Typically their muscles are too tight or too loose. Of course, we have one of each. Wilson's muscles are too tight and Clara's are too loose. I will point out what I mean in the pictures below. While we got a great report from the doctor, it was a tough reminder we still have challenges to overcome.

October 6, 2011 (1 month follow up)



February 16, 2012 (4 month follow up)



Wilson - 7 pounds



Wilson - 13 pounds



Clara - 12 pounds 10 ounces

                    

Wilson's right arm is out in front, he needs to have it close to his chest bearing weight on it.
Clara is eating the blanket, she needs to keep her head up and put more weight in her lower back.

Yay! We are 8 months old and these stupid hats kinda fit!



I Would Walk 500 Miles

Big news! Our mellow fellow has not been so mellow lately. Today we found the culprit; Wilson's first tooth! We thought he was teething because of the excessive crying, drooling, and gnawing on anything within reach. On Monday afternoon, we saw his first little tooth popping through the gum line. We are very scared for Clara to start teething, let's just say she can be a bit, um, dramatic.

More big news! Both Clara and Wilson are now taking predictable naps...WE LOVE MISS MICHELLE!!!!!!! She finally cracked the code and has both kids napping!  Foolishly, we believed it would work if we put Clara down for a nap just like Miss Michelle. Below is the play-by-play of the afternoon nap last Saturday.

Clara pulls the blanket over her face when
Chris picks her up because she is crying.



After 1 hour and 15 minutes of fighting her nap,
Clara surrenders. Her sock was a casualty of war.  



Getting Clara to sleep at night is equally challenging. She has not mastered the art of self soothing and is very particular about how she likes to be  calmed down. She does not like to be rocked or swayed, oh no, she wants to be walked. That's right, walked. We walk and walk and walk. We walk in circles around the the upstairs of our house like hamsters in a wheel. However, I would walk 500 miles just to get Clara to sleep.

And speaking of walking 500 miles, MORE BIG NEWS! Morgan is running for the State Senate in the 19th District of Kentucky. Morgan will go from walking Clara to walking precincts. When we said we wanted 2012 to be less eventful than 2011, we didn't mean it. That's just not our style; never a dull moment in our house. Fortunately, there is not a Republican candidate so Morgan's campaign will only last until the Primary Election on May 22. 

With me back at work, Morgan busy with work and campaigning, and two babies on house arrest until flu and cold season ends, finding time to catch up with each other is challenging. We found a solution that works for everyone! On Saturday mornings at 9:00 a.m. we load everyone in the car and drive around Louisville. The babies nap, I get Starbucks, Morgan gets a hot breakfast, and we have time to catch up. So if you see a blue Buick that looks like a state trooper's car following you closely on Shelbyville Road, don't be alarmed, it's just the McGarvey's out on a date.

This Thursday we have a follow up with the neonatal group. It is an important appointment because they are evaluating Clara's and Wilson's development. Fingers crossed all goes well. We will be sure to update the blog after our appointment. And Friday is their eight month birthday! We never posted the seven month birthday pictures so we'll post both seven and eight month pictures next weekend. Until then, below are pictures from Clara and Wilson's first Valentine's Day.

Miss Michelle made these adorable Valentine's Day onesies.

And Clara and Wilson looked great for the pictures until Clara decided to hit Wilson in the face.

Fortunately Mac was there to help soothe (ok, Mimi got the process started)
and we were able to go to dinner alone on Valentine's Day!