Roller coaster of love!

It's been a while...that's because we've been devoting all of our time and love to our wonderful daughters!  Since the girls have been born I feel as though I've been on a "roller coaster of love", meaning that I just have soooo much love oozing out of me no matter what is going throughout on all the "ups and downs".  Ups=the precious moments: all the alert, wide eyed moments where I can tell the girls are taking it all in, anytime I'm kissing the girls, watching them sleep, getting pooped on (yes, this is an up as it makes me laugh profusely).  Downs=the more exhausting and tiring moments like when I can't calm them down fast enough and they won't stop crying (which surprisingly hasn't been that often, knock on wood) or when I worry too much about all the "what-ifs" which deep down I know don't get me anywhere worrying about.  That kind of worry is something many parents described to me before I had the girls that is impossible to imagine until the second you become a parent.  I was blessed with a love stronger than I had ever fathomed and it is so strong it makes me hurt sometimes! 


The girls are doing phenomenal...I thank God everyday for our little blessings.  Yesterday they had a pediatrician appointment...Etta weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz and measured 19.25 inches long.  Elsie weighed in at 7 lbs. 12 oz and measured 20 inches long!  Doc says he is super impressed with the girls and that we are doing a great job.  He says he can tell we are staying low key and calm and not freaking out...apparently some parents can be control freaks?  What?  No, not me...I thought to myself :-)  Truth is, having twin babies has really taught me how to be okay with rolling with the punches.  I tend to be the type A, always wanting to have a plan...and I learned when the girls were in the hospital that I had to let go of that.  I wanted a clear cut answer on what type of schedule to follow for breastfeeding, exactly how much, etc.  When the nurses were all giving me answers and the Dr. actually used the term "ad lib" feed them, I learned that I was going to have to be ok with not having it all under control.  And you know what?  It's so much more fun this way.  I LOVE BEING A MOM and I have the best partner in the world to parent with!  Pete is so wonderful.  Can't believe he is turning 30 on the 3rd of October!  Seems like I just threw him the superhero surprise 25th party!


My favorite things about our girls...well everything really, but some highlights:
-They grunt ALL the time...which sounds HILARIOUS on the monitors and we've learned don't always mean they need something...they do it in their sleep most often.
-Taking them on walks...every time their cute little hats fall down over their face they look so cute and peaceful taking in the fresh air.  
-Tummy time, especially when they are laying next to each other...they just gaze at one another and seem to connect.  Often they will grunt back and forth, almost as though they are communicating.
-Bath time...they LOVE this!  I had my first "mom of twins" moment the other day.  Etta was all done with her bath cleaned up and snuggled outside the bathroom door observing me bathing Elsie.  I had somehow managed to spill Etta's bath water ALL over the bathroom so I stripped down to just my tank top and undies.  I have two dripping wet bath towels laying on the bathroom floor. As I have soap lathered up all over Miss Elsie, I hear a car door, then my phone rings, then a knock on the door.  Crap...I look out and it's my dad!  He doesn't hear me shouting from the bathroom "can't answer the door, got a slippery baby!", so I pick Elsie up, lay her against me DRIPPING wet and catch my dad's eye through the window to say, hang on I got a slippery baby!  I can only imagine how many more times this is going to happen.  :-)
-Tandem tooting...Grandma Ellen came up with this term the other day...I love it!  They totally toot back and forth and I SWEAR it can be as loud as an adult flatulating, hehe!
-Snuggle time...enough said.  It's so special and amazing and I love when their arm hangs over my shoulder and I just smell their cute lil noggins.  
-Watching them sleep...they can be just out cold and laying peacefully or going through REM making awesome little faces.
-When their eyes are open...Elsie tends to really lock eyes with me and gazes ever so peacefully all around.  Etta tends to be moving her eyes all over, wrinkling her forehead a lot :-)
-Feeding time...they root so hard sometimes they can't even get the bottle in their mouths.  And Pete calls them "barber shop quartets" when we try and snug the burp rag under their chins so their "beards" of milk don't pool into their neck folds and settle in to leave a stinky surprise for later :-) (Even though some always manages to drip away from us!)


I'm sure I could go on forever but as for now, I gotta go feed my little piglets who are grunting away.  Love to you all.  Thanks for everything you all are doing, whether it be making us meals, visiting and helping care for the girls or thinking/praying for us.  
-Beck

It's all about the babies now!!

Many of you have asked why there hasn't been a new post on the blog lately.  Well . . . it's all about the babies now!  Since the moment Etta and Elsie arrived, Becky and Pete have been fully immersed in their care, so I, Grandma Sue, will once again attempt to capture the essence of the latest events in the Slabiak family. 

Since her last posts on the blog, Becky was discharged from Abbot-Northwestern, but the babies remained  at Children's Hospital under the awesome care of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) staff.  Though it was very hard to go home without the girls, Becky and Pete felt grateful for the awesome care the girls were receiving at Children's.  Becky has done amazing job conquering the challenge of producing enough milk to feed two babies, though this means she spends a huge majority of her day hooked up to a hospital grade breast pump (she says she feels like a "cow" on a milking machine!!)  Pete has managed to put in a full day of work, get down to the hospital each night so that he can spend time with his girls and even help Becky keep up with the "pumping" by washing supplies, etc.  They make an amazing team!

By August 24th, the girls were gaining weight and doing so well they were able to move out of the intensive support of the NICU to the ICC (Infant Care Center).  In this unit, the girls were able to be in one room rather than two (much better for Becky and Pete).  Though she is the smaller one, Etta has led the way in getting them off IV's by persisting in pulling her IV out until staff said she no longer needed one.  Her latest feat was was to pull her feeding tube out and even though she can't quite go without that yet, it probably won't be long.  Both girls are making wonderful progress.  They are now in "cribs" rather than "isolettes" - (aka "incuabtors") are continuing to gain weight!  Elsie now weighs 5 lbs. 15 oz. and Etta is 5 lbs. 6 oz.  Though they are "identical', they have unique looks and personalities that charm and delight all who lay eyes on them. 

Over the past few days, the girls have begun making the transition to nursing and bottles.  Becky is "on call" for feeding most of the day and night, so it is getting trickier to figure out good times for visitors and time to answer emails, phone calls, etc. is limited.  Tonight Becky will sleep at the hospital so that she can be available to feed as the babies and Becky work to transition the girls off their feeding tubes and on to regular nursing and bottle feeding.  Becky and Pete love hearing from everyone, but hope all of their friends and family know that it may be a little tough to communicate over the next few weeks. 

Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful support you have given Becky and Pete!