Settling In at Home

March 2007

Zoe & JR had no trouble settling in at home. They lived in a pack n' play for about five months until my college roommate (Rachel) came to visit and in no uncertain terms told me they deserved a crib!

April 2007

After keeping the babies under lock and key from even the most well-meaning visitors, at the very end of April 2007 we finally took them to church to be blessed by their daddy. This picture of them sleeping was the sweetest. I left out the 50+ other pictures were they were beet red and screaming at the top of their lungs.

May 2007

The babies gave their first real smile on mother's day (I had given them an ultimatum and they obligatorily performed as I was putting them to sleep at 11:55 p.m. on mother's day). Their personalities were really shaping up--JR was the calm, steady type and Zoe was the passionate, unpredictable type. In this picture, JR is making his "cheerio" face, a face that he did all the time because he wasn't too crazy about eating his bottle at first because of his reflux. We then met the miracle of Simply Thick (a fibrous milk thickener) and he was eating the adult-equivalent of three gallons of milk a day!

Just like her daddy, Zoe quickly learned how to charm me right before I was about to kill her for being so difficult!

Heading home.

After a whirlwind tour of the NICU (not quite 4 weeks), Zoe and JR were set free from the monitors, nurses, and hospital sights and sounds. Released to the loving, though inexperienced care of their parents, the wondertwins made the long journey from hospital to home in record time (dad doesn't like driving slow). Although dad wasn't too worried about an accident, he was worried about whether or not the wondertwins were still breathing . . . so he had mom looking back over the seat to check on the kiddos.

Everyone was fine and made it home. Now we'd made it right?

Catching Up - NICU

The Arrival of the Wonder Twins

Unlike their parents' penchant for being late, Zoe & JR decided to make an early appearance on February 5, 2007. Within a week, they were co-bedding and enjoying their stay in the Baby Ritz as much as possible.

Back to the Outback
John and Michelle "kangaroo'd" the twinis to help them grow big and strong. Here John kangaroos Zoe when she was only five days old.

After the storm
After a long hard night of labor, delirious Michelle gets to hold JR for the first time after the c-pap (breathing assistance) is removed.

The NICU was not an experience we would like to repeat any time soon, but they received wonderful care and we were so blessed they were able to come home so quickly.