Approval!!

For those of you who frequent my blog, you may have noticed a stamp of approval in the right column. Yes, I have been approved by the Twin Multiples Club. I submitted my blog about two weeks ago and recently received their stamp of approval. Yay!! Someone approves:) It's a small step for my writing, but it has made me excited to keep writing.

The Twin Multiples Club is a "free international resource for families with twins and multiples." They compile pregnancy support, preemie support, multiples bloggers, multiples merchandise, and much more concerning multiples. Raising multiples is definitely hard work, but they try to help parents of multiples find the advice and support that they need.

Still Awake!

So, I've decided that being, in southern terms, "plumb tuckered out" at the end of the day makes for funny stories. I was beat last night and could not wait to jump into bed. However, an hour after being laid down, Titus still wasn't asleep. He wasn't screaming; so, I was just letting him work it out on his own. About 10:30, I finally decided to see what could possibly be the reason for his sudden desire to go stay awake at bedtime because we never have a problem with bedtime. I slowly cracked the door to their room expecting to see him staring at me. Instead, he was in the corner of his bed burying his head into his blanket with his little rump up in the air. And, right then, I realized why he was not sleeping. The poor boy was trying to bury his head in his blanket because he wanted to go to sleep, but his "plumb tuckered out" mommy had forgotten to turn the overhead light off as she was walking out the door! Of course, Peter can fall asleep at the drop of the hat; so, he was already passed out, sprawled out on his stomach, and completely engrossed in his dreams. Titus, on the other hand, was trying to go to sleep, but I kept him awake. Oops!! I turned off the light and shut door. About five minutes later, Titus joined his brother and dreamt the night away:) Unfortunately, it was another hour and a half before I was able to join them in dreamland.

One Year Fun!!

Well, we made it through one year check ups and shots. Or, I guess I should say that I made it through one year check ups and shots. This was the first doctor's visit that I took both boys by myself and I was wore out by the time I got home. You should have seen the sympathy looks:) But don't worry, it wasn't any shorter of a wait for the doctor even though they could hear the cries of frustration from the boys. They didn't appreciate having to stay in the stroller, but they are just WAY too heavy for me carry into the building with a diaper bag and sippy cups. Shots came, and tears flowed, but they were both real troopers. I was very proud of my boys.

My little Peter weighed in at 19 pounds and 4 ounces and measured 29 1/2 inches long. He's in the 6th percentile for weight and the 35th percentile for height. The poor boy is too tall for pants that fit him in the waist; he wears six month pants in the waist and nine month pants in the legs. So, if I get them to fit the waist, he's flooding; but if I get them to fit the legs, they fall off him. A couple of days ago, I put a three month onesie on him to see if it still fit, and it did! He may be the oldest, but he's far from being the biggest. While we're out, I get asked all the time who's the oldest as they're pointing to Titus; and then, they don't believe me because Peter is so much smaller than Titus. Of course, I bite my sarcastic tongue and politely reassure them that I know who the oldest is:)

My brute Titus weighed in at 23 pounds even and measured 30 inches long. He's average for weight and above average for height. I promise he's not eating all of Peter's food. Peter has learned to fight back and won't let him touch his food or toys, and Titus doesn't appreciate it:) Titus's clothing problem is completely opposite of Peter's clothing problem. If I get pants to fit his waist, they're too long; but if I get them to fit the legs, they're too tight. He's shaped like his uncle with a long torso and short legs. Thank you Uncle Stephen!

They're birthday party went well too! We just had Pa, Grandma, Aunt Lee-Ann, and Aunt Karissa over. I contemplated having a bigger party, but I decided to save the money and spend more on a birthday party when they're old enough to remember it. We had their favorite food, pizza, and cake, and, of course, presents! I did splurge on the cake and ordered a Phineas and Ferb cake from Publix. They also gave us two baby cakes for them to smash. Peter loved his baby cake, but Titus didn't enjoy eating it with his hands. He liked it better once we gave him a spoon. In retrospect, I should have just cut him off a piece. The baby cakes were kinda big for them, and I think he was just overwhelmed with all the cake:)

They woke up from their nap and found presents!

Phineas and Ferb - "It's 104 days of summer vacation..."

Titus with his spoon:)

Peter pigging out!

It's been kinda smooth sailing around here lately; so, I should have known that something was going to happen soon. Tonight, I'm washing dishes and suddenly hear my husband yell, "Oh no!! Gross, gross, gross! You gotta be kidding me! Stephanie!!" I walk around the kitchen counter into the living room, and there it is. Peter had gotten his diaper off which is really easy for him to do since even diapers don't fit him well. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he pooped after he got the diaper off! I didn't see anything in the diaper; so, I'm assuming that the poop on the floor had to have come after the diaper was off. Now, if he had just pooped on the carpet, it would have been a relatively easy clean up; but no, he then had to walk through it on his way to the couch to sit with Daddy. Which means that I had to clean up poopy foot prints embedded in the carpet. You know, I was thinking the other day that I didn't have a poop on the floor or in the crib story like everyone else did. I was actually patting myself on the back because I thought surely my kids are already out of that stage. Boy, was I wrong!! Of course, Dan offered to bathe them because you know he's not going to clean poop out of the carpet. I will say that I came out drier than he did:) We definitely made up for our lack of disasters!

Attention Hog!

Since he took his first breath of fresh air, Titus reigned as King of Drama. Accidentally scratching him with your fingernail is equivalent to cutting off a finger. It never crossed my mind that he could reach a whole new level of drama. Now, his status shows both Drama King and Attention Hog.

This past Friday and Saturday, Mom, Karissa, the boys, and I went up to my Grandma's house. It had been a while since she and Aunt Kim had seen the boys; so, I wanted them to catch up with the boys. (Last time they had seen the boys, they were barely crawling.) While we were there, we ate dinner upstairs with everyone at my Aunt's. Well, Aunt Kim has a hard flooring throughout her living areas which makes for slippery surfaces for new walkers. Peter fell and hit his head really hard on the floor. Of course, since Great-Grandma Fields, Grandma, and Aunt Kim were there, everyone rushed to his side. I picked him up and patted his bottom while everyone else tried to comfort him too.

As soon as Titus crawled down from the couch, I saw it in his eyes. Peter was getting all the attention, and that just could not happen while Titus was around. He looked around, got down on his hands and knees, and lowered his head to about an inch from the ground. He turned his face towards everyone and then...tap...just barely a tap of the head. He began to cry as he crawled into my lap and tried to push Peter off as he laid his head on my shoulder. Now, he wasn't really hurt because he was smart enough to only tap his head on the floor; he only wanted the attention, not the pain:) Talk about a rolling on the floor laughing moment! I could not believe what I had just witnessed! It was a deliberate attempt to fool me into believing he was hurt. My, my, my!

People often say that babies don't know what they're doing. However, Titus is proof that they do have thinking skills beyond what we beyond what we give them credit. It makes me wonder how many times has he already pulled the wool over my eyes. This serves as a reminder to never underestimate your children. Deceitfulness isn't taught; it just comes naturally.

What he didn't realize is that I would have held him without the fake tears:)

Happy Birthday Boys!!

Exactly a year ago, we went from a family of two to a family of four. I cannot believe that it has already been an entire year since they took their first breath of fresh air. It really just seems like yesterday.

Monday, July 26, 2010, I went in for a routine prenatal check-up. My enormous belly itched so badly that I scratched even in my sleep (what little sleep I was able to get). Dr. Simpson took one look at my red, itchy belly and said, "You're ready to deliver, aren't you?" "ABSOLUTELY!!" was my quick, excited answer. He said that Pupp's Syndrome caused the itchy, scaly skin, and there were two ways to cure it: steroids or delivery. At thirty-five and a half weeks, I was going to meet my boys that I had only seen in grainy ultrasound pictures.

We got to the hospital at 6:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 27. Anticipation and my OCD self only allowed me a couple of hours of sleep the previous night, and the lack of sleep was quite evident on Daniel. For those of you who know me, I had to make sure everything was washed, dusted, vacuumed, and scrubbed before I could leave for the hospital. There was no way that I was coming home to a disaster. The lack of sleep hadn't kicked in for me yet. To be perfectly honest, fear and anxiousness had their nasty grip on me. Ever since I found out I was pregnant with twins, everyone had to tell me their horror stories. Moms of singletons even told me their horror stories of not getting showers everyday with only one child. They said, "How are you going to handle two at one time!" This horrified me because I have to have at least two showers a day. I can't function with less than two. I did try one day to only take one shower, and it was like I was going through withdrawals; I was fidgety and nervous and had to take a shower during my lunch break. They also told me about how my house would never be the same. From here on out, it would be a disaster. This scared me because I can't function in chaos. So, in my mind, I was going to be an unshowered wreck that can't function. All of this was running through my mind as I waited to be taken back for my c-section which also caused plenty of worrying.

At 9:00 a.m., the nurse came and took me back to get the prep work done. The funniest part of day happened during the prep work. She gave me some medicine to drink that would keep me from getting nauseous once the spinal was administered. Well, there is only one flavor that I can't stand to taste or smell. In fact, it has made me throw-up on occasion: GRAPE. And you guessed it, the medicine was grape flavored. So, I started gagging on the anti-nausea medicine:) Kind of ironic, huh? Daniel thought it was hilarious; of course, he wasn't the one gagging.

They wheeled me into the O.R. at 9:15 a.m. The spinal was administered, and things progressed rather fast after the spinal. Daniel was able to join me, and Dr. Simpson began his work. At 9:29 a.m., they pulled Peter O'Neal Slavy out. He didn't cry at first. While it seemed like forever to me, it was really only about five minutes or less before he started wailing. At 9:30 a.m., Titus Alexander Slavy took his first breath of fresh air and screamed for the first time (and hasn't stopped much). It was so cute when they first started crying because they sounded puppies. (For the first couple of months, their cries were so quiet and squeaky that they sound kind of like puppies. The cute only lasted about a week or so; after that, it was still puppy like but more annoying at 3:00 a.m.) They brought them over for me to see then whisked them away. Because they were four and a half weeks premature, extra care was given to make sure everything was functioning properly.

Once I was out of recovery, Peter was brought to the room. They told me that Titus needed to be monitored a little longer, but Peter checked out perfect. Peter seemed so tiny at five pounds, eleven ounces and eighteen inches long. His ten skinny fingers and ten very long, skinny toes were perfection. I instantly fell in love with this beautiful baby.

Holding Peter for the 1st time

What I didn't know is that Dr. MacLeod, their pediatrician, was concerned about Titus. He contemplated for a little bit about sending him to the NICU at Medical Center but gave him some time to see if his breathing would even out without intervention. Now, I was so out of it because of the lack of sleep and medicine that I don't think I could have comprehended what was happening. Daniel made sure Titus was being taken care of and that I was kept calm and able to recoup. He proved himself to be a wonderful daddy and husband. He definitely was my rock and comfort! Around mid-morning, Daniel announced that Titus, praise the Lord, began to breathe evenly on his own, and Dr. MacLeod gave the word that he was to stay at Doctor's Hospital. However, he had to stay in the nursery for the rest of the day to be monitored just in case things changed.

I held Peter all day, but I still wanted to see Titus. No sleeping would happen that night until I saw my Titus. Nothing was going to keep from seeing him in the nursery and holding his tiny little hand. I knew he was six pounds, five ounces and nineteen and a quarter inches long, but I hadn't been able to count his fingers and toes. I amazed the nurses and climbed out of bed and into a wheelchair on my own the day of my c-section. Everyone was shocked because theoretically I was supposed to stay in bed till Wednesday a.m., at least. But never, ever, ever underestimate the power of a mother!! At 9:30 p.m., I was able to hold Titus's hand and count his ten fingers and ten toes. It was once again love at first sight.

Seeing Titus for the 1st time

Much has changed since then. Peter is eighteen pounds, and Titus is a whopping twenty-two pounds. They're beginning to walk and express themselves, but my love for them remains stedfast. Each morning, I walk into their room and am greeted by two smiling faces. God has certainly blessed! Even though Titus has unfortunately been to the emergency room twice, it's been pretty much smooth sailing. God gave me a wonderful husband who through it all has remained my rock. I could not have remained sane at times if it were not for him. God also gave me wonderful parents. My mom has helped even when she didn't feel like it. It's not always easy for her to do what she wants, but she has many times helped me remain sane too. Without the support of them and an awesome church family, raising my twin sons would be much more difficult. As someone recently stated, "They're the church's babies!

Titus on the left

Peter on the right

And last, but not least, "Happy Birthday to Peter and Titus!!" Mommy loves you very much and can't imagine life without you.

Time Flies!!

It's hard to believe that a week from today the boys will be 1 year old. Can you believe it? I was told and read over and over again that because they were preemies they would more than likely be behind. We were told to expect to see milestones reached around their "corrected age." So, since they were five weeks early, we should expect them to be about a month behind other babies their age. Well, so far, that has not been the case for my beautiful boys. In fact, Titus took his first steps Tuesday (July 19); and Peter took his first steps Wednesday (July 20). This is very much within the timeline for their actual ages. It's hard to believe that this time last year I was worried about when they would come out because I knew they would be preemies. I was overwhelmingly worried that they would be behind other babies their age; but God, once again, proved that there is no need to worry, no matter the outcome. Well, this one is short, sweet, and to the point. I just wanted to brag on my boys:)

The Goodness of the Lord

If it weren't for the ups and downs of life, God's wonderful grace and goodness would never be seen. We would have no need for God's goodness if life were always perfect. Oh, how we would miss many blessings if we never had to depend on God during the tough times of life! How small God would seem if we never experienced Him during these rough times of life! I often hear people say something like this, "God has blessed me because I have good health and healthy children, etc." However, I believe that I am more significantly blessed during the chaos of life. I get to see God's mighty hand mold the life that is before me.

This week, I experienced another rough patch of life. I found out that my baby is in the presence of his (or her) Creator. He is experiencing what I have spent my entire life reading about. Yes, it has been a sad week, but I do take joy in knowing that the only thing this baby will ever know is the perfection of Heaven. He will never have to experience this old, sinful world in which we live. Praise the Lord!!

I also take comfort in knowing that I will see him again. I was more emotional before I learned the final outcome of my doctor's visit Thursday morning. Some have asked if I have grieved over the loss because I haven't cried much. I feel like King David felt in 2 Samuel 12. He fasted, prayed, and wept over his sick child. Once he learned that the child had passed away, he cleaned himself up, put on clean clothes, worshipped the Lord, and ate something. His servants were amazed at the change in him because they thought that he would be worse after he learned of the death. King David explained it this way in 2 Samuel 12:22-23: "And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." Praise the Lord!! Because of my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and my acknowledgement of His free gift of salvation, I will see my baby for the 1st time. And as my dad so eloquently stated when speaking about his own children in Heaven, "I can say that I have perfect angels in Heaven." I'm sure that he has already met his great-grandparents in Heaven. I know Pete, Pa, & Grandmother are already telling him all about his mom and grandparents. He's also meeting his aunts and/or uncles that I never knew. And, one day, we'll all be together in the presence of our almighty, gracious Lord and Saviour.

I feel blessed to know that God has chosen me to show His goodness through. I feel blessed to know that I have seen His grace once again. I have seen His goodness once again. I have felt His loving arms once again! Praise the Lord that He has counted me worthy to suffer loss! But to not only suffer loss, but to also know his grace and goodness!