Babies R Us!

I guess we could be called "The Baby Bunch"!

In the last 4 months there has been a major baby boom in my family. Four out of six of us have had babies, so we went from 4 nieces and nephews to 9! The twins ended the boom with a bang since they were a two for one deal :). Jett didn't want to be a part of these pictures saying "I am NOT a baby, i'm a BIG BOY". It would be fun to get all the cousins together (including the Michigan bunch "Parker Pants"-Parker, "Maddie go Paddy"-Madelyn, and "Merefriend"-Meredith) for one big picture!

Welcome Home Evyn & Hayden!!

This post is long overdue since the girls have been home about 3 weeks now, but I have found that a free second is hard to come by :). "Multitasking" has been the operative word around here lately and is something I hope to get better with each day (or each feeding).

Evyn came home on November 6th and Hayden came home a few days later on the 10th, after having cought a minor virus which she needed to be well from before leaving the NICU. Both the girls have been doing very well since they've been home. Their second well child check up was today (we can't believe they are already about 2 months old), Evyn weighed in at 6lbs 8oz and Hayden is now 6lbs 2oz!

Jett has really taken to his big brother roll, he love's rubbing his cheek on the girls' cheeks and talking "baby talk" to them.

Halloween at the NICU

You are never too young or small for a fun Halloween get up! The NICU staff outfitted all the babies in the unit with adorable blankets, onsies, and socks!

Halloween 2008

In search of the perfect Halloween costume for Jett, we had or hearts set on a Pirate (since he's running around all the time yelling out "Arrgh!" while seeking out a "pirate treasure chest"). After having no luck getting one in his size, I stumbled upon a Fireman costume and thought it would perfect, (Fire fighters are his second favorite heros after Pirates). I kept the costume a secret until Halloween afternoon. He was SOOOOO excited when he saw what he was going to wear and has only taken it off once (to got to bed) since we put it on him. We had such a fun time taking him through the neighborhood, but were nervous about how we were going to convince him to come inside when it was time to go home. As it turned out, he told us he was ready to go home after we had been to one and a half cul-de-sacs!

Since the baby boom that has gone on in our extended family this past summer (5 babies born between June and October, including the twins), Jett has become the Big Boy umong the local cousin crowd. He really seems to be liking his new role and loves talking about all the babies and asking when he can hold them. Hopefully he'll keep up his love for babies once his sisters come home and he realizes that they are here to stay :).

In the picture directly above, he's holding his cousin Ryder who is just over 2 months old. He's always talking about "baby Ryders" and asks Tim and I to sing songs about him at bedtime.

The top pictures of Jett are from the Tree House museum. It's a great interactive children's museum that we frequented often this past summer. There is a pretend NICU there where kids can learn all about babies and caring for them. Ironically, this is one of Jett's favorite exhibits! I figured I better train him well on chaning diapers and feeding since I will need the extra help ;)

Holding Hands

Hayden and Evyn have reached a new milestone! They graduated from their Isolette (incubator) beds and are now sharing an open crib! I'm sure they like being back together again :). Now seeing them side by side, it's really hard to tell them apart! The only defining difference is that Hayden is a little thinner than Evyn. Hayden is gaining quickly though and will soon catch up, at which point we're going to have to come up with a new way to tell who's who.

Speaking of weight gain, they are both doing very with that, gaining more than the daily average. Evyn is now in the 4 lb range (4 lbs 3 oz) and Hayden is 3 lbs 13 oz (3 more ounces to go until she's 4 lbs)!

Thursday Twin Update

The girls have each gained 2 ounces since Sunday! This is a great gain since they are supposed to gain 1/2-1 ounce every day, so they are right on track. Evyn is now 3 lbs 14 oz (2 more ounces until she's 4 lbs!) and Hayden is 3 lbs 9 oz. Their gestational age is 35 weeks today.

Twins Update 10/11/08

The tiwns are now one week and three days old and are continuing to show daily progress. Both have re-gained their birthweight plus a couple ounces! They are breathing room air completely on their own without any assistance from ventilators, etc. As of yesterday, (friday 10/10/08) they became free of their IV's which has made holding them a lot easier (less cords they are attached to the better)! Our next step will be getting them to eat. Right now they are fed through a tube that goes through their nose. They have developed a healthy appetite, their feeding amount increases several times a day. This is great news and will be very helpful in getting them to pack on the pounds!

Jett the Dragon Fighter!

Suited up and ready to take on the fiercest enemy, Jett ran around the house saying "i'll save you! There's a dragon!" The dragon couldn't stand up to Jett and his fly swatter and eventually admitted defeat.

The Shea Twins Have Arrived!

Evyn Winter Shea and Hayden Reese Shea

were born on October 1, 2008.

Hayden was delivered first at 6:50am, weighing 3lbs 4oz.

Evyn came shortly after at 6:51am and weighed 3lbs 9 oz.

Both girls were 17 inches long.

The girls were born prematurely at 33 weeks but are doing well in the NICU. They will be there for a few weeks in total as they finish growing and maturing to a point where they are ready to take on this world! Everyday has it's ups and downs, but so far both Hayden and Evyn make daily improvements.

We will keep our blog updated with posts of the girls' status. We are excited to have them here and can't wait for them to come home!