Big helper

The Craigheads (our very good friends) are always willing to help out with anything or to just come over for dinner or to just hang out.  Their daughter Madison LOVES the boys well their son does too but you know how girls are.  She is always willing to help in anyway if has to do with the boys.  She absolutely loves folding their clothes/laundry.  Of course it is nice to have the help so if there is laundry in I always let her know:).  Her dad says to her Maddie, "why don't you ever fold your clothes are home, she just smiled and laughed." These pictures show how much Maddie loves the boys!  When they are sleeping when she comes over she is not very happy! 

Priceless



Maddie LOVES the boys




Maddie folding the boys' laundry, gotta love the help...Thanks Maddie



Austin LOVES the boys too!!

Mama's bebes

Landon left Tristan right and they enjoyed the K'tan

One lazy Saturday morning

Gotta love lazy Saturday mornings! 

Tristan on the left, Landon on the right

Grandma and Grandpa Rosenmeyer came to visit the boys!!

Loving our pajamas, except grandpa because his pajamas are not allowed in pictures :)

Maybe I should say gotta love lazy SATURDAYS...not just mornings

Daddy and boys enjoying some floor time before bed

Day 1 A.D.

It was a long night as we don't think the boys were ready for the quiet of our home.  We were both pretty tired and took turns napping as the boys slept.  Day one A.D. (After Dismissal) went pretty well.

Released...

We were awaken today by our NICU nurse saying, "Dr. B says they can go home today!"  It took a minute or two for the shock to sink in.  We were going to be taking our boys home... there were lots of emotions, excitement, nervousness.  We had home basketball games today, Daddy had a tripleheader at the Cliff, while Momma's Mustangs played at home as well.  Since they had to pass the car seat test still, we decided to bring them home after the basketball games.  We had to fill out some paperwork and pack up the room which had been our home for the good part of 50 days.  That was the amount of time we all spent in the NICU... 50 days.  Carrying the boys out of the NICU, down the hall, into the elevator and out the door was an amazing feeling.  Momma sat in the back between the boys and was all smiles the enire trip.  Daddy drove slow, so the four minute drive took more like six minutes.  When we got them home and carried them upstairs, the Bodammer clan was there waiting with signs and balloons.  The reaction on Momma's face to the surprise greeting was priceless.  They hung out for awhile this evening and took turns holding the boys.  A few hours after eating soup and some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, they all headed for home and we prepped the boys for their first night of sleep in a new environment.

HuHot Test Night

Between feedings this evening we decided to roll the dice and eat at HuHot.  I guess our nurses will tell us tomorrow if that was a good decision or not.  Both boys made solid weight gains... Landon is now 5-8.1, while Tristan is 5-15.5.  Both gained at least two ounces from yesterday (5-4.8 & 5-13.5)!  Tristan's noggin was 33.5 cm, compared to 33.0 for his brother.  Tristan is also a quarter of an inch longer, measuring 19 inches.  Doctor B said that although Tristan is brady free, he wants to keep him there to monitor his periodic breathing.  The weather has been pretty bad around here lately.  We got about 10 inches of new snow over the past two days and today the wind was gusting a lot.  Temp with wind chill today was -22.  Daddy drove Momma back and forth from the hospital today because of the weather.

UPDATE:  Less than five minutes after the posting above, both boys effectively threw up a good portion of their feeding.  Apparently, they are not fond of the Khan's Sauce...

Next Stop....Disney Channel?

The story on the four us appeared in the paper today.  It was really well written. READ IT.  We are sure Disney will be calling soon because the dudes on the Suite Life of Zack & Cody are getting old and they will need a replacement!  Perhaps we have the next Jonas Brothers here.  The Bodie Boys does have a nice ring to it!  Anyways, Doctor B talked to us today about the possibility of a blood transfusion for Landon.  He is anemic, so is Tristan and all preemies, but Landon is more anemic and therefore, his complexion is more pale.  His numbers are not too low yet, but they seem to keep dropping.  They started both boys on multi-vitamins with iron.  That should help out the red cell count later on.  Momma B is struggling a bit with all of this.  With yesterday's brady, the countdown started over.  Let's keep our fingers crossed this time!  On the homefront, we made chili and rolls and watched a little football with the Hensley clan.  Heather Hensley came up to see the boys.  LD was 5-4.7, while T-Magic was 5-12.8.

Game Day!

It was game day today and the Mustangs won both games at the Tyson Event Center.  Landon was not happy with the outcome apparently as he had another brady.  The only good news is that he is having a few really good days between bradys.  Landon tipped the scale at 5-3.8, while little (but now big) brother Tristan was 5-11.7. 

Another Photo Shoot

The boys had another photo shoot today as the Sioux City Journal came up to do a story on them and the fact that one parent works at Briar Cliff and one works at Morningside.  Tomorrow is the big basketball showdowns between the two schools.  The story and photo are supposed to run on Sunday.  The boys were dressed in jeans for the first time ever and wore tennis shoes!  They also wore onsies that said HOUSE DIVIDED with the Briar Cliff and Morningside logos on them.  They were made by Mark-It Custom Printing.  We will post that photo tomorrow for the big game.  They looked so cute!  They also had a shot (Synagis) today that is for RSV and early preemies qualify for it otherwise it is not financially feasible.  Landon was 5-4.6, while little bro was 5-12.5.

A Meeting With the Doctor!

Today was a pretty quiet day.  The boys were recovering from the chaos of the past few days.  Landon had another brady this morning.  We are starting to think he just doesn't want to leave the nurses!  We got to meet Dr. Amir Andrawis today.  It was nice to finally put a face with the name.  He has a reputation as the best children's doctor in Sioux City.  Next time, however, it might be better to meet your kids' doctor before you let him do work on them!  Both boys are continuing to gain weight as Landon is 5-4.3 and Tristan is 5-11.4.

Under the Knife!

The little fellas had more stress today, as any man would when your junk gets worked on.  It was circumcision day with Dr. Amir.  The nurses told us he does amazing circs, not sure how to take that exactly.  Landon had another brady this evening.  We think he just had too much going on of late with the eye exam, a bath and the circumcision.  He weighed 5-3.6 today.  Tristan checked in at 5-10.9.

I Can See Clearly Now...

Or at least the boys can!  They had their first eye exams today.  I think it was more painful for Momma B than for the boys.  They each cried a bit, but not as much as we were expecting.  They do an early eye exam so they can get a jump on any potential problems.  Many times when babies are premature, they have eye problems.  Landon and Tristan both passed, although their eyes were swollen and had clamp marks on them when we got them back.  That will all go away.  Another hurdle crossed.  The eye doctor said they will not need another eye exam until they are three.  LD was 5-3.6, while T was 5-10.7.  Visitors today included Megan Cloud, Tina Stround and Matt from Children's Miracle Network. 

The Countdown Begins...

The countdown has begun as both boys are now off of everything, including feeding tubes.  Landon went off of caffeine today as well, so we have to see if he can go a week with no bradys.  Both boys also jumped up in weight.  Landon was 5-4.1, while Tristan was a whopping 5-10.2.  Hopefully, the boys will keep getting stronger and stronger and we will only refer to bradys as a good television show from back in the day.  

Wide Awake!

The boys are beginning to stay awake longer and longer after each feeding.  It is so fun to talk with them and watch their expressions.  We read to them all of the time.  I think they like hearing our voices as they are usually locked in on us during the readings.  They both got their Hepatitis shots today and Landon came off of oxygen and had his feeding tube removed.  Landon also joined his younger bro in the five pound club, checking in at 5-1.3.  Tristan was 5-8.

Great Start to a New Year!

The last few days have been fairly quiet.  Landon is still having a few bradys.  Dr. Wilson decreased his caffeine though from 18ml to 12ml.  Just enough caffeine to make sure he stayed awake to welcome in the new year!  Landon was nearly five pounds yesterday (4-15.9), but slipped back to 4-13 today.  Between feedings we managed to watch a little (very little) college football today.  Tristan got his feeding tube out and will hopefully just nurse from here on out.  We can always take a step back, but hopefully not this time!