The Latest And Greatest

Every time I think of the blog I feel like I should apologize cause I've been so neglectful but I guess you probably all understand.  Life is sort of a zoo nowadays :)  In the past few weeks Chan turned 3 years old!  For his birthday him and daddy went to pick out his own big boy bike and then we had a Dinotrux birthday party at our house that night.  We just had family over to our house for dinner and ordered take out so that was manageable.  And most importantly he had fun!  Esme also graduated from Keikiland Preschool where she's been for the past 2 years.  She'll actually continue there through the summer (and Chan will start there next week) and then go on to kindergarten in the fall.

As for the twins we seem to have hit a fussy period, at least for Eve.  It's hard to say if it's a growing period or maybe just digestion and gas but she's definitely been more needy lately.  And Poppy has decided to chill out a bit and eat everything she can while Eve is fussing!  And you can tell in her cheeks - Poppy is really filling out!  They're definitely gaining weight and growing which is so reassuring.  I hardly have to check the clock when I feed them cause I can trust that they'll wake or fuss on their own when they're hungry next and it won't be long.  Here's some pics:

Esme was so surprised with all the leis.  

This was the first outing for the twins. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Chan-Man!  He had a "dirt pile" Dinotrux/construction cake.

The girls chilling while mommy makes dinner.  

Hanging out in the papasan chair.

Hanging out in the Moby.

Aunties are the best baby holders!

Mommy's learned that if she puts both bouncers close together she only has to rock one and it makes the other one bounce too.  

Hmmm...another upside down picture.  Not sure how to turn it...

Chan, doing his best to get our attention with the twins around ;)

They're Getting Bigger!

We hit some big milestones last week - mommy's original due date, the twins turned a month old, and they gained back their birth weight and then some!  Finally they seem neurologically and developmentally ready to thrive outside the womb and it's hard to say if that's just cause they made the 40 week mark or because they're gaining weight and getting stronger.  At the docs office Poppy was 5# 9.6oz and Eve was 5# 11oz which was music to our ears.  Feeding every 1-2 hours is paying off!  They're also outgrowing their premie clothes and diapers and starting to transition into newborn things.  Yay!

Esme is still super concerned and involved with the twins.  She loves to help whenever we let her.  Chan is having a harder time adjusting to his new siblings.  He loves to kiss their heads and look at them but he's also needing a lot more attention.  Allen and him have been playing a lot of t-ball in the backyard and going for walks around the neighborhood.

On a sad note though, Ah-ma and Yeh-Yeh left last week after spending an awesome 10 days with us.  Esme and Chan loved all the extra attention and Allen and I loved all the extra help.  We can't wait for them to visit again!

The four Shih children.

Esme comes to see the twins every morning before school.

Eve and Poppy at the docs office. 

Hanging In There

Yep, we're still here.  Just incredibly consumed with trying to get our little girls up to speed in the real world.  Poppy and Eve are still not back to their birth weights yet but they're trending that way finally.  They continue to solely breastfeed and are getting much more efficient with their latch and how much they can take in.  I've also been able to pump off all the extra milk and start my next freezer supply.  We've been visiting their pediatrician weekly for check-ins but this week we were told we could come back in 2 weeks and hopefully by then they'll finally be over 5 pounds!

Allen and I are still figuring out how to juggle all four kids when we're home together.  Thankfully we've kept Esme and Chan in pre-school and daycare so their routines aren't too out of whack.  They have their moments of frustrations dealing with our new normal but for the most part they are excited to have their little sisters around.  Esme loves to hold Poppy and Eve.  She even loves to just sit next to them and watch them sleep.  Chan just likes to give each one a kiss on the head and then he's happy.  He finally held Eve yesterday (first time since the hospital) and was actually upset when I went to take her back.  The "big kids" have been having fun playing baby though and getting out their old tummy time blankets.

Tummy time for all.

Skin to skin on mom to help with feeding and growing.  

Proud big brother.

Our boy in blue.

They found the stash of pacifiers.

Poppy the peanut!

Perspective...

Esme happy to have a playdate when the Mitchell's were visiting.

Proud big sister with Natalie and Tosh.

 

Baby Updates

I keep thinking of posting pics for everyone to see but these little peanuts are quite time consuming!  We discharged from the hospital last Wednesday afternoon and had a follow up with our pediatrician on Friday.  Both girls lost weight which is expected but they now weigh 4# 8oz which is pretty tiny.  I've been attempting to nurse them and initially supplemented with some formula until my milk came in at the end of the week.  It's a pretty challenging schedule to keep up especially in the middle of the night cause it seems like as soon as we finish nursing, supplementing and pumping that we have to start again not long after.  So far only Poppy is latching most of the time.  Eve is struggling to get it right and so we always attempt it but then she usually gets a bottle of my pumped milk afterwards.  We've got a home visit by a lactation consultants this week to help with the feeding issues.  And next visit to the docs office is at the end of the week.

Esme and Chan are handling the transition really well.  Thankfully our family here has been SUPER helpful with taking them to school, picking them up, going on their field trips, making us meals, running errands, picking up groceries, etc.  We couldn't do it without them!

One more shot from the night they were born...

Going home.  The adventure begins!

The girls barely fit in their carseats.  The chest buckle is at about their mouth level.  It doesn't look comfortable but they passed their carseat trial in the hospital (cardiac and oxygen monitoring while in the carseat for an hour).  

First night sleeping at home.  

The girls!

Love their little legs!

Tummy time together.

Doubling up in the Moby wrap

Just for perspective, Poppy is laying in a size 4 diaper.  

They've Arrived!!!

It all started with Chan asking me to get the ant that he saw crawling on the floor of the house and as I bent down my water broke.  That was at 5pm Monday, 3/28, and the twins were born at 11:03 and 11:12pm that same night.  Allen was in Kona for a class and luckily Papa was already at our house fixing a fan so Nana drove me to the hospital.  I wasn't having contractions initially so I was madly rushing around the house trying to get last minute stuff done - laundry, put away Easter decorations, clean out the fridge, etc.  We got to the hospital around 7 and Allen met us there, contractions started around 7:30 and then it was all fast moving from there.  

Baby A is now known as Poppy Kim and she weighed in at 4# 13oz and 19in long.  Baby B is now known as Eve Meilani and weighed in at 4# 15oz and 19in long.  They definitely don't look identical and Esme and Chan are in love with them.  They came to the hospital before going to school today and were so giddy with excitement.  

We've been fighting low blood sugar level and low body temperatures all day which has been a challenge.  They nurse one at a time for now and sometimes it's a good feed and other times not.  The plan is to go home tomorrow if all goes well and they cooperate overnight but we'll see...

Eve on the left, Poppy on the right.

Poppy Kim

Eve Meilani

Happy Easter!!!

We're having a nice relaxing four day weekend for Easter this year - Good Friday and Prince Kuhio Day combined with the weekend.  We've gotten lots of house projects done and the kids have been a big help some of the time and the rest of it they've been getting better at playing by themselves.  Today we spent Easter at the beach which was a treat since we're not sure if we'll get back there before the twins come.  

I've officially made it to 36 weeks now which is where my OB wants me since most twins are born around that time.  I'd like to hit at least 37 weeks which is considered full term for any baby.  At my appointment last week my belly started to shrink a little bit as baby A moved lower down.  I now measure at 39.5cm.  At my biggest I was up to 42 cm.  Other than that there were no updates.  The non-stress test went well again and I repeat it all again tomorrow.  We'll be sure to update the blog as soon as our little girls arrive :)

Chan made a nice smooth transition into his own room last weekend and had no issues.  We're still working on moving the office stuff out of there but at least all of his stuff is in there.  And now the old room that Esme and him used to share is the staging area for all the twins stuff - changing station on top the dresser, the swing, rock n play, bouncers, mounds of diaper boxes, clothes bins, etc.  

A trip to the zoo with the cousins last weekend thanks to Aunty Ness and Uncle Judd.

This boy loves his corn and ate 3 ears on top of his dinner this weekend!

Coconut Island for Easter.

Chan was having too much fun in the sand to join the family photo opp.

So he got a solo picture...

  

Babies Are Behaving In There!

All the baby visits this week were a success!  On Monday Esme and I went for the normal non-stress test at the hospital.  The babies passed their test in record time and we were out of there in 20 minutes!  That's a record since the test is usually at least 30 minutes.  The next day I met with the perinatologist from Oahu for an ultrasound to see how the girls measure up.  And yes, they're still two girls :)  Baby A weighs 4# 8oz and Baby B weighs 5# which is impressive because they've kept their same growth curve since we first started measuring them.  Dr Hirata said normally by now they slow down in their growth but the girls aren't showing signs of slowing at all.  We only got a good picture of Baby A but B was being shy.  At one point A had her legs wrapped all around B's head.  No wonder twins are so close!  

Then yesterday I had my weekly visit with Dr Tran, my OB, and she said she's ultimately impressed with how well I've fared so far.  When she asks for any complaints or pregnancy related symptoms all I can usually tell her is that I'm tired, but what pregnant mom isn't tired?  But no back pain, swelling, bed rest, excessive weight gain, gestational diabetes, increased time off work, etc which she had prepared me for in the beginning.  She wants me to make it to 36 weeks for delivery and Dr Hirata said 38 week.  Right now I'm 34 weeks.  We're almost there!  I'm using my spring break to get the house in order for all of us.  There's a lot of shuffling around to do still but we're getting there.  

Esme is loving her new room set up and Chan is getting ready to move into his soon.  The kids have both been playing baby a lot more especially with all the baby stuff surfacing around the house.  Oh the other thing with Esme, she requested to cut her hair short!  I was surprised but totally for it since it seems like it'd make it easier and it has.  She wanted it above her shoulders but the hairdresser wanted to go gradual so it's a little longer than we expected right now.  But she's still happy with it and so the next one will be shorter.  Chan also got a new trim, 2nd haircut of his life.  He was better this time and the lady could use the scissors the whole time and not the buzzers like she had to before.  We had to distract him a lot though with our phones to keep him still.  

Baby A was the only photogenic one this week.  Baby B was hiding.  

Esme's new do!

Celebrating Babies

Don't worry, they're not here yet but we had a nice celebration for the twins this past weekend.  The aunty's threw a beautiful shower at our house which was so nice.  It took some explaining for Esme to understand what a baby shower was.  She enjoyed helping open the gifts and to play with all her girl cousins too.

Amazing decorations and great backdrop for the shower!

Yummy dessert bar for the girls!

We made a wish and two came true :)

Thanks family for the shower!

Esme checking out the new girl clothes.

Esme continues to go with me every Monday afternoon for my non-stress tests at the hospital.  I get admitted and situated in a room.  She's so used to the drill now that as soon as I lay down in the bed she knows to lift my t-shirt up in order to expose my belly and help the nurse strap the monitors on.  She also likes to hold the button to click whenever the babies move.  Of course I have to tell her when but she loves being my big helper.  It usually lasts less than an hour in which we read, do her homework and if we have time then watch some PBS kids.  The nurses tell me that I usually have 2-3 contractions during the visit but I can never feel them so my OB said not to worry.  Last week though the visit got extended for a few hours because one of the babies heart rates dropped below 100 and so they had to monitor me for longer.  Luckily it didn't happen again and they were able to discharge me that evening.  It was a little scary since I know it's possible that they could be here at any minute.  Next week Tuesday we have an ultrasound to check their growth so that'll be interesting.

All strapped up at Hilo Medical Center

As of right now I'm planning to work until Friday April 1st and then take leave but we'll see what the girls have planned.  At most I'm tired at the end of the day and my feet hurt off and on but that's it.  Not a whole lot to complain about and for that I'm super thankful!

Thanks to Aunty B I actually did a maternity photo shoot with her last weekend also.  It was such a great idea and the pics came out awesome.  I'm so glad I have them to look back on this amazing twin pregnancy adventure.  Here's just a few of the shots we got.

Not much room left in my lap these days. 

It's all baby in there!