Evalynn & Elizabeth's Journal

November 1 thru December 31, 2003

Welcome to Evalynn and Elizabeth's journal!  We were born on August 31, 2003 at 34 weeks, 5 days gestation.  Our due date was October 7th. so we were a bit over 5 weeks early.  Select the links below to get quickly to the section of your choice.  Thanks for visiting.

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October 31 2003: 61 days old  (8wks, 5days chronological or 3wks,3days adjusted age) Happy Halloween!!!  I took some more pictures in their Halloween outfits.  This time, Lynn is in the stripes!

I'm changing things a bit with the journal.  I'm going to have a link to the past two months to shorten the journal page.  I'll do that every two months to keep this manageable.  The web address to the current 2 months worth of entries will not change, so you'll be ok if you have a link set up to the journal.

November 1 2003: 62 days old  (8wks, 6days chronological or 3wks,4days adjusted age) *****LYNN SLEPT 7 HOURS!!!!!!!***** I am in shock!!!  I was still up with Lizzie though at 1 am, so I still didn't get in on the benefits.

November 2 2003: 63 days old  (9wks chronological or 3wks,5days adjusted age) Finally...They BOTH slept the night!!! Daddy put them to bed at 10 pm and they slept until 4:30!!! The other good news...Mommy slept from 11:30 until 4:30!!!! It's been a long time since I've slept 5 hours straight. We went shopping last night (Target, mall, Lowe's and the grocery store). Maybe we wore them out.

It was funny, the trip to the mall was a last minute thing since one needed a diaper change and they were both screaming. We figured that was going to be the easiest place to feed them. Besides we were hungry too. We walked in the Food Court side and they both stopped crying instantly and never made a sound while we were in the mall. That's my girls!!!!

Back to bed...

November 4 2003: 65 days old  (9wks, 2days chronological or 4wks adjusted age) Just got back from the girls' 2 month check-up.

Evalynn weighs 6 lbs, 8 oz and is 19 inches long (not bad for someone that started out at 2 lbs, 12 oz and 16 inches two months ago!). She's not on the chart yet...

Elizabeth weighs 8 lbs, 3 oz and is 20.75 inches long. She started out at 5 lbs and 18 inches. She's in the 8th percentile for weight and 5% for height.

The growth charts are skewed anyway since it goes by chronological age and not adjusted age. My kids will most likely show up below avg on those charts for the next couple years due to that. I never put much into the charts.

I get to switch the girls off the high calorie formula.

Shots went ok. I gave Tylenol before going and when we got home. Elizabeth was generally grumpy the whole time so the screaming she did with the shots didn't sound any different. Evalynn only cried when getting her shots.

One thing I question here on the shots is that they give a combo shot for the main shots, which includes the Hep-B. They were both given the first Hep-B in the hospital. The nurse said that they don't split it so they'll get an extra Hep=B. I wonder what the point is of the one in the hospital now with the combo shot.

They both have Thrush (mouth yeast infection).  It's common in babies two months old and younger.  Evalynn's is worse than Elizabeth's.  Mitzi had it when she was 11 months old (along with chicken pox).

Their next appointment is on December 31st (using 2003's medical reimbursement).

Here's a bottle prop that I made yesterday.  Lizzie is modeling it.  I also made a second one.

November 7 2003: 68 days old  (9wks, 5days chronological or 4wks, 3days adjusted age) The last couple of days have been rough.  The girls had a serious case of the grumpies and would only do cat naps.  If they were not napping or eating, they were screaming.  They did wear themselves out enough to sleep all night.   So, they didn't handle shots well.  I'm not used to that.  Dan and Mitzi never reacted to them.  Lizzie is doing better today, but Lynn is still grumpy.

Mitzi walked into the bedroom this morning with her hands full.  Here's the picture:

Lizzie is the one showing off her big baby blues.

November 11 2003: 72 days old  (10wks, 2days chronological or 5wks adjusted age) The girls are definitely spending more time awake during the day.  Yesterday they just took a couple cat naps, so they're a bit more demanding and I barely have time to eat. 

We had one of our make up showers last Saturday at Beth's house in Bloomington.  It would have been sometime in August, but I was hanging out in the hospital.  We had finger snacks!  We got a megasaucer and the ocean sounds aquarium.  Lizzie likes watching the aquarium and the mobile at the same time.  That sure sucks the batteries!  It's going to really be neat when they can reach the controls on the aquarium.  By then, the mobile will be gone.  We have one more shower on the 29th of November in Beloit.

We're going on our first overnight adventure this weekend.  We're going to Aunt Patti's and Uncle D's in Downers Grove.  John and Elena have their baby shower on Saturday.  The girls will be meeting Grandma Willis and some other family for the first time. 

Made the official formula change yesterday from NeoSure to Similac Advance.  So far, so good.

November 12 2003: 73 days old  (10wks, 3days chronological or 5wks, 1day adjusted age) Here's some pictures I took of the girls this morning.  Lizzie is holding her head up and is sitting in their new Megasaucer.  Lynn doesn't hold her head up well enough yet to be in it.  I was trying to get smile pictures.  Those are not easy to get.  These were the best I could get.

Here's a couple more of Lizzie in the Megasaucer.   She was kicking, cooing, smiling and laughing.  She laughed for the first time this morning.  Yup...she kicked herself to sleep!

November 12 2003: 73 days old  (10wks, 3days chronological or 5wks, 1day adjusted age) I finally caught one of someone smiling.  They're both really starting to smile.  Lizzie is in the pink.

Also, here's a picture I took of them last weekend with their 'Things'.  Obviously, Evalynn is Thing 1 (first born).

November 18 2003: 79 days old  (11wks, 2days chronological or 6wks adjusted age) It's been a rough couple of days here.  Both girls have a good case of the grumpies and scream as soon as I walk away or attempt to take a nap.  They slept well Sunday night, but last night was awful.

We picked up their new high chairs Friday night.  We figured we better do it before I change my mind again on which one I want.  They  have a recline that similar to them being in their car seats, so we're able to do feedings in their high chairs for a change of scenery.  They also discovered TV.  So, every morning, they watch Disney.  They also like watching Football.   They enjoy watching the colors. 

Here's a picture we took of them in their high chairs.

 We spent Saturday night in Downers Grove.  The girls met Grandma Willis for the first time as well as Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Gass and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Well, they're screaming again...

November 21 2003: 82 days old  (11wks, 5days chronological or 6wks, 3days adjusted age) Here's pictures that were taken today.  A good time was not had by all! :)

November 23 2003: 84 days old  (12wks chronological or 6wks, 5days adjusted age) The girls got their ears pierced last night.  It went well with very little tears.  I'm sure the 10 year old girl behind us shed a lot more!  She was so scared.  Lynn and Lizzie showed her that it wasn't too bad.  The girls cried or were stunned  more when their ears were wiped with the cold antiseptic before the piercing then they were with the actual piercing.  They take bath time a lot worse.  Lynn actually slept between ears.  I wanted to get them done young as I have control over the cleaning and turning.  The girls will not even notice them and mess/tug their ears.    It's hard to see Lizzie's earring, but you can see Lynn's.  The studs are October's birthstone.  The stone is a light pink.  I thought it would be a good way to remember the month they were actually due.

We ordered something called a Miracle Blanket last night/early this morning.  We trying to find a way to get the girls to sleep better at night without them being in their carseats/swing/bouncers.  This swaddles them without breaking their arms free.  It allows the option for them to let them kick their legs around.  We're hoping for a few more hours of sleep a night and a better schedule.  This will make me feel better that they will not have any lose blankets on them and risking them pulling them up over their heads.  We should be able to get a few months with the miracle blankets.  They were a bit pricey, but I may be worth it for regular good nights sleep by all!  Here more information on the miracle blanket for those that are curious:  http://www.miracleblanket.com

I'm now getting to posting pictures from last weekend.  Below are pictures (all with Evalynn except for the picture with Aunt Terri.  Aunt Terri and Lizzie had a great time together.) with their Grandma Willis (Michael's Mom),  Great Aunt Terri; Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Gass .  I finally got a good picture of Dan (also with Evalynn).

November 28 2003: 89 days old  (12wks, 5days chronological or 7wks, 3days adjusted age) We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  Our Thanksgiving was a quiet one at home.  It was just the six of us.  I did ham and sweet potatoes in the crockpots (found good and easy recipes on the internet).  We also had mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, biscuits and cherry cobbler for dessert. 

Today, we set up the Christmas tree and outside decorations.  We're wondering how this will go next year when the girls are mobile.  It seemed like the girls liked the Christmas music and watching the lights on the tree.  It didn't get above 30 degrees and had snow showers most of the day.

One of the two miracle blankets we ordered came it (apparently the other one was backordered--did anyone know that there is a cotton shortage?).  We wrapped Lizzie in it to figure out how to do it.  Within 10 minutes of having it on her, she was calm and shortly after that she was sleeping.   I think it's already a hit!  So, until we get the other one in, Lizzie will take daytime naps wrapped in the blanket and Lynn will use it at night.  We usually have problems getting Lizzie to nap during the day and Lynn to get to sleep at night.

Tomorrow is my makeup baby shower at my sisters house in Beloit.  It was supposed to happen back in June, but then I ended up on bedrest.

Wow, I cannot believe the girls will be 3 months old Monday!!!

December 1 2003: 92 days old  (13wks, 1days chronological or 7wks, 6days adjusted age) The girls are THREE MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!!  Where did the time go?

The shower went well.  The girls have a lot of new clothes, winter bonnets, handprint kits, holiday outfits and lots of other things.  We should be set for most of the winter with the exception of Medium onesies and sleepers. 

We went to Uncle John and Aunt Elena's Sunday night and witnessed Evalynn reach for a toy on their Lennon bouncer. 

Lizzie rolled over tonight.  She has to get mad to do it!

Here's pictures from Saturday's shower.  The first one is the girls' Great Grandma Howe (Mommy's Maternal Grandma) with Evalynn and their Great Great Aunt Mary (Mommy's Maternal Grandfather's Sister).  The next picture (going across) is Grandma Wilson with both girls (Mommy's Mom).  Evalynn is in her right arm.  The third picture is of Grandma and Great Great Aunt Mary (I think Grandma is holding Evalynn).  The fourth picture is again Grandma (holding Elizabeth) and Aunt Marjorie (Mommy's sister) is holding Evalynn.  The fifth picture is of Sara holding Evalynn (Mommy's friend since 9 years old).

December 2 2003: 93 days old  (13wks, 2days chronological or 8wks adjusted age) Here's some pictures I took of the girls tonight.  Lizzie was such a ham.  Lynn was not!  Look at Lizzie hold that head up!

December 6 2003: 97 days old  (13wks, 6days chronological or 8wks, 4 days adjusted age) We've been busy here.  I've been busy making Christmas presents for the adults.  Money is tight this year, so we wanted to get the thought across without it costing too much.  Sorry if it's not much.

Another way we save is by not having pictures professionally done.  I try as much as I can to get some pictures to look as close to professional as I can.   We have all the technology here to do it ourselves.

Lizzie really starts moving around now when doing tummy time.  She's rolled over a few more times and scoots from one end of the blanket/afghan to the other.  She loves sticking her butt in the air while she's on her hands and toes.  She's beginning to figure out she gets the greatest distance that way. 

Lynn doesn't do much moving yet and is still working on lifting her head up.  Tummy time is extremely important for her so she can build those upper body and neck muscles.  Those two extra weeks in NICU has set Lynn that far behind her sister.  Lynn also does not really show much ambition to move around much.  She's getting better though.  I will usually let them sit there and fuss as they're not extremely fond of  tummy time, but they have to do it.  I also don't want to show that I'm giving in too often.  I like to try to get them a half hour to a full hour a day on their tummies.  Tummy time wasn't as much of a big deal when Dan was a baby since that was before the whole back to sleep campaign.

This morning, the girls fussed themselves to sleep while doing tummy time. So, it can't be too bad!

It's parade weekend around here.  The guys are leading a parade for CAP today in Bloomington and tomorrow in Le Roy.  Mitzi is in the Christmas of Lights Parade tonight here in Minonk.  We may venture out with the girls for the Le Roy parade tomorrow since it's short and the temperature is supposed to be between 45-50 degrees.

We got our first measurable snowfall Thursday night/Friday morning.  We received somewhere between 2.5 and 4 inches of snow. 

The girls' and I did a girls day out yesterday at the mall with a couple of friends that I met online.  Jenn brought her girls, Megan and Heather.  Jenn and Amy are expecting babies in June.  Amy is expecting twins...I'm hoping for girls!  So, we were giving Amy a small taste of what to expect.  We'll ease her into it!

The girls slept 11 straight hours last night!  This was with them in their miracle blankets in the car seats in the crib.  We did try crib only with the miracle blankets and they didn't sleep as well.  It's warmer in their car seats and they're upright.  I heard they make wedges that can go under the mattress to lift it and some parents place a heating pad under the mattress to warm it up a bit.  I have them take naps in the crib with miracle blankets so they'll get used to sleeping without car seats.

Daddy is going out to New Jersey next Tuesday for work and returns Saturday.  Grandma Willis is coming out from Boston to help out. So, we're trying to get the house cleaned up and presents finished, boxed and wrapped.

Here's some more pictures.  One is with them in their Miracle Blankets (Lynn is in the pink blanket).  The next is me trying to get the perfect Christmas Picture (Lizzie is in the green outfit).

Better get moving...

December 7 2003: 98 days old  (14wks chronological or 8wks, 5 days adjusted age) We finally got family pictures done this morning.  Here they are!

Well, we're going to have to watch how many pictures we put out to the website.  We hit a limit and had problems posting the family pictures out.  So, I'll be moving things around a bit to use space better.

December  8 2003: 99 days old  (14wks, 1day chronological or 8wks, 6 days adjusted age) Wow, 99 days old!!!!  They slept 12 hours again last night!!!  I hope this trend continues!

December  17 2003: 108 days old  (15wks, 4days chronological or 9wks, 2 days adjusted age) Sorry I haven't updated lately.  It's been busy here and I've had a touch of the stomach flu, so I've been on the blah side.  Michael's Mom was out last week to help out while He was out in New Jersey for work.  The girls got some bonding time with Grandma.

We had a Christmas celebration at Marjorie's house (my sister).  The girls really made out!  I'm going to have to get some of those preemie clothes moved out (there some that still fit Lynn (I call those the not so preemie, preemie clothes as they'd never fit a real preemie)).  We plan to donate the preemie clothes to the NICU.

The girls are doing great.  With the exception of last night, we've done great at sleeping 10-12 hours a night.  Lynn was up at 3:30 this morning, but was back to sleep around 4.  We're still using the Miracle Blankets and also use them for their 3 hour nap in the afternoon.  Without the blanket, they only catnap during the day (less than 45 minutes).

Gotta go get Lizzie changed.  I just wanted to get out here to post an update. 

Also, I did create a Willis Family Holiday Update off our homepage (http://willis00.home.mchsi.com/default.htm if the link above does not work).

December  19 2003: 110 days old  (15wks, 4days chronological or 9wks, 2 days adjusted age) I tried something different today with the girls.  I put them on their knees in front of the nursing pillow (that I don't really use anymore) to see what they'd do.  They love it!!!  They bounce up and down and try picking the colors off the pillow.  I put their mirror up so they can look into that too.  They do great at holding their heads up.  We're able to do that for about 20 minutes before they get bored.  It was great!

December  29 2003: 120 days old  (3 months, 29 days chronological or 11wks, 6 days adjusted age) I hope everyone had a good Christmas.  Ours went well.  Grandma Willis spent the week here.  She loved spending time with the girls (and the rest of us too!).   The girls should be mobile the next time she sees them in July!  Daddy also had the week off.

Obviously the girls were oblivious to any of the celebrations other than all the exposure and stimulation.  Next year should be real fun.  They slept through most of the Christmas celebration at Uncle John and Aunt Elena's.  They slept from 1:30 to 5:30 and then came home and slept all night.

We went to Downers Grove for Christmas at Aunt Patti's and Uncle D's on Saturday. 

All the decorations went down yesterday and we're trying to get back to 'Normal'.  The piano also got moved from the dining room into the living room so Dad can start teaching Mitzi to play.  It also gave us room to put the high chairs.

The girls are smiling and laughing lots.  Sissy really got the girls laughing this afternoon.  It was cute! 

The girls go for their 4 month check-up and shots Wednesday.  We'll get to see how much they've grown.  We've been doing some cereal feeding mainly to get used to eating from a spoon.  They love it and do great!

Here's pictures of the girls taken Christmas morning while waiting for Dad to get back with Dan and Mitzi so we could open presents.  Evalynn is in the yellow gown.  This was caught during a happy time!

Here's Mommy with Elizabeth and Daddy with Evalynn checking what Santa put in their stockings.  Wow...new CD's...Dr Seuss, Nursery Rhymes and Bedtime Lullabies. 

The girls have been getting crankier as teething season approaches (woo hoo).  There's also lots of drooling going on.   We go through lots of bibs now!

Better go...Lynn is having one of those cranky moments now!

I cannot believe the girls will be four months old in two days!!!

December  31 2003: 122 days old  (4 months chronological or 12wks, 1 day adjusted age) Wow!  4 months old!!!!  The girls are growing so fast....

The doctor appointment went great.  Here's the stats: (I included past measurement to give an idea of how their growing)

I'm going to archive the last two months of entries...You'll be able to find them by clicking on the appropriate link below.  I'll carry over today though.

Here's our 4 month pictures!  Evalynn has Eeyore and Elizabeth has Piglet.  Eeyore and Piglet were Christmas gifts from Grandma Willis.

HAPPY NEW YEAR from all of us!!!

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