Welcome to Tyler and Parker Thompson's Blog

Tyler and Parker Thompson arrived on June 23, 2008 at only 26 weeks and 4 days old, weighing 1 pound 6 ounces (Parker) and 1 pound 10 ounces (Tyler). Parker spent 129 days (home 10/30/08) in the NICU, while brother Tyler spent 143 (home 11/13/08). We are thrilled to have our family complete with both boys home!

This blog was created by John (the daddy) to inform family and friends (and now new acquaintances) of the twins progression. Below is the blog archive dating back to the week Heather (the mommy) was admitted to the hospital. We try to post weekly updates, but on occasion the week gets the best of us.




Thursday, April 30, 2009

Twins x 2

The boys had their first play date with the Campo Twins! It was just too fun watching the babies bounce around in their activity centers while looking at each other curiously. The pic below is great because it shows the babes up close. Tyler is playing with Logan (or trying to steal froggy) while Parker and Sam play by themselves contently.


Bye Bye Breast Milk

Boooooo hooooo! It HAD to happen, but what a SAD time for me! With the boys on an elemental formula and not able to take my breast milk, I stopped pumping a while ago. But I just couldn't bring myself to throw away my months of labor - the left over breast milk that's been stored in the freezer for months. Well, John convinced me that the freezer was more valuable than my denial so he took the final step and tossed the little bottles of dedication. As he dumped the little white gems, I sobbed inside remembering the 3am pumpings and the drives to and from the hospital where I'd "extract" in the backseat - had to make the most of our daily traveling, right? Ugh, what a time!
I tried to donate the milk to a bank but because I wasn't screened ahead of time and didn't freeze the milk using the bank's procedures, it didn't qualify. Too bad - I would've gladly given the milk to someone in need. And to support Salma Hayek, if I were traveling in Africa and came across a starving baby, I too would feed it - if I had the ability. Good for you Salma!

Typical Bubbies

This is typical Parker...bottom lip out, paci stuck on thumb!
...and typical Tyler, smiley with tongue out!

Sleepies

I love sleeping babies and sleeping baby pics are just fun!


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

What a Week!

Well, of course I have to talk about this photo of Parker first! His head is so big that every time I take a shirt on or off of him, it sticks on his head! Not Tyler...usually always Parker! So of course it happened again and I just had to crack up when Parker started laughing and smiling as his shirt was still on his head like a nun's habit! These guys are such daily entertainment for me...the best reality show ever!

So we've had a busy week at the Thompson household. After the Easter extravaganza, Auntie Christine and cousins Alyssa and Lindsey came for a visit from Southern California! The boys had so much fun playing with their cousins for the first time. They read books, sang songs, did the baby hold/pass around and even snuck in some sleep. The boys had such a blast and didn't possess any "stranger danger" at all! See fun pics of the girls visiting below!

Right after the So CA Schrupps left, cousin Jillian flew in from Oregon! It was Jillian's second time to come visit the boys - she came back in November when John was on a trip and stayed with me to help with the babies. Well, they must have remembered Jillian because they were immediately taken with her and she became part of our "process" right away (dirty diapers, feeding babies and coaxed into reading/singing time). The interesting thing about Jillian's visit is that she could clearly see the boy's progress and also got to experience their ever-changing personalities. She witnessed their jealousy, figured out their "fake" cry, and could almost determine the difference between a poopy diaper and stinky toot! But the best part of her stay was seeing how much the boys love her - they treated her like she was also their caretaker. That's a big compliment from the boys - we were sad to see her go today!

Last week was our first appointment with a feeding specialist. She saw Tyler's terrible reflux (from watching his behavior while we fed him) and told us that until it's better, he most likely won't increase his volume (thus, needing the feeding tube). But what we can do in the meantime is introduce him to a variety of tastes and textures to prevent an oral aversion (which happens often with micro preemies). So John pulled out their new high chairs this weekend (because our house needs two more HUGE pieces of baby furniture in it) and the boys had their first food play session. As you can see from the pictures below, the boys enjoyed it. Now I wasn't as thrilled because I see a new daily mess added to my schedule - doh! Parker has been referred to the feeding specialist as well, so we will be following up with him in a month or so. Unfortunately I've talked to a number of moms across the U.S. who have micro preemies and MOST of the babies have eating issues. Some of the issues go on for many years - eek! We're hoping to be proactive and hopeful that the boys will soon desire food!

Okay, enough chit chat - here are some fun pics below!

Food Play


Tyler actually chewing on a biscuit! No way!

Doesn't Ty look happy with food play?
Tyler: "It tastes okay, but throwing everything off the edge is what REALLY makes me smile!"

Parker chewing on the bowl, not the biscuit!


Looking pretty happy with food play!




Just the beginning of the oatmeal mixture and oatmeal mixture-covered toys on the carpet that I DIDN'T cover - doh! Slap head, now begin scrubbing!


Family Visitors!


Here's Parker sporting a new outfit from cousins Alyssa and Lindsey!
Parker:
"Come on...
give peace a chance!"

Auntie Christine holding a tired Parker!

Cousin Alyssa with a falling asleep Tyler!


Cousin Lindsey Lou Who enjoying her time with the bubbies!




Cousin Jillian getting one last hug from Tyler before leaving!


Monday, April 13, 2009

Bunny Boys!

Happy Easter from "Bunny Boy" Tyler...
...and "Bunny Boy" Parker!

Parker: "Not again mommy...haven't you learned? Not another silly hat!"

The boys had their first Easter dinner at Aunt Teresa's house! What an adventure - our first BIG outting with the boys. We brought the entire living room, including activity centers, bouncy chairs, and boppies. The boys were VERY good considering they'd never been around a large group of people ...since the NICU that is - ha ha!

So, in all of the excitement I ended up with only a handful of pictures from the BIG event. Nice, mommy. I'm sure my family has a bunch of pics, but my camera ended up producing only two good shots of the boys...this one with Tyler grabbing some wine. Of course, Minnie Mouse is on the glass, so I'm sure he's grabbing for her not the wine, right? ha ha!

And here's a picture of Parker with Velear. The look on Parker's face was pretty much how the boys looked the first hour - sort of stunned. After the boys got used to the unfamiliar faces and were put in their activity centers, they began laughing, smiling and acting like themselves again!
Easter with the family was a success - whew!


Bunny Gifts!


Before going over to auntie's, Grandma T stopped by with bunnies and cards. Poor Parker looks so tired in this pic and he hasn't even left for Easter dinner yet...rut roh!

Luckily, grandmas came through with Easter goodies! A few days before Easter, grammie stopped by with goodies for the boys! We're so glad the Easter bunny visits grandmas!

Okay, John and I were surprised at how much fun the boys had ripping open their gifts!


And of course they loved eating their gifts just as much! Good times!


New Tooth Pics!


Finally an OK (can't really say good) picture of Parker's teeth! See those little white spots?

Tyler's teeth are harder to see because of his drooling glare, but with my finger pushing his tongue back, we finally got a clear view!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Tyler Sits Up!

Tyler is a little "sitting up" champ! Danielle, our infant development therapist, had Tyler sitting up almost the entire session! He either sat or stood up (with help of course) the entire time. Good job buddy! The last couple of days Tyler has been able to sit up for quite a while without tipping over. The only problem is that he doesn't know how to get "out" of it so he'll sit there and cry when he's done. I tried to show him how he can lean over and lay down but he's not quite getting it. I think he needs more practice!

It's just so fun seeing the boys progress so quickly! Parker is also sitting up but seems to falls over after a couple of minutes - or when he sees something he wants. He'll lunge at objects, forgetting that he doesn't crawl or walk yet! Is he going to be the child that jumps off the roof because he's sure he can fly? We are in trouble!

Besides both boys now having both bottom teeth (yep, both boys have two little white teeth in front), the only other news comes from our Pulmonologist. Our Thursday appointment produced exciting news! The doctor checked both boys and congratulated us for a job well done. He said that by looking at them, reviewing their charts and recognizing that they did not get sick this RSV season, John and I did an excellent job and should be commended. He asked me to produce a monthly photo collage of the boys that he can use in his teachings and said that if he was going to do a story on successes, he'd send the news cameras to our house. After the appointment I looked for the band leading our "Good Parents" parade but it didn't show - weird, huh? Ha ha! He obviously made us feel good. BUT what made us feel better is the fact that the boys were given a green light to begin going out into the world. We need to remain vigilant about people washing hands before touching and not being around sick people, but on the most part they can begin socializing with others! I "smell" play dates in our future! He also told us that the boys WILL NOT need RSV shots next year - in fact, they won't even qualify! Wow...this is HUGE! We were walking on clouds when we left his office! Now, we still have to go back in a couple of months for check ups and their daily breathing treatments will continue, but on the most part the boys lungs are healing/growing right on track! Yipppppeeee!

Below are some fun pics from around the house!

Boys Sit Up And Play


The boys are practicing their sitting up skills!

Parker takes a little tumble into Tyler's lap. How do these things happen?

Tyler: "What's this? You got to be kidding!"


"You come at me, I'll poke you in the eye!"




Parker:
"Brother is torturing me! Heeeelp!"


Park Wing Ding


Parker: "I'll show brother...I'll kick our basket of toys!"

"Now I'll throw a wing ding!"

"Hum...
what else? Thinking..."


"I know! I'll arch back and scream a little!"



"Now I'll scream A LOT! Hello...does anybody hear me?"



Chill Ty


Tyler: "Not sure what brother's problem is..."


"...but I have more important things to do, like eat this rattle!"