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.




Monday, December 28, 2009

Christmas 2009 with Bubbies!

What an exciting Christmas this year! It was a blast experiencing the curiosity and jubilance of two mobile Bubbies. I think John and I were just as excited to create the Christmas spirit and atmosphere for the boys as we were watching their reactions to it all. Talk about a fun time - and we realize that each year is just going to get better and better.

I posted three videos: the first is of the Bubbies looking at everything for the first time; second is of Parker riding his new horsey; and third is of Tyler NOT riding his new horsey - it's too funny! I have more video snipetts, but I'll post them later. I hope everyone had a happy holiday so far - I know the Thompsons did. Enjoy!

Boys are curious about these strange animals in their living room!


New wagon - because of Grammie we can pull the boys to the park rather than carry them. Daddy is getting tired of carrying 2-25 pound Bubbies!


Yes, the boys enjoyed the gifts, but they LOVED sitting on them almost better!


Wakey wakey - what's that in our living room? Santa came!


Parker, not sure of this "horsey" thing, actually allows daddy to put him on top!



Hum...I wonder if Tyler is ready to ride yet? Obviously not!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Tyler and Parker Meet Santa!

What a fun time we had this weekend with family. Because we are holding strong with our commitment to give the boys another year of healing and growth during the winter, the Bubbies are not attending big family functions or going to the mall for a yearly "Santa sit". But we did go to Aunt Teresa's house and have a mini Christmas "bash" with the boys this weekend. Although is was nice to see everyone and let the Bubbies explore new surroundings, what made this night even better was Santa Clause! He knew the boys weren't going to see him this year, so he decided to join us for a little bit of celebration. I was sooo excited to see that our first Santa picture was finally going to happen!

Here are a few pictures of a fabulous holiday evening. Enjoy!

Tyler is getting used to Santa...

and runs the moment he gets his footing! So fast you couldn't capture him actually sitting on Santa's lap!


Parker checks out brother's ordeal from a distance.


Then Parker gets his torturous trip on the big guy's lap. Hey, not bad! Parker was looking pretty good with this Santa "business".


So of course we needed a picture with both Bubbies together! They're still pretty good, until...


We just HAD to push it with a family photo, didn't we?

Dinner Time!

It was a lot of fun having everyone around the dinner table, including the boys. Aunt Teresa bought a couple of high chairs so the boys could be a part of the group. I think they were in heaven!

Parker ate his Winnie the Pooh toy, while Tyler...

...threw everything down on the floor and chewed on his burp cloth. He almost got the place mat, but I think we caught that in time! "Manners therapy" is obviously a continued service for the boys!


After Dinner Fun!

Tyler and mommy having a "moment" after dinner.

Parker coaxes cousin Brandon into watching Yo Gabba Gabba on the computer. He's got a "party in his tummy!"

Parker is very content sitting with Grammie - especially when she lets him play with her camera!


Auntie Teresa and Tyler have a "moment".



Tyler loves the HUGE flat screen almost as much as he loves the remote! He'd be happy getting 20 remotes for Christmas - of course, you must add batteries because it's no fun if the buttons don't light up!


Bubbies are changed into their pj's for the ride home. Never a better time to get a shot of Parker in cousin Katie's reindeer antlers!


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

GI & Developmental Therapy

Yesterday was an early morning GI appointment. We were VERY much looking forward to it because we hadn't seen the doctor since Tyler's endoscopy. Since then, Tyler completed his 2-week regimen on antibiotics, then we were told to DC the Carafate (coats the stomach and upper intestine) and see "what happens". Sure enough, after only a few days, Tyler started having symptoms again: crying out at night, throwing up at every feed, tugging at his Mic-key button. We called the GI and told the friendly nurse that his symptoms returned. They started the Carafate back up, but not the antibiotics.

The GI visit was actually one of the better appointments - we actually SAW the doctor, big plus, and got immediate relief for Tyler. When she gave Tyler his check up, she noticed that his button site was pink and irritated. We mentioned how much it'd been hurting him, but we attributed it to the ulcers. She said that it could be the Mic-key and recommended that we switch him to a Mini One, a silicone based product that is bendable and she thinks, more comfortable. So we tried it - the doctor switched out his Mic-key for a Mini One and "wah lahhhh" - he's healed! No more tugging, crying, complaining when we hook him up...nothing. We couldn't believe it!

Both boys were gaining adequate weight and the doctor seemed very pleased with their growth. Tyler now weighs 24lbs and Parker weighs 23lbs, 10oz. We talked about the new feeding specialist and our plan to get the boys eating, but no changes were made to their gavage totals. Hopefully our feeding specialist will get ahold of their nutritionist so they can collaborate on the feeding plan for both boys. The GI told us that she'd like us to push the boys on eating - she's fully supportive of challenging them because she thinks we're still in a good "window" for their eating.

So for now we are holding strong with Tyler's meds and their formula intake. We did take home some of the next level formula, Neocate Jr. We will probably make a switch next week after the Bubbies terrible colds are better. Not all babies adjust to the Neocate Jr. well, so we need to make the change when the boys are "clean" and healthy! And to boot, BOTH boys are cutting teeth like no one's business! Parker is grinding out his molars - he almost has ALL of his teeth through, amazing. Tyler is working on some teeth as well, so besides daily throw ups, we get the major drool factor again! Fun times guys...thanks!

Video Below: Every week our favorite Developmental Therapist, Danielle comes over to "play". The boys LOVE their time with Danielle and fight over who gets "play" with her first. Last week she brought a climbing mat - we are working on Parker's upper body strength and Tyler's...hum...looking at the video below, maybe patience? Ha ha!

Danielle and I thought Tyler would be ALL over the climbing mat - he loves to climb, run, yell...wouldn't you think he'd love being on the mat? Well, Parker ended up LOVING it! He went up and down, up the stairs, down the slide, down the stairs, up the slide...he was in heaven. It was just so cute seeing how much fun Parker was having. I caught a little video of the action - I would've caught more of Tyler but he didn't spend too much time on the mat. Interesting...

Enjoy!

Okay lazy Tyler, can you actually go ALL the way up and ALL the way down next time? No short cuts mister!

Could Parker have more fun? I just love these moments!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Morning Crazies!

Wow, I've been so busy lately, haven't had time to get anything on the blog. I thought I'd post a funny scene that happens regularly at our house. The boys LOVE running around without clothes - and if I'd let them, no diapers. Here's an unedited, long video of the Bubbies running after each other. They get the "morning crazies" sometimes - they laugh, run, follow each other around, steal items back and forth - typical brother stuff, right? It's actually the funniest thing ever, but hard to catch on video. They tend to stop what they're doing when I begin taping, so getting the "morning crazies" on video has been difficult. The laughter and sound of their little running feet just warms my heart - I've dreamed of moments like these, it's nice to get them!

This scene below shows well rested, non-clothed, happy happy boys! I think I'm eating my morning oatmeal while taping so periodically you can hear my bowl and spoon "clank". Gotta multi-task! I'm sure shortly after eating my oatmeal, I folded laundry and picked ALL of the toys up from the floor - cough cough! ;o)

Enjoy!





Tyler's laughter is contagious, isn't it?