Happy Holiday

Happy Holiday!

We had a wonderful, very low key Christmas and plan to have the same New Year. I'm sure John and I will be snoozing as the clock strikes midnight this year - something that hasn't happened as long as we've been together. What does this mean? I guess it confirms how different our lives are since having our little miracles!

As you can see from Tyler, he's telling everyone how excited he is about his first Christmas! John happened to find a sale at Babies R Us and bought out all of their 68 cent bibs so now the boys are wearing a variety of cultural and holiday bibs. So don't be surprised if this summer you see the boys sporting bibs saying "Let It Snow" and "Grandmas Little Latkes".

So John's last blog mentioned our new found "hope" since meeting with the GI. We spent the week changing the boys formula, bottles/nipples and reflux medication. It was a tough week for the change because the boys were used to the thick formula we'd been giving them. Neither little guy transitioned well and by Monday morning BOTH boys lost weight! DOH! Grrr...so the PA (Physician's Assistant) changed their reflux med once more and would like them to come back on Wednesday for another weight check. We weren't giving the boys 100% new formula yet because it has a "taste" to it, but we needed to make the switch to find out if it's going to work. Monday we immediately gave the boys full doses of their new formula and so far they are eating it - not enough mind you, but they are taking some of it. Unfortunately Parker's eating has not gotten back up to speed since the change - this is the first time he hasn't gained weight so I think we're ruining his eating abilities with the change.

So far the reflux has not gone away - I don't think it will for a while. The boys still have their episodes, but I think it's gotten a little better. Unfortunately because of it, their aversion to the bottle remains and we now have to work on getting them to think more positively about the bottle and the "act" of eating. Not easy with a newborn who doesn't reason. We'll be seeing a feeding/behavior specialist in the next week or so with hope that she can give us some tips on changing eating attitudes. So weird for me because my family NEVER has problems eating too little...ha ha! It's hard to relate, I know!

Christmas was a good diversion from the day to day bottle battling. Santa left the boys some new nerf balls and a teddy bear that recites "Twas The Night Before Christmas". They really liked their gifts. Mommy received a new license plate from daddy that says, "PZNAPD2" and she got daddy a digital picture frame with a photo chip FULL of pictures of the boys. The license plate stands for "two peas in a pod" but the license plate with "2" in front was taken so he got one with the "2" at the end - ha ha! We enjoyed visits from family and good yummy food. It was so nice to enjoy a quick holiday celebration and makes us excited for future Christmas eves and days with the boys. I simply look forward to the day we can take the boys to meet Santa and not worry about them catching something from sitting on his lap - ha ha! We hope your holiday was a good one as well!

We'll let you know how the visit goes tomorrow - with feeding tube or without? We'll find out...

Enjoy some silly pics below!

Mi Primera Navidad!

"Why do they dress me in this stuff? Could this be more humiliating?"



"Not sure what brother is talking about. I think I look pretty cute!"

Uncle can't wait for prime rib so decides to eat Tyler's hand - yummo!

Hmmm...13 pounds of prime rib for five adults...is there enough?

What happens to sleeping babies.

Cool Guys on Changing Table

Daddy was trying to figure out how to switch babies on the changing table and decided to put them together...for the fun of it? (not sure...ha ha)
But in the process, he ended up getting some silly changing table pics - cool dudes!

"I'll punch you in the eye if you don't watch out - and my brother here will let you have it!"


Tyler thinks it's just too fun to lay on the table with brother.

Bathtime Fun

Where's daddy holding Ty's sleeper?

"Hello daddy, I love a bath!"

Parker is having a good time!

Tyler looking a little scared, but he really does enjoy baths!

Baths Take 2

"What's with these tubes...grrr!"

And of course the boys LOVE bathtime when cannulas are off - and we love the naked faces!

Such pretty boys (John would kill me for saying "pretty")...okay, handsome!

Tyler

Parker

Hope and hard work

Started on Christmas Eve Finished on Christmas Day :)
I guess I shouldn't be so long winded:):)


Having my college degree pretty much guarantees one thing. It guarantees that I have a tremendous amount of information in my head that I will never have the need to nor ever want to access. The process of spending more than seven years in college to attain my teaching credential and master's degree means that I was exposed to more information that I ever wanted. It was a means to an end. The worst part is that most of the information I spent so much time and money learning has long since been relegated to the deep dark recesses of my mind, where I seriously doubt I could access it should I need to. Once in a while though, once in a great while, a little piece, a tiny morsel, a seemingly insignificant shred of information rears up and finds its' way into an active portion of my brain and becomes relevant. This next piece of information is an example of that exact process. I honestly don't even remember in which class it was conveyed (my apologies to whatever professor imparted this tid bit of wisdom) but I do remember a philosophy on cultural class systems very well. The theory is simple: you must have a middle class within a society or revolution is inevitable. You see, the vast majority of people in any society are destined to remain in the exact same social class as their parents. If you are rich, you will undoubtedly witness your children perpetuate the class system and achieve the same status. Poor people will see their children establish their roots in the same neighborhoods and with the same income level as they currently reside, etc. Of course there are exceptions to this rule and there are lots of examples of people who raise themselves above their parents socio-economic status. Conversely, there are those who drop to a lower class. However, the vast majority of people will continue in the path that their ancestors have established. Despite the inevitability of remaining in the same class, most people will not rebel against the society that they live in if there is a middle class. You see the theory the professor was outlining is one of Hope and Hard Work. As long as there is the hope that one can better themselves they will work within the constraints that have been established. If you work hard....if you commit yourself then you can make a better life for yourself. Nobody really analyzes the odds of whether this will actually come to fruition, and many people will not even commit to the process to make it happen. They will find happiness right where they are at. They will not need to make huge sacrifices and work all hours of the day and night to chase the "supposed" better life. They will find comfort and happiness being who they are.........But......if you take away the opportunity for them to do so.......if you tell them that there is no possible way that they can climb the class ladder should they decide to......well then that's a different story........."don't tell me I can't".......there has to be hope that I can should I choose to........hence the middle class. If a poor person was faced with being poor or rich, they would realize the leap to being rich is far too monumental and they would not perceive any hope.......devoid of hope, rebellion comes and thus revolution. Hope and Hard Work is the next chapter in the drama that has become our sons and their eating difficulties. Previously on "The Life and Times of Tyler and Parker" (okay, I've watched way too much TV in my life) we were once again facing the feeding tube for Tyler. The most recent delay came when we met with the dietician and the feeding specialist, who had us change the feeding regime. We tried that over the weekend.....to no avail.....feeds went down not up........both boys were now having issues......we resigned ourselves to the fact that Monday mornings appointment with the Gastro-Intestinal Specialist would show a further decline in weight gain and they would insert the tube. We were just hoping that they would do it in the office rather than sending us to the NICU to make it happen. We were done hoping.......done trying to avoid the inevitable......we had tried EVERYTHING and just not been successful. The appointment was over an hour and a half long........the outcome.........HOPE......yes HOPE. For the first time a doctor looked us in the eye and said "We can solve this......we can fix this problem" more importantly than the words was the simple fact that she knew exactly what we were going through. She knew, not only because she sees the problem all the time and treats it, but also because one of her twin boys had reflux issues. For the first time it seemed as if we weren't just trying something new that may work......for the first time she had a definitive plan that has worked before with children with the exact same problem. Suddenly there was HOPE. So for the past three days we have been experiencing the HARD WORK that goes with the hope. The first stages of the plan are actually pretty simple. Step 1: change the medication. IN her never ending research on line, Heather had just gotten done reading something that said that the biggest problem treating reflux is under dosing with medication. The specialist changed the medication and drastically increased the dosage. We thought this would be difficult considering the drastic increase in volume that they need to take, but we found a way to accomplish it. The hard work comes with Step 2: Change their formula ( yes, once again we are changing formula......which means I have to, once again, return a bunch of stuff to the store). This formula is so specialized that it can only be received through a prescription. The bad news is that it has a very adverse taste, that the boys reject even further. We are to slowly mix the new formula in with the old to get them used to it. Gradually increasing the ratio until they are on the new stuff completely. Putting myself through college while working 50 hours a week was hard...... I have spent many "all nighters" in my past trying to get things done.......during homecoming week each year I work four 20 hours days back to back.......I've done some pretty hard things in my life.......nothing compares to this.........Feeding the boys right now is easily the hardest thing I have ever had to do....period. Every three hours we have to feed the boys something that they instinctively don't want......that they reject......that they literally fight against......but it's the only way so we do it. Every three hours, we have to battle with the boys for over an hour to get as many calories in them as we can. The hope is this: after a few days the new medication will control the reflux, which will in turn make it easier for them to eat without experiencing acute pain.......which will hopefully begin to reverse the negative association with eating......which will hopefully allow their natural instincts to return......the instinct that tells them that hunger pains are positively resolved through eating. This is the HOPE.......the HOPE that we are clinging to.......the HOPE that becomes the cornerstone of the hard work.....the hardest work I have ever done........this is the HOPE that is preventing the revolution.........the partial metaphoric and partial literal revolution that I fight back every three hours.......you see without this hope.....without the middle class......I would drown in negativity and despair and would rebel.......there has to be HOPE.....hope that all of your hard work will have a positive outcome.....hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel......this hope is what we found in the GI specialists office on Monday........tis the season of hope....the season of miracles......so it's only fitting that I write this blog on Christmas Day.......Santa, I'm awaiting my Christmas miracle.......and I know......I know.......that Tyler and Parker are on the Nice list!!!!!

Sleeping pics!

I think everyone is ready for some pics! I love watching the boys sleep and periodically we'll (well, I - ha ha) put the boys together for "funzies"! Here are a couple of photo "shoots" with boys sleeping - sooo sweet!

So Tyler has a habit of kicking and punching Parker without realizing it - here he is after hitting Parker on the head. At least I assume he doesn't realize it - ha ha!
Yes, those are my feet below...pink socks - nice shot mom!



Doing the Macarana Tyler?

Sleeping Lovies

Tyler: "Mom, you got that blasted camera again? Give me break!"

Ty and the NICU....take 23

Friday Dec 19th 11pm

No, there are no obscure references or wandering stories to be had today......I simply don't have the energy. Today, was yet another exhausting day that found us on the Tyler NICU roller coaster for what seemed to be the millionth time. Quick synopsis: One week ago Ty had a bad weigh in at docs office (surprise surprise)......he scheduled Ty to be admitted to the NICU on Sunday for the insertion of the feeding tube. I took the time to analyze etc. and figured out I'd take a total of three weeks off to get Heather the help we need to stabilize him. Sunday comes and Ty has gaines four ounces (minimum to stay out of NICU is one ounce per day) so the doc agreed to try the experiment with another weigh in on Tuesday which kept him out of the NICU. Heather and I hunker down and micromanage every feed and spend upwards of an hour on each feed. We do this every two and half hours. Tuesday comes and Ty has gained another four ounces...YIPPPEEEE!!!! As exhausting as it was we felt we had at least found a solution. Next weigh in was on Friday (today) We continued with the extreme focus with renewed hope of a solution. We were successful with maintaining the same amount of food intake each day as we had the previous four thus we should continue to gain two ounces a day as we have for the past four. This morning we arrive with smiles on our face knowing we will get good news........Three full days have gone by, so we should have gained six ounces.....all we need is three to stay out of the NICU.......how many did we gain????.......drum roll please........Ty gained exactly 0 ounces......yes, you heard me correctly.......he didn't gain a damn thing!!!!! how is this even possible.....nothing has changed......he's eaten the exact same amount and gained nothing????? We succumb to the inevitable conclusion that he has to go back to the NICU and get the tube. We return home and begin preparing........only to find out that the appointment we have at 2:30 has changed everything once again. At 2:30 we were supposed to go down town to meet with a feeding specialist and a nutritionist to get some new insights on the problem at hand. We assumed this would be canceled. The doc and the specialists conferenced and decided that we should keep the appointment to see if the specialists may be able to offer a different solution that may avoid the tube. After an hour and a half appointment the conclusion was rendered that just supported what we had theorized already. It all comes down to the reflux. Tyler (Parker as well, but not quite as badly) has developed a negative association with eating. Because he experiences such acute pain EVERY time he eats, he has developed a negative association with eating. The smell of milk (or formula) on a pacifier is supposed to elicit a positive response.....the child is supposed to become interested and "root" around trying to get closer to the scent and desire it. Tyler has the EXACT OPPOSITE reaction. He violently rears his head in the opposite direction. All of our patience and persistence to get him to eat despite this negative association are succeeding in barely keeping his head above water, but are still reinforcing the negative psychological response since he continues to experience pain with every feed. The only solution is to solve the reflux......more on that in a second. We left the meeting with a new last ditch effort. We will change everything about his feeds hoping to increase his volume intake. He now eats formula with rice cereal in it.....enough rice cereal that it basically takes on the consistency of a thin pancake batter.....the philosophy being that more solid food will decrease the reflux effect. Now we will take away the rice cereal completely, switch to a completely new nipple and bottle system and increase the caloric content of the formula by mixing in more powder. The increased powdered formula will increase the calories per ounce and hopefully put some weight on him. The elimination of the rice cereal will theoretically allow him to eat more easily and thus expend less energy by eating a thinner substance. Basically a complete change of what we have been doing, since it doesn't seem to be working. The bottom line is that Heather and I aren't holding our breath. We will put the new system into action and hope that we have stumbled into the solution, but it really does seem to all completely hinge on finding a way to control the reflux. That is where Monday morning comes into play. At 7 am we have back to back appointments with a Pediatric Gastro-Intestinal specialist. This is our last hope of getting any new strategies to reduce the reflux which is causing all the drama. Most of the research we have done leads back to the conclusion that they have to out grow the problem. In order to outgrow the problem they have to eat.....therein lies the dilemma. So we are expecting the GI specialist to spend a lot of time assessing, but ultimately coming to the conclusion that he needs a feeding tube in order to increase caloric intake in order to grow in order to out grow his reflux problem. Bottom line: there is an extremely high probability that Tyler's Christmas present will be a tube in the nose!!! We have pretty much exhausted all possibilities and have held off the inevitable as long as we can. One more challenge to face......one more hurdle to leap over........one more obstacle to overcome.......and hopefully.....one more story to tell in the future........can that future be more sooner than later please........please!!!!!

Stay of Execution

Sunday Dec 14th 4pm

I've been prone to bouts of exaggeration from time to time and I must admit that the title of today's blog finds me guilty once again. While the prospect of one of my little heroes being readmitted to the hospital genuinely feels like a death sentence it would probably be more apropos to liken it to being punched in the gut over and over again while simultaneously being forced to listen to country music......extremely depressing, painful and unpleasant. While the term "execution" is subject to interpretation, the verb "stay' is completely relevant and the subject of this blog. Yes, we have received a stay in the re admittance of Tyler to the hospital. Everything was all set for him today at noon. The hospital had called to confirm and his new residence in the Elephant room was all set. Well it didn't happen. It still may, but for now he is still sleeping comfortable in Casa de Thompson. The last forty eight hours have been interesting. Along with being guilty of the occasional exaggeration, Heather and I both share a certain degree of OCD.....or maybe we're just anal retentive.....however you diagnose us, the fact is that ever since the boys have come home we have been logging a lot of things. Maybe it is a disease we caught in the NICU. Watching the nurses weigh every diaper, measure every feed etc. has worn off on us. Among other things, every feed they have taken since being home has been carefully measured out and logged appropriately. It has been excruciatingly tedious to measure every cc of food before and after each feed. Daily feeds totalled and logged on a separate sheet to track their day to day process. Why? Well, we need to track each days caloric intake to make sure they are meeting their minimums......make sure they are gaining weight......they don't have any "gas in the tank" and thus if they don't gain appropriately then they go back on the feeding tube......blah blah blah......you know the drill by now. Anyway, in the midst of the depression of knowing Ty was headed back to the fifth floor of UC Davis Med Center, we began analyzing everything in an attempt to figure out if we could have possibly done anything different. In analyzing his daily feeds over the past four weeks a pattern developed.....now's the point when you can all scream "what a math geek!!!!!" you'd be justified :):)..... Well, we noticed that on days that both of us were home the entire day his feeds were higher than on those days that Heather had to do most of the days work on her own while I was at work. Heather's been doing a fantastic job, but we came to conclusion that two special needs children are extremely difficult to juggle. When I would get home from work and send Heather to get some sleep, I would get a taste of it myself. You'd be feeding one while the other is fussing and waiting to be fed. You'd wind up unable to put in the amount of time necessary to "coax" a full feed out of them. They take the first part of the feed, get immediate pain from the acid reflux, then immediately shut down and begin fighting against taking any more. You have to sit there with them for quite some time (sometimes up to an hour) to work with them on taking more. This process has to happen every 2 and 1/2 hours for each boy. That breaks down and doesn't happen when your getting tag teamed by both of them. Friday I took the day off and guess what? Friday's and Saturday's feeds went up. Imagine that. When there are two full time caretakers in the household we can keep our head just above water. Thus the proposal. This morning I called our Pediatrician, who happened to be on call, and told him Ty's feeds were up over the last two days. I relayed my theory to him on two full time parents being home. Being a teacher has some huge benefits. I get two weeks off for winter break after this week. If I take this week off, I will have three solid weeks of being able to be at home with the family. This should be enough to convince the docs to let Ty stay home......at least for now. Doc was working in Carmichael and agreed that if I brought Ty in to weigh him to verify weight gain, that we would hold off on the feeding tube. I went in and verified that Ty had indeed gained enough weight to put operation "stay of execution" into play. Of course we need to go in again on Tuesday to weigh again. Weigh ins will probably continue on a regular basis, but for now he's home. Our hope is that in the next three weeks, we can get him strong enough, that his reflux will develop enough and that we can establish some consistency in feeding that he will not find himself in the exact same situation when I go back to work in January. Who knows. We could have very well have just delayed the inevitable. Right now it's day to day......and today he is home!!!!

How Many Licks

8 pm December 12th

"How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?". According to wikipedia (the most reliable source of information in the universe....of course) this phrase is the cornerstone of one of the longest running television ads in the history of television commercials. Right up there with "Got Milk" this question is not only recognized by multiple generations, but is also one of those phrases that just makes you smile. Picturing that freaky little commercial just makes your head turn slightly askew and causes you to smile......by the way, is it just me, or did anyone else notice that the boy who is asking the question is not only completely devoid of any clothing, but also resembles a statue reminiscent of greek architecture.......and what's with the Owl.....those eyes are twice the size of his head......and don't you love the fact that the establishment of his mental prowess, the evidence of his intellectual superiority is identified by his little graduation cap (or mortar board....for those of us who deal with high school graduations every year of our life.....okay so only Mark and Bobby Seebs will get that, but oh well). Like a graduation cap and tassel on an animal are supposed to convince us he is "wise".......oh let's not forget the politically incorrect and highly stereotypical glasses......cuz everyone knows that visual impairment requiring corrective lenses equates to a highly elevated IQ. Never the less, the entertainment factor of this little gem has struck a cord with multiple generations.........

I make my return to the blog, not just to torture you with benign ramblings that seem to go nowhere, but to actually inform as well. The above random reference actually popped into my head today when I was pondering time.......yes time........that mathematically precise, scientifically proven constant within our universe.......or is it.......a second is a second........put together sixty of those and you have a minute.....you will always have a minute.....no matter what continent you are standing on, no matter what language you are speaking the precise measurement of time is constant.....so why is it that a minute can seem to last forever in some circumstances, while in others it goes by in the blink of an eye.......you see, time is not as constant as we may all seem to believe it to be. The measurement of time may be the most stable thing in the universe, but the perception of that time various greatly depending on a whole host of other variables. It is this aspect of the world that has captured my focus today.

Today's news is unfortunately not very good. Tyler will be readmitted to the hospital on Sunday afternoon. He simply can't seem to eat very much and thus is not gaining weight. Sunday they will readmit him in order to place the feeding tube back into his stomach via his nose. They will then teach us how to use the feed pump and how to maintain the tube. If all goes well his stay will not exceed 24-36 hours. Eating. This is what it all comes down to......eating. Considering what we've been through and the bullets we've dodged you'd think that eating would be a simple hurdle to get over......a simple challenge to compensate for........a simple problem with a simple solution. Well that's what has become so frustrating......there simply isn't any solution. What do you do when you know they simply refuse to eat. You set up a battle of wills. Sure I can keep the nipple in his mouth no matter how much he fights it, but he is in complete control of whether or not he actually sucks and swallows. I can squeeze a little food into his mouth and try to feed him like a bird, only to activate his gag reflex and have him throw up what precious few calories he has taken already. This has become the battle that we fight every two and half to three hours. How about we go old school and just wait till they're hungry? That didn't work either. Sure they got humgry and really tried to eat......but alas after a ounce or so, it's back to the flat our refusal to continue. Our entire world revolves around trying to figure out how to get the boys to eat better. I have spent most of my life trouble shooting and problem solving. I spend the majority of my work day doing exactly that......constantly identifying problems and figuring out how to solve them. Getting my sons to eat is a problem that doesn't seem to have any solution. It is what dominates every moment of our day. We have identified, modified and flat out changed every variable we can think of that may be the problem.......is the nipple on the bottle too fast, too slow, too soft, too rigid....will it allow the rice cereal enhanced formula to come through or will it come through too quickly and choke them.......what about the formula.....the taste.....too cold....too warm....why won't they eat.....why won't they simply understand that they are hungry and thus need to eat. Is it a psychological problem.......being on a feeding tube for four and a half months can cause an oral aversion.......or is it the reflux......the constant flare up of acid from the stomach into their throat when they eat that causes pain and activation of their gag reflex......have they developed a Pavlovian response that tells them that eating causes pain, therefore don't eat.......what's the problem........well our best guess at this point is it is the reflux. As soon as they start eating, the reflux kicks in and causes them pain. This causes them to not want to continue, even though they may be hungry. In Tyler's case, it is resulting in an extremely low weight gain, that we have been battling for the entire four weeks since he's been home. It came to a head today, and the pediatrician finally was forced to the conclusion that he has to get the tube put back in. He has to gain weight. He has to be force fed more food than he can physically consume on his own. He will get it put in, then we will bring him back home where he will continue to develop his motor dexterity by attempting to pull it out as he constantly does with his nasal cannula. The theory is that if we can get him to gain weight he will eventually out grow the reflux problem. He has to eat in order to gain weight and heal and all that hinges on the intake of calories. So the question becomes how long will he have it in.......now we come back full circle......yes we are finally back to the ramblings that began this diatribe.......how long will mommy and daddy be force feeding our little hero...............how long.......how long until he gets it out........how long until we can stop worrying about every single feed........how long.......well, the research says that micro preemies will usually out grow reflux problems by 18 months of age.......18 months!!!!.....come on!!!......he's going to be on this for another year???.....well the pediatrician mentioned a few weeks.......he mentioned hin passing that he may need it to simply get over "this hump"........well then, how long is a few weeks........seven days times 3...times 24 hours....times 60 minutes etc........how long will it be.......how long will it seem.......well it seems like an eternity ago that I sat by his bedside wondering if my one pound ten ounce little miracle would survive.....that eternity was only five and half months ago.......how long will it be.......time is within the perception of the beholder........I don't know how long.....the only thing that I do know, is that, like everything in our lives since June 23rd, this time span won't be measured in seconds, minutes or hours.......this time span won't be measured by conventional means..........this time span will experienced and perceived with love. As frustrating as it may get, we have a lifetime of love to get him through this :):)

Tyler No Cannula

I was changing out Tyler's nasal cannula today and he was just loving it! He really doesn't enjoy oxygen constantly blowing up his nose. Well, I just had to grab some darling shots of him being so happy...gotta love it! John and I always equate the boys without their cannulas to seeing someone without their glasses - so "naked"!

Tyler Eats

So feeding the boys cereal has been interesting because neither is completely opposed to eating it. Now they didn't eat a lot, but just the fact that they allowed me to stuff it into their mouths is progress! Yes, I need to get better at "clean" feeding but that really wasn't the goal - ha ha!

"What is she feeding me?"

"Do I like this...I'm not sure!"

Parky Smiles

The smiles have started coming...
this was BEFORE I started feeding him!





What a cool dude!

Parky Eats

"Oh no...what's that coming at me?"

"Argh...it's that stick thingy with that weird stuff on it that mom keeps stuffing into my mouth!"

[muffled]

"Help!"

"Hey maybe that's not so bad!"

Holiday Spirit!

Santa's Lil Helpers are getting ready for the holidays! Unfortunately they haven't been following family tradition by eating everything in sight. Instead they've taken a more "reserved" approach to eating...um...actually a TOO reserved approach! On Friday the Ped put the boys on rice cereal to assist with their horrific reflux and inability to gain weight appropriately. We haven't a great improvement in the reflux, but Tyler gained more than 1 ounce/per day since beginning the rice cereal. No, they aren't eating the cereal with a spoon and bowl, it is diluted in their formula. BUT...tonight we will be trying to feed them with a spoon! Today the Ped told us to try and feed them a more solid serving of food and see how they do. He believes it will really help with their reflux. Either way we are being referred to a GI (Gastrointestinal doctor). Hopefully this doctor will get us to a calmer place with the boys refluxing - it's REALLY bad and unsettling to them (and us too)!

Okay, so mommy just loves these holiday outfits! Too stinkin' cute! Enjoy!

Parky smiling...so hard to catch on camera!

Tyler looking stunned by the flash!

Just For Funzies!

Don't want my family in India having withdrawl...




Tyler getting tummie time!




Boys telling secrets already!




Parker eating...a moment to catch because normally he's fussing and we're stressing! Looks like a relaxing sight, doesn't it?

And the baby even smiles...because he's finished eating! Always a good time for everyone!

Daddy, Parker and Tyler on Thanksgiving - the boys did start out with darling matching outfits...but that never lasts (as you can see)!

Thanksgiving in the Thompson household was pretty mellow this year. With our "partying" family in India, we enjoyed a low key celebration. Luckily Grandma Thompson, Auntie Kristen and Uncle Bob came for a quick visit and the boys got some quality Thompson cuddle time. Then Grammie Schrupp came with a entire turkey dinner in hand - yummo! If only we could have blended it into a liquid for the boys!

Food and eating seems to be an ongoing challenge with the boys. They continue to give us a run for our money when trying to keep the minimum number of cc's in their systems. We've settled on two different specialty formulas each of them is requiring and have regretfully conceded that they will not be going back to my breast milk. Boo hooo hoooo! In our attempt to wean the boys from NICU nipples, we've tried a number of Playtex brands, only to go back to our original models. These boys do not like change! Ha ha! Gratefully Tyler's feedings have improved and with luck he'll show a weight gain tomorrow when we visit the doctor. Our Friday appointment was re-scheduled because the office was closed for the holiday. Tomorrow will bring a weight check for Tyler and hopefully news that we don't have to return until the next RSV shot!

Besides their challenged feeding abilities and continual reflux, they are just the best babies ever. They are getting used to their mommy and daddy's laps and are starting to complain when we are apart. Quite adorable, but I predict mayhem in our future - ha ha! Mommy kisses the boys over and over and over again and they sometimes get irritated with her, but she doesn't care.

Overall, we are just so thankful for our two little miracles - that made this first Thanksgiving the BEST!

Okay, so I HAD to put up a couple pics of John on his trip to Texas Stadium where he witnessed the brutal 49er beating. Here he is with his traveling buddies after the game.

Um...

excuse me...

are you somewhere you're not supposed to be?

While Daddy's Away...

Can't tell the boys apart, just look at their darling Pooh and Tigger outfits sporting their names!

Mr. Tyler is doing MUCH better than last week's hospital scare. With this specialized formula, his feedings increased greatly and weight gained appropriately. We have another visit to the doctor on Friday and should all go well, we don't need to return for a month. Yippee!

Friday the boys received their RSV shots - ouchie! They were such troopers...they only cried for a second and then got over it. I think it's the only good thing about being in the NICU - a shot is not a big deal compared to the daily poking and prodding they were getting in the hospital. What good boys!

Hey Parky Pooh!

Cousin Jillian came from Oregon to visit and help with the boys while daddy was in Dallas at the Cowboys game. What a fabulous help she's been and the boys LOVE her!

Thank goodness we are allowed to take walks outside! Here's a pic of the boys FIRST walk with their friends - Campo twins, Sam and Logan and Sammie Peck. This was so perfect because our friends met us outside with their loved ones in prospective strollers and we walked through the neighborhood. Beautiful day, awesome company, and fabulous exercise - all GOOD things!