Sleeping Through the Night

Swaddled and sound asleep.

Yes, that is right - the twins are sleeping through the night!!! Tom and I feel like different people, now that we are actually catching a few zzzzz! At almost ten weeks Elizabeth and Tom have proven they can sleep like champs. I wish I could tell you that I am the greatest mom in the world and I did it all by myself, but I am not ashamed to admit - I did have a little help. My "Angel," Laura Hunter, changed our world. Laura is truly a gift from God; she has a super busy professional and personal life, yet somehow she teaches parents how to care for their new baby, which includes getting the little one to sleep through the night. She is located here in Atlanta, but to the new mom's out there (Nicole, I am talking about you) she is available for phone consults. I promise you will not be disappointed with her.

Honestly, the first nine weeks were not terrible, but Tom and I knew that the twins needed to start sleeping in order for us both to return to work and to carry on an adult conversation. I shot Laura an email on a Tuesday and next thing I know, I have an appointment scheduled at 8 AM for the following morning. That afternoon, I ran out to buy some breakfast items and bought a few baby things, that she suggested. I had this great plan that I would cook breakfast for her and maybe squeeze in a shower for me! Needless to say this was not the case. Little Tom decided he really did not want to sleep on Tuesday night, so we stayed up until 6 am and finally fell asleep on the couch sometime shortly after. We both awoke to Laura ringing the doorbell; you guessed it - no shower for me and definitely no breakfast for anyone.

Although, the Powells got off to a rough start, we finished strong and the babies were napping soundly by the time she left just a few short hours later. I know you are wondering, what did she do? Believe me, I was asking myself the same thing. It was not that Tom and I were doing anything wrong, Laura just had a better way to do a few things. It sounds so minor, but we altered their feeding scheduled, only let them sleep for two hours at a time during the day, swaddled with a much larger blanket, cranked up the sound machine and a few others tricks. It was definitely worth every penny. The entire Powell family is much happier. You can learn more about her at http://www.momsoncall.com/.

I hope with all this bragging, I am not jinxing myself!

Great-Uncle Phillip feeding Elizabeth.

Great-Grandmother talks to Elizabeth while Esther is burping her niece.

Grandmother Powell looks at Robert, while he holds Tom.

Sunday Traditions

Last weekend we went to Sunday morning mass and we were very close to being on time, for a change. I don't understand how we wake up at 6 am and still run late to mass at 11:30! Most families head to lunch after church, but we have a slightly different tradition - we go to Home Depot. Prior to the twins arrival, Tom and I were always busy completing projects around the house....remodeling a bathroom, painting, landscape.... This was the first time the twins have been to the home improvement store; they cannot wait to pick up some tools and start working around the house with mom and dad.

The twins are starting to grow into some of their clothes -

here they are dressed in their church outfits.

Many thanks to all of the families that have brought over delicious meals the past two weeks: Widener, Davidson, Jackson, Rowe, Bremer, Gregg and Secretarski. Knowing that dinner is being delivered is one less thing to worry about during the day - it is so nice!!!

That is right, Elizabeth has found her hand!

Such a big yawn for such a little boy.

Catching Up

I feel like I am constantly playing catch up with the posts, so I thought I would give you the high-level overview of the past couple weeks. We have made several trips to doctor offices and things seem to be going well. The twins visited their pediatrician to receive their two month shots for MMR and they did so good!! Tom let out a little scream, but no real tears - he is such a strong guy; while Elizabeth puckered up and definitely shed a few tears. I have never seen her make tears so quickly and honestly I had to take a few pictures of her crying, because she just looked so cute! The Powells jumped on the scale and the official weigh-in is: Elizabeth 9.11 and Tom 7.11. Yes, there is a bit of a weight difference, but there is no reason for concern. Even though they are twins, Elizabeth and Tom are two different babies and will have differences - weight being one of them.

Daddy is getting Tom undressed for his shots.

Tom comforts his son as the shots are administered.

Elizabeth is not happy.

In addition to the pediatrician, we visited the neurologist and Tom had an Electroencephalogram (EEG). An EEG is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of the brain. Special sensors are attached to your head and hooked by wires to a computer. The computer records the brain's electrical activity on the screen as wavy lines. Tom was a perfect baby throughout the entire test, which took nearly 45 minutes (after 45 minutes in the waiting room). As you can see from the pictures the nurse attached 20 sensors to his head with some sticky goo and cotton balls, then wrapped him up, so he would not pull on the wires. Initially, everything looks good, but the doctor will review the results and follow up in a couple weeks. Of course this was a big day for all of the Powells, it is not everyday your child dresses up as a Q-tip while mom and sister stand watch. Yes, that is right - the three of us went to the doctor and everyone was impressed with how well behaved the twins were!

Tom smiles as the nurses starts the test.

This is a piece of cake! This new cap keeps me warm!

Last week I celebrated my birthday for the first time as a mom - wow, the times have changed! Last birthday, Tom planned a surprise party for me with a margarita machine....let's just say this year was a little more low key. Looking back on the past year I have realized just how precious time is, because things change so quickly. I absolutely love being a mom and now I understand what my mom meant when she said, once you have children, you will be amazed how you can love someone so much. It is so true!

I spend most of my days at the house taking care of the twins with outings to the doctor and lunch with friends. Since the twins are getting bigger, it is nice getting us all out of the house, but there is a great deal of preparation and planning that goes into each outing. As my maternity leave is coming to an end, I must prepare myself to go back to work. This includes finding the perfect childcare for Tom and Elizabeth and mentally getting ready to face corporate America while my children are with someone else. I ask that you send special prayers for the Harper family. Their second child, Bennett, was born this summer and is scheduled to have surgery this afternoon www.caringbridge.org/visit/bennettharper. Please continue to pray for the health of Elizabeth and Tom in addition to a great report from the tests performed on Tom this week. As I prepare to return to work, please pray that we find the perfect outlet for our children. As always thank you for visiting our site and joining our army of angels, praying for us all.

Even though she might be bigger, Tom is definitely taking charge.

Their 8 week picture.

Road Trip!!!

Since Tom is back at work, my mom drove to Birmingham with me and twins and Tom met us on Friday. It was a late night the evening prior to the roadtrip, so I decided to pack the next morning. After five hours, I finally had the Tahoe loaded down with bathtubs, blankets, bottles, diapers, medicine, clothes and did I mention babies? The trip to Birmingham was actually relatively easy. We stopped in Anniston (about the halfway point) to eat and actually spent a few hours in the parking lot of the Arby's. Everything was going well, Tom ate a record amount of milk while mom and I finished our sandwiches and Elizabeth slept the entire time. Because of the record amount of food Tom ate, he decided he wanted to leave a little something behind in Anniston....and "little" is putting it very lightly!

Finally, after a day of packing and an afternoon in Anniston, we arrived in Birmingham early evening and needless to say Mom and I were very tired. The twins did great and only hope they will continue to sleep everytime they get in their carseats. Tom was home alone for two nights and I just knew he was going to catch up on his sleep....or so I thought. When I called him the next day to hear all about the quite evening, I just knew I was going to be jealous. I expected him to say he went to bed at 9 and woke up and 6, but instead he said the house was "too quite" and did not sleep well!

Erin Hamby did great bathing Elizabeth and I just had to include a picture of Ashley and her son, John Henry - he is just as cute (and big) in person!!! We had such a great time in Birmingham - we visited with friends, family, and actually made it to Tuscaloosa! In addition to seeing folks, we were finally able to celebrate VJ's birthday (it was on September 16th) and go out to dinner without the twins. I think Tom put it best when he said my parents should have a revolving door installed, we had people over all weekend long. It was so nice introducing everyone to the twins and seeing family. For many, this was the first time they have met our children.

VJ's Birthday Dinner at Rojo: As usual, mom and daddy were such a big help during our stay! They changed diapers, fed babies, babysat, and even stayed up late night. I know I got more sleep than they did and I will admit, it was very nice. Of course being home for a few days made it difficult to say goodbye, but we all look forward to the next visit in a few weeks.

Game Day Pictures:

Andy and Emily look like professionals holding the twins - cute dress Emily!

A few Alpha Chi's at the tailgate with the youngest, Marley, in the UA cheerleading uniform.

Of course we must stop by the KA house when we are in Tuscaloosa - here are a few of the pledge brothers and their wives.

PS - this post is a little old, this was acutally the weekend of September 21st