First Play Date

Brynn and Hailey with the West boys
Happy Hailey
Smiley Brynn

Precious Angels

On Saturday we had the opportunity for the girls to have their first play date. We met the West family when we were in our twins class at the hospital. They had their boys, Grant and Levi, 6 weeks before Hailey and Brynn were born. Both our girls and their boys were born at 31 weeks and their weights were almost identical to both of our girls. We spent a week together in the NICU and they were so helpful with always giving us words of encouragement. We are so happy that God put this family in our lives.

The girls were so happy on Sunday night after we fed them so Daddy got to make a little video with them. Mommy doesn't like to make a fool of herself so its a good thing Dad doesn't mind. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoy the cute pictures.

4 Months Old

Our Family

Brynn

Brynn loves smiling at her friend Octy.

Octy the Octopus hangs above her on the activity mat.

Hailey

Hailey likes to sit in her chair and listen to stories.

Brynn and Hailey at 4 Months

Two happy girls in their Easter outfits

This is what happens when the girls get hungry.

Hailey and Brynn with Great Grandpa

Its hard to believe that Hailey and Brynn have been with us for 4 months now. Those two little girls have come a long way and we are so blessed that God has put them in our lives. They are getting much more active and they are learning new things like sucking their thumbs.

This past month we were able to go to the Dr to get a weight check and both girls continue to gain weight and we were so happy to see that. We were able to take them off all their medications and this was such a relief because it makes feeding them a lot easier and less confusing. Their weight check was on April 10, Hailey weight 9 lbs 8 oz and Brynn was 9 lbs 15 oz. Brynn was a little gun shy of hitting double digits and I think she wanted to wait for sister to go over the mark with her at our next appt in May.

Its been so nice for Kristin and I to be able to take the girls on walks and we were even able to venture out to church a few times. Each week we are getting more into our routine. The girls do wonderful during church because they usually sleep the entire time. There are some times when they hear a loud noise and get startled but then they just relax and go back to sleep. It would be nice to be a baby sometimes.

For Easter, we finally got to make our first road trip with the girls. It was exciting for all of us. We loaded up the minivan and headed to Pella to go see both families. We thought we would break the girls in and go to Grandpa and Grandma Talma's first b/c it's a smaller crowd and a lot quieter. They got to meet their uncle Dave and spend a few hours of cuddle time with Grandpa and Grandma Talma. Then we ventured over to Grandpa and Grandma Van Mersbergen's and Hailey and Brynn got to meet there 7 cousins. It's a good thing that we were able to hold the girls and keep them off the floor b/c they might not have been able to survive with all the kids running around. They kind of got to take part in their first Easter egg hunt but they had it pretty easy. Dad got to go outside and pick up all their eggs while they got to sleep inside. Being the only man in the house, I have a strange feeling that this won't be the last time I am doing things for all the ladies, while they sit and relax.

It was a really special time being able to be with both families and it was wonderful that Great Grandpa Van Mersbergen was able to stop by and hold both of his youngest great grand children.

We have now been home almost as long as we were in the hospital. We enjoy every day we have with Hailey and Brynn and it is so fun to see how much they are learning at this age. We continue to be amazed by God's grace and blessing in our lives.

The Van Mersbergens

3 Months Old

Hailey a few days old

3 Months - Hailey

Brynn a few days old

Now 3 Months - Brynn

Were 3 months old, can't you tell we are excited.

Its hard to imagine that our girls our 3 months old today. Kristin and I have been so blessed to have two healthy baby girls. It seems so long ago that the girls were born and we spent so much time in the NICU. I can hardly remember that they were so small when they were born, compared to how they look now. Both girls have pretty much doubled their weight and it is a little weird since they are the size of most newborn babies.

It is so great to see them start to smile at us and just be so much more alert. It is so exciting to see all the new things that they learn and how they continue to adjust to their new surroundings.

Yesterday, was fun to watch Hailey for a little bit. We let her have a little tummy time and the next thing I knew, she had rolled to her back. I tried to have her do it again but then she got a little upset. We tried it again today and she didn't let us down but she made sure she was only going to do it once.

We are so amazed at all the progress they are making and are so thankful that God has blessed us so much with such a wonderful family.

All home and doing well

The weather was nice so Mom and Dad took us for our first walk.

Hailey & Brynn

Hailey enjoys playing on her ocean mat.

Brynn sleeping so nicely

I finally gave in to all the requests. This is my first blog experience but I have had so many people request updates on our girls. I would use the carepage that we had set up but since we finally made it out of the NICU, I figured we could start fresh.

Kristin and I have been married 5 years and this past December we were blessed with an early Christmas present. Hailey and Brynn were born on Dec 24 and they decided to come just a few weeks earlier than expected. Both girls spent 9 1/2 weeks in the NICU at Blank Children's Hospital and now they have been home for almost 3 weeks now. We love having them home with us but I will say we got a lot more sleep when they were in the hospital. Thank you nurses for working the night shift so we could go home and get some rest. I knew people said to rest up before they came but I had no idea. If its 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning, we love having this time with the girls, no matter how tired we are.

The girls had their first check up on March 9 and both girls got good reports back. Hailey weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and Brynn was 8 lbs 14 oz. It was nice to get the first appointment out of the way and get feedback on how the girls were doing. Its been quite an adjustment with the girls at home but we are figuring out how to manage all the schedules.

My goal is to keep this updated as much as possible but free time might be used more for sleeping.