🕶❤️A three year old and 3 month olds!

She's three!! 

This rock star big sis is crushin' it. She continues to live her best toddler life and also finds the time to explain life to mom and dad while singing Daniel Tiger life skill songs. It's always fun to be greeted with a song in the middle of life's more hectic moments. She is also super into "playing" preschool at home and teaching us how to count and dance- she's got 'leadership' skills...At this exact moment, she's currently counting down her bana slices, "If one got ate'd, how many are left? TWO banas left!"  She will never not ask you what you are drinking and if you are looking. We still cannot tell her about anything a moment in advance, because she thinks she's going to make it happen now. She says, "Momma, I love you!!" more times than I can keep track of. She occasionally tries to steal my phone so she can use the camera as a mirror and say words like water (waaater, wawawaterrrr, wateeeeerrrr) in her silliest voice. It's a hoot.
    She had a blast at her big girl birthday party- which I purposely planned on having out of the house since I new I would be juggling the babies too- it worked out perfectly! Her friends and my friends bounced and ran around until the were tuckered out! She was eternally grateful for the many bath bombs and sweet presents. She is still super pumped to pick out a bath bomb each night and just be so fancy.

These babies....

It is so cliche to say, "They grow up so fast..." but guys, ugh, they look and act completely different than just a few weeks ago. They are three months old and we will have to wait until their appointment in November to see how heavy they are because, man, they can eat! 

They are barely fitting into their 3 months clothes, we're moving on up to 3-6 and 6 month size. They are sleeping longer and making noises that aren't crying. Miles has the sweetest little giggle and Callie is sleeping through the night!  Miles is more of an instant gratification kinda kid and Callie can wait patiently, most days. He naps well and she does too(if you're holding her.) When I was pregnant with them, I told myself I wouldn't dress them alike. HAHA! Look at me now. They are just too cute to not match- and if you know me well, you know my obsession with color coordination. 

Thank goodness for my people!! Friends have provided more meals as I headed back to school and things got harder. My friends sent meals my way through delivery and even came over to hang with the kiddos so Matt and I could use a meal gift card sent by my sweet, sweet aunt. We have a village and this village is continuously helping us. Thank you to everyone who holds babies, visits, texts, sends meals or those positive vibes!! You are very much appreciated! <3

Fall Break is rocking my socks off and I love it so much. We've used the first week to have a little fun and this weekend and next week are about to be incredible! 

🎂🎈September!🍍💦

     

     It's September! That means Miles and Callie are almost 2 months old, Lucy is basically 3 and I have to go back to school. There's a lot going on over here. 

     Let's start with the babies. They are eating as well as ever, growing strong. Callie is weighing in at 10lbs 6 oz and Miles is up to 11lbs 5 oz. He's 22 inches and she is 21. Miles has grown out of newborn size clothes and Callie is right behind him. Although her weight matches the 3 months guidelines, she's not quite as solid as her brother. They also got their first shots today and oh, does it break your heart when they cry because it hurts. 
They are sleeping better!! They only wake up twice a night-  well Miles does.... Callie just wakes up once, pretty early. They are sleeping in their own cribs and in their room. They are now both equally vocal, although Miles is more urgent when it comes to eating. Callie can definitely match his pipes when she's feeling neglected. They really love being held...all the time...so if you have held them for me- you rock. I have a habit of trying to get stuff done and well,  I just run out of hands, ha! They are currently in 'leap one,' according to WonderWeeks. Leap one is described as, "Especially challenging for your baby because this is the first leap. They just got used to their world outside the womb and suddenly, their world changes dramatically. They need you. Note the following signals; cries without a normal reason, only quiet when they are with you, suddenly wants much more physical contact, wants to breastfeed much more often." Sooo there's that. 
     They are noticing and following people and things now, and they know who their momma is! They sleep while Lucy and I play, they love being carried around in the Wee-Go and they tolerate their car seats pretty well. They've been on their first road trip, and they rocked it! 

     Now for Lucy...this girl. So you hear about the terrible twos- now that she's almost three... I miss twos! Haha! She is as independent as ever, she knows what she wants and what she doesn't and is not afraid to be vocal about it. She is frustrating and adorable and funny and a smarty pants (in a good and bad way!) She is almost three, and thinks she runs the world. So, we are having a fun time explaining that she is not in charge of the world and although we love her, we don't appreciate having a tiny dictator trying to rule us. Her favorite day ever is preschool day and her favorite color is all the colors of the rainbow, except the days it is pink or yellow. She can buckle her seatbelt and often chooses to sleep on the wrong end of her bed. She still reprends (pretends) she has friends that don't exist and they still hang out at "Mingo-tech-toe" when they get together. She's got her second dentist appointment coming up as she's chipped her tooth last week.  She is still taking 2 hour naps and that has made our summer amazing! She's fully potty trained and can even refill the toilet paper correctly (although sometimes she takes a little extra to get the the 'telescope' in the middle.) So Lucy is still awesome, but man- she needs limits and consistency because being three comes with a lot of growing and learning. 

     As for me, I am nervous about going back to school. I'm going to have my first day 5 weeks after everyone else. I am excited, of course. I am thankful that I was able to stay home with all three kiddos for 5 extra weeks of summer vacation. We truly lived each day, each moment to the fullest. We didn't waste a second. I think I've kept my stamina up and my energy will allow me to return to a scheduled work life without getting worn out. Heck, I might even feel like school is a vacation! I am feeling fine and my doctor has cleared me, of course. Get this, from my 36 week appointment to my 6 week check in, I lost 34 pounds- isn't that crazy. Get this, from my 36 week appointment to my 6 week check in, I lost 34 pounds- isn't that crazy. 
Am I ready? Thats a heavy question... Physically, yep. Emotionally, eh. I have only done slight research on all the other countries that get a year of maternity leave and how to move to them..... I am sad I won't be able to get a vanilla coke from Zesto whenever I want. I also need to figure out what time to get moving between babies waking up and having to pump before school. Mostly, I am nervous to figure out a pumping schedule at school too. I am interested to see how the new building is working out and how I fit in the puzzle of this school year. 

One month!

     They've only been here for a month, but we are creating new routines and working on schedules. The only problem with a schedule while they are this little is...well, they grow. Their needs change by the day. Eating more, sleeping more- then less, then eating even more. As soon as we've figured them out, they change it up on us. I am balancing nursing, pumping, formula and all the things it is going to take to keep them healthy and growing (and not screaming). 

      We are still on the go, having an almost summer vacation extension while I am on maternity leave. Miles and Callie go right along so they are going to be used to our 'on the go' style. Lucy is of course, living it up!  She is starting preschool this week and could not be more excited! I am so pumped for her to be around other preschoolers and learn new things. She is so ready and I am looking forward to watching her grow, as always. <3 
      Every time I blog (or scrapbook online as I see it) I am reminded of how much it took to get where we are. I follow our doctors office on their Facebook page (Fertility & Endocrine Associates) and they just celebrated my doctors 300th successful IVF graduate. Can you imagine?? 300 pregnancies that would not have happened without her assistance. 300 times a woman who thought she couldn't conceive was able to hear the words, "You are pregnant!" I don't use this phrase often- but, it hits ya right in the feels. All the feelings of hope, happiness, and all the hard work. Now take that times 300- it is overwhelming. 

     It also reminds me of the long, tough path we took to get here. Lucy, Miles and Callie are here because we took a risk- a very calculated risk- but a risk all the same. We put it all out there, had the BEST support system possible and I put my body through things it couldn't handle doing naturally. Which also allows me to be super protective of my babies without an ounce of guilt. I worked very hard on getting these amazing humans here and by golly, I'll make the decisions to keep them the safest possible. It's obvious that we aren't sheltering anyone by any means- but keeping them safe and making sure they are getting the best I can provide- that's priority #1. And then we have all the fun, haha! 

A lot of love and a little bit of science! 

Three weeks!

Crazy to think these cuties are three weeks old and their due date is Friday (Aug 2)! 

     So Callie and Miles are growing, growing, growing! Callie is a complete show off and has rolled several times from her back to her belly. She then does a little turtle crawl... and bothers her brother. Her behavior while I was pregnant hasn't changed at all! She is still active and makes sure that we know she's around. Miles is showing off too, by gaining a steady amount of weight and eating like a champ. We thought nursing might be an issue after getting bottles and even using the feeding tube in the NICU. He had to practice to get good, but he's a pro now-even if it wears him out. He was released from the NICU with no special care instructions, so now he's just showing off. Callie girl took a little longer to beef up, but at their check up on Tuesday-they are both within 1 oz of their birth weight!! So Callie is at 7lbs 1oz and Miles is at 7lbs 6oz. 
They both enjoy pooping in freshly changed diapers and spitting up on daddy! 
     

Sweet Lucy girl is still being the best sister ever and I hope it never changes. She is usually willing to help us by grabbing pacis or diapers and always wants to love on her "cutie babies" so we are always reminding her that they are tiny and we have to be gentle.... but it's all in love. 

Three weeks seems like no time at all. We are still getting to know these precious little people and they are still trying to figure us out. And with Miles, he's only been home for 2 weeks! It just sounds crazy. 

I also want to shout a huge THANK YOU to all of our friends that have come over to visit and provided an extra set of hands to hold these sweeties. The meals you have made for us make evenings so much easier and I cannot thank you enough!! I have used all the extra time snuggling with all my kiddos.

Bratcher, party of five!

He's here! She's here! Lucy's here! Everyone is here!!!!

We don't have any adorable group photos yet because, well, we just brought Miles home and we have twin newborns now! :) 

What we do have is adorable pictures of the sweetest babies and toddler that ya ever did see. We called, we questioned, we took notes, we shared thoughts, we got our information from the NICU staff and since Miles did not need support for anything- although he's a pokey little eater- he was discharged today! We let the staff know when we would be ready so they could be ready too. We headed over to Norton's for what we hope is the last time and gathered our baby and his things! Such an awesome experience. He got to ride solo in the backseat, which will probably be the last time, haha! 

  We knew he was a cuddle-er from the beginning but we really got to experience his love for a good snuggle today- we stayed home, we relaxed- the babies slept soooo much and Lucy played and practiced her "inside voice." Spoiler alert, she has no volume control and we are all going to suffer. HAHAHA!
  We really just let today happen. It was an easy, breezy, take your time and chill kind of day and it was lovely.