Nursery Closet Organization

Oh yes, blogworld...guess what we've been doing these past couple of days! YIKES...getting all the stuff out of the closets of the guest-bedrooms-turned-nurseries so that I could organize them! AND Joe has been cleaning out and organizing the garage (we LOVE to organize by the way!)

Here is nursery closet #1...my blank canvas:
(Joe still needs to take down boxes from the top that I couldn't reach!)

I'm thinking blue boxes for the boys clothes/stuff/etc...and pink boxes for Savannah's stuff. The green boxes will be for miscellaneous or neutral gender items.

Now, check back with me in about one, maybe two months and I'm COMPLETELY POSITIVE that they will be JUST as nice, and clean, and organized as they are now! hahaha...wishful thinking!

Here's Joe's work on the garage and new storage lockers:
(Notice the second refrigerator, or "formula fridge" as we like to call it...some great people, Chris and Annie, GAVE it to us! AWESOME! Thanks guys!)

Awww, the poor pool table made its way down into the garage. Ever wonder how people move a pool table from a second floor to the garage? Two movers took the entire thing apart and reassembled it! crazy! (Also notice the TV on top of the fridge? Joe thinks this will become his new "Guy's playroom")...ha! Like he's gonna have time for that?! ;)
Update for "Been-jammin" as I like to call him. We are shooting to be able to room-in with him tomorrow night and go home with him on Sunday! Now, its a LONG SHOT, but IF Savannah continues to gain weight today and tomorrow AND passes her car seat test, THEN she will be able to room-in as well and we'll go home Sunday with BOTH of our fraternal twins! But seriously not getting my hopes up just yet. Exciting to know that she will be days behind her brother if we don't bring her home WITH him! ;)

(Also, thanks for all the sweet comments about my babies and about me! I'm feeling great!)

Ben wants to hang with his siblings

Figured I needed to update all the "well-wishers" that Benjamin has decided that he would like to stay up at the hospital and play with his brothers and sister for a while! :) Yep folks, he failed his car seat test!! I jinxed him with all that news coverage! ha!

"What is a car seat test" you may ask yourself? Well, before a baby from the NICU goes home, they perform this test. The nurse will sit the baby up in his car seat for 90 minutes. During this time, they continue to monitor all his vital signs and make sure that he doesn't get shallow breathing (de-satting) or drop his heart rate at all. Ben had a couple of "episodes" that he resolved on his own...so the neonatalogist does not want to rush him and wants to make sure that he is ready. He will have another car seat test early Friday morning, so we may room in on Friday. If he fails that one, they will re-test him on Monday.

What is "rooming-in" you may ask yourself? Before a NICU baby can be released from the hospital, they have the parents come in to spend the night in the NICU- in a hotel-like room. The baby will be in a crib, in the room with us and we will provide all the care for the baby for a 12-24 hour period. The nurses will be available IF we need them. This helps the parents gain confidence in taking care of a baby at home who has spent his life in the NICU up to that point. It also shows the nurses/doctors that you are capable and ready to take of the infant by yourself. This is very important, especially when any of the babies are on any form of breathing treatments that must be given, etc. The day after you spend the night is usually when the baby is discharged.

----------------------------

***UPDATE*** Savannah has gone to all bottle feeds and is doing well! Wouldn't that be awesome if we could get Ben & Sav home at the same time?!?! Maybe THAT is what Ben is waiting for! ha!

-----------------------------

So...that's it for now. We are a little bummed...but MAN, there is a bunch of stuff we still have left to do so it will actually kinda be good for us. We still have loads of errands to run and organization to do!!! I went up there last night to see the little ones and Ethan and Andrew are already taking bottles too! They did so well for me last night and finished their bottles like champs!

For the meantime, Ben will get to stay all cuddled up to his sissy and close to his bros. He just wasn't ready to hang out by himself yet! ;)

Sav & Ben

We also had a WONDERFUL shower yesterday, given by the great people that Joe works with! Thank you all so VERY much!

This last pic is hilarious! It's a heavy duty face shield! And boy, let me tell ya...Joe needs it! I can't tell you how many times he's "gotten it"...almost right in the face! ha!

Links

Channel 8 (Btw, I TOTALLY get their birth order wrong! It's hilarious...I say it all confidently like I know what I'm talking about!)

FOX & FRIENDS on the Fox News Channel

Channel 4

Channel 11

STAR TELEGRAM NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Media Updates & Newspaper Pics...Lights, Camera, Action!

These pictures were taken by Jill Johnson for the Star Telegram. LOVE THEM! Jill did a great job. The first pic is the one in the newspaper. The last pic is Ben.

-STAR TELEGRAM
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

.
(By the way, I promise I don't sound near as "hillbilly hick" as I sound on video! Joe and I have been replaying the stories and laughing our heads off at my overly exaggerated "Texas Twang" and some of the stupid things I said...one of our favorites is as follows on FOX 4: --now imagine this in the most ridiculous cuuntry accent you can imagine, I have modified the spelling a bit, for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to go ahead and laugh!

"AIh thawt he wuz gunna passout. He baaacked uup to tha door. He was gawn. We werr turrifIIIIed....excIIItid and turrifIIIed all at the same moment."

hahaha...what a NERD! Play the tape again and I promise you, you will laugh!

Apparently, we were on "Fox & Friends" on the
FOX news channel this morning! My cousin in Washington DC said he saw us on
there!! CRAZY!

***BY THE WAY...CHECK OUT THE LAST POST WITH THE PICS,
AND I POSTED A VIDEO OF ETHAN AND ANDREW...(again, just remember to NOT LISTEN
to my annoying voice on video! ha)
I'll also try to add links to the news
channels as they list them on their websites! Check out the first one on Channel
4 below and keep checking back!***


For all of you interested in
seeing Suz and the Quads hit the bright lights of local news, here's the
schedule:

Channel 8 (Btw, I TOTALLY get their birth order wrong! It's hilarious...I say it all confidently like I know what I'm talking about!)

FOX & FRIENDS on the Fox News Channel

http://cbs11tv.com/local/local_story_240182427.html

http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=170240&shu=1

Channel 5 @ 5pm and 10pm

Channel
4 @ 5pm, 6pm, and 9pm

You're going to need some space on your tivo
or use well timed channel changing skills to catch them all...but it should be
cool to see!

There will also be a story in the FW Star-Telegram
tomorrow.

This is for Dallas/Fort Worth by the way (this is Suz
now)....you can check on these channel's websites for the stories later on
tonight!! And I'm sure the Fort Worth Star Telegram will have something on their
website tomorrow as well! Pretty cool! The babies and their momma were WORN OUT
today from all the interviews! ENJOY!!

More pics from the Steece crew!

Dad and Mom with baby Ben

Giving Ben a bath as he tries his hardest to pull out his feeding tube!

Ben, with his feeding tube out- YAE!...looking as cute as ever! (I think this is one of the only pics I have of him opening his eyes! He LOOOOOVES to eat and sleep!...my little four pound chunk of love)

Savannah and Ben sleeping together for the first time in an open crib!

Savannah and Ben swaddled together and loving it!

Mom and Dad with all four darlings!

I just LOVE these next pics! They make me cry! These are the two identical twins, Ethan and Andrew, laying together for the first time since the womb. This is about an hour after they were put in the same crib...checking each other out! Andrew on the left, E on the right.

Incredible how much more calm they are laying together! They slept with their faces touching each other...even nose to nose sometimes. SOOOOO ADORABLE!

Joe holding Ben and Savannah! (Don't look so tired just yet, baby! We've got a LOOOONG road ahead of us! ha!!)

My little guys: Ethan on the left, A on the right

Andrew and Ethan

Dad and Ben making faces at each other

I could stare at them all day long!

I LOVE this picture, because it shows how beautifully chaotic our lives will be! It IS going to take an army to raise this family! Thank God for all the support from family, friends, and church!! (Mom feeding Savannah, Joe feeding Ben, Suz holding the twins and holding the bottle for Joe)

Whelp, one last weekend together...one last "hurrah"....before babies start to trickle into our home. What a glorious time!! We had so much fun this weekend with many of our friends (from Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, & Houston) that drove in to celebrate our last weekend without babies! We are so absolutely EXCITED about this crazy adventure that is about to be well under way!!! Keep those prayers coming!!
Oh, BTW...the Steece quads will be making their television debut sometime VERY soon! We have meetings today with DFW Channel 8 and Channel 5 news stations! Wow!

Late September? HA!

What was I thinking when I said "we might get Ben home around late September..." hahaha...

More like, "IN A COUPLE OF DAYS!!!" WOW! And Savannah will follow a few days after!!! HOLY COW! We weren't expecting it to be so soon! But we are absolutely thrilled! and excited and nervous and anxious...

The little guys, Ethan and Andrew, are progressing rapidly as well! So it won't be long before all four of them are all snug in their wee little cribs! WOW!

Can't wait to post new pics! Ben and Savannah are co-bedding together in an open crib! Ethan and Andrew are both off of their nasal cannulas (oxygen) and are in the same crib together! (They are too small to be in an open crib just yet) It is sooooooo neat to see the babies together! They are doing so well! The twins are MUCH less agitated and it was so cute to watch them looking at each other, nose-to-nose...like, "hey! i remember you! you look just like me!" ADORABLE! I could stand there and stare at them all day long!

They only thing I'm nervous about is being able to get back up to the NICU to see my other babies once Ben gets home...babies are not allowed in the NICU...so Joe and I will have to take turns, or get someone to come watch Ben for a couple of hours. We are so excited to try this whole parenting thing out on just one or two kids at first...what a breeze! ha! Hopefully by the time the other two get home, we will have a nice little schedule going.

Anywhoo...I know you guys want pics asap, so I'll work on that. Meanwhile I am sorting through the MOUND of goodies and registry stuff that our church gave us today! NORTH DAVIS, YOU ARE AWESOME!!! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!

Bottle Feeding Ben & Savannah

To answer your questions about the cribs, the nursery furniture came from Child Craft Industries' line of Legacy furniture. Absolutely beautiful and a cinch to put together! And they convert to toddler beds, then to full size beds! Check them out! Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on our nursery! So exciting...

Recent activity:

Ben is now taking THREE bottle feedings a day and is in his very own open crib (no more isolette). He is keeping his temperature well and tolerating his feedings VERY well. Here is Joe bottle feeding Ben for the first time last night.

Sweet little Savannah is taking one bottle a day and is trying to figure out the whole "sucking-swallowing-breathing" technique. She is doing so well! Last night she took her whole bottle! And she makes the funniest/cutest faces when I'm burping her!

Look at those BIG eyes! So cute!

Ben and Savannah hanging out after their feedings.

Savannah has had enough...sorry folks, please don't get offended at my baby girl's obscene gestures. I'll have a talk with her about it! ;)



Ethan and Andrew are still doing well! They were sound asleep last night and we just didn't have the heart to wake them up!

As far as when we will get them home? Who knows...the NICU is an ever changing roller coaster ride...so we will just have to wait and see. I'm thinking late September for Ben? He is by far, doing the best...Savannah is right behind him. The little guys...well, they are just that: "LITTLE", so they will have more growing to do.

Here is video from Savannah almost two weeks ago that I forgot to put on here. I like to think that Savannah smiles for me for the first time! (Surely it's not gas or her wincing b/c she is uncomfortable...no, no....she is smiling at her momma! ha) Excuse the annoying commentary and baby voice that I use...wish I could dub my sound out! ;)

Crib Day with the Steeces

Joe, Grandpa Steece, and Uncle Ed (directing traffic) trying to squeeze a changing table/dresser up our stairs...not an easy task!


Kate and Paul reading the directions for the cribs. (So nice to see a grown man reading directions for once! I wish Joe took after his father in that regard!)


Paul, hard at work


The guys finish the first crib


Meanwhile, Kate is downstairs re-arranging my pantry! Oh ladies, it was a MESS! I remember seeing it for the first time after my bedrest when I could walk again, and I just about passed out! SOOOO much stuff, EVERYWHERE! Thank God for Kate and her organizational skills! She had bins for everything and about a billion chip clips...AWESOME!


Uncle Ed, hard at work...Shiloh right there to guide every step. Wait a sec...where is the other brother, Dan?


Oh, there he is...just takin' err easy on the couch downstairs with Dani!


GOOFBALLS...


Kate ironing the bedskirts for the cribs


We had so much fun putting these rooms together...all they need now are BABIES in them!! A huge, colossal thanks to Paul & Kate for the beautiful cribs and dressers! And a huge thanks to Paul, Kate, Ed, Dan, and Dani for coming up to help us put them together! Love you guys! We are waiting to assemble the other two cribs for the second nursery, seeing as how I will be sleeping in a bed in there for a WHILE after the babies come home. The babies will hopefully co-bed together in one crib for a while. Then two in one crib, and two in the other. But we will have to play it by ear...depending on what works the best.


I wish you could see the nurseries in person...it was difficult to try to get the whole room in one picture! The cribs are a dark, espresso brown...they look black in the pics.






Here is a quick look around the room that I took with my camera, so it's pretty bad quality. It will only let me record for like 17 seconds at a time! Just trying to let you see the whole thing together.

Steece weekend fun

We had a great weekend with the Steeces! I will have to publish several different posts to record all of the festivities.

Many of you have been asking about their weights, so here they are:

Ben: 3 lbs 8.5 oz, 17 1/4"

Savannah: 3 lbs 1 oz, 16 1/2"

Drew: 2 lbs 13.8 oz, 15 1/2"

Ethan: 2 lbs 10.8 oz, 15 1/2"

At this point in time, the weights are not the best indicator of how they are growing, they fluctuate everyday...so we usually are not overly concerned with their weights right now.


Grandma Steece, Mom, and baby Ethan



Grandma and Ethan



A good friend of the fam, Nancy, with Ethan



Grandpa Steece with little baby Ethan (Ethan got lots of lovin' that night!)



Grandpa, Suz, Ethan, and Uncle ED!



Uncle DAN with baby Andrew



Dani, Dan, Joe, and big Ben




...BTW, the nurseries are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! Can't wait for you to see them! ;)