Yesterday, August 18th, was the official due date for #thethomastwins. When we found out that we were having two babies instead of one, the doctor told us that they would probably come early, just not 2 months early. But such is life and these kids came when they did and we have a whole fiasco of a story to tell them about their entrance into this world when they're old enough to appreciate it. I thought it appropriate to take a blog post to bring all our wonderful readers, followers and fans up to date on what has happened and how things are going with our family. Here we go.  

Our last update official was July 27th, the day Weston was finally released from the hospital in Ft. Smith. Summer had been released a few days prior and so our time was split hanging out with her in our hotel room while still traveling to the hospital to feed him in the NICU. After a few days juggling that routine, Weston was released to our care on the condition that he wear a heart monitor until his doctor here deemed it no longer necessary. And after 6 weeks and some days, we were all in a hotel room together.

On July 28th, I moved my family back to our home here in downtown Rogers. And on that day, the words "there's no place like home" hit me square in the gut. It was surreal to walk through doors of our house, our kids in tow. There was a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a welcome home card from our dear friends. There was a slobbery and excited bulldog who all at once, was curious about the noises coming from our arms. But most of all, there was a feeling of serenity and peace once we were sitting in their room, holding them, feeding them and talking about the whole experience. 

I'm very thankful for the NICU nurses that took care of our kids for the first weeks of their lives. In doing so, they took care of us, getting our kids adjusted to a feeding schedule and teaching us how to handle them. If it weren't for these nurses, we would be truly lost. Of course, new kids at home present their own challenges and we've spent the last few weeks beginning to adjust to the routine of feeding schedules, naps, laundry cycles, meals and and of course, getting caught up on work. I'm very thankful to have a mother-in-law who has made it her mission to help us out as much as we need. I'm also very thankful for clients who have been more than supportive and patient with us as we've prioritized our kids and their health and growth over finishing up wedding photos and commercial images. 

We've been home for 3 weeks now and the kids are doing awesome. Both have grown a lot. Two weeks ago at their doctor's appointment, Weston weighed in at almost 7lbs and Summer, almost 6. At first, Weston's heart monitor would go off a lot, causing us to jump up and run in to make sure he started breathing again. But now, his apnea episodes are becoming less frequent and he is recovering from them on his own, which is a HUGE development. Kristen is taking a full 12 weeks off of school so she and her mother spend their days hanging out with the kids. They eat every 4 hours (10, 2 & 6) and sleep (at least we hope they do) the rest of the time.

One thing that came up in our last days at the hospital was the reality that we would have to quarantine the twins for an extended period of time. Premature babies have a extremely underdeveloped immune system and it takes almost a year for their bodies to catch up to the level of a normal child. Catching one little cold could prove fatal or at the very least, put them back in the hospital. With the exception of doctor's appointments, we have been told that we should not take the twins anywhere public until next Spring. That would get us thru flu season and give the twins time to develop their immune systems in a controlled environment. We are however, allowed to walk them outdoors in the open air and we are also allowed to have visitors in our home. We've had a good number of people sign up to bring us meals via a website (someone set it up for us). If that sounds like something you're interested in, let me know and I can probably figure out how to connect you to it. 

On behalf of myself and my family, I want to thank you again for all the love, the kindness and the support you've shown us. We are forever grateful. And now, here's a few recent images of #thethomastwins. Cheers :)