Monaghan Easter

Also affectionately referred to as 'Fake Easter,' we celebrated the holiday on Saturday this year. We tend to have our holidays whenever we can get everyone together, and we don't mind moving them.... except Christmas... you don't mess with Christmas.

Anyway, this was the boys' first trip up to Lowell. I hadn't been there myself since early February so it was a long time coming! We loaded up the van with the ten thousand things we needed and headed up 93. Everyone was very well behaved for our first long car trip with all three kids.

The boys were very happy to pose for pictures- even this one with the giant Easter Bunny. Ben is on the left, Jack on the right.


They are pretty good about having their eyes open for pictures. If you have tried to get good pictures of ONE newborn with his eyes open, think about trying to get good pictures of two with their eyes open at the same time- no small feat!


Mairead also had a few Easter Bunny pictures, but she was more interested in taking apart the eggs than she was in looking at the camera. I really wanted pictures of all three kids together, but Mairead has better things to do, apparently.

After dinner on Saturday we had a visit from lots of Donahues! Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Donahue, Josh, Becky, and Ailish for coming to visit (you too, Christin!). It was great to see everyone and it was fun to watch the girls together. For those of you who don't know, Josh has been a friend of mine since 7th grade, and now his daughter is only 4 months younger than Mairead, so maybe we have started the next generation of friends! It also works out really well since we love the Donahue family, and now that Brian and Christin are dating, we get to see them a lot more.

They put their heads together for this puzzle. Mairead was pretty good about sharing, but some of the puzzle pieces Ailish had seemed to end up in Mairead's hands.

This was Mairead's first introduction to the giant stuffed bunny. I love when she is this excited- it show you what pure joy and excitement look like.

She was also very excited about desserts. That is cupcake frosting she is wearing.

She also loved the sugar cookies Katie made that were shaped and decorated to look like bunnies. Two desserts in one day- it was a good day for Mairead!

Isn't it awful- I have no idea which baby Mike is holding. In my defense, I can't really see his face. I swear, I really can tell them apart!

Mairead LOVED Jen's boots. When she first saw them she got this look of amazement on her face and ran over to touch them.

She also loved her hat. She had been wearing it around the house in the week prior to Easter, and she has been wearing one at home since Easter ended, too. I'll post those pictures as well as pictures of 'real' Easter Sunday when I re-charge my camera battery

While in Lowell, Nana gave baths to Ben and Jack. Ben loved it in the big sink- he actually fell asleep while he was in there! Jack (in this first photo) was his usual self- looking around very curiously at what was going on.

Ben could not have cared less what was going on- he was so relaxed!

Thanks to everyone for a great Monaghan Easter- it was fun to see everyone and to spend time with our family and all of our kids. We went to Lee and Jean's for Easter Sunday and I will post pictures of that day (and Mairead's other cute Easter dress) when I can. Hope that everyone had a great Easter weekend!

A Visit from the Heckathorns and other updates

I have a few things to share today so this post is a mixed bag. First, we did manage to get a couple of pictures of Jack's first bath--well, his first bath at home. He actually seemed to like it once he got settled in.


He has a habit of opening one eye to scout out a situation before he opens both to really look around- it's pretty cute.



This past weekend, Ry, Dave, and Rachael were nice enough to make the long trip out to see us. Luckily, it was a beautiful day and we were able to spend some time outside. Mairead spent most of her time chasing Rachael around and trying to play with whatever toy Rachael had. Rachael was a generous older cousin, and did a nice job sharing with Mairead.



This is the double stroller that we use to get around with the boys- it's quite the contraption.


Jack is wearing an adorable little snowsuit from his Grandma Dorothy- they are the smallest ones she could find, and Jack is still swimming in it! But, the suits kept the boys nice and warm for their first outdoor adventure.

One nice thing about twins is that when people come to visit, everyone gets to hold a baby- no waiting!

Dave and Ry helped Rachael with her first time holding her cousin.

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We had a great visit- thanks, guys!

In other news, yesterday was my original due date- amazing, isn't it? We have had the boys around for a month and two days, and I wasn't even due until yesterday! We had a pediatrican appointment yesterday (it had been a whole 5 days since our last visit). The doctor thinks the boys look great. Jack is recovering really well and Ben is just huge! Well, if you call 7lbs 9oz huge... Jack is still our little guy at 6lbs 15oz. The boys have had a little trouble with reflux and so Jack is not gaining as much as we'd like, but the doctor gave us some ideas for how to help them with that.

Both boys are getting longer. Big Ben is 19 1/2 inches and Jack is 19 3/8 (they were 18 and 17 1/2 inches at birth). We will go back next week to see how they are doing. I wondered aloud the other day what other moms do on their maternity leave. I bring my kids to the doctor. This coming week, we have Visiting Nurse on Tuesday, Pediatrician and Early Intervention on Wednesday, and I have my own appointment on Friday. The next week, we have VNA again, more EI, hip ultrasounds in Boston (standard for breech babies), and another pediatrician follow up. Our insurance company must LOVE us (Kandi- I am sure you can relate!). This was pretty much the norm when I was home with Mairead, too. I will be thrilled when we can go a week without an appointment! But, it is nice to have so many people checking on our little guys.


Thanks again to the Heckathorns for a great visit!

Rachael and Jack

A Month Old Already???

First, let me admit that I am having 'mommy guilt' about using a picture of the boys as the header for the blog since I am replacing Mairead as the solo star of the show. I need to get more pictures of all three together.

How did they get to be a month old? March was a very long month for us since we spent most of it at South Shore Hospital, and now all of a sudden, the boys are a month old today! I almost feel like the NICU time didn't 'count,' and that they are really only a week or so old, especially since I have only had two at home for about 5 days. My due date is not actually until Wednesday, so they are really about -2 days old.

Visiting Nurse was just here to check on the boys and they look great. Big Ben is 7lbs 8oz, and Jack is right behind him at 7lbs 4oz, though he looks and feels smaller than that. They are both gaining weight very well, and we are very happy with their health right now.

We had a great weekend- especially with our visit from Ry, Dave, and Rachael. I will post pictures of our day together when I have a free minute!

Settling In

Now that everyone is home, we are trying to get into a routine here at the Hickok home. That is easier said than done, especially since on the first day that Jack was home for the whole day, Mairead did not go to daycare since Ms. Pat had a doctor's appointment. So, I had all three kids by myself for the first time. Honestly, it was nowhere near as tough as I thought- probably because Mairead was nice enough to sleep a little late and to take a long afternoon nap. And, it helps that the boys are really good babies. One good thing about the NICU, they get their babies on perfect schedules so that when they come home, they are already in a good eating routine. My guys are like little clocks. They want to eat just about exactly four hours apart. The only tough thing is that they both want to eat at that time, so I am getting good at feeding them simultaneously when I have to.

Here is the cute picture of the day- Jack is still so much smaller than Ben!

At the pediatrician today, Jack was 6lbs 6 oz. Ben has not been weighed since Tuesday when he was 6lbs 15 oz, and he has been gaining an ounce or two a day, so I put him at about 7lbs 6oz or so (which is what Mairead weighed at birth). On Monday, the visiting nurse will come again, so we'll have both boys weighed then.

The pediatrician thinks that Jack looks great and that he is recovering well. He will be more susceptible to colds and other respiratory illnesses, so we just have to be extra careful about hand washing, etc. Also, we have to be 'those parents' who are super cautious about keeping germs away from him. So, we apologize in advance if we keep asking you if you have been sick lately!

Mairead is adjusting so well to all of these changes. When the boys are in their crib, she keeps asking us to pick her up so that she can see them. When they are in their carseats on the floor, she tries to rock them (maybe a bit too vigorously), and she is constantly trying to share her snacks, toys, and shoes with them. She is adorable. She is also brilliant, if I may brag for a second. Yesterday, she totally surprised me with something she knows how to do. She had her picture flashcards (no, we don't drill her with flashcards, she just likes the pictures) and was playing with them in the kitchen. She took one or two of them over to the fridge where her magnets are, and very carefully held a flashcard to the fridge with one hand, chose a magnet, and placed it on the flashcard so that it would stay on the fridge. How the heck did she know how to do that? She is a constant surprise!

Here she is enjoying Miss Spider time with Daddy and Jack (I'm pretty sure it's Jack- how sad is that? In real life I have no problem telling them apart, but in pictures it is really hard!).




Judy sent this beautiful arrangement to celebrate the 'reunion' of our family- thanks, Judy!


Grampy got some quality time with both boys. This is Ben... I am sure this time because I know he was wearing those pjs.

Thanks to all of you for checking in with us. We hope to see all of you when Jack is a little stronger- let's hope it is very soon!

Home at Last!

Jack was finally reunited with his twin brother this morning when Dave and I finally were able to bring him home from the hospital. We are so thrilled to be finished with this long ordeal and we can't wait to settle in to a regular routine with all of our kids. Jack and Ben were very happy to be back together-- we could literally see them relax and be so comfortable when we put them together. Daddy finally got to hold both of his boys at the same time!


Ben is our big guy at 6lbs 15 oz, which is about a pound more than Jack who is 5lbs 14oz. You can really see the size difference between them, which helps us to tell them apart!


Poor Jack's skin is all broken out from the adhesive used to keep his feeding tube and oxygen tube on his face, but he is still adorable!



I love this one of my guys!

After hanging out together for about 15 minutes, Jack threw up on his baby brother- I'm sure this won't be the last time for that. The boys have to take these awful liquid vitamins and they never sit well in their little bellies. Ben didn't seem to mind, though. I'm sure he will return the favor at some point!

We are excited for Mairead to get home from daycare this afternoon so that she can see both of her brothers together. She is going to start thinking that we will bring home a new one of these every couple of weeks. She is so sweet with Ben, and I am sure she will be the same with Jack. Yesterday, she was 'talking' on her cell phone and then put it up to Ben's head so that he could talk. She also brought him a pair of her shoes and tried to put them on his little feet- she is so stinkin' cute!

Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive and generous for the last 3 1/2 weeks- we have relied so much on the support of our friends and family and we could not have made it through this without you. We will finally be able to send you all some pictures of our kids together!

I will try to keep updating the blog often- with three kids, I'm not sure how often that will be, but I'll do my best!

No more oxygen!

This afternoon when my dad and I went to see Jack, there was something noticeably absent- an oxygen tube! He has been breathing totally on his own all day, and his oxygen saturation levels have been perfect. He has also taken his last three bottles totally on his own, so hopefully the feeding tube will be gone soon, too! We are thrilled with his progress in the last two days and very optimistic that he will be home with us soon.

Update on the Kids

Jack is doing well this morning- they repeated the chest x-ray after another dose of the medication, and they said that his lungs are "all but clear." We are thrilled to hear that, of course. He is eating a little better with each feeding and just has to work his way back up to the way he ate before he got sick. He is looking better with each visit- I will try to take some pictures next time I go to the hospital. We are thankful for each little improvement and we hope he will be back with us soon. Last night when I was leaving South Shore Hospital, I thought of how strange it will be to not go there again. Between everything with Mairead, my many pre-natal visits, and all of this time there with the boys, it has become routine to go there all the time. The doctors and nurses have been great, but I will be happy if I never have to go there again. Dave will miss their cafeteria, though... they have great ice cream.

Ben is also doing great. It took him a while to learn to eat well, but he seems to be making up for lost time. He is eating more than three ounces at each feeding. I don't think Mairead did that when she came home from the hospital, and she was about a pound bigger than he is right now. He is getting bigger each day! A Visiting Nurse comes tomorrow, so I will find out how much he weights now. I did get a couple of pictures of him with his eyes open- he is so damn cute! My grandmother, Judy, and Theresa came to see him yesterday and he was a very well behaved little guy.

Katie and Steve also came to visit yesterday and helped us out a lot with entertaining our guests while handling lunches for both Ben and Mairead. Also, Katie made us some fabulous meals and desserts-- that was such a huge help because the last thing we feel like doing is cooking, so we got to eat 'real food' for dinner last night!

Mairead is officially the cutest she has ever been. Every day, she does something new and even cuter than the day before. She likes for us to hold her up so that she can see into Ben's crib, and she tells us, "Shhhh..." when he is sleeping. She is also learning to blow kisses with a very exaggerated, "mmmmm, mah!" sound. Judy brought her a Cat in the Hat stuffed animal, and yesterday she was carrying it around making it 'talk' and 'dance.' She also took him for a little ride in the doll stroller. She is adjusting very well to all of the changes around here, and we know she is going to be a great (but probably bossy) big sister to our little guys.