Where to begin?! It’s been too long since I last posted. The reason — my grandma Oyos celebrated her 80th birthday last Wednesday, and it was my intention to surprise her before her birthday party! She didn’t think the twins and I would be able to make it home in the near future, so I didn’t want to post anything that might make her think we were headed North.

Two weeks ago (Oct. 5th), my dad drove down to learn how to feed Sam. I was in charge of teaching him, and then Munroe-Meyer would observe a session on Friday morning. Dad did so well! (he obviously had an awesome teacher) He really took to heart what I told him about not acknowledging Sam when he starts to cough, and even if Sam vomits, just pretend like he didn’t– look away, and continue to feed him right after. While it’s incredibly hard for Adam and I to follow these rules, I think it’s even harder for a grandparent to follow them. However, Dad did an awesome job and caught on quick to Sam’s “cues.”

Saturday afternoon, we were off to Fargo!

You may notice in some of the pictures below that Sam the Man has his NG-tube back down… The Friday before we left was not a Funday. Sam’s vomiting (emesis) increased significantly, and before bed, his diaper was DRY. Dry. Saturday morning–DRY.

While I focus so much of Sam’s therapy on him learning how to eat, I tend to (subconsciously) overlook telling the world about his vomiting. Sam’s level of emesis is extremely high– for example, in a typical day he “should” consume 25oz of 28-calorie formula. Sam will vomit anywhere from 5-9oz of this back up. He has GER and Delayed Emptying–meaning his stomach doesn’t empty the food that goes into it fast enough. Combine these two–and it’s horrible. It’s terrifying as a parent. Sam’s extremely tiny for his adjusted age–barely in the 1-percentile. That’s his adjusted age; his actual age? Obviously he doesn’t even register on that chart.

Thus, Adam and I made the decision to put the tube back down. There was no way we were going to compromise our son’s health. We talked with the team at MMI, and we also decided that we are going to tube his last meal of the day over a slow rate to hopefully get Sam to keep down all of those calories.

Frustrated. Scared. Sad. Happy.

We are so, so, so grateful to the team at MMI for giving Sam the knowledge on how to learn to eat orally. It has been an absolutely incredible thing to watch.

Well, now that the “deep” stuff is over, let’s get back to the fun stuff!

Dad and I arrived in Fargo Saturday night. Mom and Auntie Krysta were slightly excited to see the boys 😉 Lots of playing ensued, and it was great to see our kids back in our hometown again. My family kept on commenting on how much the twins have changed–no longer are they cuddlers, who want to be held all the time. The boys are constantly playing– in the jumper, grabbing for cups (Jack to drink, Sam to knock over), playing with toys, making things be loud, etc… they’re becoming little boys!

Sunday my good friend Becky and her daughter, Lila, came over! It was my first time meeting the little princess, and she is just precious! The boys were enamored. I think it was more, “There are babies who don’t look like me?” vs “Ooh, pretty girl.” But in my head it was more the pretty girl thought, haha.

That Wednesday was Grandma’s birthday party, and my dad went out to Leonard, ND to pick her up and bring her into Fargo. He made up some story about having to stop by the house first. As Dad and Grandma walked in, Krysta and I rounded the corner with a boy in arm, and said, “Surprise!” She was shocked, and so excited. It was awesome having her see them again, this time big and healthy. Sam almost never cries, like ever, and of course he chose the 5 minutes before Grandma came over to start crying. Well, the minute she walked in the door and I handed her Sam, he calmed down, and within 2 minutes, he was fast asleep in her arms. Absolutely wonderful! That night we went to dinner with our extended family and saw my aunts, uncles, cousins, and their kids–It was so much fun! Really makes me wish we lived closer to home.

Friday night we had an impromptu birthday party for Sam & Jack! Adam’s parents came over for dinner, and since my family had gifts, we decided to go ahead and open them a few weeks early. The 2 favorite gifts? Trikes and the tissue paper filling the bags! 🙂 Videos below. So cute!!!

The majority of the time spent at home was dedicated to me catching up on lost sleep, and Mom, Dad, and Krysta adoring the boys. I kept on trying to tell them they were in for a shock when we got back to Omaha, but the boys just smiled and continued to soak in all the spoiling.

Mom and I drove back to Omaha yesterday morning and she had to leave today. Adam actually had yesterday and today off from work, and he did a great job of cleaning up and organizing around the house! It was nice to actually be together as our family of 4 again. I miss my family back in Fargo, but Adam, me, Sam, & Jack– that’s right where I want to be. {wow, I sound like a grownup}