Meet Amanda!

Hey everyone! I hope you have all had an amazing week! The weekend is finally here and I am so happy that I have this amazing woman on my blog today!
 I want you all to meet Amanda! I met her through blogging and she has quickly become a dear friend that I look forward to talking to every day! I just know that you will love her as much as I do so make sure you go to her page and follow her too!

First of all I just wanted to say that I am so excited to be guest posting on Tiffany's blog. She is a fantastic blogger and more importantly she has become a great friend. Tiffany asked me to write about my life with twins and I am excited to share our story.

When I found out it was twins both Clayton and I were in shock. I had been sent to the hospital to receive fluids after being extremely sick. The ultrasound tech said something about two and we were both confused about what was going on. The Dr confirmed it was twins and things changed from there. My dad is a twin and I always wanted to have twins. I had a few friends that were twins growing up and I loved that they always had each other. 

I was excited to tell our families and friends the good news. Everyone was very excited. After dealing with a very rough pregnancy which included a 63 day hospital stay I went into labor when I was 29 weeks and 6 days pregnant. Although many steps were taken to stop labor, the babies were born breathing on their own and fighting.

Emma and Levi were in the NICU for 52 and 53 days respectively.  They both came home just shy of their two month birthday. Bringing home one baby is overwhelming but adding in the second you almost need a small army to take care of them. I can't imagine having triplets or quads.

It was a huge adjustment and I have to say that my husband and my mom were the biggest blessings. When the babies came home I was still nursing, but because of their small size I was pumping the milk and we were giving it to them in bottles. At first we tried to have one feeding during the night where one person did it by themselves but quickly Clayton and I agreed that we could get it done faster is we just joined forces and each fed a baby.  We quickly settled into a routine and figured out how to handle these two sweet miracles.

It has definitely gotten easier as they have gotten older. Shortly after coming home both babies developed severe acid reflux which is common among preemies. It was frustrating and so sad to watch them be in so much pain as well as to see them throw up so often. Luckily as they've gotten bigger and matured the reflux and has gotten so much better.

Because they were preemies, Emma and Levi are a little delayed when it comes to milestones. At almost 9 months both babies are finally rolling beginning to sit up. I struggle with this when I see other babies their age crawling and doing things Emma and Levi should be doing. I know they will do it in their own time and I am forever grateful to be able to watch these sweet babies grow.

Life with two babies can be challenging when it comes to taking them places and getting enough snuggles in. But we've learned to adapt and we are enjoying this crazy ride with twins! I am excited that they will always have each other. It's like a built in my best friend and my hope is that they will love each other above anyone else!

Thank you Tiffany for the opportunity to share my story! 

See, I told you she was awesome!

 Amanda, you are welcome to post to my blog whenever you want to! 

Have a great weekend everyone!