Thing 1 and Thing 2

WE HAVE TWINS!

Maxwell Apostoli and Madison Lee came into our lives on June 7, 2013, born to my nephew Andy and his gorgeous wife Ana.  Even though they arrived six weeks early, the wait for these two miracles seemed eternal.  That story is their parents' to tell, though, and Andy and Ana both will be posting on their blog Danger! 10,000 Schultz as soon as they catch their breath.  In the meantime, the twins have captured the hearts of all who have met them.

Beginning in the NICU . . .

Max and Madi spent several weeks in the NICU before they were strong enough to come home.  After all, they did arrive six weeks early.  They never really looked like preemies--they both weighed in the five pound range at birth.  Because they didn't quite have the strength to eat enough, they required their bottle feeding to be supplemented with tube feeding.

I couldn't wait to meet the twins, but I didn't want to intrude on private moments either, and so I had settled on the idea that I would see them when they got home.  Fortunately, I didn't have to wait that long--Andy and Ana invited my mom and me to come to the hospital on the babies' one-week birthday!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into their little private room.  Truth be told, I was pretty nervous about meeting them.  I didn't know if I would be able to keep it together, seeing all the tubes and wires.  As it turned out, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.  The only wires were little heart and oxygen monitors to make sure all vitals were measuring normal (and they were!).  Both babies still had feeding tubes in one tiny nostril, but they were so small and transparent, they were hardly noticeable. 

Greeting us and making everything even more okay were Andy and Ana, already expert preemie parents and looking proud, happy, and beautiful.  They were eager to share their little miracles with us, letting us watch them change and feed the twins.  They definitely had the process down, and I beamed from a safe distance as Madi almost finished her tiny bottle (she just needed the last few drops in her tube).  Max also finished his bottle, albeit at a much slower pace than Madi.  He kept dozing off between sips!

 

Madi and Max are home now and growing quickly.

These two little miracles are already loved by so many . . .

Their mommy and daddy

Their beautiful Aunt Amy

Their Grandma Lynne

and Grandpa T

Grandma Tina and Grandpa Foti in Macedonia!

Grams! (Madi's middle namesake, Lee)

cousins aunts, cousin cousins, and so, so many others

and ME!

(their great aunt)

That eternal wait for Maxwell and Madison Schultz is now a distant memory.  It seems as if they have always been a part of our family--just two more reasons to believe!