`Tis the season...

Merry Christmas!

It's been an amazing 6 weeks and we've had a great time celebrating the holiday's with all of the family. Max and Molly both weigh about 8 1/2 lbs and are growing by leaps and bounds. They've graduated to larger bottles and are eating about every 5 hours now. Betsy has begun to venture out of the house during the day and we've all gone out to eat together as a family. It takes us a little longer to pack everything we think we'll need, but it's fun to take them out and show them off.

They still sleep a lot between feedings, but are more active afterwards and have begun to show emotion when we play with them. Max fusses at us to get our attention, and Molly remains content until we pick her up. Their personalities are beginning to show, and they love to play with their toys.


We make 10 bottles at a time, and that usually lasts us the day. Sometimes they get hungry early and the schedule we have changes. They're averaging 12 diapers a day, and we've gotten good at changing them with minimal sleep.

Grandma and Grandpa Woodall have gotten to meet them as well. 4 generations is an amazing thing and we're glad that we've had this opportunity.
We've also made the inaugural trip to the Gerst Haus for them to meet Rosie our favorite waitress. They slept most of the time and missed the great ambiance of German food and drink. I'm sure it won't be their last trip.
We wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and your family.


Melton's x 4

Gobble gobble....

We had all the family at our house for Thanksgiving, and we are truly thankful that all could be here with us to celebrate new life, love for family, and a great year.

Hope all is well with you and your family and that you had a great Thanksgiving too.

Melton's x 4

At last.....

(hope your speakers are on)

They're home!!!!!!

It's been an eventful couple of weeks, but we've all made the right decisions so far. Max and Molly have gained all of their weight back and then some, are able to maintain their body temps at room temperature, and don't have any other problems that the Dr's or nurses can see. They’ve had a few shots to help them ward off infections prone to early babies, and we’ll monitor everything about them.

We're excited about the coming months, to see them grow and begin to discover their world. It's going to be great to have all of our family under one roof, and to see what Lucy and Ebby think about their new brother and sister.

We've tentatively planned a routine, hoping that we haven't missed anything. The nurses have been able to keep their feeding schedules relatively close for us, so we don't expect to have one baby eating one hour, and the other one the next. We know it won't be easy, but we’re prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure their health and happiness.

Hope all is well with you and your family, and we'll keep you updated on how everything goes.

Melton’s x 4

Baby love...

It's been an eventful time since Max and Molly were born. We slept, we didn't sleep. We ate, we didn't eat. But above all else, we've learned a lot about taking care of twins and about what kind of parents we want to be. We're very lucky to have Grammy Bucko here with us, we probably couldn't have made it without her.

We ended up having to admit Molly to the NICU on Friday the 14th because she was having trouble maintaining her body temperature. It was a minor setback, but her admission was for the best. Betsy and Max were discharged and we began our adventure by bringing him home. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to maintain his body temperature at home, and after a quick visit to the E.R., he was admitted to the NICU as well.

Molly's weight dropped from 4 lbs 11 oz at birth, to 4 lbs 2 oz when she was admitted to the NICU. Max's weight dropped from 5 lbs 3 oz at birth, to 4 lbs 8 oz at his admission. The reason for the weight loss is they were using all their energy to stay warm, instead of storing fat. The NICU nurses, Julia & Terri, told us they were just early enough that no matter what we did, it was almost certain these problems would arise.

Both of them have made great recoveries in the past couple of days, maintaining their temps and gaining most of their weight back. They've been in temperature controlled isollettes since their admissions, helping them to gain as much weight as possible without continuing to lose more weight. They'll be moved to open air cribs tomorrow, to see if they can maintain their temps at room temperature. This will be their last test before coming home, and we're all excited to see how they do. We understand if they don't pass, they'll have to go back in the isollettes for a little while longer, but we're prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure their health.

We're still pinching ourselves to make sure it's real, and we couldn't be happier with how well they've done. Betsy is feeling great and is going to be an awesome mom.

We can't wait to introduce them to you all. Hope all is well with you and your family.

Melton's x 4

Born 2 be wild...

Max, Molly, and Betsy, continue to impress everyone here in the hospital. Betsy has moved from the observation section of post partum, to full recovery post partum. She's feeling good and is getting around great in the room. We've taken a couple of walks in the hall and she's not had any troubles.

Max and Molly continue to feed every 3 hours, sleep really well, and potty lots! Both are regulating their temps well and we're free to have them in our room as much as we'd like. We've kept them here with us during the day and evening, and send them to the nursery during the night. The nursery nurses have been great, bringing them to us when they're hungry, and updating us on what's happened while they were away.

We're expecting to go home on Thursday, giving Betsy one more day of recovery than we originally had planned. We're excited to go, and Grammy Carolyn will be with us to help with all that Max and Molly will need.

Hope all is well with you and your family.

Melton's x 4

Happy Birthday!!

Holy cow, what a wonderful day. November 9th, 2008.




Maxwell Dean and Molly Elizabeth were born and everything is great!!!


Max is 5 lbs 2 oz, 17 3/4" long, and was born @ 1:20 p.m.

Molly is 4 lbs 11 oz, 18" long, and was born @ 1:22 p.m.

Both were screamers right from the start, and both came back to our room right away.

All 5 grandparents were present, crocodile tears were everywhere, and we're all still on cloud nine. The grandma's hugged and cried, and the grandpa's sniffled and smiled. Dr. Schroeder said we made the right decision and said their birth was as close to perfect as could be.

We expect to come home Wed mid-day, giving Betsy a little more time to recover here in the hospital. She's had a helluva day, she did an excellent job (was talking pop-culture with the anesthesiologist during the section!!!!!) and had both kids feeding within 3o minutes after birth.

I'll keep you all posted how everything goes in the next couple of days.

See ya!

Melton's x 4

Birthday!!!!!

Max is 5 lbs, 2 oz, 17 3/4" long. Molly is 4 lbs 11 oz, and 18" long. Betsy is doing great and did an awesome job and we're all very proud of her. Neither kids had to go to the NICU, both regulated their temps right away and were very vocal!!! Molly has the "lip thing" already figured out, and I'm sure she'll use it get get to our hearts every time. Max becomes very anxious when Molly cries, so I'm sure the protective insticts have already kicked in!

We'll post more pictures when we have time. Just wanted to let you all know all is well.

Hope all is well with you and your family.

Melton's x 4

Patience is a virtue...

Betsy has been admitted to the hospital because of high blood pressure, as well as strong contractions. She's 35 weeks 6 days as of today Nov. 8th, and the big event could happen at any time.

Dr. Schroeder wants to continue to evaluate her and watch the kids, and believes that we'll have a good idea of what we're doing on Sunday. We're both very excited, anxious, nervous, and a every other adjective that you can think of.

Lucy and Ebby are getting excited about meeting their new brother and sister, and have gotten extra curious since Betsy hasn't been home for a couple of days. Betsy's parents have come down to help us out, as well as babysit the grand dogs.

We'll keep you posted as to what we find out tomorrow, we're crossing our fingers for more good news!

Hope all is well with you and your family.

Melton's x 4

Still waiting.........patiently

Max and Molly are in final preparations and should be making their debut shortly. We went to the hospital early Monday morning because Betsy was having lots of BIG contractions. The nurses admitted her to the hospital and felt that we were on our way to meeting Max and Molly. We stayed for 2 days, had some progress, but had to come home because no more progress had been made and Dr. Schroeder felt that Betsy would be more comfortable at home.



She has revised her orders for Betsy, changing them from bed rest only, to modified bed rest which means she can move around the house and go for short walks (as long as she takes her phone!!!).





We're very anxious for the big day, but understand that each and every hour that Max and Molly stay in the "oven", the better they are.


We'll keep you posted if anything changes.


Hope all is well with you and your family,


Melton's x 4

4th quarter....

Still going great!!! We visited with Dr. Schroeder this afternoon and she insists that this is an A+ pregnancy. She commented several times on how good Betsy looks and that she's extremely lucky for not having to go through all the stuff that so many mothers-to-be have to go through.

Betsy is 33 weeks 4 days along and our new goal is to make it to 35 weeks (Nov 2nd). She's feeling good, kids are moving around a lot, and the dogs are confused about why she's home all the time. Betsy says that the contractions have gotten a little closer together, but have still not had two hours of six, which would warrant me to put her in the car and drag race across town.

We'll keep you posted on how it all goes.

Hope all is well with you and your family,

Melton's x 4

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETSY!!!

Stay, just a little bit longer.....

Betsy and I visited with Dr. Schroeder today. Betsy was extra excited because it meant that she was getting to leave the house for the 1st time in a week and a half. Early last week, we found out that Betsy had started pre-term contractions. They are consistent and small, so the Dr. decided to keep her overnight for evaluation. She was allowed to leave the next day, but with strict instructions to minimize activity and take her prescription every 4 hours. She's had a lot of support from her boss, counterpart, and lots of the Dr.'s offices that she calls on. They all can't wait to see her back on her feet and really can't wait to meet Max and Molly.


We had another ultrasound to make sure that all is well. We found that Max weighs approximately 4 lbs 8 oz and Molly weighs 4 lbs. Both of them are a little over 15 inches long, and both had heart rates in the high 140s. The exciting part (especially for Betsy) is that Max has switched positions and is now in the "head down" position. Molly is still up high laying transverse with her head on the left side and her legs on the right. This means that as long as Max stays head down, Betsy will get a chance to have a "true" birth and save the Cesarean for complications. The Dr. is happy with their progress, and still believes that this pregnancy is an A+.


Unlike previous ultrasounds, Max was quiet and reserved. He stayed in the same position and didn't move a lot while being measured. The picture above is of his back, back of his head at the right, and his left arm barely visible at the top. Betsy said he must have been catching up on his sleep, since he was up all of last night.


As with Max, Molly was quite unusual during this visit. She was kicking, waving her arms, as well as opening and closing her mouth. She would hold still long enough to get measurements, and then would take off again moving all about. At one point, it was clear to see her breathing, her diaphragm raising up and down.


Like we've said throughout the whole pregnancy, we are very excited about meeting Max and Molly. We continue to imagine what it will be like to feed them, change their diapers, as well as learn all about their personalities and see how they react to each out in the world.

With Betsy being on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy, she's extra excited to meet them and get back to moving around. Since the bed rest has begun, we've received so much support from family and friends and we're humbled by how gracious everyone has been. We know that Max and Molly will have lots of people looking after them and watching them grow.

We have another Dr.'s appointment next week, so we'll post again soon.

Hope all is well with you and your family.

Melton's x 4

Rounding 3rd and headed for home....

Things have really started to move along quickly in the past couple of days. Betsy started to have some early contractions, small, but consistent. She went to the hospital earlier this week for some evaluation and the Dr. decided to admit her overnight and put her on some meds to slow the contractions. On a scale of 1-10, she was having contractions measuring 1 and they were happening several times an hour. Dr. Schroeder believes that she has them under control, but because of their consistency, she doesn't think the meds will stop the contractions from continuing. She does believe that the meds will limit them from becoming any stronger and should prevent them from becoming more frequent. Betsy is 31 weeks and 4 days along, so any more time we can allow Max & Molly to grow would be wonderful.

While at St. Mary's, both babies checked out great! They both had heart beats in the 140-150 bpm range and Dr. Schroeder believes they weigh a little over 3 lbs a piece and should be gaining at least an ounce a day. She also said that if they should happen to come now, they are both very viable with minimal intervention. Max & Molly would most likely have to spend some time in the NICU to help them maintain their body temperatures. They probably would be able to regulate their temps on their own, but may not be able to maintain them without assistance for a couple more weeks.

Betsy is in good spirits even though she was a little scared earlier this week. With assurance from Dr. Schroeder and all of the nurses, she's confident that all is well. She's on bed rest at home for the duration of the pregnancy, but she has Lucy and Ebby to keep her company. She's got some "projects" to work on for work, and there are lots of registration forms to fill out for car seats, stroller's, and furniture.

We've installed all 4 car seats as well as assembled the stroller. I'll be stopping by the fire department in the next couple of days to have them all inspected to make sure they are ready for Max & Molly.

Fall is definitely here in Evansville, and it's shaping up to be a very exciting time for all of us. We can't wait to introduce Max & Molly to everyone and start our lives with them.

Hope all is well with you and your family,

Melton's x 4

Big wheels keep on turning...

Wow, we truly have wonderful friends and family. Max and Molly have received so many generous gifts and we are 100% equipped for them to come home. Now, if Betsy and I can just feel as equipped mentally we'll be all right. We're learning a lot in our classes, but we still have lots of questions for the Dr.

We have been to Bloomington and Hebron the past two weekends and have had a great time. It has been great to hear all of the advice as well as all of the stories about what it was like when Betsy and I came home from the hospital and joined our families.

Betsy is still feeling good, but getting more uncomfortable every day. The Dr. told us at the last appointment that Max and Molly should be gaining an ounce a day, thus getting considerably bigger from here on out. The next Dr.'s appointment is this Thursday and we'll find out more on their actual size then.

We've started to pack "The Bag" for when we leave for the hospital, making sure to put all the goodies that Betsy will need for the time she's there, as well as the first clothes that Max and Molly will wear. (Which ones will they be??)

We're also planning on meeting a friend of ours who is an Evansville Fireman to make sure that we've installed the car seats properly, as well as know how to transfer the seats to the stroller correctly. It's amazing to see all the things we can use to carry them when they're little, but what do we use when they're running around chasing the dogs and going crazy?

We'll keep you posted over the next couple of weeks on how everyone is doing and we hope all is well with you and your family.

Melton's x 4

Pregame...

We had our first shower this past weekend and it was a wonderful time. We have both realized that Max and Molly are just a short time away from joining our family and it's awesome.
The shower was a lot of fun and we received lots of great gifts from our family and friends. Everyone is genuinely excited for us and we can't wait to introduce them to Max and Molly.

Uncle Matt came to visit from Nashville, TN and is excited about meeting his nephew and niece. We joked about him being so tall and how he'd have to be extra careful when he holds them. I'm sure he'll have a tight hold on them when they're teeny tiny, and an even closer hold on them when they're older.


We also had our recent Dr.'s appointment and Max and Molly are right on track. Both kids are above average for twins on size and weight, and continue to be very active in Betsy's belly. At the time of the appointment, Betsy was 28 weeks and 3 days pregnant.


Max measures at 28 weeks 3 days, weighs 2 pounds 10 ounces, and his heart rate was 148 bpm. He was very active, grabbing his legs and waiving his arms, as well as pushing against Betsy's belly. It took quite a bit of time to measure him because he wouldn't hold still long enough for the sonographer, but finally calmed down long enough to get the necessary measurements.


Molly also measures at 28 weeks 3 days (she's caught up!!), weighs 2 lbs 7 ounces, and had a heart rate of 142 bpm. She hasn't been very active during the previous ultrasounds but apparently decided that she would roll around and put her hands in front of her face during this exam. She kept opening and closing her mouth and the Dr. said this was good because she is exercising her jaw muscles. Betsy and I suspect that she'll be the vocal one when they are born becuase of all her warm-up stretching!

Our pregame has started and we're getting more and more excited every day. It's getting very realistic and the thought that they could be here in a little more than 6 weeks is really exciting. We feel like we're ready and prepared, but continue to have long conversations every night and laugh and giggle talking about Max and Molly. As they say, "we couldn't be more excited if we were twins."

Hope all is well with you and your family,

Melton's x 4

Little bit closer...

We've attended our 1st birthing class and it really brought home to us what is going to happen. The class has 9 other couples in it, all from different walks of life and from different areas of the Tri-State, but all with the same goal; to learn what we need to know about giving birth to our children.


We all got the opportunity to introduce ourselves and tell everyone about our pregnancy. Everyone spoke about who their Dr.'s are and how far along they are, as well as what they are having. It was amazing to hear that everyone before us all knew what the sex of their baby is and how many of them are boys. When it came to our turn, I introduced who we were and who our Dr. is. Betsy then took over and said that we too were going to have a baby boy..... and a baby girl. I haven't seen heads turn that fast since the last NASCAR race!!


We also have been working on Max and Molly's room. We picked up their very own big red chair/rocker and have hung a few more items on the walls.

We're preparing for our first baby shower this weekend. It's a couple shower and lots of our friends will be in attendance. Our friends Susan & Chad Metten, and Dan & Kim Banks are throwing the shower and I'm sure that we'll have a great time.

Hope all is well with you and your family and we'll post again soon.

Melton's x 4