6.28.2009

0

Week 3, Day 3 - Due Date

Today is the due date for our boys, giving them real age of 3 weeks and 3 days but an adjusted age of 0 days.  This really only should come into play with things like weight percentiles.  In extreme cases where babies are really early, like a couple of months or more, their adjusted age is used for milestones, too.  I don't really see that happening with us, though.  The boys seem to be doing what they're supposed to.

And what they're doing is getting big.  Alex has moved up to the next size diaper (size 1, 8lb to 14lb) and has started wearing 0-3mo clothes.  Zach is finishing off the newborn diapers since his belly isn't quite as big.  It'll probably be a week or so before he switches to the bigger clothes, though.  He's just not built the same as Alex.  Zach is longer and skinnier.  Alex has a big belly and is more compact.

The night after my last post, Alex's umbilical cord came off.  Both boys got a bath in the blue tub today.  It's kind of hard to judge when to wash them but I'm shooting for 2 or 3 times a week.  Of course Zach threw up all over himself and J about 2hrs later.  hehe

They have dry skin on their faces, hands, and feet still.  I've been trying to put moisturizer on them daily and it seems to help some.  The skin seems to flake off and doesn't hurt or leave the skin underneath red.

They also got their first nail trim.  When they were first born, their nails weren't anywhere close to the end of their fingers.  Within the last couple of days, though, they've gone from soft baby hands to razor sharp talons.  I cut them while they were asleep in my lap.  No blood was drawn and neither woke up.  One down, 5 million to go!

Alex and Zach's newborn days of sleeping quietly are over.  They're now big boys and want to do big boy things like grunt and fuss if they're not being held during the day.  Zach's taken to waking up crying even though we can't find anything wrong.  Right now he's passed out on me and Alex is resting on J's chest while we both surf on our laptops.

I don't mind the neediness, though.  It's kind of nice holding them.  It just gets a little much when it's both of them requiring your full attention.  J and I have both learned how to hold and carry both of them at the same time.  I've also bought a Moby Wrap so I can wear one baby around hands-free.  I'm still learning the correct tightness but it seems to instantly put a fussy baby to sleep the few times I've tried it.  J wants me to get another one so we have a 1:1 baby to wrap ratio.  hehe  They're only $40 and work up to 35lb.

One nice thing, at least for now, is they don't need someone to hold them at night.  We do our normal feed-burp-diaper-feed-sleep routine without any variation.  I've continued to half-swaddle them from the chest down, mostly for warmth.  They're also wearing socks on their hands to keep them warm.  The entire house is set to 72°F but the ceiling fan in our room makes a little breeze.

Zach seems to be sensitive to whatever Alex is doing.  If Alex is upset, Zach starts getting cranky, too.  If Alex is grunting to make a dirty diaper, Zach joins in.  Alex coos and Zach coos in reply.  On the flip side, Alex doesn't seem to care much about what Zach is actively doing, but when it comes to sleep time, Alex reaches out to touch Zach.  Even if we switch which side each is on, Alex will reach out with just the hand closest to Zach to be sure he's there.

Next weekend is the 4th of July and their unofficial 1 month Birthday.  Our plan is to have J's family over for a cookout and some pool time.  I'll have him call around with the details early this week.

On the 5th our friend is coming back over to shoot their 1 month photos.  I wanted to do a sort of 4x6 frame collage thing on the living room wall with their monthly pictures but haven't had much luck finding frames.  One company sells pretty close to what I want for $350.  I went to the craft store and the smallest wooden frames they have are 5x7.  Target will sell me 4x6 frames for like $25 ea.  I'm not sure why this is so difficult and expensive.  You'd think with so many digital cameras and printouts you'd be swimming in 4x6 frames.

Here's some pictures from this week.


This baby thing is easy!


A Moby'd Zach

6.23.2009

2

Week 2, Day 5

It's a bit different doing this blog now, with less doctors' appointments and the like. I'm not saying I miss them. Oh, not hardly! It's just a bit more free form now. hehe

Both Alex and Zach continue to do really well. They have really good appetites and are getting plenty of sleep. Alex's umbilical cord is STILL attached, which makes it difficult to get his baths in. It'd be much easier if I could just hose him down in the little blue tub. It doesn't seem to be any less attached since last week, either. According to the internet, it could take 3 weeks or more to fall off, so it's not really an issue at this point. This is just a downside of having twins - it's really easy to compare one baby to the other and then worry something's wrong.

We had some friends over on Saturday to see the babies. The boys pretty much slept the entire time, with the exception of a quick diaper change. One friend brought her camera and took some photos of the boys. I've posted them below and think they turned out really well. In a stroke of luck, I got an email from the company I ordered their birth announcements from saying 2 of the pictures were blurry. This meant I had time to substitute this much better photos. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to work my point-and-shoot camera...

J's sister and her son also came over on Saturday. She got to spend some time with the boys while J played with our nephew. Unfortunately it was extremely hot outside by this time, so J's options were limited. She also brought us a roast and we've been working on it ever since. I think there's only a little left.

Sunday was Father's Day. J's dad was sick so we ended up just hanging out around our house. Normally I like to do something for J when it comes to holiday's. My plan was to get up after the 6am or 7am feeding and make him breakfast in bed. Alex had other plans. I was up with him from 3am to after 5am just trying to get him settled down. Then he woke up at 6:30am all fussy again. I had J hold him while I handled some Zach related issues. J (the genus that he is!) commented that Alex seemed fine as long as we held him. It was once we put him in the co-sleeper that he'd get worked up. I wasn't looking forward to holding him the rest of the night, or what was left of it, so I tried the next best thing - swaddling.

We had stopped wrapping them in blankets about a week ago because they seemed frustrated at having their arms pinned down. It seems like we've come full circle now and it's their flailing arms that are getting them worked up. Within a couple of minutes of being swaddled, both babies were passed out. Their mommy soon followed and all dreams of breakfast were dashed. So the new daddy ended up getting me breakfast in bed on Father's Day, plus letting me get a few extra hours of sleep. hehe

Yesterday the boys, my sister, and I went on a shopping excursion to Target then Publix. Target was fairly uneventful until the boys woke up hungry. We made ourselves a little camp in the corner of the snack bar. The boys had bottles and the adults had hotdogs. I took them one at a time to the bathroom for diaper changes. It worked out fine and the babies got lots of complements on their cuteness.

I think at this point I could handle both boys at home by myself since we have a good system going during the night. Going out, especially any place that requires pushing a shopping cart, still needs two people. The snap 'n go stroller is great but I can't push it with one hand. hehe

Alex


Zach

6.17.2009

0

Week 1, Day 6

The boys have been busy since the last post. On Saturday a number of family came over to see them. It's really nice having visitors, especially now that I'm not couch-bound.

Sunday was warm but overcast. My parents wanted to visit the Reedy River Park before they left so we decided to all go. The boys ate just before we left so they slept the entire time. We strolled around and looked at the flowers. My dad brought his bubbles and pretty soon there were kids gathered around him, trying to pop them. We sat in the shade most of the time and watched people swimming in the river. Their first park trip was a good one.



Monday was my OB check-up. There's not much to report except my incision looks good.

Tuesday was the boys' second pediatrician visit. It was nearly identical to the previous one. They checked their weights, eyes, ears, lungs, heart, and tummy. Alex weighed in at 6lb 10oz, a 5oz increase over his birth weight. Zach was a hefty 6lb 6oz, an increase of half a pound over his birth weight. He's fast closing in on Alex, with the difference going from 8oz to only 4!

Alex's umbilical cord is still about half attached. While we were at the doctors, the nurse looked at Alex's stump and decided it needed some treatment because of some oozing. She used a silver nitrate stick to cauterize the wound. Immediately Alex started screaming. I was pretty irritated and picked him up as soon as she was done. She should have asked me if first before causing him pain, or at least warned me so I could try to distract him. I'm not sure that was even a necessary procedure since it still is weeping and looks exactly the same.

After the doctors visit, the four of us went to Publix. The boys were passed out as I strolled them up and down the aisles. Loud noises and the store music didn't even phase them. The only time they reacted was to jump when a lady threw some frozen veggies in her cart with a bang. This was their first trip there and the first time in about 3 months since I'd been there. Needless to say I probably bought too many things.

The boys have been practicing their tummy time during their awake period in the morning. Both can roll from their tummy to their back, although Zach does so with less fussiness. It's really cute watching them work their arms and legs, all the while grunting in mild frustration. Speaking of grunting, during our 6am feed/diaper ritual, Alex grunted so hard while trying to make a dirty diaper that it woke J up. hehe

Zach has become what we call a song bird. When he's trying to go to sleep he'll make very cute little sing-song sounds. He's also generally more vocal than Alex at this point. It's kind of like a coo but with his mouth closed. Alex, on the other hand, seems to love having his face gently stroked, especially his cheeks and chin. He'll close his eyes and sigh in contentment. Neither boys likes their hat and makes a scrunchy face when we adjust them.

I'm able to keep up with their milk needs now, and can even be slightly ahead at times. Right now we have a couple of bottles in the fridge and I need to go pump soon, too. We've stopped charting their eating and diapers since it seems like they're doing really well all on their own in that department. Plus whatever keeps me from doing math at 3am is a good thing. hehe

My mom and dad left this morning to head back to Ohio. My sister will stay with us until about mid-August. We all sat down last night and watched the video J had taken at the hospital. My mom and J both teared up a little when we came to the boys being born. I think during the actual event, J was too busy trying to take everything in to be emotional, but it was sweet to see him be so happy like that.

The boys got J an early Father's Day present - a digital frame for his desk at work. I gathered up pictures from all the different cameras and loaded it with the best shots. They also got my mom a digital photo keychain for helping us out so much. This way she can keep the boys with her wherever she is.

The pictures they had done in the hospital arrived a couple of days ago. Unfortunately neither pose was the one we picked out. One wasn't too bad, so I decided to keep it but the other - Alex looked like he was crying. Who would want that? So I called them company and they've already shipped the correct pose. Hopefully it will be here soon.

6.15.2009

0

Week 1, Day 4

Quickie update...

Zach's umbilical cord fell off yesterday. I was trying to decide if he was ready for tummy time or if we should wait on Alex. While I was putting moisturizer on Zach's back, this is what he did:



That's not an action photo. He was holding it there for about 30 sec at a time. So my mom got out the play mat and he practiced some more for about 5 min.

6.12.2009

0

Week 1

This has been a pretty big week for us and the boys. We went to their pediatrician on Tuesday. Alex weighed 6lb 2.5oz, which was only 2.5oz less than his birth weight. Zach weighed 5lb 12.5oz, so he also had 2.5oz to catch up. There's no reason to worry unless they haven't caught up by 2wks post birth. From a percentile standpoint, they're really low because they're being compared to 40wk babies. The nurse said not to worry about those numbers. She did say that Alex was a little on the short side, though.

One thing I thought was funny was head sizes. Both of them are in the less than 10th percentile for weight and length but Alex is in the 25th percentile for head. I guess me calling him a bobble head wasn't far from the truth. hehe

The rest of the week has gone on pretty smoothly. We're getting better at changing diapers, knowing when they're hungry, and burping them. I did have two bloopers with them, though. Both have managed to projectile poop onto my shirt. I've learned the hard way that if they appear to be concentrating, it's best to just wait it out.

Zach seems to be a bit of a momma's boy. When he's fussy, it only takes about 5min of him laying on my chest and he's passed out. When I try that with Alex, he props himself up on his hands as if to say "Yeah, right" and keeps on crying. J can calm him with a gum massage, though.

I see a lot of J in the boys. All three of them make little snorting noises when they sleep. The cutest thing was when I went for a 3am snack and asked J to keep an eye on them for me. They were a bit fussy and would reach atomic status if their paci's fell out for too long. When I got back, all three were asleep and gently snoring. My heart just about melted.

Today we had a free in-home nurse visit as a sort of follow-up that the hospital does for new moms. She checked their hearts, lungs, bellies, and weights. Everything looked good! Alex is now at 6lb 6oz and over his birth weight. Likewise, Zach is at 6lb even and also over his birth weight. This is excellent news and gives us reassurance that we're feeding them enough. She also checked me but substituted "incision status" for "weight". My tummy is healing up nicely. I stopped taking my pain medication yesterday so I figured as much. I did lose an instant 20lb having the boys and my tummy is getting smaller. I only look about 3-4mo pregnant. hehe

On the topic of feeding, I think I've decided to stop trying to breastfeed them. They latch on but end up just getting really angry and frustrated. It's not that big of a deal to pump, especially since they're eating more than I can provide anyways. I'm probably supplying about 50% to 75% of most meals and making up the rest with formula.

One not-so-good thing is that J's paternity leave has been cut short. This week his work did a reorganization and let a bunch of people go. Both of our friends that worked there have been laid off. Also J's boss was fired. They're starting up a production line this week and some of J's area of responsibility have been having problems. So in a nutshell, they asked him to come back to work early and postpone his leave until a later date. I know he doesn't like leaving the boys but we're lucky that we have help via my mom and sister.

My dad is flying down today to visit for about a week. It'll be good having him here and I'm sure he'll love the boys. Both he and my mom will be heading back to Ohio next week. She has a few things to do at home before going to visit my brother in Japan. My sister will be staying through the end of the summer, though.

I've added a new thing to the blog, mostly so J can keep up with the boys' happenings while he's at work. Zach and Alex now have a "Corner" on the left side of the page. I'm going to try to post bits and pieces of what they're doing throughout the day. If you follow this blog via a reader, just add http://twitter.com/AlexNZach to it!

6.08.2009

0

Week 36, Day 4

Well, where to begin? We got up last Thursday morning, got dressed, and got ready for the hospital. We stopped by Publix on the way to pick up some snacks. We learned our lesson that food after 6pm can be hard to come by if you don't want to leave the hospital. The check-out girl asked when I was due. We laughed and said today!

Once we got to the hospital they checked us into a Labor and Delivery room, but it was only for the pre-operative prep work. They took my vitals, checked the babies' heartbeats, and gave me an IV. Since the spinal can cause nausea, they also gave me a cocktail of anti-stomach acid medications. Unfortunately that made me feel kind of bad, but only for about 15 min. J donned blue paper scrubs, a mask, and shoe covers.

My nurse, Sarah, (whom I've had at least during two previous visits) held my IV and wheeled me into the operating room. J had to stay outside in the hall until me and the room were ready. I sat with my legs off one side of the operating table while the anesthesiologist gave me a spinal injection. There was a brief kind of pain or burn at the injection site that shot down my back, but otherwise it wasn't bad at all. By the time they administered the shot and had me lay down, my feet were already numb.

My arms were kind of spread eagle on two support platforms. In my left arm was my IV, with a blood oxygen monitor on my finger. The other arm had a blood pressure cuff and a hand available for J to hold. The operating room was amazingly cold. The nurses piled 3 layers of warm-from-the-dryer blankets on my arms and upper body. Meanwhile other nurses worked on getting my belly sterilized and ready for baby extraction. They put pressure cuffs on my calves to help maintain blood flow.

Once everything was ready and a blue sheet was in place by my head, they let J in to sit near my head. About this time I was feeling kind of weird. My body from the chest down was numb to pain but I could still feel pressure. I started to get kind of freaked out that I couldn't move my toes, even though I could sort of feel them. I just had to stop thinking about it and get a grip.

Before I knew it, they were making the incision. Baby A, named Alexander James, was delivered at 2:30pm. He weighed 6lb 5oz and was 17.5in long. He immediately started crying and peeing. I could hear the nurses laughing as they tried to dodge the flow. The wailing was soon made a duet when Baby B, named Zachary Kenneth, was delivered at 2:31pm. He weighed 5lb 14oz and was 18in long. Just like his brother, the pee flowed. While the nurses were dealing with that, Alex peed again while being weighed. There was all kinds of baby comedy going on. hehe

The time it took the OB to sew me back up was much longer than it took to have the babies. During that time my blood pressure went low and I started feeling dizzy. The anesthesiologist was quick to respond with some medication to get it back up. Another side effect of the spinal was my uncontrollable shaking. It was pretty strong in my arms and looked like I was freezing, even though that wasn't the case.

J had the video camera out and was trying to capture everything going on with the babies. Both of them continued to cry at the top of their lungs until the nurses bundled them together. Immediately they went silent and were content. Our greatest hope was realized when both babies got a clean bill of health. Neither needed to spend any time in the NICU or nursery. We were going to the Mom and Baby Room as a family! J got to hold the babies (still sharing the same blanket) while they got me ready to be wheeled to the room. For the actual journey, though, I got to hold them for the first time. It felt great to have them in my arms, but a little scary since I was still shaky. J and I were both stunned at how much they weighed together - over 12lb of baby is a lot!

We spent about 30 min in the room together while the nurses finished their inspection of the babies. The only thing of note was that Alex had a little low of a body temperature. He was placed in a warmer to help correct it. Later I held him skin to skin and finally got his temp control working right. We also did our first breast feeding then. It went well and both babies seemed to get some milk.

Pretty soon family was allowed in, including all of the nephews. It was fun watching everyone holding them and getting to know the newest additions. I was on a couple of pain medications plus the residual spinal so the exact details of their visit is a little hazy. I took the time to kind of relax while everyone else was tending to the babies. After the last family member left, the nurse came in and gave the boys a sponge bath and washed their hair. They didn't much like the first part, but the hair washing was a big hit. hehe

Over the next 3 days, J and I learned all about swaddling, diaper changing, breast feeding, pumping, and general baby maintenance. While the boys did do a lot of breast feeding in the beginning, it soon became obvious that they weren't really ready to handle that. We spent over an hour trying to get them to suck - the latching on was easy. A lactation consultant helped us get on a schedule that involved continuing to try to get them to breast feed while supplementing them with formula and pumping/feeding them what colostrum I could produce. The boys eat every 3hrs or sooner if they look hungry. They seem very happy and healthy with this set-up.

A pediatrician from Parkside came to evaluate the babies every day we were in the hospital. While they look pretty identical to me, except that Alex is a little bigger, the main difference the doctor found was that Zach has a dimple at the base of his spine, where his behind starts. It's no concern medically, though we do have to be sure it's clean during diaper changings.

We all came home on Sunday, 3 days after they were born. During the day they sleep in a pack 'n play in the living room. We've been changing them on the coffee table and generally hang out with them on the couch and chair. At night they sleep in the co-sleeper in our room. We change them on the bed. Our routine is that I'll take the hungriest looking baby and check his diaper. If it's dirty, I'll change him. Then I'll try to breast feed him. If it looks like it's working, great. Otherwise J starts making up a batch of formula. I pass the first baby off to J for feeding and get started on the second one's diaper. Our boys love to eat, so J is normally finishing up with the first one's burping by the time the second one has a clean diaper and is ready to go. I'll start pumping while the second one is eating. J helps me at the end of pumping. The whole process takes us about an hour, giving us around 2hrs between feeding sessions to sleep, eat, or take a shower.

This has been a mega-length post but I wanted to add some cute pictures, too. While they were in the hospital, they had their first pictures taken. You can view them here, with the option to buy (Password is R0T5L9V8S8 if you need it). Be sure you use the dropdown box to view all of them. Half are under Alexander, while the rest are listed as Zachary.

I need to go pump now but will be back later to add more pictures!

6.03.2009

0

Week 36, Day 3

We went in for the amnio this morning. The original plan was to test Baby A's fluid. Unfortunately, he's so buried under Baby B and his bubble that there was no way to get to him. hehe So Baby B got to be the guinea pig. The initial poke hurt about the same as a normal needle but when they went through the uterus wall, my entire belly clenched up. That was the part that hurt. Otherwise getting the sample was uneventful.

After the amnio they put me on the baby monitors for about 30min. They wanted to be sure that the procedure didn't put me into active labor and that the boys were fine. Nothing seemed to phase the babies. In fact, Baby B took this opportunity to take a nap. Delayed stress plus a really big belly aftershock did make me sick, though. Leaving the office, I felt like I had just finished a marathon.

A few hours later we got the news that the test was positive! The babies are ready to be born! After talking with the MFS and discussing the potential complications of a vaginal birth, we've decided to go with a C-section. I'm scheduled to go into the OR tomorrow at 1:30pm. We need to go into the hospital 2hrs ahead of time to get preped. I'll have at least an hour of recovery after the surgery. As far as everything else goes, we'll just have to wait and see. I want J to stay with the babies (if he's allowed) while I'm doing my post-op thing.

So we're pretty excited! I'm especially looking forward to being able to hand these boys off to other people to carry for a while. hehe

6.01.2009

0

Week 36

We just got back from the regular OB. Everything is still looking good for both babies. Baby A continues to cause problems with the ultrasound tech. He' pretty much hiding under Baby B with only his head sticking out. Neither boy has given my ribs much of a break, though. I had to hold Baby B at bay during the ultrasound. I think we'll all be happier once they're out and have more room to stretch.

The only new news for today is that I'm about 2cm dilated. The OB called this "a nice start" and again seemed surprised that I have lasted this long to begin with. I think the key is that I don't sit up much anymore. I spend almost all of my time laying on my side. I'm lucky I'm able to do this.

So my regular OB and the MFS are supposed to figure out what the ultimate plan is if the babies have good lung development on Wednesday. The OB seems more of a "let nature take its course" type, while the MFS has a "if they're ready, get them out" stance. Hopefully they'll reach a middle ground. Personally, I'm ready to be done with this whole pregnancy thing. J's been asking them every day if they're ready to come out an play. hehe