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!