2 weeks old

It's been two weeks since that crazy delivery day!! I failed to post after the first doctor's visit last week. Mostly because I love just sitting around and looking at my babies! I have a hard time getting anything done when there are these two precious boys to stare at and cuddle with. We take great naps together. :) So I will try to include all the past week's events.

naptime

this is how we tell them apart for now... :)

On Friday the 10th, we went to see our pediatrician for the first time. It wasn't the official well-baby visit, it was more like a recheck from being released from the NICU. Both babies weighed in at 6 lbs 2 oz, which is 3 oz up from Aidan's birthweight and 2 oz down from Jordan's (he lost 5 oz in the NICU). That was the only measuring they did, but they were pleased with it. No shots or pricks that day, not a bad first venture out of the house, overall. Saturday, my family got to come down and visit for the day. That was the first they had seen of the babies outside the NICU, so also the first time to get to hold them for awhile. I think my parents got to hold them while in the NICU, but I'm fuzzy on those details. So my parents came down with my sister and her kids and loved on the babies all day. It was good to see them all in my house and not in the hospital. Bryson and Martha Cate fought to hold babies all day and MC really wanted to take one home with her!

Grandpa Jordan and the boys

Aunt Sarah

Bryson with his new cousin

MC and her new cousin

Not much to report from this week, other than Andrew had to go back to work. I hate that the majority of his planned time off was spent in the hospital, unable to lay around with me and love on the boys at home. The first day back was really hard for him, he doesn't run well on very little sleep. He's getting better as the week goes on, though. His mom has been staying with us at night and through most of the day, which is a huge help. I'm absolutely exhausted and night time feedings are a blur! I'm breastfeeding, so there's not a lot of help Andrew or his mom can give me in that, but just having someone else to burp them, change their diapers, and get them back to bed while I feed the other and/or pump is awesome. It makes the amount of time we have to spend awake much shorter! Next week, my mom will be spending at least the last half of the week with us. Hopefully she'll get to stay a little longer and spend some extra time with the babies. Our church family has been bringing us meals a few days a week, which is also excellent. Supper is one of those things that you don't think about until it's time for it and you don't have anything to fix or really want to fix anything. It's really nice to not have to think about it (and we've gotten some really yummy food!).

Yesterday was the babies' first official well-baby check up. They both were down in weight from last week, which is not so good. They were both around 6 lbs 1/2 oz. But they both measured 19 1/2 inches long! And their head circumference was up, too. So in my mind, having gotten a good bit longer, but not gained weight is ok. But obviously losing weight is not what we want. Mostly what the doctor was unhappy about is that the weight loss kept Jordan from reaching is birthweight. BUT we just started breastfeeding this week and we're still working out the kinks. I think that will account for most of it. However, Dr. Starer didn't think that was a good excuse, and said he wants me to supplement with formula. He only asked that they get 1 to 1 1/2 oz of formula after every feeding, but even that I really dislike. I was very unhappy to hear him ask me to do that. I have really struggled this week with trying to make nursing work for all of us and it's been a very emotional week for me dealing with that on top of everything else from the week before. So I've been talking to the president of the Bham Area Mothers of Multiples who is also a La Leche League Leader. She's been helping me figure out how to nurse twins most effectively and what to do about the doctor's request to supplement formula. We're working on keeping Aidan & Jordan awake longer during feedings to make sure they get the hindmilk because that's where most of the fat and calories are. We started out with the disadvantage of them learning the taste of formula and the ease of taking a bottle. The taste issue was overcome easily, but Jordan still doesn't like working harder for his food! I'm so thankful that I've been getting involved with the BaMOMs and that God has used that to bring such giving and helpful people into my life.

This weekend I hope to start trying to nurse the boys together and get their two week portraits done! Not much time for anything else when feedings (both babies together) last about an hour with around 2 hours of rest between the end of one and start of the next. Just enough time to change diapers, feed Mommy, and get ready to start over. :) This is my normal.