Twins are 4 months. Corrected age 11 weeks

Much to be Thankful for!

4 months old

Things are on the up and up since my last post. We still have our challenging days, like anytime we need to accomplish anything not baby related but life is getting better. I am able to decipher from their coos and cries if a baby is hungry, bored of their current position or tired and in need of sleep. We still have complex days but at least they are getting more pleasant.

silly faces

We spent the last 6 weeks diagnosing what might be upsetting poor Logan. He showed signs of reflux but also signs that he could have trouble digesting. With the medical professional help of my Uncle Rick, cousin Chip and best friend Laura, we sampled some different formulas to see what would help best with his colic/reflux. I chose to skip going to the pediatrician so they could charge me $20 to tell me to try something else plus I trust the people I mentioned far more. We tried the sensitive formula first with little to no change, the soy formula next with some change but not enough and now we are using the hypoallergenic variety known as Nutramigen which appears to be the winner! The real sign that it's working for him is that he is having nursing style blowouts versus the very firm for newborn stools he was having. I am fairly certain he has grown out of his reflux and I only administer the Zantac on days he shows symptoms which is getting less and less now. He has taken up spitting-up during feeds with the new formula but that is far better than the screaming. He is becoming a happier baby but still does have his moments of louder than hell cries but anything is better than what we were dealing with.

loves his bro

matching jammies

Kelsey is an angel! I am so lucky to have such a sweet heart. She has finally started cooing more and has a very quiet mousy voice in comparison to Logan's "hey everyone" squeals! She is very petit weighing in at only 12 pounds. Much smaller than her hefty twin! Logan is now 14 pounds and 7 ounces. She is a breast feeding champ receiving mostly all breast milk as Logan is no longer breast feeding. I was going to have to cut out all dairy from my diet if I wanted to continue nursing him incase he had a dairy sensitivity. It may be selfish but I said no thanks, considering most of my protein comes from dairy and I'm already losing weight like a fool from nursing. Kelsey is also quite the wiggle worm. She manages to go to sleep on one end of her crib and wake up in the morning with her head on the other end of her bed turning a whole 180 degrees! We have developed some nicknames for the babes! Kelsey is K-cup like the coffee brand or "angry kitty" because that's what her cries sound like :) Logan is Logi Bear (Yogi) and Austin is Booboo! Uncle Dylan refers to them as shrimps and is quite witty in coming up with names, shrimp baskets when they sit in their vibrate chairs and shrimp carryout when they are in their strollers :)

strong babies...shrimp donuts :)

I am ecstatic that the babies sleep so good at night usually 10 hours between feeds. They really like their nursery and cribs. They easily calm down and seem to realize when I turn their rain sound machine on and lights off that it's time for bed. Kelsey usually goes down on her own in a sleep sack while Logan usually needs to be rocked and cuddled with then swaddled for the night. Austin has been going down earlier and not waking due to the fact that he only naps on some days! We can usually all be in bed around 11:00 p.m. and up around 7 or 8 a.m. The babies still take at least one long nap a day with a couple shorter ones. I often have two children asleep and one awake giving me some one on one time with each of them. I love days like that when everyone gets the love they deserve :)

Ellee and Kelsey

We were recently home for the Thanksgiving holiday and enjoyed the many helpers including best buddies Drake and Ellee! We had a very busy couple days filled with multiple meals and visiting with friends and family. The kids all travel well so we have no quams about staying away from home every couple weeks. It helps that we have spare everything (vibrate chairs, blankets, swings, pack-n-plays, toys diapers and wipes) at grandma and grandpas and Grammy's so we don't have to pack as much each trip. We are heading home this weekend and then again at Christmas for an extended stay!

Drake and Logan

This month I decided to shoot my own infant photographs and our Christmas card photos because I had a hard time connecting with our previous photographer. I bought Paul a DSLR camera as a wedding gift and he bought me a fixed focus lens for my birthday! This lens allows me to take high quality portraits! It allows me to focus on the faces and blur the background. I set up a make shift studio in my dining room, set up a back drop, used the natural light during the day and artificial lighting at night. I shot photos for two days and got some beautiful results. Needless to say, I will be doing it again in the future. I just need to buy a real backdrop rack and some photography lights and I think I can rock this! I have all kinds of home decorations as props so the sky's the limit :)

Logan

Logan

Kelsey

Hats made by a friend

Letter blocks from cousins Katie and Chris

On another note, the idea of starting work again in March is seeming more fathomable now. I plan on watching Hugh's little sister Claire two days a week. She is the same age as the twins so triplets it is...yes I'm nuts :) Big brother Hugh is staying in a daycare/learning environment! We are going to try it out a couple days in February to see if I can manage 4 children. My hope is that it works out and then I can take her 3 days a week in the fall when Austin goes to preschool! Only time will tell! Depending on how things go this spring, will help me decide if I am capable of another part-time child on the days Claire is not with me.

The next post will be after their First Christmas so goodbye to this year of surprises,tons of tears, excitement, filled with emotions and most challenging times of my life and fingers crossed for a Happy New Year!

Twins are 3 months. Corrected age 6 weeks

Family photos in the park

The winds of change!

Lots of changes have happened in the past month. For starters and on a good note, the babies are both regularly sleeping through the night. (Happy dance) Kelsey on average goes 5-7 hours between the night feeds and Logan goes 6-8 with an occasional 9 hours between. His record has been 11 hours!!! He might have gone more but I woke him to feed in the morning. Then they both go back to bed and usually sleep another 3-4 hours. That means on a really good night I can get 10 hours of broken sleep or on a bad night I'm still getting around 7. Either way, it's wonderful because I need all the energy I can get because once 10:00 a.m. rolls around my day is non-stop until around midnight when they go down. I rarely nap anymore but sometimes I get lucky and manage a 30 minute cat nap. Remember last month when I said I try not to sit down because I get drowsy?? Well, this month if I get a chance to sit down, it's like heaven on earth to put my feet up!!!

I have sooooo much to do each day that it's just crazy bananas. Being alone with all 3 kids is really hard work and I often find myself eating for the first time each day around 1:00p.m. and it's not always healthy(lots of cookies! I have developed a sweet tooth much to my dismay). Between feeding all 3 kids(I am constantly feeding someone) washing and prepping bottles, preparing breakfast and lunch, laundry and prepping dinner I am usually run ragged by the time Paul comes home. It's nice to have him home in the evening to take some of the load off and provide Austin with more attention. I try really hard to contain myself but unfortunately Paul gets a lot of grumpy mommy moments, I really am sorry honey! I miss my mom (it's her busy work season) and cousin Katie's help. I have had friends come over for a couple hours each week which is really great but I really need someone here ALL day. With me not working, we absolutely cannot afford for me to hire help so volunteers it is! I honestly don't know where I even found the time to write this blog. It takes multiple days of writing a little here and there, adding pictures and editing and about a week later I can finally send it out!

Logan's first real bath- 13 pounds of chunk!

I live in my pajamas and only get dressed if I need to leave the house. Even when I shower which I find time for about every day and a half, I just put a clean pair of pajamas back on! Sexy!!! I have a appointment to have a massage this weekend and I just cannot wait to relax for an hour then enjoy lunch at Brio with friends! The mommies group is calling it Mom's day out at Crocker Park! I am attending 2 of the 5 functions during the day away! I would do more but they all cost money that we don't have!

Okay enough about me and back to the babies. They are now sleeping in their own nursery. We had to do a 3-room shuffle in order to get everyone where they belong. We have spent our weekends bit-by-crying-baby-bit cleaning out our 3rd floor and moving Paul's office up in order to move Austin into his new big boy room and the babies into the nursery.

As for the nursing, Kelsey is nursing wonderfully and in fact she gets most of the feeds now. Logan has started causing too much fuss while nursing and popping off too much so he gets nursed only twice a day and formula the other feeds. Kelsey has to have a minimum of 2 formula feeds because of the calories it offers or she would probably be exclusively nursed. I enjoy nursing her so I am sticking with it for now! Logan's reflux is much worse than Austin's was. With Austin, the one dose of Zantac a day was all he needed and he would just spit up ALOT. Logan doesn't spit up nearly as much but when he does, it really hurts him :( He arches his back and pulls up his legs in pain. He receives 2 doses of Zantac a day and to help him he eats smaller bottles(3 ounces) more often. Sometimes a hour apart and sometimes 4 hours apart. I also have switched him to a sensitive tummy formula as it appears that he might have an issue with lactose. They are both on an on-demand feeding sequence but it has it's own schedule built-in where they both generally take a long nap in the afternoon/early evening same as Austin. This is my only saving grace. I turn off everything (lights,TV,sounds) and sometimes just sit on the couch and stare at the ceiling motionless.

Kelsey after bath- 11 pounds of skinny!

The babies enjoy some wake time it the morning after their good night's rest and again in the evening after their long nap! We often have a witching hour starting at 9pm and ending at midnight when they usually go down. It really is the hardest part of our day because Austin, our night owl is usually awake until 11 or later too! Getting everyone to sleep is relentless! We are back and forth with Austin who still struggles with going down on his own and waking up in the middle of the night sometimes. We have tried so many different methods, limiting nap time, changing when nap is, no nap, keeping a light on, laying with him, letting him cry it out, sometimes things work but mostly he is inconsistent :/

Austin with his best buddies at 12 weeks old

When the babies are awake they are only sometimes happy. When they are content they are smiling and have started with some occasional cooing, mostly from Logan as he smiled first too. They can both roll over from tummy to back during their tummy time and I am hoping for some giggles soon! They have their fair share of fussing.(The majority of their wake time.) Again, mostly Logan. He is a very high maintenance baby, much harder than any baby I have ever dealt with which is mostly due to his reflux. Kelsey has her moments but usually calms down when she is propped up and can look around. I blame the fact that I can't just hold and cuddle with them as to why they are so unhappy. It is really hard to enjoy them when there are two. I was lucky that I got to spoil and snuggle with Austin and really wish I could give these babies that same attention. I am sad to say they both have to spend so much time in a vibrate chair or swing just so I can manage to get through the day. I would like to note that this hard time only started a couple weeks ago, up until then they were pretty good and I ran things very smoothly.

Logan is a cheese ball

Austin has adjusted to his siblings very well. He asks to hold the babies by putting his hands out in request. He gives the babies their NUKS when they cry and he likes pointing out their body parts. He was very used to other children in our home from me watching kids so he copes well with not having my undivided attention. He enjoys getting his picture taken with them and says "I chee" ( I cheese). We recently got ambitious and took our own family photos in the metroparks! They turned out well considering we were chasing Austin around, holding the babies and using the tripod and remote to take pictures!

Another self taken family shot

I am very much looking forward to the day when things get better and easier on me. I am definitely going through a rough patch with this age group and I have had great reasurrance from family and friends that their will be light at the end of the tunnel. No offense to anyone else but the only people who actually make me feel better are other moms of twins because THEY really get me and there really is no other comparison!

Mommies group Halloween Party- yes we match!

Annual pumpkin picture....epic fail!

So, on that note let's hope next month's post is more pleasant with the holidays approaching and I will have more help from family again!

Twins are 2 months. corrected age 2 weeks!

Good morning we are wide awake!

Time flies when you're having fun! Paul might not agree with the term FUN but I love babies so life is good! The babies have been home for a month so it sure doesn't seem like 2 months already and they are the size of average new babies so that might be why two months seems so awkward. My official due date (September 21st) has come and gone and so we refer to the babies development by the term "corrected age." This means that although they are 2 months of age, we judge their milestone accomplishments with other babies by measuring their age from my due date. Technically then, they are only 2 weeks old and should only be doing what other two week old infants do! I would say this is mostly true in my opinion but they are ahead with some things like how much milk they drink at each feed(4-5 ounces) and how long they sleep at night (4-8 hours) between feeds. Kelsey has also started to roll over from her stomach to her back which is EXTREMELY early!

8 weeks old and matching clothes

Right now our average routine is this. Wake up at 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. and feed both babies. One is nursed the other receives a formula bottle. They eat again at 12:00 or 1:00 and they trade places. The opposite twin gets nursed and the other receives the formula bottle. They eat again then around 4:00 with the trade system and again around at 7:00 or 8:00p.m. They take their last feed about 11:00 pm and then sleep until around 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. and then the process starts all over again. Most of the time I am lucky enough to have a nap in the afternoon when all 3 kids sleep from 2-4ish.

Austin loving on his siblings

Wearing Logan

Paul has been back to work so I don't wake him during the night unless they are both up at the same time or I am having a rough night which isn't that often, once every couple nights or so. I make time to eat, clean and give Austin attention and some occasional baking and cooking. I really don't know how I am pulling it all off but as long as I stay busy I don't get tired. As soon as I sit down it all hits me so I try not to sit haha! I have only had about two weeks on my own which I have done well, the other two weeks I have had lots of help between my mom and my cousin Katie. Everything runs smoother when someone else is around but I have been doing just fine on my own too! I have bonded well with the babies which is good but it also means that they prefer for me to hold them versus being laid down. I often "wear" whichever twin is acting up or wanting more attention. We have a great Bjorn baby carrier that I sport around the house doing dishes and laundry with baby in tow! Kelsey has a small hernia so she prefers to lay on her tummy. I do allow her to rest a couple times a day on her belly with my supervision but never at night.

Wearing Kelsey

As for me, I had my 6 week check-up and everything is fine. My scar has healed wonderfully and is very small and not very noticeable. I have also gained most of the feeling back around the scar too which I was surprised about because I though it would take longer. The only thing left is about an inch around my waist I would like to lose before the next bathing suit season and the weird fatty "shelf" that rests atop my scar which I have been informed might never go away but at least it's hidden :/

We have been getting more used to our family of 5 and went home for a weekend this past month. Sure, it would be easier to stay at home but we have had our fill of being at home. It was amazing to get away and change up our routine a bit. Luckily, we have everything we need at my parents house which makes traveling home fairly easy. We plan to come home at least once a month. We enjoy continuing to keep our lives busy and want the babies to get used to being "on the go" as we are very social people and enjoy have our children in the mix! We are not the type of people who plan our days around nap times or bedtimes. We do keep a routine but it's very flexible! Austin is a go with the flow kid that can nap and sleep anywhere. We would like the babies to be the same so getting them out of the house every once in awhile will be good for that! Granted, we are more precautious this time around to keep the babies healthy but coming home to see family has been safe so far. I have also taken the babies out for a date each so far. It's easiest for Paul to have Austin and only one baby if I am going to be gone for a long period of time. So, I took Logan with me to my mommies group open house and I took Kelsey shopping with me to a PTA sale because we needed some more fleece clothes.

Heading out for a walk while cousin Katie visited

The babies had their 2 month checkup and weigh in at crazy big weights. Kelsey is 9 pounds 2 ounces and 20.5 inches long. And Logan is 10 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches. He's already on track to be a toad baby just like big brother Austin. I am hoping that Kelsey will be our peanut so I don't have 2 ultra heavy babies. They are growing so fast and use size 1 diapers and have started wearing 0-3 month clothes. Considering their corrected age we moved quickly out of the NB diapers and NB clothes. We are still wearing pretty much only fleece jammies. I tried cotton clothes for the warm weeks we had but the babies were very fussy and I think they just weren't warm and snuggly enough. As soon as I put them back in fleece clothes they have been happy and content again. Logan has reflux so he has been on Zantac like Austin was. It works mostly but he burps all day long. We know that if he lets out his normally very loud scream/cry it's because he has yet another burp! Kelsey is generally more mild of a baby and has cute little girly cries not like Logans screeching screams! This week also marks the first time that the babies both slept through the night. We fed them at 11:00p.m. and Kelsey ate again at 6:00a.m. and Logan at 7:15 a.m. Logan mostly has 6 hour nights but now maybe both babies can have longer nights (fingers crossed). We've had it really good! The NICU has its advantages. They came home on a wonderful schedule and I only had a couple weeks of rough sleep before they started going 4-5 hours and now a couple weeks later they are starting to sleep through the night. I could not be happier!!! We have had many friends and family with twins whose babies didn't sleep well until around 4 months or later! They are doing so well that they will have their next Dr. Appt. At 4 months just like average babies! I will continue to post once a month for now and I know lots of you already see these pictures on Facebook but we have many friends and family that aren't on Facebook and that's why I continue to post on both!

Legs out and ready for shots at the pediatrician

 Until next month!

Weeks 36 and 37 Twins 3 and 4 weeks old "Party of five"

Mirror Image

Sunday was disappointing because we knew Kelsey had to spend some more time in the hospital. She may only be involved in a 3 day countdown instead of 5 days but we hadn't heard which. Life was usual for me, I went in to visit and feed Kelsey and then spent the rest of the day with the boys. We had our first 4 member family nap time (we do this at least one of the days of the weekend because we stay up later at night usually watching movies and need extra sleep. We hope that Kelsey will also be on board with this tradition haha! Later Paul took his regular turn to the hospital and gave Kelsey a bath while he was there! I was very proud of him :)

Monday  we had a new game plan. I didn't have anyone lined up for this week to watch the boys because we had thought Kelsey would be home so instead I went into the hospital at 8:00a.m. to nurse Kelsey and plan to do this the rest of the week until she is home. She finally latched on after not nursing for a whole week and she ate great and we actually got to cuddle. She stayed wide wake for our visit and it was very nice to visit with her. It was also my first day home alone with the boys. We had a great, quiet and relaxing day which included our now daily nap in the afternoon....ahhh if life could be this easy. I am nervous about when Kelsey comes home and this system is disrupted. Again like I said earlier, I hope she is on board with the whole mommy needs a nap plan :) One can hope right???

Tuesday Kelsey nursed well again but later in the day she had some eating related spells. The more dangerous spells occur when they are fast asleep and require the 5 day countdown. The feeding spells are either related to too much food intake, burping or reflux and only requires a 3 day countdown. So we are now looking at Friday for her to come home. Logan is doing great at home and I have already noticed his pattern of wake time during the day.

Wednesday Logan had a pediatrician appointment. He grew loads! He is now 18+ inches, when he was born he was 16.5. He is now 5 pounds 12 ounces. The Doctor was very pleased with our progress and it was a real accomplishment for me that I am doing my job right and that he is eating enough! Kelsey had an eating spell so we are on a three day countdown for coming home on Saturday. She also is tipping the scales at 5 pounds 14 ounces. It may just be a matter of days before they are both 6 pounds, I just cannot believe how well they are doing. I am doing awesome too! I stepped on the scale and was shocked to see that I am down to 119 pounds which I am really happy with. I only have a small pouch just above my incision. It's like a fat shelf hahaha! The "pouch" has barely any feeling sensation above or below but my friends have told me that the feeling will eventually come back and the pouch will go away too. Yay, hopefully in time for beach season next summer, although I don't know how much beach and pool going I will do with 3 kids but we will see.

4 weeks old and I am thin again!

Thursday my mom came up to spend time with the boys. I went in to feed Kelsey and ran a couple errands. It has been nice to feel like I have a Iife again(and to think) I wasn't supposed to drive yet until this Sunday! With talking to many people about the no drive period, we as a group decided that yes, it was a good idea to not drive the first two weeks in order to let my body heal but the second two weeks was okay because some people still take the pain medicine but I had stopped taking those, so driving would be fine.

Friday my lack of 9-10 hours of sleep caught up with me. I will confess that I slept through my 4:00a.m. alarm to feed Logan and he woke me at 5:30 fussing and wide awake ready to eat. He had gone 4.5 hours during the night. If only I could feed on demand I would be getting much better sleep. I am going to ask the Pediatrician at our next appointment on Tuesday when we might be able to stretch out the night time feeds especially because they are both gaining great weight. Speaking of, Kelsey has hit the 6 pound world!!! What a big girl :) Logan should also be passing this milestone in the next couple of days. Kelsey nursed well again this morning which makes me so happy. There is light at the end of the breast feeding tunnel. I had a pleasant surprise this evening when pumping, I produced 4 ounces of milk during one session!!! With just a couple days shy now of 4 weeks my milk production has increased loads! I am curious how much more my body is capable of producing during one feed. This is the most fun science experiment I have ever done haha! We have our fingers crossed right now because Kelsey is so very close to coming home tomorrow and it's become nerve wracking when each of us goes in to feed and find out her progress and either good or bad news for the day.

Kelsey coming home!

Saturday yay! Today is THE day. Kelsey is given the go ahead to come home!!!! Hip hip hurray!!! I went to the hospital one last time to sign the paper work and bring Kelsey home while Paul stayed home with the boys! I was more than elated! How nice it will be to all be home and not shuffling back and forth to the hospital. Our first day/night home went very successfully. I switch off nursing and feeding each a bottle every 3 hours. While I nurse, Paul feeds the other a formula bottle. This way we are done in about 20 minutes and back to life with our toddler or back to sleep. It is a very good system :)

First morning home snuggles

Grammy and her 5 grandkids

The rest of our weekend was spent with Family. First Paul's family came to meet the babies and have dinner and then my family came to have dinner for the holiday. We also had our first month well check-up for the babies. Kelsey is weighing in at 6 lbs 10 oz. and Logan is 6 lbs 8 oz. Because we are doing so well with weight gain we are allowed to extend the bed time feeds to every 4 hours! I'm am really excited about this as I will get better sleep. I cannot complain though, I have been getting around 6-7 hours of broken sleep now anyway so I am pretty lucky as it is. We are also allowed to demand feed during the day which ends up being about every 2.5-3.5 hours. We always wake the other baby when one wakes up to feed to keep them awake and asleep at the same times. This has proven very successful with only some hiccups in the system! Overall, we are doing awesome and aren't exhausted which I find very surprising. I was wayyyy more sleepy with Austin but then again before Austin I used to sleep like 11 hours and after Austin I sleep 8-9 hours on average. I am excited to announce too that Kelsey has joined the afternoon nap routine and I get to take a nap while all 3 kids are asleep. This definitely helps with my energy level and why I am coping so well with 3 kids.

Grandpa and his 3 grandkids

Cute new jammies from Grammy

I will no longer be doing daily updates. I think I will just post each month with some checkup updates and photos, so until then......

Matching outfits for our 1 month photo

Week 35 Babies 2 weeks The warm-up before the race!

Snuggle time in the nursery

Sunday the babies are two weeks old...what? Yowza really??? What a roller coaster the last three weeks have been. As slow as my week of hospital bed rest went the last two weeks have been a time warp. I can't believe their progress and just cannot imagine what it would have been like to still be pregnant and in the hospital, if things had gone differently. We feel things worked out the way they were supposed to because Austin needed me at home and my body just couldn't handle the size of our growing babies. Speaking of body size, my recovery has gone fabulously. I have lost most of the 42 pounds and have around 10 pounds that will probably slowly linger. My waist has also shrunk incredibly, I am really in shock that my skin looks normal and I have one tiny tiny stretch mark by my belly button, man I really lucked out! Who's to say what might have occurred if I went to a further gestation. So anyway, back to the babies :) My mom came up so that Paul and I could go alone to be with the babies together for the first time since we were at the hospital. They both gained weight and are eating like champs. Paul bottle fed Kelsey my pumped milk and I nursed Logan. We snuggled with them and had a mini photo shoot of the babies cuddling together. It's only the 3rd time they have been next to each other, I am sure they miss each other very much and they seemed so content with their heads together. I really cannot wait to have them snuggle with each other at home. Paul and I then went to lunch alone which we cannot remember the last time we ate just the two of us and to be honest we aren't sure it will ever happen again lol. Later in the afternoon my mom and I returned and she held the babies for the first time, it was wonderful! So, all in all it was a very good baby day and with no tears!! I also pumped enough to feed both babies in one pump session, that was really exciting for me that my supply has gone up that much in just one week, I am producing double of what I was!!!

Monday  was an interesting day. For the second day in a row Kelsey would not nurse and I had to bottle feed her. Even Logan was not great and drank a bottle much better. I am starting to get freaked out that they are getting too used to bottle feeds. I am only able to go in and nurse once a day so they are not getting enough practice and I truly hope when they get home that they pick it back up because I really would not prefer to pump just to bottle feed. Our big news for the day is that Kelsey has finally surpassed her birth weight AND has broken into the 5 pound world!! Our growing little girl is being quickly chased by her brother which I am starting to think he is going to catch up and pass her very soon! I didn't get much cuddle time with them today because I had to spend all my visiting trying to get them to eat, I pray that tomorrow goes better so that I can just rock and hold them. My time everyday with them is so limited that its small things like this that mean so much to me and set me up for either a good day or a sad tear filled day. I am keeping my depression at a manageable level but I think it's just a given that moms with babies in NICU go through some kind of Postpartum Depression.

Tuesday Kelsey yet again did not want to nurse. I spoke with the lactation consultant and got some tips on getting her back in the groove which will likely go smoother once she gets home. Logan was a good boy and nursed on both sides again( lucky him). Logan also passed the car seat test as we are preparing for him to come home. We found out today that he would be going home tomorrow as long as he has a good night. I was given some prescriptions for him that I needed to fill for home use and we went home to cross our fingers, hope and pray. I installed a car seat base in each of our vehicles really hoping that I didn't jinx ourselves.

Wednesday morning came and I called the hospital right away to see if it was THE day! The nurse said he had a good night but we needed to wait for the doctor to make rounds before it was official! We took our time getting ready and once my cousin Katie arrived to watch Austin, we headed into the hospital. On our way in, we got the call that Logan is officially ready to come home and to make a pediatrician appointment for Friday to finalize the checklist for discharge. We fed Kelsey, ate lunch at the hospital (which has great food BTW) and then went over all the discharge guidelines. There sure are a lot of things you need to watch out for with preemie babies.
1. No being in public with the babies especially grocery and other stores because there are too many germs and chances to get RSV.
2. Take temperatures often to make sure they are warm enough which includes wearing 2.5 layers(hospital style wrap top, fleece jammies and a fleece halo sleeper)
3.Wake babies every 3 hours around the clock to feed a minimum of 40 ml. ( just over an ounce) even at night, no sleep for us :(
4.No extra visitors besides family and a few close friends and limit exposure to children.
5.Absolutely NO bouncy chairs and swings. They must lay flat at all times besides being held(Esophagus is not mature and airway can be pinched and cause suffocation. We have to wait until they are 10 pounds.)
6. No trips and long durations in the car for the above reasons of being in the car seat too long.
7. No naked photos until they gain an appropriate amount of weight to maintain temps.
8. No sleeping together, in order to lower the risk of SIDS they are to each sleep in their own cribs.
9. Parent vaccinations. We need and grandparents that will spend the most time with them need DTaP and the Flu shot.

Logan coming home

I know their are some more rules for preemies but you get the idea, we are on lockdown until they get older and that also means I won't be working for a long period of time in order to limit germs in our home.
After all was said and done we loaded Logan up and home we came!  The first night went fine because my adrenaline was flowing good and I got about 5 hours of broken sleep.
Austin did awesome meeting his new little brother. He had a huge smile to share and he handed over his beloved duckie blanket to Logan, it was very sweet and so cute that he would make such a gesture.

Austin meeting Logan

GiGi meeting Logan

Thursday the first day home with Logan! I had written out a schedule to follow in order to feed Logan and pump milk for Kelsey. It worked out well and I was able to go in and feed Kelsey at her usual 11:00 a.m. and take her milk while cousin Katie stayed home with Austin and Logan. We had a trickier nights sleep this night because I discovered that Logan is a great sleeper which makes nursing hard. I again got about 5 hours of sleep and in the morning I certainly could tell it was catching up to me. It eure is wonderful to have him home though!

napping with the boys

Friday morning Logan had his Dr. Appt. and we learned that he broke into the 5 pound world. Yay! I am doing my job right and feeding him a sufficient amount of milk each day. Also, aunt Michaele brought my Grandma Margaret and Great Aunt Rosie to meet the babies. Katie and Michaele stayed with Austin and Logan so we could go to the hospital and be with Kelsey. We had a very nice visit and lunch together! I discovered that the boys take a nap at the same time everyday so once our visitors went home I got a nap with them. Tonight I also got better sleep (7 broken hours) I learned to just pump at the night feeds and feed Logan bottles becuase it was more time efficient. I woke up feeling so much better and plan to stick with this until Kelsey comes home and we need to learn a new system. We think Austin realizes that Logan is staying for good. He always goes to his bed at night as if to say goodnight and again in the morning to say hello. He does say baby but more often says mwa mwa which is his baby cry sound meaning baby :)

The men of the family all together for the first time

We might have another thumb sucker, when he finds it, he loves it !

Saturday we were hoping that Kelsey would be coming home this weekend so we did some things to get ready, make her Dr. Appt. and she passed her car seat test. We had also switched to a different bottle (Dr. Browns) because they were having too much trouble with the large nipples on our Tommee Tippee bottles. The Dr. Browns are much better for preemies and they did wonderful. Logan and I had another pretty good night and I got about 6 hours of broken sleep. Up until this point I haven't had Paul help during the night except to attend to Austin if he isn't sleeping well. I can manage one baby, we are waiting for Kelsey to come home for him to be up with me at night. I also got another nap with the boys. Kelsey unfortunately had another spell during the evening so now we are looking at later in the next week...so sad she's not coming home but better she is in the hospital for now :(

Naked baby :)

Kelsey alone at the hospital

As you read this you will notice that the babies are now 3 weeks old but that will be in next weekends post as I have been documenting each week daily.

Week 34 Babies 1 week old "Graduation"

Logan and his drowsy self :)

We started off this week with yet another round of good news. On Monday the babies were upgraded to the Continuous Care Unit which is an extension of the NICU located next to the healthy baby nursery one floor upstairs. Mainly, the NICU is a very busy place and there was a flux of new babies who need lots more attention. Our babies are on the most stable end of the spectrum so they were moved to the nursery style room. They no longer need as much observation because they no longer have any IV's or tubes (Kelsey's feeding tube has been removed) or no extra monitoring. They are still on their heart monitors to make sure they catch any spells that they may be having. They will remain on those monitors until they are discharged. They are also in the final round of temperature stabilization before they go into the open-air tub cribs.

Kelsey is often awake when we visit

Tuesday they both had and passed their hearing tests and Logan's circumcision has been ordered for later in the week. I was able to speak with the doctor during his rounds and he thought they were on track to leave in a week if they can just kick those spells. He also confirmed that the mark on Kelsey's temple is also a Nevus. Both Austin and I have a Nevus on the same side of our heads as well. Mine happens to be in the exact same place as Kelsey's. We have not noticed any birthmarks on Logan as of now.

Kelsey in the open-air crib

Wednesday evening both babies were transferred to open air tub cribs for their next test. They need to maintain their body temperatures between 36-37 degrees Celsius for a minimum of 24 hours, let's hope they check this box off. Kelsey did have spells so the 5 day countdown has started over :/ I am afraid there are going to be many more disappointments when it comes to these spells but she is better off in the hospital, I won't be able to relax if I am worried about her breathing 24/7. This was a hard evening for me. I had been doing well being separated from my precious babies and hadn't cried since the night I left the hospital but I knew it couldn't last forever and I shed some tears wishing that I could spend the night holding them. They didn't nurse well this evening which probably caused the disconnect that I am feeling. It really is the worst punishment ever that I cannot drive myself to the hospital and I have to keep relying on rides let alone the task of always needing a babysitter for Austin.

Logan in the open-air crib

Thursday Grammy(Paul's mom) Uncle Jason( Paul's brother) and Aunt Mira came to visit and meet the twins all the way from Boston! They were very lucky because both kiddos decided that they would wake up and show off their pretty eyes. Kelsey is almost always awake so she was no surprise but the fact the Logan woke up was a even nice for Mommy and Daddy to see. Logan has officially surpassed his birth weight but Kelsey has about 3 ounces left to be back to her weight. Logan had his circumcision also and the nurses said he did great and didn't cry much.

Friday came with our very first step back. Most likely due to being outside and undressed for his circumcision, Logan's temperature dropped too low and he was placed back in the incubator for a couple of days along with this both babies had spells so we have to start our countdown all over again with the earliest discharge for Tuesday now. My poor little babies are just so young and not ready for the world. For the medically savvy the episodes that they are having are called Apnea of pre-maturity and Bradycardia if you would like to look it up and educate yourself. Both babies did eat well for me and I had a load of milk to drop off since I didn't get the chance to nurse on Thursday. Both babies lost their umbilical cord stubs too and now have cute little belly buttons. It has been another sad evening for me as the tears stream down my face as I write today's update entry.

Fast asleep after her feeding

Snuggle time with Logan before I left for the day 

Saturday not much has changed. Logan is still in the incubator for the time being since their is no rush to get him out and both babies had spells during the night. Countdown starts over again for Wednesday...ugh! It makes me feel like they are never coming home. Three babies left our room today and went home which drives the nail in harder that ours are not ready but I try to remember that they are doing really well besides the spells and I really do keep forgetting how premature they are. I have really adjusted to their small size and they just seem like normal babies to me when they really aren't :/

My milk supply is starting to stabilize due to the fact that my mature milk(a bit more watery than the transition milk I have had since last Wednesday) has finally come in. I had been having quite the range of amounts when pumping but as of now, I seem to be producing one feeding for only one baby from each pumping session. Yes, that means I am only producing enough for half of their feedings in a day. They receive formula (Similar Neosure-preemie formula) for the other half. My parents have been gracious enough to buy us lots of formula which is a tremendous help for when they do finally come home because it's unlikely my supply will ever reach full capacity to satisfy both. We have been instructed to give them each a minimum of two formula feeds a day (at home) because of their pre-maturity, it provides extra calories than my milk. Logan will need to stay on the Neosure until he is 6 months and Kelsey only for 3 months from their original due date, after that we can put them on a regular formula(cheaper). I plan to equally rotate the babies from breast to bottle that way each will get 4 breast feeds and 4 bottle feeds a day.

For those who are interested in what my daily schedule entails it's as follows. I wake up at 8:00 a.m. to pump. At 10:45 a.m. I get dropped off at the hospital (family and friends have been helping , I cannot drive for 4 weeks) they return home with Austin to watch him. I change, nurse and cuddle with Kelsey at 11:00 a.m. then the same with Logan at 12:00 p.m. My ride returns at 1:00 p.m. to take me home. I pump at 2:30 p.m. and take a nap while Austin naps to re-cooperate because I have weened myself off of the Oxycodone and only take the Motrin during the day if needed, I am still taking the Oxycodone once a night for good sleep for now. I pump again at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. I set two alarms and pump at 12:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. and the next day starts all over again. It works out really well helping me adjust to the babies schedules. I will only need to add one feeding during the night and alter the times slightly when they get home.