40 Weeks!

May 1 is the girls' official due date, and they are almost 8 weeks old. Weird. They are now 6 lb 8 oz and 7 lb 9 oz. I can't even imagine what I would have felt like had I carried them to this size!

Things around here have been pretty good. We are busy with all the feedings, changings, and burpings, but it is going surprisingly smoothly. My wonderful mother was here for the first two weeks that the girls were home, which was enormously helpful since they were still struggling to eat during that period. It was rather stressful because we would have to wake them up and convince/force them to eat whether they wanted to or not, and then we would anxiously wait for the next weigh in to make sure they had increased the expected amounts. Since then, they have become more like normal newborn babies who wake up and cry when they are hungry. It may sound strange that I am so happy that they cry, but it is quite a relief to have the girls actually communicating this need for food.

Zander is proving to be a total superstar of a big brother. He takes his responsibilities quite seriously and assures me that he is being "very gently" whenever he pats them. He gathers up their car seat blankets and diaper bag for me while I get the girls ready for an outing, and when they fuss in their crib he goes in and checks on them. One day when he was looking at them, he shook his head, sighed and remarked, "I have so many babies!"

It is a bit of a challenge balancing the needs of a 2-1/2 year old and two babies, and we are really trying to ensure that Zander still gets one-on-one time so that he doesn't feel resentful of the girls. I think the hardest part about having twins is also having a preschooler, but if I hadn't already been through the baby-years once, I would probably think it is really hard having twins. So it all works out. 

So what do you think, identical or fraternal? We can't decide (and have not done any testing yet to determine for sure).

A Trial Run

While Mikaela has been enjoying settling in at home, Autumn decided to take matters into her own hands, and removed her feeding tube.

 Oh, my! What have I done!

Was this a good idea? What's going to happen now?

To my pleasant surprise, the doctors have decided to try something a little bit different. Rather than following the very strict feeding schedule (she must take x number of mls every three hours, and anything she doesn't take by mouth goes in her feeding tube), they have decided to follow her lead. If she is a little bit more or less hungry at a feeding they will give her what she wants, if she needs to wait 3.5 hours between one of the feedings, that's okay. 

What a great idea!

They are going to do this trial run for a few days and monitor her weight. If she stops gaining weight, or starts to lose weight, then it is back to the schedule and the feeding tube. So, Autumn, we will listen to you as long as you hold up your end of the bargain and keep gaining weight!

Notice anything missing?

I'm home with a cold today, so Jason is spending the day with the girls. He sent me a text with this picture. Do you see what I see (or, what I don't see)?

Mikaela doesn't have her feeding tube any more! Since yesterday morning, she has taken every feed by mouth. I guess the nurses are getting confident that she will keep doing this. If she keeps it up for several days in a row, she can come home!!!! Come on, Mikaela, you can do it! And Autumn, you keep trying and you will do it soon, too!

I can't stop staring at the picture. I've never seen her face without a tube before!