Monday, June 16, 2014

2 Months Old!






Benjamin // Benji Bear

  • Weight:  10 lbs 15 oz (!)  Length:  23 ins  Head Circumference:  15.5 ins
  • 25-50th %ile for height and weight
  • He has a sweet little double chin and the most delicious, kissable lips
  • He loves playtime on the activity mat and talks to the parrot and squirrel
  • His neck muscles are getting stronger and he does really well with tummy time
  • He's a pretty "easy" baby in the sense that he typically only cries when hungry, wet, or tired and wants to be held.  I heard him cry out of pain for the first time a few hours after he got his 2 month vaccinations, and it was HEARTBREAKING!  His cry is so sweet (not screaming, more mild), but this cry was awful to hear.  You could just tell he had owies :(
  • He's usually a great sleeper, but he's been fighting sleep more lately.
  • He still loves his paci "Quackers" and can usually be found sucking away if he's not playing.
  • He's a great eater and takes 3-4 oz every feed. He also has started breastfeeding again, which makes my heart happy.
  • He likes to hold his hands together at his chest.  When he sleeps he has one arm up and around his head.  So cute.  
  • His eyes are gorgeous and sometimes he opens them real wide and looks at you like he just did something naughty.  The funniest is when I go in to settle him down if he's awake and thrashing around when he should be sleeping.  It's as if I caught him red-handed, he gives me this wide-eyed look, sometimes with a smile.
  • He smiles and laughs a lot!  It melts my heart.
  • I love to style his soft fluffy hair :)  He hasn't lost much of it at all.  Everyone says he will, but we shall see.
  • His eyes are a deep deep blue.
a shot of that sweet Benji smile :)

Zachary // Zachy Poo
  • Weight:  10 lbs 6 oz  Length:  23 1/2 ins  Head Circumference:  15.3 ins
  • 25-50th %ile for height and weight
  • Oh, Zachy.  He has had quite a rough past month.  I was convinced he had reflux about a month ago and called the doctor, who wanted me to change his supplementation formula to Similac Sensitive before trying any medicine.  We did that, but he continued to scream in pain, arch his back, spit out feedings while taking the bottle, pull away from the nipple, not take as many ounce, and spit up a good amount.  I finally called to make an appointment (and texted one of the GI doctors I work for at the hospital), and we got him a prescription for Zantac.  The Zantac has seemed to do the trick, praise the Lord!  He still has some trouble in the mornings, sometimes, but he's overall much better.
  • He's a pretty gassy little fellow, too, which bothers him big time.
  • Zachary also loves the activity mat and talks and coos to the toys.  He enjoys tummy time and is getting stronger each time.  
  • He has very strong legs, too, and he loves to "stand" and kick.
  • He gave us the first smile of the two, and he continues to smile and laugh.  His laugh is precious.
  • His blue bear paci is still a favorite, but he seems to only want it when in distress or really tired and it helps him fall asleep.
  • His hair looks reddish orange some days and strawberry blond on others.  We shall see...
  • Deep bluish grey eyes
Handsome fellow


Memorable Moments
   This month the boys met their great-grandparents!  My dad's parents, Nanny and Bo, are out for a visit to meet these guys from Connecticut.  They love the warm weather and have some friends who live here, too, so they usually stay for several days.  It has been so sweet to see them interact with their first great-grandchildren.  Bo can't wait to see them play football :)  [Although, the jury is still out on that one.  We know they'll definitely play baseball and basketball!]
   They have also given us longer chunks of sleep at night.  Last night, they slept from 10:30 until about 5am!  (There were two times someone called out in the night, but they settled back down quickly).  I go back to work (part-time) next Monday, so I'm hoping they'll continue this pattern!  Although, two nights ago they were up every hour for 4 hours.  Who knows.
   Mommy survived a trip to the grocery store alone with them!  I wore one and put the other in the car seat in the basket.  It was a very small and short trip, but I felt very successful!
   They moved up to Size 1 diapers and barely fit into NB size clothing.  0-3 months fit best, but they are starting to wear Carters Size 3 month onesies.  I still squeeze them into Carters NB onesies, but other kinds of outfits just don't work anymore.  Sad.  Because it's so hot here, I found it easier to just put them in onesies or button up rompers, and there are a few outfits they didn't get to wear.  They were long-sleeved ones.  Oh well.
   We celebrated Father's Day!  Andy was showered with love and affection by his bubs and family.  I made plasters of the boys' feet and painted them for him, and I framed one of our professional photos of me and the boys.  We celebrated with my family and grandparents, so it was a special day.
   
Day-to-day
   I have continued to get a lot of help taking care of the boys everyday.  Andy has had a really light schedule since it's the summer, so a lot of the days it has been us.  What a sweet blessing and great time we've had. Going back to work stinks, but I'm thankful for a job and feel privileged to be able to help other babies and kids as well as my own.  With Zachy having reflux, I feel like I have even more of a heart of compassion and mercy for these families I interact with daily at work--a lot of which have newborns and little ones with terrible reflux.  
   That being said, I told Andy that I want to handle the boys on my own (pretty much) during the day this week because I know it's inevitable.  Also because my mom will take over 3 days a week next week, and if I can't do it, how can I expect her to?  The hardest part is feeding them... everything else is pretty do-able.
   I'm still doing a combo of pumping/bottlefeeding/nursing/supplementing.  I just don't feel ready yet to go to full formula, even though pumping is a pain in the neck.  I'm still trying to nurse them when I can (i.e. when someone else is around to feed the other one or if I fed the other one a little early), but I always question if they're still hungry because I'm not sure about my supply.  I just ordered off Amazon and started today an herbal supplement.  It's a liquid and tastes AWFUL because it's made with grain-alcohol.  Sick.  But I've read reviews that it can double your supply within days.  We shall see.  I keep pushing back my goal of how long to continue, and now it's 3 months.  

Tummy time workouts!


Benjamin meeting Bo for the first time

Zachy meeting Nanny

So thankful for Nanny and Bo!

Father's Day (Uncle Nick holding Zachary)



Thursday, June 5, 2014

Growing!

Benjamin Andrew

Zachary Ryan


We've been doing a lot of growing around here lately.  The boys are getting bigger by the day, it seems!  They both have little double chins and are filling out nicely.  Benji seems to be getting pretty long.  I'm so curious to see how tall they are, and I'm thinking they've got to be close to 10 lbs.  We've even moved up to Size 1 diapers!  *tear


Here they are during "play time".  They love to play on their activity mat.  I'm still discovering different noises and fun things this mat does!  I love it, and so do they :)  They're starting to interact more with the hanging toys, batting at them and smiling, laughing, and talking.  Benji LOVES to talk and coo.  
They're also doing a great job with tummy time.  Their neck muscles are getting stronger. They also like to scootch themselves with their little legs.  One time I put Zachy parallel to Benji and stepped away for a moment.  When I looked back, Zachary was perpendicular to his brother!  

                  
I just think they look so big here, especially Benjamin.  He likes one arm out of his swaddle, and it usually ends up behind his head or over his face.  I think he looks like a little teenager, just snoozing!  Love it.


We are SO big!

I have to say, Mommy is doing some growing herself.  I'm growing in the area of grace and patience.  Having newborn twins has been incredibly stretching for everything-has-to-be-perfect-and-I-like-to-follow-a-schedule me.  These boys are amazing and all that we hoped for and imagined, AND they're a lot of work!  Soooo stretching for the both of us.  My attitude can be pretty crabby at times, and I'm convicted daily.  I know that sleep deprivation doesn't help, but I'm also just asking for more grace from the Lord and more trust that He will work everything out in His timing.  The main area of stress for me is feeding them and doing things on my own.  I'm still nursing/pumping and bottlefeeding with a mix of formula and breastmilk.  I'm praying through when we'll transition to fully formula because it's taking a toll on me mentally.  I'm also have to believe that the boys will sleep through the night in His timing.  They will learn to nap, with our help, and by the grace of God.  We won't be in the newborn phase forever--which is simultaneously exciting and sad.  I return to work in 18 days, but I don't need to stress now; I want to be present in every moment and walk in Joy... not fear or worry.   Needless to say, if you know anyone with infant twins--pray for them and offer help!  :)  I take help whenever I can get it.