Holiday greetings from the twins

Caption contest

Write your own captions (Zoe above & Roman below - click picture to see bigger version).
I hear "what you talking about, Willis?" for Zoe at top. Roman looks like someone should be feeding him grapes while he relaxes on a chaise lounge. Cleopatra comes to mind.

Bath time

A pacifier does wonders:

8lb 3oz

Grandma B came over again, and I was able to get her help bring R & Z to the clinic to get them weighed. They're doing great - 8lbs 3 oz, up from 6 lbs 6 oz back when Roman visited the doctor. We had a little wager this morning, and Dad won. I think we were all surprised that a) they weighed that much and b) they weigh the same. Woo hoo! They are eating up to 4 ounces of formula at a time too.

I started reading The Happiest Baby on the Block (thanks Kitty!) this afternoon and decided to start swaddling the twins. We'd been wrapping them, but a tighter swaddle seems to make a difference. I don't think they've been that quiet since they were in the hospital. I've had to wake Roman up to eat, and that hasn't happened in quite awhile. We'll see what happens tonight. It's an adjustment for mom though. Zoe likes her arms out, usually straight up. When I put her down an hour or so ago I wrapped her up tight. She opened her eyes and I felt bad. Confinement. So I unwrapped her. Although the book says they like it. I'll try it tonight and see if it makes them sleep longer.

See the 8 lbs now? Our chubby cheeked princess.

Zoe

Zoe's now big enough to wear a hat other than the one the hospital provided for her. Pooh ears.

Roman has a version as well, although for some reason he continues to pull the hat down over his eyes, sometimes his nose. We hear screaming and go to check on him and he's got his eyes covered. Reminds both of us of that character on the Fat Albert cartoon. Zoe just lets hers be.

It's almost Halloween

What's a parent to do the Saturday before Halloween? Especially one who's had a full night's sleep (thanks Grandma B, I don't know what I'd do without you!)?

Get the kids to try on their Halloween outfits of course. Let's start with the hat.

I wanted to go outside and take a family picture because it's probably the last nice day of the fall (nice= cool but sunny). Snow is forecast for tomorrow, at least last I heard.
I got Mike to set up a tripod and we got the babies ready.

When we started both babies were awake, eyes open and alert. This is new. I've noticed in the last few days that they've had more awake time. Last night Roman was up for two hours, just looking around. I read him his first book. He gave me his big eyed surprise look. It cracks me up. I look forward to having them both on my lap, reading books.


Once we got them dressed up and made a quick attempt outside (no go, too cold and windy), they decided they were not awake. So we had to settle for inside with the window shades open. Here is what you get. Quieted by a pacifier. Usually Zoe (right) doesn't go for the pacifier, but when I attempted to take it away she started gnawing on her brother's shoulder. I guess she was ready for the early bottle she got after these grueling shots...

You don't see many baby clothes in black, and we both thought they looked like cat burglars, or maybe the Hamburglar.

And Dad wanted me to post the following. Our little Ro. If only we were into hip hop we'd be able to give him an apropos nickname. Me, I won't embarrass myself trying.

Weekend project

Mike had a little home project to do this Saturday. Our bathroom needed some additional storage for the little ones.

The twins now have their own hooks in the bathroom for their Winnie the Pooh hooded robes (complete with ears- Thanks Grandma K!).

Of course they aren't too keen on the whole bath thing yet...

Nighty night

One of the joys of little ones is the cuddling. After setting Zoe down in her crib I had to snap this photo. Daddy's little tree frog, definitely Roman's preferred position.

Several photos from the last several days

Roman's asleep

Both awake


now Zoe's tired..



Zoe & Roman (Zoe repeating her active in utero movements and Roman "listing to the right" as Dad says ;) )

Mom & kids


Grandpa B and the kids

Last night

There seems to be a period of an hour or 2 each day when the munchins are awake. The time varies. Last night it was around 9 o'clock. Picture time!

I sense a theme...

Sleeping in the pack & play in mom & dad's room.
This location makes stuffing that pacifer in Roman's mouth that much easier in the middle of the night. He's big on the pacifer, his sister not so much.
Some other items of note:
Roman's also more likely to assume the frog position - legs curled up.
Zoe is less frantic when it comes to feeding time. Roman, well he's eager and does a little funny head shake to latch onto the bottle. We've got to get it on video one of these days. Zoe takes her time eating.
Both are progressing well with the neck strength. I'm amazed at how well Zoe is beginning to control her head movement.

Visit to Grandma & Grandpa B's

On Sunday the four of us made our first visit to the grandparent's house. The first trip outside the house for Roman & Zoe that wasn't the doctor. Mom needed to get out too!


Uncle Andy and his girlfriend Laura with Zoe. Lucky her, she got to be held for several hours...

Mom returned for a visit Tuesday as well...


Resting on Grandma B's lap.

Oct 16

Thank God for Grandmas

The title says it all. This weekend both grandmas have stepped up to the plate and offered their help with the little ones. After a few days of having both home the gratitude I feel can't be expressed to its fullest. There aren't words.
Thank you grandmas!

In our house we're in our own little world, a world without days or hours really, just cycles of eating, pooping and sleeping. A couple of hours in between and back at it. It's very quiet and calm here, but I was getting a bit exhausted and stressed out, especially when Roman starting spitting up after every feeding, and especially when he wasn't eating as much. A nurse visit early on Friday showed he did gain 4 ounces in two days though, just like his sister.
Grandma B spent the night last night and took over all the feedings, leaving me to get up and pump (echos of SNL Hans and Franz come to mind) throughout the night but not have to spend 40 or 60 minutes feeding the dynamic duo every 3 hours. Dad got a full night's sleep - the first in a long while.

First full day

Roman, eyes open.

G-Maw came over after work yesterday and helped with his feeding. She got some quality snuggling time as well. Mom took advantage and took a nap!
It's going to take some work figuring the feeding out when I'm home alone. Roman's been waking up first, but Zoe soon follows, which means one is left crying and waiting. Mike helped last night, but they were quiet enough for me to do them one after the other at 9am. Tandem breastfeeding: that'll be another challenge.

Thursday morning

This is going to be interesting.
Dad got up overnight to help me with the feedings. We were just getting into the groove of feeding Zoe, but now there are 2 waiting for food. Dad had been feeding Zoe at midnight, mom the middle of the night and early morning. But now ther are two! Huh. Time to wake up dad, mom hasn't figured out how to work that situation yet.

Grandma B came over today to help, which allowed Dad a couple extra minutes of shuteye, and he was able to go into work for a little bit. And it allows me to be here blogging :)

Roman in Grandma B's arms:





Zoe in Grandma B's arms:

Dinner of Champions

We had a home visit from a nurse. One thing she suggested: get into "camping" mode the first couple of weeks. Disposable plates, disposable utensils, quick and easy meals - a bowl of cereal could be dinner. Sure can.

The other night I woke up to see Mike with a huge bowl of cereal. Dinner. Easy, fast and tasty. Only thing, it was a HUGE bowl, it looked like half a box of cereal. It got me laughing. Always a good thing.



Yesterday after we got home with Roman, Mike fixed himself another bowl. Yikes. Apparently the cocoa rice crispies aren't all that filling. And, in years past, he'd use a mixing bowl. So he's cutting down.

Homeward bound

We picked up Roman last night. Car seat photo (this time the blanket says cute, or cue if you can't read the "t". Better than "do abe" I guess ;) Another gift from Auntie Shannon )


Dad carrying both to his beloved Dodge Magnum (which he swears he'll still have when they are driving)


ChexDeux (Note off kilter hat on Roman. The nurse thought it made him look like Popeye.)

G-Maw or Grandma K

Zoe and G-Maw (or Grandma K; oh boy that one might stick for various reasons. I will confer with babydaddy and get back to the re-naming).
This is from Zoe's first day home on Saturday. I neglected to post earlier because it needed (and still needs) some major color correction. My skills have diminished.

Dad & Zoe 10.07.08

Catching up on a few photos...coming soon - Roman.
I can't wait.

Roman's coming home!

Roman's ready to come home today. We'll be getting him this evening. It's very exciting. I went in at 9 this morning when he was in the midst of his "car seat challenge". He sits in his car seat for an hour and his heart rate, breathing rate and oxygen levels are monitored. He passed. Hurrah!
I took a look at his chart an it looks like his weight was 5lbs 10 oz at midnight. Good deal.
We just got back from Sister Zoe's first doctors appointment. She's up to 5lbs 14 oz- a gain of 4 ounces from Monday. Yikes. Good job. She won't have go to the doctor for another two months, but the scale in the office is open and available whenever we would like to use it. We liked her pediatrician too - this liking the doctor thing is something I've come to appreciate.

And in tangentially related news on the way out of the doctor's office I saw a scale and decided to weigh myself. I hit my highest weight ever 3 weeks ago. Today I am 50 pounds lighter. 50 pounds! Holy water retention Batman!

Two weeks, one day

It looks like Roman will be coming home soon. He's doing better with his feedings, and is at "at will" feeding, meaning he takes what he wants. If he continues to gain weight, we'll be good to go.
Hopefully in the next day or two.

Two weeks old

I'm sure this posting will be cut short (almost time to feed Zoe), but I thought I'd better get something down... The first night with Zoe home was more difficult than night 2. Mom was tired, lots of excitement and conflicting emotions that day. Zoe zonked out, apparently it was enough excitement for her too.

She's doing well with eating, which is a relief. After a couple of go rounds we decided to keep track of what and when she was eating. Maybe we've gone a bit overboard with our excel spreadsheet (seriously); maybe it's Grandma B's (Mary's mom, name now so decreed) reaction to it today that made me realize it. She asked if it was the librarian in me that made this happen... A trait of recording shared by my dad (Grandpa B) as well. Just like to chart things. I think it's the inclusion of the "burp" count column that made my Mom laugh. That would be Dad's input. He wants to keep track of the gas that you pass, at least coming out that end. Yes, we're nuts. We're first time parents whose precious little ones seem incredibly fragile and we just want to have all the information we could possibly need when we make the first doctor visits for each.

We had a home visit from a nurse, which was actually helpful. Zoe is gaining weight - now 5lbs 10 oz, 4 more than her birth weight and about 3 more than her discharge weight two day ago. Way to go!

Yesterday I ran into a woman who was in our birthing class - her daughter made a brief stint in the special care nursery. Over 9 lbs. Wow, I can't believe the difference in size. The size of that head! Wow. Our little premies as so teeny tiny, although they look normal to us at this point.

I visited Roman at the hospital today while Grandma B watched Zoe (and charted...she puts up with our record keeping paranoia). When I got there I realized as much as Dad and I appreciate the wonderful care and attention given to the babies and the information the staff has shared and taught us, I really won't miss spending my time there. It's a revolving door of babies, in and out. It'll be good to get Roman home. He's gaining weight too and took all his bottle feedings from midnight today. I had to try to cheer him on to get him to finish the noon bottle (he didn't, but left just a small amount). He was alert, so it was fun to watch him watch me. His eyes are a pretty dark grey/blue color. He gulped down the 3pm bottle in 15 minutes. Way to go! I look forward to the day when feeding isn't a struggle. The day will come, I know. But for now it's a triumph when they eat without falling asleep midway. And as one of the nursery nurses reminds me Roman will make up for the lack of eating someday. That's the day we'll take out a loan to feed him. Assuming of course the US economy hasn't collapsed (as I gather from the short segments of news I hear...outside world, so far from the Zo Ro world).

Saturday, October 4

Zoe in her fancy schmancy new car seat and "adorable" blanket (from Auntie Shannon :) )

Today is the day Zoe came home.
Today is the day Mom was emotional about Zoe coming home and Roman staying in the Special Care Nursery. It's really tough to leave him behind, yet it's exciting to have her home. A mixture of emotion that's a bit of a dilemma to balance.

Soon enough he'll be eating all his food without the help of the NG. Soon enough. My little pep talks with him don't seem to be working, or rather aren't working at the speed I want them too. But to be realistic, he's actually doing better with the bottle. Overnight he had all his feedings that way. Today when I was there, and later Mike, he didn't finish, but he took a good portion of it himself. Mostly he spent a lot of time either looking at us (big eyes!) or falling asleep. Tonight I went back for his 9 o'clock feeding and got him to eat most of his bottle.

C'mon little guy! We want you home with your sister!

Thursday & Friday #2

I should be resting. Maybe that is the default I should start with from now on.... But I'm eating dinner and figured I could multi-task while doing so.
Yesterday was a rough day for your mom. Lots going on, lots of the unexpected. But everyday is a new day. Today was better.

First off the we learned right away in the morning that if Zoe continued to gain weight (she's gaining a good ounce or more a day, not quite up to her 5 lb 6oz birthweight, but getting there) she would be going home Saturday, October 4. Wow. Mom was not expecting that. It became a lot more real. Then Mom experienced what Dad had experienced the day before - while feeding Zoe a bottle her heart rate dropped and the breathing paused. Most noticed because the monitor started beeping. Apparently the part of their brain that makes this whole breathing thing automatic isn't fully developed. So when she really gets going on the bottle (and she does), she sometimes 'forgets' to breathe. This gives mom a heart attack. Little girl! Wake up. Today brought a better understanding. Yesterday I didn't realize the cause. Now I do, and it's a matter of watching her carefully when she's eating.

We've got to remember they aren't supposed to be here yet. We're asking a lot of both of them. And they are giving it their all and doing well.

Roman is improving, but they won't give us even an estimated time of discharge. He's got to get all his food without the NG. He was having issues with the bottle because of tongue tie (I didn't know what that was until Wednesday when the lactation consultant asked if either of us had a history of it - nope...then proceeded to talk about it like it wasn't news to me). Again with the unexpected. Mom doesn't like the unexpected. But Mom better get used to it. This brought home the concept of parenthood. Having to make decisions for the welfare of little ones who depend on you. Big responsibility. So today little Roman had the frenulum snipped so that he could have better range of motion with the tongue, which should help him eat better and help to avoid speech problems. Mom was worried about the procedure; worried about whether it was the right thing to do. The doctor came in the afternoon and took him to another room (thank you, I didn't want to watch). Five minutes later out comes Roman. Fast asleep. He didn't even cry. No big deal.

This makes Mom happy. I fed him afterward and he didn't pretty darn good. John McCain is the Maverick of the Senate. Oh sorry. Lapsing into Sarah Palin speak. Mom is tired, mom has only been seeing 15 minute clips of tv and "pretty darn good" turns on the Sarah Palin accent in her head. I stop.

I should be resting. :)

Meanwhile Dad is visiting during the 9 o'clock feeding.
Mom sent him out to buy new car seats after she realized buying used ones made her nervous. No more cheapskate for their safety.

You're talking to the hand...

I'm not really even sure what that means, but how else could I title this?



We've got numerous photos of Roman with this expression on his face because the camera has a red eye light that goes off before taking the picture. It makes Roman squint. It makes Roman look like Mel Blanc according to Dad. Not sure where that came from, but that's what he's said. I guess it's the animation fan in him (and appropriate for Roman's namesake).



Yesterday was a sleepy day for both, and last night their temps were down. They're working a bit harder to stay warm in room temp. Zoe ripped out her NG tube (tube in nose to facilitate feeding) in the morning and bypassed that process all day. Mom and Dad both got to practice a little bottle feeding (takes less energy than breastfeeding) and burping on both. One of the nurses mentioned awhile back that some of these babies can burp like a 3rd grader. We're working our way on up to that. Who knew eliciting a burp could be so gratifying?