17 Months Old & Learning to Talk

Another 3 months behind us.... And it only gets better!!
C and L are like two kittens, constantly chasing each other around in the part of the house we have blocked off by furniture and gates to keep them safe. One follows the other within seconds of the first one leaving. I love how close they are... and they really do appear to have their own language because they babble constantly and try to imitate us and sounds they head (vacuum cleaner, airplane, Chaser, etc).

Last week, they learned where their belly buttons are and they both have been coming up to adults and lifting the bottoms of our shirts to look at our belly buttons. Mine is especially interesting because of the navel ring that Logan really loves to point at with a curious look on his face.

Carter has been obsessed with wolves and howling like a wolf. He even howls "auuu auuu" when we wants a toy, instead of his usual whine. I even turned on a documentary on wolves for him and he and Logan both sat there watching it, completely engaged.

Logan has been saying "moon" very clearly (first clear word?) and pointing outside and also pointing at both, the sun and the moon, in their books. He thinks anything bright and rounded is a moon. So adorable!

They seem to know what parts of their face are called in Russian and in English and can point at them! This is a REALLY fun age.... 

13.5 Months... All Those Firsts!!

Admittedly, I have been a bad mommy blogger! I thought about checking in here more often than had the time to write a few lines of text. But the last 3 months have truly been the most fun and the most busy months with Carter and Logan. Their 1^st Birthday party, their 1^st beach trip, their 1^st real cold along with fever (and congestion that’s still lingering here for the 3^rd week!), their 1^st words, their 1^st steps…. I get to share all that in one post instead of capturing the daily excitement of those firsts…

Carter is now a proud owner of 6 teeth (4 upper, 2 lower), runs everywhere, squats to pick up toys, says “mama” and learning to say “baby” (though it comes out more as “bay”..pause…”bee”)… Today he learned how to climb onto the couch, grabbed the remote and ran over to the TV and pointed it expectantly. He also waves hi and bye. Before I step out of their room, I wave to them “bye-bye”, kiss them, and tell them I love them. Carter waves back… He can also release balls into this pipe in a ball-shooting toy. He has seen me do it & repeated.

And today, instead of smiling, Logan waved back at me too. He also took 7 steps!! So close to walking too. But he just gets SO excited that he is walking, that he starts laughing and gets all wobbly, planting on his butt. Logan is lot more chatty that Carter lately. He sings. He plays independently for a longer amount of time, without needing to be acknowledged. He loves our cats and is very gently with them – smiles super wide and giggles when we spot a kitty cat. He has 3 upper teeth and 2 lower. The 6^th one is on the way…. He surpassed Carter in drinking from an open cup and LOVES it. Carter will blow bubbles and laugh, but Logan legitimately likes drinking from a cup. He is so cute… He also chews food very thoroughly. Oh! And today he also bit Carter for the first time (first time anyone's bit anyone else!) - there is am imprint of all 5 chompers on C's elbow.

Both love each other – giggle and smile together from their cribs at me and at each other when I leave the room. Monkey see, monkey do! One does something and the other repeats it. Both love books and listening to stories. The “touch and feel” books with different textures are so awesome – they love to look at pictures and have their index fingers ready to go when I tell them “feel it”. “Feel how fussy the bunny is”, “feel how soft the sheep is”, “what does the sheep say?”…. this is our daily conversation.

This is the best age! They are so sweet and all ours. I am in love....I am.

Almost 10 Months!

Wow, what a month it has been as far as development goes! C and L learned to stand and are learning to cruise – it’s happening way faster than I ever thought it would. Crawling alone is now “boring” to them. They are both so observant and inquisitive. Just this morning, they were both holding on to the edge of the activity table while standing and Carter noticed that Logan had ears and proceeded to try and fit his index finger in L’s ear and then pulled on it. Logan squealed and I had to interfere. So funny! A world is full of wonder for them – what an amazing age it is!

Before bed, they both stand in their cribs across from each other in the room, and babble while
“making music” on the edge of the crib. Both are learning what “no” means because the curtain and the baby monitor cables by their cribs present a temptation as far as something they can pull on. Carter has been at it for a week now, where he stands by that edge of the crib and goes for the curtain while I firmly say from the back of the room “Kisa, NO”. He looks back at me while holding the curtain, pauses, and giggles mischievously.  Logan just figured how to yank on the baby monitor cable this morning and proceeded to test his boundaries too. They just can’t get enough of my nerves! Must push all limits.

On Monday, when the maids came, Logan got all upset at the new faces as he usually does and at the vacuum cleaner, which also happens to be a sound he probably associates with strangers. He cried so hard and so sad, like we had sold all his toys to the enemy. :)

Although Logan won the tooth race and got his 2 bottom teeth first, Carter was not too far behind and now has his 2 bottom teeth too. Both of them are starting to get hair elsewhere on their heads besides just the Mohawk, which looks so cool. I joke “they were born cool”. 

Crawling… Carter is faster and more efficient but he has been crawling for a longer amount of time than Logan. L crawls well, but he stomps with his hands that seem to point inward, almost at each other. He looks like a dinosaur when he crawls…. When they play together, someone always has to push the other one or to pull on hair or try to gauge an eye out. Boys are gonna be boys, I am learning.

Sleep is still the most desired commodity in the house. M and I take turns getting up to soothe Carter. Logan rarely requires anything at all, but Carter is a very wakeful sleeper. A paci, a blanket, a few seconds of attention because he is in between sleep cycles… you name it. I wish he slept as deep as L…. I type this as I sit on a plane to Chicago – my first business trip since they were born. M and I agreed that I would get up for every cry last night since I will get 2 nights of uninterrupted sleep in Chicago while M will hold down the fort at home solo. Well, I counted and I was up a whopping 14 times last night! So, I sure hope M will get at least some sleep while mommy is on the road. I will miss those boys and miss carrying for them even in those middle-of-the-night-awake-like-a-zombie moments. 

I am ending my pumping career. It’s been nearly 10 months and still about a month worth of goods in the freezer. Looking forward to relief and the normality of MY life returning to a small extent. I have done my part, providing most valuable nutrition for them and preventing a slew of diseases by lending my immune system to them via antibodies.

Now, my hope is for the boys to get better at eating solids. I really hope that they will learn to love feeding themselves soon, so we can try to transition them to finger foods and eventually table foods…  

Lastly, just another “snippet” of a memory from the week’s daily grind. M and I carried the boys to the window sill where Zoey (the cat) sat nonchalantly and enjoyed the fresh outdoor air after the rain. We allowed C and L to pet her, to feel how fuzzy she is and they squealed with joy. You could see the hesitation in her eyes – while enjoying the much lacking attention and love, she was startled by the unusually high pitched sounds that humans can make. Funny stuff! Priceless…. Love my life.

9 months, 1 week old...

Again I am guilty of not writing enough... This has been a HUGE month for us, in terms of development! Carter started sitting and crawling at 8.5 months and now at 9, he stands up on his own and starting to cruise (walking while holding on to stuff). Logan is crawling and gets into the "downward dog" all the time; still learning to sit.  Both of them had their 9 month check in and passed hearing screen and a separate eye exam (prematurity requires these) at the optometrist. I am thrilled about how well they are doing... Both babble, laugh at each other, and get into everything. Mike and I gated off a room downstairs that we call the "baby jail" - just 2 couches, a colorful foam mat, and lots of toys. They also love getting in their walkers and running all over the downstairs, bumping into things. Its so tough to keep up with them both!! I break a major sweat just in the short couple hours that I am with them at night after work.

Logan got his first tooth a week ago. Carter is about to get his first any day and Logan's 2nd is coming in. Both are starting with their bottom middle teeth, like most babies. :)

8 Months Old

2 days ago C and L turned 8 months old (6 months adjusted) and today M and I have our 4 year wedding anniversary.  Lots of things to celebrate around here!
In other news:

• Boys are both learning to army crawl - very fun to watch but scares me because we have not started baby proofing yet. 
• Both have figured out the sippy cup, but still enjoy eating from a bottle.
• Both love to roll over and sleep on their belly. Sometimes when I walk in the room in the morning, I find them both on their bellies, holding head up and smiling at me.
• LOVE their bouncy seats. We just now raised them both a little, so the boys can touch the ground with just their tippy toes. We don't want them to jump OUT of the seats. :)
• Carter wants to crawl so bad that he gets on his belly and makes swimming motion very very fast with his arms and legs. Looks like he is swimming in invisible water. Its usually accompanied by loud giggles.
• Both of them tried almost all stage 1 and some stage 2 fruit and veggies. This weekend, I plan to try and give them egg yolks for the first time.
• Logan is finally 3rd percentile by weight (unadjusted)! Slowly getting on that chart! Yea!
• When they play with toys, Carter tends to take Logan's very often. He already does not like to share... oh boy, we are just getting started!

• Poor little guys had their first very mild cold (I got them sick) last week for just 2 days. And now they are just fine, but their noses are stuffed up and they can't breathe while eating. So, feedings are very stressful - choking and crying because hungry.  Can't wait for them to get better!!!
• This weekend we plan to take our first family portraits.

First Easter (7.5 months)

Let's see... They learned to drink from a sippy cup. Both are learning to crawl - lifting their butts and scooting their legs forward like little froggies. I guess this is called "Army crawling".

Here is a pic from Easter. Love those funny shirts on them. Carter ("Kisa") is such a little troublemaker, already instigating trouble when the two of them are together: taking Logan's toys from his hands, kicking his brother, pulling his hair, etc... Logan ("Zipka") is our patient, sweet, quiet baby. Life would be a lot harder if we had two Carters. Logan is so much easier....now that his reflux is under control.

7 months, 1.5 weeks...

Time flies! Easter is 2 weeks away and I am already starting to think about how much easier life will be when I no longer have to pump… My goal was 6 months and I am still exclusively feeding them milk. Proud…but exhausted. I am so 3^rd place on my totem pole. Carter/Logan, then me, then M, then all the pets. Haha

Last week, Logan learned how to bounce in the bouncer. Before that he would just sit there and play with all the attached toys or watch Carter jumping in his own bouncer next to him. Now they both bounce and laugh at each other. Its hysterical!

We started yogurt this week and boy do they LOVE it! Now, we are finishing up with Stage 1 veggies and fruits this week and moving on to Stage 2 veggies later on this month. I have a list of baby food recipes to try. You won’t find jars of store bought baby food here!

Weighed them last weekend. Carter is 16lb 1oz, 11^th percentile by weight (unadjusted) and Logan is 14lb 9oz and finally on to 2^nd percentile! Growing boys…

Carter now masterfully does “musika” on command – you put your open hand over his mouth and say “musika!” and he starts making sounds while you move your hand over his mouth to make “music”. It’s so funny! One of those Russian things my brother and I learned as babies and now my boys will learn it too. Logan still does not get it and tries to lick the hand if you put it over his mouth. Silly peanut. ;-)

Sunglasses

Sunlight in our eyes has been a Problem with a capital P when we go for walks. The solution? These super cool Sungoggles! :)

Both boys went to sleep immediately!

PS: it's warm enough to not wear jackets outside now! Spring is here!

2 Days Away from Being 7 Months Old!

I blinked and another month went by! I once again failed to deliver on my promise to write more, but I kept

a mental list in my defense. Here we go:

• C and L started solids!  We give them maybe a tablespoon of something a day in addition to their normal amount of milk, just to learn to chew and eat purees and oatmeal. So far, they both are doing fantastic with it! So far we've tried sweet potatoes, apples, pears, avocado, carrots, prunes, and oatmeal. This weekend we will try green peas. :)
• Carter was tested for allergies (skin scratch test) and he was not reactive to any of the big allergens - soy, milk, shellfish, peanuts, mixed fish, eggs.  The allergist said that he was either allergic before and just outgrew it (prematurity) or he has an intolerance to milk/soy. So, I was cleared to eat whatever I wanted and carefully monitor him for symptoms. Here we are 2 weeks in and all is well! I am much happier - so many foods I missed!  Now, when we switch C to formula eventually, we may need to get the expensive amino acid formula. The allergist said to avoid milk/soy in his diet directly until he is about 2 years old. So, when most kids transition to cow's milk, Carter is going to get rice or almond milk.
• Motor Development... Carter and Logan are both very good at sitting up in their high chairs or bumbos. They grab at stuff and explore toys very well! Carter is pretty mobile with rolling both tummy to back and back to tummy. He even lifts his butt and tries to scoot forward. Logan still only rolls tummy to back and tries to scoot a little, but he is going to catch up. Both talk and smile a whole lot!
•  Both C and L started sleeping through the night about 2 weeks ago. We put them to bed  for the night at 7:30pm, do a "dream feeding" at 10:30pm, and they sleep until 7am at which point we feed them and they go back to sleep while we start getting ready for work. It works perfectly! I also stopped waking for middle of the night pumping, which means I sleep more. :)

We're so happy together! Life as 4 is amazing, but moves soo much faster than life as 2.

Quick Blurbs

I realize now that writing a long, poetic blog is something that is not going to happen. If I don’t get in here for 2 mins a day (or a week?) with a fun blurb about the boys and what new tricks they learned, then I probably won’t write anything at all. So here go some informal blubs about us and them: • They eat 6 times a day now with a dream feeding at 10ish pm and then their middle of the night feeding in actually in the early morning, at 5 am. M and I get up together and usually take turns taking care of them. C eats in 10 minutes and L takes his sweet time, sometimes taking as long as 30. • Love how every morning when C & L wake up and I walk into their room, come over to stand next to their cribs and they greet me with a big smile as soon as they notice me there. So precious & innocent. Those moments make my day! • We usually bring C&L downstairs and put them side by side in a pack n play, where they smile and talk to each other while their morning bottles warm up. Watching them interact is also a really cool gift. They are more interested in each other than in any other toys or even our pets. I like to think there is a true “twin connection” there and not just a wow factor with there being another baby. They’re 2 peas in a pod. • Carter is clearly the less patient one. Logan will fuss in tiny squaks every few minutes when he needs something or wakes up hungry. Buuuut Carter will go from happy and careless to starving and scream at the top of his lungs in a matter of a second. There is no warning or build up. His scream is so loud, you’d think he is seriously hurt. But he’s just hungry. As soon as he sees the bottle, he starts opening his mouth and reaching for it. • Tomorrow they will be going to the pediatrician for their 6 month shots and checkup. I can’t believe half a year has gone by! And then the following day, I’m taking Carter to an allergist to see if he is still allergic to milk proteins and soy (in my diet). I am so tired of being restricted in what I can eat. But this is one year of my life that I can devote myself fully to them. They come first.

5 months!

Time has been flying!! I wish I had more energy and time to write, but between all the house stuff, work, and sleep I don’t have enough time to sit down or chew food before I have to be somewhere. All in all, C and L continue to do develop like healthy, happy little boys. We had their feeding issues under control for all of about a week and then had to feed them a little more during a growth spurt and everything returned. Now, we have both of them on reflux medication which helps and I also thicken their milk with xanthan gum (following a recipe from Reflux Rebels.com). Carter will be seeing an allergist next week too as his forehead looks like the map of the world, all marked in red eczema lines. Overall, these boys bring us so much happiness now that they smile and babble at us all the time. Just last week, they started looking at each other and smiling. It was such as special moment! M and I also get to enjoy a little more sleep these days – the boys can sleep for a 6 hours stretch followed by a 4 hour stretch. So, M only gets up once a night, while I get up to pump as well… Still, things are better than before! We celebrate small and big accomplishments together: the first time C and L rolled over, the first time C held a ball in his hands and examined it curiously, the first smile, the first monologue, the first walk through the neighborhood in their big boy stroller (not in the car seats, but in actual seats)…. It’s all such a rewarding journey. I can only imagine how much more fun it will be when they start eating solids and teething!!

3 Months Old...

I have been fully submerged into the life of being a mom and as of last week, I am also a working mom. It has been fun but absolutely nuts! Whether or not I am having a good day revolves around pooping and feeding successes with Carter and Logan. But admittedly, things are already a bit easier than they were about a month ago. One of the reasons is that we bought a baby scale and now despite all the projectile vomit that Logan occasionally has and the constant need to be force fed, we still see that he is gaining weight well. That took a huge amount of stress and worry off our shoulders! We also kind of fell into a rhythm and got organized. Our designed days for sterilizing bottles (Tuesdays and Fridays) are clearly marked on the note on the fridge. We have enough Dr. Browns bottles to get through 24 hours without having to wash any. We got new vitamins that don't upset the boys' tummies...And with this first week behind us, I got through the tough part of learning to leave them with my mom and M's parents. It was not so bad at all, but it was a milestone for me. I only cried once, as I was pulling out of the driveway to go in the office. 

A steady stream of weekend visitors has helped us feel like we don't live in a cave, though we kind of are and should be living a bit antisocially this first winter and during RSV season. Last night, M and I actually rented a movie for the first time since the boys arrived and had a little date night in. Its not that we couldn't have done that sooner, but just that we were so stressed and tired each night that we always chose sleep over a movie. Now, there is a crazy talk of taking a family trip to Costco... I don't see the point, but he might convince me otherwise. We'll see!

C and L are thriving! Carter is sooo impatient and screams at the top of his lungs 30 min prior each feeding, effectively moving up our feeding schedule. He is almost 10 pounds now, our little lambchop. Logan is still my peanut, but he has grown too - 8lb 10oz. With L, we have to force feed him every feeding and sometimes he vomits. Lately, L has also had some issues in the pooping department so I am suspicious that he has more than just a milk/soy food allergy and decided to do a trial this weekend, feeding him only from the stash of frozen 100% hypoallergenic milk that I saved back when I was eating no dairy, nuts, eggs, soy, gluten, red meat, alcohol, citrus, etc.. I was eating like 10 things - you get the point. I guess if he does better with the straining and pooping on this milk then I may start cutting out foods I reintroduced already. I don't care if I have to eat cardboard for the next 6 months if that's what I had to do to have two happy baby boys.

Both of them started rolling tummy to back last week. Carter also spends a couple hours a day cooing and trying to talk. He looks up at the birds on the mobile above the swing and coos while following them with his eyes. Logan has not cood this much yet - he is much more reserved and patient compared to his brother. Both of them hold their heads up already, just a bit wobbly. Time really does fly!!! 

Being back at work has given me an opportunity to rest and stock up on energy for when I get home. It is truly so much harder to be a stay at home mom.....

In a Better Place – 3 weeks adjusted, 11 weeks old

There are so many moments every day with our boys that I think to myself “This is something I need to blog about before I forget” but I never have the time. These days, taking a shower without being rushed is simply a luxury – time is my most valuable commodity right now. Where to start?

Logan had his inguinal hernia repair surgery. There was a 24 hour hospital stay and he came out of anesthesia just fine! My hope was that this procedure would make the straining and discomfort go away, but it didn't. He continued to stain so hard that he would choke while feeding and then projectile vomit. I even suspected that he had pyloric stenosis and like any other mom committed to her son's wellness, I went on a research quest to figure out something that would help. Right now, we are giving him gas drops with every feeding and also probiotics twice a day – its the best combination that works for him though he still strains for hours sometimes.

Carter is gaining weight like a little monster – already 8.5 lbs! It makes me thrilled for him, but I also really want Logan to catch up. It will make things complicated in the laundry department when Carter moves up in size to 3 months old clothes and Logan stays in newborn.

The other day I decided to try nail clippers on Carter instead of filing them in hopes of it taking less time. The first nail clipped great – quick and he didn't even notice. The second nail, not so much. I clipped off the very tip of his little finger and the next hour was a blur – Carter and I both in tears trying to stop the bleeding, M is trying to help but stressed because UGA was losing and I chose a bad time to trim Carter's nails. Let's just say it was a disaster... And now 3 days later, M and I are pro's at putting band aids on tiny little fingers.

A week from now I will be going back to work and it scares me to no end to leave them. I have not really gone anywhere since they have been home from the NICU unless it was a doctors appointment. And even then, it took a lot of patience and planning to make that happen. I worry that Logan won't be eating as much because others will be feeding him and he is a tough baby to feed when he strains or has tummy discomfort. I worry that they will hit a milestone like socially smiling at someone and I won't be there to see it... I guess every working mom has at some point experienced these feelings. Most just had more than 4 weeks to spend with their munchkins before having to return to work. Its tough, but it could always be tougher – trying to stay positive that everything will be ok and maintain an iron-clad level of organization so that I can maximize the amount of time I spend with these two.

Happy Due Date! (40 weeks)

My calendar says its the 26th of October which means 2 days ago was Carter and Logan's due date. They are full therm babies this week! A week ago Logan came home and Carter followed him a few days later - just shy of 40 weeks. Its still surreal to me that they are both here though it has not been exactly a smooth ride. Logan was sent home on Similac Neosure preemie formula as a fortifier to my breast milk and it has made him strain SOO much until he cries. On the 2nd night of having him home, we took him to the ER because of an inguinal hernia that popped out. He cried so hard and was absolutely inconsolable. The ER doctor told us we'd have to wait until Logan is 50 weeks to get a minor corrective surgery (this type of hernia does not self resolve like the umbilical hernia). Days went by and we continued to hold our breath every time he strained. Finally, we asked his pediatrician for an early referral to the surgical group that would do the surgery. At this appointment yesterday, they decided to operate on him in 2-3 weeks, depending on schedule availability. I am relieved about that... We've been so stressed that he is never happy because of this straining and discomfort. While we wait to have surgery, there is gas drops, gripe water and we may try to fortify milk with a hypoallegenic easy to digest formula instead of Neosure.

Speaking of hypoallergenic, my elimination diet worked for Carter and we have not had issues with bloody stools anymore. I have even started reintroducing a few foods - Gatorade and had a small container of Five Guys fries (cooked in peanut oil) after our first trip to Babies R Us yesterday. It was divine!

Life with our two little boys at home is amazing, all worries aside. They are the most precious little people and it makes me happy to see them without driving anywhere. I have another month until I go back to work and I know it will fly by just like the last couple of weeks did.... Hope the next time I update, Logan and his GI issues will be in a better place. M has one more week off work and I will be a walking zombie after that. It takes minimum 2 hours to feed each baby and pump. We kept them on the NICU schedule so they are eating every 3 hours.... So, I would sleep in 1 hour pieces 3-4 times a night. I just keep telling myself "This is the hardest its ever going to be". Hope I'm right.

37+2 - Eating Challenges Continue

Our boys are continuing to work hard on learning to suck, swallow, and breathe at the same time during feedings without dropping their heart rates or oxygen levels (when they forget to breathe). It seems though that we stalled a bit – very little progress to report this week. Both of them are still at 4 bottles (out of total 8) per 24 hours and even then, they aren't able to finish them. I have even taken a break with nursing them, so they can focus on mastering bottle feedings which are supposed to be less work than eating from the breast. A feeding specialist came by today to set up a time with us to customize a treatment plan to help them learn to eat. That would consist of finding a bottle and nipple that work for them (so many options out there!), teaching us to pace them some more (tilting the bottle to allow them to breathe), doing suck/swallow counts during feedings, and preventing apnea and bradycardia episodes before they occur by watching the babies. Its not a science, but an art – each baby is different and this is one thing that we don't have machines for in the NICU and the babies have to learn to do this on their own. They don't come home with feeding tubes... 

My biggest fear now is them not coming home by their 40 week due date, October 24. And the fear that follows is that I won't have enough time with them before I have to go back to work. It was hard enough to accept NICU visits eating up most of my maternity leave. Now, my return to work date (end of 12 weeks) is November 12th and I just left a voice mail for my boss yesterday asking him to call me to discuss a personal leave of absence. I plan to ask for just 2 more weeks, so I would return to work the week of Thanksgiving. That would essentially give me roughly a month with them at home before things get more complicated, but that's assuming they come home on October 24, which is less than 3 weeks away... I fear they won't be ready. Perhaps I should just be thankful for 2 healthy babies - this experience has been so humbling and we met SO many parents with kids that have major complications, that I simply can't overshadow the joy of having 2 healthy beautiful boys by my worries about spending time with them during leave. Everything should be considered in perspective! I tell myself that they are going at their own pace and will come home when they are ready.

Another small issue: Carter had some blood in his diaper (again – first time was Sept 23) and this time, its been diagnosed as a milk protein allergy. So, he has been getting Similac Alimentum formula and I have been put on an elimination diet of no dairy. On Monday, it will have been 5 days since my diet started and I will be able to start giving the NICU breast milk again for Carter. Poor little guy – the formula makes him constipated. It kills me to see him eating formula though I know its for less than a week, while I have a half full deep freezer of breast milk he can't tolerate. Logan hasn't had this problem, thankfully. Though I think having no dairy will benefit him too – he gets very gassy sometimes.

A bright spot from last week – a lovely nurse offered me to hold them at the same time for 5 minutes (their schedules are not synchronized so their allowed “touch times” are off by an hour). It was amazing! I never saw them so close to each other before and had a silly smile on my face the entire 5 minutes. Carter was awake and was exploring the boppy pillow with his big curious eyes and everything on it, including Logan. Logan was still snoozing, but he was moving his arms in his sleep. Somehow the two of them got to hold hands for a brief moment and I caught a picture of it... Absolutely precious. Moments like this make me so glad that I have twins and get to watch them interacting together though it is in very small ways right now.

Carter & Logan are 1 Month Old (36+3)!

Though their adjusted age is still negative one month old, our boys are officially one month old and boy, did this month go by in a blink of an eye! Logan gave me the best birthday gift ever – he is off all oxygen support! His nasal cannula came off this morning and he has done great breathing on his own. Both of them are taking 3-4 bottles in a 24 hour period now and to come home, they need to be able to finish 8 bottles (all of their feedings).  Maybe it’s a matter of 2 weeks, maybe 4 – nobody knows. Nurses tell me white boys are the slowest to learn to suck, swallow, and breathe at the same time and black girls are the fastest. But once they get it, they get it. So, we just have to wait until they figure it out!

Out little Logan has really filled out – even since I took these pictures 3 days ago, he looks different. His eyes are less puffy and he just seems overall happier now that he isn’t wasting sooo much energy trying to take his nasal cannula off. He sure was hating that thing on his face!

Carter was ahead for a while there (was allowed to have as many as 5 bottles!) but he got tired and they lowered his bottle feedings to 3-4, which gave Logan time to catch up. Now we think they will come home at the same time…

We are even more used to our routines. I spend my days at the NICU and M goes after work. On weekends our parents visit and by the way, they got to hold the boys for the first time this weekend! It was really cool!  I have been back to running the household – cooking and finding time to do all the other little stuff. I think my body is fully adjusted to getting 5-6 hours of sleep a night. I make myself get up in the mornings and start knocking out errands. My goals are to spend lots of time with my kids and to take care of the house, cook, freeze meals, and make sure I am pumping at least 8 times a day. The NICU milk supply called yesterday and said they ran out of room to store my milk, so our deep freezer is now getting fully utilized. Good problem to have! I got at least 2-3 weeks on these boys!

35+3

Sunday night – exhausted after a long day in the NICU (what’s new?).  M and I got there early to learn how to bathe our litter before our parents came over for visits – his at 1 and mine at 2:30. Bathing lesson went well! So amazing to me how different and BIG these kiddos look each day, even to me and I see them daily! Logan and Carter were both super alert during their baths but seemed to enjoy them. M bathed Logan and I bathed Carter. Team work!

Logan also had his very first nutritive feeding today and knew exactly what to do! So proud of our two little boys for their good appetite and more importantly, breathing/eating coordination. The nurses tell us that each feeding at this age is like running a marathon for them. No wonder they pass out within 15 minutes of us starting the feeding. ;-)

Carter is now completely off all breathing support and takes 5 of his 8 feedings by bottle. Going home is just around the corner!!  Logan is still on 1.5L of room air per hour (think of it as a light wind going through his nasal cannula), and as I mentioned just started learning how to eat.

Tuesday will be a rough day for Logan – he has his Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) screening, which he needs to have done only because of his low birth weight.  Carter won’t need to have that one done. The test itself takes only 5 minutes but entails keeping the eye open with a special device, similar to what they put on me when I had LASIK surgery. Of course, babies hate it and scream at the top of their lungs. I hated it too! So, I hope I will conveniently not be there for it. Although, I never know when the doctors make their rounds…

The biggest topic of the day has been the boys’ chins. Logan (our blondie) has a butt chin like his dad. Carter’s chin is rounded and he has dark hair. I don’t think there is any question about them being fraternal now!!

I got my new pump in the mail!! This is a big deal because the Ameda Purely Yours that my insurance paid for was no good and couldn’t do the job. So, I have been renting the Medela Symphony from the hospital for $29/week and it’s been good but very expensive. Anyway! The pump I got is the Spectra Dew 350, a hospital grade pump that they use in Taiwan. It’s even better than the $700 Medela Symphony pump but only cost me $70 on ebay! Woot! I love it.  Considering I don’t have a baby (or two) to love on at all times, I have taken to pumping as my job and became pretty emotionally attached to my pump.  ;-)

In the pics below, Dad's with Logan and I am with Carter.