Due Date

Yesterday was the twins due date. They are 5 weeks birth age, 40 weeks gestational age, and 0 weeks adjusted age. They say with preemies to go by their adjusted age when looking at milestones

Things are mostly going fine with us. I think I am adjusting to feeling sleep deprived and don't notice it as much... The babies only go 2.5 to 3 hours between feedings (Anna would go longer, but Alex is still so little that he has to eat that often, and we want to keep them on the same feeding schedule.) It takes close to an hour to feed and then more time to get them back to sleep and then they usually wake me up a bit before they are ready to feed, so the sleep time between feedings is very limited. When I get 2 solid hours in a row now I consider myself lucky. I hope that in another monthor so I might be getting a few more hours in a row.

We had originally planned on them sharing a pack n play beside our bed. That really didn't work well. They would wiggle and flail around and wake each other up. We tried them one night in their cribs (about 10 feet away across the hall in their room) and I got NO sleep that night. I need them closer. So we are now using 2 laundry baskets in the pack n play beside the bed. They do MUCH better in them. It is funny. I also put a towel under the heads of the baskets which they seem to like. They did that with their cots in the NICU, and I think they got used to their heads being slightly elevated. Once they out grow their baskets I will try to move them into their cribs I think. IF I can handle having them across the hall and sleep myself. Anna sleeps better than Alex. He sometimes will not settle in the basket and I take him into bed with us for a while until he settles down. I didn't think I would want the babies in bed with me at all, but when holding him is the only way he will settle and I am tired it is so much easier and more comfortable than trying to sit up in a chair with him. I also worry when on a chair/couch holding him I might fall asleep and have him roll off. In bed I lay on my side and lay him in my elbow and brace my hand against Ian's back (so I wake up if he moves around - I never move when I sleep, but he sometimes flails) Alex loves it and will stare up at my face until he drifts off. It is a sweet time. Anna doesn't settle like that. She usually is only fretting when she has a reason (hungry, wet, poopy, cold, gassy) and once the issue is solved she sleeps just fine. She also kicks me in the boobs and punches my face, so it isn't as nice cuddling with her in the middle of the night.

I worry about head shape, but compared to many of the babies I saw in the NICU, I think my two are okay for shape. Anna's is pretty perfectly round but she has a high forehead (like I do). Alex's forehead is lower and more sloped, and his head seems to be pretty round, except for one lumpy area above one ear. He kind of has a horn... It is where he had his IV in for a long time, so he didn't lie on that area of his head. I try to get him to balance on his horn more often, so it gets squished down. Not sure it is really working.

They spend time in all sorts of positions. Both LOVE tummy time and they spend a lot of the day on a blanket on the floor. Both will sleep well on their tummies during the day (when I am awake to check them). They also have bouncy chairs which they seem to enjoy sometimes. So far (fingers crossed it continues) both babies love their car seats/driving and sleep really well in the truck. We have gone on a few "adventures" with the pair of them and it has gone well. Supper over at a friends house, going for icecream, Drs visits and yesterday we went grocery shopping for the first time with both of them. (My first time in a grocery store in 6 months...)

Formula feeding/bottles etc really sucks. I hate all the steralizing and boiling of everything. Any tips to make things quicker? We used the ready to use formula up until their due date (yesterday) and are now using the concentrate mixed with boiled water. I am still pumping as well so they are getting about 50% breastmilk. I still try to put them on the boobs as well, but it usually ends with them screaming and me feeling frustrated. Some days I just feel like giving up on the whole breast feeding idea. I have one breast that seems to work well, but the other is a slacker. If both worked equally well I would have enough milk for both of them. When Alex gets straight breast milk he eats so much better than when it is formula. He is still really tricky to get to feed well at times. Anna is a little piggy and will eat whatever.

Both of them are REALLY active. They can both pick their heads up when on their tummies and switch them from side to side. Occasionally they will have a face plant in the middle, which is kind of funny. Both have rolled over from belly to back. They will roll from back to side and back again as well. Anna also went "walk about" one day and managed to squirm off her blanket and about 2 feet over under the coffee table. I was amazed! I am scared that I will have early crawlers at this rate. There is still so much baby proofing to do... Yikes!