Time Flies-- The Boys are Three Weeks!

I cannot believe it, but the boys are already 3 weeks old. Considering I spent most of that time awake, you'd think it should have dragged by, but to think that my boys are already nearly a month old is absolutely amazing to me.
Both are doing wonderfully at home. They are beautiful and healthy, adjusting well, growing bigger by the day. Auntie Jessica is going to get to come by this weekend, and I think she is going to be amazed at how much bigger they are than the last time she saw them a couple weeks ago.
My mom is here this week; she is a huge help. I have been pulling all the night shifts so that Todd could sleep, but last night I pretty much passed out. She was able to take over for the night, and I feel much better today having slept nearly a full night. Joel is much better about sleeping through the night now (not getting nights and days confused as he had been), so usually I am able to get around 2 hour chunks of sleep at a time between feedings. Better than nothing.

And finally, our big news, we bought a van! There was no choice in the matter, we absolutely had to have a bigger vehicle, so on Saturday we spent the day at Carmax and were able to find a really nice Town & Country that was in our price range (our price range being "the cheapest minivan on the lot with under 50k miles".) All throughout the pregnancy, Todd said he does NOT want a minivan (wanted an SUV.) We find this one, and he LOVES it. He kept talking about how great it is, all the room, the features... yep, he's definitely hit fatherhood now!

Here are some three week photos that we took. The first one is Joel, the other two are Evan, then them sleeping together. Notice the pacifiers-- these are the only ones they will use, but they want them all the time.
Enjoy!


The boys say Happy Belated Birthday to Grandma Janice!

Two Weeks and Counting!

In honor of turning two weeks old, the boys got their first baths at home! Turns out they are NOT fans of bathtime (particularly Evan, which is obvious.)

Joel's bathtime... check out the size of that gut!



Evan is NOT happy!


Daddy makes up for the torture with some good cuddle time!

I had to include this because it is so cute. Evan was using the pacifier to relax, and Joel was using Evan's fingers!


Awww!

Yesterday was the two-week checkup. Joel is 6lbs! Evan is 5lbs 3oz.! Both are obviously eating well. The doctor said everything looks perfect, and they don't have to come back until the two month appointment since feedings are obviously not an issue.

Todd and I have now figured out a sleep schedule that seems to be working, so we are finally starting to feel like we can function (slightly) again. I'm sad that he has to go back to work on Monday... for both of us. I have loved having him around, and he's loved being around. He's a very devoted Daddy. I guess I'll just have to send him lots of photos each day.

Homecoming Pictures

Here are a few pictures of the boys arrival at home! The top two pictures are Joel (Monday night). The last two: Evan's on the left, Joel's on the right.

Our Angels are Here!

Just wanted to quickly post that our little guys are now home. We brought Joel home last night... it was exhausting... my naive idea of "no problem, I'll just keep them on the hospital schedule and we'll be fine" was quickly tossed out by Joel, and instead we were up until about 4a.m. with his screaming to be held all night long. Todd had planned on working today, but at 4:00 he turned to me and said, "Guess what, I'm staying home today!" After the 4a.m. feeding Joel was wiped out and slept well the rest of the day.

Evan passed his car seat test, so we got the call this morning that he could come home as well. Both boys have done wonderfully for the whopping three hours that they've been here together. Fingers are crossed for tonight...

I'll try to get on here to post video and pictures as soon as I can.

Babies' Progress Report

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS

Time for an update! Joel and Evan continue to do well and are very close to coming home. Both have had their feeding tubes removed, so now everything they take in is what they eat. Joel is starting to look like a little porker to me; his face is really filling out. They look pretty different from each other right now because of the size difference, but Todd says he notices Evan starting to fill out as well.
We think there is a really strong chance that Joel will be coming home tomorrow! He has not had any difficulties in the NICU, so at this point hasn't shown any reason to be kept in any longer. Evan should be right behind, as he is doing really well with his feedings over the past 24 hours (eating full/nearly full bottles, which are 2oz.)
I am both thrilled and terrified at the realization that they are going to be here... with me... by myself... each and every day. Today I attempted to care for them both at the same time. It went fine, but by the end the three of us collapsed into a deep sleep for an hour or so. It is a great feeling to be able to care for them myself, though; at this point, the NICU nurses have pretty much let Todd and I just take over while we are there.

So... progress is good!

One Week Photos

Just thought I'd share some of our photo shoot from yesterday. I spent the day at the hospital; it was great being able to be with them for so long again! They continue to do well, especially Joel. Sounds to me like he may be coming home within a few days-- his feedings are going really well, so that needs to continue (along with some weight gain).
Anyway, here are are boys at one week! (Evan is on the left, Joel is on the right)

The boys are one week today!

On the one hand, it feels like, "wow, it's only been a week?", but then I am also filled with some sort of sadness that I haven't been around the whole time to experience my boys' first week of life.

But... we have good news! Today they are being transferred to Good Shepherd, which is only about 20 minutes from our house. It is still the same hospital group, just much closer (the one we originally had been scheduled to deliver.) They will be there within the hour! This is wonderful for us. LGH was 1-2 hours away depending on the time of day. Now, Todd can drop me off in the morning, and I can spend the day with them; if I need to be home, it's okay, too, because we will get there much earlier in the evenings now. I am so happy with this change in placement, and the hospital has an excellent reputation so I am confident in the staff.

The boys got their circumcision yesterday. Both are doing well, although Evan was clearly not feeling too great last night. Joel took a full bottle from Todd, and the nurse told me he did the same this morning. If he keeps this up, he should be coming home very soon! Thanks to Adrian and Linda, we are going to get a house cleaner in here to get this place scrubbed up before they come home. Todd has had to do all the housework for the past four months, and between working full time, caring for me, all the appointments, and having three dogs, the house is definitely in need of a good scrubbing!

Todd just walked in, so it's time to go see our babies! We took video last night (with the awesome new camera), so I will try to post that when we come back.