6 weeks and I hit my full term date!

The babes are now 6 weeks old. It's amazing how time has gone by in those six weeks. 6/29/2013 was my original due date. I can't imagine having twins at full term. I know women do it, but to start the clock all over again with what we've learned in the last six weeks? No thanks. I appreciate what I have now.

They had a few milestones this week. Cora is starting to focus more on our faces. She reacts to voices a bit by turning her head when she hears someone familiar. Sutter is starting to smile in his sleep when he is dreaming. It's such a big smile that I look forward to seeing when he is awake. During his waking hours, when he's not grunting for food, we talk to him. He generally has a pensive look on his face, but does a good job of focusing on us. His most alert hours seem to be in the evening. I think he takes after his father in that way.

We have an activity mat that we put them on this week for tummy time. It has bright, contrasting colors with an underwater landscape. It has a mirror, music and lights up like a mini-party. Sutter seemed to enjoy the music. They are both transfixed by the colors. Tummy time is going well, too. They are both able to turn their heads from side-to-side, sometimes even pausing in the middle to put their head up and look around. We call this "turtling" and generally cheer with positive reinforcement when they've done this. It seems like they are both growing and we are proud of each milestone they reach.

Finally, we're feeding them about 95ML of breastmilk, fortified with Similac Neosure, which provides an extra 2 calories for their growth. Sometimes we have to feed them with only formula, but that has a lot to do with my supply and demand of the breastmilk. I would say that they are fed at least 90% of the time with breastmilk. I am proud that I can do that for the babes. I'm going to keep that up as long as I can. I am able to breastfeed them one or two times a day. For all other feeds, I pump - which is an every three hour job. It's worth it to me because of the healthy benefits for them.

As usual, I set the stage in the living room and began taking photos on Friday afternoon, 6/28. I put Cora and Sutter on their Newborn Boppy Lounger, which is the equivalent of an adult papasan. Anyone who has sat on a papasan knows that it's really built for one. Same goes for the Lounger, except when we're trying to take photos. You will see that they roll into each other. Cora took the time to suck on her brothers shoulder, too. He didn't seem to mind, as they do not really know that each other exists, yet. It's only a matter of time!

Cora in her pretty rainbow outfit - just in time for PRIDE weekend in SF. Timely with the latest news on DOMA!

Such a happy girl!

Sutter looks at my straight on, almost as if he is protecting his sister. I'm sure there are a few good captions for this photo.

Cora sucking on Sutter's shoulder. Sutter was just cooing away. 

We bought this amazing rocker / recliner for their nursery. At six weeks old, they sure are tiny in their chair.

They haven't spent the night in their cribs, yet. At this point, they would still be able to sleep side-by-side though. 

And who doesn't love bacon?

5 weeks - my how we've all grown.

Friday, June 21, marked five weeks since they were born. It's amazing to think what we've been through in the last five weeks of our lives. From the NICU, to coming home, and now what we consider to be a normal day, has all been an amazing experience. It's still new to us every day, yet it feels natural to take care of our little babes.

5 weeks of love!

Dad, lay down with the babes real quick!

Ho-Hum...I'm five weeks old. 

This past week, my mom has been staying with us to help out. And do we appreciate it! It's amazing what all we can get done with three people on board. We take turns feeding, burping, changing, eating, drinking, blogging, banking...what else? And that's just between breast pump sessions every three hours. It's been fun hanging out with my mom and getting to see her interact with our kids every day. We love it!

Last weekend, my Dad came up to hang out with us, too. He hadn't seen the babes since they were in the NICU (unless you count our Skype sessions.) It was fun to have Bup in town. He jumped in and helped out, talking and playing with the kids while they were awake. He was also good at getting them to calm down if they were fussy. We were sad when he had to leave on Monday.

The fun thing while Granny and Bup were in town was our three hours out of the house on Saturday night. We attended our good friends, Raffaella and Alfie's wedding reception. It was fun to see our friends and enjoy an adult beverage while dancing to live Brazilian music.

Finally, here are a few other fun photos that I took throughout the week!

Sutter, such a serious guy

Mom and Cora on a walk, proof that I can get out of the house with one babe.

I'm just taking a break from eating, pondering whether to continue eating more.

Yeah, I think I want more.

Hello? Sutter?

Cora just relaxing on her newborn lounger.

Send us your love! xoxo

One Month Old!

We had our one month appointment on 6/17/13. The appointment was at the exact time I was scheduled for a c-section to deliver the babes. Yet, here we were, across the street from the hospital at the pediatrician with our babes in tow. It amazing what a difference a month can make.

Sutter weighed in at 7 lb 4.5 oz with a length of 20.75 in. He has gained 2 lb 5 oz since birth!

Cora weighed in at 6 lb 10.5 oz, with a length of 19 inches. She has gained 2 lb 1 oz since birth!

The doctor said that they were both on the charts for a one-month old baby. This means that they are not considered preemies, rather they are at the same size as they should be for a one-month old. They are growing as they should be.

We could feel them getting heavier each time we picked them up over the last week. Sutter is ready to move into 0-3 month clothes, while Cora still fits into her newborn outfits. They are both in preemie sized diapers at this point.

Here are a few fun photos that we took at the end of last week, on their 4 week old anniversary. These are the onesies that we received from Bup!

Sutter is on the left and Cora is on the right. Notice that there is a sock missing from Sutter. He kicked it off. 

Sara was able to capture this wonderful little moment where Cora faced her brother and looked like she gave him a kiss. 

Sutter: "what the heck?"

First Father's Day

It was our first father's day in the Leach household. Frank & I split the Saturday night shift of taking care of the babies. This means that Frank is on duty to feed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. While I still wake every three hours to pump, we switch off on taking care of the babes to feed them every three hours. It's not restful to watch over them. As I've mentioned they grunt and cry out every so often, just as you're about to drift off to sleep. At the 5 a.m. hand-off, we each fed a baby and then he went to our room to catch up on sleep. At that time, I was able to put Cora in the bassinet on the floor below the couch and I put Sutter in his car seat next to her. This allowed me to catch one additional hour of sleep.

I woke to prepare for their 8 a.m. feeds. I made a pot of coffee and pumped just in time to begin their feeds. After their feedings I was able to eat oatmeal while getting Frank's gifts and cards together. It was a mad dash to do this before he got out of bed. I was able to make it all work before their next feeding, including straightening up the kitchen and front room along with ordering groceries to be delivered. Phew!

It was a great day. By the time that Frank woke up, I was ready to hand them off to him so I could bust out to the farmer's market to get us some fresh fruit and veggies. He watched the babes, enjoying every moment with them. After I came home, we had one more feeding and a quick lunch to ourselves before we buckled them into their stroller for a walk down to the beach.

It was a great first father's day...from a mother's perspective.

It was also lovely to hear all the kind words from everyone on Facebook and through text messages. There is so much love from our friends and family. We appreciate all your support.

xo

highlights this week

It was a busy week. Frank and I were alone for the first few days of the week. Then Aunt Sara came for a visit. We all enjoyed our time together. Here are a few highlights.

I'll post a few more very soon!

We're three weeks old!

We are three weeks old. We currently like to eat at least 8 times a day. We like bright lights around 5 in the afternoon. We enjoy being on our stomach for tummy time. We poop. We pee. We grunt even when we're sleeping. We think our parents are funny.

Cora is looking right at her brother, Sutter. This was really the first day that she acknowledged his presence by looking at him when he was grunting.

Cora on the left and Sutter on the right. He is just a half pound bigger than she is at 3 weeks old. 

This is the best we can do for a family photo right now. 

We are three weeks old! Cora on the left and Sutter on the right. 

We made it out of the house!

We did it! We made it out of the house as a family. We had a pediatrician appointment on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. It took some amount of planning, an extra half cup of coffee and about five hours of juggling between feedings to do it. Phew!

Once we were out of the car, we were stopped three times in the half block walk to the doctor's office. People want to see the babes. Frank took the lead on carrying everything since I'm still not able to lift much at this point.

Cora is on the top of the photo and Sutter is on the bottom. 

Our pediatrician weighed them and measured them. Sutter weighed 6 lbs. Cora weight 5 lbs. 8 oz. We had a list of questions for the pediatrician.

• Why do they hiccup so much? Premature diaphragm. You are doing everything correctly. It's natural it will happen.
• How do we know when to feed them more food? Increase their feedings to every 2 - 2.5 hours and increase the volume to 2.5-3 oz. At night, see if you can 
• Breast feeding - increase to two times a day! I need to eat more, too, so I can make more milk.
• When do we keep them awake? They need to be naked for at least a period during the day, plus they need tummy time. 

All of that information was a lot to take in. Now I know why it's so tough these first few months. That's a lot to balance as parents. We felt relieved that we were doing the right things so far, but we still have so much to incorporate into the daily activities.

Oh yeah, what about sleep? Maybe in a few months.

I had the best nap that afternoon.

xo

Homecoming

Cora and Sutter were discharged on June 2, 2013. It was like graduation day in the NICU. Everyone was congratulating us on the news of the discharge. The nurses seemed very proud of the help they provided to us. We had so much education from everyone over the past 17 days that we were sure we could handle it. We were both excited and nervous that day. We were going to be a family together at home that night.

We were fortunate to have the NICU nurse who was also the hospital specialist on car seats taking care of the twins on Sunday morning before our discharge. We were able to ask him some last minute questions about how to be with them in the car. We also took the infant CPR and Choking class that day. That was a hard class to take, but so worth every moment.  I had been pumping in the NICU Women's room, so I said good-bye to my fellow pumpers. Finally, we told the other mothers in the NICU who became our good friends that we would see them soon...and their kids, too!

Frank carried Sutter and Cora in their car seats down the halls of the hospital. I recorded the whole event, while walking out of the hospital - laughing and crying the entire way. I was so proud that we were out of the NICU in 17 days from their birth. I couldn't believe how strong they had become in such a short time.

In the Jeep I sat between the two of them in the back to be sure they were breathing. I cried, laughed and took about 20 photos and a few videos of them on the way home. It was our first ride as a family in the car. With every bump in the road, I reported to Frank that they were still breathing. We took the longest and slowest route possible through Golden Gate Park.

Upon arrival at home, we let them sleep right away in their Moses Baskets. As luck would have it, Granny Judy, Frank's Mom, had arrived for a week long visit on Sunday. What a great treat for her to meet the babes on their first day home.

Our first night with them was our initiation into parenthood. We decided to have them sleep with us in the room, as that is what most parents do. The pack and play we received was too big for us to maneuver around in the dark. We decided to place them on a set of dining room chairs next to each side of our bed. It was perfect to have them next to us, except that they were very loud. Grunts, groans, small cries all seemed so cute in the NICU. But at midnight, they were making me very nervous. I kept the light on for half the night just so I could understand what was happening in those baskets. Needless to say, we were pretty tired the next day. But we were thrilled to have made it through that first night and congratulated ourselves with a nap the next afternoon.

We've now moved them to the dining room table in those baskets. That way, they are with us all day long and into the evening. At night, we take shifts being with them. I've gone to bed early and wake up at their feedings and my pumping. After two shifts, we swap shifts. Frank takes the next two shifts in the bedroom and I'm in the living room with my little grunters. We'll figure it out...right?

Next up...get out of the house!

xo