7 Weeks (39w1d Yesterday)

Yesterday started off easy enough. Marcus went to work and both babies ate well for me their first two feedings and Eli was awake for quite awhile so I attempted to 'play' with him. I'm not really sure how successful that was since I have no idea what to do, I tried to get him to track a rattle, I talked to him, I put him on his stomach, he seemed pretty much uninterested in all of this. Although at the suggestion of my Aunt I put Eli on his stomach on the boppy and he managed to pick his head (although really briefly) but a lot better than ever before. Here he is 'exercising'. This was his homework assignment from his physical therapist, tummy time to work on the neck muscles.



Doesn't he look like he's working hard. (And it looks like he held it up but in reality his little head slammed right back down I was just quick with the camera but it's progress.)

All was going well, until about 2:30 when both babies had meltdowns of epic proportions. They both just started screaming for apparently no reason. Both had just been fed, so they weren't hungry, they had clean diapers, but they decided at the exact same moment that they wanted to be held and nothing else was going to appease them.

This unfortunately didn't work out so well for me because when I'm alone I can't hold and pick up both babies at once. Believe me I tried everything in my power to do so yesterday and failed miserably. So instead I would hold one while the other screamed their head off, and then switch which resulted in the formerly held baby screaming their head off. And this was full out screaming, not crying, just mean, angry, screaming. I kept waiting for someone to knock on my door to investigate exactly what I was doing to them, because it was so loud and awful. At one point I did manage to put a baby in my lap and hold the other one and this worked for about 20 minutes until I couldn't feel my legs and made the mistake of trying to lay one of them down. This then started the screaming all over again. I also tried a sling but again I couldn't figure out how to hold more than one at a time. I really need to work on that during a time when they're not throwing a fit.

This screaming lasted for 2.5 hours. At one point I had to put both babies down and go and cry in the other room. I also called Marcus crying because I just didn't know what to do. It was one of those moments when I really wished I lived by family. My husband and I moved 3000 mile away from them so I could go to grad school and I am so fully affirmed in the decision to do so even though the distance is hard. However yesterday I would have given anything to be in my hometown so my mom, my aunt, a sister or a cousin could have held a baby because that's literally all they wanted. For some reason they just needed to be held at the exact same moment. Marcus finally came home and rescued me.

I have since decided that the babies conspired against me because they are always so good when there's more than one person here to help, however when I'm alone it's a whole other story. We all survived and all of the screaming exhausted them so they slept pretty well for the rest of the evening. Crazy, exhausting, kids...

Random notes...

~I'm typing one handed while rocking my little Eli. He needs/likes to be held a lot more than Emerson. This is not so great at night.

~My mom went home yesterday and I'm already missing the extra help. My mom makes taking care of two babies look easy. My mom had twins plus 4 other kids I have no idea how she did that but she's so good with them and good to me. She encouraged me to sleep often and took most of the night feedings. Come back mom.

~Emerson cries tears now and they make her look so sad it breaks my heart.

~I have no idea how to deal with two crying, hungry babies at once. Someone is always screaming which makes me feel bad and these kids are not quick eaters.

~Pumping sucks but I'm persisting because it's important to me that they get breast-milk. Although my supply soon won't be enough for both of them which is sad and frustrating.

~I haven't had time to eat today (which doesn't help with the above problem).

~Our last visit with the visiting nurse was this morning at 8:30am. She arrived when they were both hungry and screaming and was just in the way and complicating my life with a bunch of random questions. Both babies continue to grow according to her scale Eli is 6lbs 15oz and Emerson is 5lbs 10oz.

~Babies go through millions of diapers. Okay not millions but it feels like it we go through so many diapers. Speaking of diapers at the pediatricians office I learned that on pampers there's a yellow stripe on the diaper and if it turns blue that means it's dirty. I don't know how I missed this bit of information but it's one of my favorite new discoveries. So easy to tell if they need to be changed.

~Eli has discovered his thumb and is getting much better at keeping it in his mouth. He also outgrew almost all of his preemie clothes and is now wearing newborn (although those are a little big). As one of my friends said yesterday, "He almost looks like a normal baby."

~They both had a bath in the sink with their grammy. Eli still hates being bathed and cried the whole time, Emerson doesn't seem to mind. Eli also hates having his diaper changed and screams as soon as he hears the diaper tabs. Crazy kid.

~I might have dressed Eli in one of Emerson's purple sleepers. He had none clean (Emerson has more clothes because she has a girl cousin who shares with her). I also did it to bother his grammy. He didn't seem to mind.

~ I also attempted to get a footprint and handprint from each baby. What I accomplished was making two babies angry and messy. They weren't really too happy with the idea.

~Our desktop computer died (it was old over 6 years) and they can't recover anything from it. I think all of the pictures are backed up and all the recent pics are on the laptop (also backed up) but all of my papers from the last 6 years are gone unless I still have the hard copy. For some reason the loss of all of my work makes me really sad. So my PSA for the day: back up your pictures, documents, and music and back them up often.

I think I'll stop since I can't even remember what I've already written and I started writing this 2 hours ago and had to stop to feed the babies and pump. Now I think I'll eat.

One last thing I just went check on them and Eli had moved a little and was kicking his sister in the head, she didn't seem to mind. As much as they overwhelm me, and make me cry in the middle of the night from exhaustion, they're really quite cute and worth it.

Last night...

was the worst night we've had with the babies since they've been home. I do want to start by saying that we have exceptionally good babies. For the most part they don't cry too much, they are getting sooo much better with eating, especially Emerson. When we first brought her home it took sometimes 20 minutes to get the bottle in her mouth because she would lock her jaw and put her tongue on the roof of her mouth and not let anything in, and if the bottle ever came out then we had to start over getting it in. Thankfully, unless she's really tired that practice seems to be on it's way out. However, last night both babies did not want to sleep.

Starting around 1:00 am Eli starting whining. He doesn't really cry he just whines until someone picks him up and then he's perfectly content until he's put down again. Which isn't ideal especially at night when we're exhausted. This whining lasted up until the 3:00 am feeding and then both babies were awake. Finally around 4:00 am Eli went to sleep but them Emerson starting whining and then not long after that Eli woke up again. Between both babies neither Marcus or I got any sleep.

To add extra complications on two occasions my pump wasn't working which just added to the frustration of the night. I also discovered just how out of it Marcus gets when he hasn't had any sleep. At one point he went to warm up their bottles, which we do by putting them in warm water. The problem is Marcus in his sleep deprived state put the cold bottles in cold water to warm up. So when I went to go get them 15 min. later they were still cold.

Marcus also continually will wake up out of sleep asking where the baby is, (he often thinks he has them in his arms and then wakes up panicked when he doesn't have a baby). Somehow we survived, Marcus was able to leave work a little early today, and we both napped while my mom did the afternoon feedings. Here's hoping for a much smoother night.

It's a good thing they're so cute :~)

A few updates...

I haven't had a whole lot of time to post lately but I don't want to fall behind completely, it just seems like every minute of the day and night is accounted for between all the appointments, feedings, diaper changes, and pumping sessions. Even with the extra help of my mom I'm exhausted.

Monday the babies were evaluated by a physical therapist through a program called birth to three. The babies were automatically referred to the program because they were premature and this first session was to see if they were meeting their actual age milestones. Because they don't use adjusted age at all both babies qualified for their gross motor, social and cognitive skills. The PT isn't concerned but since the babies qualify, they send the therapist to the home. and it's a free service the babies will receive PT to help make sure they stay on track developmentally. The PT will also help me and Marcus learn different things we can do to help with their development. It'll be nice to have an extra check to make sure the babies continue to grow and develop as they should.

The babies had another weight check on Tuesday and they continue to do so well growth wise which is a huge relief to me. At least I'm doing something right. I was especially nervous about bringing them home and feeding them because in the NICU the feeding amounts are so exact and I now feel like I'm sort of winging it in regards to how much they're eating. At the moment Eli eats 60ml and weighs 6lbs 6oz and Emerson eats 55ml every three hours and weighs 5lbs 3oz so she's now a full two pounds over her birth weight.

Today was my 6 week check up and all is well I also was received a vaccination for whooping cough at the recommendation of the pediatrician as an extra level of protection for the babies. I'm now cleared to do anything I want. The last few days my mom and I have taken the babies on walks and between the pregnancy, bedrest, and C-section I am so incredibly out of shape. The walks haven't been far but they have felt like work outs especially pushing both babies in the stroller and walking up the hill that we live at the top of. I still need to lose 8 pounds to reach my pre-pregnancy weight and I'm hopeful that with some exercise the last 8 pounds will go away.

I think those are the big baby updates. I've been slowly getting back into my life with friends and internship things for the next school year.

My cute growing babies with socks bought by their grammy, so cute.

5 Weeks (37w1d)

We've had a busy week since my mom arrived (and I took everyone's advice and didn't clean anything before she got here). It's been so nice to have some help. In addition to my apartment needing a cleaning we also had no food in the house when she arrived. Literally, we hadn't gone grocery shopping since before I was put in the hospital on bedrest back in April. During that time Marcus just ate with me at the hospital and then the babies were born and all of our time was spent at the hospital so practical day to day things like grocery shopping and laundry were overlooked. So when my mom arrived from her flight across the country we had the following items in our fridge to offer her for dinner. An apple...

Pretty pathetic. Now thanks to my mom we finally have food again.

She also did our laundry and cleaned the entire apartment and takes many (and a couple of times all of the night feedings). It's been so nice to get some extra sleep even though I still have to wake up to pump.

Here's my mom with her first grandbabies. She still hasn't decided what she wants to be called so we refer to her as granny, grandma, grammy, nana etc. Basically trying everything out.

The babies had their one month pediatrician appointment and they continue to grow and thrive. Our Eli now weighs 5lbs 14oz so a full 2lbs over his birth weight and Emerson weighs 4lbs 9oz They printed their info on a growth chart and their still no where near being on it but that's okay they have time to catch up.

We also had another visit from our visiting nurse program and because Eli had been acting fussy for the past two nights and she heard a little something in his lungs we went back for our second Pedi. appointment of the week. He did have a low grade fever at 99.6 but they weren't overly concerned and we've been monitoring his temp at home and he seems okay and his temps have been fine.

Today the babies had their first photoshoot. Since I wasn't able to have maternity pictures I wanted nice pictures of the babies and I'm really excited to see how they turn out.

Finally in other baby news, their great grandma and great papa on Marcus' side bought them bouncer seats. Neither one is really sure how they like them yet and Emerson is still so tiny that she really doesn't have enough weight to sit in the seat very well.



Emerson provided a little comic relief today when she pooped all over the wall. Marcus was changing her when he suddenly requested that I come in because he needed some help. I was not prepared for what I would find, poop all over the wall, the changing table, and Marcus. I about died laughing. Such a tiny baby made such a huge mess. I took a picture of the mess but I don't really think anyone wants to see my poopy walls so I won't post it but it was so hilarious. Although I think if it had happened at 3:00 am we wouldn't have found it quite so funny. Silly little girl.

This post is a little bit random but I think that's a bit of an update since I last posted. Getting used to life and a routine with two babies. (We even ventured out today for lunch and went to the store). Unfortunately the weather has been horrible this week so we haven't been out much at all.

1 Month old

I realize I just posted about 4 weeks but today is their official one month.

Birth Story part 2

Part one was much longer than I expected so for those that read it thanks. So now onto part two...

Once in the operating room a million doctors/nurses started doing a million things all at once. They pinned my arms out on either side of me (kind of like Jesus) and the anesthesiologist put an oxogen mask on me. Since I was still upset and crying it made me feel like I was suffocating (which is ridiculous because it was O2) and because I hated that feeling I forced myself to calm down and breath deeply. As I mentioned before the anesthesiologists were two of the kindest doctors I have ever encountered and the resident anesthesiologist started explaining to me everything that was going on. I was still contracting and I could feel them washing my stomach area they then put up a blue drape in front of face (I don't know why it's not like I was conscious) and the last thing I remember before going to sleep was a nurse reading out my name, DOB, and the procedure that was about to take place...

The next thing I remember was waking up at 8:30 am in recovery and immediately asking about the babies. Marcus said I was in and out of consciousness and I just kept saying over and over "babies? babies?" I was also in an enormous amount of pain and at one point I also looked at Marcus and said, "It's a 10" (This was in reference to my pain level. During my bedrest at the hospital they always asked me to rate my pain on a scale from 1-10 which I felt was so ridiculous and usually gave them some other answer, well for once I had an actual number for the people). Eventually they hooked me up to a medication pump and gave me a button to push which would give me more, that thing was my new best friend for the next 24 hours.

When I could finally maintain my consciousness for a few minutes I made Marcus show me pictures of the babies and I just remember him telling me "They're beautiful, they're so beautiful." But more than that I just wanted some reassurance that my babies were okay. I react really poorly to either the anesthesia or the DDAVP or both and it takes me forever to feel normal so this entire period is a bit of a blur. However, what I do remember is the nurses coming over and pushing on my stomach right around my incision. Holy crap, this was so painful and Marcus says every time the nurse would come over I would pout and shake my head no. Apparently Marcus and the nurses thought I was pretty hilarious during this stage of my recovery.

At some point it was time to move me back to my room, but first we made a stop to the NICU. Me in my drugged up state and still laying in the bed. It was not an easy task getting that bed into the room and I was so incredibly out of it but they held up Eli for me and showed me Emerson and once again I tried not to cry at the fact that I had given birth and instead of holding my babies I was getting a two second view, in a drugged up state from my hospital bed, and then taken back to my room.

The next 24 hours are a blur and I was asleep for almost all of it. I only woke up when the pain became to intense and I would push my drug pump button and go back to sleep. Marcus on the other hand spent most him time downstairs with the babies taking pictures and video to bring back up to me during my few moments of consciousness. Of course I remember the nurses continuing to push on my stomach, and I can clearly remember the moment when I looked down and realized I was no longer pregnant. My stomach was significantly smaller and I hated that I had no memory of any of it. Oh, and most of all I remember the pain. So much pain all through the day and night.

To be continued...

Me in recovery looking not so good.

My mom is on her way...

Her flight lands in about an hour and my apartment is a mess. It desperately needs to be cleaned/picked up but I think I have some pretty good excuses.

1.) First I was a pregnant grad student without a lot of time or energy
2.) Then I was a pregnant grad student on bedrest
3.) Then I was a pregnant grad student on bedrest in the hospital
4.) Then I gave birth to preemie twins
5.) Then I was recovering from surgery and visiting babies in the hospital
6.) Then the babies came home.

Those seem like legitimate excuses to me but I still feel the need to try and clean before she gets here. It's not going well. Every time I get a little motivated it's time to feed the babies again. Oh well and my sister has been encouraging me not to clean so I think maybe I'll listen (especially since I'm essentially out of time).

4 weeks (36w1d)

It's hard to believe our babies are already 4 weeks old, especially since we've only had them home for 5 days. We're doing really well together I think. They are very patient with Marcus and I as we figure out this whole parenthood thing. We've kept them on their schedules from the hospital eating every three hours except we've moved Eli's time so it's only 30 min. different than Emerson's.

Marcus and I are also still learning the trials of changing Eli's diaper. I know people always talk about boy babies peeing every where but I didn't think this happened virtually every time. Today I wasn't quick enough and he peed all over the blinds and his face, yes his face it was incredibly gross and a little funny. This last diaper change though I finally got smart and used a cloth as a shield. Silly baby.

Today is my first time alone with the babies since I told Marcus he needed to go to work (he's been off since Sat.) So far we've done okay. The only difficulties have come as a result of living in this stupid apartment. Today they turned off the water to the building to work on something, which added an extra level of complication to my day, and then a bit of a freak out with maintenance.

Both babies were crying around 2 and they both wanted to be fed, unfortunately I haven't yet mastered feeding them both at the same time. So I was sitting on the floor with Emerson in my lap feeding her a bottle with one hand and holding Eli's pacifier in with the other. When there was what sounded like angry pounding at my door over and over. Scared the crap out of me and I obviously didn't answer given I was attempting to feed/keep calm two babies. So what does the guy do but just walk in which completely sent me over the edge. It is not okay for people to just enter my home it's just not. I was shaking so bad and then after he left I just started crying because I was so flustered. The only small thing I'm grateful for is that I wasn't trying to breast-feed or pumping because that would have been a whole new level. The maintenance guy wanted to check my water, but frankly if I don't answer, it's not an emergency, and I haven't been notified/given consent then they should not enter.

I've had this problem before a year ago only I was asleep and woke up to the sound of two men in my living room. Not a good feeling for a woman who's alone. I complained and things were better with notice until today... I cannot wait to finish school and move out of this place.

Birth Story Part 1

I have been wanting to write about my birth experience since it happened, but I had two little babies that had updates and changes every day so I never had a chance. Right now both babies are fed and sleeping so I should have a little time and I want to record what happened before too much more time passes. I do know that it all happened really quickly, however this post is probably going to be really long because I want to try and record all of the details.

Thursday May 7th was the day I hit 32 weeks and was a huge milestone for us. Back when all of this PTL, cervix disappearing, positive fFN started Marcus and I hoped and prayed for at least 32 weeks. So when the day finally came we were both feeling relieved about that and I actually told Marcus that day, "I think I can make it to 34." haha I spoke to soon. Anyways, that day I did have a little bit of cramping in my lower back but my constant monitors didn't show any more contractions than usual and the cramps weren't awful or anything so I really thought nothing of it. Marcus (luckily) decided to stay the night at the hospital and we watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and went to sleep everything seemed just fine.

Around 1:30 or 2:00 am I woke up completely drenched. Both my shirt and shorts were soaked and I was lying in a huge pool of liquid. Immediately I knew my water had broke (because honestly what else could this be... so gross), and trying not to freak out I woke Marcus up and told him my water had broken. To which he responded in a hazy, sleepy voice, "How do you know?" Haha then he opened his eyes and looked at me, and jumped up from his couch. Since I was in the hospital it was easy enough to call a nurse and while I waited for the nurse to come I got out of bed and went into the bathroom (I don't know why I just didn't know what to do at this point.) Then I wandered back out into my hospital room standing there gushing liquid. I am honestly amazed at the amount of fluid. I read all the time about people who's water breaks and none of them ever say much more than that, but I cannot imagine this happening at home, what a mess. Anyways...

I stood there shaking (because I was a little freaked out at this point and didn't know what to do) and the nurse ran in and swabbed some of the liquid to confirm that it was indeed amniotic fluid. She then looked at me standing there, totally drenched, and shaking and brought me a hospital gown so I could change, while she and another nurse changed my sheets. Luckily for me my favorite nurse was on call and she was so nice (I kept apologizing for the mess) and once I got settled back into the bed she, knowing my hatred for the IV, kindly told me that I no longer had a choice in the matter, and I for once didn't argue. I think my exact words were, "I'm not going to fight you on it at this point." She also hooked me back up to the monitors.

After the IV was in the on call high risk doctor came in (we had met several times before he's a little strange to be honest and was making awkward jokes I wish I could remember them) and he informed me that their hope was that I could hold off for two more weeks and breaking ones water doesn't automatically mean birth. After hearing this two things entered my mind, first was dread at the thought of having to deal with the gushing of fluid for two more weeks (because that's what it was non-stop it was awful just laying there in it) and the second was a little bit of hope that maybe the babies would have some more time. The doctor did a quick exam and at this point I was still only 1 cm dilated and then he did an ultrasound to see which baby's membrane had ruptured and check the positioning of the babies. Eli was head down but Emerson was breech.

Then everyone just left and I mentally started preparing myself for two more weeks. However, that quickly changed when I began to have really intense contractions about a minute apart and they were quite painful. So painful that I couldn't really breath while having them. At this point it was around 2:30 am and the doctor and nurse came back in and watched me have the contractions (it was really strange them just standing there staring). The doctor did another exam and since the last one about a half hour earlier I was now dilated to four and he said, "Okay how about we meet your babies today?" Then Marcus and I both really started panicking.

During this time I asked the nurse tons of questions including what to do with all of my belongings in the hospital room (because I'm practical like this and i had pretty much moved in since I had been living there for weeks). I told Marcus to grab the camera and the doctor and nurse prepared to transport me down to the labor and delivery floor, and wheeled my bed out of the room.

Once there a ton of things were happening all at once and I was completely freaked out and overwhelmed. Because of Emerson's positioning attempting a vaginal birth wasn't an option and the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me and once again question me about my bleeding disorder. (All while still contracting) and asking me about my three prior surgeries. (I had already given this information to another anesthesiologist a few days before but whatever).

My OB showed up at some point and did another exam and I was now dilated to 5 and the contractions were worsening. The nurses then informed me that I was breathing through them incorrectly... oh well. At some point I signed a consent form for the C-section and another anesthesiologist came into and asked me some more questions about my bleeding disorder (around this time DDAVP was started). This doctor then decided that because of the bleeding disorder a spinal was too risky because I could start bleeding into my spine and they would have no way of knowing and that general anesthesia was his preference.

At this point I started crying. First, getting pregnant was difficult and complicated and not how I imagined, then my entire pregnancy was one complication after another, and now I wasn't even going to be awake for the birth of my babies. I will say that the two anesthesiologists that I had were too of the kindest doctors I have ever met and they were both really kind and sympathetic to how I was feeling. As I was dealing with this news I was taking comfort in the fact that at least Marcus would be there... until a nurse looked at us and said, "They did tell you that he can't be in there when you're under general?" Nobody had thought to inform us of that piece and I started crying even more and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" to Marcus over and over again. For some reason I felt responsible for the fact that he too was going to miss the birth of our babies. Marcus was upset at this point and there were just so many people everywhere doing all sorts of things.

During all of this a nurse came up to me and asked me to state my name, date of birth, and then she asked me, "And what are we doing here." I thought this was the most absurd question ever and just looked at her, trying to decide if she really wanted me to answer that question or if she was trying to lighten my mood since I was still crying. When I realized she was serious I said, "Having babies." So strange and she didn't like my answer the answer she was looking for was, "preparing for a c-section." Um... okay.

Then it was time to go to the operating room. I said goodbye to Marcus he gave me a kiss and I continued to cry. On the way to the operating room my OB asked me how many weeks I was and when I said 32 his response, "That's great you've exceeded all expectations."

To be continued because this is really long...

This was Marcus left alone, upset, worried, and calling our moms to tell a little bit about what was going on (Despite the early hour and the three hour time difference between where we live on the east coast and our moms in NV). He looks sad to me and he later told me had to try really hard not to cry at being told that he couldn't be in the operating room with me.

Lots going on...

We have now successfully survived two nights with two babies. Holy cow it's a lot of work. They each eat every three hours and up until recently their eating times were staggered (one ate at 8 the other at 9 etc) we've slowly been moving that so now they are only 30 minutes different. Eating is still a lot of work for them, especially Emerson. She will get going pretty good and then decide she doesn't want to do it any more. At the hospital we would then just put the remainder in the feeding tube but we don't have that option here and sometimes it takes forever. Of course in addition to the feedings I'm also still pumping 8 times a day so that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for sleep or anything for that matter. Although Marcus is amazing and really does so much.

The nursing still is hit or miss. Thus far Eli will nurse really well about once a day and the rest of the time he's not into it, and Emerson just doesn't get it at all, which isn't really surprising since the bottle is still a bit of a challenge. But we're managing.

Yesterday we had a visiting nurse come out (my insurance pays for it to help monitor premature babies). She weighed and measured them and offered some advice etc. It was nice to have someone come to us since hauling the babies out is a bit of a production. One that we couldn't avoid today since they had their first pediatrician appointment (during feeding time). I actually lost a little bit of my precious sleep time worried about how that would work, but we managed to squeeze Emerson's feed in early and then Marcus was able to feed Eli while we were there. Both babies are doing great and all of our persistence with the feedings are paying off. Emerson weighs 4lbs 4oz and Eli 5lbs 6oz.

They also got their Hep B shots today and I think it made me more sad then it did for them, they cried for a second (literally) and then went back to sleep. I suppose at this point in their short 26 days of life they have been poked so many times already in the NICU they're old pros with needles and things. The appointment took about two hours total and already it's such a spectacle to take two babies out. I'm not used to the attention and everyone making comments and asking questions. We get a lot of "bless yous" and "you have your hands full don't you?" And of course a few questions regarding their conception (which I will never understand why people feel like they can ask).

The other day a lady asked us if we meant to have twins. I totally didn't understand what she was saying and just said, "umm... this is just what we got." To which she said, "Oh so they were spontaneous?" Yeah sure why not, people are weird, and I'm sure it's just the beginning since we've literally only been out of the house together once. (Well twice if you count Emerson's homecoming).


Oh and did anyone else know that tiny babies can squrim and move in their sleep? I did not. I thought that was a skill developed much later but the other night Marcus went in to check the babies and found Eli like this... (Sorry it's dark but the babies were sleeping so no flash)

How he managed to already get caught up in the crib we don't know, but as a result we put a breathable bumper in. I don't want him to get tangled and they both squirm all over. Who knew?

We're all home!

We brought Emerson home today! Luckily her discharge went much quicker than Eli's which is good considering Eli wasn't allowed back into the NICU so Marcus had to stay with him in the waiting room. I cannot even explain how happy I am to be done with the hospital. Between the bedrest and the babies stay I'm so over that place.

Emerson waiting to go home...

In her huge carseat...


We survived our first day with Eli without too many problems. Although we hadn't bought a monitor yet so Marcus slept in the nursery on a mattress because he was too worried to leave Eli alone unattached to any monitors. Marcus quickly learned that babies are not quiet sleepers and each grunt, squeak etc woke him up. Eli ate really well each time we fed him and then went back to sleep, and Marcus bless him did all but one of the overnight feedings and allowed me to sleep (Well as much I can since I still have to get up and pump). Eli has nursed a couple of times and seemed to get full but he's still not consistent. Sometimes he's willing to try and sometimes he's not. So far today Emerson is having none of it, but they're still little and there's time to work on that.

We'll see how tonight goes with both of them.