6 days old

It is so hard to believe that 1 week ago today, I was still pregnant.  And had no idea I would be going into labor so soon!  Now here we are, trying to get into a routine with our two little boys.

As I am sure you can guess, it has been a little overwhelming since coming home with two babies.  For me, the days are fine but the nights are anxiety-provoking.  On our first night home, the babies were up constantly until 6 am.  It was awful, and exhausting.  During the day, they basically sleep all day and we wake and rouse them for their 3 hour feedings.  But apparently that behavior doesn't necessarily take place at night.  Since that first night, I have come to dread 9 pm to 6 am, although we have had better nights since (like last night, when they slept between every feeding and we had to wake them up.  It was tempting to just let them sleep but we were told to feed them every 3 hours so we stick to it, at least until they are bigger).  Eric is amazing as a husband and father, he is up for every feed (not that he has a choice), and often is the first to get out of bed when a baby cries.  He is so patient and affectionate with them, and has a good sense of humor when things get messy. 

I am, of course, thrilled to have two beautiful and healthy boys.  We had our first pediatrician appointment on Tuesday and they were pronounced healthy.  The pediatrician's scale said that Benjamin had gained back the weight he lost after birth, so that was also good.  So I guess we just keep doing what we're doing!  I was very proud of us, because our appointment was at 11:30 am, and by the time of our appointment, Eric and I had both showered, the babies had had a sponge bath, we had both had some breakfast, and we were on time for our appointment. 

I find myself getting caught up in ministering to their needs, rather than simply enjoying the babies.  Maybe this is normal.  Fortunately, I had a lactation consultant (LC) in yesterday who helped me a lot in how to hold the babies to nurse, and was very reassuring that no matter what I do, I am not doing the wrong thing.  Any breastfeeding at all is better than none.  So right now I am trying to nurse one baby per feed from the 9 am to 9 pm feeds (no attempting breast feeding at midnight, 3 am, or 6 am), and then I pump.  I alternate babies.  I am enjoying it, at least since getting the lactation consultant's help!  It gives me quiet time with each baby, and then we can have a little snuggle afterward.  The LC told me to nurse them in just a diaper, so it is nice to have skin-to-skin contact.  With how cold it has been, I was too worried about them dropping their body temperature to leave them unclothed for long, but now that it is warmer I feel better about it.

Anyway, it is time for our 9 pm feed, but I wanted to update.  I am having some struggles with the rapid shift in our lives, but I think as we get settled at home and I am not able to say, "one week ago we were doing grown-up things at 9 pm..." I will feel better.

Here are pictures.  First, our first walk yesterday:

Here is a picture of me with Asher after a very successful nursing session.  He latched right on and I think got some good food from it.  You can see he is very happy.  The picture is entirely unflattering to me, but I will post it anyway because Asher is cute.

And here is a picture of Benjamin.  I call this his "old man face."  Eric says his face reminds him of my grandpa David, it is apparently a Landes face that crosses generations.