Keithing up with the Twins: All Smiles Over Here!

Week 6 has arrived and we've noticed some major changes in the babes! They are focusing their eyes on us more, responding with small grins, and making more and more little coos that will absolutely melt our heart. Alex and I are in trouble with these two bambinos...

If I'm guessing weights... Bennett is about 10 lbs now with Emmy right behind him at about 9.5 lbs. They are getting bigger every second it seems. The pediatrician said they are gaining weight appropriately and so waking them to feed every 3 hours at night is not necessary any more! Alex and I can try and get some longer stretches of sleep... and by longer we mean about 4 hours max... It seems so long though!

I've been watching the babies alone for most of the past week with some help a few afternoons. I will admit it's no easy task. The hardest thing for me is when they both cry and want to be held. It's emotionally hard to hear one baby cry and know you can't hold them yet until you calm the other. I have developed a plan that seems to work.

If they are both sleeping, I will wake one, feed, burp and change them before the other wakes up. In an ideal world, this is perfect! But there have been times when they both want to eat at the same time. When this happens, I grab the twin boppy pillow, stick them both in it and grab the bottles and we go to town. It's pretty messy but they are both fed and happy within 15 minutes or so.

Post eating slumber!

S l e e p i n g...

For a while here, we had them sleeping in their swing, which we know is a big no-no. But we weren't able to get them to fall asleep for anything! So finally we made the decision to switch them to their nursery for good. Better to start now and get them used to it than to wait until they are older and will be more conscious of where they are sleeping. They are sleeping in the same crib for now as they seem to calm each other. And Alex and I have been sleeping in the nursery as well! We moved the twin bed from our spare room in their and it's been working guys. Call us crazy if you want! We know it's just temporary... Meaning we probably will return to our room this weekend and hope for the best. Sometimes I need to just jump up and stick a pacifier in and with them this young, the peace of mind being so close makes us sleep better if you can believe it...

W o r k i n g G a l...

So the reality of going back to work has begun to set in this week as I spoke with my manager yesterday. I'm going back in a new position that will be perfect for our family. I used to work 40 hour work weeks 6:30 AM to 3:00 PM Monday through Friday. That just wasn't going to work for us now. If we put the babes in childcare for that amount of time, we would be paying more than I would make!

The shift is a call only shift during the week where I'll be taking night call for emergent cases. It works well because Alex will be home in the evenings and I'll hold my pager until an emergent case comes in. Otherwise, I'm home during the day and at night if we aren't working...

Leaving these babes will be hard but I am beyond excited to go back to work to see everyone and to have adult interaction! It's been awhile since I've been able to work to my full potential and I can't wait to dive in and do some heart surgery.

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Yesterday the babies and I visited Daddy at work for Ash Wednesday Mass! It was great getting out of the house and introducing the babies to the St. James community.

The meal train that was generously started for us is starting to come to a close and Alex and I wanted to thank everyone for their love and food they brought over. We could not be more thankful and grateful to have such a loving community. We cannot wait to share the love for others that need it.

Until next week... I'll leave you with some updated pics...

Lauren, E & B