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This is Jakob (15 days old).
Our life is crazy at the moment. The boys are doing good.
Some random notes on each boy.
Alex is "Mr. Chill" and we have very few issues with our little man. He takes his bottle like a champ. He is currently taking 40 mL of fortified breast milk every three hours. Alex prefers the Dr. Brown bottles with the level 1 nipple. He will take the entire bottle in one swoop and will get very upset if you try to burp him halfway through the bottle. Most of the time he takes the bottle without ever opening his eyes. Alex is wonderful at self-soothing. He will take a pacifier on occasion but for the most part is quite content sleeping in his Rock-N-Play. This is where is also sleeps at night. We are working on our tummy time. Alex loves to look at his black and white book while on his tummy. He has yet to turn his head back on forth on his own but he is quite content on his belly. We have nicknamed Alex "Turtle". Alex absolutely loves to be swaddled. We have zero issues with Alex sleeping at night. We think Mr. Alex is a big thinker. Alex lost his umbilical cord at 11 days old. Alex had his first pediatrician appointment last week and he was up to 4 lbs 12 ozs (at 11 days old).
Jakob is a bit more of a handful at the moment. He is finally getting the hang of his bottle but it has been a struggle the past few days. We have tried every bottle on the block! We have finally found that Jakob prefers the Dr. Brown bottles with the preemie nipple. Jakob has such a big sucker that he really needs a super slow flow nipple or else he drowns himself in milk. We have a lot of gas issues with Jakob. However, he is a world champion burper! All you have to do is sit the boy upright and he will let it rip. You can hear him burp all the way across the room. Jakob is currently eating about 40 mL of fortified breast milk every three hours. There are some feedings where he takes a bit less and some feedings where he takes a bit more. However, we are just trying to make certain we average at least 35 mL of breast milk at each feeding. Jakob still has his umbilical cord. Jakob also sleeps in the Rock-N-Play at night but he takes much longer to settle down at night. This is mostly due to gas issues. So he spends a lot of the night in my arms. This makes for a tired momma in the mornings. Jakob loves his pacifier. He does not self-sooth as well as Alex does. However, he absolutely loves the swing and it has been a lifesaver over the last few days whenever he goes into meltdown mood. Jakob does amazing on his belly and he will turn his head back and forth by himself.
A funny story ... Jakob is a "poop shooter"!! The nurse of duty each day in the NICU always had "poop shooter" written very large on the care notes for each day. Anyhow, Mr. Jakob tends to poop anytime you wipe his butt. Of course the other day I was changing his diaper and I went to wipe his butt. I am getting good at making sure I always have a wipe covering his butt to prevent any disasters. Well on this particular day I had a lapse of judgement and let him lay on the changing pad naked for a few moments. Out of nowhere I got sprayed with poop. Thank goodness I was sitting right next to the changing pad or our carpet would have been a mess. So off went my pants and I had to finish changing the boys in my underwear. Thanks Mr. Poop Shooter!
Kara and I are doing okay. We are really trying to get into a routine but it is difficult. The days are going much better than the nights. Because the boys are on a three hour feeding schedule there are times that the boys are only asleep for about 30 minutes before I have to wake to feed them again. This can get exhausting. I try my best to let Kara sleep at night because she has to work during the day but she still has to get up to help with the feeds. I am exclusively pumping breast milk and it is super time consuming and an exhausting process. I pump eight times a day. The process takes about 30 minutes in terms of set-up, pumping, and clean-up. My supply is good at the moment. I can get anywhere between 5 oz - 7 oz a pumping session. I have enough of a supply at the moment that the boys do not need to receive just formula. However, the process takes up four hours of my day and it gets hard to stay motivated when those are four hours I could be doing something else. I would choose sleep! I had a blocked milk duct this weekend and I was in so much pain. I was all but ready to throw in the towel. But for the moment I am going to keep going. I know the boys benefit from the breast milk. I feel great otherwise. I am still dealing with the baby blues. I have most of my issues at night time. I think because I am most tired at night. I can be crying and laughing all at the same time. I'm a mess. Kara has been a great support and I'm not sure how she continues to put up with me. I have had quite a bit of anxiety but it seems to be getting better. Today is the first day that I am alone with the boys and so far things have been okay. I just need to get through a couple of days by myself and I will feel more confident. I am doing a fairly decent job of losing the pregnancy pounds. I have seven pounds to lose before I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I think pumping has helped me to burn the extra calories. I am hungry all the time. I thought I ate a lot during pregnancy. I am eating all the time.
So that is our life at the moment. We are totally in love with our precious boys!!
Mary
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