Third Week

Jim and Kira

Kira on left (eyes open) and Alana on right with Gma

Kira and Gma

Alana reaching out to Jim and Kira sleeping

Kira on left and Alana on right for the rest of the pictures

Time sure flies - the twins have been home over two weeks. As you can imagine we are up a lot in the night. They have improved at eating and they now take 1/2 hr. to 3/4 hr. to eat instead of an entire hour. Kira has been having some problems sleeping though mainly due to spit up and gas. We spoke to the doctor about it and it is normal and there is not a lot they can do to help her. She will eventually grow out of it and until then the doctor's advice was to let her scream it out at night until she falls asleep. I wish the doctor was here last night to listen to her scream for almost 3 hours straight without stopping. My Mom, Jim and I left her alone but we were all awake listening to the "night sounds".

Both girls gained weight and Friday Kira weighted 5lbs. 4 oz and Alana weighted 4lbs 10 oz. They both also received their Hep B shot and both screamed for that. The doctor said they looked great so we do not have to go back for another month.

We had our first "photo shoot" yesterday. Jim took a bunch of pictures for me and we will attempt again today. It is hard to keep their eyes open without them screaming.

My Mom was staying for two weeks but realized how much help we still need so she is staying for another week. A big thank you to everyone who has been bringing food - it is so helpful!!! My Mom and I barely have time to keep up with the dishes and laundry on top of feeding the girls in the day.

Enjoy the pictures.

Twins are Home

Alana with her bottle

This is Kira but both twins love to put their head in this crazy position

Benz checking out Kira in her chair

Kira's first bath

Alana's first bath

Getting ready to come home from Rex. Kira on left and Alana on right

Kira (on left) reaching out to touch Alana (on right)

Jim and I apologize that we are behind on the blog. The twins came home this past Friday so things have been a little crazy around here. We have never been so tired in our life but we are enjoying every minute of it!

The challenge with them is that they take around an hour each to feed as they are so small. We have to keep waking them up and coaxing them to eat so feeding time is very challenging. If we can get enough food in them they will sleep for around 3 hrs. without waking up. If not then as soon as they wake up they demand food. Because we have two Jim and I then have to keep them busy until the next feeding time as we can not start demand feeding them or we will never have a break. So far it is working pretty well to feed them every 4 hrs.

Jim is an expert and getting them to eat. He loves to pick at them so he is good at keeping them awake. He has also been amazing with them - I have never seen him so patient in my life! He has not complained once about getting woken up at all times of the night even at the 3:30 am feeding. I have the best husband ever.

We had to go to the pediatrician on Saturday just to make sure they did not lose weight on their first night with us. They both "gained" 3 oz but some of that must have been the change in scale. Jim and I were very proud of ourselves as we arrived at the office about 15 minutes early. However they then said to change the girl's diapers, take off their clothes and wrap them in a blanket. Jim looked at me and said did we bring a blanket? I laughed of course not it is 100 degrees! So we wrapped them in their spit up cloths - you can only get away with that with premies! :-) Jim just said "we are such newbies". We went again today and I am happy to say that Alana is now over 4 lbs! She is now 4 lbs. and 2 oz and Kira is 4 lbs. 11 oz. Kira gained 4 oz and Alana 5! They are both starting to have pudgy cheeks and the doctor was so happy to see that.

Benz (German Shep/Husky mix) is really not sure what to think of them. When they start making any noise he starts pacing. When they are eating he licks their heads. When they start screaming he gets very upset and barks at them. Jim and I are not sure if he is telling them to be silent or if he is calling for us. The poor guy now does not sleep at all every day. He goes into his crate at night and snores away as he is so tired.

I guess that is all for now - enjoy the pictures.

Fun Times!

So I have learned that if you want your girls to come home from the hospital then just send Gma Stryker back to NY. Gma & Gpa Stryker left this morning for NY and Gma was coming back in a few weeks once the girls left the hospital. When I went to the hospital this morning Kira was sitting in her car seat taking her test. She passed with flying colors. Then it was Alana's turn who also passed without a problem. Then when the nurse came in she said did you notice that their feeding tubes are out? I said what - no way!!! Kira decided last night she was done with it and pulled it out herself. The nurses decided she was eating well enough to leave it out. Alana must have heard the conversation as she chowed down 60 ml from the bottle (she normally eats around 34 ml) and they had to cut her off!! Because of that they decided Alana did not need her tube anymore either. Go Alana - Jim and I were not dealing well with the fact that we would be bringing home Kira and leaving Alana longer. Now it is looking like they will come home together. They did the hearing test as well today and Kira passed on the first try. Alana they had to test several times as she kept moving. In the end she passed but she made them work for it. They will get their Hep B shots tomorrow and then providing they continue to do as well as they have been doing they should be home by the weekend. I am so excited and nervous about taking care of two SMALL kids. Let the fun times begin.