October 13, 2008

12:07 am
I'm still up, so why not, right?

I thought it'd be fun to jot down my first impressions of the boys' personalities and mannerisms, so I can look back at it to see how they've changed.

Evan:
-Looks SO much like Olivia
-When he cries, he makes this loud, high pitched squeek. It is a silly cry, but damn it's cute.
-Smiles SO much. Adorable smiles! Not socially of course, but adorable none the less.
-His Tongue!!!!!!! He always has that tongue out!
-Has lots of hair. Not as much as Olivia, but lots. It's brown, and Olivia likes to say "he has brown hair like ME!"
-Both boys are super laid back. Evan cries when something is wrong, but that's it. It's amazing...our sweet little angel Olivia was not like that in the beginning! Hehehhe.
-Poops alot. Good old breastmilk ;)
-Doesn't puke. Olivia puked every moment, so it's note-worthy.
-Is a guzzler...he loves loves loves to eat. He guzzles his bottles down very quickly. So quickly in the beginning that we still have to do what the NICU coins "pacing". We have to pull the bottle out or stop the flow to allow him a moment to just BREATHE! He is so excited. He DOES breathe, even if we don't pace him, but he gulps and at times gets air. Still, he burps so well and easily...silly boy!
-Mom still HEAVILY limits dairy intake for this fella. He seems to only be able to handle breastmilk, so I want to give that to him in the best way possible. I do eat some cheese, etc. but in heavy moderation right now!

Alec:
-He just looks like his own little guy. I need more chub on him to figure it out. I think he's got Curt's nose.
-He purses his lips into this kiss shape often. When he stretches, or when you are trying to entice him to eat and he really doesn't want too. We call it the Alec face.
-Has not alot of fat on him, and looks like a little old man to me...complete with the receeding hair line. SO Alec and so cute. When he fills out and his hair patches back in all over, he is going to look SO different!!!
-Alec has no butt. Tiny little dude.
-Tiniest little adorable feet. I think they're daddy's feet!
-Alec is a laid back guy. He sleeps alot and just loves to be snuggled.
-Poops alot ;) Good old breastmilk ;)
-Spits at times after bottles. No rhyme or reason. We try and keep him propped up to limit the pukeage.
-Is a pokey bottle drinker. His motto is "slow and steady wins the race." BUT..he is a GREAT drinker. He has the suck/swollow/breathe thing down in a very organized way.

And one last sappy note...I just want to add how incredibly BLESSED I feel to have these boys. It's times like this in the late night or early morning, when the house is completely quiet and there is nothing else hustling and bustling that I can sit and study their perfect little faces, hold their hands, and kiss their cheeks. I just look at them and feel such overwhelming love...and thank God for these two blessings. They, and Olivia, are the best gifts that we've EVER received.

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Doctor's Appointment-10:40 am

Well, we made it to the doctor on time! Task number 1, check! And the news is GREAT! The boys are gaining and growing wonderfully.

Alec left the NICU at 4lb 9oz and today was 4lb 14oz!
Alec is now 18" long, and head circumference is 32.3.
ALL of Alec's measurements put him in the less than 3rd percentile, meaning he's still not on the chart ;) We'll beef him up!

Evan left the NICU at 6lb 3oz and today was 6lb 9oz!
Evan is now 19.5 inches long, and head circumference is 34.5 cm.
His WEIGHT is in the 3rd percentile, as is his head. His length is in the less than 3rd percentile, meaning not on the growth chart as of yet.

So...they're doing GREAT! Growing WONDERFULLY! I am so thrilled. I went with anxious anticipation hoping that they'd have good gains, and scared of what might happen if they didn't. Well, Alec gained 5 oz in 3/4 days, and Evan gained 6 oz! Great work boys!!! They told us in the NICU to aim for 1 oz/day, so woo hooo!

Alec's car bed blows. It's hard to explain, but the strap digs into the back of his neck :( We stopped back in the NICU to try and see if there was any way to fix it, but there isn't. So...we're hoping we hit the 5 lb mark for our appointment next week, and can then schedule a carseat test(where they hook him up to all the monitors again for 90 minutes) and get him into his OWN seat, which would be SO much more comfy for him.
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3:30 am
I just finished my 2 and 2:30 feedings and then pumped and realized I never posted this. It seems that things get an AWFUL lot busier when you bring home two babies, more specifically, two preemies that MUST follow their schedule, eat at a certain time, a certain amount, etc. Ha! I do have the pictures uploaded (finally!) and promise to get them up tomorrow.

*yawn*