108 Minutes

Greg pointed out that our life right now is much like life in the Swan where we have to push a button every 108 minutes to save the world. (Have no idea what I am talking about? Then you must have been living under a rock the last several years.) Instead of saving the world though, we are making sure we have healthy, growing babies. Instead of 108 minutes, it is usually more like 120-180 minutes. Instead of pushing a button, it is changing diapers, feeding babies, and putting babies to sleep.

That is pretty much what we have been up to: changing diapers, feeding babies, and putting babies to sleep.

Yes, babies. Both little guys are home now! Aaron came home on Sunday. I can't believe he was released actually. He did meet all his milestones, finally figuring out all this eating stuff. However, as of Sunday when he came home, he only weighed 4lbs 3.5 oz. I can't believe someone just handed over such a small guy for us to take care of!

Everyone is doing great though!

Marcus and Will couldn't be more proud big brothers. They ask to hold the babies often. Marcus just smiles from ear to ear the entire time he holds one of his brothers. Will tries to rub his face on the super soft hair on the heads of his brothers when he holds them. Both big brothers like to help out with diaper changes. They really love their new brothers. We know this because they tell us multiple times a day that they love Sean and Aaron.

Sean and Aaron are doing great too. We had them both at the doctor today for a checkup. Sean is up to 5 lbs 6 oz! (Up from his birth weight of 4 lbs 11 oz, and a gain of 6.5 oz in the past 6 days.) We didn't get all the stats on his growth but last week we were told that he was in the 10th percentile on the preemie growth chart. Today Aaron clocked in at 4 lbs 8 oz! (Up from his birth weight of 3 lbs 8 oz, and an increase of 4.5 oz since Sunday.) Unfortunately, according to the preemie growth chart, Aaron isn't even on it yet for weight and length. He has a nice big brain though and his head circumference is in the 50th percentile. Everything looks great for both kids.

Eating is going well for both kids. Sean picked up on breastfeeding pretty much instantaneously when he came home. Aaron is still working on building up his jaw muscles so he is doing both breast and bottle feedings. The double feedings make things more difficult and time consuming. We want to give Aaron the practice of breastfeeding but not wear him out before he gets the bottle either. It is also exhausting for me because it means I am breastfeeding one kid all the time, breastfeeding the other kid half the time, and still trying to fit in pumping as much as possible (which isn't as much as I need to be). Thank goodness Greg is here to help out where he can.

Greg was able to take some time off work. Not sure how we could function without that in addition to my mom being such a huge help with Marcus and Will. I've been trying to do some things with Sean and Aaron periodically on my own just to see if I can handle it. I can. In short spurts. Not looking forward to full time baby care when Greg returns to work. No clue at what point in my life I'll be able to figure out caring for four kids at once.

All in all, I'm doing well. It would be nice to get more than 2-3 consecutive hours of sleep. Would also be nice if the whole changing/feeding/putting sleep/pumping cycle didn't take an hour. I finally got the all clear from my doctor concerning my surgery I had at the beginning of December. I have had issues with my incision that has required me to have daily in-home nursing care. I'm done with that. I'm done with post-op appointments. I don't even miss my ovary. I might miss my belly without a giant scar right down the middle.

And that is where we are. Still without pictures. Sorry.