Visitors, Baths, and First Easter!



Easter outfits

We've had lots of visitors since we came home - this is Brandon's aunt Mary Lou.

Brandon's uncle Gary

This was Brinley's going home outfit from the hospital.

Cooper's going home outfit - a last minute choice since their original outfits were way too big.  He then pooped all over this outfit before we left the hospital while we were waiting to be discharged so he went home in a boring sleeper.



We are both getting really good at feeding both babies at the same time.  This is one way I like to do it - sitting on the floor with one bottle propped on the other's head and the other bottle propped on my leg. no hands! notice Ty the dog keeping close watch. Our other dog, Miles the beagle, was very depressed the first few days the babies were home and stayed in the basement on his bed the entire time. He now is back to his normal self and is starting to warm up to the babies. No agression at all, just pure annoyance with them!

"First" baths - this is more like their 15th bath including hospital baths but the first we  gave them at home by ourselves. they LOVE the baths.

Brinley

 

I wanted to get pictures of all their visitors but failed - here's Amanda and her mom Pam.

Typical pasttime for us now - holding babies and playing on our phones

 

We're Home!

I haven't had much time to update the blog lately because the babies came home last Thursday! Exactly 5 weeks after being born, they finally came out of the NICU.  So to summarize the last couple of weeks quickly:  Cooper started breastfeeding like a champ and his nose feeding tube came out (he actually just pulled it out himself and they decided to not put it back in) but Brinley was not progressing as quickly with it. I kept trying it with her but after realizing that Cooper was ready to come home (they had to orally feed, either breast or bottle, for 48 hours straight), but Brinley was not at the rate we were going, we decided to give her a bottle so she could come home too.  She took to the bottles great, and I kept trying to nurse too.  Cooper started getting bottles too and he could easily go back and forth between the two.  They have to have two bottles a day of a special preemie formula called Neo Sure for the extra calories and vitamins that breastmilk is missing so he had to get a bottle either way.  So they came home on Thursday.  I'm now just pumping and feeding them both bottles of breastmilk and have stopped nursing either one of them - it just took way too long (it would take 45 mins with Cooper while a bottle took 10!) and we weren't sure how much Cooper was actually getting (he stopped gaining weight) and the pediatrician on their first appt after coming home just told me to stop trying. That with two babies I needed to make my life as simple as possible and be as efficient as possible. It's so great and is the absolute best decision for us. Last weigh in Cooper was 6 lbs 1 oz and Brinley was 5 lbs 7 oz.

So here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks. I will try to keep up with this blog and now post pics of us at home!

Little brother by 1 minute!

I was changing Cooper's diaper and turned my back for one minute when Brinley was crying and he rainbow peed up and out of his crib onto the floor!

Loving the swings at home

 

Tummy time at home

Our dog Ty LOVES the babies and is super protective

Pic from the hospital photographer before we went home

April Fools Progress

Brinley joined Cooper in the 5 pound club today!

Everybody kept saying it would happen fast, but I didn't really believe it, but both babies are pretty much nursing now!  I've gone from coming twice a day to try to feed them to being here all day and alternating who's getting nursed at alternate feedings.  They are both doing great so far. We're not positive that Brinley is getting as much milk as she could be (she's still protecting her breathing a lot) so she's still getting 1/2 of her feedings through the tube in her nose and half from me. Cooper has started getting all of his feeding from me when we do nurse.  The next issue is to work up to being able to do it at every feeding, every 3 hours. Now if they nurse, they get soo tired they can't do it the next feeding and have to have the nose tube feeding. So we're working on that now.  It shouldn't be too much longer before they get to come home.



Brinley

Cooper