Here we are, another 2 weeks late for a monthly update...I just can't keep up! And especially now that we've switched the boys over to a higher flow nipple, I have even less time to try and blog than I had before. haha
6 MONTHS (3 months adjusted). I can't believe it.
YAY for the higher flow nipple though! They are much happier, eating more volume in less time because they aren't getting so pooped out. It's nice too when we're trying to get somewhere or are already out in public. What used to be 20-30 minute feeds are now only 10-15 minutes long. I thought at first that maybe we were over feeding them on these higher flows, but they are actually eating way more and somehow gaining less...so thank goodness we've managed to up their volumes! I pray also, that these higher flow nipples will give the boys a little more practice to be breast-ready. They are still choking and drowning on my fast let down, and it leads to such an unpleasant feed for them that I just can't imagine exposing them to that every time. So, we get very little actual breast feeding in, and I am still pumping all. the. time. At some point I will consider getting professional help from a lactation consultant, just to be sure that it's not their latch that's causing such an awful experience for them. They do seem to be natural little breast feeders, and I tend to think that I know a lot about breast feeding, so I'm hoping I'd know if something was actually off with their technique or mine. I worry very much that they will grow to prefer the bottle and eventually refuse the breast. So I feel like I've got to come up with a plan to ensure this doesn't happen!
Both boys are plowing through my milk supply. They drink all of my pumped fresh milk, and I still have to thaw 4 bottles worth of frozen milk every other day to keep up. I feel guilty about this. Every time I head to the deep freeze and take out some bags of frozen milk, I feel like I failed. Like I failed to establish a fresh supply large enough to feed both boys. And failing to do this means that I will undoubtedly go through all of my frozen milk eventually and will have nothing left to donate to the milk bank unless I take it away from my boys. I'd always thought I would have milk to donate especially as time went on and the frozen expiration dates kept getting nearer. But...it's not happening. I think I've come to accept that we just won't get to that point. I would LOVE to donate, but I can't fathom the idea of donating my milk if it meant that my boys would get less of it down the road. I know so many moms that would slap sense back into me after reading this paragraph. I mean, I know that I've done amazing and have provided so much incredible nourishment for my little men...but I can't help the way I feel. I just really wanted to help out the organization that helped me.
These little men are growing, and quickly!! Lincoln is about 13lbs, and Nash is still about a pound behind, as usual, at 12lbs. If you can imagine this for a moment - they are more than 10 pounds heavier than they were at birth. Isn't that insane? They feel huge in my arms, and sturdy, especially Mr. Lincoln. That little guy is a solid one. They are eating very well, and sleeping EVEN BETTER. I don't often talk about this unless someone asks me outright, because I feel that we are extraordinarily fortunate for our amazing little sleepers this time around and many parents are not, and are suffering for it. I wish I could share our secret, but I don't feel that we really have one. It could be a combination of so many factors as to why we got great sleepers this time around, I really don't know. I suppose the biggest difference for us this time, as compared to Lilah, is that we just don't have the time to really focus or care much about their sleep schedule, so we just let them do what they need to do and have done so from the start. No one is being coaxed into sleeping around here, we wait until they tell us they're ready. And then we let them sleep as long as they want through the night, which is sometimes 12-14 hours (!!!) and try to make sure they don't sleep longer than 3 hours at a time during the day, though this almost never actually happens. Their naps are usually about 45 minutes long, and happen a few times a day whenever they want to sleep. I just can't believe they are sleeping so well. They are still in a crib together beside our bed, and honestly, we don't hear a peep out of them all night. They squirm a bit in the morning, but will usually sleep until about 10:30am. We will eventually work them down to sleep earlier at night so that we can have them wake a little earlier. As much as I'd love to sleep until 10:30am every morning, Lilah will not let this happen, and it kind of puts a damper on our daytime plans if we don't get their first feed in until 10:30am.
OH. I left out a vitally important piece of information. These boys are thumb suckers!!! This could very well account for their great sleeping habits. They can self sooth. Enough said.
Now for an interlude of sleeping babies...
They are still meeting every single one of their milestones for adjusted age. Their smiles and coos are glorious and melt our hearts every time. They are grabbing and pulling at anything they can get their hands on (including eachothers' ears, eyes, mouths, noses, etc, etc). They are losing their bobble headed-ness and trading them in for sturdy necks, bearing weight on their legs and teeny-tiny feet, putting everything in their mouths, sitting-up (both have been rolling front to back for a while). Nash is a spinner and scootcher when on his tummy, he'll end up in a totally different spot from where you put him down. They absolutely love to be sung to. Their little eyes will brighten at the sound of your voice and instant smiles are had by all.
We had our last home visit with their neonatal transitional nurse last week, and we have one more follow-up with them next week at the children's hospital when we go for another vision check-up. Then, aside from the follow-up program which may be one visit a year, and regular paediatrician appointments, that's it. I can hardly believe that these boys are graduates of the NTT program. Time has absolutely flown by, and we feel SO blessed and marvel in these miracles daily that their time spent out of the womb to get them here has been so uneventful. Not a moment passes where I don't realize how incredibly lucky we have been. I soak it up in the sight of them, their smell, their sounds, their movement. As they are getting older and stronger, we've definitely started to venture out of the house more often. We also found that the more we tried NOT to get sick, the more often we'd catch something. Weird, right? So we just said to hell with it and started living again, albeit carefully, but we aren't in hiding anymore. Plus we finally got a stroller that will take all three kids along for the ride!
As the boys grow, we are starting to notice them looking more and more alike. Both Noel and I have mixed them up for short periods of time on occasion, and others who used to be able to tell the difference, no longer can. And well, those that could never tell are having an even harder time than before. I have finally ordered a DNA zygosity testing kit which should be arriving in the mail next week! I am SOOOO excited to find out the results!
While I'm at it...here's our sweet little honeybee! Lilah, is incredible. She loves her brothers so very much, and the feeling is mutual we are certain. Nothing beats sister hugs and slobbery brother kisses first thing in the morning, and then again throughout the day. They are all enamoured with one another. I can't believe how big this girl is getting. Every time I squeeze one of our boys, I am reminded that Lilah once was this small...even though no matter how hard I rack my brain I can't recall memories of her being so small and squishy. Thank goodness for photos. We will be registering Lilah for a few classes this fall...stuff like dance, swimming, sports, that kind of thing. Nothing crazy. Last year I'd thought she'd be in preschool this Fall. But of course then we got pregnant with three, and then we had 28 weekers. Though I'd love for her to experience preschool at this amazing age, we can't risk her bringing home all kinds of nasty germs throughout the Fall/Winter/Spring. We'll go for it again next year when the boys are much stronger. She is still potty trained like a champ (not without the occasional accident or bed wet), and going to bed so well. She'll wake once or twice often at night, but it's not difficult to get her back to sleep...as much as I'd like to have a solid night of sleep now that we've got two amazing sleepy little boys. She is also learning to sleep in a little later in the morning. We bought her a Gro Clock, which at first was a total joke for her, but she's getting the hang of it with lots of reminding. I'd still say it was worth the investment! I'd pay $50 for 30 minutes of extra sleep any day!! haha
Well, I suppose anyone would watch my kids for $50 for 30 minutes...I guess I'm not being totally serious. Make that three hours and we might have a deal.
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