First Week
Oliver came home on Tuesday, September 16th. Trevor worked the rest of the week, which means the first 3 nights of having both babies home, I was on solo night duty. I take night duties alone when Trevor has work. I live for the weekends when he takes a night shift!
I'm pretty proud of myself. I survived! Without a single casualty. It honestly wasn't horrible. The bad part is just the fatigue. I've never been so tired in my whole life.
Savannah made it off oxygen and the monitor, but Oliver is on both. He is more stable on oxygen than when Sav came home which is nice - the monitor beeps less at night - but it still beeps. And we still have to change the oximeter on his foot every 4 hours in addition to everything else babies require - not to mention the cords everywhere. We've all tripped many times, and grabbed a baby without grabbing the monitor and had it come crashing down on the floor. Often in the middle of the night.
So, we went over sleeping arrangements the entire time I was pregnant. Bassinet, bassinets, co-sleeper, crib, in our room, in their room... we tossed around so many ideas. I really wanted to get a co-sleeper that attaches to our bed for them to share. But they are so expensive! To be honest, baby items in general are ridiculously priced. Anyways. My mom had purchased a little crib off KSL a year ago for my sister' son, Seth. It just so happened to be the exact height of our bed, and the mattress goes up high so we gladly took that as our co-sleeper.
Sav has been sleeping in it since she came home, and honestly she kind of hates it. All day long she would sleep great in the bassinett in the living room, and then come night time she'd be up all night grunting and groaning and fussing and would ultimately whine enough until she ended up in bed with us. We were hoping that once Oliver came home, she would sleep well in it.
So at night we'd put both babies in the crib with their monitors and pray for the best. They wouldn't sleep well and they'd fuss and groan and their monitors would take turns beeping all night long. It was sort of terrible. Also - they sleep better with light so we'd keep a lamp on or the bathroom light or the hall light - which left our room quite bright. And the overhead fan WHICH WE LOVE makes it too cold for them, so we couldn't use it. Sigh. They're ruining our lives already (kidding. I'd take them over a fan any day).
When they'd start crying I'd have to groggily carry them out one by one, complete with monitors and cords, to the living room to feed them, while trying not to trip and kill us all.
I don't have a good picture from my bed, but I'd lye in bed and constantly lean over to check on them as the monitors would incessantly beep. Inevitably they'd pulled their oxygen out of their nose and that was the problem. This picture is after Sav was totally off her oximeter/monitor, so there is just one monitor.
So, thats our new routine now. They sleep in their bassinets in the living room. We all sleep better. We got a bassinet for free from one of Trev's friends, and then Lisa gave us the bassinet her grandfather made for her mom (Trev's grandma). So the bassinet is over 90 years old and made by their great-great grandfather, which is way cool. Sav gets that one, since it's all decked out in pink.
Remember this outfit? We bought for their matching going home outfits. Took a month, but she fits in it! Haven't tried Oliver's yet - he's still so tiny. I will tomorrow.
Trevor worked the rest of the week Oliver came home, but he took his paternity leave this week for our first whole week with having our babies home. So we had Trevor and I home and my mom. Three adults for two kids and it still was a lot of work. I'm in so much trouble when my mom leaves and Trevor is at work and I'm here all day by myself with these two, and up all night alone with them.
Oliver had his first doctors appointment the Thursday he came home (18th). Savannah has been continuously grunting. With Oliver in the NICU I only really got to see her at night, and I thought it was just a night thing. We joke she zombie talks. She seriously sounds like a zombie with all her noises (Oliver sounds like a raptor). Since I've been home with her every day, it's become clear there is something going on there, more than just her being a grunty baby. To me she seems constipated. She grunts 24/7 and rarely sleeps peacefully. She rarely poops (which she did all the time in the NICU) and she scrunches her face and it gets all red while grunting, like she's pooping, but she doesn't. Sometimes she'll smell like she's pooped and we will check and she's really just farted, but that is the most we get.
So, we took Sav to his appointment to ask the doctor about her behavior. His appointment was at 3:30 and Trevor gets into work at 6am so he cane leave work at 3:00 for football. He missed football that day and came with us to the doctors.
Our first outing with both babies (and Oliver's oxygen and monitor)!
Oliver gained weight and looks great!
The doctor told us to give Sav prune juice every day to help her poop.
The prune juice has not helped the constipation and grunting most the time, except for when it causes it all to come out at once and she explodes out of her diaper. It's TERRIBLE. So I've been massaging her tummy to help the gas pass - and she will fart quite a bit during and after the massage, but still doesn't really poop. It's really frustrating and I feel so badly for her. She is clearly very uncomfortable.
It was getting bad enough I took her in on Tuesday of this week for the doctor to look at her again. He thinks it's reflux, so he has her on meds for it. So far I don't see a difference.
Oliver went to his 2 week appointment today (9-25-14) to make sure he's gaining weight. He looks great! He's gone from 6lbs 4oz last week to 6lbs 11oz (He was 6lbs at discharge from the NICU).
We had rather traumatic incident on Sunday. Trev's mom and grandparents were over and about to leave - I was holding Oliver. Suddenly he lets out a blood curdling scream. Like, he is dying scream. My heart stopped beating. I looked down at him and he had his finger jammed in his eye. He's poked himself in the eye before, but this was different. His finger was lodged deep in his eye and he was screaming like he had his finger lodged deep in his eye. But he didn't pull it out. I pulled it out and he continued to cry for a bit.
Seriously, scariest mom moment yet (besides the whole NICU thing). He's been super fussy and wanting to be held all the time since then. Poor little dude.
Since they were so premature and their lungs and motor skills just aren't fully developed, they have to be fed carefully. On their side, and we have to really pace them. Oliver most especially - he chokes. So they are hard to tandem feed. When they are older and less fragile this whole twin thing will be so much easier.
I'm exhausted. More exhausted than I've ever been in my life, but so so happy.
Trevor is the best dad. Seriously. He adores these guys.
Oliver is getting more and more awake. I love it. His eyes are so bright and big. He's such a handsome dude. His hair is also getting lighter and lighter.
Savannah is tiny - but next to him she looks enormous. They don't seem like twins to me. They look so different and their sizes are so different.
We love when they sleep...
This was taken from the eye-stabbing incident day. Grandma matched the twins! So cute I had to get a picture.
When she's not grunting, this girl looks so peaceful! She's so beautiful I can't stop staring at her. Or kissing those freaking cheeks!
Oliver is ALMOST off oxygen! He mostly has the prongs out of his nose. He still desats enough we need to keep them on him, but he's so close.
This is his famous look - the kissy (or duck face) look. He always puckers his lips like this. It's so cute.
My mom watched the twins while we went on a date! It was so fun! Our first great date in a LONG time. The whole time I was pregnant I was miserable and could barely walk, and in the end I was on bed rest, so this was our first healthy/normal date since I got pregnant.
I'm pretty proud of myself. I survived! Without a single casualty. It honestly wasn't horrible. The bad part is just the fatigue. I've never been so tired in my whole life.
Savannah made it off oxygen and the monitor, but Oliver is on both. He is more stable on oxygen than when Sav came home which is nice - the monitor beeps less at night - but it still beeps. And we still have to change the oximeter on his foot every 4 hours in addition to everything else babies require - not to mention the cords everywhere. We've all tripped many times, and grabbed a baby without grabbing the monitor and had it come crashing down on the floor. Often in the middle of the night.
So, we went over sleeping arrangements the entire time I was pregnant. Bassinet, bassinets, co-sleeper, crib, in our room, in their room... we tossed around so many ideas. I really wanted to get a co-sleeper that attaches to our bed for them to share. But they are so expensive! To be honest, baby items in general are ridiculously priced. Anyways. My mom had purchased a little crib off KSL a year ago for my sister' son, Seth. It just so happened to be the exact height of our bed, and the mattress goes up high so we gladly took that as our co-sleeper.
Sav has been sleeping in it since she came home, and honestly she kind of hates it. All day long she would sleep great in the bassinett in the living room, and then come night time she'd be up all night grunting and groaning and fussing and would ultimately whine enough until she ended up in bed with us. We were hoping that once Oliver came home, she would sleep well in it.
So at night we'd put both babies in the crib with their monitors and pray for the best. They wouldn't sleep well and they'd fuss and groan and their monitors would take turns beeping all night long. It was sort of terrible. Also - they sleep better with light so we'd keep a lamp on or the bathroom light or the hall light - which left our room quite bright. And the overhead fan WHICH WE LOVE makes it too cold for them, so we couldn't use it. Sigh. They're ruining our lives already (kidding. I'd take them over a fan any day).
When they'd start crying I'd have to groggily carry them out one by one, complete with monitors and cords, to the living room to feed them, while trying not to trip and kill us all.
I don't have a good picture from my bed, but I'd lye in bed and constantly lean over to check on them as the monitors would incessantly beep. Inevitably they'd pulled their oxygen out of their nose and that was the problem. This picture is after Sav was totally off her oximeter/monitor, so there is just one monitor.
They both were still just not sleeping as soundly in the crib at night as they were all day. Seriously - all day long they'd sleep and be so content and quiet. At night, they'd grunt and groan and desat and wake up all the time. We endured this for far too long, since I was having extreme anxiety about letting them sleep in the living room which is across from our bedroom. I can see their bassinets from my bed, thats how close it is.
Finally I agreed to let them sleep in their bassinets in the living room with our door open.
LIFE CHANGED.
Fan was on again (I love the feeling of being all curled up in blankets with the breeze on my face. Best ever! Except for now with them I rarely get to actually sleep in my bed). We didn't need a light on in our room. I didn't wake up to every single grunt and groan. When they did wake up for reals to eat, I didn't have to carry them each out with all their cords and monitors and try not to wake Trev up).
So, thats our new routine now. They sleep in their bassinets in the living room. We all sleep better. We got a bassinet for free from one of Trev's friends, and then Lisa gave us the bassinet her grandfather made for her mom (Trev's grandma). So the bassinet is over 90 years old and made by their great-great grandfather, which is way cool. Sav gets that one, since it's all decked out in pink.
Remember this outfit? We bought for their matching going home outfits. Took a month, but she fits in it! Haven't tried Oliver's yet - he's still so tiny. I will tomorrow.
Trevor worked the rest of the week Oliver came home, but he took his paternity leave this week for our first whole week with having our babies home. So we had Trevor and I home and my mom. Three adults for two kids and it still was a lot of work. I'm in so much trouble when my mom leaves and Trevor is at work and I'm here all day by myself with these two, and up all night alone with them.
Oliver had his first doctors appointment the Thursday he came home (18th). Savannah has been continuously grunting. With Oliver in the NICU I only really got to see her at night, and I thought it was just a night thing. We joke she zombie talks. She seriously sounds like a zombie with all her noises (Oliver sounds like a raptor). Since I've been home with her every day, it's become clear there is something going on there, more than just her being a grunty baby. To me she seems constipated. She grunts 24/7 and rarely sleeps peacefully. She rarely poops (which she did all the time in the NICU) and she scrunches her face and it gets all red while grunting, like she's pooping, but she doesn't. Sometimes she'll smell like she's pooped and we will check and she's really just farted, but that is the most we get.
So, we took Sav to his appointment to ask the doctor about her behavior. His appointment was at 3:30 and Trevor gets into work at 6am so he cane leave work at 3:00 for football. He missed football that day and came with us to the doctors.
Our first outing with both babies (and Oliver's oxygen and monitor)!
Oliver gained weight and looks great!
The doctor told us to give Sav prune juice every day to help her poop.
The prune juice has not helped the constipation and grunting most the time, except for when it causes it all to come out at once and she explodes out of her diaper. It's TERRIBLE. So I've been massaging her tummy to help the gas pass - and she will fart quite a bit during and after the massage, but still doesn't really poop. It's really frustrating and I feel so badly for her. She is clearly very uncomfortable.
It was getting bad enough I took her in on Tuesday of this week for the doctor to look at her again. He thinks it's reflux, so he has her on meds for it. So far I don't see a difference.
Oliver went to his 2 week appointment today (9-25-14) to make sure he's gaining weight. He looks great! He's gone from 6lbs 4oz last week to 6lbs 11oz (He was 6lbs at discharge from the NICU).
We had rather traumatic incident on Sunday. Trev's mom and grandparents were over and about to leave - I was holding Oliver. Suddenly he lets out a blood curdling scream. Like, he is dying scream. My heart stopped beating. I looked down at him and he had his finger jammed in his eye. He's poked himself in the eye before, but this was different. His finger was lodged deep in his eye and he was screaming like he had his finger lodged deep in his eye. But he didn't pull it out. I pulled it out and he continued to cry for a bit.
Seriously, scariest mom moment yet (besides the whole NICU thing). He's been super fussy and wanting to be held all the time since then. Poor little dude.
Since they were so premature and their lungs and motor skills just aren't fully developed, they have to be fed carefully. On their side, and we have to really pace them. Oliver most especially - he chokes. So they are hard to tandem feed. When they are older and less fragile this whole twin thing will be so much easier.
I'm exhausted. More exhausted than I've ever been in my life, but so so happy.
Trevor is the best dad. Seriously. He adores these guys.
Holding them together isn't as easy as it looks, FYI.
Oliver is getting more and more awake. I love it. His eyes are so bright and big. He's such a handsome dude. His hair is also getting lighter and lighter.
Savannah is tiny - but next to him she looks enormous. They don't seem like twins to me. They look so different and their sizes are so different.
We love when they sleep...
When she's not grunting, this girl looks so peaceful! She's so beautiful I can't stop staring at her. Or kissing those freaking cheeks!
Oliver is ALMOST off oxygen! He mostly has the prongs out of his nose. He still desats enough we need to keep them on him, but he's so close.
This is his famous look - the kissy (or duck face) look. He always puckers his lips like this. It's so cute.
My mom watched the twins while we went on a date! It was so fun! Our first great date in a LONG time. The whole time I was pregnant I was miserable and could barely walk, and in the end I was on bed rest, so this was our first healthy/normal date since I got pregnant.
I love being a mom. I could hold these guys all day long. I never want to put them down. It's hard to not being able to hold them both all the time. I'm so content snuggling one baby when the other starts crying and I have to put the one down to comfort the other, then the other baby starts crying...
They really are good babies. They are starting to be more fussy and needy, but still they are good. Even being good babies though, twins are so much work.
Neither will breastfeed well (which is beyond frustrating because they breastfed like champs in the NICU, it's only since coming home they have digressed) so I have to pump for 20 minutes every 2 hours, and bottle feed them when they are hungry (every 2-4 hours). So between pumping, feeding them, changing diapers, fighting with the oximeter and getting them to sleep I feel like I have no time for other things. Like baths (for us all), laundry, sleeping, cooking... luckily my mom is here and taking all the cooking/cleaning and helping with them and Trev is here this week. But when I'm here alone...
Well, that is the Schauerhamer family update for now! We are just hanging out in quarantine loving on our beautiful babies!
Love,
Brittney
posted by Britt @ 10:44 PM
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