Week 2

I’ll start off with the biggest bestest news – our 2 week checkup today went so well! Courtney is 6lb 9oz and Bennett is 6lb 4oz! The goal was just to have regained birth weight, but they surpassed that by far. Our doc also seemed surprised that we haven’t done any supplementing. I didn’t like that though – he of all people should know it’s very possible to exclusively BF twins. It just takes a lot of effort. And perhaps complete sleep deprivation. At least it has for me. Last night was awful – I slept from 3-3:15am. That’s it. The night before was better – I got 3 two hour sleep stretches. I can survive on that. But the 15 minutes… ugh. My eyelids and head are pounding. I’m managing to function ok… but eventually I know I’ll crash from lack of real restorative sleep. I probably shouldn’t drive. The doc said to just work on getting them to sleep and eat at the same times. Genius. Why hadn’t I thought of that…
The rest of their stats looked great too. Bennett’s 19.75 inches and Courtney is 20.25. Their heads are in the 13% percentile. Weights were the 4th and 7th. So not exactly chunky monkeys… YET. But I couldn’t be happier about their clean bill of health. I’ve been praying for that everyday. It’s what makes all this sacrificing worth it. On Friday we had our first solo outing. Not all three kids – I don’t think I’ll EVER take all 3 out by myself. At least not until the babies can hold their heads up solo. We went to the library for the monthly La Leche League meeting. I love going there and being surrounded by like-minded women. Well, in regards to BFing anyway. My friend Marie came too – she birthed NINE pound twins at home 6 weeks ago! I can’t even imagine. The meeting was awkward, as far as juggling the babies. I had to ask my friend Mary next to me to trade off holding babies so I could feed each one separately. Feeding tandem in public is just too awkward. I don’t think I’ll take the twins out again til next month’s meeting. And church on Sundays. That’s it. Our first Sunday went ok – Bennett slept the whole time in Brian’s arms, and Courtney came with me to the Mother’s Lounge right after Sacrament, where we stayed for about an hour before going home. I thought I’d be able to listen to the talks via the intercom, but the room was full of chatting ladies. Some weren’t even nursing their babies – they were just hanging out, or bottlefeeding. I’m ok with not getting out of the house very often. I’m kindof a homebody. Minus running. Really craving a long trail run. I think I’ll make my first attempt on Saturday. Cute story - Brianna often walks into a room, sees just one baby and asks, “where’s the other one?” And she has to kiss and “pet” each baby before going to sleep at naptime and bedtime. She used to prefer to only hold Courtney ("Cour-ten-ee"), but now she holds whichever one is available. Another funny story – this may be TMI for some of you readers (if anyone is actually reading all of this!), Brianna saw one baby crying and comes up to me, grabs my chest, and tries to pull me over while saying, “Give him your boob! Drink milk!” Another one - Brianna came up to Bennett and patted his head and said, “I love you soooo much. Soooo much.” But then her head-patting got a little TOO hard. So while I don’t believe she’d ever consciously hurt her siblings, I don’t trust her alone with them. She’s also put blankets over their faces, saying, “I tuck you in, you go night-night.” Scaaaary.
I get asked about differences between the babies…. And every time I think I’ve identified one, they change their minds. But usually Bennett is the better eater. He latches on easier and takes himself off when done, while Courtney usually needs more help and prodding. Bennett is usually more content to just sit and chill, while Courtney wants to be held during awake times. They can both do a great squealing piglet imitation. Or sometimes it sounds like a baby eagle. They usually do this while having their diaper changed. Isn’t it weird how infants hate being naked but toddlers love it?! We’ve been super blessed this week to have our ward bringing dinners every night. And most everyone remembered the rule – don’t give us any dishes we have to return! It’s been actually pretty fun to have surprise meals. I could really get used to this delivery service thing. But now that’s over and we will return to scrounging around in the freezer last minute to throw dinners together. Or resort to sandwiches/cereal. It’s all fine with me. And Brian usually gets nice lunches during the week since he takes accounts out to restaurants, so he can survive lame dinners. I lovelovelove sleeping on my back and on my stomach now. I refuse to sleep on my side anymore after pregnancy forced me to for those last few months. And somehow I think it’s going to magically help this dang tummy pooch go away. I need a girdle or spanx or something. It’s definitely getting smaller every day… but not fast enough. Last week I looked 6 months pregnant, now maybe just 3. I probably won’t be happy til I lose a full 15 lbs. But I’m glad my belly button finally went back in. Oh – Courtney’s cord fell off yesterday. Bennett’s is still hanging on so the doc wants us to let it have more air access and put rubbing alcohol around the bottom.
Well.. pretty sure this is turning into a boring ramble by now. But maybe someday I’ll be glad I took the time to sit down and ramble-type once a week.