New Pictures

Here are some new pictures for you guys. Sorry it's taken me awhile to get them up. Things are a little busy and the days get away from me. Regardless, here they are . . . pretty cute, I think!!!

Jack in his formal onesie.

Jack as Major Cutie!
Both kids chillin' in bed one morning last week with me.

Being difficult posing for the picture.
It's a lot easier to capture the cute poses when asleep (Jack).
Hope always wakes up from her naps ready to eat. As usual, Jack doesn't seemed phased.
Tummy time!
which Jack (above) and Hope (below) both enjoy . . .
But not for long!

Triumph on the scale!

Today (Wed.) we had a pediatrician appointment to do a weight check with both kids. Hope now is weighing in at 6 lbs 9 oz (gaining 10 oz from last Wednesday). Jack weighed in at 5 lbs 4 oz (up 12 oz from last week's appointment). I couldn't be prouder of my little champs. Great job Guys - keep up the good work.

Things are going fine in twin central. Everything revolves around their eating schedule. They mostly sleep between feedings so I am finding some time to do other things - like eat, shower, and check my email - esp. on days when Kevin and/or his mom are around to tag team the bottle feedings. I was alone on Monday while Kevin was at work, at my request so I could see what it is like to care for them on my own - first feeding Hope, then Jack (or vice versa of course), and then to pump, only to get to repeat it 3-4 hours later (from when I start). The whole process takes somewhere between 1.5-2 hours which is not terrible. I survived, but was very thankful both that Kevin is a school teacher and his work day ends at 3pm and that we'd set it up so his mom was coming the next day to help for the rest of the week. I am still working towards the goal of breast feeding both kids at the same time as I have grand visions of it freeing up all this time! A lactation consultant (who is also a parent to twins) is coming tomorrow so we will find out if the kids have gotten any better at breast feeding.

Other than that, here are some new photos. Today, Kevin's mom and I got a kick out of how much Hope squirms and moves in the crib. It doesn't seem to matter how far from Jack we place her, as she always manages to squirm her way closer to him. If she keeps this up, they will be in separate cribs a lot sooner than my estimated 4 month date (based on what I've read/heard from other twin moms is common). Luckily Jack does not seem to mind her kicking, cuddling, and/or screaming in his ear. I think he is used to it!

Here they are both peacefully sleeping and then one of them not so peaceful, having broken free of their swaddles and demanding to eat!
This is a sequence of photos highlighting Hope's crib adventures.
inching a little closer to Jack . . .
finally tucking her hand underneath him
so you can see how far she squirmed her way over, swaddled and all. We typically lay them down in the middle of the burp cloths to catch any spit up.

This was a different nap on Wednesday where we found her with her head by Jack's feet (initially she was placed perpendicular to him), clutching his blanket tightly in her hand and screaming at the top of her lungs. Not sure why?? And through it all, he did not wake up!

"Could I be any cuter?" says JackYes, I can!
After a busy nap of squirming in the crib, someone did not want to wake up to eat!!!
But she does look rather cute in brown and pink!
And so peaceful when asleep . . .
Jack from a couple days ago -- with a secret smile in Dad's arms!

XOXO to you all!

Busy week of parenthood

Hey all --

A lot has happened in the last week and all has prevented me from finding much if any time to put up an update and post new photos. Hope came home last Monday night. It's been fantastic having her home. Initially, I thought it would be great to test the waters with one baby before trying do handle both at the same time. But after a couple days/nights of taking care of Hope, I realized that one baby is a TON of work and immediately became frightened at the idea of juggling two at once. Regardless of my parenting fears, nothing was stopping my boy Jack who decided to become a great eater overnight, had his feeding tube removed mid-week and joined his sister at home on Saturday afternoon. Since then, life has been consumed with feedings and naps (both by the kids and Kevin and myself). Overall things are going okay. The nights have been tough as they eat every 3 hours followed by a date with my pump so I am working with multiple chunks of sleep in the 1-1.5 hour range. Kevin has (of course) been helping as I don't think I would get any sleep if I bottle fed eat baby on my own back to back and then pumped. Ugh. Kevin's mom is here as well to help so I am sure between the three of us we will figure this out . . . eventually.

And on to the photos . . .

First off, the babies were photographed by a professional at the hospital before Jack's discharge. They are pretty good and you can access a slideshow of the proofs at www.bellababyphotography.com (password: 0422johnhopegrugan)


Here is Hope on her discharge night in the car seatFirst ride in the mini-van
Trying out the bouncy seat
After Hope's first bath
Jack post-removal of his feeding tube (the more he fills out, the more we think they look alike)

After their photo shoot, we left them in this basket for over an hour where they happily cuddled and slept together. Kevin took over 100 pictures with our camera in addition to the professional ones. They were so cute.
Dad and his two babies
Jack in his car seat to come home
Both kids leaving the NICU together. (Thanks for the blankets Auntie Court!)
In the pack n play, checking each other out once at home . . .

First Mother's Day and potentially big news!!

Hey All,
Both Hope and Jack have had a great week and made a lot of progress in the NICU. Jack has gained 1.0 oz per day over the last 7 days and is now 3 lbs 13.3 oz. He is up to eating 88% of his feedings by mouth and is only days away from getting his feeding tube taken out. He was moved to an open air crib at the end of the week and is doing a great job maintaining his body temp outside of his igloo. He is definitely more alert and awake these days as he packs on the ounces. Hope is currently 5 lbs 9.2 oz and has gained 1.3 oz per day over the last 7 days. She has had her feeding tube out for the last few days and has been eating a ton from the bottle. She passed her car seat test and it is rumored she will be discharged tonight. I won't believe it until she is in the car with us going home, but our chances look good to having her home with us. It will be tough to leave Jack behind and to separate the twins (tough on me, not sure they will notice the separation themselves), but luckily Jack has been doing so well on his feedings and body temp lately and I am hopeful he is just days from joining Hope at home.

Here are a couple shots of the nursery. There is still nothing on the walls, but we are otherwise all set up and ready to go. The second crib is currently in our bedroom, but will eventually go along the same wall with the current crib. I hope to put them in one crib together initially, but we will have to wait and see how they do together as they may be adjusted to being apart after the NICU time.
Our first complete family shot ---
Mother's Day surprise from the night shift nurses!!!
First shot of Jack in an open air crib
My first Mother's Day and the first time I held both Jack and Hope at the same time. :-)

NICU update

Hey all,
Both kids are doing well and each is making progress every day. Hope was in clothes all week which means that she is regulating her body temp on her own and yesterday was moved from her "igloo" into an open air crib. She is getting about 40% of her feeding volume by nipple (bottle/breast) and the rest by her feeding tube. Once she is getting 100% of her feedings by nipple, she will be ready to come home. She has gained weight every day and is almost back up to her delivery weight. Jack is still hanging in his igloo, but was put in clothes on for the first time on Friday. He is regulating his body temperature on his own, which is quite impressive as he is just over 3 lbs. He will be ready to move to an open air crib after he spends a few days in clothes inside the igloo and continues to gain weight daily. Jack takes 28% of his feedings by nipple and the rest with his feeding tube, so he is catching up with his sister. The rules are the same for Jack - once he is in an open air crib, gaining weight regularly, and eating 100% of his feeding volume by nipple, he can come home. Kevin and I do not ask the doctors for a prediction of when each baby will be ready to come home and are just happy that baby steps are made each day toward that goal.

I am also doing well - off the pain meds from the c-section and better adjusted to my NICU visiting and milk pumping schedule. Kevin and the nurses are constantly praising me for the amount of breast milk I am able to bring in. That plus the daily weight gains by Jack and Hope really help when I am awake at 3 am. They have started adding something called "human milk fortifier" to the breast milk which increases the calorie content and adds a few additional vitamins and minerals. On another note, I drove our new mini-van this morning for the first time. Right now it feels a bit like a bus, but I know once I have two babies in the back, I will be happy to have the van with all its bells and whistles. It was strange to be back behind the wheel for the first time in over 3 months, but I am happy to add back another aspect of independence.

And now for the photos:

A couple shots of Hope content in her igloo in the cute outfits from the NICU. They have a stash of preemie clothes donated so it is always a treat to see what they are wearing on any given day.
Above - our first look at Hope in the "open air" crib. It definitely makes changing her diaper a lot easier. Below - a couple shots of Hope after one of her feedings last night.


Super Dad and Hope!
Jack getting a special visit with his Pop.

We love all the different poses we find Jack in while sleeping.


Jack's first day in real clothes!!!