Updates, photos and weight checks!!!

Hey all,
It has been a busy past few days (that is compared to our normal taking care of infant twins busy). Uncle Ben and Aunt Marianne came down from New England for some uncle/aunt bonding time with Hope and Jack on Saturday. It was Kevin's mom's side's day at the Phillies game with almost the entire family in attendance and we didn't want to miss out. Despite the 90° heat with our seats in full sun, and the inability of the Phillies to hold onto a 9-4 lead, we enjoyed our first outing without the twins. It was great to see everyone and gush about the babies. Thanks Ben and Marianne!

Here we are decked out before the game:

Sunday was Kevin's first Father's Day. We didn't do anything special other than just hanging out and enjoying the kids. I tried to pamper Kevin with homemade meals and a reduction in my usual "requests" for help emptying the dishwasher, taking out the trash, etc. (husband of editor's note: the family did a tremendous job with the Father's Day celebration. Who knew Hope could cook crabcakes and Jack could pick out such a nice gift. Kevin).

As you can see, Jack enjoyed Father's Day as much as his Dad!

Today Hope and Jack had their 2 month visit at the pediatrician. (Can you belive it's already been 2 months???) Hope now weighs 8 lbs 1 oz and Jack is 7 lbs!!! Both kids are doing so great! They got their first batch of immunizations today which was a little rough for both kids and also for mom!

We got these onesies from one of Kevin's colleagues. Kevin took these pictures in an attempt to snap the perfect shot to share with the teacher. As you can see, it is hard to get them both to pose at the same time.
I had these onesies embroidered by a friend of my dad's. I love them!

XOXO to you all!

Another new post??

Hey all,
I know you are all shocked to see another new post so soon, but seeing as the last one was mostly pictures, this is still overdue. Hope and Jack were privileged to have a visit from our good friends Bridget and Dave this past weekend. Bridget arrived on Wednesday to help out at twin central and Dave joined us Friday night. All four of our family were spoiled by their visit as Uncle Dave and Auntie Bridget were expert bottle feeders, diaper changers, and baby rockers. To top that, they took over the kitchen and our fridge/freezer is now overflowing with delicious meals so that we do not have to think about what to eat for dinner for many meals to come. Thanks guys! I wish you lived closer. :-)

Here are the twins decked out and ready for a walk around the neighborhood. Despite my lightweight double snap-n-go stroller, it was exhausting pushing them up some of the hills and I was happy to have Bridget by my side to take a turn at the helm. I am a long way from my old runner shape.
Here are Hope and Dave after a feeding. She was captivated by him and it was so cute. Sleep deprivation makes us a little silly. Here is how i found the kids positioned by Kevin Sunday night/Monday morning after their middle of the night bottles - not sure if you can read the clock in the picture but it says 4:49am.

Hope needed a shoulder to lean on during a recent nap.
Jack posing for the camera as always.

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. :-)