I'm Not So Good At This

I've discovered that I'm horrible at remembering to update the blog.  My goal is/was to try to do it once a week and so far, no luck.  So, before our lives take another crazy turn in the fall, when Galen and I go back to work and school, my goal will be to set a specific day to update.  Yes, I realize that it most likely won't happen, but I can dream...right?

So much has happened since I've last updated.  Gavin and Logan are both smiling and cooing.  Their little smiles are the cutest things I've ever seen and it's made me fall even more in love with them.  I love that they smile at the most random things, the purple hippo on their swing, the window, their bottles, Bowser and absolutely nothing.  They are also so much more alert.  When they are in their swings, bouncy seats or on their playmat they actually pay attention to their toys and seem to be entertained by them.  And they have outgrown their newborn clothes, which was a very bittersweet moment. 

We have been pretty boring lately and not doing much, just savoring these moments at home with the babies.  We did have our first road trip two weekends ago to my parents house.  The boys did pretty well in the car and would have done better if I was more organized.  Our plan was to pack the car, feed babies and leave.  Well, we packed the car, fed babies and then left.  Bad idea, we ended up having to stop after an hour and a half of driving so the babies could eat.  And of course when we stopped they decided that they would like to take their sweet time eating.  And then Logan decided that it was a good day to have his first diaper blowout.  Oh the joys of babies.   Thank goodness the rest of our drive was uneventfull.

We had a wonderful time on our first road trip.  Galen and I were able to sneak in a few naps and the boys enjoyed spending time a lot of time with their grandparents, auntie Sami and uncle Charlie, we did miss uncle Jake a lot!  They also got to see both sets of great grandparents, their great aunt Mary, great uncle Glenn, great aunt Carol and great uncle Kenny.  My mom hosted a Meet the Babies party and a lot of people stopped by.  It was so great to see a lot of people that I hadn't seen in a few years and that Galen hadn't met.  And everyone enjoyed seeing the boys and getting to hold them. 

 Logan was hungry so Gavin offered his head as a snack.

 Play time!  Gavin left, Logan right.

 Two sets of twins! Alanna, Evan, Lila, Kourtney, Gavin, Logan

 Naptime for Charlie and Logan

 Sami and Logan

 Grandma and Gavin

 Gavin sleeping

 Logan sleeping

Swinging away!  Gavin left, Logan right

Not So Little Anymore!

Almost nineteen pounds of baby.  Yes, that's the current baby weight we are lugging around these days.  My biceps are going to be amazing.  Gavin was born at 5lbs 5oz, 18.8in and is now 9lbs 12oz and 22.5in.  Logan was born 4lbs 12oz, 18.1in and is now 9lbs 2oz and 22in.  They look huge!
They had their two month check up last Friday and their doctor is so pleased with how they are doing.  They are a little behind a "normal" two month old because they were born early and that's causing a few minor delays.  They aren't smiling at us yet and when they are on their tummies they can't lift their heads up.  We were told this is very normal for preemies and that they will eventually catch up.  But they can hold their heads up when we are burping them or holding them upright.  They still have a few bobble head moments every now and then but they are getting better.  They are also following us and objects with their eyes.

Shots were also part of the two month check up and it was awful, for me.  I wanted to cry with them.  But I was actually very surprised that they didn't cry very much.  Their nurse is amazing and one of the best.  I have never seen someone give shots so quickly.  When Gavin was having his done, he moved his knee, hit the needle and started to bleed a little.  I think he just wanted one more band aid than Logan.

Logan had his first emergency room visit last night.  The poor little guy had diarrhea, was fussy, crying loudly and couldn't keep his tummy full of food.  He was so hungry but every time he ate it just kept coming right out.  So, into the ER Logan and I went to make sure he wasn't dehydrated or losing weight.  Of course he fell asleep in the car and was sleeping peacefully by the time we got there.  He had to have a X-Ray done of his stomach which he hated.  I had to help hold him down and he cried so hard.  The X-Ray came back normal and the doctor thinks he probably just has a virus.  He seems to be doing a bit better today but isn't back to his normal self yet.

Here are a few pictures of the way that things have changed in Gavin and Logan's lives since they have been home from the hospital.

Logan when he was born.  4lbs 12oz

Logan now.  9lbs 2oz

Gavin when he was born.  5lbs 5oz

Gavin now.  9lbs 12oz



Special formula for preemies.  22 calories per ounce instead of the normal 20.  We had to stick to a strict 3 hour feeding schedule so they could gain weight.



Powdered 20 calorie formula.  We can feed whenever they are hungry, usually it's every 4-5 hours.

2.5oz bottle on the left.  They struggled to eat all of it when they were first born.  Now they use a 9oz bottle but only get 5-6oz of formula at a time.

Newborn diaper left, size one right.  They hardly fit into newborn diapers when they were born.  The one's are still a little big but we ran out of newborns.



Preemie onesie left, Newborn onesie right.



Preemie pants left, Newborn pants right.

Only a few days old.

Almost 8 weeks old.  Gavin left, Logan right.

4th of July

We celebrated Gavin and Logan's first 4th of July by having some family over for a little BBQ.  The weather was perfect, sunny with a nice breeze.  The lake was super calm and I was a little jealous of all the people on boats.   The boys enjoyed being held by various people and I'm sure everyone loved holding them.  They both managed to sleep through almost the entire party and only cried when they got hungry.

Galen and I debated bringing the boys with us to fireworks and I'm sure they would have just slept through them, but in the end we decided against it.  We didn't want to get all the way there and have the bugs be bad or have them upset by the noise.  My mom and Sami were perfectly happy to stay home and hold sleeping babies while we went to fireworks.  Sami did mention that Gavin jumped in his sleep every time a firework went off. 

 Gavin in his 4th of July outfit.

Grandmas and babies

 Sami, Gavin and Jamie

Our little family,

Gavin left, Logan right.

Modeling their outfits.

Logan left, Gavin right

Logan

Gavin

Gavin left, Logan right

 Katie, Sarah, Logan, Adrie, Mike

 Charlie, Logan, Sami, Gavin

Good night.  Logan front, Gavin back

Why I Will Never Be A Photographer

Attempt one: They each turned their heads away.
Logan left, Gavin right.

Attempt two:  Gavin eats his shirt and Logan opens his mouth.

Attempt three:  Logan starts crying, Gavin starts falling asleep.

Attempt four:  Logan turns his head just as Gavin looks at the camera.

Attempt five:  Logan looks at the camera and Gavin starts crying.

Attempt six: Logan still looks at the camera and Gavin closes his eyes.

Attempt seven: They do not want to take anymore pictures so they both start crying.

Attempt eight:  Logan is really mad and Gavin is just a little mad.

Attempt nine:  I gave up.

The First (and possibly the last) Bath

The boys had their first real bath on Wednesday.  Yes, I realize that they were six weeks old by the time their first bath rolled around but in my defense they had umbilical cords and circumcisions.  Oh and I was terrified of hanging on to their wet little bodies.  We survived, all five of us, Bowser included. 

Our bathroom does not have the greatest set up for bathing babies...we have no bath tub.  The kitchen counter didn't seem like the best option so I decided just to sit on the bathroom floor.  It took some work and planning but we figured out a way that works.  It involved Bowser getting trapped in the bathroom but he was perfectly content watching and trying to figure out what was going on. 

Logan went first, as I undressed him he started his usual little whimper and then whipped out the full cry.  I was quite sure that he was going to have the fastest bath known to man.  For a moment I was even debating just giving him a sponge bath, but I figured we should at least try it.  The moment his little butt hit the water he was in love.  Their little bathtub has a hammock that they lay in so their butts and back stay in the water.  Logan was so good about having his hair washed and was perfectly content to just stare at me.  He didn't even mind when I accidentally got water on his face.  As soon as it was time for him to get out he started whimpering again, I can tell he is my son, he hates being cold. 

In the meantime while I was dressing Logan, Bowser was busy seeing what baby shampoo and baby soap taste like.  Yes, he was drinking out of the bath tub.  This is the dog we can not get to drink out of his water dish because he likes cold water, not room temperature water.  And as he's drinking the I'm starting to panic because what if the baby shampoo kills him?!  All of my logical thinking skills clearly went out the window when the boys were born, if the shampoo is safe for babies, I'm sure it is safe for dogs. 

And then it was Gavin's turn for a bath.  I'm going to be honest, I would rather give Logan a bath any day.  As I started undressing him, he decided that this was the worst thing to ever happen in his short six weeks of life and he cried as loud as he could.  I debated giving up but decided that since I had already accomplished one bath, we were going to accomplish two.  So, into the water Gavin went and as soon as I started shampooing his hair, he peed.  He peed out of the bath tub and on to the pants I was wearing.  And then it stopped.  We continued on with the bath, and he peed again and stopped.  Then again and stopped.  And again and stopped.  And finally one last time.  Yes, that is a total of five times.  I was in shock, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. 

So we ended bath time for Gavin and went with a quick sponge bath.  I was not in the mood to keep switching bath water.  As I was getting Gavin dressed, I heard the familiar sound of a dog consuming liquid.  Yes, that's right, Bowser was once again drinking the bath water.  In the span of twenty minutes he had consumed baby shampoo, baby soap and baby pee.  I said a little prayer that he would survive the night. 

And he did.  We all did and learned some good lessons.  Lesson one, Logan goes first because he pees less.  Lesson two, wear a plastic outfit while bathing Gavin.  Lesson three, get rid of Bowser during bath time.  Lesson four, shampoo, soap and pee with not kill dogs, at least if they are consumed in relatively small quantities.  And last but not least, lesson five...Galen gets to give them their next bath.