As I am sure any mother of multiples will say, having both babies at home has been a bit chaotic. Some days they seem to be moving toward a similar schedule, others they are miles apart in their “routines.” And my thoughts on whether a similar schedule would be easier or more challenging shifts about as fast.
Both babies are nursing well — a big surprise given the struggles we had with Colin while he was still in the hospital. Veronica likes to eat, not matter what the delivery method. Colin seems right now to actually prefer the breast to bottle, which could prove challenging when I go back to work on Thursday.
They’re all over the board with sleeping right now too. Some nights they’ll both go five or five and a half hours without waking up, others it’s every three hours like clockwork. Colin, however, is definitely the better sleeper of the pair.
We’re working very hard on getting them to sleep in the co-sleeper all night. When Veronica came home, we were a little lax about putting her back in the co-sleeper because she fell asleep (and stayed asleep) better when she was lying in bed with us. But that doesn’t work so well with two babies. (And, to be honest, she took up so much space in our bed that one of us usually ended up sleeping somewhere else when it was just her.) Now we’re paying the price because she expects that snuggle to get her to sleep. [Sigh — self-inflicted pain.]
Colin had his first pediatrician appointment on Monday. He still weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces — his discharge weight. We were hoping he would gain, but afraid he would lose once he came home. The doctor at the hospital took him back off the Prevacid before discharge, and after a couple of days at home, Colin was having eating issues again. So I asked the pediatrician if we could put him back on to see if it would help. He’s on Zantac this time, and it seems to be helping.
Colin is still seeing the opthalmologist at the hospital every few weeks to follow his ROP [the eye disease preemies are prone toward]. At his appointment on Friday, it seems the ROP is regressing. But he still has immature blood vessels in his eyes, so we will go back again in two weeks for another exam. Then, the doctor believes, Colin will be able to move to the six-month exam schedule Veronica is on. Fortunately, the opthalmologist who has been seeing them since they were born has offices near our house, so they can continue to see him.
So we’ve survived our first week with two babies, and they have too. Everyone but me is relatively healthy. I ended up getting sick on Wednesday, just in time to bring Colin home. Now I have a cough I just can’t shake, which wakes the babies up when they’re nursing at night. (It wakes John and I up too, but I’m more concerned about them right now.) I keep reminding myself that eventually they’ll be ready to fall into a schedule with regular naps and bedtimes, and that soon this crazy “newborn” period will all be a distant memory. Until then, thank God for coffee.
They’re all over the board with sleeping right now too. Some nights they’ll both go five or five and a half hours without waking up, others it’s every three hours like clockwork. Colin, however, is definitely the better sleeper of the pair.
We’re working very hard on getting them to sleep in the co-sleeper all night. When Veronica came home, we were a little lax about putting her back in the co-sleeper because she fell asleep (and stayed asleep) better when she was lying in bed with us. But that doesn’t work so well with two babies. (And, to be honest, she took up so much space in our bed that one of us usually ended up sleeping somewhere else when it was just her.) Now we’re paying the price because she expects that snuggle to get her to sleep. [Sigh — self-inflicted pain.]
Colin had his first pediatrician appointment on Monday. He still weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces — his discharge weight. We were hoping he would gain, but afraid he would lose once he came home. The doctor at the hospital took him back off the Prevacid before discharge, and after a couple of days at home, Colin was having eating issues again. So I asked the pediatrician if we could put him back on to see if it would help. He’s on Zantac this time, and it seems to be helping.
Colin is still seeing the opthalmologist at the hospital every few weeks to follow his ROP [the eye disease preemies are prone toward]. At his appointment on Friday, it seems the ROP is regressing. But he still has immature blood vessels in his eyes, so we will go back again in two weeks for another exam. Then, the doctor believes, Colin will be able to move to the six-month exam schedule Veronica is on. Fortunately, the opthalmologist who has been seeing them since they were born has offices near our house, so they can continue to see him.
So we’ve survived our first week with two babies, and they have too. Everyone but me is relatively healthy. I ended up getting sick on Wednesday, just in time to bring Colin home. Now I have a cough I just can’t shake, which wakes the babies up when they’re nursing at night. (It wakes John and I up too, but I’m more concerned about them right now.) I keep reminding myself that eventually they’ll be ready to fall into a schedule with regular naps and bedtimes, and that soon this crazy “newborn” period will all be a distant memory. Until then, thank God for coffee.
Congratulations on making it through your first week with both your babies home. You sound like a Pro already!
ReplyDeletePreemies mean so much to us. I want to let you know that we will be participating in the Bloggers Unite Fight for Preemies event on November 17th, Prematurity Awareness Day. I thought you might be interested in joining us. Here’s a link for more info and to sign up to help us spread the word: http://bit.ly/a6y8hj. Nov. 17th is the day we all fight – because babies shouldn’t have to.