Mommy Goes It Alone....

It has come the time where I must do this on my own without someone visiting to help me.  My biggest concern was what will I do when one of them is screaming and I'm feeding the other, or what if they are both screaming at the same time?! Well... the answer: you deal with it and most likely, one of them will just have to scream.  

Here are some pictures of my first week alone with the boys! Overall, they did pretty well.  The worst thing for me is not having enough hands for both of them and when I'm nursing one baby and the other starts crying because he's hungry.  I know they have to get used to waiting, but hearing them cry breaks my heart... and let's be honest, gives me a headache sometimes. ;) 

Life's so hard... ;)

Not kidding, right after I snapped this photo they both started crying... 

After juggling one after the other.... sweet peace 

Both behaving for mommy! 

First time playing on our playmat! Ethan on the left, Charlie on the right

Auntie Rachel and Uncle Matt comes to visit!

Rachel and Matt made the trip to come meet Charlie and Ethan.  I don't have any pictures of Matt, but here's one of Rachel!  Saturday, we had lunch at Hennesy's in Manhattan Beach and wandered around the Redondo Beach Pier.  Sunday, we had brunch at The Strand House in Manhattan Beach and hung out at Matt's Dad's in Rancho Palos Verdes.  The boys did pretty well, but we were out probably more than we ever had been so I had to feed them while being out.  That was new for me, but it was a success in the car!  

Janice the dog was very interested in the new babies!  So cute :)

Auntie Eileen Comes to Visit

My sister came to visit and meet the boys.  She stayed for 5 days!  We had lots of fun and took the boys to a real restaurant (actually 2!) for the first time.  We went to Island's and El Torito.  As usual, they were great and slept the entire time we were out.  

Parents of the Year

So I'm assuming Charlie is going to hate me for posting this, but they are still too little to object so here it goes.  They were about 2 weeks old and I was getting the sink ready for bath time.  Phil was changing Ethan on the changing table on the pack n play.  Charlie was asleep in the basinet under/to the side of the pack n play.  All of the sudden I hear phil yell, "Oh my gosh!  You're peeing on your brother!" 

I run into the room and see poor Charlie, still asleep, soaking wet from his brother peeing on him!  Phil, was looking to see if I was ready for Ethan in the kitchen and when he turned back around there was a flow of pee from Ethan onto Charlie.  So as the great parents that we obviously are, we laughed and took a picture. Notice Charlie's wet shirt and face :(  Apparently Ethan was not pleased that he may have gotten a bit wet too.... 

Parents of the year over here.  

One Week Check-up

Today we had our one week check-up at the pediatrician to see how the boys were doing. They still aren't up to their birth weight, but the Dr. said that's still OK. We go back in a week to check their weights again and they should be back up by then.

At 8 days old Charlie weighs 6lb. 11oz, measures 19 3/4" long, and has a head circumference of 13 3/4".

At 8 days old Ethan weighs 6 lb. 9oz, measures 20 1/4" long, and has a head circumference of 13 1/2".

When I look at them together I still can't believe they fit inside my belly!!

Here's Dad getting ready to head to the Dr.

Nothing could have prepared me...

For the insanity of having two babies. I have taken care of a lot of singleton babies and no matter how many years I did that nothing could have mentally or physically prepared me for being the mother of twins. Don't get me wrong, I am so in love with my little boys and I couldn't imagine only having one baby, but this is tough! I am running on empty, but very grateful to have help from my mom who is staying with us for the first 6 weeks of their lives. Currently, the boys are not on the same schedule and are feeding on demand. I will be changing this soon as it is pretty difficult in the middle of the night. An example of a portion of our night... Charlie is up form 2am-3am, Ethan wakes up on cue at 3am-4am, I go to sleep by 4:20 and Charlie is up again at 5. Sometimes they wake at the same time so I get a little longer stretch of sleep, but we are not on any sort of pattern yet so it's a toss up every night. The boys are very good and don't usually fuss unless something is wrong so I can't complain.

Although this is tough, it's never boring! :)

A few pics of the first few days home...

First test in the pack n play

They were put in the crib far apart but Charlie (left) moved closer to Ethan.

Going Home!

After four nights in the hospital it was finally time to go home! I was wheeled out of the hospital with the boys as Phil went to get the car. We met at the pick-up and Phil strapped them into the car seats, which was new for him. I've never seen him so worried driving home, since he thought maybe the straps were too tight. As soon as we got home he installed the mirrors in the car so we can see their faces while we drive and he re-read online how to safely strap an infant in our car seats.

Here we are getting ready to leave... please excuse my swollen body. It was amazing that I didn't swell when I was pregnant but after all the fluids in the hospital I had elephant legs for almost 2 weeks after!

Phil loading up!

All in!