7 weeks old

By Cyndi
January 31, 2011

A little change this week ... want to keep our readers interested!!

How Old: 7 weeks (49 days)

Weight: 8 lbs? We will know for sure later this week at our next pediatrician appointment. We will post their stats next week on the blog.

Sleep: This is exciting! We've been slowing increasing their bottles from 3oz to 4oz over the past two weeks and it has helped them sleep longer at night. We now have 6 daytime feedings and 1 nighttime feeding (down from 2 nighttime feedings before). We feed at 10p, 230a & get up for the 7a feeding. Now, this has only been the past few evenings, but we hope it sticks. It's amazing what two stretches of 3.5 hours of sleep can do for you.

Clothing: Still fitting into newborn size clothes and newborn diapers, but we are considering trying size 1 diapers soon.

Best Moment of the week: I successfully made it out of the house with the boys alone! We went to a friend's house for dinner and the boys behaved very well in front of everyone. Actually, I had to wake them up for their feeding time and this never happens at home.
And our friends in NY had their baby, 3 weeks early but mom and baby are doing well. Congrats Laura and Jim -- hopefully we will meet Natalie soon!!
It was also quite amusing to watch Todd show Matt how to use an Ergo Baby Carrier.

Worst Moment of the week: Either being peed on twice in one day or the spitting up with every bottle. We go through an average of 50 burp clothes in 4 days. Thank goodness Auntie Stacie loaned us a bunch of bibs and clothes ... they have been life savers!

Movement: Well, they still dislike tummy time. Their tushies are a little raw, so we have been trying to "air them out". That comes with caution as opening the diaper could mean...... but we've survived a time or two of air.

What we are looking forward to: I have my follow-up with my OB and should be released to exercise. I plan on using every minute I can before I go back to work to lose the remaining 25 lbs.
We also have a friend's first birthday party this coming weekend ... Matt will be there to help, so hopefully we have two well behaved babies!

Freebie Update: We've received gifts from Pampers & Luvs (close to $20 in coupons) & Learning Curve. I can't believe the response and so excited that I spent the time to send out that letter. We've also received a formula sample from Similac and $20 in coupons from them also.

Can you guess who is who??!!

6 weeks old

By Cyndi
January 24, 2011

The past week has been more of the same. After the pediatrician visit we have began to up their feedings from 3oz towards 4oz. Dr. F said as long as the boys are eating 24oz - 32oz, we can drop a night time feeding and allow them to sleep more. So far, we've had a night or two where they haven't woken up for 3.5 hrs, but that's it! Currently both boys are taking 3.5 oz / feeding.

Earlier this month, I sent out 30 letters to companies to ask for coupons, samples, and anything they would be willing to give us for having multiples. Late last week, we received our first set of coupons from Gerber! They sent over $20 in coupons, some of which we will use, some of which I will try to swap for things we need via message boards. Today we received more coupons, $9 from Huggies, and $5 Natures Goodness Baby Food.

During our NICU stay, a nurse had us fill out a form for free formula, which we had forgotten about. Turns out, that little form was worth $200 ...... little did we know, we were going to receive 12 cans of formula, which right now, would last us one month (since the boys receive 50% formula & 50% breast milk). I also saw on a message board about free Enfamil Nursettes (2oz bottles) and we received 96 of them ($160)!!! These are great for when we are on the go and need something quickly.

I will be keeping track of everything and let you know what we've scored :)

The boys favorite place to hang out ... they prefer being inclined instead of laying flat

Matt feeding Tyler and skyping with his mom!

Mystery Gift ...

We received this in the mail today and we don't know who it is from .... please identify yourself if you're reading this!!  We'd like to thank you ...

5 weeks old

By Matt
January 19, 2011

The guest blogger is me! The past few weeks have been, well, interesting, but I'll do like I usually do and just stick to the more humorous happenings. And if this starts to get too long and/or words aren't really your thing, the pic link to the right has been updated.

So, story time:
All in all, the boys are doing great. I have gone back to work and each day I seem to see someone else who I have not seen since their birth and of course, the first question is, "How's it going with the twins?" My answer: "Tiring." Even though I had read a good amount of the required father-to-be books and thought I had an okay grip on how it might be, it never really occurred to me that uninterrupted nighttime sleep would cease to exist. Maybe I thought they get fed magically every three hours or that the (hopefully) 7-9 weeks it takes for them to sleep through the night would go by in a flash; whatever I was thinking, it wasn't this. Whatever happened to coming home from work, grabbing a beer and a bowl of goldfish, and watching The Daily Show until falling asleep?

Don't light a match in here!
So I have not had much experience with babies, but I'm really wondering if all newborns pass gas as often as these two do. It's a regular symphony here just about any time of the day, no matter if a feeding has just taken place or not. And when they're not firing one out, they are thinking about it - we know this because of the never-ending grunting. Maybe this is why Meigs is keeping a 5 ft radius between him and the boys most of the time. I mean, I know these kids are Alderson boys, but wow.

Johnny B's comment:
One of the first days I was back at work, a fellow controller in my area, Johnny B, decides to drop some knowledge on me about baby boys. As reference, John has 2 boys, both later in their high school years. He says: Matt, I know for the next umpteen years people are going to be giving you child rearing advice, and right now is no different, but you really should remember this. Actually, I probably should just let you figure this one out on your own, but here it is. When you go to the restroom, you're aware of how close you need to stand to the commode - you know what kind of pee arc you have, right? Well that distance now is the same as when you were born, and the same goes for your new boys. So use caution.
Duly noted, Johnny B.
And yes, both Cyndi and I have been hit, along with walls, pack 'n plays, and the twin brother.

Fighting neighbors, Act II:
Sometime in the past few weeks I was taking out the trash through the front door, and as I stepped out, I heard some more arguing through their front door. I quickly ran to toss out the trash, then stopped in front of their door - but out of sight from the peephole - and listened. This time she was yelling at him about having pornography on his iPad! How about that, another Apple product-fueled fight! I quickly knocked on T&S's door and had Todd step out to enjoy the show. Alas, the argument had apparently run its course and nothing else worth noting was heard. Not long after this incident, I spotted a Louis Vuitton box in their recycling bin which sits next to our garage door. Maybe this was an attempt to atone for his subpar gift-giving abilities? (Remember the "crappy" iPod anniversary gift from a past blog entry?) Maybe not. Hey, Valentine's Day is coming up, I'll have to keep my ear pressed to the wall that night.

Doctor visit:
Finally, the long awaited one month checkup arrived. We were really anxious to hear the boys' new weights and lengths and to have some questions answered. The doc for this visit was a nice young guy (and was obviously Jewish with a name akin to "Goldbergstein") who could not get over how well they were growing and coming along.
New numbers:
Tyler 6lbs 14oz (previous reading, just after Xmas, was 4lbs 14oz)
Zachary 7lbs 0oz (previous was 5lbs 3oz)
Both 20 inches in length

In case you had not already done the quick math, that equates to over an ounce gained per day, per boy. I could tell Dr. F wanted to say, "They're kicking ass!" but he was somehow able to contain himself. The funniest moment came when he was listening to Tyler's heart, he suddenly looks up at me and says something like, "I wish I could let me my hair grow because it's really curly like yours, but my wife won't let me." Cyndi looked at me with a look that said, "Which reminds me, when ARE you cutting your hair?" I wanted to tell him, yes, grow that Jew fro, be proud!
So they're doing very well and in the next few weeks we will see if they can hold out overnight between feedings for more than the current 3 hours.

One month old!

By Cyndi
January 13, 2011

I can't believe that its been a month since my water broke and we were laying in triage waiting to go in for a c-section. It's crazy to think how much our lives have changed in a month and how much more change will happen in the coming months and years!

I have survived Matt's first full week back at work. The twins aren't too fussy and as long as I stay on the schedule, they generally cooperate. We are still feeding every 3 hours all day & night. So far, Matt has been able to get up at night and help with every feeding. We are able to feed & I can pump and be back to sleep in an hour. So for every feeding cycle we get 2 hours of sleep (average of 6-7 hours a night). When we head to our next pediatrician visit, we will be asking about spreading out the night time feedings.

The twins are eating equal amounts, just under 3oz at each feeding. They are having some wake time (besides being awake to eat), but its usually about 30 min once a day.

Stacie has been able to come over for the 8pm feeding after she has put Lincoln (our godson -- who is now 1??!!) to bed. We've also been very lucky to have friends stop by bearing food and gifts - mainly diapers ... who can say no to diapers? I haven't had to tap into our freezer stash that much yet!

Speaking of diapers, in case curious minds want to know ... we go through about 10 diapers a day per kid. Yup, 1 per feeding, 1 usually gets peed on & usually at least once after a feeding we have to change them due to some action down under.

Here's a few pictures ... more to be uploaded to Shutterfly in the coming days.  Please vote in the fraternal / identical poll at the top AND watch for a guest blogger next week!

Tyler (white), Zachary (blue) & Lincoln ... on Lincoln's FIRST Birthday!!

Zachary enjoying bath time

Tyler (left) & Zachary ... one month old

Meigs sat there on his own!!!

Newborn Pics .... are ready!!

Take a look ... I'm so in love with all of them ... how will I choose?

(Nana and all those criers out there -- have a box of kleenex handy!!)

Here's the link:  http://www.littlemoonphotography.com/alderson/

We have 40 weekers ....

By Cyndi
January 7, 2011

As of today, Tyler & Zachary have hit the 40 week gestation mark. We have survived our first few days without family around and I have also survived Matt being at work! No meltdowns from the boys (or me!), though I don't have too much time to get anything done while Matt's at work.

Since its been a while since the last blog post, here's the update of what has been going on.

Gayle (Matt's mom) arrived the night that the boys came home. She came over for a quick visit and stayed in a hotel to allow us to have our first night at home together. On Monday, my dad and brother arrived. It started to set in that all of these people were coming into town to see the boys (and us)! It's the same feeling I had when our wedding was drawing near and realized all of these people were traveling to see US!

The bris was scheduled for Thursday morning and we had around 20 people at the house and 12+ people watching online. We used ustream.com and it worked great to allow GG (Matt's grandma back in Indiana) and Great-Grandpa Max (my grandpa in Arizona) to tune in.

Most family left on Friday and my dad was the only one remaining until this past Monday. We spent most of the weekend doing the 3 hour feeding routine and watching football. We had quite a lively New Years Eve skype call with some of our friends back in Chicago. I am sure we will be using skype more often!!!

With Matt back at work, I'm somehow managing the feedings on my own. Lots of preparing because once you are sitting with one and they've started, they do not want to stop, no matter what I forgot!! Takes about 1.25 hours to feed, change and get them both back to sleep or at least quiet. That doesn't leave much time left before I start all over again.

I'll do my best to post more pictures as time permits. The professional pictures should be available this weekend. I'll post the link as soon as we get them .... here's one more for a sneak peak:

Tyler is the lower one, Zachary is on top

Oh, how could I forget my other boy, Meigs. He is adjusting well, we think! When the boys are on the floor for tummy time, we allow him to sniff them and repeat their name. We hope one day, he will know who is who!

Pregnancy Summary

By Cyndi
January 3, 2010

I am an engineer and therefore, I need to put a one-pager together to summarize the pregnancy for myself and thought I'd share it with you!

Days Pregnant: 255 days (36 weeks, 3 days)
Total Weight Gain: 60 lbs
Total Weight Loss at 3 weeks postpartum: 30 lbs (wahoo, half way there!)
# of OB appointments: 13
# of Ultrasounds: 10
# of Unscheduled visits to Labor & Delivery: 1 in November, and 1 on the day T & Z were born
Current NICU bill (before insurance is billed): $12k + (might only be 3 days worth)
Copays for OB appointments and OB for delivery: $0 (Thank you Blue Cross Federal!)

Some more pics. For a more complete picture viewing experience, the shutterfly site has been freshly updated (login info can be found on the right margin).

3 weeks old

2010 in review

By Cyndi
January 1, 2011

I can't believe 2010 is over.  It has been quite a year .... let's summarize:

1.  January:  Our godson, Lincoln was born.  We've been very lucky to watch him grow and can't wait until he can play with our boys!
 

2.  January: Vietnam -- what an amazing vacation. It didn't fulfill our travel itch -- Matt and I are already talking about our next big vacation, hopefully in 2012!

3.  March: Celebrating my dad's 60th birthday with family & friends in Chicago

4.  April:  Finding out we were pregnant and the long 4 weeks we had to wait for the OB to confirm that all was well ... and that there was TWO!

5. May:  Experiencing an Indian wedding in Atlanta and our first ultrasound

6.  June:  Sharing with our family the exciting news!

7.  August:  Celebrating Matt's 30th birthday and watching my belly grow ...

8.  September:  Matt running his first half marathon in Virginia Beach with his twin Michael & my Chicago shower with family & friends

9.  October:  The 10-10-2010 wedding of our friends Michael & Ashley in Dallas -- a fun weekend with friends!!!

10.  November: Celebrating my 30th birthday with a Thanksgiving meal, Meigs, & friends

11.  December:  My VA shower with friends ...... AND welcoming our boys to the world!!

I can't wait to see the fun we'll have in 2011 ..... Happy New Year!