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.