yesterday was brutal! I woke up feeling ill and with sore clogged ducts. for someone who has had mastitis you know this means trouble! I really didn’t want to go on antibiotics because when I did with charlie I thought it affected my milk supply (I got mastitis 3 times with charlie and it was horrible each time). so I spent all yesterday fending off this wicked sickness. I napped, used warm compresses, nursed frequently, massaged the ducts, etc. today I woke up feeling less sore and am hoping that I can continue my quest to avoid getting mastitis.
here are some pictures of the cuties. claire is on the left and ellie on the right.
my dad holding ellie.
bill took charlie to the house of bounce one afternoon to burn off some steam. I warned bill it might be a bit greasy and dirty, but he didn’t think it would be. after arriving home they both marched right to the shower and cleaned off. bill said it was one of the greasiest places he had been. he even said it might be nastier than the state fair! charlie didn't seem to care. he was stunned by the big slides.
go dog go!
in other news, charlie is really into calling people by their first names. it is really hard not to bust out laughing or respond to him when he says “HEY BEALLL” (for bill) or “HEY JOEL” (for g pops). thankfully, he has only called me steph a few times.
so far ellie and claire have been great babies. they eat and poop constantly, but they don’t fuss and need constant jossling to keep them content like charlie once did. now I know this could change as they reach their due date of april 15th (40 weeks). but for now I am enjoying every minute of having sleepy babies.
they are eating every 3 hours during the day, which I usually wake them for and have been doing two – four hour stretches at night. it sounds pretty perfect, however, when you add up that they each nurse for about 20-30 minutes at each time plus I need to pump after each feeding and get them back to being settled, etc I really only have about an hour break and then it all starts over. at night bill and I have been tag teaming. I wake up and just start pumping. he bottle feeds both girls, which speeds us up because they take their bottles pretty fast so we are done in about 45 minutes instead of hour plus. this has helped us get a bit more sleep at night.
before the girls were born, I purchased an iphone app that is called total baby. it tracks anything and everything, but what is most helpful to me right now is their eating time, side, and diaper action. it totals the time they spent nursing each day and the last couple days they were each at 2+ hours, which means I am spending 4-5 hours of just nursing during the day. I am tired just typing it. BUT, it is worth it because it is so sweet seeing them content and satisfied and watching their little cheeks fill out. I am loving the time with my girls.
the girls had their first doctor’s appointment this morning to mainly check their weight gain. as a nursing mother I get a little stressed about early weigh ins probably because all their intake is being supplied by me! anyway, they both rocked their weigh ins and I am one proud breastfeeding mom.
ellie left the hospital on friday weighing just under her birth weight at 4 lbs 9 ounces. she weighed in today at 4 lbs 13 ounces and her length was 18 inches (the initial birth length was probably a bit off). up over 4 ounces in 3 days.
claire left the hospital on friday weighing just under her birth weight at 4 lbs 13 ounces. she weighed in today at 5 lbs and her length was 18.5 inches (again – birth measurement was probably a bit off). up over 3 ounces in 3 days.
dr lynch said he was really impressed with their weight gain. I am so relieved. it is great to know that all my nursing and pumping is paying off. they did great at the appointment and didn’t even cry. I think when we first took charlie in it was more stressful! he also said I could start decreasing a pumping session and let them dictate when they want to eat so we don’t have to wake them up every 3 hours anymore. hopefully they can start going 4 hours at night!
double the fun in the jiggle chair. e on the left, c on the right.
yesterday, bubba, pappy and dotes came to visit.
happy birthday pappy!
nana and ellie.
we made it! what a sweet day. it was glorious bringing claire and eleanore home (this is no april fools joke!). we were discharged this morning and bill was able to round in the morning and then come help me pack the girls up.
so excited to be all unhooked standing in front of room 3.522
packed in tight in the car seats. they are so little they need a washcloth to fit between their bottoms and the bottom latch. putting them in there will be my biggest deterrent to going places. they seem so uncomfortable. claire is on the left, ellie on the right.
3 car seats across in the highlander. ellie on the left, claire on the right. it is really tight back there!
our first family photo at home.
charlie was so excited to hold them.
laying them together in one of the cribs.
I still can’t believe we have 2 new additions!
I have basically been nursing or pumping all day. it is a bit daunting to watch charlie run around and play with nana, auntie suz and dada and realize in 3 weeks I am somehow going to manage nursing both girls, burping, changing, etc on an every 2-3 hour rotation while charlie is also my responsibility. I am trying not to focus on it and hopefully in 3 weeks the girls will be more efficient eaters and I will have their routines down.
here are few random pics from our last couple days in the hospital.
claire always tries to wiggle out of her swaddle and because she is so skinny she wiggles her little shoulder right out of the hospital sleeper.
charlie and auntie suz came to visit one last time.
