an overdue update

It's been far too long since I've updated this blog, and I'm hoping the twins will cooperate long enough for me to remedy this (or that their dad will get home soon). The me who existed a year ago would find my current life totally unrecognizable.  I live in a different house, I wear a different bra size, and, most importantly, my days and nights are filled with the sights and sounds of my son and daughter. 

Our babies are now 14 weeks old, and life is pretty crazy.  To be honest, raising twins is quite difficult...but it's the best kind of difficult, the kind you wouldn't exchange for anything.  I am staying at home with them, and I'm incredibly lucky to have this option.  By the end of the day, though, my brain feels a little mushy.  You can only talk to yourself with no one answering for so long before you begin to question your sanity.  The little ones are starting to interact more, though, which is amazing.  They are smiling (our boy smiles more and our girl is more serious, guarding her smiles more carefully), and our little boy can practically giggle.  They are paying attention to some toys, mostly things that move or have lights.  They started sitting in their bumbo chairs last week, and I think they are enjoying the change of scenery.  We were doing well with tummy time (they rolled from belly to back at 4 weeks but have gotten progressively lazier), but they have had their first cold this week, so tummy time has taken a back seat to cuddle time.

When I'm evaluating something, I always try to name the best and worst part.  First the worst....pumping.  Because the babies were in the NICU for 3 weeks and the only way to get them home was to get them eating all their food via mouth via bottle, they got very attached to their bottles.  I tried to reintroduce the breast many times, but they were simply not having it.  So for two total hours every day I hook up to a pump, which I must say is pretty terrible.  On top of that, there is the cleaning and prepping of pump parts and bottles.  I'm currently producing between 50 and 60 ounces each day, which is about equal to how much they eat.  For the first ten weeks, they got only breastmilk.  In consultation with our doctor, though, we began doing one bottle of formula each day at 10 weeks.  The idea is to make the transition from breastmilk to formula more gradual and to stretch out the breastmilk.  I'm not sure how much longer the pumping will last, as I believe it may be making me crazy, but my goal is to get to at least 4 months.

The best part is without a doubt their sweet faces.  Whether they are awake, asleep, smiling, crying, their faces are absolutely precious.  I could literally gaze at them for hours!  I feel so blessed to share each day with my two little miracles.