It’s hard to believe that these sweet babies are already a month old though really I have only been able to enjoy having both of my babies home for a little over two weeks so it doesn’t seem like they could possibly be that old! So funny to think that one month old is considered an “old” newborn and that they really won’t be “newborn” much longer. I look at how they have grown and how strong and brave both boys are and I am really in awe.
Rory, whose birth weight was 7 pounds 5 ounces (he got down to 6 pounds 11 ounces in the hospital) is now at 8 pounds 6 ounces which just happens to be Elijah’s birth weight. It is fun looking at him now and thinking how Elijah used to be this size. Rory is very social, no surprise since he got to feel what it was like to be an “only child” for the first two weeks of life while he and I were in the hospital, the hotel and we had help here for Elijah. I have also discovered that Rory suffers from reflux and being held give him comfort and relief from that. Reflux is not a surprise for us. It is something that runs in my family and Elijah had/has it as does Patrick. Rory’s reflux doesn’t cause him to spit up he does regurgitate and it just doesn’t come all the way up plus he gets some wicked hiccups. I believe his reflux is worse than Patrick’s though Patrick does spit up. We prefer to manage this through (my) diet and supplements steering clear of medications for now and hopefully for good. I stay away from dairy and wheat which is known to aggravate it (and I usually steer clear of those anyway) and give my boys probiotics. I will also being adding colic ease to the mix which we used with Elijah and I will be picking up for the babies.
Rory has been very alert from the beginning and continues to be fascinated by his world. He loves to look all over and is very interested in Wrigley and Elijah. He looks all over the place quite easily as he holds his head up almost perfectly, with just the occasional wobble. Rory is a nursing champ and likes to spend most of his time doing just that. He loves music and his favorite song is Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke as my mother discovered. His eyes just seem to smile when we play that song for it which makes me laugh because, well…..the song is a little racy. Rory is our sweet little cuddle bug and I just love being his Mama.
Today, as he turned one month old, Rory surprised us all by literally scooting off of the boppy! I was eating a quick dinner between nursing the boys while sitting on the couch and I had Rory next to me doing tummy time on the boppy as I sat close beside him. He literally crawled from the inside, pushing himself over the edge and fully onto the couch!
My big boy…such awesome head control for one so young!
Such a handsome fellow
Still trying to figure out who he looks like……at times I think he looks like Jack Nicholson
“Hi Mama!”
“A OKAY!”
Our sweet Patrick was 6 pounds 11 ounces at birth (getting down to 6 pounds 8 ounces in the NICU) and is now 7 pounds 4 ounces. Patrick is a little slower at putting on weight but he is not as efficient of a nursling since we had to wean him from the bottle and his twin brother likes to hog the breast. Yes it is a good thing I have two however we are still working on tandem nursing, it is something that will get easier to do once Patrick becomes a stronger nurser. But he is really doing quite well and has been off the bottle since one week after his release from the NICU (so a little over two weeks now). He has an excellent latch but there are times when he needs a little direction. He has made so much progress though I know he will continue to do well. Another concern I had with Patrick was the fact that he was “instutionalized”. Because he was in the NICU for two weeks and only held a few hours a day when we come see him and hold him, he was used to basically being on his own and once he got home he was not at all demanding. Sounds nice, I know, but I like my babies to be “attached” and want to be held. In Patrick, I am seeing more of this in him every day. It is almost as if he knows he deserves the love and attention. So when I see him cry out because he wants to be held, it is thrilling to me because it just shows that his two weeks of isolation did not do any permanent emotional damage. It may sound silly to some but this was a big concern for me. I just cant imagine coming from the warm and loving womb environment and then being isolated and alone and not only that, he was COLD because of his cooling treatment. That must have, well, suck so much for him. He is such a strong and brave boy who has adjusted to life so well. He is so laid back and easy going (something we saw in Elijah as well) but he is starting to make his wants and needs known and I love that.
Patrick is still on Lovenox. I administer a shot twice a day and he goes in for levels check which involve a blood draw…so not fun because they have to get it from a vein and not the heal. The first time they were fishing around for an hour and it was not fun. He will have his MRI at the end of the month to see if treatment is working to break up the blood clots and if we need to continue the shots. I hate that he has to go through all of this but it is such a blessing to have my tiny baby home with us and we are grateful for the medication that hopefully keep him safe.
Patrick also suffers from reflux though his makes him throw up, sometimes a lot, so it is very important for him to stay upright after nursing.
Patrick, as I said is easy going and laid back. He loves looking out of the window (He sits in the swing when I am with one of the other kiddos which is right next to the window). He loves Mama’s milk just like his brother. Patrick seems most fascinated by looking at his Mama, which I love. I co sleep with both babies however Rory spends part of the night in the rock in play because that seems to help his reflux at night. So there are times when it is just me and Patrick in the bed and I will often wake up to his sweet little eyes just looking my way. Melts my heart.
Our sweet Patrick
Such a sweet little face.
“Put em up!”
Sweet sleeping angel baby
We are just so blessed to have such sweet little babies and three boys that are truly wonderful. It has been such a crazy first month finally slowing down in the last week or so. Next week will be my first week on my own with the three boys and I am looking forward to finding our new normal, as much as I will miss having help.
“Hey what do you think about these people“
“Whoa, Rory, I’m going down”
“Don’t worry, dude, I’ll catch you”
“She’s taking too long to feed us. I’M STARVING!!!! I’ll just eat your head” says Hannibal Lector
BUSTED! ! !
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