1 month appointment - vital stats

Lots of good numbers from today's one month pediatrician appointment!

First, yesterday was the babies' true due date. They have all gained weight and grown wonderfully. Based on their actual age, they are barely on the growth charts, but when using their adjusted age they are around the 25th percentile. They are all healthy and (mostly) happy. Lucas is still having some trouble with gassiness but the Mylicon drops and probiotics seem to be reducing the intensity.

Abigail:
Birth - 5 pounds 3 ounces; 18.5" long; 13" head circumference
2 weeks - 5 pounds 4 ounces
4.5 weeks - 6 pounds 13 ounces; 18.5" long; 13.5" head circumference

Lucas:
Birth - 4 pounds 12 ounces; 18.25" long; 12.5" head circumference
2 weeks - 5 pounds even
4.5 weeks - 6 pounds 14 ounces; 19.5" long; 13.5" head circumference

Zoey:
Birth - 3 pounds 15 ounces; 16" long; 11.75" head circumference
2 weeks - 4 pounds 2 ounces
4.5 weeks - 5 pounds 9 ounces; 17.75" long; 13.25" head circumference

That's a lot of growth, babies! No wonder it's getting harder to tell them apart at night (can't rely on Zoey's tiny head anymore!) and harder to lift them with one hand. I'm proud of the fact that they have not had any formula since they were 5 days old - all that growth is from breastmilk. And, just as the doctors predicted, they are suddenly starting to get the hang of nursing. So hopefully we can start to substitute some bottles for some direct nursing. I'm tired of washing bottles all the time! I'm always worried about making enough milk for them, so today I added up how much they've been eating and how much I've been pumping. Yesterday they collectively consumed 50oz of milk, and I pumped 50 oz. Pretty cool, huh?!? Guess that supply and demand theory really works.

Some other random stats:
Number of diapers per day: 25-30 (8-10 changes per baby per day)
Packages of wipes per week: 2-3 (usually 1 package every other day)
Frequency with which the diaper pail has to be emptied: daily!
Number of feedings per day: usually 8 per baby, unless someone adjusts their schedule - adding in nursing has increased the number of feedings
Longest amount of time they have slept at once: ~2.5 hours
Longest amount of time I have slept at once: ~3 hours (??)
Loads of baby laundry per week: 2-3 (usually one load every other day or so)

And here are some recent pictures:
Zoey trying to keep spit-up at bay by napping on her tummy on a mini-boppy


Zoey and Abby enjoying the playmat

Lucas with big wide-open eyes

Our new daily routine

It's time to give everyone an update about our daily routine, since some things have changed. Jason went back to work a week ago, which has meant that I have taken over more of the night time feedings, and my mom has been here for full 8-9 hour days to help out. Here's our new schedule:

--Lisa's mom arrives at 8am just in time to help with that feeding.

--other feedings are every 3 hours, at 11, 2, 5, etc. However, over the last couple of days Zoey has decided to eat smaller meals every 2 hours, while Abby has decided to eat larger meals every 3.5 hours. Lucas is still fussy much of the time and we feed him whenever it seems like it will help his tummy. This has made our heads spin a little bit as we try to keep track of everyone. Thank goodness we are keeping track of feeding times and amounts on a log sheet!


--in between feedings we accomplish household tasks, and Lisa gets a shower and maybe a nap. Here are some pictures of mom helping with the dog and the housework:



Mom also helps with soothing fussy babies, which can be quite tiring:



--Jason arrives home from work in time for the 5pm feeding. Then he helps soothe fussy babies while we hopefully microwave some leftovers or wait for someone to bring us a meal.


--Lisa's mom is released from duty, and Jason and Lisa spend some time together in the evening.

--Lisa helps with the 8pm feeding, then goes to bed around 9pm for a few hours while Jason stays up to do the 11pm feeding on his own. Lisa would continue to sleep until the 2am feeding, except she has to get up to pump by midnight. So it's usually two 2-hour segments of sleep instead of one nice long 4-5 hour stretch.

--Lisa then does the 2am and 5am feedings on her own, with hopefully at least an hour of sleep in between them. Everything takes longer in the middle of the night, and then of course we have to add in pumping time on top of the feeding and diapering time. There are no pictures of these wee hour feedings - believe me, it's for the best. Here are some pictures of how 2 babies look on a boppy on Lisa's lap after being fed:



--Jason sleeps from midnight to 6:30-7am. Lisa is very jealous. Jason explains that it is very hard for him to be alert and concentrate at work, even with these 6-7 hour stretches of sleep. The debate about who is more tired and who has the more difficult job continues.

--and then we start over at 8am! It's encouraging that Abby is showing signs of sleeping a little longer between feedings, but since the others are not doing this yet it mostly just gives us a little breathing room so that everyone isn't screaming for their food at once.

--oh, and some days we do things like take the babies for a walk, or have a doctor's visit, or do some errands (Lisa's chance to get out of the house without babies) in between feedings. Our life is lived in 3 hour increments!

Any questions??
:)

A Visit from Steele and Barb

The babies are getting to meet so many relatives already! Last week Jason's dad and step-mom visited us from Detroit. They weren't able to stay long, so they made the most of their visit by helping with every feeding from 8am to 11pm. They also cooked some good meals, did yardwork, and held a very fussy Lucas for hours on end. It was great to spend time with them!

1 month old!

Happy One Month Birthday, Babies!

They each celebrated differently: Lucas graduated to newborn size clothes and diapers, Abby drank 4oz at bedtime (instead of the usual 2) and slept almost 4 hours afterwards, and Zoey continued to make funny faces.

Early Morning Cuddles

The only nice thing about doing the drowsy 5am feedings by myself - the cuddles and snoozing afterwards. The babies really seem to like to sleep next to each other. Abby also enjoyed sucking on Zoey's head after she was done eating. :)

One colicky baby

Well, our little Lucas seems to have developed some colic, and possibly acid reflux. For the past week or so he has gradually gotten more fussy, progressing to being inconsolable for long periods of time. The poor guy - we can see that he's in pain with gassiness - his face turns all red, he screams, arches his back, stiffens his legs. We're trying Mylicon anti-gas drops, which seem to help a bit, and keeping him upright as much as possible after he eats.

I took him to the doctor today, who also recommended a probiotic supplement to help with digestion, so we'll see how that works. It's so hard to hear him cry and not be able to soothe him. Well, we can soothe him, but it requires constant holding. Which is not a horrible thing since he's so cute and cuddly, but it does prevent us from doing other things around the house.

Here's the good news from the doctor's visit though - he is up to 6 pounds 3 ounces! That's a gain of over a pound in about 9-10 days. Good work Lucas!

Here's a picture of him feeling mellow after we got home from the doctor:


And here he is "holding" his bottle by himself - look dad, no hands!

Sisters

There have been some cute moments of the girls cuddling lately...

The many faces of Zoey

One of our favorite things about Zoey is her expressive face. She makes the funniest, cutest faces all the time - I think it's something about those big eyes in such a little face. So this weekend we decided to try to capture some of them.

A Visit from Uncle Dane

Jason's brother Dane was here this weekend. He jumped right into uncle-hood and was a huge help. He showed an amazing gift for soothing fussy babies and even helped with some of the night shifts. Best of all, he was here to help Jason celebrate his birthday on Friday, and to babysit the trio (with my parents' help) on Saturday night so that Jason and I could go on a date to celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary.

He mastered the art of bottle feeding 2 at once


and holding 3 at once


He and Zoey being silly together


With Lucas


With Abby

More playmat fun - a video!

Jason captured a great video of the babies enjoying their playmat this morning. Enjoy!
 

sorry - no video yet...trying to figure out how to upload it...

Playmat Fun

Lucas was unusually alert after his 5pm feeding yesterday, so we got out the playmat. He and Zoey had a good time looking at the toys and practicing their tummy time.

 
 
They also enjoyed some time being piled on each other - they love to be close to each other!
 
Lucas was worn out after all the activity!