1 month old!

Zoey and Stella are both 1 month old today.  Its so crazy.  They’ve been home for 2 1/2 weeks now and are noticeably bigger, chubbier and becoming more alert.  Zoey is hovering around 6 lbs. and gained almost a pound in a week!  Stella is gaining a little slower and is about 5.5 lbs.  They are also sleeping together nicely and have started to look at each other which is so cool.  Sometimes they even try to nurse on each others hands or foreheads!   We have had 5 nights in a row now where they have fed 2 times at night and gone pretty much right back to sleep.  I think we might have a system that works down!  I am hoping to post some new pictures of them on flickr soon.

Not only is it easy to tell them apart, their personalities are also emerging different.  Stella definitely likes to be held more and likes to look around a lot.  She is also generally more patient when waiting to be fed, but is not as good at eating.  Zoey really only demands your attention when she’s hungry, but she loves her pacifier big time.  Zoey sleeps soundly and Stella does a lot of moving and noise-making while sleeping.  So far, they are very different, which is what I expected.  Its so inevitable, but so hard not to compare them.  This will be life for them right?  We are trying so hard to get to know them individually and not do the “dress them alike” constantly routine.  Its incredible to think of how life would be different for them if they were simply born at different times instead of how it happened, by luck, to be created at the same time, albeit from different DNA.

Also, for those privy to nursing, the nursing is getting smoother now which is making all the difference too. Separately they still take an hr. to feed though and are eating every 3-4 hrs.  Its probably the most frustrating and rewarding experience of my life.  If you are or have nursed too, you know what its like!  You can’t imagine until you’ve been there!  Its exhausting but I am glad to be able to give them a good start.  I hope I can keep going for a while but so glad I’ve nursed one baby before this or I would have surely thrown in the towel by now.  Thank god for Jason cheering me on in the middle of the night when I’m flat out convinced I am done with feeding.  I am, however, enjoying the 3500 calorie a day diet that comes along with nursing two!

Big sister Lucy has been super sweet with them too.  Its so cool to watch her welcome them and grow through this too.  She lights up when one of the babies are at her level and available for investigation.  I can’t wait to see how they interact with each other.  Although Lucy has entered into the hallmark tantrum stage, she is also growing exponentially with understanding commands and clearly listening to what you are telling her and reacting.  This has created the space for her to begin discovering how to “manipulate” a situation!  She is whip smart and incredibly clever.  She also has her parents quirky sense of humor and is babbling whole “sentences” now.  Making different sounds seems so interesting to her. She is also bringing us, parents, some big new challenges, like discipline!

4 weeks ago I delivered them and had surgery.  Today the stitches are almost completely dissolved and my c section scar is fading fast.  My energy is returning fast now too, since about late last week.  I am still healing and feel pain if I do too much, but its a huge difference from even a week ago.  My tummy is shrinking down a lot and I can almost fit into my favorite non-pregnancy jeans (YES!).  I can also almost run up my stairs again!

Its amazing what a month its been.  We are doing well and appreciating the little things and still laughing a lot.  We even went to dinner and to the park with all of us in the last few days (with the help of my parents)!  The double stroller thing is a bit overdone, but hey, what can I do?  The important thing is that we are doing it!

Finally- to all those nosy nellies in Wegmans, etc. that constantly stopped me while hugely pregnant, shopping with Lucy (my 1 yr. old) to inquire about my (assumed one) “baby” who found out about the twins on the way:  Yes, we are busier than all get out; Yes, we do have our hands full; Yes, I am nursing them both; Yes, it is “better me than you”; Yes, we are very, very lucky (said without sarcasm); Yes, its actually not that hard afterall, and Yes, we might even be a little crazier for it.  For sure, its already been an incredible start to what is sure to be an incredible life…