Baby Weight Checks

Since the girls are late-term preemies they have to go into the doctor's office every few days for a weight check.  Especially with breast feeding they want to monitor them closely to make sure they are eating enough (it's often hard for preemies to suck).

When we brought them home we had to offer a formula bottle after feeding them to make sure they got enough to eat and weren't done just cause they were tired of sucking.  I would also pump after each feeding to increase my supply.  After a week I no longer needed formula.  I had enough pumped milk to satisfy them after eating and some feedings they didn't want any bottle at all.  Then I realized if they don't get the hind milk cause they're tired - why not just had express milk into their mouths at the end to help them finish eating.  So I did that for a few days and they no longer needed any bottles!  After a week of that they were strong enough to finish the meal on their own.

At each weight check they make sure the girls are gaining about 1 oz/day.  I have had 3 different pediatricians/nurse practitioners in that office tell me how amazing it is that the girls were breastfeeding without needing bottles after two weeks.  They said it's really rare for babies that young to do that and I have TWO of them!!!  In fact one of the NP asked to watch them nurse (I was feeding them anyways) cause she just couldn't believe that they were eating so well.  When she watched them eat she was just speechless at how strong of eaters they are!  What a tender mercy from our Heavenly Father.  My babies could have so many little complications but they don't!  I'm still amazed that they were ready to leave the hospital before I was!  What little champions!

Weight Checks

May 7: Siena 5 lbs 4.5 oz | Jaide 5 lbs 1 oz

May 9: Siena 5 lbs 7 oz | Jaide 5 lbs 4 oz (last day I had to use formula)

May 10: Siena 5 lbs 8 oz | Jaide 5 lbs 3 oz (started hand expressing milk into their mouths)

May 14: Siena 5 lbs 14 oz | Jaide 5 lbs 8.5 oz

May 15: Jaide's umbilical cord fell off

May 20 (two week checkup):

Siena 6 lbs 6 oz (3%), 33 cm head circumference (0%), 19.25" tall (7%)Jaide 5 lbs 15 oz (1%), 33.5 cm head circumference (3%), 19" tall (4%)

May 23: Siena's umbilical cord fell off

June 4: Siena 7 lbs 9 oz | Jaide 6 lbs 15 oz (no longer need to come in for extra weight checks, they are gaining weight perfectly)

I asked the doctor why they don't look identical.  She said right now they are more products of the womb environment rather than just DNA.  The weight difference, difference amounts of red blood cells, hair length, and head shapes will gradually start evening out and becoming the same - but it might take some time.  I'm not complaining - it's nice to be able to tell them apart! 

I almost always Tandem nurse.  It's the only way I can survive breastfeeding both and still have any time in between feedings.  I use hair ties (one green, one yellow) on each wrist to keep track of who ate on what side last.  Each feeding a switch sides (so I don't end up lopsided)!

I was going insane from lack of sleep.  I'm not too proud of the things I said.  In my defense, I was also going off the pain meds which really cause mood swings.  Anyways... the doctor said I look exhausted and that's her main concern right now.  The girls were waking up about every 2 hours at night and then sleeping for 4 hours in the morning when Scarlett was awake and I couldn't sleep.  Grrrr!  Apparently they had their day/nights switched.  The Dr said that breastfed babies will cluster feed every 2 hours for 3 feedings then have a longer stretch of sleep and we needed to force that longer stretch to be at night.

The plan: wake them every 3 hours during the day to eat.  Wake them every 2 hours in the evening to eat for 3 feedings.  Bathe them and put them to sleep.  After a few days we noticed that they were sleeping longer at night.  So I still cluster feed them in the evenings and we try to bathe them every night (it wears them out and they sleep longer - plus they smell so good!)  But one would still wake up randomly and needed to be patted back to sleep.  That's when we decided to stop using the cribs and exclusively use their swings at night.  Since we did all of this together we've seen longer and longer stretches of sleep.... 4 hours, 5 hours, even a few 6 hours!!!!!!!  AMAZING!  I'm not sure when I will try their cribs again, but it won't be soon.  Plus Dr. Karp (Happiest Baby on the Block) says they need 3 months or so just to adjust to the world (or 4 months for my preemies).  I also like what he said - you're not spoiling them for letting them sleep in the swing.  They were used to swinging 24 hours a day inside of you - so they've already had to cut back.

My mom bought us the Happiest Baby DVD and Jake and I are believers!  I thought Scarlett didn't like to be swaddled so we stopped wrapping her arms.  Now I know that I should have stuck with it - the twins didn't like being swaddled either but per Dr. Karp we kept doing it.  Now they settle down when I wrap them - I swear they are thinking "thank you for stopping those arms from smacking my face!"  I love the 5 S's!  It is so nice to know what to do when they are both screaming.  We can get them to calm down so fast now!  I wish I had this information 2 years ago!  We have even made other people watch it with us.  I know we've converted some of them (Carolyn) to the 5 S's!  :-)  That DVD is my go-to baby gift from now on!