Our first baby, sexy Rexy

Max smirking at his grammy

A squeaky clean Max

A (visibly upset) squeaky clean Wes

Max's first (deliberate) smile caught on film!

I caught both of them smiling at the same time!!!

A cool shot of the patio pergola reflection in Wes's eyes

The boys had fun hanging on the patio Saturday night with Rich, Tiff, Jeff, and I

My favorite nephew and I

Max staring at Aunt LeAnn

Our little chubster

Kerry

Jeff is doing well for his first week home with the boys – at least I haven’t found him in the basement rocking back and forth in the corner when I get home from work, LOL!  We have a system down where we take “shifts” during the night/early morning, and that has helped us to get a little bit of sleep every night, so that’s good.  Jeff usually has time to squeeze in a small nap during the day when the boys are napping, so he doesn’t tire too easily.  Last night, we moved the boys from the pack and play in our bedroom to a (shared) crib in their nursery downstairs.  I know that both Jeff and I slept a lot better than we had been sleeping, so hopefully we’re on to something!

The thing we’ve been struggling most with right now is the fact that Weston is really needy and cries A LOT.  I know that part of it is likely due in part to the reflux, but he can’t be feeling that all the time, right?  He just doesn’t seem to like being left alone – he needs to be held all the time, or he just screams bloody murder!  Max, on the other hand, is so chill that he’s content to be left in his bouncy or swing (or just laying on the couch with us) for HOURS.  Part of me feels really guilty for spending so much time cuddling and holding Wes, because it takes away from the time I could be spending with Max.  I just don’t know what to do when Wes is being so fussy.  Any tips from fellow twin mommies out there?  I guess we should just feel lucky that we only have one demanding baby, as opposed to two!

Anyway, just wanted to give you a quick update before it’s time to feed the boys.  And now, some pictures…

Wes with Daddy

Wes lifting his head to look at Daddy

Max chillin' in his bouncy seat

Max copying his brother, using those little neck muscles

Kerry

I think the thing I’m most anxious about for next week, when I actually have to start driving to Broomfield (about a 45-60 minute commute each way), is the fact that I’m not getting a lot of sleep.  I have visions of falling asleep at the wheel, and that scares the bejesus out of me.  Thankfully, work has been busy enough that I’m not freaked out to fall asleep at my desk (but if I do, I’m sure one of my work buddies will be happy to kick me in the shin to wake me up).  =)

Speaking of work, I can’t tell you how incredibly lucky I am to still have my job (after several rounds of layoffs and me being the “newbie”), and to have such amazing insurance through them.  I got an email from United Healthcare outlining our “Explanation of Benefits” for the boys’ NICU stay, and O.M.G. I nearly died seeing how much the “Billed Amount” was for the boys’ hospitalization.  I stopped counting when I got over $1.2 million.  Wowsa.

Some of you commented on Jeff’s previous post, telling us that if Wes is hungry, we should feed him as much as he wants.  I’m only clarifying because I don’t want you to think we would ever withhold food from our boys if they were hungry.  We are under orders from the boys’ pediatrician to stay within certain limits with regards to how much they eat in a day.  The main reason being they are just now the size of a newborn, therefore they have newborn-sized tummies.  Can you imagine a week old baby eating 4.5 ounces every four hours (which is what Wes is up to now)?  I hope that makes sense.

I also went to the doctor this week to talk with my OB about post-partum depression (PPD), and I’m happy to announce that I’ve started taking medication in hopes that I will be feeling more like myself very soon.  The good news is, I’m not depressed all the time – I just want to get rid of the horrible mood fluctuations that have me super high one minute, and feeling as low as it gets the next.  I want to be the wife that Jeff deserves, and the mommy I’ve always imagined to be to Max & Wes.  And I don’t want to cry anymore.  I HATE crying - and waterproof mascara hurts my eyes – it’s too sticky.

I forgot to update on the March of Dimes March for Babies event – I was so bummed that the weather took a turn for the worse last Saturday, but I’m so happy to tell you all that Team Weemmax helped raise over $2000!!!!  My generous readers, family, and friends accounted for over half of that, so thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who donated!  And thanks to Ivory for putting our team together, and for being the only one on our team to brave the weather that day with her sweet girl, Emma.  You rock, buddy!

I’m feeling a little scatterbrained, so I apologize if this post isn’t very cohesive.  I’ll leave you for the night with a few cute sleepy baby pictures…

A sleepy Max in grammy's arms

Wes doing his "Pope" pose in the bouncy chair

Kerry

Now that the boys  hit 40 weeks gestational age (preemies have two different ages – actual and adjusted – so the boys are 10 weeks “actual” age, 0 weeks “adjusted” age), I’m going to stop posting weekly pictures next to their loveys, and just take monthly photos with them.  One of these days, I plan on putting together a slideshow of both boys’ growth next to their loveys, but that may have to wait until the weekend since I’m back to work!

Max and his bear - 10 weeks old

Wes (in motion) with his puppy - 10 weeks old

Kerry

And please forgive me for the horrible quality of these pictures – we actually took them tonight, and they boys have both been particularly fussy all day today/tonight (rough day), so there wasn’t much time or energy for posing.  The boys are wrapped up nice and tight because they have little pulse oximeter sensors on their feet.  The respiratory therapist came out today to give us the pulse ox sensors and monitors that will read the boys’ oxygen saturation levels overnight tonight.  The RT will come back tomorrow afternoon and fax that report to our pediatrician, who will then determine whether one, both, or neither of the boys can get off oxygen.  Please keep your fingers crossed for us, we’re getting pretty sick of hauling their O2 tanks around the house.  =)

Oh, and about the comments post below – thank you so much to everyone who came forth and commented!!!  See, it’s not so scary out here!  And for the record, we don’t mind lurkers or people who don’t want/like to comment – it’s just nice to know who y’all are!  Thanks for reading, and for keeping Jeff, Max, Wes, Rex, and I in your thoughts and prayers!

Max and his little bear - 9 weeks old

Wes with his little puppy - 9 weeks old

And with that, it’s drinky time.  =)

Kerry

Max and his little bear - 8 weeks old

Wes with his little puppy - 8 weeks old

Kerry

(gestational age is 36 weeks)

A much chubbier Max with his bear - 6 weeks old

Cuddly little Wes with his puppy - 6 weeks old

Kerry

A warm, bundled up Max - 5 weeks old

A warm, bundled up Wes - 5 weeks old

Oh, and just so you can get an idea of how tiny these stuffed animals are, see the picture below (of their NICU room)…on the left side is Max’s bear, which is sitting next to a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and Wes’s puppy is on the right, next to a folded up piece of paper.

Kerry

Max weighed in at 4lbs, 1.3oz tonight and Wes still gained weight (even though they stopped upping his feedings) and is 4lbs 13.1oz.  Other than the weight gains there were no changes, which I guess is kind of “no news, is good news”.  Both boys were awake when I arrived (Kerry went out with some girlfriends tonight for some much-needed, much-deserved girl time) but the nurse had already changed Max and was getting started on Wes, so she had me sit down and popped Max into my lap.  Shortly after I got Wes, and they both quietly stared at me and occasionally each other.  I had them both for about 30 mins before my visitors arrived.

My niece, Jenna, is in town this week for spring break and came to the hospital with my parents (and her boyfriend) tonight.  She was very excited to meet her new cousins and she was even able to hold Wes for a bit.  Wes was a perfect little boy almost the entire way through his feeding, but as usual, his oxygen dropped towards the end.  A quick trip back into his isolette, and it jumped right back up.  Not much else to report, so here are a few pictures.

Jenna, Grandma, Grandpa and the boys.

Max and Grandpa

 Jeff