The twins hit 32 weeks on Tuesday and at 32 weeks everything changes. If you're going to have a preemie, it seems like after 32 weeks is ideal. Not that anyone plans on having a preemie.
32 means the twins are off caffeine, so they have to stimulate themselves to remember to breathe (they're both doing really well with that...but they do get some caffeine in their breast milk ;) sorry guys but with the lack of sleep, mommy needs a cup a day). They also start getting babies ready to go home at 32 weeks. We still have atleast 3 weeks but with as preemie as my babies were, it takes awhile. So they need to be eating on their own, breathing on their own, sleeping out of the isolette, and doing everything a typical newborn does. The twins are also eligible for the "big kid" room in the nursery. Typically, that's where babies go to be discharged. Every time there's a big group of babies that come in, they move the ones ready to go home over there. So I'm, of course, always incredible jealous of the babies that get to go over there. If they get quite a few new babies who need extra attention, my babies are now considered big enough and doing enough on their own that they could possibly be moved over there! Woohoo! One step closer! Now, I know they probably won't be until they're closer to 35 weeks, but just the fact that they CAN be over there, makes me happy. Baby steps people!
So the big reason I've been so busy is I'm spending most of my day at the hospital to stay there for a few feedings. The babies are now starting to learn to breast feed and get rid of their feeding tube soon! It takes time, things have definitely been far from successful but it's a step in the right direction. The first day or 2 they were both completely uninterested in the process, but they seem to be getting the idea now. They lack the strength and coordination, so we really need to build them up, but they're getting the hang of it! I'll be feeding them more and more over the next week or so and eventually, we'll switch them over to nursing and bottle feeding completely. Since they're still so tiny, they'll probably need to be bottle fed for awhile after they're breast fed. The bottle will drip the food into their mouths more so they don't have to work as hard. It also makes sure that they're getting enough calories and I'll add any extra vitamins they might need to that. By their actual due date, they should be able to handle just being breast fed. 40 weeks also hopefully means no more pumping for me unless I want to ;) No more cleaning and sterilizing all these parts 8+ times a day! woohoo!
Both babies are also over 3 pounds this week! We threw a little 3 pound party for them and I brought in cake for all of the nurses.
The twins also are up to new tricks. Mia's tricks involve doing anything possible to get out of breast feeding. Her plans have included crying, whining, spitting, faking being asleep, and faking being asleep while putting her head in any place she can get it so she'll face directly away from the nipple. She's a smart one, I'm telling you. She just forgets that I'm bigger, can move her head against her will, can pinch her when she's being a faker, and will continue making her eat even if she's crying ;) Sorry sweety. Mommy loves you, but you gotta figure this out or you'll never get to come home.
Jack likes to breast feed when he's awake. Waking him up just to eat is a challenge, but if he's up, he'll do what he can and not cause a stink like his sister. His fun trick though is trying to lift his head around a lot. Baby boy has a long skinny neck, which is not good for lifting his big ol' head. He struggles with it. When he's kangarooing though, he likes to put his arms under his head and prop them up. Only problem is, if he wants to adjust his head at all, he can't do it, it's too heavy. So I have to lift up his head, he'll turn it where he wants it, then I put it down. It's so funny because he gets to determined, frustrated and then so happy when he gets settled where he wants to be.
So that's our week in a nutshell. Their weights have been fluctuating around 3lbs 3oz, 3lbs 4oz. They're doing a little gain 10 lose 5 kind of game. So every night they bounce around but it's always going in the up direction so I don't complain. They're burning more calories, doing more for themselves, and building lots of muscles to help them get ready to go home so now that they're doing more work, their weight bounces. We're on the right track though. Hopefully in about 3 weeks, I'll be writing about how they're getting ready to go home! We shall see!
Happy 5 weeks Jack and Mia! :)
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