Survival

Having a newborn reminds you that all you really need is sleep, food and love.  In the last three weeks I have found that is all I need too, and like the babies, I cry when I don't get enough of each.  Today is my first day completely alone with all my girls.  My mom went home a week ago, Marilyn is out of town and Becca left yesterday.  Surprisingly everything has been great. I even managed to breastfeed both girls at the same time without someone there to hand me a baby and burp one (although now I say that I'm not sure I even tried to burp Joyce...).  I'm hoping I can sneak a nap in sometime today.  For the first two weeks of my current schedule I was fine.  Tired, but managing okay. Last week the cumulative lack of sleep really hit me (and Danny who gets up with me for every feeding each night) and we have had a hard time functioning ever since. My mom came one night over the weekend and Danny was able to sleep through the night. When I asked him how he felt the next morning he smiled and said, "Less bad".  I guess that is the best we can hope for for the next little while!

I'm feeling good because we had a Dr. appointment this morning to check the girls' weight (they were not up to birth weight at their two weeks checkup). Both girls gained 10 ounces in a week. I am very proud of myself. Until now I have been feeding each of them and then giving them bottles of expressed breastmilk or formula. My Dr. said I should stop that now and exclusively breastfeed them.  I am so excited because I think that should knock up to twenty minutes off our feeding time.  I think the next day or so could be tricky because they are used to half heartedly eating on me as they doze and then sucking down a bottle afterward-so I expect I'll be feeding them every two hours for awhile, but hopefully they'll get the idea soon.

I need to get out my camera. If you saw Becca's blog you know that we tried to have a little photoshoot with the girls (and in a whole week we could only work up the energy to try once) and it didn't turn out the way we thought. You see all those adorable pictures of twins cuddling and spooning. Not my girls-they turn into cannibals and try to eat each other. The photos were actually really funny-each was more awkward than the last. Maybe I can get some cute ones one day. Lydia doesn't have jaundice anymore so that will help-her skin is so cute and pink now! Poor Joyce is still a little yellow and is starting to get some baby acne too. I'm glad she is too young to be jealous of her sister:) Anyway-I'll try and post some pics soon!