Lately with the Gambles

As you can imagine, life with twins has me pretty busy, so I haven't grabbed the opportunity to update the blog. The boys are on a 3 hr feeding schedule, so in between feedings lately, I've used that to quickly check e-mail, catch up on tv shows---which I often have to do in small increments (thank goodness for Tivo!), skype with Eden, take the boys to the Dr. and most of all, REST! In the beginning, getting up every few hours was a lot more exhausting. Don't get me wrong, it is still exhausting, but I think our bodies are adjusting a little bit. That, and I'm getting a little better about making myself grab naps here and there than I was in the beginning. Although, after I typed that, I remembered that in the beginning, there was basically zero time for taking naps between nursing a baby at home, trips to the NICU, and nursing a baby at the NICU haha.... no wonder I was so exhausted! Immediately post-surgery, no less!

Friends and family have been incredible to us, which is no surprise, and SUCH a blessing! We've had some amazing friends and family bring us dinners. My mom has been an all-star, coming over to the house daily (or she arranges for my aunt or sister to come help out when she's busy) to do laundry, dishes, cook dinner, etc. Her goal since I came home from the hospital has been to make my life so that all I have to focus on is taking care of babies and getting some rest. Sadly, the everyday help will be ending soon, as Mimi has got to get back to her own daily life, and we'll miss seeing her basically everyday....Although, I know she'll be over often :) It's hard to stay away from these precious boys! Their other grandmother, Gigi, is here right now to help out, which we really appreciate!

At their first Dr. appointment, the boys were both weighing in at 6 lbs 6 oz, a week later, they were up to (Harrison) 6 lbs 15 oz and (Jack Henry) 7 lbs 4 oz! As a breastfeeding mommy, unsure of exactly how much they were actually eating, that made me feel wonderful!

I initially started this post on 5/6/10, but have been distracted from finishing it by mommyhood, especially in the past week. Poor little Harrison has developed reflux and man... I do not wish it on any mommy or any baby! He was spitting up what felt like was non-stop and crying/screaming during/afterward, which made for particularly rough nights! It broke my heart not knowing what was wrong with our sweet boy, nor how to fix it! Concerned that Harrison might be losing weight with everything he was spitting up, I took him to the Dr. to have him weighed on Wednesday. My poor baby had lost 6 oz since Friday. The pediatrician didn't freak out, but took the weight loss seriously and examined him further to determine it was reflux. Thank goodness we figured out what was wrong! He has been put on some baby Zantac, which seems to have helped in addition to our making sure that he is never completely horizontal. He hangs out during the day and sleeps at night in his bouncer. I pray that this reflux thing is short lived b/c it is miserable for Harrison and hard on my heart seeing my baby not feel well. Plus, it makes for a ton of laundry due to burp cloths and changing his clothes multiple times a day when he spits up on them.

Moms with reflux babies: How do you do tummy time with them when they are not supposed to be horizontal???

Oh, and I'm doing pretty well... tired, but extremely happy being a mommy to these boys. I still cannot believe that I'm finally a mommy. Surreal. I'm already sad about them growing up and they're only 4 weeks old! Ha ha. My incision is healing nicely, but is still a little sore. My stomach has gone down a good bit, which is very nice--- although I certainly don't expect for things to be even close to normal only a few weeks after having twins. I am, however, especially looking forward to my skin tightening back up. I can live with stretch marks, which I hear fade drastically over time, but this loose skin is not cute. Mom says to give it time.

I have been taking pictures like crazy and, oddly enough, never feel like there are enough! It's like you know that every single moment is the only time they'll be that age and on that day and you want to document it all! Clearly, that's not realistic, but I do try to snap a few shots each day or most days. I've got to go nurse the boys, but I'll try to get back on soon and upload some pictures! I've had many requests for more! :)