Are We Brothers??

Sometimes I think Zachary asks that question when he sees how many chins Caleb has!



I took Zachary to the pediatrician on Wednesday for possible reflux. While we were there he got to be weighed. I've been curious about his weight because he's not keeping a lot of his food down. Surprisingly he was 7 pounds! He's more than doubled his birth weight at just eight weeks old (one week past original due date). Our little guy still feels VERY little compared to the other two but he's gaining about 1.5 oz a day! So if he is seven pounds, then Caleb must be (and is)...

7 lbs?

No.

8 lbs?

No.

9 lbs?

No.



10 lbs 1 oz!!


No joke. He's now wearing size one diapers and eats almost four ounces every feeding. It's just CRAZY how much difference a few pounds can make because he really does feel like a giant compared to Zachary. We thought that picture was hysterical with just their heads showing and eyes wide open. They were just chillin in the recliner talking sports.

Zachary's been eating 2.5 oz every feeding and projectile vomiting about every other. Usually on the feeding he doesn't vomit all over you he screams and whines through the whole bottle like he's in pain....which he probably is. I put off going to the pediatrician thinking it is just a phase and he's just temperamental. But as the projectiling got worse, I decided to call. We have a 2 month appointment scheduled next week (first round immunizations) so that's why I was hesitant in taking him just a week beforehand. I called and asked the nurse if she thought it was serious enough to bring him in that day and she said, "well you don't want your baby in pain do you?"

Uh ya, lady, I want my baby to suffer. What a dumb question. Anyway, decided to take him in despite her poor advice to see if we could get him to keep his food down better. If he wasn't the littlest of the bunch I may have waited. I'm realizing these small decisions are the hard ones. He now is trialing Zantac twice a day to see if his vomiting will improve. So far I'd like to say I have seen an improvement. Painful feedings are maybe 1-2/day now.

Isn't he just sweet? I just feel terrible when he throws up like that.



So obviously there is no rhyme or reason to these babies sleep habits yet but as I've learned, when the babes are swaddled nice and tight, they sleep better. However, they are getting stronger and squirmier and inevitably get an arm or two out which wakes them up. I've heard of the 'miracle swaddle blankets' and how they truly are miraculous in helping babies to sleep better and fuss less. I went to Buy Buy Baby and said NO WAY to paying $30 per blanket. Maybe if I had just one to buy but not three. I took a look at the blanket though to see what the secret was and went home thinking. We've now devised our makeshift miracle blanket...



The secret of the blanket is that it has an insert inside that wraps around the arms and behind the back to really secure the arms next to the body. I mean, there's no getting out. So we just use a smaller, lighter blanket to do the same thing then proceed to swaddle them normally. Works like a charm for much less than $90!!


The trio had their first outing together on Friday! Let's just say it was a pretty tight fit in the sedan. We took the double stroller and had to carry the third baby. Both strollers can fit into the trunk....but Clark needs to be present to accomplish such a task.




I wish the outing was for something exciting but unfortunately it was for their second dose of Synagis. Don't know what that is? Here's some information I found...

Synagis is the only FDA-approved medication to help protect high-risk babies from severe RSV disease. Even though Synagis is given as a shot by your healthcare provider, it's not a vaccine and it works differently. Each Synagis shot provides a dose of virus-fighting substances called antibodies that help prevent RSV from infecting your baby’s lungs.

Preemies are often born before getting enough antibodies from their mothers to help fight RSV and other viruses. But preemies are also at greater risk for severe RSV disease because their lungs are less developed and their airways are narrower than those of full-term babies. Synagis helps preemies by providing more infection-fighting antibodies to help protect their vulnerable lungs from RSV.

Because the babies were born at 32 weeks and not BEFORE 32 weeks, they only qualify for three of the six shots. This means that during the peak of flu/RSV season, they won't get the shots. As a result, we are taking EXTRA precaution with limiting visitors, outings, and a myriad of other things. The last thing we want is to go BACK to the hospital. Anyone who has come to help care for the babies has received a flu shot also. That includes me...my first flu shot ever. Basically, besides doctors appointments we will be on house arrest until April. Cabin fever anyone? We'll definitely be incorporating daily walks into our schedule if the weather is nice.

The babies were all very brave during their shots and only cried for less than 20 seconds. That night they all seemed overly fussy so I'm sure their legs were sore. Sadly they'll be heading to the pedi on Tuesday for a series of immunizations. Although they all seemed to like the tissue paper they rolled around on for the Synagis, I'm sure that won't take away the pain of the shots. :(

Right now they all seem to be good self-soothers. I'm sure this just happens naturally with multiples because it is impossible to sooth all of them, all the time. Inevitably while you're holding one, another one needs some love. So that one just has to work it out. I'm hoping this multiples thing will work to our advantage at some point! They are all on the three hour schedule still during the day even though there is such a big weight difference between all three. Just to keep our sanity, we keep the schedule. At night, however, Leah and Caleb stretch to four hours which makes the night feedings a little less stressful. Right now I'm staying up until about 4:30am then Clark's Mom takes over at 5:30am while I sleep until 10:30am or so. I'm a night owl though and she's an early bird so it works for us.

The babies are starting to be more aware of their surroundings. Leah can hardly be burped anymore because she's so interested in the wreath on the wall. We decided to get out the activity mat for the first time...



After about 15 minutes they were done. Too much to take in apparently. Zachary enjoyed the mirror though. Then we realized that was the first time he saw what he looked like! How weird to not know. We think he was pleased with his looks. :)