Snapshots...

William and Eleanor are over a week old, and have been home just under one week. What a crazy change in our life. I'm downstairs and I can hear Melody with the babies on the monitor next to me. Sounds like another feeding.

Nights are tough. They sleep a lot during the day, but keep us up all night feeding for long periods at at time. We went to a lactation consultant on Friday and she weighed them before, during and after a feeding. Eleanor is doing great - no suprise as she feeds and is done. William, on the other hand, feeds forever, but doesn't get as much. He isn't sucking as well yet. This is not to say he is bad, but we are supplimenting more with formula, and hopefully we Melody's milk also soon. The lactation consultant at the hospital gave use a tube that attaches to a syringe that we then fill with formula and put the end of the tube next to the Melody's nipple so that when he feeds, William is getting milk and formula at the same time. We slowly push down the syringe until he is done, usually about an oz at a time. We really hope he'll start putting on more weight and not need the extra help soon because it just takes so long! We also give him a bottle from time to time to ensure he is getting enough. He does not have any problem going between bottle and breast at this time.

Last night we got about 2-3 hours of sleep. They kept us up so much! Melody is exhausted, and so am I, but I love this time alone and while I'm tired, I still want to spend time to myself and so I don't go to sleep and then I'm that much more exhausted at night. My job is to get up and get the babies, get them changed, bring them to Melody, bring her anything else, and help with supplimentation. I then get cat naps while she feeds them between being woken up for various duties. Crazy. Again, I hope this changes somewhat soon and they are awake during the day more and sleep longer at night.

Thursday was Melody's 35th birthday!! It was fun to have two new additions to the family with us. I got her a bunch of roses and made steak for dinner on the grill, and my mom made her favorite cake - chocolate zucinni cake. Megan and Dustin always enjoy birthdays and of course want to know when theirs are going to and start to tell us what they want (Megan has recently decided she wants a hamster - not sure how that came about!).

Dustin loves to come and check on the babies. He is unabashedly in love with them. Megan is still more aloof, but she really enjoys holding them with us and when they cry she asks what is wrong with a very concerned look on her face.

Here is a classic moment: Dustin to Mom: "Mommy, why are babies so cute?" Mommy: "So that we will be sure to take care of them." Dustin: "But they are sooo cute!!" This sentiment has been repeated more than once. And they are soo cute!

Ok, enough print, now some pictures!

Megan and Dustin got to visit Santa this week - first of many visits this season I'm sure!

William and Eleanor already sharing secrets together!

Melody with the best 35th birthday presents ever!

Grandma and Megan enjoy some good times with Eleanor (or was it William? the confussion begins!)

Future Avs fans! (thanks to Aunt Gini for the great booties!)

Now it is certainly time for bed. Even though I'm exhausted, I dont' want to go to sleep and loose this quiet time. Oh well. In the middle of posting this blog I had to get up and help with a feeding which went well. Everyone is back asleep in the room, and that is where I should be. We'll see if the twins sleep longer and eat faster tonight!

Everyone is Home!!

Me and my babies! Eleanor and William together on Sunday at the hospital.

Our home is now much busier! Yesterday evening we were able to bring Melody, Eleanor and William home. What a relief and a blessing.

First, some more information about the birth. William was basically dead. He had a nearly nonexistent heartbeat and was not breathing. The doctors had to fully intubate him and give him chest compressions and take other extrodinary medical measures as they rushed him from the OR to the NICU. In our conversations with the doctors and nurses they have told us how he was the "miracle baby" who lived beyond hope. Dr. Hill, the one who helped deliver William, said that in the thousands of deliveries she's done, this was the scariest. She came by multpile times, even in her off duty time, to see William and enjoy him. It was so close it is just very hard to think about it now. Thank God for the Doctors who saw the need, and who acted quickly and effectively. Dr. Murphy especially who realized there was a problem and acted without delay gets the credit for our babies being alive and well.

We had hoped to come home on Sunday, but that didn't happen. Lukily, however, William was moved out of the NICU and into the room with Melody and Eleanor. This made logistics much easier, but even more importantly it was just so important to have him with us. Megan and Dustin were able to come and visit us all in the same room which was much easier on them than having to go into the NICU to see William - a bit scary to see their brother with wires attached and in that room with all the machines and doctors and such.

Megan and Dustin visiting William and Eleanor on Sunday, after everyone got moved to one room.

Dusin loves his little sister!

Learning to touch gently!

He continued to do well and yesterday the doctors released all three of the patients. We were able to come home a little after 1800. Earlier that morning Melody's mom Jane had to leave to go home (we'll miss her and she was an amazing help to us), but my mom, Barb, arrived by 1330 so that worked out well.

Grandma Jane visiting William while he was still in the NICU.

It was so nice to drive home knowing there were two babies secured in the car behind us! Bringing them into the house and getting them into our room was wonderful! I could go on and gush some more, but you get the idea.

Melody, tired, but happy, holding William and Eleanor in our own bed for the first time!

Grandma DeWeese holding Eleanor in our room last night!

It was a busy night. With incredible luck my cousins (second or third or something - we just call each other cousin and friend), Thom and Lauri Deason were in Seattle and were not going to fly home until today. They were up here to premiere a play written by Lauri, one at Vancouver, BC and one in North Seattle. We're very proud of her, and of Thom, who works with Act One in LA helping Christian screenwriters learn to be good screen writers, not just ones who are Christian. They've been very supportive of us and it was great fun to be able to visit, even for a short time, and have them see the newest children.

Thom and Lauri test drive the newest models!

Finally we got to sleep. Sort of. Sleep was not easy to find last night. Throughout the pregnancy Melody has found that during the day the twins would sleep, lulled by the swaying as she moved about. But when she was still, at night, is when they'd wake up. It seems that this is still the case. We were up so many times feeding and changing them that it was crazy. While you always hear about lack of sleep with newborns, imagine that with two of them!!! I reallly hope they learn to sleep at night and wake up more during the day soon.

Megan and Dustin have had some acting out, especially Megan. Dustin tends to get more clingly with the new additions, Megan more unrully. But the both clearly are amazed by the babies and very excited. The look on Dustin's face of amazement and joy is priceless. He can't help but want to touch them. Megan is more clinical at first, but then you get her talking and holding them and she melts. We are working hard to teach them what it means to be the big brother and sister. For instance, Megan is understanding that she'll be first - first to ride a two wheel bike, first to go to kindergarten, first to drive a car, ect. This makes her important. Dustin gets to learn how to be older than someone else and not the baby of the family - though he still enjoys playing "baby dustin" at times.

Megan and Dustin having fun Sunday at the hospital. Imagine, we were lucky enough to have two great kids, now we've got four!!!

Today we mostlly napped (all four of us) and tried to get our minds around what it meant to have two babies in the house. It feels already like we've always had them - can't imagine life without them. I am so excited to be a dad to two babies. I love to hold them and just watch them breath. It is amazing to me that less then a week ago they were just heartbeats in Melody's belly - invisible to me, yet so clearly there and so clearly alive. Now I can hold them and watch them and listen to them and look into their eyes and it gives me so much joy!

Relaxing on the couch with two amazing little people!

This is not to discount the joy I have found in Megan and Dustin, but their story was different - they came already partly formed. With William and Eleanor I can see the changes of a baby, see how they grow, and see as they learn to be alive. It is very exciting. I've said it before and still will say it - I'd be more than happy to be a stay at home dad for the next few years. To bad that just isn't finacially possible! (And this does not mean I don't enjoy being an Soldier and a Lawyer!). My Mom made us a great dinner tonight and it was exciting for the kids to have Mommy back and eating with us. I think things are going to only get better! Of course, I am about to experience another sleepless night. We'll see how I feel in the morning!