So what's it like having Maddy at home? It's pretty much like every cliche you've heard about having a new baby. Those of you who have kids will recall that during the pregnancy, few people could talk about the event without including some line about "getting your sleep now." Well, of course it's basically all true, and when you have a preemie it's probably even a little more so. I'm sure having twin preemies at home will verge on science fiction, but we're not quite there yet.
The first night we discovered that babies make a lot of noises when they sleep - lots of chirps, squawks, farts, and the occasional burp. And of course they cry too. There's so much background noise at the hospital that we never really noticed how noisy Maddy is when she sleeps. For the first night I was out of the bed inspecting her every time she made a peep. The only thing worse than the noise was the rare silence. During those moments, I would jump out of bed and put my ear near her nose to make sure she was still breathing. Of course she was, but that's not something easy to take for granted when you've been watching monitors for the last 16 weeks.
Each night since the first has gotten a little better for the most part. Antina was kind enough to stand a watch for us during the week to allow us to get a decent night's sleep. God bless her. The last couple nights were pretty rough though. Maddy was gassy (which she gets from Elaine of course), and it's not nearly as funny as you'd think. Baby farts are cute and mostly lack smell, but the pain they produce drives the little ones round the bend. We've been working with a bunch of different solutions and we think we've got a few promising leads. Hopefully it's not colic. I mean, come on! I think we deserve a free pass on colic.
On the plus side, Maddy seems to be putting on the weight quickly at home. We weighed her a couple days ago and she came in at 7 lbs 10 ozs.
As for Milo, he's alright these days. We tried switching to a different bottle for him and it seems to be working out well so far. He did much better with his feeds today. On the negative side, the little guy has developed a terrible diaper rash. The nurses are on it -- so hopefully it will resolve soon. Milo weighed in at a robust 7 lbs 9 ozs. We're hoping to have him home within 2 weeks or so.
3 comments:
Oh we definitely can relate with you. I think every new parent hovers over their newborn wondering if they are breathing :) If the baby is making noise we think "I wish they were quiet" and if they are quiet you wonder "is anything wrong?" But thankfully, all those strange chirps and noises go away in a couple of months and eventually they do sleep well, hang in there! Sleep deprivation is a rite of passage for new parents :)
I agree that we all worry abou the breathing issue. I remember waking every 15 minutes or so and putting my hand on each of their bellies to feel if they were breathing. There are some natural gas drops you can use and special bottles that decrease the chance of colic and gas (Dr. Browns). And don't worry, when I get there, I will be happy to stay up and let you guys catch some sleep. I am used to it! LOL!
Love,
Heath
I echo tracy and heather re the noises babies make while sleeping and the reactions of new parents. Congrats for bringing Maddy home.
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