One Month Old!

Well, the boys turned one month old yesterday! They have changed an incredible amount since they were born. Not just in size (although Riley has caught up quick!) but in personality.

Logan had a cute plaid shirt too, but he peed in it :(

This is after Riley peed in his too...

Size

When Riley came home, my mom had to run out and get him some preemie clothes, since he only fit into about 4long sleeve shirts that we had. He grew out of the preemie stuff in a week/ week and a half. He is now getting to the point where he will soon grow out of a few of the smaller newborn sleep’n’plays since his feet are right at the bottom. According to our scale at home, he is currently 7lbs 14 oz. That means in one month, he gained nearly 3 lbs!

When Logan came home, he fit into the smaller size newborn clothes. I have learned that Gerber runs small, and while he fit in their newborn onesies, their sleep’n’plays were more like sleep sacks. At this point, he is a tricky size. He has moved on to 0-3 Gerber onesies, but is too small for any other brand. He still fits in a few newborn outfits, but has grown out of most things.  It is only because of his length though – some clothes never fit right because they were too wide. According to our scale at home, he is currently 8lbs 8 oz. In one month, he gained 2 lbs, 5 oz. Steve likes to point out that Logan and Riley are still both smaller than he was when he was first born.

Fussiness

The first few days in the hospital, Riley didn’t cry at all. That all changed when he got home – he quickly became the screamer. He constantly wants to be held and cuddled. At least he usually stops crying as soon as he is picked up. Within the last few days, he has started learning to be more patient, especially when waiting for food, which he HATES doing. I feel as though we are starting to come to an understanding, Riley and mommy. I can usually calm him down pretty quick. He has been pretty easy going lately.

Logan, on the other hand, was the screamer of the two while in the hospital. That continued a few more days when he got home, but then he got really chill. He was really easy going for about 2 ½ or 3 weeks. As though on cue, when Riley started to calm down, Logan took over as the cranky baby. He has started to want to be held more frequently, lost all previous patience in regard to waiting for food, and has gotten a bit colicky. Sometimes he screams his face off for no reason at all and its incredibly hard to console him. (And we try all the happiest baby techniques!). Luckily so far that has only happened when Steve was home, because he has much more luck than I!

Neither are overly fussy, except that both Logan and Riley have been having major problems with gas. They are like constant adult farts. This started the day they turned 3 weeks, and at first they were not bothered by it, but then they were extremely bothered by it. I mean very interrupted sleep because I’m so upset by my gas bothered by it. Gas drops did NOTHING so we recently tried switching to the lactose free formula. They are still farting up a storm and are still upset from time to time, but they are not waking up from it.

Appearance/ personality

Recently, Riley lost the hair on the top of his head except for a little patch in the front. So male pattern baldness! His head is now bigger than Logan’s but he has smaller features. Logan has bigger eyes, nose and lips. Both like to wrinkle their foreheads and purse their lips. I call it their Zoolander pose. I haven’t captured it on film yet, which is disappointing, because they do it constantly.  Logan likes to put his hands underneath his chin when he does it, like he’s posing for the camera, which is too cute. Logan is a finger sucker. He will suck on his pointer finger, like I did as a child, or his thumb. He also sticks out his tongue all the time, which is a Sasso family male trait (anyone who has seen Anthony dance can attest to this). Riley is definitely not a finger sucker at all…. unless you put your finger in his mouth! Riley is very photogenic (Logan not so much) and gets crazy wide open eyes.  Both babies have excellent neck control and we are liking not having to hold their head so much when we pick them up!

Likes:

Riley: Eating from a bottle, his chair, sleeping with his arms and legs spread out, being swaddled, laying on someone’s chest (especially mommy), being held, Mema’s “gingerbread man” song, being talked or sung to.

Logan: Eating, sleeping with his arms spread out, Mema’s “gingerbread man” song, laying on his side, being held on his side, his chair, being talked or sung.

Dislikes:

Riley: Waiting for food, lying flat on his back, breastfeeding, not being held

Logan: Waiting for food, being swaddled

Other cute recent photos...

3 week photos (a little late!)

These last few weeks these boys have been keeping me plenty busy, so updating has been hard! Here are the boys at 3 weeks. 

Days 2-4

I knew I would get to it eventually! Here are some pics from the rest of the time we spent in the hospital after the boys were born:

Day 2

So our first night was a definite challenge between the nurses, techs, and doctors checking on me, checking on Riley, and checking on Logan, it was pretty hard to sleep. When you factor in having to feed Logan every few hours and that every noise either of them made sent a jolt through my body, you end up with me getting only one hour of sleep.

At least I wasn’t too grumpy for our visitors! On Thursday, first Steve’s sister Lynda and nephew Alex came to visit. Alex was too cute holding the boys. He had his elbow up so high trying to support them that we told him his arm was going to fall off.

 Later on, Uncle Chris came to see us, as did 3 of the lovely ladies of the Price family (Rosanne, Melissa, and Kimmy). The Price ladies brought flowers, flowers, flowers!

Uncle Anthony got there before the price ladies left

After the Price family left, we got a visit from the Hood family! Mikey and Sean were a little weary about holding the boys. In fact, I’m not sure Mikey even breathed when he was holding a baby.  I love that we eventually got Sean to hold the boys, because now whenever someone is feeling too nervous to hold one of them, I say come on, my 10 year old cousin held them! Ryan, on the other hand, was all about holding the boys! He had one in his arms at all times! We had to take pictures of him doing so on his phone so he could show the ladies. Apparently they were very impressed when he said he was going to see his newborn cousins!

Sean

Mikey

Ryan

Day 3

Friday was the first day I really spent a lot of time out of bed. I felt so much more human sitting in a chair. Steve, the boys, and I spent most of the day with my dad.

The photographer came (no good photos though) and the boys wore real clothes (not a grossly oversized shirt) for the first time. This is when my favorite "Logan eating Riley" picture was taken. Here is one where they are not cannibals.

Then that night, my grandparents came to see the boys for the first time!

My grandfather commented that Logan and Riley were not only the smallest, but the youngest babies he had ever held. Of course we had to question him on that one – what about my dad and my uncle? He said that times were different back then – babies were whisked off to the nursery right away, and you looked at your baby through the nursery window. Crazy! My grandparents were so excited to hold the boys – it was the cutest thing ever. My grandma was ecstatic because the babies’ eyes weren’t brown… yet. (My grandmother is obsessed with blue eyes. She was upset that my dad and uncle have brown eyes, even though she and my grandfather do too).

That night we also got a visit from Sarah!

Day 4

Logan had gotten circumcised on Thursday, but Riley didn’t because of all his blood sugar issues. Then he was supposed to on Friday, but when the pediatrician stopped by, it was time for him to eat. Getting him to eat was a massive struggle, so it was postponed yet again until the next day.  Given the option of going home on Saturday or Sunday, we chose Saturday, so Riley got his circumcision as his send off. We told the nurses we wanted to leave that day… but no one seemed to tell us if we were allowed to. They wanted to keep an eye on Riley for a bit, and apparently my hemoglobin dropped, so they needed orders from the doc to give me a transfusion or release me. It was HOURS before they gave us a decision. Ultimately they said we could go, but the discharge paperwork took forever. My parents, grandfather, and Steve packed up the room and the boys and when the wheelchair finally came for me, we headed home!

We were welcomed home by my brothers and grandma. That evening we got a visit from Jenn, Michelle, and Lisa! Jenn started crying the moment she saw the boys. It was pretty adorable. Michelle and Lisa were a little more hesitant to hold them (they were tiny!) but warmed up to the idea pretty quick!

Happy Easter, part one

Yesterday Grandma Cathy, Grandpa Bob, Aunt Lynda, and Cousin Alex came over to celebrate Easter with us.
Steve's mom made us some yummy food and Alex dyed some Easter eggs. Everyone enjoyed their time with the boys!

Logan wants you to know that chicks adore him. Actually, guys do too. But who wouldn't? He's so cute!

2 Week Check Up

Thursday we had our two week appointment for the boys. After peeing all over the scale, Logan weighed in at 6lbs, 9.5 oz, and they were impressed that since our appointment last Monday he gained 1.3 oz per day. After the scale was cleaned up, Riley was next. He weighed in at 5lbs, 15.7 oz! That puts him at 2 oz per day! I was worried that was too much, but the nurse and doctor were pleased with their weight gain. The best part is now we can stop waking them every 3 hours to feed and just feed them on demand. It is soo much easier to get up at night because they are crying than because my alarm says it’s time to wake them up (which can take forever) and feed them.

These last 2 weeks have been very difficult! Sometimes I feel like all I do is feed and change them. Steve and I are both horribly sleep deprived (because we need to supplement, it takes an hour to feed them both).  My mom has been a complete lifesaver. She has helped with the feeding and changing, gotten the bottles ready, done the shopping and has made us dinner every night. We could not have possibly made it through the first two weeks without her.

Speaking of which, here are the boys at 2 weeks:

Logan and Riley's birth day

Ok, this is going to be slow going to catch up, but here we go, from the beginning.

March 21^st began for us at 4am when I got up to eat. I was concerned about the “no eating after midnight” rule because my appointment was at 1 and in the last two weeks of pregnancy when I got hungry I got very very nauseated. My doctor said I could eat and drink at 4, so I did. It was a good thing, because the next time I would get so much as water was nearly 5pm! We got to the hospital at our directed time, 11:30am. We saw a woman in labor just outside the labor and delivery unit and were directed to wait in the family room. We waited….. and waited…. And waited.  About 45 min later, a woman finally came in and asked if anyone had spoken to us. When we said no, she went to go find out what was going on. She told us it had been a very busy morning – they had 2 unexpected c-sections and seven or so other births, so it was going to be another 45 minutes before going to the prep room.

I know you’ve seen Steve in scrubs, but here it is again!

     Once I went to the prep room, they strapped on some nst monitors and started up an IV. My dr. came in and did an ultrasound to check position – she said they were breech and transverse, as usual. After talking with the anesthesiologist, we were off! They did a spinal block, and the worst part was so not the needle. I had to hunch forward and he took forever! He had to try two different locations, and the hunching made it difficult to breathe and made me feel sick.

     When the anesthesia was in, they laid me back and put up a giant curtain so I couldn’t see anything. Steve joined me, and I kept asking the anesthesiologist what they were doing. It was quick! They definitely had Logan out within the first 10 minutes, and Riley 3 minutes later.  I guess Riley decided to make one last movement, because at the point, they were both breech! They called over Steve to see the boys and he keeps saying he is glad they were on top of things, because they had to tell him to take pictures! After I got to see my boys briefly, they were whisked away with Steve to the nursery. I couldn’t believe the size difference! The sonographer was off on each boy by 9 oz, but in opposite directions! She had said 5lb11 for Logan and he was 6lb3, and she said 5lb8 for Riley and he was 4lb15. On the Apgar test, Logan scored an 8 and then a 9, and Riley scored 9 and 9, which is pretty great.

     In the recovery room, they weren’t able to get ahold of the nursery right away, so I requested my mom, who had insisted on waiting in the hospital the whole time. She told me about the other 2 families  waiting and how when they heard the two lullabies (they get played every time a baby is born) they thought both of their grandchildren had arrived. My mom smiled proudly and said no, I think that’s my twins!

It was totally weird not being able to move my legs. It’s like I didn’t know what muscle to use! I thought it was pretty funny a bit later when the nurse asked if I could move them and I said no, to which she replied “You just did!” I didn’t have any feeling back for quite some time.

     Logan and Steve joined us in the recovery room and I got to hold him for the first time. Riley was having blood sugar issues and was unable to join us. They wheeled me up to my room (we got the spacy corner room! Good timing because they ended up running out of rooms shortly after!) and the visitors started flowing in.

In came Mammy, Steve’s mom and Dad, my mom and dad, and Anthony.

     Riley came in and joined us, but they constantly had to check his blood sugar. The level they want is at minimum 45, and he kept giving a 43. They had to force feed him formula all day/night and said if he had so many low levels within the 1^st 24 hours, he would have to go to the NICU. Our little stinker really pushed the limit. On the last check, if he was under 45, it was off to the NICU with him…. But he got a 60! He really didn’t want to leave Mommy, Daddy, and Logan. His weight still is a concern though. We have to supplement and because he’s little, and kind of lazy because drinking from a bottle is easy, he is making breastfeeding a real challenge! (Logan, on the other hand, is a champ!)