Let's start with now

I guess if you're not in the habit of blogging, it might not make the top three on the postpartum twin parent "To Do" list (top three being #1: feed the babies, #2: change their diapers, #3: sleep or eat or take a shower or pump or get dressed or... whatever you feel is most pressing, because it's almost time to take care of #1 and 2 again).

And then with two babies at almost 7 weeks old, where do I start?

Let's start with now.

Joel is asleep (or at least faking it really well) on my lap. He has a nose tube to help with his feedings until he can take the full feed by mouth. Right now, his prescribed amount of breastmilk is 90mL (3 oz). Sometimes he drinks an ounce, sometimes two; we get really excited when he drinks all or almost all three ounces. The sooner the tube can come out, the better; it is no fun to replace it when the tape has come off and the tube is hanging out.

Joel has a fair amount of hair on the sides of his head, but just peach fuzz on top. This makes him look a bit like an old balding man (more so when he has a frowny face on). My memory of him at birth is pretty hazy, but I seem to recall him having dark hair all over his head. I'm trying to look through pictures to see when the thinning occurred, but I can't tell.

I can hear Henry in the crib; he's probably wide awake. Sometimes he sounds like a little horse. It's very cute. Hmm, now he's quiet. The boys are pretty good sleepers, as long as they aren't hungry or poopy. Daddy has mastered the art of the Blanket Swaddle, which helps a lot when they are tired but keep fidgeting and won't let themselves fall asleep. But beware, if Henry is swaddled when he is wide awake (or wants to be wide awake), he will not have it. He and Joel can kick their way out of most of my swaddles.

Henry still has his full head of hair -- red hair. I think I was a little confused when I was coming out from under anesthesia, and Benjamin showed me this cute baby with a full head of red hair. "That's ours? But he has lots of hair. And it's red. I want more ice chips." I guess we're attributing the redness to Grandma Marian (not really many other options).

The boys are getting better at lifting their heads up. They aren't usually excited about spending time on the floor on their bellies, but lying on Mom or Dad's belly on the couch is just fine.

Joel can keep his pacifier in really well (he uses the orange "Gumdrop" pacifier from the hospital; the nurses in the ICN & Cardiac ICU used it a lot to comfort him... and keep him quiet too, probably). Henry will take his Nuk pacifier (I believe also from the hospital, but from the Well Baby nursery), but he will spit it out after a few sucks, generally. I used to be against pacifiers, I guess thinking that the babies would come to prefer the bottle-style nipple to the breast, hence sabotaging breastfeeding. ...I probably read something somewhere. But then, we experienced a lot of Crying Baby #1 and Crying Baby #2, and pacifiers didn't seem quite so bad.

Yes, there are many ideas out there on what to and not to do, and pre-pregnancy or pre-babies, we thought "this is the way to do this!" or "we would never do that!". Introduce: babies. Now we find that some of these "ideals" are nice, but not always practical or prudent.

NOTE: We are taking good care of our children. I'm not talking about slacking off on feeding them, changing diapers, making sure they are warm enough, or snuggling them. We even tip-toe into the nursery when we should already be asleep, to make sure they are still breathing, and see how cute they are.

No, I'm talking about things like baby swings. I thought they were an "extra", but totally not necessary. I may have even mentally ranked them near "baby wipe warmers", and no, our kids will not be indulged in that kind of pampering. Then we experienced Crying Baby #1 and Crying Baby #2 again, while I was unable to help in consoling. Ben and I just looked at each other as this moment of "whoooa" dawned on us. In just seconds, we had a deeper understanding of being parents to twins. Benjamin bought two swings off of CraigsList the next day. It's amazing what crying babies will get you to do. And amazing how great those swings are, especially when I'm the only one home, and both babies need me right now.

I just tried to bundle sleepy Joel up and put him in bed, but he told me thanks, but no thanks, he wasn't particularly interested in being in the crib right now, and would I please bring him his pacifier? So he's back in my lap. But Mommy is sleepy, so perhaps we will try again. Yes, they train us. They train us well. And we let them. And we like it.