Twins’ First Duel

From the Twin-Daddy

Alexander is on the left and Dominic is on the right.

Alex: “Your Lazy Monkey style is no match for my Sleeping Elephant!”

Dom: “Eat Monkey!”

Our little family is reunited and home together. Home… a truly wonderful word. It’s hard to take my eyes off the little guys, and I wake up repeatedly in the night just to check on them both. I’m glad we went to a hospital with a great NICU, but I’m even happier not to need to make that trek every day.

We took some video of the boys coming home today, and we’ll try to get it up soon. For now, here are some recent photos of the boys: (Click on the image to see the full image; click on the full image to see a larger version.)

Just a short note to say that we were able to bring Dominic home this afternoon! Alexander has sent him ahead to check out the lay of the land and report back about whether their new home is a desirable place. One of our neighbors got to meet Dominic on our way into the house and a couple of the neighborhood children stopped by to meet him (dutifully washing their hands before gently touching his little hands). My body seems to know that there is a definite difference in our living situation – milk production is already up. Shakti found Dominic interesting to sniff – especially when he had his first dirty diaper, and she’s not sure what to think when he cries.

We are – of course – looking forward to having both boys together and under our roof very soon. Alexander will most likely come home on Thursday, and we will all be heading up to the hospital to visit him tomorrow. I’ll try to add some photos or a video of Dominic on his way home to this blog post soon. For now, I just wanted to get the word out.

From the Twin-Mommy

Alexander smiles in his sleep as he snuggles with Dominic. (Click for Hi-Res.)

Dominic and Alexander are both doing well. We’ve been up to see them every day and working on getting them nursing well. Yesterday we took the infant CPR class offered by the hospital, and this morning we have an appointment with a physical therapist who (I believe) will be recommending exercises to do with the boys after we head for home. We will also be giving the boys a bath this afternoon – a first for us (though not the boys first bath).

I spoke with one of the NICU doctors yesterday afternoon, and it now sounds like Alexander might be coming home a few days after Dominic. Dominic might still come home today or tomorrow. We’ll need to get the car seats in the car and ready as we may not know much in advance. Yes, this makes life a little unpredictable and crazy. Still, both boys are doing very well. They continue to gain weight. Last night Dominic weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and Alexander 7 pounds!

Milk Update: I’m finally being able to pump between 2 ounces (60 mL) and 4 ounces (120 mL) at each pumping, so milk production has been improving a great deal. It still has a ways to go to be able to support both babies without supplementation, but we’re getting there.

From the Twin-Mommy:

I struck gold on Wednesday afternoon with one of the nurses who let me hold the boys together! Dominic and Alexander got to touch for the first time that afternoon around 1 PM for almost an hour and then again when Dad came to the NICU that night.

Mom with Alexander on the left (Mom’s right) and Dominic on the right.

Dad with Alexander on the right and Dominic on the left – Two can be quite an armful!

Dad with Alexander on the left (crying) and Dominic on the right.

(Alexander wanted some alone time cuddling with his dad.)

Our Boys:

Dominic and Alexander are both doing well, and if nothing new comes up, they will probably be heading home on Tuesday. On Thursday, Mr. Dominic weighed 5 pounds 15 ounces and Mr. Alexander 6 pounds 8 ounces, so they both have surpassed their birth weights.