They're a Month Old!!

1/23/08

Today the babies had their one month doctor’s appointment. One month – can you believe it? John and I are astounded by how much they’ve grown in the 2 weeks since their last check-up. Ava gained almost a pound and a half, now weighing in at a whopping 6 lbs 4 oz. She has also grown an inch in length; she’s 19 ½ inches long. When you think about her weight gain in terms of percents, that’s some pretty impressive growth!! Nicholas has also been busy growing – he gained almost a pound and is now 6 lbs 13 oz. He also grew ¾ of an inch and is now 19 ¾ inches long. The doctor said that they could not be doing any better and they looked absolutely great!

John is back at work now so I’m taking care of the babies alone during the day. They definitely keep me busy! Between laundry, changing diapers, and feedings it’s very hard to get anything else done. But…the good thing is that one person can definitely handle them, just don’t schedule much else on your agenda. John and I are trying to get used to being home all the time. No, seriously, I mean ALL the time. It’s very strange for us. First we have no hockey games to go to, now we’re practically on house arrest! We can’t wait until cold and flu season is over and they’re a little bit bigger so that we can introduce them to the world. Just going on a walk with our massive double stroller sounds fantastic! Since that’s all a few months away, we’re thinking that for Valentine’s we’ll ask someone to watch the babies for a few hours so that we can go out for dinner. How sad is it that a simple dinner out has suddenly become a cherished event? Yeah, I’d say life has changed a bit.

Nicholas is starting to get a little bit better at sleeping in his crib. He seems to dislike sleeping on his back which is problematic. Swaddling him helps a little, but he continues to be a bit of a stinker about going into his crib for the first time each night. After he wakes up in the middle of the night to eat, he goes down just fine. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what the deal is with all that. Last night he and Ava went 4 ½ hours between both of their nighttime feedings, so that was very nice. The sleep deprivation still exists, but it’s improving.

Right now the babies are chillin’ in their bouncy chairs watching Bon Jovi Unplugged – it’s important to start exposing them to some of the greats early on, you know. It won’t be long before we’re teaching them the ins and outs of the greatest game on earth. Do you really need to ask? You obviously didn’t watch the video John put up on the homepage. Hockey! Duh. John’s trying to figure out just how small goalie pads come. It’s a disease.

This weekend will be an exciting one for Nicholas and Ava. They’re going to meet their cousins – Audrey and Olivia Elvers (my brother’s girls). Audrey and Olivia weren’t able to see their new little cousins when they came to visit me in the hospital on Christmas Day because kids under 13 aren’t allowed in the NICU.

Before I forget, John and I wanted to thank everyone for their positive thoughts for Nicholas and Ava while they were still in the NICU. With them coming as early as they did, we know we’re very lucky that they’ve done so well. We can tell by the number of visitors, cards, and phone calls we’ve had that these two little babies have an awful lot of people who care about them.

Now, if you haven’t checked out the youtube video on the homepage, please do that. You’ll need to turn your volume up quite a bit. It’s very, very funny.

Our Little Peas Are Home!!!

That’s right – the Gage household is officially complete! Nicholas came home from the NICU on Thursday. That was a bittersweet event. It was super exciting to have him home, but it meant leaving his little sister behind, all by herself at the hospital. However, we think Nicholas’s homecoming was the inspiration Ava needed to get busy and start taking bottles regularly. When I called the NICU Friday morning to see how she had done Thursday night, the nurse surprised me by saying that she hadn’t had any tube feedings since her brother left and she might be ready to go home the following day! Sure enough, she took all her bottles for 48 hours, passed her car seat test (don’t ask), and was ready to join her brother in Perrysburg Saturday night. Nana and Baba were hired for their first twin babysitting duty so that John and I could leave Nicholas at home while we picked up Ava. It was with great joy that we turned in our NICU parent badges and brought home our last little bundle of joy.

Since having both babies home there hasn’t been a lot of sleep for the new mom and dad, but we’ll take that over the daily trips to the hospital. Nicholas is the problem sleeper but he did much better last night. He wasn’t too sure of his crib at first, preferring instead to constantly be held. We’ve been working on this, though, and last night he spent the entire night in his crib, waking up only twice other than to eat. Ava continues to be very quiet and dare I say an easy baby. They had their first doctor’s appointment yesterday and they’re both doing a great job gaining weight. I guess we must be doing something right! Little Ava is getting close to 5 lbs (4 lbs 13 oz) and Nicholas is 5 lbs 8 oz.

The cats can’t quite figure out what in the world these two little noise-makers are all about, but they’re pretty sure they don’t really like them. Husker is obviously a little jealous and Digger just wishes they would be quiet. There is lots of sniffing going on. They do, however, love their new sleeping spots – on top of the changing table and in the bassinet when it’s not in use. John is posting a picture of both cats sleeping in a bouncy seat – their way of letting us know that they’re still the babies of the house!