The Wonder Twins
The wonder twins finally arrived on January 2 at 11:39 and 11:40 PM. Their were some complications so the birth had to be done by Caesarean at 38 weeks. Our guys were happy in there and perfectly willing to stay for awhile longer. Unfortunately, their mom's body couldn't take it anymore.
First up was Leia weighing in at 5 lb 11 oz and 18.5 inches long. Her brother came a minute later. Luke weighed in at 6 lb 2 oz and was 17 3/4 inches long. Dealing with just the two of them you tend to forget how small that really is. Then I went into the hospital nursery and saw an eight pound newborn who looked giant compared to our guys. We won't even talk about when some friends visited us with their 4 month old baby.
First up was Leia weighing in at 5 lb 11 oz and 18.5 inches long. Her brother came a minute later. Luke weighed in at 6 lb 2 oz and was 17 3/4 inches long. Dealing with just the two of them you tend to forget how small that really is. Then I went into the hospital nursery and saw an eight pound newborn who looked giant compared to our guys. We won't even talk about when some friends visited us with their 4 month old baby.
Consensus so far is that they both look a lot like their parents of the same gender, or at least our baby pictures. Leia has very delicate feminine features and Luke tends to be very expressive. He especially likes to frown and look very worried. In the above picture, Luke is the one trying to look around.
Interestingly enough, they act just like they did before they were born. Luke is squirmy and likes to wave his hands around (and poke himself in the eye), and Leia sleeps like a rock. They slept well together in the small crib at the hospital, and shared at home too until Luke decided he needed to snuggle with his mother in order to sleep.
I managed to take four weeks of paternity leave, which was a very good decision. Feeding twins is a two person operation. Even though we're trying to only breast feed I still have to step in to help the second baby get in the right place. And lemme just tell you, newborns eat slow. Even back in the early days it took at least an hour to get them both properly fed and back into bed. Now that they're four weeks old they can eat for two hours at a time.
Now, all you dads to be listen carefully. I'm going to impart some advice that will be handy even if you aren't man enough to handle your babies two at a time. Even a five pound baby has a strong enough grip to grab a good size handful of chest hair. So in less you enjoy intense pain and waking up the neighbors at 3 AM, wear a shirt to those late night feedings.
Stay tuned in a day or two for the birth story, because there just aren't enough birth stories by dads.
Interestingly enough, they act just like they did before they were born. Luke is squirmy and likes to wave his hands around (and poke himself in the eye), and Leia sleeps like a rock. They slept well together in the small crib at the hospital, and shared at home too until Luke decided he needed to snuggle with his mother in order to sleep.
I managed to take four weeks of paternity leave, which was a very good decision. Feeding twins is a two person operation. Even though we're trying to only breast feed I still have to step in to help the second baby get in the right place. And lemme just tell you, newborns eat slow. Even back in the early days it took at least an hour to get them both properly fed and back into bed. Now that they're four weeks old they can eat for two hours at a time.
Now, all you dads to be listen carefully. I'm going to impart some advice that will be handy even if you aren't man enough to handle your babies two at a time. Even a five pound baby has a strong enough grip to grab a good size handful of chest hair. So in less you enjoy intense pain and waking up the neighbors at 3 AM, wear a shirt to those late night feedings.
Stay tuned in a day or two for the birth story, because there just aren't enough birth stories by dads.
posted by W at 12:11 PM
6 Comments:
Well done, sir.
I just hope that Luke doesn't wind up with that gay-ass power of turning into a form of water.
You ain't kidding. I've been calling them the dynamic duo and the terrible twosome, but I decided to try wonder twins this time. I think I'll go back to the other.
Congratulations!
Aaaah! I can't believe I only just saw this! Congrats!
Was that enough exclamation points? :)
what beautiful babies, and ~ o, how lucky you are to have two
I had forgotten how long it takes, all those hours, to nurse
my eldest is 25/my younger son: 20
your blog brings it all back to me and is so exciting and I am wondering how those darling babies are doing now ?
your blog brings me great joy/I discovered it accidentally via the New York Times on line. I am now in Vancouver British Columbia caring for my elderly (unwell) mother and thank you, thank you again Madeleine Butler
Thank you Madeline. Stop by occasionally and you'll probably see a baby post. I suspect I'll be writing a lot about them. Of course, a lot is relative when you only post once every two weeks.
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