Dad's First Post

Karol had writer's block so I'm taking over, at least for tonight. My first post on the boys' blog. First I would like to say thanks for everyone making terrific comments each day. It shows us that doing this blog is worth the time and is appreciated.

Karol and I attended two feedings each for Drake and Leo. While we were there we learned that Leo took some of two different bottles the night before, which is a major step in the right direction. It's a lot of work for him to feed from the bottles so he usually doesn't last for the entire thing. One thing that that seems to be holding him back is the nasal cannula that supplies him the supplemental oxygen. It must be very difficult to get good breaths with that thing up his nose while sucking on a nipple. However the little tyke gives it his all until he can't suck any more. One of these days all that hard work will pay off and his development will take off just like his big brother Drake. Leo gained 0.4 oz since yesterday and now weighs in at a whopping 3 lb 3.2 oz. One thing I have noticed lately is that Leo is becoming more tolerant of activity around him and doesn't complain as much when handling and feeding him, which is also good to see.

Today we also got a few pictures of him without the "nose plug", as I call it. It's the first time I have had a good look at him without anything attached to his face, and he definitely looks identical to Drake, just smaller and skinnier. In the pictures below the red spots on the side of Leo's face are irritated spots from the tape they use to hold the cannula in place.


Drake gained 0.5 oz from the previous weigh in and is now at 4 lb 12.2 oz. His breathing and heartbeats are almost perfect and has very few "preemie" episodes, like oxygen desaturations and bradycardias. I don't remember if this has been mentioned before but Drake now has legitimate baby fat on his face, arms, and legs. Our afternoon nurse today asked us to bring in his car seat tomorrow to make sure it is the correct size for him before he goes home, a sign that he might be getting closer to that landmark. We still get differing opinions on when that might be, however if I had to guess I would say sometime between Christmas and New Year's day.



Overall it was a great visit today. The boys love being held and are very sweet. Both of them absolutely love being in the same crib, and when one is removed for feeding and changing, the other becomes fussy and agitated (especially Leo). A nurse remarked to me that in her experience this is unusual for most twins. Maybe it has something to do with them being identical. Who knows. It is unclear what will happen when Drake goes home and Leo is by himself. It pains me to think about it, but I know Leo has been a fighter his whole life so he will do just fine.