Three Little Birds: February 2015

It's February 6th, our official "due date" and yet here the boys are 5 weeks old.

At one time, we prayed the boys would be home from the hospital by this time, but we never guessed they would have been home for over a month by now. We are beyond blessed and truly in love. We are so behind on sharing updates, especially their birth story and what our hospital experience was like (both were amazing by the way), but we promise to share as soon as we have a little more time to sit down and put it all into words. Here is a post about the week leading up to their birth.

This is a little snapshot of what the boys have been up to.

Weights
Archer:   5lb 15.5oz (4lb 3oz at birth)
Andrew: 5lb 11.5oz (4lb 4oz at birth)
Alden:    7lb 7.5oz (5lb 3oz at birth)

Lengths
Archer: 18inches (16.5 at birth)
Andrew: 18.5 inches (17.5 at birth)
Alden:    20inches (18 at birth)

Food
Archer and Andrew: 75ml (2.5oz) of half breastmilk and half high calorie formula
Alden: 90 ml (3oz) of breastmilk
The boys eat the above amounts every 3 hours (1, 4, 7, and 10). The boys (and the caregivers) are very excited to try eating every 4 hours at night very soon! Mom is currently still pumping and bottle feeding because the doc wants to know exactly how much they are getting (and when they were very tiny breastfeeding was a little too much work). Since we have been using a mix of high calorie formula as well, we have over 450 ounces of breastmilk frozen (pray the power doesn't go out), so we are ready and waiting for the go ahead from the doc to go all breastmilk for the little boys and any growth spurts that lie ahead.

Diapers
We go through a minimum of 24 a day (a diaper change at every feeding x3 boys). Then we usually go through a few extra (or 10 extra when the boys decide to poop just a little bit every 30 min or an hour. Luckily, they are starting to become a little more regular).

Activities
So far, they have only been to the doctor (3 times for weigh-ins and then their one month well visit) and to have their pictures made. We are all looking forward to warmer weather and the prospect of getting out of the house very soon. The boys love to have brother time after they eat and to listen to dad read/tell stories. They also like to FaceTime some of our favorite peeps like Caleb and Lauren, the Gage's, and grandparents. They are not too sure about baths and tummy time just yet, but both are starting to growing on them. They also don't love having their diaper changed (Alden was the first one to pee on mommy).

Personalities
The boys are all very different, which is a lot of fun.

Archer is the most high maintenance right now. He loves to suck and to be held, so he often needs his pacifier (thanks Aunt Cortney for his froggy paci) or some attention and rocking. He is the most animated and funniest of the group by far. He makes lots of "old man" noises, which he has since the hospital and looks at you like he has stories to tell. He loves to be swaddled TIGHT, at which dad is thankfully an expert.
Nicknames - Old Sport, Wild Man, Monster Mouth

Andrew loves to be on his side or belly after feedings or before he is swaddled and put to bed on his back. He will often lay awake for 30 minutes to an hour just looking around. He is very inquisitive and sweet. When he does cry, it is very loud and while the other two will work up to a cry, Andrew will scream out out of nowhere (we call them his night terrors). Andrew also poots a lot and you would swear he was a full grown human the way they smell and sound.
Nicknames - Peanut, Cutie

Alden: Alden is our most content, probably because he is the biggest, so the least like a preemie. He loves to be close to his brothers. We often put him in the middle, so he can see both of them at once. He will just stare at them and is most in tune to when another one cries. He has a really strong grip, and like his brothers, loves to hold onto your fingers when your feeding him.
Nicknames - Biscuit, Chunker, Hoss

Visitors (so far)
Baba (Barbie), Pops (Steve), Grandma (Tracy), Grandpa (Scott), GG (Kip), Papa (Martin), Paula, David, Morgan, Matt, Amanda, John Bryan, Antonis, Grandmother (Joyce), Pam, Jodi, Elizabeth, Jeremiah, Jackson, Celia, & Kylie (our amazing night nurse who was our nurse for three days in the hospital and comes once or twice a week so we can sleep).

What We've Been Up To During Our Third Trimester