Time seems to fly by… Gabriel and Zara are 8 weeks old tomorrow! They are both doing very well. Gabriel is now 9 ½ pounds and Zara is 8 ½ pounds! They’re keeping us very busy. Rita and I usually take the midnight and 3am feeding shifts and Zvonimir wakes up early to feed them before work. This allows Rita and I to sleep for a few hours. I’m so thankful to have Rita’s help and will miss her greatly when she leaves next week!

Zara is a super easy baby. She rarely cries loudly… I’ve started calling her “Gee” because she kind of wimpers and it sounds like she’s saying Gee instead of really crying. Gabriel, on the other hand, is like a fire alarm… He’s got some lungs on him and there’s no mistaking that he’s hungry!!! Unfortunately, Gabriel is a night owl and often has a tough time falling asleep on his own… He’s usually fine when you first put him down in the crib but by the time your head hits the pillow, the fire alarm has started! Thank goodness they aren’t waking each other up because he can be a foot away from Zara, screaming at the top of his lungs and she’s sleeping ever so peacefully! Hopefully Gabe will grow out of this soon!! Fortunately Zara is sleeping around 4-5 hours because Gabe is up much more frequently and it’s tough when they’re both crying at once!

We’ve done pretty well at getting out of the house with the babies. We started our twins parenting support group which meets weekly. This has been a great way to meet other parents with twins. The meetings are usually pretty funny with 6 sets of twins it can be rather loud!

We took a trip to Bainbridge Island so we could take Rita on the ferry. We also drove north to the tulip festival. The tulips were beautiful but it was a bit windy so we didn’t get any good photos of the babies with the flowers. Luckily, Gabe and Zara love to be in the carseats and fall asleep after a few minutes in the car. The difficult part is getting out the door and preparing for the adventure… there’s so much “stuff” you need when you’re away from home and we’re still working on packing the perfect diaper bag. Lesson learned – pack more diapers than you think you need!! Thank goodness it’s easy to buy diapers and other necessities on the road!

Check out the new photos from Month 2.

Posted in Friends & Family, Gabriel and Zara 78 Comments »

We’ve had a busy few weeks! We took the babies on their first walk around Green Lake. They both enjoyed the car ride and walk around the lake. The weather was beautiful and it was good to get out of the house! It’s hard to plan outings when they eat every 2-3 hours because inevitably, someone is hungry or cranky or I need to get home to pump. This time, Zara had a little meltdown and wanted food – and when Zara wants food she wants it NOW! She has a tiny bit of a temper and tends to turn as stiff as a board when she’s crying. It’s amazing how strong a 5 lb baby is!!!

I had an outpatient surgery at the beginning of the week because I had some placenta that did not come out and it was making me sick. Again, we were very thankful to have Rita here helping us because she was able to tend to the babies while Zvonimir took me to the hospital and I could relax knowing the babies were in good hands. I feel so much better since the surgery and hope this is my last stay in the hospital for a while!!

Zara and Gabe are both growing and putting on weight. Zara has gained over a pound and Gabe has gained nearly a pound. Zara is finally growing out of her preemie clothing but still isn’t fitting well into newborn clothes. Both of the babies eat a bunch and eat often! It keeps us busy. Rita has been a tremendous help, getting up every few hours to help me feed the babies while I pump (so Z can sleep and be productive at work!). It will be a challenge when she goes home because she has been helping out so much with everything.

It’s hard to believe that nearly a month has passed since Gabe and Zara were born. They both have unique personalities already and are really fun to watch. Gabe is a cuddle bunny – he LOVES to be held and snuggled. He can break out of any swaddle you put him in – especially the hand….he has to have his hand near his face at all times.  Zara makes little chicken and cat sounds that make you giggle. She smiles a lot and has developed these cute little chubby cheeks.  Her legs get stiff as a board when she’s mad or when you’re changing her diaper.  Both of them stick out their tongue as a “warning sign” when hungry…. you have about 5 minutes from the tongue until major tears.  Better hurry and get that food ready or you will hear them scream!!

It’s a lot of work but we’re having fun with them already!

View the latest pictures of Gabriel and Zara .

Posted in Friends & Family, Gabriel and Zara 97 Comments »