I'm Good & They're Great!

It's been ages since I've updated, so here's the gist of what's happened since you heard from us last:

 In a surprising twist of events, BENJAMIN came home from the NICU first, on June 13th. At 5lbs 15oz (I believe?) He was still quite a peanut!

D.O.G. took to him quickly. He spent his entire puppy life preparing to be a big brother, and at last his dream came true!

 Sullivan followed Benji home shortly after, on June 18th.  His delay was due to constant Bradying (Bradycardia - the stinker would just STOP breathing).  Now, at 4 months old, he still does it sometimes while eating from a bottle. Suck-swallow-breathe is quite the challenge for him, but he'll eventually outgrow it. "Slow" flow bottles aren't much help, either. Milk just seems to gush out of them, and when he gets overwhelmed he just, uh, stops trying to breath. Thankfully we recently discovered Dr. Brown's PREEMIE flow nipples. So amazing. Even if your baby has no problem with fast flowing bottles, they're great at preventing breastfed babies from getting too lazy, hehe.

Once home, they proved to be every bit as pleasant and easy as they were in-hospital. Even 4 months later, they rarely scream or fuss (especially Ben, who is the definition of easy).

At first I slept downstairs in the living room with them. One would rest in the Sleep N Play Rocker, which is what Ben is in next to D.O.G. in the piicture above. Twin #2 would either sleep in a pack n play, in my mom's arms in the recliner, or in my arms on the couch. I pumped almost exclusively for 3 months (it felt like an eternity, but that's a story for another day!), so the constant bottle warming and diaper changes were easiest to handle in the living room, right next to the kitchen. I wasn't yet comfortable sharing a bed with them, and bottle feeding in bed was too difficult anyway.

Early on, I (tried to) make sure they at least got naps in their crib, so that they'd be comfortable in the nursery without me.



This hasn't been a problem for us yet though. It's true what they say about spoiling newborns - it's just not possible. About 2 weeks ago I started transitioning Benjamin into the crib at night. It's been a breeze! Sullivan I also put in the nursery; however, until they're a bit older and no longer at high risk for SIDS, I'm keeping them separate, each with their own motion monitor. So Sully sleeps in the Rocker, with a Snuza monitor, right next to a sound monitor (so I can hear if it alarms).   Then Benjamin has an Angelcare monitor under the crib mattress... why? Because the kid LOVES to belly sleep. On his back, he gets MAYBE 3 hours in a row. Flip him to his belly, and he's out for a solid 5+.   So, Angelcare it is. I sleep soundly at night this way, so it's been worth every penny.
Now that they're a bit bigger (and they don't scare me so much), I now just kick the dogs out of my room and bring them to bed with me around 4am-ish (or whenever their 2nd wakeup is).

 Here they are during their first bath, at around 1 month old:

Then bathing at almost 2 months:

And then at 3 months:





And then last week:




Here they are happy:

And then not so happy:

This is them on the 4th of July:











And then this is them sunbathing:

 Because Sullivan is super cute:

Because Benjamin is adorable:

And then, as if you weren't already drowning in cute:

This is them in their Sunday best, sleeping through Relief Society: