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!
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).
Then bathing at almost 2 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:
And then, as if you weren't already drowning in cute:
This is them in their Sunday best, sleeping through Relief Society: