As one journey ends, another begins!

The news is finally out... We are all home!! It has been a very exciting (stressful, exhausting, happy, and many other emotions) last few days.  It is definitely different taking care of both babies ALL hours of the day.  Mommy-mode is starting to kick in!

Gracelynn and Kinley at HOME on our front steps for the first time!

We are all doing well and will (hopefully) begin to adjust to each other and this different atmosphere.  I almost forgot what it was like to just sit and watch t.v. at home.  It is a bit different sitting and watching t.v. now, though, because I am usually holding one of the girls, feeding one of the girls, or occasionally slipping into a snooze with one of the girls.

Just lovin' on my girls! :)

Life is definitely different with two babies at home.  Different = good.  There are some things we still need to figure out and get adjusted to, but I'm sure it will all become second nature at some point. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? ;)

Gracelynn was the first to come home.  She came home on Wednesday, the 25th.  It was kind of nice to be able to bring home one baby to start off with, even though it was really hard leaving Kinley there.  We were able to "slowly" experience life as real parents with a real newborn at home.  We were anxious to get her home and show her her room, crib, and just pictures of her big sister, Kate.  Kate has been at Jake's parents' house, so they haven't all officially met yet.  That will be another topic for another day. :)

Daddy showing Gracelynn her room for the first time.

Kinley followed in her sister's footsteps and came home on Thursday, the 26th.  It was awesome (and kind of sad) to go to Mercy knowing it was going to be our last time for a while. Before we brought Gracelynn home, the nurse told us that once we took her home, we could bring her back to visit and/or pick up her sister, but she was fully our responsibility.  If we went to the bathroom, we had to take her with. We needed to bring her own food and diapers for her, too.  It was kind of funny, because if she wouldn't have said this, I totally wouldn't have thought of it on my own.  It was just natural for us to leave the babies in their room, and the nurse would take care of them.  It kind of just hit us, that we were going to really be parents that day.  We would have to take care of these two beautiful babies that are totally dependent on us.

All of our hospital bands

  We are still trying to figure out the whole night time routine.  The first few nights, we were trying to get them to sleep in their bassinets up in our room.  However, they were not getting much sleep, and in return neither were we.  Earlier this summer, I had bought a Fisher Price Rock 'n' Nap (TOTAL life saver!!!) at a garage sale, and seriously, I'm not sure how parents did it without one of those.  It is kind of like a hammock, and I think the girls feel like they are being held in it.  So, after a couple of those sleepless nights, I decided to take one of the girls downstairs to the living room to let her sleep in that as I slept on the couch next to her.  Eventually, both girls have made their way to the living room at night, and I am still sleeping on the couch.  Jake and I have decided that we will try to experiment this weekend, to see if we can try to get them to sleep up in our room, but maybe not in their bassinets.  We will just have to see, as we have quickly figured out that we no longer rule the house :)  

Even though the babies are telling us what we need to do, I am trying to be a strict boot-camp mom by keeping them on a schedule.  We have increased their feeding amounts to about 70 mls (which is just over 2 oz) and they are eating every four hours.  When Jake was still off of work, we were feeding them at the same time.  Well, this came to bite me in the butt!  When he went back to work, they both were hungry at the same time.  As much as I would like to think that I am Super-Mom, it was nearly impossible for me to feed them at the same time.  So I have began to stagger their feedings by about 30 mins.  This has seemed to work, but it just drags out the feeding process.  I guess we will do whatever it takes to get our girls growing! :)

I think it's pretty clear that Kinley likes her bottle!

 

As excited as we are to introduce our little girls to the world, we will probably be keeping them at home for a while.  With them being premature, they are more prone to getting sick.  Their immune systems aren't quite fully developed, so it would be much harder for them to fight off the common cold than it is for us.  For that reason, I will post pictures of them (trust me, you will probably get sick of looking at them! :)

As our journey at Mercy comes to an end, another journey comes upon us.  We are so excited to start our new life as a family of four!  Thanks to all who prayed for us during this experience, as our girls turned out perfectly. I truly think they are a gift from God, and he answered all of our prayers.  I will end this entry with some of the cutest "ends" on this side of the Mississippi! :)