The First 4 Weeks at Home

The first 4 weeks have been really hectic but also really fun.

At first we were under strict instructions from the hospital SCBU staff and the Health Visitor not to stimulate them. It was very important that we just let them sleep as they were 6 weeks' premature and needed sleep to grow and catch up. So things were quite calm at first but that's all starting to change now. We got the go ahead on Fri 14th November to start building in stimulating activities and keeping them a bit more awake during the day. So we are far more open to visitors these days and we've got the activity gym out for them to start using.

We take them out for walks in the monster buggy as  much as possible and we are learning which doors it will and won't go through.

We've been getting to know our babies and this is what we've found out about them so far.

Carl - currently weighs 3.1 kilos / 6lbs 13 oz Wearing 'Tiny Baby up to 7lbs' clothes. Carl is now in Size 1 nappies.

Carl is a very placid baby. He doesn't often cry so when he does, we know it is something quite important. He puts up with a lot from his sister. When they sleep together in the moses basket, she often hits or kicks him and he doesn't make a fuss at all.

He likes his food! He was legendary in the hospital for being a guzzler! He used to wolf it down (like his dad :-) and then have all sorts of trouble burping but recently has slowed down to a normal speed and we are managing to get a couple of burps out of him. Infacol helps too. He feeds through the bottle (expressed + formula) and is not interested in direct breastfeeding - why make the effort when there's an easier option - I can understand that!
Carl loves his baths too and doesn't mind water on his face or in his eyes so we feel sure he'll enjoy swimming soon.
Recently he caught a cold and was very brave (no man flu here). It has made his breathing a bit wheezy and sometimes it can be very noisy at night. He often finds it hard to sleep when he's like this and ends up crashing out only when nestled on one of us which then makes it hard for us to sleep. 

He has started making eye contact when feeding and attempting to move his hands to grab things but in a half hearted way. He didn't seem too impressed by Tummy Time at all.

Ella - currently weighs 2.5 kilos / 5lbs 8 oz Wearing 'Early Baby up to 5lbs' clothes but not for much longer. She is just growing out of her Micro Nappies Size Zero.

Ella has a fine set of lungs and loves to let us hear what they can do. She cries and screams as a way of communicating with us. She stops as soon as she's got what she wanted so it's usually quite easy to respond to her cries. She's a young lady that knows what she wants and doesn't want and can get that message across with ease. I think there is a stubborn streak that we may see more of as she gets older. She's definitely the boss at the moment with Carl.
She's also got a bit of the Houdini about her and has learned how to move when on her tummy. She's not that fast but she can work her way off the mat, move away from something she doesn't like and turn around. 

Ella has struggled to feed as well as we would like her to and her weight is following the 2nd percentile. She mainly feeds through the bottle (a mix of expressed milk and formula) but does like to breastfeed too. 
She sleeps very well and doesn't wake us up during the night unless she's had a nappy explosion. In fact, we wake her up to feed. She sleeps so silently and so still that we often find ourselves checking if she is breathing.
Just like her brother, Ella loves her baths and doesn't mind water on her face.

She looks so chilled out having a float in the baby bath. She's still so tiny that she can float around easily in it. We often get the comment of how much she looks like a little doll.