I survived the first week alone.....

This post is a little overdue, but I officially survived my first week home alone with Alex & Olivia. Ben went back to work last week and the family has all left so I found it to be me, Alex & Olivia last Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. It was an interesting week filled with highs and lows as I was trying to figure out how to feed two babies while trying to keep them on a similar schedule. The most challenging part is trying to figure out what to do with the first baby after they are done feeding while I get ready to feed the second one. Putting the first one in the crib always seems like a logical choice (to me) but not to them! I have learned to take advantage of all the items we have littered in the living room including the swings and the bouncy seats.
Alex has labeled himself as the "first fed". He screams uncontrollably when hungry while I can put Olivia in the swing and she will be content while falling back to sleep. I keep telling Alex that he is going to owe his sister big time when he gets older! Alex did go to the doctor last Monday and he was already weighing 8 lbs 5 oz! He has gained just shy of 3 lbs from the time we left the hospital until last Monday! He is growing into a big boy! As I am half way through the second week, I must say it is going much smoother than the first week as I am starting to get into a routine. Although we all do look forward to when Ben walks in the door around 3:30 as it is nice to get an extra set of hands to help out.

We survived the first two weeks......

It is hard to believe but we have been home with the kids for two weeks. The time has flown by with my parents here for the first week and Ben's parents here for the second week. Ben's parents left today so now we are on our own. Luckily for me, Ben is on spring break this week so I have one more week of help before I am on my own during the day. The kids are doing really well. We took them to the doctor on Friday and Alex has surpassed his sister in weight. He was up to 7 lbs, while Olivia weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz.. We set them up today in our bed to take some pictures of them together. It is hard to find the time where they are both awake at the same time, so we had to settle with Olivia sleeping through the entire "photo shoot". She is such a relaxed little baby, as she even slept through the entire time Alex was screaming in her ear.

Alex & Olivia have Arrived!!!

I went into the hospital on March 26th to be induced, and Ben and I were convinced we were going to have the kids on the 26th. Little did we know that the induction could take 2 to 3 days! By the morning of the 27th, I was only 2 cm. Ben and I could not believe it was progressing so slowly. However, shortly after lunch on the 27th I was up to 4cm, and they broke the water around Alex, and we were excited to think we would have the kids by the end of the day on the 27th. By that evening I was only 5 cm, and stayed at 5 cm throughout the night and into the morning on the 28th. I was having contractions pretty regularly but they were not strong enough to allow labor to progress. In fact, I barely felt the contractions and would always turn to Ben and ask "am I having a contraction now?". By the morning of the 28th, I was on the highest level of pitocin they could give me, so the dr. came in with two options - 1) stop the pitocin for a few hours and start back up and see what happens over the next 12 - 14 hours, or 2) have a c-section. We chose the c-section, as there was no guarantee that the first option would work, and we just did not have the stamina to be in the hospital for another 12 - 14 hours with no babies! Within the hour of the decision being made the babies were born! Alex Cameron arrived at 7:51 a.m., weighing in at 5 lbs, 14 oz, and 18.5 inches long.
Alex's sister, Olivia Alexandra was born at 7:53 a.m., weighing 6 lbs, 5 oz, and measured 19 inches long.

It was so great to hear them cry for the first time. Ben got to hold both of the kids in the operating room as they worked on putting me back together.
We arrived home on Monday, March 31st after a long 5 nights in the hospital. It was nice to finally be home and sleep in our own bed. So far the transition home has been smooth, and we are enjoying every minute with these little guys. Alex seems to be the more fussy one of the two, but luckily his crying does not bother his sister!