Two months old today...

...and finally looking and acting like real babies. Both boys have topped seven pounds and they're still growing, little piggies. Now that the weather has warmed up, I put them in summer onesies instead of double layering with bootied sleepers. They've got fatty little legs and plump little toes. I wish I could look like that and still be called 'cute.'

What a difference a few days makes, though. Just this weekend, they've become more active and demanding. They want to stay awake after feeding and play with me, which would be great, except I still have to feed the other one. After wearing my roommates down thin, I went ahead and got a baby swing used on craigslist. I probably won't be able to take it back with me to Missouri, but for two weeks, at 20 bucks, it'll do. Today, they were both resting quietly while I did housework for the first time in a long time. I said to John, "Do you hear that?" "Silence," he responded. "That is the true sound of no hands clapping, or rather, no babies crying" (Just another religion geek joke - more transparent than the last one.)

I hope to see most of you very soon!

Well-deserved update

Thanks for everyone's support and good wishes. We're all doing great!

Thanks to my mom, I recovered from my surgery very quickly. I was up and out the door a week after I came home. I may have been a little too quick to get out, as I caught a cold taking the subway to and from the hospital downtown. With my current situation, though, a little cold became a big cold. I learned to take things slower than I thought I could do.

Luckily, the boys moved closer to home, to Mt. Auburn Hospital, which is a short bus ride away. It's also a much more relaxing environment for all of us. Also, they let me order meals while I'm there. It's just hospital food, but it's at least one square meal a day, and I don't have much time for cooking right now.

However, we may not be there much longer. The doctors are starting to talk about Kay coming home VERY soon and Sho not far behind. Possibly this upcoming week. Which is exciting because tomorrow....*drum roll* Naoki arrives in Boston and gets to see his kids for the first time! It's going to be so unbelievably cute - there will be more pictures!

The boys have become noticably more alert this past week. Although they still can't focus as well as most newborns, they now love to stare at the mommy-blur. They know when food is coming and get very eager when I tuck that burp cloth under their chin. Mostly, they feed by bottles, although we're starting to push them on nursing now. Pumping milk and feeding it to them is very time consuming and I don't know how things are going to go for the next few weeks. But, every day is a new adventure, and I'm always surprised when they suddenly decide to do something brilliant. And hey, when you're 5 weeks old, a big tooting poop is cause for celebration. As I said, they're doing so much better than we expected. They're growing fast, and they have appetites just like their dad.

We pretty much have everything ready here at home for them, thanks to the shopping prowess of my mom. My room has been transformed from study-central to baby-zone. It's even leaking into other parts of the house like the fridge, under the bathroom sink, microwave, and pantry. I've even started bringing the infant carrier to class.

Speaking of which, classes have wrapped up and now it's just writing papers and sitting in on some tests. It's going to be difficult to find time to finish up, especially with the boys coming home so early. But once it's done - I'm done! Wish me luck for my last lap.

I'll just close with a funny moment from the days when I was truly big-bellied and waddling around campus. I was talking to friends and one of them told me "When I see you, it's like I'm seeing three people!" "You're the Trinity," another one said. "But only in a very Eastern Orthodox kind of way," I corrected. And if you got that joke, you truly are a religion geek.

One month

Here we are on April 29th, our one month birthday.
Kay is intrigued by the funny grey thing mommy's pointing at him. Is it edible?
Sho and Kay sleep quietly, once their bellies are full. (Thank you for those warm blankets, Julie!!)
 

4 weeks old

Here we are at four weeks and we're starting to look "like real people" now. (someone else's quote, not mine!)

-Kay-
We still have our feeding tubes in, but they came out in early may.

- Sho-

Look, big boy clothes, too! Kay wears his Gerber preemie onesie.
The outfit was so cute, it's a pity I couldn't get Sho to make a decent face for us. 

A New Home

We made the move to Mt. Auburn Hospital, which is much closer for mom to get to, and our good friend Liwen came to see us.  

3rd Week

The boys contently kangaroo together.

Kay and his Easter Present from Grandma.
Sho and his present. 

2nd week

Sho takes a big boy yawn.

Kay looking around

Kay and Sho kangaroo-ing together. We couldn't do this for much longer, because they got very possessive of space and started a kick-box match on my chest.