Hi Everyone. Ryan & Aidan are home and it looks like Aidan is already a little too loud for Ryan. Ryan Elizabeth and Aidan Patrick were born on June 4th at 11:20am and 11:21am respectively. Ryan (on the right) weighed in at 4 lbs 3 ounces and Aidan was 4 lbs 1 ounce. After a quick evaluation at Scripps they were taken to the Children's Hospital NICU. They were at Children's for a week and then transferred back to the Scripps NICU as soon as space opened up. Both Ryan and Aidan progressed better than expected and were able to come home on June 22nd, about 2 weeks earlier than we had even hoped for.
The twins continue to grow and get stronger everyday. It has been great to have them home and despite a marked lack of sleep Katie and I thrilled. So far they both have been sticking to a three hour feeding schedule and are relatively quiet between feedings. We have had a lot of luck soothing them by a tight swaddle. They also seem to take a lot of comfort from each other. As soon as we put Ryan down next to Aidan, (or vice versa) they calm down quickly.
My Mom, and Ginger have been a huge help. They are available for feedings, even at 2:00am! They have also helped out quite a bit by running errands, checking on our well being and generally being available. We have also been blessed with a ton of meals, diapers, clothes, well wishes and phone calls from everyone eager to meet the little ones.
At three weeks old we are starting to get a glimpse of their personalities. Ryan is very patient; she is content to wait up to 1/2 an hour after her scheduled feeding time as we take care of Aidan. 99% of the time she is very calm and inquisitive. She will consistently look into your eyes, and check everything out as she is feeding. After that she is back to sleep.
Aidan is also relatively calm but certainly more vocal than his sister. We have nicknamed him "The Monkey" not only for the monkey noises he makes but also for the hilarious faces he makes. He is usually the first to wake up and "ask" for food. I am sure this will all evolve fairly quickly and our perceptions of their personalities will as well. For now we are trying to get some sleep and enjoy every moment they are awake enough to interact with.
They had yet another appointment with their pediatrician yesterday and they continue to well. Ryan is up to 5 lbs 5 ounces and Aidan is 5 lbs 6 ounces. They will be on their heart and respiration monitor for another couple of weeks but their apnea episodes seem to be subsiding.
We thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, diapers, food, encouragement, support and friendship. We appreciate it.
