2 weeks old and growing strong

Yesterday the girls turned 2 weeks old, and although it's been a whirlwind and a blur, it's already hard to imagine life before we had these little angels in our lives. The adrenaline coursing through us for the first week or so (evidenced by my copious blog posting) seems to have worn off now and general fatigue is definitely setting in. We're still going strong though and getting our sleeping/feeding schedule more figured out. The girls are doing well in their crib and we've almost worked up enough courage to try not sleeping in their room with them and trust the baby monitor... almost. Kirsten and I trade off through the night on sleeping with/feeding the girls. We had our 2 week checkup for the girls this week (albeit a few days early), and this is the appointment where they should be back up to their birth weights and... they're both doing just great! Katherine was dead on it back to 6 lbs. 7 oz. and Annabelle had even gone a little over up to 5 lbs. 14oz, so they're both right on track. Katherine unfortunately developed a case of thrush this week, so we faced our first medical baby issue. Definitely hard to see baby hurting, but the medicine seemed to work quickly and she's pretty much back to normal again now. Annabelle got all the same medicine too, as the doc said if one had it, the other would definitely get it, so we just treat them both. We're all loving this sunny, warm Seattle weather and getting out for plenty of nice walks. We even did a lap around Greenlake with the girls and Lucy a few days ago!

1 Week Home

There, I did it. I skipped blogging for a few days and it feels mighty good. Now the pressure's off and I'll just post updates and pics when I get around to it, not necessarily every day. On Thursday we celebrated the girls' 1 week old birthday and today is the 1 week anniversary of bringing them home. We're still trying to figure out sleeping arrangements, etc., but things are becoming slightly more routine so that's good. The girls are eating great, and we're getting a little more awake play time with them now between naps and feeding. They are happy little people and aren't fussing much at all. Proud papa got crazy with the camera yesterday and did a mini photo shoot. Here are a few shots.

Annabelle Spinning

Annabelle Spinning from Sam Thompson on Vimeo.

The title says it all. Oh, and Annabelle provides some funny faces and hefty doses of cuteness as well.

An apple a day...

With a pure milk diet, apples just don't seem to be on the menu yet for the girls, so it looks like visits to the doc are unavoidable. We had our first doctor's visit today for their standard checkup and we got the girls psyched up and in the zone for shots pre-visit. Being that this was our first time to leave the house with the girls, I was quite pleased to be checking in at the desk only 5 minutes late for our appointment. With game faces on, they struck gold when we met with the doc- no shots at all today, just low key measurements and whatnot. Annabelle and Katherine are both growing, gaining weight, and doing just great. We made it out for another beautiful walk too and had some more nice visits from friends. We're getting better and a little more used to the every 3 hour feeding clock now, so that's great. We catch a few winks of sleep when the girls do!

First Walk

Ok, the girls are quick learners, but not that quick. Just to clarify, we went for our first walk as a family pushing the stroller today. The weather was idyllic- sunny and warm for a February Seattle day and we had a great time. Kirsten felt strong and the fresh air was really nice while the girls seemed to miss most of the excitement and slept right through it. They also got to meet their big sister Lucy (our dog) for the first time today. Lucy is very nervous about most things in life so we expected her to avoid the babies entirely. She's been staying with friends and came home this afternoon, and she actually took to Annabelle and Katherine quite nicely. She didn't lick them or anything, but she didn't run away either. I think she'll become pretty protective of them once she realizes she's their big sister. Our sleep schedule is wacky, but having Kirsten's mom here is a huge help. Today we both felt semi-normal and had a really nice day. Dad even got out for a couple of short runs. I like looking at photos of the girls more than I like reading my writing, so here are some more of those;

Wild Blue Yonder

Last night we made it out of the hospital once and for all and the four of us ventured out into the big new world together. After just 2 nights there we definitely felt a bit rushed leaving but were happy to head home. The afternoon was really busy with lots of checks and tests for the girls and making sure we had everything together. Annabelle had to do a special car seat test in the special care nursery because she was under their weight threshold by a wee bit. After a really boring test with Annabelle sitting in her seat covered in sensors and dad sitting beside her on the floor for an hour and a half, she passed with flying colors and were on our way. She's learned to grab onto our fingers when she wants to be comforted so she just sat quietly and held my finger the whole time. It was amazing to see all the other even tinier babies in that nursery and made me all the more grateful that our girls were able to keep cooking so well into the full term range. After beautiful sunny views of the Olympic Mts. all day from our room, we headed out to the car in the far more typical Seattle rain around 9pm... might as well get them used to it right off the bat!We've also been working hard with the girls on their first words. They should definitely be able to say "Who Dat?!?!?" by this afternoon for the big game, and they couldn't be more excited about watching the Saints go at it!




We're all happy to be home and had a pretty good night last night. Kirsten's Mom and Dad came down today to visit the girls and Kirsten's Mom will be staying with us for the next couple of weeks to help us get settled in, which'll be really wonderful. We can't wait for lots of tummy time this afternoon watching the big game!

Sleeping Babies

Sleeping Babies from Sam Thompson on Vimeo.

At 1 day old, Annabelle Ruth Thompson and Katherine Amelie Thompson bringing the cuteness with a vengeance. (Annabelle's on the left)

Today We Turned 1 (...day old)!!

Everyone's still doing just great. We've been having a lot of fun with the girls and they are both incredibly content little girls thus far. Feeding is going well, and Katherine and Annabelle seem to be adapting to this big new world quite well! We've had lots of fun visits from family and friends in the hospital and the girls are perfectly happy with anybody- not just mom and dad. Annabelle much prefers being held to any other option, and Katherine doesn't object to snuggling either so we're getting lots of fun family bonding time, skin-to-skin contact and boatloads of cuteness. Kirsten is feeling much much better today and we're both figuring out this parenting thing at least a little bit. Our only minor scare came late last night after a feeding when Katherine turned totally blue (literally as blue or bluer than that blue guy on the news a while back). Needless to say we both got really scared and we called the nurses immediately. I also starting burping her immediately, and of course all was well and she was just fine and soft baby pink by the time the nurses got here. Lesson learned- don't forget to burp babies after feeding time. Throw in plenty of diaper changing and swaddling practice so far and we're starting to get the hang of this parenting thing.

Baby Girls!

Here are a few quick photos from this morn. All went flawlessly, and we have 2 gorgeous healthy baby girls. Annabelle Ruth Thompson weighed in at 5lbs, 12 oz. and Katherine Amelie Thompson weighed in at 6 lbs, 7 oz. Kirsten's doing great and both girls are delightful! I'll post some more pictures a bit later. Truly amazing- 2 little miracles and we are so grateful. Thank you for all the prayers and messages!

See Sam Parent? Parent Who?

Tomorrow is the big day. Kirsten (my wife) has been lovingly cooking twin girls in her belly for 38 weeks and a day now, and they're finally coming out tomorrow morning! The girls and Kirsten have been doing great through this whole journey. The girls have grown concordantly throughout and should both be over 6 lbs. each when we meet them tomorrow. Although Kirsten's feeling all the extra weight, she's done amazingly well and has been blessed with a spectacular pregnancy. We're first on the docket for a C section with our doctor tomorrow. It feels a bit strange to schedule your babies' birthday, but it's also been nice to have a semi-firm day to look forward to. It's also hard to believe we'll have 2 miniature humans that look kind of like us tomorrow that we will love so very much from the moment we lay eyes on them.

So I figured I'd start a new blog and share my thoughts/experiences from a new dad's perspective. I'm sure there are loads of dad blogs out there, but there have to be significantly fewer dads of twin girl blogs. And my guess is there are very very few blogs by ultrarunning-stay-at-home-(for now) dads of twin girls complemented by guest blogging from a dietitian mommy, so it's high time the interweb gets this missing piece of unique commentary.

Tomorrow this parenthood journey begins. The nursery's ready, the car seats are installed. We have boppy pillows and loads of tiny pink clothes. Please pray for Kirsten and our little girls (names still TBD!) tomorrow morning. I'll get some pics posted some time Thursday hopefully! Alrighty, time to go bake a pair of birthday cakes... tomorrow's a big day!

Coming Soon...

to an internet connection near you!