Mind the nose...

...when you get close to the hungry hippos at feeding time at the zoo.  I was giving one of the girls a smooch right before it was time for them to get a bottle and -- the girls being hungry and not too discriminating -- she latched onto my nose.  I wrestled free and quickly subbed in a bottle of formula.  Rather amazingly, one of the formula manufacturers sent us a big box of their ready made product.  Apparently so many twin mothers are exhausted by trying to nurse naturally, that they are natural customers for the formula producers, with the added benefit of buying double.  So the sales reps haunt the hospitals and OB areas looking for leads on twin moms, to get hooked on the either the powder or liquid formats.

 

The economist is me is always amazed by all the market microstructures I observe in real life.

Bath Day

Splash Splash Splash.  Wahh Wahh Wahh.  Neither pets nor kids like bath day.

 

J's parents have headed home, and were a great help during the last two weeks.

 

Also Nicole and John visited for a little bit.

cat in the hat

Zamfir is slowly growing accustomed to the new members of the tribe. Sometimes he stares at them, but then they squawk, and he jumps away.

This was the first time we'd seen him jump up on the armchair when we were holding the girls there. Normally he likes to sit on the top, surveying the world, when he feels safe. So he must be getting used to them. The expression on his face is after hearing there wasn't a return policy on the new purchases.

The kids official details are here.

Spy mom

So this is the babies' nursery, with their Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat theme. On the shelf is the baby monitoring system, so that SpyMom can listen to all their gurgles, and foil any attempts to escape. In the crib to the left, you can see the hippo and crocodile trying to sneak out, and chomp up some tasty, although loud children.

This is the cats 'lion cut' with a mane and tail, although with no teeth or claws now, they are not fearsome jungle cats right now.

My colleagues gave us a wonderful card and gift certificates, so we went out this weekend to use them (restocking on formula) and along the way I saw this display. It's a good photo for showing the dynamic, vivid color range of the new camera, which I carry around in my pocket now.

Slightly New Format

And yes, I am up late minding the little ones.

Better quality pictures coming

So I picked up the new Canon S90, which is a little larger than my old point & shoot, but has a much better lens, sensor, and controls. I've only played with a few things, but here is a sample picture. The girls are wearing new outfits that Kerry brought them, and are reposing on a Garnet Hill flannel sheet. The girls had the typical squawking the last few days, with a new experience of meeting their maternal grandparents, who will be staying over and helping for a little while.

First Pediatric Visit

The girls had their first pediatric visit (along with their first stroller ride) today. Many indignities were performed upon them -- that the pets can sympathize with -- and the end results are that they are healthy although only at the 5th percentile for height/weight. So we are to get them to the feedlot, and fill up the trough. They spent the rest of the afternoon sacked out after the stress of being poked, prodded, measured and pressured.

My rugged Canon SF400 is now 6 years old, and up to 3000+ pictures, and is pretty far behind current technology. I have seen the difference between more modern sensors and lenses, and have decided to upgrade given that lots of kid pictures are on the horizon. In a happy coincidence, I have a swath of gift certificates from recent birthday/holidays so I'll venture out to Best Buy tomorrow to see kind of deal I can get on the Canon S90, which I've been researching for a few months. So hopefully, the photo quality will be trending upwards here.

Survived our first full day at home...

...with the girls, thanks to my mother's help.  I went to Target to fetch more formula for the herd of hippos and came back to find everyone snoozing.  The girls are getting excited to meet the rest of their grandparents this weekend, where we'll open up a Louis Roederer for the big people, while the little people stick with their (less bubbly) Enfamil.  I wish I could say the pets have absorbed all the change nonchalantly, but they have not, and remain clustered in angst, huddled on an out of the way poufy cushion, stunned by the usurpers.

Discharge Day

We were discharged early from the hospital today, which was a surprise, but an outcome that we preferred. The team of nurses, doctors, and support staff at Sacramento's Sutter Memorial High Risk OB team were fantastic. If one has a choice in selecting medical services, these folks are caring professionals, and I would recommend them to anyone in the area. For what its worth they are also the local crisis center for a number of surrounding counties, and have a NICU level III unit. I'm thankful we didn't need any of those services.

The girls all swaddled up and cosseted in their "boppies" which are C shaped pillows. I wonder if someone has patented the concept.

This is Ilsa in her going home outfit; apparently its traditional to wear fancy outfits for the hospital departure and photos. Of course upon arrival home, the girls get changed right back into puke proof attire.

This is Meribel, flaunting her going home outfit too. As an added perk, it came with a yellow hat. The other one had a hat too, but it got lost in all the kidparaphernalia we were issued.

One handy use for this pillow is for feeding, where the munchkin can be supported just with this, and fed easily. I fed both of them at once placing them side by side. They are hungry little hippos, and I've already had to run out for a (strangely expensive) formula resupply.

Before they discharge you from the OB unit, the nurses inspect your car seats, as well as the car. We passed, and are now all set to play bumper cars with oncoming traffic. When we got home, one of the cats came over and took an exploratory sniff of each basket, but then fled when the crying started. Both have been sulking upstairs ever since, uneasy about change they don't believe in.

Todays big development...

...was learning how to suck thumbs. Their entire hands are about the size of our adult thumbs, and they will cheerfully try to gnaw on a pinkie if they can.

The birth certificate registrar also came around today to get their offical details, and we received the temporary paperwork for the pair. In a few weeks, they will be issued official social security numbers, and be inducted into the ranks of future American taxpayers. We thought about it for a little bit, but it doesn't seem practical/feasible for them to obtain anything other than a US passport.

Footwarmers

The girls were given foot warmers this morning, to keep their tiny toes warm.  Which I suppose made them happy, until the nurse took blood samples from those same feet, in order to run 20+ tests that the state requires.  Apparently these tests catch 750 or so cases of preventable diseases in the half million or so babies born in the state each year.  So after they had the blood drawn they raised a squalling storm.

 

One of their grandmothers is over now, soothing the children.  Sorry no pictures of Jenn as she is wearing a ridiculous pink pajama that she thinks makes her look like the Easter bunny...so the paparazzi were brushed aside.

Obligatory baby pix

This is Meribel, after a tasty lunch of Enfamil.

This is Ilsa, snoozing after getting her diaper changed.

My mom can hold one of them, as long as they are not wriggling around.

Their mother can wrangle both of them. That SLR camera's picture quality is a lot better than my battered point & shoot Canon.

Jenn is feeling much better today. The first hours after the surgery were painful and nausea filled. We were given cards today that stated both passed mandated hearing tests. Apparently they put small headphones on them, as well as a brain wave monitor, and measure the response from playing sounds. By the time the girls are teenagers, I suspect they will not be listening to their parents though.

Our girl(s) Friday

Our twin girls arrived at noon, on this Good Friday.  Their names and details are:

Ilsa Courchevel Ohlsson Rao

11:56 am, April 2, 2010

5 lbs, 11 oz

18.5 in

  

Meribel Grace Ohlsson Rao

11:57am, April 2, 2010

6 lbs

18.9 in

Mother and girls are fine, but tired.  We'll be at the hospital for several days so it will be hard to reach us so please don't be alarmed if it takes a little while to get back to you.

 

Arv & Jenn