And in this corner, weighing in at...

Ding, Ding, Ding!!! Howdy family and friends! It’s been a good week-plus since our last posting on Valentine’s Day, so we thought an update for everyone was necessary.  Before we get to the bread and butter of this posting, we better send out a special thanks to our 2009 Valentines. Who knew that with these lovable faces and engaging personalities we could pull in so many appreciated Valentine’s gifts like clothes, toys, cards, and candy (Mom and Dad are pleasantly helping themselves to the candy spoils). Thanks for the gifts and we’ll try our best not to disappoint in the cute babies department for next Valentine’s Day and all the goodies that will bring more love and cheer!

 

Other than the typical eat, sleep, poop schedule, which is surprisingly pretty physically taxing for us, we are continuing to do what the doctor ordered and our efforts are paying dividends. With the addition of multiple ounces on a daily basis, our respective weight classes move us from one class to the next almost daily. Ms. Eleanor is still one weight class above her little sis, coming in at close to 8 pounds (Mom’s a heavy sleeper, so there’s speculation that she’s sneaking in an extra feeding during one of Mom’s rare, deep sleeps!). For what Madelaine lacks in size she makes up for in energy and sheer determination, which is needed to compensate for the weight difference that leaves Madelaine trailing slightly behind at 7 pounds.  

 

As far as length is concerned, we are, head to toe, pretty identical at 19.5”. As far as other similarities-from head to toe-are concerned, we are still doing our best in looking and acting nothing alike, leaving Mom and Dad with the routine phrase of ‘yep, she’s like you and vice versa.’

 

Well that’s about it from this corner of the universe in good ol’ K-town! In the spirit of celebrating Mardi Gras this week and our recent growth, ME would like to wish everyone a Happy Fat Tuesday! Hugs and kisses, ME  

Supersized Love on this special Valentine’s Day!

Cupid has surely hit his mark this year with Mom and Dad by providing them with two bundles of Love on our first Valentine’s Day! Our first day of Amor-our Spanish is already kicking in-has been lovingly welcomed in while modeling our new heart outfits! Mom and Dad are showering us with extra kisses-who’s counting when it’s hundreds daily-to mark this hearty day! All of this love is certainly adding to our continued growth, as you can see in our glamour shots! Hugs and kisses to our special Valentine’s family and friends out there! Love ME

Our First Month!

What a month it has been for ME! We have so much to talk about-health, happiness, growth, sleeping, eating, and much more-which will be naturally double the pleasure. As per doctor’s orders this past Monday, we had a follow-up doctor’s visit to check mainly Madelaine’s weight. Based on her increased calories as directed by the doctor, which was included as an additional feeding on top of her typical eight, Madelaine put on roughly 26 grams per day over 7 days. This accumulation even surpassed Eleanor’s 24 grams, bringing Madelaine’s and Eleanor’s respective weights to 5.9 and 6.9 pounds. As far as length we won’t be dunking any basketballs in the near future, but we now measure the same at 18.5”. Our doctor explained that these two measurements have placed us closer to the normal population of infant growth, so we’ve come a long way baby since unexpectedly dropping into this wild world one month ago! Ms. Madelaine still has some acid reflux that comes and goes throughout the day, but overall the amount that she spits up has seemed to lessen with each passing day. For some unexplained reason, sleeping in our Pack ‘n’ Play on the main level of the house has been an uneventful part of the day. We quickly fall asleep when Mom and Dad place us in there and we can easily pass 3-4 hours of the day in there dreaming about springtime and helping Dad prepare the lawn for the summer! Because of our fear of heights (wink wink) on the second level, we haven’t been able to catch many Z’s during the precious nighttime hours…much to the chagrin of Mom and Dad. We think our tandem system of spitting out our pacifiers and crying within 10 minutes of Mom and Dad “supposedly” tucking us in for the night has gone without a hitch. We’re not sure how long we can keep this up, but in the meantime we savor (as we’re sure Mom and Dad do!) our nighttime sleeping arrangement as Queens in a King-sized bed in the comfortably warm presence of Mom, Dad, Tootsie, and Leona! Speaking of sleeping at night and fitting in our required feedings, we typically eat at 11, 2, and 5, give or take an hour-such good bonding time with Mom and Dad! Cheers to all and the thought of the day is Think Spring!! Love, ME 

Our first week home has been all about ME!

Not a week for the weak! Madelaine and Eleanor have surpassed (by mere hours) their first week’s stay at the Gore Family Household as of today. Not leaving anything to chance or forgoing a dull moment, the girls keep us on our toes-as expected-24 hours a day! After the breaking in period of their first weekend home, M & E had their first doctor’s visit on Monday. Ms. Eleanor gained roughly half a pound since leaving the hospital, while Ms. Madelaine is watching more of what she eats (singular) as she has only barely gained one quarter of a pound. To compensate for this and keep her right up there with her big sis (size, not age) we’ve added an extra feeding (Happy Meal) that will hopefully add the calories necessary to put on more weight by next Monday’s appointment. Sleep has been a blessing for the girls, consuming most of the daytime hours-though nighttime has been a different story. Sleep patterns at night have been very inconsistent for all Gore members of the household, with Mom and Dad waking up every 2-3 hours for feedings and/or attending to routine fussing. In rare instances when the girls are having a bad dream, Mom and Dad, in their weakened state of sleep deprivation, allow M & E a little respite with them in bed! When the girls decide to wake up and do a little exploring of their humble abode, they pass the waking hours away rocking in their Jungle Boogey swing and bouncer seat or boppy pillow. From the looks on their faces and a few mumbled words that they’ve yet to fully put together, Mom and Dad can safely say that the girls love their newfound play toys! All of our love, hugs, and kisses to our adoring fans out there and thanks for everything you’ve done for us! Love ME

WE ARE HOME!

I don't have much time to write tonight but just wanted to let everyone know our family is together at home as of 3pm today.  It was a wonderful day, indescribable really, as we pulled into the garage and brought the girls into the house.  Thank you for the continued thoughts and prayers which brought us all home healthy.  

Ms. Eleanor 

Our last photo in the level 2 nursery!

Ms. Madelaine

I 

Our first snuggle time at home.

2 weeks old!

We are still in the level 2 nursery but each day brings progress and steps closer to going home.  The girls are growing, growing, growing - Madelaine is now 5 lbs and Eleanor is 5 lbs, 14 ounces.  We want to thank the local Mothers of Multiples group for lending us their preemie closet which has provided the girls with some much needed pink outfits!  We also need to send a huge thank you to our dear friend, Beth, for picking up and washing all these clothes.  This is the first post I have written without Cris, so I just have to include a picture of his new favorite past time being I find it adorable and know the girls will love to see these pictures someday when they are older.  As often and for as long as able, Cris does "Kangaroo Care" with the girls which is skin-to-skin contact to promote early bonding.  Although I am likely biased, he is the only male in the nursery I've seen do it so of course I think he is a pretty wonderful Dad already!  Hope you don't mind the photo on the blog spot dear!!!

1 week old!

The past week has gone by both slowly and quickly and we have much to be thankful for, the birth of our daughters and their continued progress.  We also continue to appreciate all the calls, visits, and prayers we have received.  The photo tonight is of the girls modeling the caps they received from the auxillary hospital volunteers this morning.  They were apparently trying to fit the size of the cap to weight and were looking for the smallest baby in the nursery...which was Madelaine.  And because Madelaine received one, Eleanor just had to have one too (welcome to the future of our lives right?). 

Hoping everyone has safe travels in this current lovely Minnesota weather.