6 Weeks (on 9-28-10)

I can't believe Kayla and Bryce are already six weeks old! It seems like just yesterday Kevin and I were walking into the hospital alone for our cesarean. This has been such a life changing experience for us. Things are crazy most of the time but I wouldn't change it for the world. Both babies are drinking about three ounces every two and a half to three hours. Last Monday Kevin's mom and brother came down from Kansas to visit and help out with the babies. On Monday night, Bryce cried nearly the whole night. I called the doctor and made an appointment. One of the other doctors diagnosed Bryce with reflux and prescribed him Zantac liquid twice a day. Kayla was spitting up a lot too so we took her in a few days later. Our normal doctor gave Kayla some Prevacid to be dissolved in water. They have both been constipated for a couple of weeks, too, so we started giving them Karo syrup in their bottles a couple of times a day. That, along with the reflux medication, seems to be helping.

Kayla and Bryce both lost their umbilical cords within the first two weeks of us being home. Bryce rolled over from his belly to his back on Saturday. Everyone says the babies aren't supposed to sleep on their tummies but that seems to be the only position they prefer, especially Kayla. I will not let them sleep on their tummies without me being awake and watching them though. We got a new play yard this week! Kevin's mom brought it down with her so we're using it out in the living room. Kevin and I are sleeping in shifts now. Otherwise, we don't get much sleep. Right now, Kevin sleeps from about 6 or 7 until midnight or 1 a.m. and I sleep from then until about 6 or 7. It seems to be the only thing that allows us to get a decent amount of rest. The hard part is spending time together and getting things done around the house. When you're by yourself, it takes an hour to feed, burp, and change both of them. If you're able to get them to go directly back to sleep, you have an hour and a half to two hours to do something around the house. It takes hours to watch a one hour tv show because we have to keep pausing it if they start crying (mainly Bryce who screams at the top of his lungs.)

Before we figured out the constipation issue, we had been having a rough week. Bryce and Kayla both were fussy and crying quite a bit. I started taking Reglan to increase my milk production on September 14th. By the 16th, I was jittery, anxious, and starting to feel depressed. I was completely exhausted, too, and I felt like I couldn't hold the babies without dropping them. I called the doctor and they called in an antidepressant and ordered a lot of sleep. I called Amie, my cousin, to take them for the weekend so Kevin and I both could get some sleep. Luckily she was willing to help out and drove the hour to come get them. I thought the sleep would help but it didn't. It seemed to get worse. On the way to pick up Kayla and Bryce, I thought about the Reglan. I wondered if what I was feeling was side effects of the medication. I looked them up on the internet and sure enough, everything I was feeling was indeed a side effect of the medication. I stopped taking the Reglan and the Lexapro (antidepressant) and within 24 hours, I was back to normal!

We had our first professional pictures of the kids done on Friday. They look adorable.

Love,
Charla, Kevin, Kayla, and Bryce