Ellington's first hair bow! Thanks Meme!

Tummy Time for Alex!

More pictures...

Alex

The photo shoots continue...

Alex

Ella

One Month Old!

It's so amazing how much they grow and change each and every day. Our goal is to post at least one picture a week for the first year! I don't see that being a problem!!

Ellington's Piggy, given to her by her Great Grandma

Alex's Turtle, given to him by his Great Grandma

Ellington Clair's first at home photo shoot

Alexander Ryan's first at home photo shoot

Snapshots

First Week At Home

Needless to say, it has been a little crazy around the Eads household. But I will say that it hasn't been as bad as I thought ...knock on wood. Alicia, Alexander, and Ellington are sleeping right now, so I'm posting a :60 recap of the past week. Here we go:

We were finally released from Hotel St. E on August 1 (day 12 of our stay). The first night home went really well. The babies ate every 3 hours and slept a lot. Russ (the cat) wasn't too sure about his new "toys," but after a few sniffings, decided he wasn't interested.

We started recording how much each baby ate so the doctor could see if they were progressing outside the NICU. That's 16 bottles every day! On our follow up visit to the doctor, Alexander gained 4oz putting him at 4lbs 14oz and Ellington gained 3oz bringing her to 5lbs 6oz. The doctor was very pleased!

Their first baths were hilarious! Ellington loved the whole thing, especially getting her hair washed. Alex, not so much! They also like having their hair brushed.

We've had a lot of family & friends visit and bring us dinner, which is a blessing. But my poor cousin got slimed by Alex on her visit ...guess we won't be seeing her for a while :)

We took the babies out to lunch yesterday and they did very well! Slept the whole time, but it was nice to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather!

That just about sums it up! Here are some more pictures.

11 Days Later ...We're Still Here!

We want to go home so bad, but one more day isn't too bad ...I guess. Having the most incredible nurses and doctors in the world makes it a little easier, too! It's amazing the relationships we've built here over that past 11 days. We feel like the other parents in the NICU are family. It's like we're all looking out for each other's children. When one baby is released everyone is so excited (and a bit jealous!).

Both Alexander and Ellington are eating really well. In fact, Ella sucked her bottle dry today - that's 60ml (2oz)! It's hilarious, as soon as you lean her forward to burp her she lets out a giant man belch. Alex had his tube removed and is eating great without it! He takes about 40ml/feeding which is awesome! He doesn't burp quite like Ella, but I'm sure she'll teach him.

Also (w/o too much detail), Alex had a little procedure done today. But he took it like a champ and only cried for about 15 minutes. We're proud of our "little guy" ("big guy" to his face).

Some more picture of the little ones.

(They like to be swaddled together.)

(Ella is always hitting Alex in the face ...many more years of this ahead.)

(Alex just had his tube removed. His cheek was red from the tape he wore for 9 days.)

(Ella doing what she loves. It's the coolest thing to watch her dream.)