Movin' On Up

We had another good weekend and the boys are doing really well. They are tolerating their feedings and gaining weight like champs. Tyler is at 2 lbs 11 oz (1222 grams) and Max is close behind at 2 lbs 7 oz (1120 grams). Both boys have calorie fortifiers added to their milk to help with weight gain, and Max is also getting a protein additive. Once they hit 1500 grams they can start wearing preemie clothes, so we better start shopping! They are also growing in length - Max is now 14 inches (up from 12 inches at birth) and Tyler is just under 15 inches (up from 13 3/4 inches at birth). They seem to have taken after their dad and both have big hands and feet (big for preemies, that is). If they have size 15 shoes like their dad one day, they'll never believe they started out so tiny! On a related note, we measured Andy's shoe and it is exactly the same length as Max from his head to his toes. ;)

Even though the boys are gaining weight, they are still behind what they would have been if they were growing in the womb. To emphasize the importance of each day on bedrest, the doctors and nurses always reminded us that 1 day in the womb is equivelant to 4 days in the NICU. This seemed pretty clear today when I received my weekly email update from Baby Center about my pregnancy. Titled "Your Pregnancy: 31 Weeks," it read, "This week your baby measures over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds." Looking at their weight and length stats, you can see the difference already. Max and Tyler's early arrival will probably put them behind developmentally for the first 2 years of their lives. We will actually refer to their "adjusted age" when gauging development, which would be their age if they would have been born on their due date. That means that even though they will be 4 months old at the beginning of June, their adjusted age would be only 1 month. Premature babies are typically caught up by age 2, and sometimes sooner, so they'll get there!

The highlight of our weekend was tonight when Andy and I got to hold the boys at the same time. It took some manuevering because of the oxygen machines, but we finally got our first family picture too! This is as close as the boys have been to each other since they were born. I wonder if they could sense each other? I told them to beware because once they are in the same crib, we'll probably take 1000 pictures of them! Until then, here are just a few pictures from the weekend:

First Family Photo!

Like father like sons: check out the long fingers

The big scale they get weighed on every night