The Dillingham twins celebrated their one-week birthday today! They are both doing well, each weighing in at 3 pounds, 14 ounces. So, Gabriel is already back to his birth weight and Zeke isn’t trailing far behind his. And that’s basically the overall story with their progress in the NICU: Gabe hits the milestones first and Zeke is usually about a day or so behind his brother — very typical for preemie twins, the neonatologists tell me. 

Charles Gabriel is born @ 2:43 p.m. on 10/16/08.

Both boys have been off their CPAP and other oxygen devices for a while now. Gabe no longer gets the meat-and-potatoes IV and Zeke is being weaned off of his. Gabe is finished with his photo-therapy for his jaundice, whereas Zeke still probably has a few more sessions under the bright lights. Gabe is eating my milk via bottle, as long as he can stay awake for the entire process, and is eating via feeding tube when he decides to take a snooze mid-meal. In fact, he finished his first complete bottle today while I was feeding him; this, of course, made me feel pretty darn awesome. Zeke is eating my milk only by feeding tube, but once he starts rooting, we’ll get him started on perfecting his bottle-sucking skills.

Stephen Ezekiel is born @ 2:45 p.m. on 10/16/08.

I can already tell the twins apart. Not only do they look different to me, but their personalities are already showing through. Just like we had thought (because of their experiences during the TTTS), Gabriel is a bit of a wild child, with a penchant for trying to steal the show, whereas Zeke is calm and mellow, taking things in stride. It’ll be funny to see how long these traits hold true and how the nature-versus-nurture influences pan out. Not sure who the boys are going to look like yet, since they’re still so small, but my guess is that they’re going to favor Daddy.

Gabriel likes to snooze in the NICU.

Today I got to hold both boys at once. This was the first time Gabriel and Zeke had been next to each other since the day they were born. I asked the nurses if I can hold the twins at the same time once I start “kangaroo care” (which means holding a baby on your chest for skin-to-skin contact), since I figure each brother is lonely without the other. They said that shouldn’t be a problem, so I’m excited to get that rolling soon.

Zeke also catches up on his Zs in the NICU.

It has been quite the challenge divvying up my time between the NICU and home. I want to be at the hospital for the twins for as many feedings and diaper changes as possible, while also being at home with Houston to keep his life as normal as possible. I need to bond with my new babies, mother my 16-month old, get the twins’ nursery ready, recover from my c-section and start slowly taking part in this household again, all while fighting hormonal breakdowns in an effort to retain my sanity and the sanity of those I love. Like Stephen says, we have been and continue to be so blessed that getting down about such things is just pointless; instead, I should be thanking God at every instant for the miraculous triumphs made in growing our beautiful Clan Dillingham and celebrating the loving support showered upon our family in our time of need! 

As far as pictures go, click either c-section photo to see all the photos from the OR, and click either snoozing picture to see all the photos from the twins’ first four days in the NICU.