Getting Stronger; Getting Bigger

Besides some fussiness between feedings, the boys have been well-behaved as of late. For the first time, they both cooperated with us and went back to sleep following the late-night and early-am feedings! And not just once, but TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW! Believe us: it's a major accomplishment for these two. The norm is that one falls asleep, and the other remains in consolable until the next feeding. We're told that this gassy phase will pass and the quality of our lives will improve.

As usual, we have been extraordinarily fortunate to have in-home help from, who else, our parents. Last week was my father's turn, and though he handled them like a live fish, he was a huge help and we were each able to sleep almost 5 hours in a single stretch, though not at the same time, or course.

It's amazing to see them already out-growing their clothes and blankets. Even Vinny has grown too large for the receiving blankets we've been using since their birth. They have both graduated to the "Newborn" size diaper (from "Preemie"), and Adrian is almost ready size "1".

Their appetites have become increasingly (and I suppose, proportionately) voracious. At first, they'd fill up on 1 fluid ounce. Now they both consistently take down 4 oz. and frequently Adrian needs to be topped off. Elisa's milk supply has kept up with demand remarkably well, but in the past 48 hours we have been forced to supplement with formula - clear foreshadowing of what's to come. I can already see them putting away a pound of pasta between them. Yikes!

Also of note, we had our first real family outing (not counting visits to the pediatrician, of course). Last Sunday, we drove to the island south of the Mall where the FDR memorial and some athletic fields are located.

It was almost 70 degrees in DC, and we had a nice afternoon. The vibration generated by the stroller proved comforting to the boys, and I'm sure the fresh air didn't hurt either. For more photos, as always, check out our Picasa page here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisandelisa08/FourthWeek#