Cousins

Friday was a very exciting day at the Collett house because Jack and Harper got to meet their cousins, Wyatt and Sloane, and their Aunt Kerry and Uncle Eric. The Sandbergs drove in from Houston, picked up dinner, and then spent time holding babies, visiting, and reminding Tony and I how quickly the infant stage really does pass.

Both Wyatt (a month shy of 7) and Sloane (4) were anxious to hold their new cousins and introduce themselves. Wyatt was a big helper entertaining Jack while we ate dinner; he sang to him and talked to him, and Jack just stared at Wyatt. Sloane was all about Harper. She declared that she would hold Harper by herself and no one needed to help her. Sloane also asked if she could take Harper home with her; I’m sure she’d be ready to bring her right back when Harper started crying in the middle of the night.  Overall, the visit went great and we can’t wait to see more of the cousins at Easter dinner.

We also had Jack’s swallow test and found out the results immediately. Poor little guy, like his sister, was aspirating his milk, which means he was getting milk into his lungs when he ate anything. His aspirations, unlike Harper’s, were silent- he didn’t scream or try to pull away from the bottle. So, now Jack is also on thickened formula, the same recipe as sister. This means a couple of things for our household. First, it means that we no longer need to color code our bottle system, which will save in time and confusion. It also means that I can wean myself off the pump and go through our overflowing deep freeze and decide how much breast milk I want to keep to have later to mix with cereal, when they start eating that, and how much I want to go ahead and donate now.  Since I will no longer be pumping, it also means I can start getting a little more sleep, eat more of what I want to, and Tony will no longer have to make fortified bottles every night. So, while I’m sad that I won’t get to nurse anymore, Jack seems much happier (and screams much less when burping) and our household benefits as well, so we will chalk it up to good overall and move on.

The last thing that we embarked upon last night was our first night alone with the twins. We spent nights alone with Jack, but Debbie was here when Harper got home, and my mom has been here since Debbie left. Last night was okay, but not great. We each logged a total of 6-7 hours of sleep- but only 2-3 hours at a time. We will see how today goes.  I’ll leave you with one last picture of Harper and Jack from Friday afternoon. I think Jack has finally learned how to keep his sister quiet…