Pictures of Jack and Mark

I know that everyone wants to see more pictures of the boys. We have been a little busy lately, but here ya go:

Brotherly love at its best:



Are we twins? By looking at these pictures, it is a resounding YES!!!!





Other random pictures of the boys (some brotherly love, some not so much):

Flowers to Mommy

Mommy was sent some flowers the other day by Jack and Mark. They are very pretty. We do wonder where the boys got the money and were able to succinctly speak their thoughts in English.

Back to Church

We had gotten a call from the children's minister as well as the pre-school minister this week saying that the church was going to have a rose for each of the boys at the pulpit this Sunday. We had been wondering when we would get a chance to go back to church. Therefore, this morning, Granna and Grandpa kept the boys and we went to Sunday School (albeit a little late due to the morning feeding) and to the worship service. While we were there, we saw lots of friends and it was enjoyable to get back to church.

Here is a picture of the roses at the front of the church in honor of Jack David and Mark Douglas.

Kickoff Party

For the past 7 years, we have hosted a kickoff party. This party allows us to see some friends as well as get excited for the upcoming football season. This season has more excitement than others based on the Franchise, Russell Wilson. At each party, we watch one game from the previous year. It is almost always a victory. Therefore, some of the years have been lean so our selection is somewhat limited. But this year we had no issue with that as we watched the State-Carolina game from last year. 41-10. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!

This was the 8th Annual Kickoff Party, and the first with the boys. They were the hit of the party. Some friends who hadn't met them yet as well as some of their kids were able to meet Jack and Mark. It was alot of fun. Some of us took a walk up to Granna and Grandpa's new house during the party.

A good time was had by all. Good food, good fellowship, and not to mention, GREAT football.

Here are some pictures from the party:

Onto Daddy's work

On Friday, the boys and I and Grandpa went to SAS to see Daddy's coworkers. I had everything all packed and ready to head out immediately after the 2pm feeding. We were all in the car and pulling out of the driveway around 3:15. The boys were very good, as all of Craig's colleagues said. Craig had told his co-workers that Jack was a grunter. One of his co-workers didn't believe it as both boys were sleeping very well during most of the visit. However, near the end of the visit, Jack started grunting. It was cute. Everyone was really impressed with the boys, but no more than we were. It was an enjoyable experience. Now, we just need to get ready for Daddy's birthday, which is Saturday.

Our trip to Mommy's work

On Thursday, the boys and I and Grandpa went to Progress Energy to see Mommy's coworkers. I had everything all packed and ready to head out immediately after the 2pm feeding. We were all in the car and pulling out of the driveway just after 3pm. The boys were excellent at Progress. We talked in the car on the way about the fact that we needed to be very quiet while we were there and they really must have listened. They did just SO good....I can't say it enough. They were just wonderful. Even though we got home at 5:30, half an hour past feeding time, they slept in the car the whole way home and didn't start mentioning the fact they needed food until we pulled in the driveway.

Still not on our own....

Well, last Tuesday, the DeVaults left to go back home after being with us for 2 weeks and 2 days. Craig then left to go to work. So, it was just me and Jack and Mark. Unfortunately, we only lasted from 9am until about 11:15am. My first mistake was that I typically mix the formula for the next 24 hours between the 8am and the 11am feedings. (Mixing the formula is quite the process....the formula that we buy is 22 calorie. Breast milk is 20 calorie, so I have to add formula to it to bring it up to 24 calorie for Mark. Mark's formula must also be brought up from the 22 calorie as packaged to 24 calorie. Jack's formula is served at 22 calorie as packaged. Now, is that confusing enough???) Well, on Tuesday morning, at least one boy was crying all morning after Craig left. I kept trying to fix the formula before the 11am feeding and Mark would not let me lay him down. He just kept crying and I mean CRYING. So, thankfully Craig was able to come home at 11:15 and we soon recovered from a rough morning. The biggest lesson learned is that I now fix formula for the next 24 hours after the 8pm feeding while Craig is at home with me!!! So, that Tuesday afternoon we called my Dad and asked if we could take him up on his offer of coming back to stay for awhile and help! He has been with us ever since and will be here at least through Labor Day! We are SO very thankful for wonderful parents (now grandparents) and their willingness to help!

A Full Night's Sleep

Last night we got a full night's sleep. It was very refreshing and reinvigorating. Now, did the boys sleep through the night? Not quite. Remember, they aren't even six weeks old yet. But Granna and Grandpa were talked into handling the feedings, diaper changes, and any fretful cries or grunts. So, we went to bed around 10:30 and slept all night long.

Granna and Grandpa didn't get as much sleep as hoped for but all in all, the boys did a good job for the grandparents.

Mom and Dad are now ready for another 6 weeks of nighttime feedings. Let's hope that at the end of this 6 weeks, the boys are ready to start sleeping through the night.

It's been an eventful week for the DeVault boys!!!

Sorry we haven't blogged lately, but we do have a lot to share with all of you!

First of all, on Tuesday, Jack's umbilical cord fell off!! Mark's was off before he came home from the hospital because his was so much smaller. At birth, Mark's was about 1/3 the size in diameter of Jack's...hence his not getting as much nutrients in utero leading to his smaller size.

So, as a result of Jack's umbilical cord coming off, both boys got their first bath in the baby bathtub on Wednesday night! That was very exciting (for us!). Neither Jack nor Mark especially liked their first bath in the baby bathtub, but we did make it through without getting sprayed with pee! I thought that was quite an accomplishment!

On Thursday, we had their one month well visit at the pediatrician. They both did excellent and got a clean bill of health! So, I know many of you are curious as to how they are growing, so here are their one month stats:

Jack
7 lbs. 5.5 oz. (10th percentile)
20.25 inches (10th percentile)
head circumference 48th percentile (He takes after his daddy for sure!)

Mark
5 lbs. 11.5 oz. (less than 3rd percentile)
17.5 inches (less than 3rd percentile)
head circumference 5th percentile

We had lots of questions for the pediatrician. She probably thought we stayed up all night thinking of questions. But, we hadn't. We had just been compiling a list of questions for two weeks. She was very patient and answered our every question. We got lots of good information. There were three things we were a little disappointed to hear, but none are really that big of a deal. She doesn't recommend that we take the boys to church until next spring. My response to this was, "what? we can't go to church until Easter?"!! She said that she typically recommends 3-4 months for church nurseries, but that will put us into flu season. With the threat of swine flu, she recommends that we wait until after flu season has passed. We totally understand her point, so we will do what we need to in the best interest of the boys! We also asked about taking the boys to the NCSU football games this fall (as was our plan). Again, she recommended that we not take them into the games given the threat of swine flu and the fact that we sit so close to people in the stadium. She also expressed concern about their ears, since the stadium can be quite loud. She did however give us the okay to take the boys to tailgate, so we will let them at least experience that aspect of game day this year and they can join us at the games next fall! The last thing we were disappointed to hear is that she wants us to go back to a three hour feeding schedule. We are starting to see early signs of reflux problems in both boys. She wants us to continue to feed them the same amount in a 24 hour period, but feed less at each feeding and have more feedings in a day. Being that we have been at a four hour feeding schedule, it is really hard to adjust back down to three hours and having less free time between feedings. But, here again, we totally understand and want to do what we can to lessen or even clear the reflux issues. After she saw the disppointment on our faces at hearing this news about feeding every three hours, she suggested that we feed every three hours during the day and every four hours at night. So, for now, we are giving that a try! So, our new feeding schedule is 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, 12am, 4am, 8am. Our feedings last right about 55 minutes to one hour and 15 minutes.

And as for me, I have pretty much fully recovered and am back to about 97% now. My back hurts by the end of most days, but that is about it! I have lost 47.5 pounds now. So, I still have another 10-15 to go!!

Well, another feeding time has arrived....we'll post another update soon!

Overall, we are doing GREAT and loving being PARENTS to TWO WONDERFUL BOYS! We're just a bit sleep deprived!

Jack and Mark playing together

Here is a video of Jack and Mark playing somewhat together. They are in the Pack N Play. This was created a few days ago.

Mark is growing

We went to the doctor on Wednesday afternoon for a weight re-check for Mark. He was up to 5 lb 1 oz. That is fantastic. He is eating well and he put on 12 ounces in 7 days, which is awesome.

Both Mark and Jack go back to the doctor next Thursday for their one month checkup. That is unbelievable that they are closing in on being one month old.

Grandparent Switch

After 2 fun weeks with Granna and Grandpa (Heather's parents), they left yesterday right at the same time that Mimi and Poppy (Craig's parents) arrived. We enjoyed and are very thankful for all the help and fun that Granna and Grandpa gave us. We are looking forward to all the help and all the fun that Mimi and Poppy will give.

Jack and Mark are continuing to grow and become more in a routine every day. We had a pretty good night last night, although I experienced our first projectile formula spit up, courtesy of Jack.

Not to be out done this morning, I was changing Mark's diaper when I got hit with some biological output. I don't think the wee sponge would have stopped this type of output.