Tummy time fun!

Placing the baby on the stomach while awake can help the baby develop strong head, neck and shoulder muscles & promote certain motor skills. Tummy time can also prevent the back of the baby 's head from becoming flat.
Also, the more time babies spend on their tummies, the earlier they might begin to roll over, crawl on their stomachs, crawl on all fours and sit without support.

Kavya & Oviya had their tummy time started in their first month. I started the tummy time with 10 minutes in the beginning. Since they had the chance of experiencing a different position, they seemed to be in a state of enjoyment, happiness, entertainment & pleasure - shortly in the state of amusement :-) They must've wondered why mom has made them lie upside down :-P
Both did not have hair at their back of their heads as they were lying on their backs most of their time.
 

Initially, during the tummy time they might feel drowsy and go to a napping state as well ;-) I always admire when they fall asleep in this position. Unfortunately, they shouldn't be allowed to sleep in this position due to some risk factors.

My 'ahh... choo chweet' moment is this :-)

Love beyond 5 senses

We have a pet dog Snowy, who was very much interested in meeting the babies. He couldn't help jumping near the crib to have a sneak peek of them. When they cry or make sounds, he was sure to notify me. Slowly, we introduced him to the babies.

Snowy was so curious and astonished to see the tiny arms and legs moving and sniffed them from top to bottom. He must have known that the new arrivals have become our part of the family. Since then, he acts like a bodyguard for them and wouldn't let any strangers touch the babies or even talk to them :-)
I understood that there's something beyond his 5 senses that we could actually imagine. He was getting used to all kinds of smells like creams, diapers, bottles, clothes, spit-ups etc...

Kavya & Oviya had their chords fell off in the next 2 to 3 weeks. And, yes they had their adventurous first official baths after that ;-). They were amused to have the warm splash of water over their bodies. As a first timer, giving bath was challenging coz their heads were not stable and their whole body was too fragile. When I place them wrapped after bath, Snowy always stays nearby. He watches me apply moisturizer & wear them diaper & dresses.

We were all taken aback by Snowy's act of protectiveness & inclusiveness ;-) The babies truly have a best pal to play with.

A week after hatching

Nov 30 2011

Our 3rd wedding anniversary coincided the day when the babies were one week old. There was no mood for celebration. Still in recovery, I could barely cope up with the new change.

They were sleeping most of the time and cried when they were hungry or needed comfort.  While Kavya was still analyzing the new environment, Oviya seemed suspicious about everything she saw. The whole routine of diaper change, feeding, burping, spit-up and sponge bath continued throughout the week and I didn't know the difference between day & night ;-)  

By one week, the babies started recognizing my voice (Every mom's pride) :-)
They felt safe and comfy in my arms. We swaddled them all the time to make them more comfortable. Swaddling is done to make any newborn feel warm & protected like they were in the womb. It really worked!

Since I was in the initial stage of pre-eclampsia at the end of pregnancy ( A serious condition arising in the second half of pregnancy, which is marked by a dramatic increase in blood pressure and swelling of face, arms & legs),  I looked like a swollen pumpkin and my all time high weight was 175 lbs :O.  My determination and hard work made me reduce to my pre-pregnancy weight  120 lbs :-D

Welcome home!

Nov 28th 2011

The twins took their first glimpse outside after 4 days of hospital stay. The nurses and doctors were of great help & we departed them with beary hugs. They cleared all my newborn questions, which I gave like an annual question paper :-P

We had to wrap the babies in the winter costume as it was little cold outside. As per the rules & safety, they were placed in the car seats during the drive. They were sleeping in the 15 minute drive from the hospital to the home ( they still sleep in the drive ;-) ).

It was so funny and damn cute, the way tiny people are buckled up in the car seat. The car seat looked much bigger for their size :-P

When we arrived home, my mom was ready to welcome us in a traditional way ( Thank God, the smoke alarm didn't blew up :-) )