I think their first month of life went by so fast, but only because we were crazy busy! Max & Derek spent the first 8 days of life in an incubator in the NICU at Hospiten in Santo Domingo. It was such a struggle for Kurt & I because we didn't know what to expect & things are just done differently here in the DR. Then, we had the job of figuring out how to feed them... and boy was this a challenge. They were so small that they didn't want to wake up for feedings. We were afraid that Derek wasn't getting enough food, so we started bottle feeding right away.
Of course, this month we had visitors & lots of people that wanted to meet the boys. Grandma Sprunger was here for the births & then Grammy & Gramps Cline came to see us. The extra hands were a HUGE blessing, & we miss them so much already :)
The boys had 2 appointments this month. The first was at 14 days old. Max stayed at the same weight at 5.4 lbs, but grew 1 inch to 18.5 inches. Derek (the one we were worried about) weighed in .3 pounds heavier at 5.7 lbs! Not much, but enough for us :) He also grew 1.5 inches to 18 inches. The second appointment was with a pediatrician here in San Pedro (a much easier trip than to the capital). The boys were 23 days old. Max weighed in at 5 lbs 9 oz. We were so excited he was starting to grow. To us, he looked bigger than Derek, but that's not what the scale said. Derek reached the 6 lb mark before his 2 month birthday. They both were the same length at 19 inches.
There was a lot of trial and error for us the first month. Kurt & I didn't have any help from the hospital so it was nice to have Grandma Sprunger here in the beginning. The boys mostly slept, cried, and pooped. We changed more diapers in the first month than I care to remember. I'm pretty sure Kurt almost had a heart attack after the first week ;) Which leads me to say a BIG thanks to all those who gave us newborn diapers. We only had to buy 6 packages of newborn diapers in all!!
Most of our funny stories from this month come from some kind of bowel movement the boys had... haha!! If I remember correctly, Kurt got peed on at least twice. My mom was peed on, & I received a fart in the face :) We had poop shoot out over the floor a few times & even had to clean the feeding pillow after an "accident." It seems like we were gluttons for punishment; however, these times helped to ease the frustration & provide a little laughter into our stressful lives.
With all the unknowns about being parents & the many times we felt inadequet, we both (Kurt & I) thank God for allowing us to be the ones to care for these precious little boys <3
Happy 1 Month Max & Derek!!
