Clean bill of health, mostly

A nurse came out to the house yesterday to examine the girls. Apparently Kaiser used to do this with all newborns, but now it's just for the so-called at-risk newborns, which includes twins. It's a very nice service, since the thought of having to go back to Kaiser for an exam makes me want to break down and weep.

The good news is that the girls are doing well. They both have a slight case of jaundice, which is pretty common, and nothing to stress too much about. The nurse told us to get them some sun, which we have. Their poops are looking good, and shifting from the tarry black meconium of newborns to a mustardy orange. They need to be peeing 6-8 times a day.

Both the girls have lost weight, which is expected of newborns this age. Miranda's weight loss is typical, but Elizabeth's is at about 10% of her birthweight, which is just on the far edge of what's acceptable. So she needs to start packing it on.

The differences in weight loss make sense, given the eating habits they've each displayed so far. Miranda is pretty voracious, and has been nursing constantly since birth. Elizabeth, on the other hand, generally has to be coaxed into eating. While Rachel's breaking in her milk supply, and things are on the challenging side, we've introduced bottles of breast milk to Elizabeth, just to make sure she's eating enough. She has so far glugged down two big bottles, and had an excellently large pee, so we're feeling good.