Eye exams and screaming babies

I should have posted this last week, but I'M ALLOWED TO DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!! Wooo hooo I'm mobile again! I got to drive last week for the first time since March 27th.............and I remembered how - hahaha. My doctor had given me the standard "12 to 14 days postpartum" but at my last visit, due to some complications, we left with him saying "No twisting, turning, lifting, bending, straining....." and as far as D was concerned, how do you drive without doing some of those things?? I'm still careful about twisting, turning, etc. but that's what all those mirrors in the car are for, right??!!

Yesterday, with my still new driving status, D and I arrived at the hospital separately. When I got there D said "Okay.....this is routine. Both girls are having an eye exam today." Haha - he's definitely learned how to break news to me. With the girls being born prematurely, there's a risk for them to have eye issues due to immaturity of the retinas so they check their eyes now to determine how they're doing. The nurse had let D know already that babies don't like this procedure. It's not supposed to be painful, but it involves eye drops and then the doctor holding open their eye lids and looking into their eyes (read bright light). D had to leave but I was there when the doctor and his crew blew into the room........he didn't even introduce himself to me (hard to do when he didn't even speak to me). It was an experience sort of like my c-section....the room was buzzing with people - the activity was quite stressful for me because it was going so fast, despite the fact I knew it was going to happen, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Olivia was first. She had done well with the drops before he got there and she was fine when he looked at her first eye. For her second eye, she screamed like I have never heard a baby scream before.......you would have thought he was taking off her arm. Made my heart hurt. She didn't cry - just this very loud scream. Sofia was next.........same thing- fine with the first eye, identical scream with the second eye. He needed help to hold Sofia - she was a little more feisty and I just couldn't watch that. I stayed with Olivia until Sofia was finished.......and yes I cried. How can you not cry when your kids are screaming at the hands of a total stranger.....no matter the reason.

Good news is their eyes are both healthy and he didn't see any reason to be concerned (he finally acknowledges my presence) so they don't need their eyes checked again until just before they start kindergarten.

Oh! Both girls also gained weight.......Sofia now weighs 3lb 7.1oz and Olivia weighs 3lb 10.1oz. Holy cow!! We also asked our nurse last night to re-measure Olivia's length from her Sunday measurement. She's 4 weeks old and, while Sofia has grown an inch, the measurements we've gotten for Olivia always hovered around the length she was when she was born. It's not always "apples to apples" because people measure differently, but she's definitely grown and her measurements haven't been reflecting it. 17 1/2 inches, baby!! Getting tall AND gaining weight. Now if we could just take a bottle.........