Blog of a Wife, Nurse & Twin Mom

They Could Probably Do Anything...

2012-01-05T18:15:00.000-08:00

...And I would think it was cute.

Playing on our new piano? Probably reducing the life expectancy of the instrument by months with every keystroke....

Definitely cute (Adam in front).

As is (Adam) eating a sticky apple in his dressy new suit. /\

I also think things are cute like them running away from me and laughing when I am trying to put their clothes on, their love of finding dirt and getting completely dirty by digging in it, and today, Adam finding a kitchen tong and then following me in to the bathroom and trying to grab my leg with it. That last one was so unexpected I just laughed out loud.

Yeah they could do anything and I would think it was cute. I am pretty sure this is a parenting flaw. But regardless, I am loving these age, they are so sweet. Even if they are little trouble makes.

---

Other updates:

The boys have been weaned for 2.5 weeks now. I can't believe it's been that long. Both boys have asked to nurse twice each (By doing the "nurse" sign and pulling down my shirt. Thankfully always at home :P). That was really, really sad, but they were easily distracted. Two of those times were because I was slow giving them their cups of milk. They love their warm milk in their sippy cups, and it is easier to cuddle with both of them than the double football nursing hold. So I am not sad I weaned them...... most of the time :P

The boys are loving the YMCA where I workout. They have a Kid Zone that is included in the gym membership where I drop the boys off for an hour a few times a week while I go to a class or run on the treadmill. I spy on the boys after I drop them off, and before I pick them up, and they are always playing happily. (Ever since the first 2 weeks we went... the boys only last 15 minutes most of those times). They even go play with other kids, but they always come back to each other. As soon as they see me, all bets are off and they want me to pick them up right away. I love having my hour in the morning to work out, makes the day so much better!

I have been looking through the boys' old pictures and getting nostalgic. Here is a picture from when they were 11 months and fell asleep nursing. Each stage has been cute, but the 15/16 month age is still my favorite!

Twin Love

2011-12-31T10:28:00.000-08:00

Twins = Double the Love

These are the sweetest videos in existence :)

Matthew on the left, Adam on the right; showing Daddy some love:

Matthew showing Adam some love:

16 Months - What the Kids are Doing Now

2011-12-22T18:42:00.001-08:00

I think we may be getting to the age where having twins, in SOME ways, is easier than having singletons two years apart or so. If I just had one right now, I would definitely be wanting to get pregnant to give my child a playmate, but Adam & Matthew already have each other, and they don't have to wait for a new baby to get old enough to play with them. Of course they are still fighting with each other and stealing. But no more biting (at least none that I haven't been able to stop).

Here are some adorable things the kiddos are doing:

I have been playing "peek a boo" with them with the shower curtain for a while (which

they love), but now they are playing back. They will pull the curtain back and say "ahhh" and they laugh like crazy when I pretend to be scared.

During bath time they also love to play with the water coming out of the faucet!

Finding random places to sit, and then carefully backing up and sitting down.(Our laps, steps, random objects, etc.) Very cute!
(Matthew on left, Adam on right)
In the mornings and after their nap, the boys are usually very content to just entertain each other until I come and get them. I try to sneak in quietly to watch them, but as soon as I open the door, they go from looking at each other between the bars of their cribs, to turning/walking towards me with the biggest smiles on their faces.
(Adam in front, Matthew in back)

At bed time (not always nap time), when I pick them up to cuddle before putting them in their cribs for the night, both boys now point to their cribs, then themselves, then their cribs, and repeat until I put them in. They are ready for their rest!
They are saying "uh oh" every time they drop something, which, coincidentally, is quite
often these days!
They are (still) reading books to themselves using a made up language :)
They are more in tune to each other's cries. If I put one twin in time out, his brother will go up to the closed door, and look at me with a very concerned look. Also if one gets hurt, it can make the other twin cry too. (Or if they think an adult has gotten hurt.)
They can identify their nose, ears, and feet. Also they can be sent on little errands like, "Adam, go bring me your shoes." Love putting them to work :)
Occasionally they do something so similarly it is crazy. They other day I had to get one of our cats out of their room during their nap, and I went in, and they were both sleeping in almost they exact position (different cribs).

(Matthew)

(Adam.. please ignore the different colored socks. I was very tired, the laundry was in the dryer and his feet were cold. So of course they chose this moment to do something cute! :P)

Coming up in my next few blogs.... how my boys are doing without breastfeeding, and how they are doing at the Kid Zone in the YMCA while I work out (I spy on them to see who they are playing with before I pick them up :P)

Stay tuned....

Day 2

2011-12-19T20:25:00.000-08:00

We are on day two of no breastfeeding. I guess this means the boys are "weaned," but I hesitate to use that word in case I just cave and start breastfeeding again. Also my body hasn't completely gotten the message, so I still have a little milk. So maybe in another week or so I will actually say my boys are "weaned." :)

I am surprised by how sad I am that this chapter of parenting my twins is over. The boys were definitely ready to be done, they were only nursing once a day, right before bedtime, and those sessions were only a few minutes long before the boys got distracted and wanted down. They didn't even notice when I took away that last session, they were perfectly content with their sippy cups of milk and their bed time stories.

But I'm not sure Momma was quite so ready. It makes my heart ache thinking how they are not babies anymore, and they don't NEED me at quite the same level.

I told Alan I may just have to nurse them in the morning, and he just signed and rolled his eyes at me :)

Here are the boys and me at Fossil Rim yesterday... such big guys. (Adam on the left, Matthew on the right.)

Final Breastfeeding Count: 16 Months, 0 Days

Why I Don't Think "Cry It Out" is Completely Evil

2011-12-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

I just read an anti-"cry-it-out" article, so made me want to post a few thoughts.

I actually have a lot of thoughts on this subject, and I do hate letting my kids cry, but...

One of the boys woke up from his afternoon nap early today, after about an hour, when they usually sleep at LEAST 2-3. (They are down to just one nap.) As he was crying was actually when I read the article, so I was feeling guilty that he was crying.

However, I could tell from his cry that he wasn't in pain, and that he was still tired. When my kids have gotten enough sleep, they wake up happy, and bouncing in their cribs. I also know from experience that once I go in their room, nap time is over. They bounce up with a huge smile on their face (usually also waking up peacefully sleeping brother), and both promptly forget about being sleepy. If they would go back to sleep after I comfort them, that would be my first choice. But it just doesn't happen, and then we all pay for it for the rest of the afternoon with fussiness and tantrums. And whining. Fussiness/tantrums/whining = avoid at ALL costs!

So I let him cry (I think it was Adam, but we don't have a video monitor), and he cried/whined for about 25 minutes (usually they only wake up for about 10, and go back to sleep). I took a

shower after about 15 minutes, and told myself if he was still crying when I got out I would go get him. But guess what? They are both now sleeping peacefully, and we will all be happier this afternoon.

And that is why Crying-it-out is not completely evil. It's all about learning YOUR kiddo, and what works best for him (or her :P).

Here are the little cuties getting ready for bed two nights ago:

Biting

2011-12-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

T0day while I was getting the boys ready to take their bath, I noticed a bite mark on Adam's back AND on his arm :( Both bite marks had cut through the skin.

Poor Adam.

Or that was my first thought. Then I remembered how much he loves to steal his brother's toys, and it seems Matthew has found a defense against this.

In fact as I was reading them their bedtime stories, Adam tried to steal a book from Matthew, and Matthew acted like he was going to bite him. So, Adam put up a hand to defend himself, and I broke them up before it could escalate.

We think Matthew may have bitten Adam while they were playing in the play room by themselves, because neither me nor Alan saw the actual bite.

I am reading a book that says biting can happen when a child is over-socialized and frustrated. Does it count as over-socialization to have your identical twin (with very similar wants and needs) trailing you everywhere, and wanting your toys? The book suggests a different environment, but I don't see me separating the boys in the house. I think I will just have to be more proactive about not allowing stealing or biting.

So to sum it up we have:

1. A biting problem (Matthew)

2. A stealing problem (Adam)

3. A discipline problem. We need to nip this in the bud!!

Nice Morning

2011-12-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

(This pic was not taken this morning, but is the most recent pic I have of the boys. Taken this weekend with their Granny Bee. (Matthew in blue, Adam in red.)

---

There are some days that are everything you always imagined Motherhood would be.

Yep this morning was one of those day.

Which probably means this afternoon will not be. But that's ok. I am going to enjoy it for now.

Here are some highlights from this morning with my boys:

Slept in until 8 (That one is important)
They played with my hair and my face while they nursed
I made them home made playdoh and showed them how to mold it and press imprints into it in their highchairs. They proceeded to try every method of eating it, peeling a piece off and eating it, grabbing a whole ball of it and biting into it. Every time they would shudder and spit it out. (Very salty stuff). Eventually they actually played with it (for about 2 minutes) before doing the "all done" sign. Sigh, I don't think they are at the age for playdoh yet. But the upside is it made me feel like a real mom ;)
Me and Adam played the game where he opens the door, pokes his head out, and tries to scare me. A few times I pretended he knocked me down with the door. The last time I was laying on the floor, and Adam walked over to me, sat on my stomach, and then laid on me and gave me a big hug. It was so precious.
During story time, both boys were sitting on my lap. I was reading "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" (a favorite) and both boys would bump their heads with their hands as I was reading "one fell off and bumped his head". (I have been bumping their heads myself for a few weeks while I read this, but now they have taken over, haha)
I can ask "where's you nose/ears/foot" and the boys point correctly to them. (Actually a few days ago, we asked Adam where his nose was and he just stared at us, so Matthew pointed to Adam's nose for him.)
I ask "Give mommy a kiss" and both boys will kiss my cheek, and then pull their lips away very dramatically with a big "mwah" sound. (That's how I kiss them, so I guess that's where they learned it. Or maybe daddy taught them, because they did it to him first. So sweet!)
I skipped nursing them before nap time and they were okay. Yay! (My goal is to get down to 2 times a day (morning and night). Then drop the morning nursing, and just do the night feed until we are all tired of nursing. They seem to love their cup of milk almost as much, so I think we will be okay.

15 Months

2011-11-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

Stats:

Adam: 22 lbs, 1.5 oz.

31.5 inches

(50-75th%)

Matthew: 21 lbs, 13.5 oz

31 inches

(25-50th%)

They are catching up in their percentiles! Matthew is a little smaller than Adam because of his week long illness where he wouldn't eat or drink much except breast milk. The doctor found some old fluid in Matthew's ear, so he did have an ear infection.

Signs:

I have taught the boys a few sings. (Please, All Done, and Nurse) I am not going too crazy with it (mainly because I haven't taught myself very many, I do love the concept of it though). My favorite sign in "please". I say, "say please," and Adam vigorously pats his right hand on his chest, while Matthew barely taps his chest. It is so adorable. Adam especially loves to "say please" even when I don't ask him, if he sees something he wants. One morning the first thing he did after standing up in his crib was immediately do the "please" sign. The hardest part is just trying to figure out what it is they want though. I suppose that would be where more signs would come in handy ;).

Adam saying "please":

Words:

Mama

Dada

Nana

Boom (pronounced boo) - just Matthew

Animal noises:

Moo

Baabaa - just Adam

Cute things they do:

Run away and laugh, but always look back to make sure I am following them.

On the bed or couch, they fling themselves on to their stomachs and laugh, because we often play with them by (gently) knocking them over (on to a soft surface).

Play in the mud outside, and then try to hand it to me like it is the best present in the world.

(Matthew in blue, Adam in green)

Imitate us so well. We showed Adam how to tap on our scale and then step on to take his weight. He immediately was jabbing that scale as hard as he could over and over with his foot. Then eventually he stepped on :)

Make anything into a phone. ANYTHING. Just by holding an object up to their ear and saying, "eh?"

Make car noises while wheeling their toy cars on the floor.

Approx Schedule:

Yep we still have our trusty schedule. Yay for schedules!

7:00 - Wake up/Nurse

7:30 - Breakfast

10:45 - Lunch, sippy cup of milk

11:30 - Nurse/Nap (trying to wean off this nursing time)

2:00 - Wake/Snack

5:30 - Dinner, sippy cup of milk

7:00 - Bath, story time

7:30 - Nurse/Bed time

Physical milestones:

Starting to run

Can climb up the stairs and go down the slide in our backyard by themselves

Starting to use a spoon and fork

Challenges of 15 month old Twins:

This may apply to all siblings, but my boys do NOT share well. They bite, shove and cry when their twin takes a toy, threatens to take a toy, or has a toy they want.

15 months, as much as I love this age with it's new found independence for both toddlers and mommy, can still be a very needy age. It can still be overwhelming having two sets of hands reaching up and two boys saying "mama, mama". To them they are still the center of the universe, and they don't always realize they have a brother Mom needs to take care of too. A brother with the same needs, and at the same stage of development.

Telling them apart can be a challenge sometimes! I feel so bad and worry that I am going to mess them up (as in not treat them as individuals) when I momentarily get them confused.

Advantages/the Fun Part of having 15 month old Twins:

In the morning and after naps, they are always "talking to each other" when they wake up. They are facing each other through the rails and making noises and laughing. Once they hardly acknowledged my presence when I came in; they just continued playing. Too cute.

When I send the kiddos outside to play, I often find them playing in the sand box together, or climbing their small gym outside. They spontaneously laugh at each other (actually more so when I am not around, but spying on them through the window :P).

Having twice the hugs and cuddles :)

And of course, they always have a built in buddy.

By the way, 15 months is my favorite age so far :)

Oh Yeah, This is Why I am Slow to Wean....

2011-11-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

My kids aren't huge cuddlers. I mean, they love to be held (while walking around) and to be close to Mommy (while playing), but long term cuddling while reading or sitting in a chair? Doesn't happen, not even when they were newborns.

Except when they are nursing.

At 15 months, we are down to breastfeeding 3 times a day. While they nurse, they are so peaceful and content as they play with my hair, look in my eyes, play little games with me, etc. All while we are seated and not playing with toys (unless I count as the toy).

Before nap time they sometimes fall asleep while nursing. They cuddle and nurse while sleeping on the tandem nursing pillow I still use. It is pretty much Mommy heaven. However, as soon as I detach them, they immediately flip over the nursing pillow on to their tummies. Away from me. Still asleep, but apparently without use for Mommy anymore. No cuddling without nursing is apparently their rule (Imagine me all alone in the middle with no babies on the nursing pillow):

So, we are still nursing, and not sure when we will wean :)

Sweet Moments

2011-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite moments: bath time and story time with the kiddos. :) This was last Friday night.

Cute Little Stinkers

2011-11-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

"Ah yes, the mobile toddler. There is no question that a toddler mom is a tired mom, and for good reason. The emotional and physical energy needed to supervise an energy-packed tot can take down the most physically fit mom. If your toddler happens to be a boy, add fifty percent more energy. Never so beautiful does this child look to his wary mom as he does when he closes his eyes to sleep." --- Toddlerwise, p 23. (Ezzo & Buchnam)

This quote made me smile & laugh. So does that mean toddler twin boys take 100% more energy? Yes they wear me out, but they are the sweetest boys ever. Their curiosity is never ending, they are constantly pointing at stuff and saying, "eh?" or "wha da?" Often they will whine, "ma ma, ma" with their arms up, only to lunge for something they couldn't reach before I can completely stand up with them in my arms. If Adam is anywhere near a stroller or shopping cart, he will try to push it, even if I am holding him at the time. If I sit on the floor with them, they will inevitably end up making their way on to my lap and giving me a snuggle before moving on again. Lately I have been able to let them play in the backyard on their own for 10-15 minutes at a time. (That's about how long it is before they find their way back inside saying, "ma ma, ma ma." That is the perfect amount of time to clean up their highchairs and put some dishes in the dishwasher. I am not able to do a lot of chores while they are awake, but I still try. Here are Adam & Matthew while I was trying to do laundry... I was thinking how cute they were standing in the laundry basket, but then I looked away, and looked back, and they were in the dryer :) Little stinkers.

Sleep Training - The First Year

2011-11-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

It is November, the month of Thanks. I am thankful, so very thankful, that it is so easy to put my kids to bed every night. I don't hear a peep from them after I tell them goodnight and close the door. They are happy through the entire bedtime routine: Bath, Nurse, Story, Bed (Singing, massage). Even when I put them in their cribs; they are smiling up at me. It is precious!

And even with how well amazing they sleep now, I'm not sure I would approach sleep training in

exactly the same way if I had another kid, but apparently I did get results. Naps/bedtime/waking up at night were THE things that stressed me out the most the first 9 months. Before I had kids (read: before I had a set of twins that hated life when they were tired, but hated going to sleep & staying asleep even more) I was completely against the "cry it out" method. Read on to see what happened.....

Months 1-3

During these months we had no schedule. The boys nursed on demand and slept when they were rocked or swung long enough ;) The boys mainly fell asleep during nursing (we would try to

transfer to their pack n plays, with hit or miss success), in their swings/bouncers, or by being rocked to sleep (simultaneously). It was pretty difficult to successfully transfer them to a pack n play with both of them in my arms! I must have looked pretty comical. During these first few months the babies were often on me the entire time they were napping, or I was bouncing a

bouncy seat.

Months 3-7

At around 3 months, the boys had been either on different nap schedules, or being held during their naps their whole lives, and I was starting to lose just a little bit of my sanity. (You can ask

my husband). Try rocking two babies to sleep simultaneously for 3 months.... it's not as warm and cuddly as rocking one. ;) So I went to Border to buy the Dr. Sears book on infant sleeping. Borders didn't have that book, but they did have On Becoming Babywise (which I actually wasn't going to buy originally, because some of the reviews said it was harsh.)

I ended up reading through it in every spare second I had (usually while I was tandem nursing). The basic premise is: babies need sleep to be healthy and happy, but they will often fight it and end up not getting the sleep they need. Not taking good naps = waking up more at night, and a fussy baby all around. (My kids were very, very fussy newborns.) The book advocated an

Eat, Play, Sleep schedule during the day. But when it was time to sleep, put the baby in his crib, and if he doesn't go to sleep right away, it's okay to let him cry it out. They crying it out should end in 2 weeks.

I was so desperate for some sleep and maybe just a little sanity back, I followed this book

exactly. The longest the kiddos cried was 20 minutes, but they did cry before every nap time. But, they slept in their cribs, I had some free time (45 minute naps.. but 45 minutes baby free was a huge step), and the babies were definitely happier. They still woke up several times a night, I didn't follow the part about letting them cry it out at night (I really think they needed

their breast milk). I thought... I can handle two weeks of crying for simultaneous naps in the crib. I was very strict... no one was allowed to rock the babies to bed, pick them up from their cribs after they were placed in them for nap time, etc. I was terrified ju

st one deviance would mean two more weeks of crying before nap time.

I did this for 4 months. I loved having a schedule (You can see these in my previous posts). But, unfortunately my kiddos still cried every.single.nap.time. To be fair, they did quietly go to sleep some naps, but that was a minority. And also to be fair, they cried every single nap time before I did the whole schedule/sleeping in the crib thing, it's just I was

actively doing something about it so I didn't feel as bad. My kids just really hated sleeping I think. Well, after 4 months of crying in their cribs before naps, the mommy guilt really set in, and I changed my game plan a little.

Months 7-9

I read parts of a new book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child". This book had different levels of strictness that you could follow (For example, you could choose to either soothe your child to sleep every single time before you put him in bed, OR soothe him for a set time, and then put him in bed asleep or not and let him cry if needed.) It said it was okay to nurse your child to sleep, okay to rock your child to sleep, etc, as long as you put him in his crib after he fell asleep to ensure the sleep is good quality. It also advocated putting your baby down for naps/bed at the same time every day. Also it talked more about having a nap time and bed time routine.

I liked this book better because it allowed more freedom. I kept the Eat/Play/Sleep schedule because I had been using that for 4 months (I might change that if I had another kid, I think babies like to nurse before sleeping). But instead of just putting them in their crib, I started taking them out in their stroller when they got tired. They fell right asleep in their stroller, then I would transfer them to their cribs without a problem. This actually worked really well because they went to sleep without crying, and I got a jog in every morning. Usually for the afternoon nap, they would fall asleep in the car on the way back from an errand, and I would either let them sleep in their car seat, or transfer them to their cribs. At bedtime they would nurse to sleep.

I wonder if this would have worked if I hadn't trained them to sleep in their cribs first, but I was a happy momma when I switched to this method. We were still on a schedule, but without the crying.

Months 9-12 (and beyond)

I started getting worried that after all my efforts in months 4-7, the babies would never be able to fall asleep on their own in their cribs. At 9.5 months, we went to visit some relatives, and I watched my cousin put her two girls to bed. She just read them a story, etc, then kissed them goodnight and closed the door. While they were still awake! No crying or anything. I had a renewed hope that this was possible without crying. When we got back from our trip, I did everything I could to make the bedtime routine fun. I discovered the babies loved full body massages; they would actually lie down for them. I did let the babies cry it out again, but within a few days, they had stopped crying (for the most part), and started going to sleep on their own in the crib. Success!

They still occasionally cry at nap time, but only for a minute or two before singing or talking themselves to bed. I don't hear a peep at bedtime. I now nurse before nap time and bed time, but they rarely fall asleep while I nurse. I read them a story, put them in bed, and sing to them while I massage their backs. At nap time they often pop right back up, but I say "goodnight" and close the door, and they understand that I'm not coming back until after they wake up :) Now that they are down to one nap, they often wake up once of twice during their nap. I used to go in, but discovered once I am in their room, they do NOT go back to sleep. Now I wait ten minutes, and only go in after that. They almost always fall back asleep for another 1-2 hours. I wait several minutes at night too when they wake up. Most nights they wake up for a few minutes, but I very rarely have to go in there anymore.

WOW, that was a long post, sorry :) In summary, I am so thankful for where we are in this sleep training journey. But I still have some guilt over months 4-7 when they cried before almost every nap time. I wish I could go back and find a different solution, but still have the same result I have now. I think if we have another kid, I will use "Healthy Sleep Habits" instead of "Babywise". I am definitely not against babies crying it out (I think it is needed for some babies...although I don't think it should be used for very young babies), but I now think rocking and nursing babies to sleep is not bad, but actually important for mother/baby bonding, especially those first few months. The two things I believe are most important for good sleep habits are consistency and a schedule. Stick with the method you decide to use, at least for a few months. And a schedule = a must, at least for twin moms. :) I'm thinking singleton moms too?

Trip with Sick Kiddos

2011-10-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

I had my first experience with a really sick baby last week. Not seriously sick, like rush to the emergency room sick. But fever for 5 days (up and down), and sleeping all day (while nursing constantly). This was while we were on a trip to Branson, Missouri.

BUT, it didn't ruin the trip. Probably mostly because we stayed in a sweet 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom condo WITH both sets of grandparents. Which means plenty of people to watch baby #2 while I napped with and nursed Matthew. Actually it was just how I envisioned life with one newborn baby ;) Matthew was so lethargic from the fever he slept almost all day for 2-3 days. He would wake up long enough to re latch and go back to sleep. But I was still able to get out for 2-4 hours a day and leave him with the grandparents, because his fever would go up and down. (Ranging from 99.1 - 102.8). Here is the first morning he woke up with a fever of 102.8:

Poor, sweet baby. I'm so sad, you had a fever and felt so yucky, but THANK YOU for all the baby cuddles. As a twin mom, one on one baby cuddles are hard to come by, and so, so precious. After Matthew's fever broke the morning we drove home, he developed a rash the next day that lasted two days. I think he had Roseola. (common and not serious). Here is a little bit of the rash:

And here is Matthew feeling a little better (this is actually between the fever and the rash):

Adam was also sick while we were gone. His was more congestion. We had a scare one night when I checked on him because he cried. When I went in his room, his breathing was really labored (think Darth Vader...it was that bad :-/). I took him to our bedroom and turned on the light. That's when I noticed pretty serious substernal retractions :( I started to panic and imagining him going into respiratory failure... thinking there wasn't even a pulse ox or blow by O2 I could easily give him.... I contemplated calling 911 to have access to some oxygen (NICU nurse thinking..) but I knew if we went to the ER he would most likely get poked and prodded. So (after counting his respirations, and making sure it was withing the normal respiratory rate for a 14 month old), we turned on the shower and made him a sauna. I also let him smell Vicks Salve to open up his sinuses. Alan and I also prayed together for him. After close to an hour, his breathing returned to normal, and I relaxed and stopped constantly contemplating calling 911. We tried letting him sleep in our bed with us, but he is not at all used to this, and he thought it was a game. So, I put him back in his crib in his room, and he slept the rest of the night with no problems. Altogether we were up from 2-4am with him. Here is is feeling better:

When we returned from the trip, both kids were very clingy, and demanding to nurse all the time (which they really don't do... because we usually have set times for nursing). It's probably because they weren't 100% yet, but I also think they prefer one on one nursing. So does mommy, but it is not possible most of the time! But today as I was nursing them before bed, I took turns resting my head on each of their heads, and we cuddled that way. I really did not realize how many cuddles I was missing out on! I am planning on making that a priority from now on.

Both kiddos are back to their normal, healthy selves now, yay!

Some Thoughts

2011-10-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

I think the most romantic thing my husband can do for me is clean the house while I am putting the babies to bed. I hate, hate HATE doing chores after the babies are in bed, and tonight I didn't have a chance to clean the kitchen before the babies went down, so I was dreading it. When I finished putting the babies to bed, not only was the kitchen clean & the highchairs wiped down, but Alan was busy cleaning up the living room & game room too :)
I hate doing chores after the babies go to bed so much, that lately I have been waking up about an hour before the babies get up so I can clean the house. This only works once your kiddos start sleeping through the night :) (At least for me). Actually it is pretty refreshing to get up before the babies.
I came up with the idea of having a half-iversary with Alan. May is way too far away for an excuse to have a night away :) So, in November we may have our first night away, woohoo.
The kiddos are down to one nap a day just about every day now. So far I like the new schedule pretty well. They tried to do this around 1 year, but then they got sick and went back to two naps a day.
We are still breastfeeding 3-4 times a day. But they also get lots of whole milk too, because my plan was to start weaning nursing times, but now they just get both. (Don't think I am producing much though, since I stopped pumping at work). Not sure when we are going to wean. I feel like it was so much effort to get breastfeeding going, I am not in a hurry to stop.
I am ending every day completely and utterly exhausted taking care of 2 thirteen month olds! This month is officially harder than months 7-12. Just when I felt I finally had the hang of parenting, all of the challenges changed! It is not so constant, but when they are awake, it is intense! (Can be a really good intense or a frustrating intense). We have had to step up the time outs. The boys do smile & laugh with each other (which is the cutest thing EVER), but almost as often they fight & steal from each other :( The cry of the baby who is stolen from sounds just like a cry of physical pain, it is so sad! Occasionally they do share... last weekend Adam ripped up a paper towel, and then started giving the pieces to Matthew. Then Matthew gave them back to Adam, and it went back and forth. It was seriously precious. Then today Adam didn't want to give his water bottle to Matthew, but I told him to share, and tipped the bottle towards Matthew. So Matthew drank for quite some time while Adam tipped the bottle towards and away from him :)
On the other side, they are both showing more affection for me :) They are able to express themselves better than ever, and the things they like most are being held by momma, fed by momma, played with by momma or just being in the general vicinity as momma :) They both make me laugh every single day with some of games they play with me & each other, and the antics they pull. They have seriously stolen my heart :)

A Few of Our Recent Adventures

2011-09-23T19:11:00.001-07:00

Today we took the boys to Six Flags for the first time. Alan's company paid for it; we would not have invested in a Six Flags trip with two 13 month olds otherwise ;)

We bought little back pack leashes so the boys could have some freedom. It helped me not to worry about them so much, but I think they frustrated Adam & Matthew because they didn't understand what was stopping them from walking further than they wanted.

They got quite a few looks as they pushed their own stroller down the walkways though:

We only rode the carousel and a little kiddie train. Six Flags is not very baby-friendly we decided. Also I finally appreciate what people mean when they say twins go in opposite directions.

Speaking of pushing strollers, here is Adam at Target actually pushing the shopping cart on his own (as far as we would let him). Matthew is up top directing.

And here are a few pics from the day the boys started walking exclusively (Sep. 15). We were at a spray park:

Yep things have really gotten interesting since little Adam & Matthew started walking :)

"It Doesn't Get Easier - It Just Gets Different"

2011-09-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

You may have heard that saying, "It doesn't get easier, it just gets different."

Totally, completely untrue!

Having 2 walking babies has really made me reflect on the past 13 months. Yes, there are new challenges that come with the territory. 2 walking babies are more work than two crawling babies around the house. But, whenever I think of the new challenges, NOTHING compares to having two newborns. That was the hardest thing I have ever done, and I'm not sure any of the "different" challenges that happen along our twin journey will compare to the challenges of twinfants.

Why?

Because we are getting sleep!

And the kiddos are more independent. In my opinion every month until 12 months gets easier. But we will see what happens now :)

Some things are harder with walking kids than newborns... such as trying to get them to stay still for a picture. We had a photo shoot with a very talented photographer (hewfly.com) this past Sunday. At one point our photographer asked if we could make them interact. I wish! The boys did NOT do exactly what we wanted (especially not simultaneously), but we managed to get some great shots anyway.

I have so few photos of just me and the two boys it is sad. But following is some of my favorites with them, and the easy/hard aspects of that age range.

Newborn (minutes old)

Easy: You are running on adrenaline. Just looking at your babies' faces makes you so happy.

Hard: You hurt, everything is new, and you don't know what you're doing.Newborn (12 days old)

Easy: They stay where you put them.

Hard: Still getting to know each other. Babies require constant attention and/or movement. Breastfeeding every 2 hours or less for 12 straight days. With twins, you have to plan your movement from one room to another; if you leave one alone, he will cry. (I hadn't mastered holding two at once yet).

1 month:

Easy: They stay where you put them.

Hard: Breastfeeding every 2 hours or less for 1 straight month. Starting to really feel the exhaustion. Learned how to hold both at once, but they are heavy! Still a struggle to move the babies around the house on my own. Babies like to be cuddled one on one better than both at once. Not taking all naps together.

4 months:

Easy: Starting to space out nursing to 2-2.5 hours. Longer stretches at night. Definitely starting to feel more human. Taking almost all naps together.

Hard: Still not sleeping through the night. Getting heavier, but still like to be held a lot. (Really started using the Moby Wrap to hold one baby). Short naps (about 45 minutes).

6 Months:

Easy: Starting to sit up and reach for things, which means they can play by themselves for a few minutes! Yeah! This is when I started making real dinners again. Waking up just once a night around 5am, then going back to sleep. (6 months was a huge turning point for us).

Hard: Like I said, getting easier every month. Babies love their new independence, but you can tell they want to move on their own.

10 Months:

Easy: Started crawling at 7.5 months, which was beautiful! Crawling brought much more ability for them to entertain themselves, so more freedom for mommy! Also the struggle to move them around the house instantly got easier; they loved to follow Mommy! Started sleeping through the night at 9 months. Longer naps. Easier bed times.

Hard: Movement means training/discipline. Can't let them crawl just anywhere (in public) due to dirty/uncomfortable floors.

13 Months: (Picture from our photo shoot)

Easy: Walking means they can walk more places, so they can get some energy out in public if needed. More outing possibilities. Sleeping through the night almost all the time, except when they get scared/sick. (Mommy can handle that)

Hard: Walking means quicker boys, and there are 2, so have to plan how to keep them safe/contained when I take them on the new outings.

This is what has been on my mind. Especially as my husband and I discuss if we want another baby or not. I think a lot of the challenges of the first 6 moths were so hard because we had twins. Nursing at night, cuddling, and holding/moving the baby around the house would be way easier with one, right?? I would just keep that baby strapped to me in a Moby the whole time ;) I keep trying to tell hubby that, but he is not buying.

Oh well. I am blessed with the two beautiful sons I do have. Love my 13 month olds :)

We Have Walkers!

2011-09-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Matthew & Adam, proud of themselves

After 5 weeks of practicing (and 3 months of standing in place in the middle of the floor) Adam & Matthew are officially walking exclusively today! Already they are completely different kids. It seems the whole game has changed now that they can walk with stuff in their hands, and reach all kinds of heights while mobile. It also has made them more independent overnight.

So far I am loving their new independence, and this new stage! We went to a spray park for a play date today, and I was actually able to sit and talk to the other ladies while my boys played on their own, it was fantastic! Also it is adorable (and a little disconcerting) to see two little boys walking towards me out of nowhere. They are quicker and quieter than when they were crawling. :)

I have yet to be sad about my babies getting bigger/older. Each stage makes things more fun and interesting. So far :) Okay maybe for the first time I had a twinge of sadness today. The crawling stage is pretty cute. But I am loving this walking thing!!

Cute Things My Kids Do

2011-08-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

When Adam is done nursing before bedtime, he often rolls right off the nursing pillow, flipping onto his tummy on the way down, and falls asleep right there on the futon. He did this tonight tonight, and I couldn't help chuckling :)
At mealtimes now, I am being offered chunks of food from two little babies at the same time. Both are smiling, just waiting for me to take a bite of their food. But which one to choose first??
Love when I am sitting, and one of the boys crawls over to me and positions himself so he is on my lap & cuddling me ::)
Matthew imitates my fake high pitched "scream". Yeah, I taught him to scream like a girl.. but he is the cutest little man with his high pitched squeal :)
When I am cooling off some food for the boys by blowing on it, both kids are also trying as hard as they can to cool off the air in front of them :) It is sooo cute.

In other news:

Adam just got over nearly a week of feeling crummy. He already had a cold, but then he got his 1 year shots & got a fever for 2.5 days. Then he recovered from his fever, but developed a rash that lasted a few days. :( The fever he gets after all his shots (but usually just for 12-24 hrs), but the rash was from the MMR shot we feel. He felt better about a day after the rash disappeared. This was the first time he's really been sick, and it was tough. could not put him down, he was a permanent hip attachment Matthew proceeded to destroy the house, he felt a little too good :)
Now that everyone is recovered, I have found myself amazed during the times when both of them play on the floor without needing much from me. It has made me much more appreciative of their good behavior when it happens :)

Happy Birthday

2011-08-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Adam!

I can't believe you have gone from this:

5 lbs even at the hospital. Mommy could not believe how tiny you were:
To this: (you are on the right) - 20 lbs 10 ozs

We love you so much! You are our firstborn by 2 minutes, but you don't hold that over your brother's head. You are very sweet and sensitive; you love being held, especially by Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandaddy or your Granny Bee.

I secretly think your favorite person in the whole world is your Grandpa. I think you may even like him more than Mommy, probably because he gives you his undivided attention when he comes over! I liked Grandpa a lot growing up too, so I don't blame you!
Your career high number of steps on your first birthday was 5 in a row. You love standing up in the middle of the room and smiling really big. We are just as proud of you! Full fledged walking is not far away!

You love "talking," "reading" books (you love turning those pages and babbling!), eating (you almost always eat more than your brother), giving us big kisses, blowing raspberries on our arms and stomachs, crawling with a toy in your mouth and sharing your food with Mommy & Daddy. Just today you were chewing a piece of bread, and you looked at me, took it out of your mouth, and very generously handed it to me! :) Most of all, you love cuddles and hugs with your parents and grandparents.

We love you so much. Happy First Brithday!

---

Happy Birthday Matthew!

You have come so far in the past year, it has been amazing to watch. From a little guy at the hospital:

5 lbs 3 oz:To this happy little guy: 20 lbs 6.5 ozsYou are our youngest by 2 minutes, but you didn't come in to the world like most babies. Someday Mommy is going to tell you how you were born a special way, being pulled out by your feet by the doctor. I think it's a cool story, but you may not :)

You are a very outgoing and flirty baby. You are ready to give a smile to most people, especially the ladies!

Your career high number of steps at your birthday was also 5. Since then you have started taking more, and your new high today is 13. Full fledged walking is around the corner!

You love to climb, stand in the middle of the room, flirt, make kissing noises at your parents and grandparents, share your food with Mommy (and laugh when when she takes a bite), "talk," "read" books to yourself, and get your back massaged by Mommy.

We love you very much!

Adam & Matthew:

We love seeing the two of you interact together. You can make each other laugh, but also make each other cry. We hope to teach you two to share so you will be best friends growing up. Here is the two of you on your birthday at Chuck E Cheese:

Here is your approximate "one-nap" schedule at 1 Year: (Sometimes you still take 2 naps though, and go to bed later.)

7:30am - Nurse

8:00am - Breakfast

8:30am - Park/Play

11:00am - Snack

11:30am - Nap

2:00pm - Nurse

2:30pm - Lunch

3:00pm - Play

5:30pm - Dinner

6:30pm - Play

7:30pm - Nurse/Bedtime

Happy 1 Year!!

Adam & Matthew are 1!

2011-08-22T21:05:00.001-07:00

Adam & Matthew have come so far in the last year. I can't believe how much they've grown! I will post more later. This is a picture video of their first year. (Some of the time stamps are a little off, but I got tired of messing with it ;) )

Identical Differences

2011-08-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

People ask me all the time how I am able to tell my boys apart.

I can't imagine why they think this would be an issue ;)

But there are have been times I have had to pause and look, and even some instances when I have gotten it wrong. I feel horrible when I get it wrong. At the same time, their genes are the same, so when they have a difference, I wonder why. But I am very grateful for those differences.

I do believe each has their own "look," but that is hard to put in to words.

One definite difference is Adam's face is fuller & wider, while Matthew's is longer and slimmer. Another difference is Adam has a birthmark on his upper right thigh, Matthew does not.

Their unchanging, proven difference though, is on their right ears.

Adam's Ear

Matthew's ear.

Notice Matthew's "point" on the helix of his ear, where Adam's helix is just smooth.

I researched this difference for this post, because I didn't know what to call this "point". Apparently it is called a Darwin's tubercle because Darwin first discovered/named it. Apparently there is a dominant gene for this feature, and it occurs in 10% of the population.

Wait. A dominant gene, but my two identical boys don't have the same feature??

Well, apparently this gene has "incomplete penetrance" meaning "those who possess the gene will not necessarily possess the ear tubercle." (All quoted from Wikipedia.) Case in point, my two identical boys with different ears.

Interesting, no?

Poopgate the Trilogy

2011-08-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Original

One Monday morning, I awoke to the sounds of Adam & Matthew "talking" to each other & playing in their cribs. This is how I wake up most mornings, and since they sound pretty happy most of the time, I tend to squeeze in 10-15 minutes more of lazy time/cuddle time before going in to their room.

Alan had watched them on Sunday for the first time while I worked, and he had even put them to bed before I got home, so he was excited for me to see the babies again. And no doubt to tell him what a fabulous job he did, since the babies were still happy, breathing, etc. He used formula before before putting the babies to bed since I was out of breast milk in the freezer. He had actually gone to the store & bought some because the babies were acting so tired. He had given them 8 oz each, since they had sucked down their 6 oz of breast milk all day.

Back to Monday morning, 10-15 min later I got out of bed & went toward the nursery. With Alan following me, ready for his praise. "You haven't seen them for over a day!" he said. "I put them to bed before you got home!" he exclaimed proudly, "Do you miss them?" We opened the door together, and just looked in horror for a minute.

Poop.

Poop everywhere! In both cribs, on the rails, on Adam & Matthew's hands, their bodies, their faces. Most disturbingly, right by their lips. And Matthew was smacking his lips like he had just finished Thanksgiving dinner.

Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck.

"How could it be this bad?" Alan asked.

"I don't think it was just the formula." I said, "It was the amount of formula." My "girls" may have grown, but they have never had 8 oz of milk in them, ever, I can almost guarantee that.

Alan helped me put the boys in the tub, then just about danced out the door for work (it was time for him to go), leaving both cribs for me to clean.

Later chat between me & Alan:

July 18

9:36 AM Alan: were you able to combat poopgate?

20 minutes

9:56 AM me: haha

the battle of poopgate is complete.. the war for the nap is about to begin..

;)

9:58 AM but yeah I wiped off all the bars and everything

9:59 AM the sheets are currently drying

10:00 AM Alan: cool

and lucy didn't try to spread the madness?

10:01 AM me: nope the door was closed

And so the term "poopgate" was coined. (Lucy is one of our cats)

Poopgate the Sequel:

After naptime, I thought I heard the babies wake up, but then no noise for about 30 minutes. 30 minutes! I assumed they had gone back to sleep. When I heard another noise 30 minutes later, I went in to their room to find:

Poop.

Poop everywhere!

Adam's diaper was off, and both boys were playing in the poop. I think I saw some lips smacking. I refused to think that this could have possibly been going on for 30 minutes. (We really need a video monitor.)

Later email from Krystal to Alan:

July 21

Poopgate the sequel just occurred, even more exciting than the original.

Poopgate 3

That would be this morning. The monitor was turned down so low, I didn't hear the babies wake up. (Who turned it down will remain nameless.) When I woke up at 7:30am, I looked at the monitor, and the red lights were indicating noise, but I heard nothing.

Uh oh.

I turned it up, and the boys weren't happily playing, they were crying. I rushed to their room to find...

Poop!

Poop everywhere!!

(surprised??)

Only in Adam's crib, but his diaper was off, and there was no poop IN his diaper, but there was plenty on the sheets, on the rails, on Adam's fingers & face. Into the bath he went.

Later chat between me & Alan:

Aug 8

Alan: were you able to clear out poopgate 3?

Sent at 10:06 AM on Monday

me: yep

not pretty at all

the diaper actually had no poop in it at all

Sent at 10:38 AM on Monday

Alan: lol

Sent at 10:44 AM on Monday

me: lol

I am actually writing a blog now about the poopgate trilogy

Sent at 10:49 AM on Monday

Alan: possible quadrilogy?

I would like to think not, but probably much, much more to come...

3 Handsome Boys

2011-08-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

Love this pic in front of our newly bloomed sunflowers this morning. (This time both sunflowers are bloomed, and everyone is wearing clothes (although Matthew is trying to remedy that ;) )

You Should Read this Book if you Have Multipes, or Multiple Little Ones.

2011-08-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

This morning around 9am we received a package from Amazon containing the book Loving the Little Years, Motherhood in the Trenches.

By 4pm I was d.o.n.e. It was that fantastic. Also it was a short, the author does have 5 kids under 5 after all! Including one set of twins.

In a nutshell, it is a candid book full of honest and often funny examples about the challenges of raising multiple little ones at the same time, and she gives great, practical teaching tools for little

ones and ways for Momma to cope with the intensity of it all.

I love this book because it constantly reminds you that your children are your priority (after your husband), not your house, not your perfectly clean floor. Not that I don't care about those things, but when I have swept for the 5th time, and mopped for the 2nd time that day, and the floor gets messy again, I need someone to tell me it's ok, just play with your kids for a minute :) Basically exactly what I need to hear at this stage of my life.

I love this book because it orients you towards seeing raising kids as a spiritual calling, that we are sacrificing our time, our bodies and our restful nights (especially at the beginning!) to bring up these little people. There is no higher calling than laying down one's life for another.

-----------

Here are a few of my favorite quotes (I admit I read this book with a highlighter in my hand):

"The state of your heart is the state of your home. You cannot harbor resentment secretly toward your children and expect their hearts to be submissive and tender."

"We tell our girls that their feelings are like horses[...] But they are the riders [...] The goal is not to cripple the horse, but equip the rider."

(This quote is great for those that have strong willed kids.)

"...lying down and whimpering about the tasks does not get them done. It makes them harder, slower, and more difficult in every way."

(Yep, gotta admit that has been me)

"Sacrifice your peace for their fun, your clean kitchen floor for their help cracking eggs, your

quiet moment for their long retelling of a dream that a friend of theirs allegedly had. Prioritize your children far and away above the other work you need to get doen. They are the only part of your work that really matters."

(This one made me cry. I'm a softy)

"Our essential self is not back in the intro, waiting to be rediscovered. Who you are is where you are."

"Imagine yourself as one of your children. Try to really examine what life for them is like"

"You will not even remember the work of all this planting when the harvest of joy overwhelms you."

-----------

The book really inspired and encouraged me. I recommend it to all moms of one or more little ones!

My 3 boys ;) :

We are at 35 days of 100 + degree temps, so my (little) boys can often be found wearing just their diapers :)

Sharing

2011-08-01T18:39:00.001-07:00

To share or not... it seems to be a perpetual inner battle, a recurring question my two 11 month old sons struggle to answer. To share or not to share?

More often than not, the answer is the latter. Especially if the object in question is a bright new toy. Such as their toy airplane, that only one child can (safely) push at one time. It wouldn't matter if we had two, because they would indefinitely go after their brother's toy. So we have to place one child (Matthew,below, being pushed by Adam) on the passenger seat:

Food is no better. If I give one child a bite of watermelon, his brother will soon be upon me:

If I hear a random scream when the kids are seemingly playing together happily, it is often because both boys were pushing around this toy (below), Adam tripped & fell, and Matthew kept going, somehow mowing over Adam in the process. Adam will either be underneath the toy, or crawling after is as fast and furiously as his four little limbs will move him.
This evening, though, was different. As I was putting the boys to bed, I gave Matthew his sippy cup, which Adam promptly swiped and took for himself. Nonplussed, I just gave Matthew the other sippy cup, which Adam swiftly stole as well. Sighing, I took the first sippy cup that Adam had discarded and gave that cup to Matthew. Quickly, Adam took that cup as well! This went on 5-10 times.

I felt sure a breakdown from Matthew was imminent, but he soon began laughing, and actually offering his cup to Adam, which of course Adam took, and I would give the other cup to Matthew. At this point, both boys were laughing (no doubt thinking this was a game).

And then, the unthinkable happened.

Adam (having both sippy cups) offered one to Matthew to drink from.

Matthew drank from the outstretched cup, and then both boys were laughing again. And so was Mommy. So then, Adam offered the cup for me to drink from as well.

Ahhhh, I am just going to let that sweet moment sink in, to prepare me for future challenges :)

Sleep

2011-07-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Sleeping babies are a wonderful thing :) And something we definitely struggled with for months. I am happy to report that nap time & bed time are no longer a struggle, woo hoo!

The key for us was finding a good routine. I finally had Alan burn a CD of lullaby music. I play that every nap time/ bed time, read them a book, and massage their whole bodies when they are laying down in their crib. They seem to especially like the massage part :) We also used a combination of BabyWise/Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child to get their routine down.

They take two naps a day, around 10:30 and 3:30, about 1.5 hours each. Then they sleep from about 8:30pm to 7:30am.

Sleep was about the most stressful thing we dealt with for so long, and now that it is all resolved, I am almost stress free & loving being a Momma more than ever. Someday I might right a comprehensive post, but it took 10 months to get to exactly where I wanted to be with the whole sleeping thing, which is: going to sleep on their own without crying, taking 1-2 hour naps every time, and sleeping through the night. The last thing they figured out was the going to sleep without crying thing. (I gave up on that for a few months, and was taking them on a stroller ride every nap time, and nursing them to sleep at night.) I was scared how they would react when I tried to put them to bed awake again, but since I added the nice music/massage into their routine, they didn't have an issue.) Now that they have it down, I am much happier :) They sleep in separate cribs at night, but for nap times they sleep in the same crib:

They are pretty adorable sometimes :)
Did you sleep well, babies??

Our nap time massage. (The massage here suffered in quality due to me also taping ;)

Firsts

2011-07-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

I love all of the firsts in the first year! Sitting up, crawling, pushing up to standing... the list goes on and on. Here are a few of Adam & Matthew's accomplishments while they were 10 months old.

1. Increased interest and playfulness with the cats.

Here is Adam saying hello to Lucy. Lucy is probably purring at this time.And here is Adam going in for the "kiss". Lucy is probably starting to get worried, as things usually progress downhill from here, ending up in "petting" (grabbing) and biting. Lucy is really good with the babies though, and will actually come up to them for attention. Our other cat, Hobbes, hates the babies with a fervor.

2. Climbing

We were eating dinner one night while the boys played quietly around the living room. So well behaved (we thought). I looked up and saw this:

Little hooligan,

We weren't sure how Matthew had managed it, so we watched as he climbed it again. Yep, we definitely have a climber on our hands.

3. Clapping/Signing

Actually Adam has been clapping for months, and Matthew for about 6 weeks, but they have learned one word in sign language, "all done". They either wave both hands or clap when they are in the high chair to signal they are done.

Messy Adam clapping.

Matthew clapping.

4. More Teeth & Brushing
You can see all SIX of Matthew's teeth!
And now those pearly whites are getting brushed every night with a REAL toothbrush.

5. Walking with Assistance & Standing on their own

Unfortunately I don't have any pics of the boys standing on their own. They actually stand up in the middle of the room and just hang out for a while before sitting back down.

Here they are pushing the same toy while walking around the house:
This often leads to one brother falling, then crawling as fast as he can to catch up to his twin.

Working, working, working

2011-07-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

There are some days I really enjoy my job. Like today! I am really blessed to have my dream job of a NICU Nurse. AND I'm blessed to work only one day a week, and spend the other 6 with my precious babies. I feel having children of my own really helps me support other mothers better, especially other twin moms. I also really enjoy the interaction with the other NICU nurses (ie: adults ;)

On the downside, my frozen milk supply is completely gone :( There is no milk in my freezer for the first time since the babies were itty bitty. There is only the milk I pumped today. I am okay with supplementing with formula for the two or three shifts we have before the babies turn one. I have finally realized I am NOT super mom, and that is ok :)

We will probably breastfeed for several more months though, because we all love it. Today when I got home from work, Alan had just finished putting the boys to bed. Adam must have heard my voice though, because he started crying. I went in and nursed him, and he seemed to just melt into me. He quickly passed out, and I just stared at his sweet exhausted face for a while before putting him in his crib. :) (They go to sleep on their own really well too... I am working on a post about our experiences with sleep training.)

The NICU is a dangerous place to work though... if you are trying to wait to have children, or trying to space out your kids. I have started getting baby fever again ALREADY because of taking care of those little tykes. Especially those that are close to going home, but are still growing & learning to eat. They just sleep, eat & cuddle. So well behaved and ADORABLE. I was seriously about to come home & give my husband the, "I'm ready for another baby" talk.

Of course our babies were not so well behaved for him today (they had to pick today!), so I postponed that talk :)

Tandem Nursing

2011-06-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

It's getting easier. Everything. Taking care of the babies without feeling overwhelmed, feeding the babies solids, nursing the babies at the same time.

I am at peace & enjoying tandem nursing. In fact, I actually prefer tandem nursing now to nursing just one baby at a time. Maybe it's because they are bigger & can latch themselves, maybe it's because I have finally figured out the perfect formula for success (two pillows behind my back, a blanket between the boys, and a fold-able chair where I place my laptop or book & that has the perfect support for my feet,), maybe it's because we are all so used to our little nursing spot in the nursery (the left half of the futon with a stand beside it where I place my food), or maybe it's because I feel so complete with both of my sons nursing so contently, touching my face, sticking their fingers in my mouth, and looking up at me with their tiny, bright hazel eyes.

Some of you may know, I had a very bad attitude about tandem nursing in the beginning. Now, I never wanted to nurse the boys' separately, I was already nursing 12 out of 24 hours in the beginning. But, I was bitter that I couldn't lie down and nurse, that I couldn't sit in the recliner and nurse, that I couldn't stand up while nursing. Well, I am OVER that. Tandem nursing is a huge blessing. It makes raising infant twins manageable. When they were tiny, I knew I at least had that weapon when all else failed, and it made both babies happen at once! It also became hands free pretty quickly.. around 2 or 3 months. I know tandem nursing saved my sanity, and I regret having a bad attitude about it. (Now, with triplets, it would be over!)

Above: Me with my Mother's Day breakfast Alan made me. I ate it as I tandem nursed.

10 Months & Best Friends (I hope!)

2011-06-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Matthew (blue) actually came up to Adam & gave him a hug, placing his hand on Adam's back & his head on Adam's shoulder! I got the picture just as he was turning to leave, but it looks like Adam is giving him a kiss! So cute!

Matthew crawling over Adam.

I guess Adam forgave him :)

As you can see, the boys have really started interacting more! Sometimes they will just be crawling around while I am getting stuff done, and I will hear random laughing. That is the BEST. I also will hear random crying now. That is usually when one twin has stolen something from his brother. The other day I gave each brother a carrot, left to do something and then heard a screeching cry. I hurried back in there, thinking someone had gotten hurt, and I saw Adam with one carrot in his mouth & one in his hand, and Matthew (crying) reaching out for his carrot. So the love/hate relationship has officially began.

Words the boys say:

dada

mama

nana

baba

yaya

"i do"

They are both cruising around on the furniture, and practice standing on their own for short periods.

Love my 10 month olds!

New Tooth

2011-06-29T07:33:00.001-07:00

Last night Matthew woke up around 5am (unusual for him, as he's been sleeping soundly until 7). Alan went in to check on him, then brought him to me to nurse because he wouldn't go back to sleep. I was a little worried this might become a recurring thing, since he got to nurse. Then this morning, he woke up with his 6th tooth! So now I'm glad I gave him some comfort as the tooth was coming in :) They have been such easy teethers, this is the first wake up that I can pin point to the teething.

Current count:

Matthew: 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom)

Adam: 5 teeth (3 on top, 2 on bottom)

Side note:

It is hard to intentionally take pictures of a 10 month old's teeth.

Standing is in our Future

2011-06-17T08:35:00.001-07:00

Adam has been practicing standing this morning.

He will have one hand on my knee while he stands up, then he will very purposely let go and stand for a second, then put his hand back on my knee.

Then he gives me a huge grin. He is so proud of his accomplishment!

Does this mean my life is almost over? (As if it weren't over already? :P)

My Little Puppies

2011-05-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

They love sticking their tongues out, it is very endearing ;) When they are really excited about going somewhere, they also pant, just like little puppies!

Matthew:
Adam:
Matthew with his tongue out:
Sometimes they remember they are little humans:
Just long enough to play with daddy:
:)

Teething?

2011-05-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

Matthew got a new tooth this afternoon, on his top left. That makes tooth number 3. I have been so scared of teething, but I haven't noticed any differences in this little man.

He slept great, and actually woke up an hour after Adam, and slept an hour longer at one of their naps, even though they both went down at the same time.
This guy on the other hand, woke up too early from his second nap, and was grumpy. And he had no excuse!
I am happy they are good teethers though, so far. Overall I had a great day with them today, we didn't go anywhere, so we spent a lot of time cuddling and playing.. it's a fun age :)

Milestone for Mommy

2011-05-14T04:48:00.001-07:00

I woke up at 6am this morning.

By choice.

The babies weren't up, I didn't have things to do.

I had just slept enough.

:-o

Mother's Day & Update on Momma & Babies

2011-05-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day! It was mainly due to the fact that my husband let me sleep in, and made me breakfast :) (I did feed the babies at 5:30am that day, but when they woke up for the day at 7, Alan took care of them & fixed breakfast!!)

We had both sets of grandparents over as well, and grilled hamburgers & sides.

The boys are almost 9 months now, and they are really becoming little boys.

Some of my favorite twin moments:

When they spontaneously laugh at each other (This is more often Adam laughing at Matthew. Adam gets the giggles, it is too cute)
When they wake up in the morning or after a nap, and I hear them "talking" to each other on the baby monitor. <3 Then I walk in, and they have always crawled so they are close to each other. (They are in separate cribs.)
When they follow each other when crawling. If one finds something interesting, the other is right behind.
When they are both crawling all over me, just trying to cuddle with me. My absolute favorite moments is when one (or both) crawls up to me, pulls up to standing, and just cuddles right into me and "kisses" me with their big open mouth on my cheek. Oh, I could just eat them up in those moments.

My not so favorite twin moments:

When they both need attention, and I can only get to one.
When they steal a toy from the other, and the offended brother gets upset.
Overall, I am enjoying it :)

My 8 month must-have twin items:

Twin nursing pillow (love My Breast Friend)
Twin jogging stroller (So easy to push, and we have been going on daily morning jogs)
Moby Wrap
Umbrella Stroller (I've started taking them out with one in the Moby Wrap, and one in the Umbrella stroller.. it works out very well, especially when I'm by myself.)

Breastfeeding update:

The babies are breastfeeding 4-5 times a day. They still LOVE it. Although, now when they are done, they are DONE. They will just pop right off the pillow (onto the futon I nurse on) and start playing). I do have to make sure that baby doesn't crawl right off the futon. They really have no survival instincts at this point.

Adam update:

Adam crawled 5 days after Matthew, and quickly caught up to him. :)
Also pulling up to standing, with some cruising.
He got his first tooth on his bottom right. 3 weeks and 2 days after Matthew.
He is such a sweetheart.

Matthew update:

Loves pulling up to standing, some cruising.
Still just one tooth on the bottom left (I thought it was interesting that they got different teeth first)
Still our trouble maker. But he is so affectionate :)

An update on Momma:

I am happier than I have been since the twins were born. I really think I was drifting away from God, and becoming selfish. I started feeling like everything revolved around me since I had newborn twins, and I became bitter when people let me down. I had to change my mindset to really be back to my old self. I got back into reading the Bible every day, and praying more. I am very thankful for the mercy God has had for me, that I have been (at least trying) to also extend to those around me. It is amazing how much happier you can be when you stop focusing on what others can do for you, and focus on how you can make others happier. (I'm not saying I'm doing this perfectly, but I'm trying)

Okay, now for a few pictures.

Adam at his Mother's Day shoot that Daddy set up.
And Matthew. We gave these two pictures to the Grandmas in frames for Mother's Day.
The babies released from their play room on Mother's Day morning. Looking for food... (I nursed them while I was eating the yummy breakfast Alan prepared for me)
I thought this was too cute. Adam doesn't think he can handle this much love :)
My big boys.
Matthew on the left, Adam on the right.
And this is a picture from today. They were too cute chasing around this bottle :)

Cruisin'

2011-05-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

I thought crawling was bad, (which they are both doing) but now Matthew is pulling up to standing and cruising. Ahh!!

It is a little intimidating to look back and see two babies crawling towards you with huge grins on their faces. I can't let my fear show though. I have to "get the bluff in" as my mother-in-law says, haha.

They are officially getting dangerous!!

(Pictures to come)

7 Months - Milestones at Different Times

2011-04-11T13:12:00.001-07:00

Our precious boys, Adam & Matthew. 7 1/2 months, in the bluebonnets.

What a journey parenthood has been. Both of our boys are so sweet, and (if they are napped, fed, paid attention to, etc) usually pretty happy babies. I always find it amazing, especially when I am not feeling like the best mom, that I can just look at them, and they smile back. They love their Momma so much, which I love :) Their other favorite people are Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, and Granny Bee. And they love flirting with the ladies, of course (babies to adults) :)

We now have one talker and one crawler. But neither baby is doing both. It is interesting to see identical boys developing at different times.

Adam (The Sweet Boy):

Words: First to say a word! Says dada, dad, a-dada, dadada-dad, and every other variation of "dada" all day long. Still not a single ma.
Sleep: Has become our good sleeper, almost always goes to sleep on his own for naps. (I still usually nurse both to sleep at night.)
Solid Food: Loves it. He by FAR eats more than Matthew. I gave him his first finger foods (along with Matthew) today. He liked it okay, but he still likes the pureed better.
Movement: Very good at sitting up. Goes to belly from sitting, can get on all fours & rock back & forth. Can stand for a few seconds while holding on to something. No actual crawling yet.

Matthew (The Wild Boy):

Vocal: Has not officially said his first word, but loves to make different noises. Also loves to stick his tongue out, which is adorable.
Sleep: I think I have spoiled Matthew a little, because a few months ago he stopped going to sleep on his own, and would flip over & cry at nap time. So now I often let him fall asleep in his walker that I wheel around the house before nap time. Sometimes he does go to sleep on his own in the crib, but he usually (not always) cries himself to sleep.
Solid Food: Matthew seems to be growing tired of the pureed food. He has been rejecting it lately, but he wouldn't take finger food either. Until today! He had some puffs and some cut up grapes, and he loved it. I had to feed it to him, but he sure did try to put it in his own mouth.
Movement: He is our first crawler! Also can stand holding on to something for a few seconds. I knew he was going to be the first to crawl, because he was getting so frustrated when he wanted to reach a toy but was too far away. He tried so hard to move for weeks, and he finally got it.

Matthew around the time he first crawled. We were enjoying a Sabbath picnic in the park.Adam & Matthew (in that order) sleeping in the stroller. It's amazing how they often sleep in the same positions, especially in the carseats & strollers. (Oh, and Hobbes also snuck into the picture.)

Twin Breastfeeding Update

2011-03-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

In case there are mothers with younger twins reading this... my boys are 7 months today, we are still tandem breastfeeding... and it gets WAYY easier. They are eating about every 4 hours, with solids right after.

Here is their schedule on a good day. (Not every day is exactly like this!!)

7am - Nurse

7:30am - Solids

8:00-9:30 Play

9:30-11: Nap

11am - Nurse

11:30am - Solids

12:00 -2:00pm - Play

2-3pm - Nap

3pm - Nurse

3:30pm - Solids

4pm-7pm - Play

7pm - Nurse/Bedtime

4:30am - Nurse/Back to Bed

7:00am - Wake up/Nurse

I think we have perfected the twin nursing pillow now. It is very comfortable with two pillows behind it it support my back. The boys legs are long and hang off the pillow, but they don't seem to mind. I love that I have both hands free. In fact, I am nursing at this moment ;) They are both asleep though, this is one day when their schedule was messed up. I think they got dehydrated at the park today (very warm), and they wanted to nurse at naptime.

Nursing covers have become very hard to use now, though. The boys' tiny hands are constantly pulling on it. So, most nursing occurs in the nursery, with trips out of the house in between.

Speaking of those tiny, innocent hands, they also like to scratch/poke the baby across from them while nursing. I think I could make some money designing some better twin-friendly gear. I LOVE the twin nursing pillow, but it needs at attachment for older babies to SEPARATE them. I use a stuffed animal at the moment, but of course the boys grab it & play with it while nursing, leaving their sweet faces exposed to their twin's nails. Yesterday Adam started screaming while nursing (and while I was trying to keep the stuffed animal between them). I looked down & saw this:

A huge scratch on Adam's forehead :( I am honestly not sure if Matthew scratched him, or if I did it while trying to keep the stuffed animal in between them. It is our worst nursing related injury though. Poor baby. He got over it quickly though.

I love breastfeeding my boys now. Now that they are older they will look at me & reach for my face while nursing. And, they know when I sit with the nursing pillow that they are about to get milk, and it is so cute how excited they get. I'm glad I stuck with it all of those nights I thought about giving up. (Bottles would be way way more difficult, in my opinion, besides all of the wonderful health benefits of nursing.)

And just for fun, here are a few more pictures of the boys' during their 6th month:
Matthew on left, Adam on right. They are so curious & explore everything with their hands.
Adam after I woke him up due to Daylight Savings, so his schedule wouldn't get too messed up. He looks soo sleepy & adorable.
One of the boys' first baths in the big boy tub. I love being able to bath them together now :)

And Matthew says, "Goodbye until next time." ;)

A Realization

2011-03-04T18:55:00.000-08:00

Last Sabbath, Alan wasn't feeling good & decided to stay home. I went to church anyway, but I had to hunt out people to help me with holding a baby. (They don't take good naps away from home, so they were grumpy). During church I saw a married couple holding hands during a song, while their baby played on the floor in front of them. For a split second, I felt a twinge of jealousy and thought, "I want that." Then of course I realized, I have that! (I was husband-less at that moment, but I do have a great marriage.. though sometimes strained from raising twin boys, we still will hold hands during a song service at church :P). That realization suddenly changed my whole outlook. I need to be focusing on my blessings, not on the negative.

I am so blessed to have a great husband and two happy, healthy boys. I am blessed to be able to breastfeed them. I am blessed to have a flexible job where I only have to work one day a week. I am blessed to have two sets of grandparents that love, love, love these two babies, and two grandmas that babysit them while I work. (I couldn't breastfeed if I worked more, and I couldn't work at all without the grandmas to babysit.)

These may seem like obvious things to be thankful for, but somewhere amidst the sleep deprivation and keeping two babies happy, I forgot to count my blessings.

(Grocery) Shopping Chronicles

2011-02-28T14:25:00.001-08:00

With two babies, you have to be creative in how you shop, if you are going to dare attempt it on your own ;) I think I have tried just about every way you can imagine to take both babies shopping.

Both babies in cart (Only works for smaller trips... as you can see, not much room for groceries. Picture taken about a month ago):

Both babies in stroller, momma carrying a shopping basket (Easiest to set up, but only for very short trips)
One baby in Moby Wrap, one baby in top seat area of cart
One baby in Moby Wrap, one baby in bottom area of cart (Still not a ton of room for groceries, but I feel like the car seat is more stable. Poor Adam is buried under groceries, but he doesn't mind. Picture taken today.):

I just had to snap pictures of these funny moments.

When I see moms with three (or more) kids, with some/all of them mobile, I just watch and wonder how they do it!!

Sitting Up

2011-02-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

My sweet boys sitting up on their own this morning! Matthew on left, Adam on right.

6 Months

2011-02-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

We made it to 6 months! Adam & Matthew are changing so fast, it is truly amazing. (In above picture, Adam is in front in the Moby Wrap, Matthew is on my side)

They:

Find, reach for, grab and play with toys
Sit up without asssistance for a good amount of time
Push up on their hands, lifting their chest completely up (for long periods of time)
Can entertain themselves for long periods (my personal favorite achievement, haha ;)
Notice each other, smile & laugh at each other
Laugh at the cats
Pet the cats
Are completely captivated by people and their surroundings. Even if they are nursing & dad comes into the room, they both immediately look at him & smile.
Grab their toes & chew on them while on their back
Flip from front to back easily. Matthew can flip back to front. I am pretty sure Adam can too, but I don't think he wants to ;)
Are eating solids. I started them 8 days before their 6 month birthday. So far they are eating rice cereal, sweet potatoes, acorn squash and peas. They are also sipping water from a straw or a cup. (They aren't very good at the sippy cup yet)
LOVE to stand and "walk" with us holding their hands
No words yet, but hopefully soon!
Take 2-3 naps a day. Naps are starting to become longer & further apart.
Usually sleep from about 7/8pm - 6/7am, waking up only once to nurse.
Weigh 14 lbs 9 oz (Adam) and 14 lbs 11.5 oz (Matthew). 5-10th %
Are both 26 in. long. 25th %

They are starting to develop their own personalities.

Adam:

More even tempered (Slower to smile, but also slower to bawl. Also has a softer cry.)
More sensitive. Loud noises or people making strange faces can make him cry.
Goes to sleep easier.
"Coos" while crying
Eats more solid food
Less picky about his solid food, except it CANNOT be cold. The moment it gets cold, he rejects it. (But he gobbles down everything that is warm, including peas)
Has a big heart. He likes/notices Matthew more than Matthew reciprocates the feelings :) (so far)

Matthew

Easier to make laugh, but also gets more upset, and with a louder cry. He seems to experience a wide range of emotions (quickly)
"Grunts" while crying. (We can now tell their cries apart on the monitor)
Is "done" eating solid foods much faster than Adam
Takes longer to go to sleep
Sticks his fingers in my mouth while he nurses.
Hates peas (so far)
Smiles very easily. "Flirts" with all of the girls (really!)

I am so happy I made it to 6 months. So far, every month has gotten easier & more fun. I do still feel overwhelmed at times. And, I admit, I can feel jealous of my friends who have singleton babies. I am jealous they can hold their baby on his own, that they are much more mobile (stick him in a moby wrap and you're good to go), that they can breastfeed one baby at a time (easier to cuddle & bond, and easier to travel).

I was actually having a pity party for myself the morning my mom & I took my precious babies for a walk. After a while of walking, this is how we found them:

They looked so peaceful together, it made my heart happy :) I really really love that they have each other, that they have a built in playmate, that they share a room (so I worry less about them being lonely at night), and that they will (hopefully) be friends for life.

Food, Food, Food

2011-02-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

Today, just 8 days shy of their 6 month birthday, Adam & Matthew had their first solid food (whole grain rice cereal). They loved it!

I will admit, my goal was to exclusively breastfeed for a full 6 months. But, the boys were consistenty acting hungry after nursing. I felt I should either give formula or solid food, so rice cereal it was. They couldn't get the food fast enough, it was so funny!

I was excited they took to solids so well. So, I pureed some organic sweet potatoes for them, nixed it with water, and stored it in these nifty containers from Babies R Us for later:

The freezer is filling up fast with baby milk/food :)

Things I Can't Live Without (at 5 Months)

2011-01-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

#6 - Jumper
The boys are just starting to like this, but I can tell the boys are going to love it more and more as they grow. Love Adam's expression in this picture.

#5 - Bumbo
The boys LOVE sitting in this bumbo, but only if it is where the action is! (Like on top of the counter when I am cooking or doing dishes). Here is Matthew chewing on his Pooh toy while mommy does chores.

#4 - Walker with belt attachment

This has been a lifesiver!! The boys are too short to move the walker on their own, but with a belt attached to the top, it becomes a "mobile command chair" that can be easily wheeled around the tile. Both of the boys LOVE it. I put the other twin in the Moby wrap, and I can entertain two fussy babies without killing my back or my arms. It is wonderful!

#3 - Moby Wrap

Probably one of the best things ever invented. With a little practice, baby can be easily held hands free. I can get chores done with this thing, and I can't tell you how much the babies love it. I can also take walks with a baby (if there is another person to hold the other), or use it in the grocery store. The one huge limitation though, is that I can only hold one baby like this. (Often combined with the above walker). Here is Adam in the Moby Wrap, showing off one of his preemie outfits to show how much he has grown.

#2 = Exersaucer

This one only beats the Moby Wrap it is virtually parent free :) This is THE favorite hangout spot for both babies (aside from mommies arms of course). I have been using this and the bumbo in the kitchen so I can cook. (I had seriously been lacking in the cooking department before this)

And the #1 thing I can not live without - Grandparents!!

If I am ever overwhelmed, I can almost always call a grandparent over to help me out. Here is grandpa entertaining both babies. So sweet!

Also I would not be able to do this without my husband, but this post is about when he is at work :)

Tough Day

2011-01-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

Children are a blessing, and I know I am blessed beyond belief that I have two healthy, thriving twin boys.

As much as I love my boys, there are times I get frustrated (as I am sure all parents do).

When both boys (or even just one boy) is happy/content, all is well in the household. But, when both babies are upset, it is hard on me (emotionally and physically) to calm them both down.

Yesterday was just such a day. The boys were on a nap strike (2 of their naps were only 20 minutes long), and thus they were cranky and wanting to be held much of the afternoon. Well you may have guessed from my tiny arms that my bench pressing max in my glory days was 45 pounds. My triceps are non existent, and the boys have already wrecked their destruction on my back. So... not a lot to work with as far as holding two squirming 13+ pound infants together. (My arms get tired very fast.) Then with the short naps, I didn't get much of a break either.

So, needless to say, I was a tad grumpy when Alan got home. Poor guy didn't even get in the house before I handed him a baby (Adam I believe).

Alan had 10 days off of work during the holidays, and it was so so nice having him around to help with the babies. (Again, poor guy. He didn't get much of a vacation. :P) But it also may have spoiled me just a bit, because yesterday it was hard to go back to just me.

So far this morning things have been going well though. Here is a picture of the little trouble makers, taken yesterday morning (before the nap strike). They are grabbing everything (and inserting into mouth when possible). Matthew is looking at the camera:

It's official

2011-01-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

Adam & Matthew are IDENTICAL twins. (The official cheek swab results came in last week.)We are going to have our hands full :)

The boys are 4.5 months old and doing great. (Adam on left, Matthew on right in above picture.)At their 4 month check up Adam weighed 12 pounds, 8 ounces, 24 inches. Matthew weighed 12 pounds, 7 ounces, 24.25 inches. Both are in the 10th percentile for weight & length. (They weren't even on the chart when they were born, so this is good). We are still exclusively breastfeeding, and going strong. They eat about every 3 hours during the day. And every 4-6 hours or so at night (They have been waking up around 11:30pm and 4:30am, and I put them to sleep between 6pm and 7:30pm, depending on when their last nap was.) They take 3 - 4 naps a day. Their naps are usually 45 minutes to an hour. Occasionally the morning nap is a little longer, but sometimes the later naps are only 35-40 minutes.

They are learning new skills all of the time, and they are developing their own personalities. Adam is our reserved, calmer baby. Matthew is our wild child.. he gets more upset than Adam, but he also smiles & laughs more easily. Matthew is our good napper. When we put him in his crib, he almost immediately puts his thumb in his mouth and goes to sleep. Adam seems to forget about his thumb when he naps, so he usually fusses for a few minutes before he drifts off.

Above is one of their first tummy time sessions where they weren't completely upset about being on their tummies. (Adam on left, Matthew on right) They are also rolling from front to back like little acrobats :) They try to roll back, but they get halfway & get stuck.

Here is Adam sitting up for the second time. I'm not completely sure if this counts, because he is not very steady, and I positioned him, but he stayed long enough for a picture :) This was yesterday.

Matthew was able to pull it off as well :) I have such strong little boys!

I am loving the 4 month age range. Adam & Matthew are just so so sweet. And I can't get over how adorable they are. Sometimes I just can't kiss them enough, they are just so lovable.

Quick Update

2010-11-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

Adam & Matthew are napping together consistently... and not in my arms! Woohoo! I Can actually get stuff done :)
The boys are now eating every 3 hours, occasionally going 3.5-4 hours.
I read the book Babywise a couple weeks ago, and I have been using a lot of their suggestions. It has helped us a TON! I was so stressed and worn out trying to make sure the babies never cried (which didn't work anyway). They cry way less now that they are on a schedule (eat, play, nap, repeat) & I let them cry for a few minutes as they fall asleep. They also fall asleep faster, and they don't have to be held or rocked in a bouncy chair for 20 minutes or more. They are almost always asleep within 10 minutes. We are all a lot happier. (The babies get more rest, so they cry less & are happy/smile more). It has been so nice.
The boys are sleeping longer at night, but still waking up every 3.5 - 4.5 hours. But they almost always go right back to sleep, so I have been getting MUCH better rest. (Almost starting to feel human again :P) They sometimes think morning is 4 or 5am though, and Mommy is not ok with that. ;)
I am no longer swaddling the boys! My experience as a NICU nurse is officially moot for my "elderly babies" as I call them. :p
I went back to work for the first time on Thanksgiving. It was hard to leave the boys, but they couldn't have been better taken care of. Their dad, both sets of grandparents and all of their aunts/uncles were here. (We had Thanksgiving at our house, but I didn't have to cook anything).
I will probably only work a couple shifts a month since I am the first to be canceled when we are slow.
The babies were fed pumped breastmilk while I was gone. 4 0z each every 3 hours. And I was able to pump enough at work so my net freezer supply only decreased by 8 oz. Not bad for a busy 12 hour shift. :)
I have almost 100 ozs of pumped milk in the freezer now, so I am feeling better about using my milk for other things. In fact, tonight Alan and I are planning a date night while my parents watch the babies! This will be our first extended break from the babies together :) I am excited. We are doing dinner & a movie :)
I am going to post Thanksgiving pics of the babies when I get a chance.
Hope everone had a great Thankgiving weekend!

Conversation with Adam

2010-11-24T07:07:00.000-08:00

Adam and I had a conversation this morning while I was holding him. It went like this.

Me: I love you Adam.

Adam: *Happy sigh/coo*

Me: I love you!

Adam: *Happy sigh/coo*

Me: *Happy sigh*

It was so sweet :) The boys are getting more and more precious every day.

Wow, 3 Months

2010-11-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

Adam, Matthew on their 3 month birthday

When Adam & Matthew were newborns, 3 months seemed like an eternity away. In those days of feeding every 2 hours or less, around the clock, I didn't know if I would make it to two weeks. ;) But here we are.. 3 months already!

The boys are really starting to focus more on their environment. They have been smiling for a while now... but they are really starting to smile and laugh in response to specific things now. Like tickling their belly or making a funny face. When they were newborns they actually liked their bouncy chair more than being held. Those days are gone! There is nothing our boys like better than being held or played with. Sometimes I get up to do something while both boys are laying on a blanket... and I look back and two adorable little pairs of eyes are staring at me, like "why are you leaving us?" And they LOVE bathtime.

For almost a week the boys were eating every 3 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night. It was soo nice!! I tried not to get my hopes up that this would continue, because I didn't want to be disappointed/grumpy about it. Well, for the last week or so they are back to eating every 2-3 hours during the day and they take turns getting up multiple times at night. (every 3 hours or less to eat, and also getting up between feeds needing to be comforted). Sniff. I don't have a baby sleep book yet, but I will be buying one soon. I am looking into Sears/Healthy Sleep Habits/BabyWise. One thing being a NICU nurse does NOT teach you is how to put babies to sleep. Our babies are so premature that you have to fight to keep them awake long enough to eat.

Speaking of the NICU, I was scheduled to go back to work last week, one day a week. But, since I am going back PRN (or "as needed"), I am the first to be canceled if our census is low (unless someone wants to be canceled before me). So, I was canceled last week & again yesterday. I have officially been off of work for 16 weeks now. 2 weeks before giving birth, 12 weeks maternity leave, and now 2 weeks after maternity leave. My last paycheck was $27 (The last of my PTO). That's fine with me, the more time off the better while the boys are so young :) Going back to work is more of a trial though. If it doesn't work out I will just quit and try to get back in to nursing when the boys are older. I most likely won't be canceled next week since I am scheduled on Thanksgivng, and the cancelations work differently on holidays. So we'll see!

Both sets of grandparents have continued to be very helpful, and I am so grateful for that!

Happy 3 months Adam & Matthew! I love you both & I can't wait to see what the next 3 months will bring us!

You would be happy too...

2010-11-02T15:48:00.001-07:00

...if you were this well fed: Look at all of those fat rolls! ;) Hard to believe that these are the same scrawny 5 pounders that I gave birth to only 2.5 months ago. I love when they are smiling like this. Recently they have started trying to laugh. I think in a few more weeks they will be giggling up a storm.

Sometimes I feel like there is not enough of me to go around for these two little guys. I am so thankful we have both sets of grandparents close by, so when I am really overwhelmed I can get help. And who doesn't want to play with an adorable baby?? I really don't know how people raise twins without help.. I know it's possible, but definitely easier if there is an extra set of hands around.

Next week I am scheduled to go back to work. (Just one shift a week.. but shift is 12 hours). I will keep you posted on how that works out.

2 Month Update

2010-10-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

They boys getting blessed at church.

Now that we are settling into more of a routine, and some of the sleep deprivation has gotten better, I am realizing more and more how blessed I am to have two healthy baby boys. The delivery was as good as I could have hoped for, and the boys are doing great.

Here is a quick update of Adam & Matthew at 2 months old. I am grouping them together for now.. they are both maturing at about the same rate so far:

They have been smiling for a few weeks now. I LOVE this, and can't wait to see it more and more.
Both are starting to make cooing noises. This is a lot of fun... it's really neat seeing them mature beyond the newborn phase.
They are great at holding up their own head. Occasionally they still need some support.
During tummy time they can both push up with their arms and hold up their head. (Though hey are not a big fan of tummy time)
As of two nights ago, they are FINALLY starting to sleep longer at night. Last night Adam slept from 8:00pm to 12:45am. That's almost 5 hours! Matthew slept from 8:30 to 12:45. Then they slept until 4:30am and started eating every 2 hours again. Definitely a step up from feeding at 8,10,12,2,4, etc
They both love getting baths now, so I love giving them! For the first several weeks they were not a fan of their baths.
I will post their weights when we go to the doctor later this week. They are definitely getting bigger though!

We have started going out more on our own. I took them to a park in Fort Worth to meet some work friends, and I took the two of them to the grocery store by myself for the first time last week. I put Matthew in the cart (in his carseat) and held Adam in the Moby Wrap. I definitely need more practice with the Moby Wrap, because every time I looked he had slid further down!

Also last week at church the boys were blessed. :) (See above picture)

Overall, I am enjoying my two little men :)

*** Update for weight/height.

At their one month check up on 10/22:

Adam -- 9 lbs 12 ozs. 22 in. 10th %

Matthew -- 9 lbs 11 ozs. 22 in. 10th %

They are getting close to doubling their weight!!

I Hope I'm Strong Enough for This...

2010-10-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

I have a whole new respect for mothers now that I am a new mother myself! The boys are 7 weeks old today, and doing very well. But, these have been the hardest 7 weeks of my life! The biggest challenge for me is definitely the lack of a good chunk of sleep. I am probably getting at least 5-6 hours a day (I think..) but I haven't gotten more than about 2 hours at a time (usually closer to 1) since the boys have been born. It is the most frustrating to me in the middle of the night after I've nursed the boys until they fall asleep (sometimes up to an hour), changed their diaper, and burped them.. and they are still fussy. (This happened several times last night.. I am exhausted. I'm not sure if they are getting sick, going through a growth spurt or just being fussy). It made me think.. I hope I am strong enough for raising these twins!!

Now it's 2:15pm and the boys are both sleeping (simultaneously) for the first time today. They have really kept me busy! I have heard the first 3 months is the hardest. Is this true? I know there are many, many more challenges to come in this journey of motherhood, but does getting sleep make everything seem easier? And does anyone have any tips for getting them to sleep longer at night.. or is that something I just need to wait for?

So.. we have had a challenging past few days, but they are both sleeping now. Sleeping babies are good. Here's to more of that :)

The boys' first trip

2010-09-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last week our family and both sets of grandparents took a trip to Kerrville, TX to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23). The decision to go with such young newborns was last minute, but I was stir crazy and felt they were old enough to be around people (5.5 weeks old). The trip would have been a 5 hour drive with no stops, but ended up being around 6.5 hours by the time we stopped to nurse TWICE. (In the car with a nursing cover, then my mom changed diapers in the front seat with a diaper changing pad. It was quite an operation) We took my parents' van, which made things a LOT easier than if we had taken a smaller car.

Once we got to Kerrville, things were actually easier for me than when I am home, because both sets of grandpaernts were around to help out, almost 24/7! My parents had an adjoining room to ours, and both grandmas were willing to help out at all hours of the night. Not to mention that with twins, an extra pair of hands to hold a crying baby or change a diaper helps a lot! It can mean the difference between pulling your hair out and a little bit of sanity :)

Here is me, the babies, and my nursing pillow in the backseat of my parents' van on the way over.
Me, Alan and our boys by the Guadalupe River. Matthew's expression here cracks me up, because he was actually about to fill his diaper right on my shoulder when this picture was taken. We didn't get my "after expression" lol.

Me and the boys by some pretty flowers while walking back from the Guadalupe. The boys were so good on the walk... as long as they were in their stroller.

Me, Alan & the boys by a waterfall at the resort. The boys are comfortably in their carrier/Moby wrap.

We had a great time, and I was sad we came back early (we had planned to come back early when we thought it would be too much with the twins to go for a full week.) It may have been harder on the extended family, but I was having a blast (especially having so much help!) :)

A few funny moments from our trip:

--When Alan & I were "wearing" the twins in the carrier & Moby wrap, a lady stopped and asked us how old our baby was. Of course we answered 5.5 weeks. She was only looking at Alan's baby, she didn't hear Alan say they were twins. Finally Alan said, "the other baby is over there," pointing at me. She said, "oh, I thought she was pregnant!" Pregnant? THAT pregnant with a 5.5 week old baby also?? Yikes!

--A girl about 10 years old asked me if my babies were wearing clothes when they came out of me. lol

Overall it was a great trip, and I'm glad we went!!

My 6 Week Postpartum Checkup Adventure

2010-09-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

Matthew

Adam

Yes, adventure. That is how all trips outside the house have been like now that the twins are here.

(We also recently took a trip 5 hours away with the twins.. (we must be crazy) but I will blog/post pictures about that when I have more time)

First, I love my doctor, but a lot of other people must too because she is known for her long wait times. Like 1-2 hour waits. Regularly. Since my babies eat about every 2 hours, I panicked a little.. since as I mentioned in a previous post.. I've never tandem breastfed in public, and they usually wake up at the same time. (I may be able to do this as my boys grow, but we're not ready yet).

So my solution was to bring my precious expressed breastmilk and bottle feed one while I breastfed the other (precious because it takes me about 3 days to pump one bottle!) Both of my parents came with me. And both babies were awake almost the whole time we were at the doctor. So my mom fed Matthew a little over 2 ounces by bottle, and guess what? He was completely happy until his next feed. That was his first bottle feed that completely replaced a breastfeed. I breastfed Adam right after my appointment, and then pumped the other side in the car (so I didn't really lose 3 days of pumping after all).

I thought Matthew might miss being close to his mommy for one feed, but he didn't even care! The little stinker just wants his food after all ;)

Since both babies were happy, my parents & I were able to go out to eat while the babies slept. We had a nice time. Then by the time we got back, the babies were due to eat again. And the cycle started again :)

The checkup went great. It was nice seeing my doctor again, and she said everything looks great.
And since I haven't posted this yet, here are Adam & Matthew's one month weights:
Adam: 7 pounds 7 ounces
Matthew: 7 pounds 6.5 ounces.

I think now they are close to 8 pounds. They are getting so big! Almost 3 pounds heavier than when they were born, and it shows!! They are just getting more and more adorable though.

One month birthday - Part II

2010-09-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

As you got older, you started to have more periods of being awake. (Not just for feeds, but after feeds as well). We started to play with you more, and both of you started to focus on our faces and on toys. Your neck, arm and leg muscles became stronger as we introduced tummy time. It was exciting to see you develop! You started getting a log bigger. Your legs, once so scrawny & thin were filling out, along with your tummy, arms, and well, pretty much everything else! We introduced the swing and the bouncy chair when you were around 2 weeks old, and you both loved them. You almost love them more than us holding you! I'm glad we found something that will put you both to sleep easily though.

You've gone on lots of walks since you came home. You love being outside, the warm air puts you right to sleep! Your grandparents on my side love coming with us so they can see you :)Here you are in your nifty snap n go stroller. Matthew in front. Adam in back.

You are still eating every 2-3 hours. Some nights you will go every 3 hours all night, but some nights you decide you are too hungry for that, and only wait 2 hours for your next feed. (That means only about 1 hour of sleep between feeds for Mommy.) I am hoping you decide to sleep longer stretches at night soon!

Here are the birthday boys sleeping on the nursing pillow. Matthew on left. Adam on right.

And after diaper changes, they were not happy to be laid down for a photo instead of being promptly swaddled. Adam on left (he had a clothing change), Matthew on right. (You can see how big they are getting.) I also assigned them colors. Matthew always wears blue and green, and Adam wears all of the other colors.

Ahh... that's better :)

This has been one of the most life changing, tough and rewarding months I have ever had. Happy one month birthday to my precious twin sons!

One Month Birthday - Part I

2010-09-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Happy one month birthday Adam & Matthew. Even though taking care of twins is harder than I thought it would be, I wouldn't trade the two of you for anything. I love both of you so much already. Here are a few of my memories of our time together.

On August 16th, I went to L & D after my doctor's appointment. I was in labor and didn't know it... This is as big as I got with the two of you inside!
Adam was born 8/17 at 1:38am weighing 5 pounds and 18.9 inches.
Matthew was born 8/17 at 1:40am weighing 5 pounds 3 ounces and 17.7 inches.
You were exactly 37 weeks according to the doctor. (I believe you were 36.3 weeks though).
You both were pretty nice to Mommy as far as labor & delivery went (see my birth story). I was so happy the two of you were finally on the outside, and so healthy! Both of you had dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes. You looked a lot alike! You were the most beautiful babies I had seen, and I don't think it's just because I'm biased. You were so small and perfect!

Here you are in your hospital bassinets. Matthew is on the left, Adam on the right. You were so sleepy the first few weeks. You always woke up to eat right on schedule, but you went right back to sleep afterwards. You were late preterms, so your eyes didn't quite focus on us quite yet, but you were very alert when you did wake up. At first we had to look at your hospital bands to tell you two apart, but then we started noticing differences between the two of you. Adam had a wider face and had more of an olive complexion. Matthew had a more narrow face with a redder complexion. We didn't get much sleep those first few days in the hospital.

We finally took you home on 8/19, and I was so excited that you were finally home with me, after waiting so long. I don't think I realized just how much time and attention you two would need from me, but we learned together how to take care of both of you. At 12 days old, Heather came to do a photoshoot of the two of you:

Here is Matthew & me.

Our family:

Alan & Adam.

The two of you cuddling. Matthew on his side. Adam on his back.

Me and Adam:

The two of you don't really notice each other yet, but you definitely don't mind being near each other. You don't flinch when I lay you next to each other and someone's arm ends up in the other's face. Here is Adam latching on to Matthew's elbow:

Tummy Time

2010-09-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

So I've advanced tummy time from just placing the boys on our chest to placing them on their stomachs in their cribs or on the floor. I am probably not doing this enough, but I'm trying at least once a day. Look how strong they're getting:

And here they are getting tired:

Breastfeeding Twins

2010-09-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

The Beginning...
Almost the first thing our little babies did in this world was breastfeed. They latched on for about 30 minutes each. It was so adorable. Their little eyes were open and looking around. They were so tiny.. born 3 weeks early at just 5 pounds and 5 pounds 3 ounces. But you couldn't tell they were early or small by the way they latched on & ate to their hearts content. However, they did begin breathing fast & grunting shortly after they were born, so after they breastfed they were moved to the NICU for observation for about 8 hours. I missed them soo much, and I worried about how breastfeeding would go with this separation. Thankfully, I was able to breastfeed them once while they were in the NICU.. about 5 hours after they first fed. Our second attempt together was not as smooth as the first feed, mainly because they were not as awake. Eventually both babies ate for about 20 minutes. I was thankful for this, becuase I didn't want the NICU to have any excuse to keep them.

The First 48 Hours
At around 10am the morning after they were born, the babies had resolved their breating issues & graduated from the NICU to the newborn nursery, so they were able to room in with me. And wow, I was not prepared for the amount of work feeding two babies would be! In the hospital I fed the twins one at a time, while we all learned what we were doing. However, this took up nearly all of my time, and I went about 36 hours without sleep. The only way we actually did sleep a few hours was by telling the nurses not to let anyone in our room.. and sending the babies to the nursery for a couple hours until their next feed. I was so sleep deprived that I wasn't able to enjoy my new babies as much as I would have liked. That's when I decided I HAD to tandem breastfeed.

The First Month
The twins will be 4 weeks old tomorrow, and I'm happy to say breastfeeding is going much more smoothly than those first few days in the hospital! I wasn't able to tandem breastfeed more than once or twice in the hospital, but once we all got home I almost exclusively tandem fed. I learned to do it on my own by always using a couch or futon to breastfeed on. I place the twins beside me on the couch while I strap on my (huge, twin-size) nursing pillow. Then I place the babies on the pillow one at a time. Then I latch one, and then the other, both in the football hold. (The picture above shows the general position I use.) When they are both done, I burp them one at a time and then put them down on the couch. Then I change them & put them to sleep.

Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on all the more comfortable positions for breastfeeing... like side lying or the cradle hold. I do use these on occasion when only one is fussing, but the convenience of having both babies fed in the same amount of time as one far outweighs my desire to use any alternative positions.

I have been able to use a nursing cover, so I can nurse when company is around. (Yay.. for a while I just hid out in the nursery when anyone came over because it took me a few weeks to even feel comfortable enough to try the cover. I was about to go crazy from being so isolated from everyone.) I haven't actually nursed in public though. I am thinking it is going to be impossible to tandem feed in public, because of the need for the nursing pillow. That's not something that is exactly discreet in a restaurant or a mall. From everything I read from other twin moms, they either nurse them one at a time, or bring bottles for both, or have dad bottle feed one while one nurses.

The hardest part of nursing has been that I am responsible for all the feeds 24/7. I haven't missed one since they have been born, and it gets pretty tiring! I am working on pumping. I would LOVE to get a huge supply in the freezer, so that I could easily have someone else feed them as needed. However... I have had issues pumping much milk after they twins eat. I am working on it though.. I have 9 ounces in the freezer. I don't want to use any of it until I have enough for the first day I go back to work though. Which by the time I go back to work.. I am estimating I will need 24 ounces for the entire 12 hours for both babies. Yikes!!

Ultimately I do believe breastfeeding twins is the easiest (and healthiest) way to feed them. It beats giving them bottles separately.. and dealing with one crying while the other is eating!

Birth Story!

2010-09-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Well I have been absent from blogger for a couple of weeks, but I have a good excuse! Our twin sons were born August 17th at 1:38am and 1:40am.

I had been having contractions during my pregnancy from about 23 weeks on, so I didn't think Too much of it when a few of my contractions were slightly more painful & crampy. They began to feel like this about 2 weeks before I delivered, but I didn't mention it to my doctor. My main concern when going to my 36 week appointment (on August 16th) was discussing not getting my membranes stripped (see my previous post).

At my appointment, my OB checked my cervix and asked, "how far along do you think you are?" I told her I didn't know. She let me know I was already 4cm dilated. This meant I was already in labor and "didn'tknow it." (So no need to strip my membranes). She wanted to send me down to L & D right then. I was hesitant, because I didn't feel like my contractions were regular yet. However, my doctor talked me into it.. by saying I shouldn't be laboring long at home with twins. If I came in 8cm dilated in the middle of the night, they would have to hurry to set everything up, etc.. and it wouldn't be as safe for the second twin (who would come out by breech extraction).

So.. I shakily told her I would go to L & D. Completely in shock.. I thought I had another week or two left (even though I had made it to 36.6 weeks with twins). My mom had come with me to my appointment, so I let her know what was going on, and we both called our husbands. Then we walked across the street to the hospital. (It was a very anti climactic trip to the hospital I must say.. for actually being in labor).

I got checked in to L & D, IV started, blood drawn & hooked up to fetal & contraction monitors. The contractions were coming every 5 minutes exactly, and I was only feeling about 1/3 of them! This was around 3pm. About 5pm, my OB broke my water & hooked baby A up to an internal monitor. I was still around 4cm then, and still not in pain. Several hours later I was 4-5cm and started on a small dose of Pitocin. I kept expecting my contractions to get painful, since my water was broken & pitocin started.. but they still felt like my contractions from the last few weeks. (Only slightly more painful than the contractions I had been having for months!) Several more hours passed.. by this time both sets of parents had arrived, along with my younger brother and a couple of our friends. I still wasn't feeling much pain at all, but I knew I needed to get the epidural because of the breech extraction (and the possibility of an emergency c-section for twin B). I really didn't want to get the epidural without feeling a few really good contractions though. I felt like that would be cheating the whole process! (Plus the epidural scared me)

I did end up feeling about 5 really good contractions before I got the epidural. Getting the epidural was probably the worst part of the labor. I lost count of how many times they tried to get the needle in, but it was at least 4 or 5. At one point, I told her to stop trying.. I needed a break. My husband was so wonderful during this part, he let me squeeze his hand really hard, and he didn't tell me how horrible the needle looked, haha. My labor nurse was also really good. Once the epidural was in though, it acted really fast. I can only describe it as if my legs suddently felt "warm and fuzzy". I didn't feel any more contractions after this. About 3 hours after the epidural, I had gone from 5cm to 8-9cm. (I napped during this time.. so I kind of did cheat my way through the labor). My nurse told me to let her know if I felt an urge to push & she would check me again. Well... I was really worried I wouldn't feel the urge since I had an epidural. I kept saying.. I think I may feel Something. She eventually checked me again at around 12:50am, and I was fully dilated. She called the doctor, the anesthetist, the NICU team (they had told me they would be outside the OR as a courtesy), and a few other people while they prepared the OR for the delivery of the twins! I don't know why, but it still didn't feel real to me!

The doctor arrived around 1:20am or so, and I was wheeled to the OR & moved to the OR bed. (Alan was with me in his surgical hat, shoes, and outfit). There were tons of people in the room, but I was mainly just focused on my doctor, the labor nurse, and Alan.

I had no idea what I was doing when it came to pushing, my my doctor & nurse were really good about instructing me on what to do. I couldn't feel my contractions, so I told them to let me know when to push. I had no trouble actually pushing though once I got the technique down. I pushed through about 5 contractions, and pushed out our little Adam! It was a strange sensation giving birth to a baby.. and I still yelled as he came out even though I had the epidural. My first thought when he came out was that he was too tiny to be 6 lbs. (He ended up being just 5lbs 0ozs.) Alan cut the umbilical cord, and that sent blood spraying around the OR.. sone even landed on my eyelid, so I have blood on my face in some of the OR pictures... haha.

Matthew's birth was a little less straight forward. He was breech and my doctor reached in & grabbed his feet & pulled him out. I started to push, but my doctor told me not to do anything.. to just relax (that's why I needed the epidural). According to Alan, she pulled, turned, pulled, and turned the baby until everything was out but his head. Then she called in the NICU team, while the head was still inside. That scared me because I wasn't sure if something was seriously wrong with getting the baby out. She used piper forceps to get the head out, and kind of flipped the baby out onto my stomach. He was born 2 minutes after Adam, but it was the longest 2 minutes of my life! The baby was blue, so the NICU team gave him some blow by oxygen & he was fine.

Next I delivered the huge placenta, which felt like delivering another baby! I watched as the babies were cleaned up & given to Alan. After the doctor was finished with me, they handed me the babies, and we took a few pictures before being wheeled back to the labor room. The grandparents were there to take pictures as we went back to our room. :)

(The babies are hungry now.. so I will continue with the rest of the hospital story in a different post)

35 Week Appt

2010-08-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

So this week apparantly I am only 1cm dilated again! My doctor said the way everything is positioned I feel like 3cm at first, but really I'm only 1. My cervix is still really soft & the babies are low. I'm measuring 39 weeks.

So... my doctor wants to strip my membranes next week (I will be 36.6 weeks). This won't necessarily make me go into labor, but it will ripen my cervix even more.. and make it more likely I will start active labor. I really don't see what the big rush is though. I actually asked her if we could wait one more week before doing this, but she wants to do it next week. I wouldn't have such a problem with it if I thought my due date was accurate.. but I really think my babies are 4 days less far along... which would put me at 36.2 weeks at my next appointment. That seems way too early (even with twins) to start intervening if nothing is wrong! My goal was to make it to at least 37 weeks (according to my dates). So I'm not sure if I will push the issue at my next appointment or just let her do it & hope labor doesn't start for several more days afterwards!

I think that's all the big doctor news for this week. I did create a belly mold this week which is pretty neat. (Thanks to Sherry!) I'm not sure where it will go, but I think it will be neat having that momento from my twin pregnancy!)

Bowling Video

2010-08-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

Bowling at 35 Weeks! It's strange to see my belly from the angle everyone else does... I don't think of myself as this big :P

34 Weeks!

2010-08-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

I really wanted some good husband/wife shots showing off my big belly. I think we got some good ones. Thank you to my brother Daniel for the photos!

Today I had my 34 week Dr. visit & ultrasound. At the ultraound we found out Baby A now weighs 5 pounds 8 ounces and Baby B weighs 4 pounds 7 ounces. They are big boys! They now have a 19% size discordance, but my OB wasn't too concerned. She said it was to be expected that the discordance would grow, but she is happy that they are both growing. They are both in the same position as the last ultrasound (Baby A head down, Baby B transverse with his head in my right ribs), so maybe they have run out of room to flip around. As long as Baby A stays head down I will be happy!

My doctor hopes for me to make it to 37 or 38 weeks, but she said "35 or 36 would be ok too". I really want to make it to at least 37 weeks. I think I can do it. That's only about 2.5 more weeks :) And I am off work, so I won't have to deal with the 12 hour shifts making me go into labor.
(I had a very stressful day at work last week.. where I didn't get home until 9:30pm, and I got to work at 6:45am). I love my job, but I don't think God designed me to be able carry twins and still work those hours! So I am stopping for my own wellbeing (and my babies' wellbeing).

I actually took care of twins last week that my doctor had delivered (not the stressful day). They were delivered at 34 weeks, and were doing well. But they had temperature and feeding issues. I just want my babies to skip all of that and just come straight home with me!

I am almost 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced. If I keep dilating 1.5 cm's per week, this labor could be pretty easy ;) Unfortunately I don't think it works like that, haha. I hope this slows down though, because I still have to make it that 2.5 weeks!

After my appointment, my mom took me to motherhood maternity & I got some nursing bras and a nursing gown. Yay! So now I actually have stuff to pack in the hospital bag :)

This weekend we got the pack n plays set up in our room, so the babies have a place to sleep now (besides the nursery of course). Having the little beds so close to me all the time is really making me impatient to meet my babies though! They seem so empty now.

Pics of the completed nursery may be posted this week...

33 Week Doctor Appt

2010-07-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

33.6 Weeks
Still measuring 36 weeks. (I think my uterus is higher on the left side than on the left.. so when they measure down the middle it's not completely accurate. Just my thoughts :p)
I am 1.5cm dilated!! I know you can stay at 1-2 cm for weeks (which I'm hoping is the case), but this dilatiion really makes it seem like the birth is coming up fast. Also the babies are very low.
When a doctor tells you they are going to "gently" check your cervix, "gently" is a very subjecive term.
I half jokingly asked my doctor if this could mean I would be 6cm by tonight. She said no, but that it would be nice if I were 6cm at my next appointment! (Which is a week from today.) I was thinking, "Wait! I thought our goal was at least 36 weeks??" What I said was, "I'd like to go a little further than that." She said, "we'll see." Thanks for the vote of confidence ;) She said her last patient that was as small as me with twins had them at 34 weeks, and (after I asked) she said it seemed like her smaller patients did deliver earlier. So really these babies could come anytime, even as early as next week! (I still think they will hang in there though)
My blood pressure is still good.
My next ultrasound is Monday. Can't wait to see if they are still growing well in there! (And if Mr. "A" is still head down)
Weight gain: 42 pounds.

Other ThoughtS:

It is definitely getting harder to move around. It's usually painful when I go from sitting to standing due to the pelvic pressure. It's also painful when I flip from my right to left side at night, or when I get up to use the restroom at night.
These boys are wearing me out! I am tired all the time! Whenever I feel energy, I take advantage of it to clean the house & make sure we are ready for babies. Yesterday I organized our closet so I wouldn't have to worry about it later. I also set up a changing table in our bedroom, and made room for their pack 'n plays in our room. Then I packed the diaper bag.. not sure why I thought that was necessary. Then I was completely worn out. Today my two big activities were cleaning the kitchen and going to the doctor. And I am worn out again.
We still need to find a pediatrician. I should probably get working on that.
This should be my last week of work!! (If all goes well). I requested PTO for the first two weeks of August. I'm pretty sure it has been approved, but I'm not 100% certain. I'm really not sure I can physically keep working after this week if it doesn't get approved :(
My belly gets into all sorts of strange shapes when the babies move.. it is so funny for Alan & me to watch.
I am really excited to meet my boys & bring them home with me!

32 Week Sono/Appt

2010-07-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

First a few pictures to show my size:
I got two maraschino cherries, one for each baby. This was at a 50's murder mystery dinner party last Saturday night.

Alan and I in character :) I'm a former homecoming queen and he is a jock/quarterback.

I this this picture is hilarious because it looks like I'm trying to turn to face Alan, but my stomach got stuck :)

So now that you know how big I am this week, here are the stats from my ultrasound last Friday & my OB appt today.

32 Weeks

Measuring 36 Weeks (not sure why it's less than last week, but my doctor wasn't concerned)

Weight:

Baby A weighs: 4 pounds 8 ounces

Baby B weighs: 3 pounds 13 ounces

That is a 14% size discordance. They get concerned when the size difference is more than 25%, so I am having another ultrasound in 2 weeks to follow up on their growth. (She was originally going to have me wait 3 weeks for my next sono.) Hopefully they will both grow well between now and then!

My weight: Well that's just depressing. I've gained about 40 pounds already :(

Position:

Baby A is head down and below Baby B. He is pushing Baby B's feet away from his face, just like he was doing in my last sono. They are fighting already!! If he stays in this head down position, I can have a vaginal delivery. (My OB's rate of vag vs c-section for twins is 80% vaginal. That's really good!)

Baby B is transverse, laying above Baby A. (And kicking him, lol)

Work Status:

So I ask every week if I can get a note to get me out of work. Still didn't get a note today, lol. Stil no medical reason. I am trying to get canceled about once a week though. When I told me OB that, she said that was good practice :) I just get soo tired.

Delivery Info:

Today I asked what my chances were of getting my doctor at delivery. She said she tries really hard to deliver her own twins, and that she has delivered all of her own twins except one set in the last 10 years. Those twins apparantly "fell out" since they were the mom's 4th and 5th children.

Hmm, I think that is all of the new information. I will be 33 weeks tomorrow. I can't believe it! These babies will be here before we know it.

31 Week Doctor Appointment

2010-07-12T18:18:00.001-07:00

• 31.6 weeks
• Measuring 37 weeks
• My cervix is shortening, but not dilating. My OB said that is normal.
• I will be delivering in the OR with an epidural. This is for the safety of the second twin, in case a c section is needed or if she needs to do a beech extraction. In case of a breech extraction, it is safer if I am not fighting the doctor.
• There's still no medical reason to quit work, so I guess I will work through one more week. I already requested to be canceled tomorrow and our census is pretty low, so my chances are good. That means I'd only have one shift this week :)

Weekly Twin Belly Pics

2010-07-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

My twin pregnancy belly from the positive sign 'til now. 31 week picture taken yesterday. (Music will be added when I have more energy)

Some thoughts on my pregnancy today:

I am so thankful for all of my friends and family. The nursery is pretty well stocked with diapers, wipes, clothes, blankets, toys, books, decorations and other baby items. The majority of this has been gifts. We are very appreciative :) I can't wait to begin using everything :)
I have gotten a lot of comments about my belly "dropping". I think everyone is right, because I used to have almost constant rib pain, and I haven't felt any pain for about a week or so. I just hope my body doesn't think it's time to deliver!
I have also gotten a lot of comments that it looks like I am about to tip over. It's true that I am not very evenly proportioned at the moment.
I'm still working part time. I had a pretty good week this last week, although I still get pretty tired. Thankfully the charge nurses are trying to give me the easier assignments, which I am very thankful for!
Today Alan & I went grocery shopping, and I am more worn out now than after my last couple of 12 hour shifts. I don't know what the deal is with that. I feel like I can barely walk because of the tiredness & the pressure I feel when I walk :(
Tomorrow I have a Doctor's appointment, and I want to discuss two things with her: When I should take off work, and more of what to expect at delivery
I've already gained 35 pounds. And my waistline is huge. That figure will remain confidential at the moment ;)
I still love watching and feeling my babies move :)

Am I Really That Big?

2010-07-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

A few funny pictures. 30 weeks pregnant at my parents' house. My sister-in-law was having fun taking a mini photoshoot.

Working while Preggo

2010-07-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

Before I got pregnant, my plan was to work full time until I delivered. (That would be 3 twelve hour shifts a week). That's on your feet!! I am so glad I didn't do this. Earlier this year I requested to be put on the list for part time... (for after I delivered) and I was offered the position right away. So I have been part time (2 twelve hour shifts/week) since around February of this year. Which has been awesome for being pregnant! I have been able to pick up some extra shifts & do some required education stuff without overdoing it.

However.

Now I am 30 weeks pregnant with twins. I am humongous. I have probably 7-8 pounds of baby in there already. (Not to mention the two separate swimming pools I am providing them.) My feet hurt when I stand too long. I have pelvic pressure when I stand too fast or too long. And my contractions increase when I stand too long. Not to mention I get tired soo easily now it is pathetic!!

Last Wednesday at work, I actually requested an easier assignment than they had assigned. I
got the easier assignment, during which I was able to sit quite a bit. However, that day was also the deadline for some audits that I do for the unit, and the last day to do this required central line education seminar. So even though all my body wanted to do was go home and sleep from about 4pm on, I was on my feet taking care of my babies, completing the audits, and then I had to stand on my feet at the education thing (after my shift was over). I got home around 8:15pm.

It seemed like that last bit of standing on my feet was really not good for me. I started to almost feel crampy (which I knew was not good), and I was having a lot of contractions. It was actually uncomfortable contractions (usually they are painless). I knew I just needed to go home & lay down.. so that's what I did. It really took me about 3 hours of laying down before I felt better. (Of course if I hadn't started to feel better, I would've called the hospital). Alan took care of me and brought me food during this time. :) I could get used to being pampered :) That experience was very scary for me though. I thought my water was going to break, because of all the pressure I was feeling, and it really made me think I should start me leave from work. Alan really thinks I should start my leave too.

Taking leave from work when you are only 30 weeks pregnant though is not easy. Especially if you want to come back to your job. You can only take 12 weeks off with your job guaranteed. And I'm not sure if I can even start taking off without a doctor's note. Soo.. I may just wait until I see my doctor again & see if she will give me a note. That's only two more shifts at work. I can do that right? I was scheduled to work today, but I requested to be cancelled. Thankfully they cancelled me, because I ended up sleeping in until almost 12:00. (Would've had to get up at 5:00am for work). That's seven extra hours of rest that I was obviously needing! In fact, I probably would have slept longer, but Alan called me at about 11:40 and asked about lunch. I told him I would make something simple since I needed to get up anyway, and I needed to eat. :P

So I am kind of back and forth right now. I enjoy my job & I like my coworkers, I just don't think I can physically work much longer. I really hope my doctor agrees with me and gives me some kind of note. Oh, I also wish there were different laws for multiples pregnancies. Like extra time off. Because if I take extra time off to take it easy before they are born, that's less time I have with my two babies after they are born. (Even though I'm only planning on going back 1 day a week). Sigh... America needs to get on these laws. Because even though I want to go back 1 day a week after I have the babies (the grandparents would take care of them, and I would get some time away)... I would really like at least 3 months at home with them before I do that. Which I probably won't get if I start my leave early. So complicated :-/

Baby Shower - 29 Weeks

2010-06-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

A family friend hosted my baby shower last Sunday. It was a wonderful time. It was great seeing so many people excited about the babies :) There were 26 guests, and they all signed both baby books, so the babies will both get a copy when they get older :)

Me with the gorgeous spread, including the amazing diaper cake, fruit kabobs, cake, vegies, and mini cheesecake pieces. Very yummy.

The very creative fruit bowl that my mom made. Aren't the little orange babies adorable?

Opening up some presents. Lori on the far right (with the red dress) made the beautiful diaper cake!

My mom and me with presents everywhere!

I included this one because it's a good side shot @ 29 weeks. Just ignore my expression please!

Now I am having fun getting everything organized in the nursey (& bathroom for the bath stuff). I wish I could get everything together faster, but I get tired so fast, and I have to save some energy for working. But everything is coming together :)

On a side note, there is no longer any "innie" to my belly button. But I still don't think it's quite an outie, except for the top flap that is sticking out, lol.

28 Week Ultrasound & OB Appointment

2010-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

Alan and I. 28 Weeks. An unposed shot, but the best sideview I have at 28 weeks.

Here are the stats from today's appointment:

Baby A weighs: 3 pounds!!

Baby B weights: 2 pounds 12 ounches!

They are huge. The average weight of a 28 weeker is 2 pounds 4 ounces. Mine are about the size of 30 weekers.

The amniotic fluid level for the twins is the best level my ultrasound tech had seen in a while, she told me. She says for twins she's been seeing 9 and 10 (which is the lower end of normal). My twins had levels of 14 and 18. Yikes! No wonder I look like I'm 40 weeks pregnant.

The twins are no longer positioned in the nice perfect head down position they were at 24 weeks. Both babies are diagnal/transverse. Baby A's head is tilted down (on the left side of my body) with his body toward the right side of my rib cage. Baby B is kind of on top of him, but he is tilted head up. He is flexed so that his head and his feet are both close to my rib cage. (On my right side). No wonder I have been so confused about who is kicking when. Also, I've been feeling a lot more movement on my right side than on my left. No wonder, since all of the feet are on my right side!

My weight gain: 31 pounds

Fundal Height: 34 cm

Still no change to my cervix :)

My doctor said everything looks great, and I should go to at least 36 weeks. She wants to see me back in a week though, because "it's twins". I don't mind, since my appointments are when I'm reassured everything is ok :)

Impromptu trip to the doctor & Baby Shower Pool Party!

2010-06-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

So I have been having braxton hicks contractions for weeks now. At first I didn't know what they were, but after researching and asking around, I knew that tightness had to be a small contraction. (It's hard for me to translate a familiar term like a braxton hicks contraction to what I am actually experiencing -- this is my first time to actually feel any of this for myself!)

Last week I started getting concerned because these contractions seemed to be coming more frequently than I thought was normal. I decided to time them for an hour. I got 6 in an hour! (They weren't every 10 minutes.. it was more irregularly spaced.. 5 minutes, then 15, etc). I waited a few hours and then counted again, and I got 5 in an hour. I decided not to do anything right then, since I had no other symptoms and they weren't regular or getting more frequent.

The next day at work, I continued to have them (as I've been having them for weeks), and discuseed it with a fellow nurse who had recently given birth to twins. She thought it was concerning... and that was enough to get me on the phone with my doctor. I explained my symptoms to the nurse, and told her I was at work which is right across the street from my doctor's office. She told me to go ahead and come in to be checked. (This is one reason I wanted to deliver at my hospital... I am right there if anything happens!)

I walked over to get checked (to make sure I wasn't dilating or effacing). And the verdict is... 5cm dilated! Ok just kidding ;) I wasn't dilated or effaced at all.. which really made me feel a lot better. I did come back and tell my podmate I was 5cm dilated, and she did believe me for a second.

My doctor laughed at me though, because I tried to wrap the modesty drape thing they give you around my hips & I ended up tearing it because it was too small. She said it's only the people who were skinny that try to wrap it. She told me I'm not skinny anymore! Way to rub it in doc ;) I honestly thought the drape looked plenty big enough to wrap, so I guess I am in denial about how large I really am.

I still have the braxton hicks contractions every day (and night), but I'm not worrying about them as much as I was, since I know after all those weeks of having them, they aren't causing me to dilate or efface at all.

On a separate note.. on Sunday my work friends through me a baby shower pool party which was a lot of fun! It was hosted at on the nurse's beautiful houses. It really made me think all baby showers should be pool parties (in the summer) becuase the water feels so good.. makes you weightless... which is a wonderful way to feel when pregnant :) I think there was a good turnout, and I got some nice stuff for the babies, which I can't wait to use :) I also got a group gift card, which we used to help buy the cribs. So exciting! I actually just finished setting up the cribs this morning!! Everything is coming along :) Here are a few pics of the nursery:

26 Week OB Appt - Fri 6/4...and other thoughts

2010-06-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

So last Friday I didn't get to peek at my babies, but I did take the lovely glucose tolerance test & the fFn test (given routinely to moms of twins by my OB to check for premature labor). I might add that the fFn test requires an internal swab, and my OB came into the office visibly uncomfortable and declaring she had to pee but she "wanted to see me first." I told her I promised her I would wait! But she went ahead and did my entire exam & test & answered my questions (which I insisted on asking her.. hey I gave her a chance to pee before she started ;) )

Neither test was too bad. I had heard horrible things about the drink they give you for the glucose test, but really it just tasted like orange soda minus the fiizz. The fFn test wasn't bad either, slightly uncomfortable but way better than a pap smear. Oh, my OB also routinely gives betamethasone to her twins at 26 weeks, but I asked to have that postponed unless there was anything she saw on exam that had concerned her.. since it is most effective the first week or two after it's given. So we are postponing until 30 weeks. :)

Next appointment I am getting another ultrasound, woohoo!
--

On an unrelated note... here are a few of my thoughts on pregnancy:

I love, love, love feeling and watching my babies move. It is the best thing about being pregnant. Today they have been especially active. One of them has to be practicing somersaults in there.
I never thought this would bother me, but I now dread when strangers ask me when I'm due. I can see in their expression that they expect me to say "Oh, in about 2 weeks." When I tell them early September, their eyes (without fail) widen and they say something like, "wow, you're going to get huge" or "really? It looks like you've already dropped." Now, I really don't mind when I get comments like this from people I know. However, when strangers ask, I feel obligated to then say I'm having twins so maybe their eyes will relax just a teeny bit. Then I always end up hearing a story of a twin in their family. Really I am just trying to get some groceries people!
I have noticed myself getting a little more moody lately.
Sleeping is requiring more and more creativity. Two nights last week I actually slept in the recliner in the living room, because I couldn't get comfortable any other way. I have lots of pillows, and it seems I have to adjust their positions every night.. maybe because I am growing daily?
Besides sleep, my main 2 discomforts of pregnancy have been: 1) foot pain/swelling, especailly after a 12 hour shift and 2) lower rib cage tenderness (like I am already running out of room for the little guys!)
Alan and I started our childbirth classes yesterday, and I think I am unnaturally excited about them :)

Our Last Hurrah

2010-05-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Yup, I flew at 25 weeks pregnant for our second anniversary trip!! We went to South Dakota to see Mt Rushmore (which is really neat to see in person). We also saw lots of beautiful scenery in the Black Hills (where Mt Rushmore is located), went to several local restaurants (including the Corn Exchange Bistro and the Firehouse Brewery), and we we went to the town of Deadwood. Also, we stayed in a hotel that had a nice pool & indoor waterpark, which was very nice for relaxing :)

I admit I was nervous to go on a plane trip this far into my pregnancy, but I kept hydrated and moving around on the plane and bus rides. And a lot of people were praying for the safety of our babies. Everything seems to have worked out ok :) And I loved, loved, loved spending 4 days away from home with Alan <3 He is the best!

Also a highlight of our trip: Alan got to see the babies move from the outside for the first time!!

Here are a few pictures:

In front of Mt. Rushmore! So amazing to see it in person.

Standing in front of the Crazy Horse memorial model. This is the goal for the mountain carving in the background; it is a memorial honoring the American Indians. So far they have the indian's face done (which you can see in the background) & they are starting to work on the horse's face. It will be impressive once it's finished.

In Deadwood, SD after a play that depicted the death of Wild Bill (on the left). Alan got roped in to playing the bartender for the play. Jack McCall (Wild Bill's assassin) is on the right.

On the set of Dances with Wolves. I haven't seen this movie, but Kevin Costner was standing right in front of this desk in one of the scenes.

The indoor waterpark at the hotel. Alan enjoyed the slides in the background (the body of the slides run outside the actual building). I had the pregnancy excuse, so I got out of that :)

Nicknames

2010-05-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Alan's nicknames for my baby belly:

Fat Roll (That was earlier in the pregnancy)
B.W. or "Beached Whale"
O.B. or "Obnoxious Belly"
W.W. or "Whale Woman"

Ok, it sounds bad.. but it's more of a joke between us. I think it's kind of cute ;)

Nicknames for the baby (these were before we found out the gender(s)):

Gummy Bear
Dugan

24 Week Doctor Appointment

2010-05-19T12:56:00.001-07:00

Two heads, and they are facing each other! So cute.

3 different hands :)

3 days before the appointment at a friend's baby shower.

My new due date is September 7th, so today I am already 24 weeks 1 day. We are viable!
I had my second ultrasound today. The twins are both head down & facing each other. So adorable!! They are now calling the baby on the right Twin A because he is further down. Twin B's head is right at Twin A's chest. We got a picture of their hands overlapping, it is so cute. Both babies are between 1-1.5 pounds, and the tech said everything looked good. They both have their own sac, but as far as the ultrasound showed.. they only have one placenta. Which means they are most likely identical. :-o The reason they don't know for sure is because I didn't have an early ultrasound. At this point in my pregnancy the placentas could have fused even if they started out separate. Also the placenta is towards the back of my uterus... maybe that's why I can feel them kick so well already :)
The tech said they are definitely both boys. I guess they are just that manly.
We will be watching for a complication called Twin to Twin Transfusion, which is where the twins get nutrition unproportionally. So one grows slower or even stops growing. This is only seen in identical twins. I think everything will be fine though :)
My cervical length is good.
Weight gain: 19 pounds
Fundal height: 26cm
My OB said I was hiding the twins well :) And her advice was to keep growing just like I am. She said if I do, then I shouldn't feel too bad during this pregnancy.
Right twin's HB: 141. Left twin's HB: 137. (I call them left & right twins now, because the twin that was A last time is now B.. so I'm all confused, lol)

Milestone!

2010-05-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

So... the moment I have been waiting for since I got pregnant...

I saw one of the babies move from the outside this morning!

I was feeling a pretty forceful kick in the same location a few times in a row this monring, so I put my hand there. He kicked again and I saw my hand move. So I moved my hand.. and sure enough... I could see the little kicker (I think it was Twin A) moving my belly :)

22 Week Update

2010-05-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

Weight Gain: 15 pounds

Baby Movement: I'm starting to feel them from the outside just about every day. And Alan has gotten to feel them several times as well! :) It still seems like twin A is a little more active than twin B.

Energy Level: I worked two days in a row last week, and it almost killed me. (I also didn't get good sleep at all before either of those shifts.) I had to rest for the next two days. Our census at work has been high for the last week and a half, so I've been getting calls almost every day to work extra. Usually I don't have a problem working a little extra, but I think it's more important right now that I don't push myself if I don't have to. So I haven't been answering the phone :) Plus until I hit about 30 weeks I am going to be really paranoid about premature labor. I don't want any 24-29 weekers.

Also... Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers!

Food

2010-05-06T20:33:00.001-07:00

I kind of miss getting full after eating a meal. It's a lot of work eating all the time. I just want to go to sleep but my stomach is growling!

Doctor Visit - 21 Weeks

2010-05-04T13:39:00.001-07:00

It's only been two weeks and a day since I was seen my a midwife & had the ultrasound, but I haven't talked to any professionals (besides nurse friends and neonatologists at work) since I found out I was having twins (because my ultrasound was after my midwife appointment). I was getting tired of not having a practitioner and not knowing what the plan was going to be for the rest of my pregnancy! So today I felt like I finally got to discuss the twin situation with my new doctor. I actually went with a different doctor than I originally intended, because the other doctor couldn't see me for another 3 weeks, and I thought that was too long. Maybe I am just impatient.

So... here's the update :)

The medical assistant was able to hear both heartbeats right away. They were both strong, although I didn't get the exact bpm. The medical assistant is actually the mom of 6 year old identical twin boys! So I told her... "I guess it is possible" ;) Weight gain so far: 13 pounds.

The doctor did a full physical exam on me because I am a new patient. My fundal height is 25cm. (For a singleton delivery, the fundal height approximately matches the gestational age in cm's.. give or take a few cm's... so I think 25 cm is good for twins). And she didn't mention anything else so I guess everything else is fine :)

I am going to be seen every two weeks from now until 32 weeks. Then, I will be seen weekly. And I will be having monthly ultrasounds to check the growth of the babies. So lots of monitoring! My next ultrasound is two weeks from now. They said they are sending me to the best ultrasound tech at the clinic, because they want to get really good shots, and see if they can tell one more time if they babies are in separate placentas. (This would be the best situation as far as the level of risk). They are definitely in their own sacs within the placenta though.. so that is good. Also at 26 weeks I am getting two steroid shots, 24 hours apart, to help develop the babies' lungs in case they are delivered early. Since twins are more likely to be delivered.

Also my doctor talked to me a little about the actual delivery. (Which is exactly what I wanted to discuss!) And let me just say... my goal has always been a natural, epidural-free birth.. but that was before the twins & before I heard about my birthing options with twins. Now I'm thinking the epidural sounds preettty good, but we'll see what happens.

So, the doctor said she has never had to deliver twins with a combination of vaginal & c-section. This was music to my ears, because the recovery for that sounds pretty intense. She said if there is no medical necessity/emergency and twin A is vertex (head down), she usually tries a vag delivery. Then twin B usually is floating around in a strange position, so usually a little manipualation is needed (as in the practioner grabs the feet), and twin B is usually delivered breech. This is safe since the cervix has already dilated and delivered one baby. I asked if both babies are ever delivered vertex.. and she said it does happen if twin B rotates into that position after the first birth, but it's much more common for the second to be breech. So it sounds like I will only get a C-section if I really need it.. which is good.. but the whole manipulating the baby while he's still inside scares me a little! She said all the doctors in the practice have the same philosophy too, just in case I am delivered by an on-call doctor.

Also, she said she's only had a couple of twins that had to stay for any length of time in the NICU, but she said it was very common for one or both twins to either transition in the NICU or stay for 3 or 4 days. She said most of her twins are born between 36-39 weeks. She doesn't like them to go much further due to growth problems. If my babies do have to go to the NICU... at least I will know the staff taking care of them :)

Soo... I think that is about my entire doctor update. Kudos to you if you got through it all! :)

**On a personal note... I am exhausted today. Working the last 2 days in a row (12 hour shifts, mainly on my feet) without a lot of sleep before either shift has not been good for this mommy. I had to drag myself just to get up and take a shower today at 11:00am so I could make it to my doctor appt. Now that is sad!**

It's TWO BOYS

2010-05-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Baby A:

Baby B:

(I accidentally deleted this post... it was supposed to show up before the 21 week update)

Yes we're having twins!! We found out at our 19 week sono (April 19th). I almost fell off the table when they told me.

First the tech said, "This is the baby on the bottom left... we'll name this 'A'." I thought she was just talking about where the baby was, and naming the picture "A" arbitrarily. She let us know the baby was a boy.

Then the words I will never forget: "Ok, now let's look at the other baby."

Umm, what?! I just looked at her and said, "You're joking."

She said, "No I'm not, there's two babies in there... I wasn't sure if you knew or not."

By this time it was pretty obvious that I didn't know as I was breathing faster, my heart was racing, and I kept repeating "Are you serious?"

She showed us "Baby B" (At this point I realized why she had named that first picture "A") She let us know he was a boy too!

I was completely shocked!! Alan was there when we found out; he was taking a video of the whole thing. He didn't change expressions as we found out, he told me later he was in "filming mode" It definitely hit him later though :)

On the way home from the ultrasound, I kept thinking about having two carseats in the backseat instead of one. For some reason, this made the news seem real... and it seemed like such a huge responsibility to take care of these two little people. This got me a little overwhelmed and teary. It is a huge responsibility, but hopefully we will be up to the challenge :)

21 Week Update

2010-05-01T14:04:00.001-07:00

(Me in my work scrubs)

Baby Movement: The babies are getting stronger. I think I felt them from the outside 3 times in the past few days. Mainly I just feel stronger nudges/flutters from the inside than I did before. A lot of the movement is on my left side.. which is where baby "A" is hanging out. I dunno if he is more active than baby "B" or if it's just his position in there.

Weight: Gained 12.5 pounds so far. Maternity clothes that seemed huge just a few weeks ago now fit me quite nicely.

Appetite: Noticed an increase in appetite especially from week 17 on. Now that I know there's two, I've been really trying not to skip meals & concentrating even more on drinking as much water as I can. I really really want to carry these babies for as long as possible (being a NICU nurse I know every week counts... and we see so many twins that it makes me nervous), so I am trying to eat good food & keep myself hydrated.

Energy Level: Not too bad. Definitely improved from the first trimester, although I still get worn out faster than pre-pregnancy. Also trying to get some exercise.. but to rest when I'm tired.

People's reactions: Definitely more people staring at my stomach as I pass. I feel like I'm getting bigger every single day. Also I get two completely different reactions when I tell people I'm having twins. 1) "Really? But you're so tiny" or 2) "I knew you were popping out really fast!" So I really don't know which one it is! It may just depend on what I wear.

Doctor: I was being seen my a group of midwives that delivers at the hospital where I work. However, when they found out it was twins, they kicked me out! (I would have gone with a doctor anyway... just because of the higher risk of complications with two... but they didn't even let me make the choice, lol). I chose a doctor... but it has been a huge pain getting the midwife office to send over my medical records & to get an appointment. Yesterday the doctor's office FINALLY called saying the received the records & made an appointment with me. But I was not at home & didn't have a calendar in front of me. So I'm not sure now if they appointment is this coming week or 3 weeks from now (which I would not like.. I haven't been seen since I got the news). So I am calling them on Monday to double check.

Baby Supplies/Nursery: We decided on a nursery theme & colors (the boys will be sharing a room). Alan has almost finished painting. We are doing a dark chocolate brown on the bottom 1/3 & a baby blue on the top 2/3. :) Our theme is going to be "Safari Team" from Babies r Us. It's four different animals.. and each of them has a different sports ball they carry (football, basketball, soccer, and baseball). It is really adorable. So far we just bought the lamp & some sheets of the set, but we registered for the rest of it. Our baby registry is almost complete now, woo hoo! :) Yesterday I got some used stuff from a friend of mine's mom. So we now have a double stroller, a swing, a bouncy seat, a highchair, and a crib. I gave the crib to my mom so she will have a place to put at least one baby :)

Also I forgot to mention this on my last post... but the babies weighed 10 oz. each at my 19 week ultrasound. The tech said I was "growing them well." Also she said everything looked good health-wise.

I Have Noticed...

2010-04-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

...People staring at my belly instead of my face as I talk to them. I think it's funny, but I don't mind at all because it finally makes me feel pregnant! I think I really "popped out" fast, as far as looking pregnant to other people. This morning, as I was minding my business (putting my lunch in the fridge before getting report at work) one of our NICU respiratory therapists was shamelessly staring at my belly. Finally he said, "what's wrong with you?" lol. Is that proper etiquette to say to... well, anyone?? I guess he hadn't realized I was pregnant before today, but I gave him a hard time about asking me that all day.

19 weeks today with my sono on Monday!!

Good Pregnancy Workout Videos

2010-04-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

Can be found at YouTube under doctorcathy's channel. She has cardio, yoga, strength training, & stretching exercises that are all safe for pregnant women. Woo hoo. I actually bought a set of weights so I could do all of the strength training exercises. So this morning I did the strength training video twice and then the cardio video once. Hopefully the little one in there gets some sort of benefit for this ;)

Happy News

2010-04-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

So, Alan and I are expecting our first little baby on September 9th. We are so excited!! I am 18 weeks along (that just shows how bad I am about updating my blog :p), and I just started getting a baby bump at around 16 weeks. The baby bump is really exciting to me, because during my first trimester it felt like nothing was happening... I wasn't very sick, I didn't have a Midwife appointment until week 11, and my stomach was stubbornly staying flat. So now, it finally feels like I am making some pregnancy progress! (I know that is silly).

I think I am starting to feel the baby move everyday, but it's not a strong, definite kick sensation yet. It is more like little popcorn kernels popping or something. I feel it in distinct spots every time... all in the area the baby should be right now... so I'm pretty sure it's the baby. In the next few weeks I'm hoping to start feeling those movements a little stronger.

Next Monday is our big ultrasound appointment, and we definitely want to find out the gender. I can't wait to find out!! I also want to be reassured that everything is growing properly & that the baby is healthy. I worry a lot my pregnancy, and I think it is because I work in the NICU, so I never see normal pregnancies... only the ones that go wrong. After we find out the gender, we are going to start getting our nursery set up, which I am really excited about!! Alan is going to paint the walls & we are going to start picking out our nursery furniture & setting up our baby registry. I think it's going to start seeming very real after that :)

Exercising has not been going as well as I would have hoped. I try to get in some good exercise a few times a week, but the fatigue in the first trimester really threw my schedule off. I also don't feel very comfortable jogging anymore because I feel like the baby is being jostled too much (see I'm a worrier), so I've been doing some weights & pregnancy yoga kind of things.

My appetite has been increasing over the past few weeks too. I was getting tired of all the jokes about being a hungry pregnant woman before, because I didn't feel any different (except for the food aversions), but now I am definitely a hungry pregnant woman :)

I've gained about 6 or 7 pounds so far, net. I did lose 5.5 pounds due to getting some kind of stomach bug in the first trimester, but I have gained that back, plus 6 or 7 additional pounds. That is right on track with what I've been reading is a normal weight gain for 18 weeks.

And I've gotten to hear the little baby's heartbeat twice so far! The #1 best moment of this pregnancy was hearing the little heartbeat for the first time. There is something very special & humbling about having that proof that there is a little life inside of you. You can read about it & hear about it, but having a life actually inside YOU is just amazing. The heartbeat was 164 the first time (11 weeks) and in the 140's the second time (15 weeks).

The other best moment of this pregnancy was the moment I saw the plus sign on the pregnancy test :)

So everything seems to be on track so far. Just waiting for our ultrasound on Monday!

Where Do I Live Again?

2010-02-11T19:05:00.001-08:00

Because I thought I lived in Texas. Where it is supposed to be warm and sunny. I think someone may haved missed the memo on this, because this winter has been crazy! Yes we have had a few days of 70 degree weather, but it has been interspersed with ice days/blizzards and now... today... more snow than I have ever seen fall in Texas. It snowed all day, from around 8:30am on. And it is still snowing.

In contrast to the ice & the blizzards though, today has actually been enjoyable :) The roads weren't too bad because the temperatures were above freezing. My brother David came over & we worked out together. Then we went on an adventure outside to get Subway for lunch & then he went with me grocery shopping. (I thought that was really sweet because we were way overdue on a shopping trip, but I really didn't want to drive in the snow.)

Then, after David left & Alan came home, we made a MASSIVE snowman in the backyard. Alan named him Epic Man. Epic Man is a full head taller than Alan, and wayy taller than me.

He is facing towards our living room window, so when the window in open... Epic Man is staring into our house. (It's a little creepy actually, lol)

All in all in was a good day. I am just so thankful I was not scheduled to work today... and especailly thankful I am not working tomorrow because it is supposed to freeze tonight. If you are driving tomorrow, please be careful!

--
In an update to my last post about my car: I got a quote on the damage. It would be $2500 to fix. (Which I think is crazy!) Also it is an older car, so more things are going to go wrong with it. So, we are looking at buying a new car. (At the moment Alan is driving my banged up car... It works fine but it makes a strange noise, we're pretty sure it's not going to pass inspection, and it just looks bad). This new car will be Alan's... but we decided the next car is going to be a family car.. and it will be mine :)

Icccee

2009-12-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

Driving in ice is no fun.

Especially in Texas, where they don't sand/salt the roads until after a major problem.

At work last Thursday I had the opportunity to witness an entire winter storm/blizzard through our beautiful new windows. The storm passed before I left for home, but the snow and ice had already been sticking to the roads for several hours. When I got to my car in the parking lot, I first had to borrow a window scraper from a nurse from Colorado, because my Texas ice scraper apparantly didn't stand a chance against this particular brand of stuck ice. After my windows were de-iced, I slooowwly made my way out of the parking lot and onto the main road before the freeway.

As I was pulling up to the stop-light before turning onto the freeway, I attempted to stop. Attempted being the key word. I pressed the breaks, pumped the breaks, slammed the breaks.... nothing. I just thought, "I'm going to hit that car in front of me." And that's exactly what happened. My first real accident.

The guy I hit pulled across the intersection and then walked back to my car. I attempted (note that verb again) to step out of my car to talk to the guy and assess the damage on my car. However, I soon realized the ground was too icey to even stand up in that area. The guy I hit said there was no damage to his car (he had an SUV with a metal bumper), and also motioned for me not to try to stand (I must have looked unstable). I asked him if I had damage, and he said my headlight & bumper were cracked. (After I got home 1.5 hours later, I checked myself and he was right... also the hood is bent). So we didn't exchange insurance information since I was obviously at fault.

I slowwlly turned onto the freeway access road and continued home. I have to say, that was probably the most terrifying 90 minutes of my life. Nothing like driving an hour and a half in icey conditions after just experiencing first hand what it feels like to be out of control on said icey roads.

But I survived!!

Now to figure out what to do with my car...

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-28T07:29:00.000-08:00

This year I am thankful for:

God and His blessings
My wonderful husband, I couldn't have married a better man for me :)
Our new house
Especially our kitchen and the jetted tub :)
My job, working with sick/premature babies and supporting their parents.
My coworkers, who get me through the day at work.
Living close to both of our sets of parents, and all of our siblings (and sister-in-law :)
Our two adorable cats, Hobbes and Lucy.
Two engagements, my brother (engaged in Austria to an Austrian) and a good friend (engaged in Italy to a Virginian).
My husband's good job with a good company.
The fact I don't have to work nights or weekends, which is almost unheard of for a new RN grad :)
The three Thanksgiving meals I got this year... one at work (since I worked the actual day of Thanksgiving), one at my parents house that night, and then leftovers from Alan's aunt's house :)
And did I mention my amazing husband, Alan? :)

True Love

2009-11-19T18:09:00.000-08:00

Alan bought me dinner tonight so I wouldn't have to cook or even warm up food after working four 12 hour shifts in a row.

Me: Teriyaki Chicken Bowl?! You're my most favorite person ever!

Alan: You're welcome.

Me: Do you know what would make you even more my most favorite person?

*I start putting my feet up on the couch*

Me: If you gave me a foot massage.

*Alan starts walking away*

Alan: ...she loves me enough.

I never did get my foot massage :( However I did get yummy, much needed food! :)

Chickens & Vets

2009-11-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

Yum, yum... this will be our dinner tonight! (Once Alan gets home). I found this recipe on this blog. Hopefully it's good.. I've never cooked an entire chicken before, lol.

Also, this morning the cats and I took a trip to their favorite place, the vet. The poor vet almost got his hand bitten by our little Hobbes when he tried to give Hobbes a pill to swallow. But everyone involved is fine. :) Here are the cats resting from all the vaccinations (both pictures taken just now):

Meeeetings

2009-11-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

My day so far:

8:00 - Rolled out of bed

8:20 - 8:40 - Jogged in the backyard while watching Smallville

8:40 - Got ready to go into work (on my day off)

10:00 - Town Hall Meeting (would have been a better time to roll out of bed ;)

11:30 - Staff Meeting

1:00 - FINALLY back home.. thinking, what happened to my day off??

The Journey Towards Our Engagement

2009-11-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Yes this is a little late, after being married a year and a half (and coming up on our 2 year "anniversary" of being engaged) to post this, but I want to have our dating life as part of this blog. This story was written by me for our wedding website early last year:

Alan had been coming to my church off and on for 4 years. (He was a member of a smaller church in the area with basically the same beliefs). I hadn't seen him for a while, so I messaged on AOL instant messenger on Friday night, February 2, 2007. We ended up talking for 3 hours and I told him he should visit our congregation again sometime. He agreed, but I didn't think he'd come for at least a few weeks.

The next day, he came to our church service. I had always thought he was really cute and sweet, but I'd been dating another person when he visited before. I wasn't going to hang out with the group that night, but I wanted to spend time with him.. so I went with him and our group to On The Border and to my house afterwards. On The Border made us wait 2 hours to get our food, but I didn't mind because I wanted more time to talk to Alan. I was upset that he didn't sit next to me when we finally got our table, but I learned later he thought I was still dating someone else at the time. Afterwards, our group went to my house and we played Pictionary and Cards.

At this point, I already liked Alan a lot. He came to church again the next weekend, and he asked me on our first date on Monday, February 12. He asked me to eat at Chili's and go bowling with him on the following Thursday, February 15. Of course I agreed, and I was really excited about the date. He picked me up at 7 and dropped me off at 10, which impressed my mom. We continued to date over the next few months, and on April 3, 2007 we decided to become boyfriend and girlfriend. :)

We continued dating, and I fell in love with his laid back personality, his jokes, and his sweetness (even if it was coated with sarcasm, which I also liked). We began talking about the possibility of getting married in the future. During the summer we traveled to Galveston and Oklahoma with several of our friends, and saw each other often. We had a great time dating each other, and we both wanted to marry each other. On Thursday night, November 8 at Lake Arlington, Alan asked me to marry him, and of course I said yes :)

April 2007 - Our first dance together.

June 2007. Me and Alan on the beach in Galveston, TX

July 2007 - Turner Falls, OK

Ramblings

2009-11-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

I am looking out the window here at the hospital (yes, I'm blogging at work... I'll get to that), at 6:15pm and it's already dark outside. That threw me off guard! Boo to going back to Standard time. And this morning, sunrise was still 30 minutes off as I was driving to work. I do not like missing all of my daylight hours. :( I love the long days of summer :)

I have time to blog here at work because I am only taking care of ONE baby today. He is in isolation because he has (or had) a "superbug" that we don't want the other babies to catch. So, lucky him, he has his very own nurse. He is a cutie, and I've been able to spend a lot of time holding him (unfortunately I don't think he gets held very often)... but one sleepy baby is not enough to keep me busy for 12 hours! (I'm sure I would be busy for that long if I had a baby of my own at home.. but there are other things to do there.. and this baby sleeps all the time, lol). So this has been a looong day, but also a nice break from all the craziness that can happen around here :)

On a side note, my husband has been earning lots of brownie points lately. I also worked yesterday (I don't usually work Sundays), and I got home to all of the laundry done AND hung up (he always does the laundry, but sometimes we hang it up together), and he had ordered a pizza for us (not the healthiest meal, but I didn't want to cook, lol). Then this morning, he got up at 6am (as I was leaving) to take out all the trash, and he deep cleaned our cat's litter box (big job). I married a good one <3

Southern (& Hispanic) Hospitality

2009-10-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

This week my work schedule is Monday, Thursday, Sunday.. which gave me more time (3 days) during the week to do my own thing. So what else to do than try some new(ish) recipes for me and have people over?!

Last Sunday night we had Alan's side of the family over for dinner. I made them a Mexican dinner to represent my Hispanic side to all of those white folk ;) My Grandma on my dad's side makes WONDERFUL tamales.. she actually used to sell them. That is one of the main things I remember about her & about visiting my grandparents in Arizona when I was growing up, so that's what I decided to make. This was my first attempt at Tamales, but I think they all got eaten, which is a good sign.

The Menu was:

Green Chili Tamales (For the record, these are the easiest kind of Tamales to make, which makes them a great place to start)

Mexican Rice

Black Beans (Alan's mom kindly made this for us.)

Chips & Guacamole

Tonight we had over my parents, brother & sister-in-law for our weekly Friday night dinner. :) (My mom usually hosts it since Virginia & I are usually working Fridays). I decided to make Chicken & Dumplings, because my Grandma (on my mom's side) used to make this for us all the time when we visited!

The Menu:

Chicken & Dumplings
Corn on the Cob
Salad
Tamales (Extras I had frozen - I wanted to see what my family thought of them)

Dessert:
Blackberry Cobbler with Ice Cream

I love having people over and cooking meals for them, even though I am very much a work in progress when it comes to cooking.

The other thing I made this week that I would really recommend is a Homemade Pizza. This was my first attempt at making it, and it was delicious. I froze half the dough, so next week I should be making a second pizza, yay :) My schedule next week is crazy.. but hopefully having the dough already done should make that an easy meal.

As you can see, I get a lot of my recipes online. The internet is awesome :) I really recomment www.mex-recipes.com -- it is the best site I've found for Mexican food, the rice & guacamole recipes are very tasty.

I have special spots for my laptop in our kitchen, because it is almost always up with a recipe when I am cooking. Here's the laptop on the island, lol: (This is soon after we moved in.. there are different decorations now above the cabinets)

Travels

2009-10-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

visited 24 states (48%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

visited 6 states (2.66%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Italia 2009

2009-10-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

This year for the Feast we went to Sabaudia, Italy... both mine & Alan's first time in Europe!! We had a GREAT time and it really made me want to travel more.

On the beach the first day with Tonya & Virginia. This was Tonya pre-engagement :)

Alan and I. View from our balcony. (The lake is in the background, but hard to see in this picture)

We lost our tour guide, so I was hopelessly lost in Pompeii...but I love how confident I look in this picture, lol.

Me next to a rare clothed statue in the Vatican.

Alan & I on top of the mountain we climbed!

Alan is very excited.

The group (minus Virginia taking the picture) in front of the Colosseum.

Next, Alan & I would both really like to go to Australia, but I think that is going to wait several more years. We have to wait until we forget about the plane ride :)

Books, Books, Books

2009-08-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

My Current Favorite Books:

The Host

The Twilight Series

Books I'd like to Read Next:

The Time Traveler's Wife

A Wrinkle in Time

Ella Enchanted (I read this as a kid, but would like to re-read it)

Currently Reading:

My favorite parts of The Host

---

Update: 10/28/09

I've read all of the books above, and I'm now out of things to read! A Wrinkle in Time was not as good as I expected, it took me a while to finish it. I read The Time Traveler's Wife on the plane to and from Italy... it was definitely a tear-jerker.

Chronic Babies

2009-08-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

Almost sounds like a juxtaposition... "Chronic Babies." Babies shouldn't be old enough to have a chronic condition already!

But that's what we call our babies in the NICU that were born 3-4 months early (about 24-26 weeks gestation) and continue to have medical problems that prevent them from going home as they approach their due date. The most common problem they deal with is their premature lungs. Premature babies are born without all of the branches of their lungs fully developed, and the lungs do not grow as well once they are out of the womb, leaving the baby without enough surface area to transfer oxygen to their body. They are also born without Surfactant, a molecule that keeps the lungs open when they breathe out, so their body doesn't have to reopen our lungs every time they inhale (This is so much work that their bodies would just shut down.) The only way these extremely premature babies survive is by giving their mom's steroids before the baby is born (which helps the baby make surfactant) and by giving the baby surfactant directly into their lungs when they are born.

Of course no medical breakthrough is as good as the babies developing fully in mom's belly. These babies usually need extra oxygen (via nasal canula of bubble CPAP) for months, and often even after they go home.

And that is why I am so exhausted this week! I have been taking care of babies with Chronic Lung Disease this week, and they are a handful!

They are not happy about having something on their face giving them oxygen, so they will knock it off, and their oxygen saturation will decrease to 50% (usually when I am busy taking care of another baby), so I will have to quickly save the baby (who doesn't want to be saved based on the fight she puts up) and go back to what I was doing.

These babies as a general rule don't like to be touched at all, because throughout their little lives, they have associated touch with painful medical procedures. :( This makes even taking a temperature or changing a diaper a struggle, because the baby will fight (and they are strong) and cry (loudly). After I finish my cares on one of these babies.. I wrap them up nicely and give them a pacifier and calm them as much as I can before moving on.

In the Pod I was working in this week, 3 out of the 6 bed spaces had these chronic babies. So all day we heard the beeping of the monitors when the oxygen saturation dipped... on 3 different babies. I went to sleep last night hearing those beeps in my head. Beeeep beeeep beeeep. Lol.

At the end of the day though, I enjoy taking care of these babies. You really get to know the babies. I love it when (after nothing at all will calm them down) I pick them up and they cuddle into me, and instantly settle down. That melts my heart every time.

1st Anniversary

2009-05-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today, Alan and I flew back today from our 1 year anniversary trip to New York/Canada to see Niagara Falls and a baseball game in Toronto.

I am blessed to have married a wonderful man like Alan! :)

While we were visiting Niagara Falls (walking on planks that werebuilt near the bottom of one of the smaller falls), Alan took a video that I think shows a funny/good example of a wife hesitantly trying to submit to her husband ;)

Notice I did not wholeheartedly submit to that ;) This video was taken on what they call the "Hurricane Deck." As you can see the water is coming down pretty strong, but what you can't see is that the water is freezing too!!

A few other pictures from our trip:

Geared up for our "Maid of the Mist" boat tour of Niagara Falls...

...where we road a boat like this. :)

At a Blue Jays/White Sox game in Toronto, Canada.

All in all, it was a good trip, but it was definitely great to be home again!!

The Traveling Dave

2009-05-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today, my younger brother David came over for the afternoon. We ate lunch, went over some of his college information, played ping pong (I'm not sure who we decided was finally "champion of the world"... it seemed to go back and forth), and explored our new neighborhood on the bicycles Alan's brother gave us. Good quality time with the bro!

But it will be the last time I see David for about 2 months :( He is going to Austria for the summer to spend some time with a certain lady he knows over there ;) So another thing we did today was set up a blog for him while he's traveling. His new blog is here: thetravelingdave.blogspot.com.

3 unrelated side notes:

1. I'm sad the Mavericks lost tonight, but at least the Nuggets didn't sweep the series.

2. At least the Rangers won, even though me, Alan, Jeremy & Sherry left that game early today.

3. Tomorrow is My & Alan's ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Woohoo. Unfortunately we are both working, but on Friday we will be flying out to New York. :)