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

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

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

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

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

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: