Quick Update

• 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

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

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...

...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

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...

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!!