Sleep

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

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

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 :)