Double Blessings

Toy Organization!

2012-02-12T20:42:00.000-06:00

Well first, I put the girls in pigtails today for the first time and OHMYGOSH, it was cute! I had to lasso and hog tie them to do it, but I love the result! But taking a picture of it, well... that was pretty much impossible. Seriously, they rarely sit still enough for photos these days. Here I am chasing them around the room and begging!

So, I took a cue from my blog friend at Once Upon a Time and her awesome organizing post and got this shelf from ClosetMaid (well, from Tarjaaaay) for the girl's toy/book storage. We've had a ton of their toys in a hodgepodge of baskets and it was driving me nuts. My dad said he would make this amazing dollhouse storage shelf but it hasn't happened. I don't want to hound him for it and in the meantime, the toys are driving me batty - so off to Target I went. I really, really debated on whether or not to buy this toy sorter thingie because it seems like it might be easier for the girls to figure out where things go. But we went with the cube system because we figured it wouldn't be "babyish" a few years from now. And yep, I know they are kind of cheapy particle board, but I have the same kind at work/school and they have held up extremely well. So, I expect these to.

This is the Hippo bin. Or, as Lauren says, "ippo"!

I tried to organize it while they were in the room. Guess what happened?

After they went to bed, I played around with it. I wanted to have the Hippo in the middle and the purple and pink in opposite corners. I am all about symmetry and so yes, this arrangement annoys me. However, we couldn't mount the shelf to the wall because we have GIANT 1940's floor moulding and the screw won't reach. So, until we figure that out, I tried to put the heavy things on the bottom. Do you mount your furniture to the wall? BabyCenter recently asked that on a Facebook post, and some of the responses were scary - so we'll be mounting this very soon.

Anyway, I love this so far, and I loved Once Upon a Time's suggestion for taking pictures of everything and attaching the picture to the container.

I know. Pink and purple. Kinda pukey, right? Cliche? Our living room looks like cotton candy. But that's ok, we're doubly blessed. They will be cool and sophisticato when they are 17 and I'll be all nostalgic for the pink and purple days.

Question: What to do with old toys the girls have outgrown? How much of a pain is it to eBay or CraigsList them? Do you donate them? Consign?

I am hoping that having a place for everything will "HELP" everything to be in its place!

I'm a Little Stinker

2012-02-04T22:05:00.001-06:00

Nope. Not talking about my girls this time. I'm pointing to myself.

I wish that I were one of those bloggers that replied to every comment, who followed every blogger that read mine, who kept up with her blog. But, I'm not.

I feel so bad when I pop into a blog that I haven't been to in a while and read major things like, someone is pregnant, or has had a pregnancy loss, or their child is in the hospital. I'm all, "dammit, I should have been there for them... and I wasn't". Anyone else feel that way?

I feel bad when it's been three or four weeks since I last did a post.

I hate it when a blog has gone private and I can't email the person to reconnect because their invite has expired and I don't have their email address. Leah. Wink, wink.

I hate it when my google reader is always full. I hate it when the Tivo is full also. And the pile of books on my dresser that I want to read. ALL fun things to do, but having a pile somehow makes them feel like a chore.

But then, I LOVE being able to reach out and post and brag and ask questions when I need some wisdom from other moms. The very BEST advice comes from other moms. I love that some of my blog friends have read my blog for years, and I've read theirs, and our lives are somehow virtually intertwined, even if it's just a tiny bit.

I was teaching my class about the difference between the past and the present the other day, and we did a timeline of big inventions. It just struck me that the Internet was invented not so long ago. I think the details of the year are sketchy, but when it really exploded and became available to everyone wasn't that long ago. The role it played in my getting treatments, connecting to other women going through infertility, going through twin pregnancy and even now - researching baby stuff is incredible.

Bottom line: I do love and appreciate my blog and its readers. I acknowledge that I stink at keeping track of my blog friends, but I do love you all the same.

I've Jinxed Myself!

2012-01-26T20:25:00.000-06:00

Me (THIS afternoon to the sitter): Addison has been sleeping SO well since about last Thursday! We did the old "CIO" thing and it took her about three nights to get straightened out. And by Friday night last week, she was snoozing like a pro!

The Sitter: Oh, that's great!

Tonight... Lauren was a mess, laying on everything and was obviously sleepy. She probably slept well during the day and was just her normal sleep-craving self and needed even more beauty rest.

So, we put them down and Lauren cries like a mad woman. Mostly probably because daddy wound her up with his horseplay shenanigans right before bedtime. Are your husbands like this? He is their jungle gym, and they laugh and giggle and he wears them out. Yep. He's going to be the fun parent!

So of course at bedtime, Addison cries because Lauren is crying. And cries. And cries.

All that drama was over in about 40 minutes (knock on wood), but still. Ugh! That will teach me to brag!

But you guys were right, she was playing us.

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Anyway, so yesterday I was on my way out the door for work. I plopped down my purse, laptop bag, and my lunch bag so I could put on my coat. The girls are a little obsessed with my lunch bag, and Lauren hauled off with it.  So I grabbed it, and Lauren promptly sat down and BAWLED her eyes out! Addison grabs a passie and put it in Lauren's mouth and patted her on the head, ever so gently. SOOOO cute!

I know that later that day, they both probably took turns beating one another up, but still the one minute of sweetness was precious to watch!

They hug now also. And then wrestle. And then hug. Pretty much, you can catch a hug amid the wrestling.

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Last night Lauren pulled her pajamas down but couldn't figure out how to get them off of her feet. So, she tromps around with them around her ankles, which Addison found HIL AR IOUS! Addison followed Lauren around for about 20 minutes laughing and pointing at her!

They are so fun!

Mostly.

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Mealtimes continue to be ~~torture~~ challenging.

I think we've worn out chicken nugget's welcome, but I can't think of many other things that are healthy and "main" courses and are easy to do. I love just nuking frozen chicken nuggets for a minute, chopping them up, and serving them with either ketchup or ranch dressing. I need more easy go-to's like that! Wink. Wink. Hint. Hint. Tell me your secrets!

On the upside, we almost always try to feed them what we are eating, and about half the time they take us up on the offer. And just to keep it real, tonight we had McDonald's burgers and fries, and clearly we should have bought them each their own Big Mac and Giant Fry.

But last night I made cheese, bacon, and mushroom quesadillas and they vetoed it. Which was ok because, hey... more for us!

Earlier this week, I made these Pizza Muffins   which were awesome! And again, vetoed.

Also, Tyler Florence's Mac and Cheese (which is amazing!), vetoed. And it's sooooo yummy!

I've had some luck lately with broccoli, smothered in ranch dressing, and mild cheddar slices.

Anyway... just fishing for ideas, I think. Let me know if you think of something.  Trying to get my Fruitarians to eat more meats and veggies.

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Earlier this week, my husband accidentally closed Lauren's fingers in the closet door. We totally feared that would happen. He didn't even really know he did it, until he turned around and she had that silent screaming face. He felt horrible, but her fingers appeared to be ok - she could move them, etc. And later the sitter said she seemed fine. No swelling, nothing. He must not have closed it all the way. But still... the guilt.

And then later that SAME day, I accidentally bonked Addison's head on the roof of our van while inserting her into her giant carseat.  She just patted her head and said, "uhoh"! More parent guilt.

Anyone else accidentally bonk their children?  Do you have any ideas on how to avoid the fingers-in-the-door situation?

Sorry to ramble...

Bedtime Tantrums: A Shameless Call for Help!

2012-01-17T21:35:00.000-06:00

So, my girls have been pretty good sleepers for quite a while. I should count my blessings, and deal... however I am old and tired so I'm going to complain and beg for help.

Addison's new thing as of the past FEW weeks has been to start screaming about 15 to 20 minutes after we put her down at night. Seriously, the little stink can scream so loud that the little muscles in my forehead twitch with pain and my eardrums want to run away from my body.

And so, dummies that we are.... we bring her into the living room to hang out on the couch with us.

Which, of course she LOVES. And she's usually very good, just hangs out and baby talks a little. Stays put. Sometimes she snuggles up to us.

Then we try every once and a while to put her back in bed. When it started, she'd go back in about 20 minutes. But lately, it's LATE. Like, last night I think it was 10:30ish.

Tonight, I finally stuck to my guns and said I'd give it a solid 20 minutes of screaming before I'd break. Guess what? At around 19 minutes, she stopped crying. Like, instantly. Seriously, it was.... SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS, and then_____________ silent.

Hopefully, she's ok! Do I go check? Yea, probably not.

Anyway, so bedtime is around 7:30. We have a good routine. Dinner, play, jammies, sleep. Sometimes there is a bath in there. Pretty normal, and like clockwork. Consistent.

I'm thinking that she just wants to hang out with us, and she's asserting her "toddler authority".

She's also thrown a few humdinger's for tantrums lately.  Like tonight, she screamed because I offered her our chicken. It was so bad, I had to remove her from the room to let her calm down.  Haha, and then so I tried cheese, yogurt, green beans, (no!, no!, no!), and she ended up eating mangoes. And then, just for kicks, I tried a donut.  Mostly because I wanted to see if she'd EAT something, anything - trying to rule out that she was sick. Guess what? She ate the whole thing.  Little stink. Also, I realize that I am mother of the year for doing this.

Anyway... I feel bad for her sister, who is the AMAZING master of sleep. Like, she should win awards for her sleep aptitude! Also, for dealing with her sister's screaming.

There is also the issue of naps. They turned 19 months today (OMG!).  And over Christmas break we tried going to one nap, and what we had were two tired babies. I even tried alternating days, and it didn't seem to work.

But I do think Addison is more ready than Lauren for two naps.

Anyway, maybe that has something to do with it. But even on the mornings after she does her night owl thing, she is super tired and cranky.  When she is staying up with us, she's yawning and floppy like she's tired. So, I don't really think she's just getting too much sleep.

So, what do you guys think? Are we being played? Would you let her cry it out? Is this a phase? A developmental thing? Any ideas?

Thanks and...    yawn.

Now, For A Very Serious Question...

2012-01-11T14:28:00.000-06:00

Not really.

OK, maybe.

So, Lauren's hair is in her eyes and I do NOT want to cut it. So I got these cute little metal clips, the kind that bend to close. But it occurred to me that they are small enough to be swallowed. Yet, I notice lots of little girls have clips or bows or rubber bands that could be swallowed. So what do you do? Do you just let them do hair stuff when they are with you and you go out?
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Also, to follow up on my last post about cleaning and eating. I don't think I'm a schedule person, at least not at home. I think I have too much of that already at work, and it would stress me out to do it at home also. And to be realistic, I am exhausted when I get home from teaching all day and commuting 40 minutes each way. Most nights, I also cook dinner (husband does the dishes!) and every other night I feed the girls, which is a feat in and of itself. A few nights a week we also bathe the girls, which is a joint effort. Very often, I drag work home to grade or prep for the next day of teaching. Oh, and also I play with my girls and read to them every night. So... I think the deal will be that if I find I have some energy about mid-week, I will throw a load of laundry in to be washed. If I get home early on Friday (which I do often because I am ready to bolt by Friday afternoons), I'll get a head start on laundry. But every day, just won't work.

I guess we're on an upswing with the food, because they haven't thrown food on the floor for me in several days. Just as I type this though, I know I've jinxed myself! :)
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The babysitter is "off" today because she and her whole household are in a barfy state. Mr. PJ and I generally take turns taking off when things like this happen, but apparently his work was more important than mine today (am totally not bitter about it, can you tell?). Anyway, we had a lovely day, except Lauren has been clingy, which makes me super nervous that she is getting sick.

Meanwhile though, let me tell you I am all caught up on laundry and dishes! WOOHOO!

How sad is that? haha! Oh well...
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"Sharing": Late October

So my dad builds things, and has offered to make this amazing dollhouse bookcase (that I found inspiration for from Pottery Barn Kids). Is that not awesome? Except, I need it like... yesterday. Kids toys, EVERYWHERE!

So, when do you start teaching your children to clean up? My sitter has been working with mine, and they CAN actually do it, but it takes a LOT of cheering and congratulating to get them to do it, which for me at the end of the day is hard. Do you think 18 months is a good age to start cleaning up?

The Cleaning Bits and the Feeding Bits

2012-01-02T10:15:00.000-06:00

Cleaning Bits

I have been a laaaaaaaaaaazy bum this holiday. Well, that's not entirely true, since caring for toddlers makes being absolutely lazy, well, impossible. But still, that first day I had off I was all, OHMYGOSH I'm going to get so much stuff done! It's going to be great! And like, huge projects too! And what did I do? I played with the girls. I watched movies.* I cooked, like... for pleasure! And I read a good book. But cleaning? Didn't happen.

I saw on Pinterest this person had a whole FLOW CHART for her weekend cleaning. A flow chart! For cleaning! How absurd! And beautiful, because oh how I love me a chart, but absurd!

Since the girls were born, it's really hard for me to keep the house as clean as I'd like. And I know that's normal, but sometimes just keeping up with the necessary mundane, MUST DO stuff is difficult.

At home, I am pretty darn laid back. But I do know that when it gets overwhelming at work, my organizational side kicks into overdrive. And maybe, just maybe, a chart isn't such a bad idea.

Also, this person mentioned doing laundry every time she accumulated two loads. Does anyone do this? I kind of like doing it in one shot, and then being done with it. But we have SO MUCH, that I then feel like I've devoted an entire weekend day to laundry. Which bites!

Does anyone have a set schedule or a plan for cleaning? Flow charts, anyone? Do tell!

Feeding Bits

So, we have made some progress in the feeding of the children. But I feel like we make two steps forward, and one step back... constantly.

Yesterday, (at their high chairs, in the dining room) my husband tried Uncrustables (PB&J), and they were having none of that! Even though, a day or two earlier, they gobbled it up. So basically, their lunch was fruit.

The night before, I made them plain cheese quesadillas, and they totally rejected it. This is what I usually order for them when we are out at restaurants, and it's usually a hit.

So after their lunch, I heated up my leftovers from the night before. It was these SO YUMMY Bacon and Jalapeno Jack Quesadillas. Notice, it has avocado (which I substituted store bought Wholly Guacamole because, it's easier!), and garlic, and spices. I went ahead and cut some up into bite size pieces. I marched into the living room and started eating. And you know what those stinkers did? They ate like three wedges of the stuff, complete with guac and sour cream and jalapeno goodness!

So this age, I've figured out, is ALL about "Asserting their Authoritaaaay (authority)" and exercising their independence. Seriously, like EVERYTHING they do has that whole psychology in it.

Stripping, for example. Good Lord, the stripping! Like, every day!!! How long does this phase last?

Anyway, better get back to cleaning... If I did a cleaning "plan", I'm not sure blogging should be embedded into it! :)

Happy New Year All!

*you know, it takes about 5 hours to watch a movie these days, IF we actually get through it. Last night, AFTER they went to bed, we tried from about 8:30 - 10:00 to watch the latest Harry Potter, and it did NOT happen! While on break, we actually got to GO to a theater (first time since, September?) and it was so good to actually get into the movie without any interruptions!

My Parents are Dummies

2011-12-31T14:38:00.000-06:00

Addison has been saying the sound "puh" for days! Literally, she will up and say it and be very animated and exuberant about it. Over and over again, "puh, puh, puh".

And we're all scratching our heads. We repeatedly tried to guess, "passie? puzzle? paper?" And nothing. Even her grandparents didn't have a clue.

Usually both girls get the beginning sound of words, and if they don't say the entire word, they say that beginning sound. So, I was pretty sure it began with a "p". I'm usually pretty good at this. But we were all stumped!

And then finally, I got that it meant, "diaPER". PER=Puh! I asked, "diaper"?
Addison proudly marched me into her room and pointed to the diapers. Eureka!

Apparently her sister knew what we meant, because later I held a few objects in my hand and asked Lauren, "Can you bring me the PUH?" and sure enough, she brought me the diaper.

Haha! They must think we are total dummies! :) SO FUNNY! Ok, maybe you had to be there...

Infertility and Thankfulness

2011-12-24T22:32:00.000-06:00

Like a gazillion people, I recently read "The Help". There's a storyline that involves infertility and miscarriage.

Friends have told me that this book made them cry, and I can't say that I cried. I can say that I internalize things, and so the miscarriage and infertility in this book made me reflect a lot on our own personal story.

Also, my husband's closest friend just went through a miscarriage with his girlfriend, and he (who normally seems like such a rock) was devastated. And so, he's been in my thoughts a lot.

And then, a fellow blogger posted about her twins turning three, and it taking that long to conceive them. And another fellow blogger asked if I could have even imagined... and the truth is, I couldn't!

And then, two years ago I had an IVF in early December, was pregnant and then miscarried in Early January...

Just, lots of reflecting going on...

I look at our girls with awe. They are so amazing. So delicate. So FULL of life and personality and potential. It is overwhelming sometimes how blessed we are. This morning I went to wake Addison up, and she was sitting up in her crib with her clothes off, giggling! Then we had so much fun at the park as a family this afternoon... and while every moment isn't a Kodak moment, it's pretty GOOD stuff!

And I think sometimes I forget how we got here. I am amazed that four years of infertility and miscarriage is all so long behind us. I am amazed that we survived and are apparently stronger for having done so.

My husband wondered today why we'd have to go through so much to get here. But I don't wonder. I just know that it is what it is. If we'd have gotten pregnant on the first try... we wouldn't have our girls. Yes, we'd be happy, but THESE babies are who we were meant to parent. There was a plan. I'm not questioning it. I'm grateful.

I'm not very philosophical. I did grow up going to church a lot. I do pray. I do believe. But I wouldn't call myself religious.

I feel strongly though that things happened for a reason. For what, I'll never know. I would never wish that hardship on anyone. I do wish I'd have had a glimpse that this would all work out, because I know there were times when I thought we were destined to be childless.

And in retrospect, I know we'd have been alright without children. We would have probably trudged on and perhaps taken some new paths. But, THIS is what I dreamed of... and I am thankful.

18 Months and Lemme Tell Ya...

2011-12-19T21:02:00.000-06:00

I'll tell ya just what I've been doing since November 22nd, when I last posted. And it's shocking and provocative and awe-inspiring...

Well, maybe notsomuch.

I've been working and teaching and in my spare time, I've been reading a lot. A lot for me, is an hour or so every evening. And I'm a slow reader, but I must admit that I so enjoy the escape these days. Not that life isn't great, it's just, well, hectic and tiring.

The girls turned 18 months on Saturday. A year and a half. Amazing. I took the day off and took them for their checkup. Doc says they are right on track, 50th percentile in weight for Addison, slightly lower but still uphill for Lauren. 75th percentile in height. Lauren seems so SKINNY to me.

I'll be honest. They are still picky pain in the you know what, eaters. I mean, some days I want to run away from the kitchen table. We're talking screaming MORE, MORE, MORE, or smacking the food you're offering by spoon out of your hand and thus splattering it all over the dining room. And sometimes, I'm good and can predict and defer their actions. Sometimes I say "no" and they listen. But sometimes, they are just little devils. And I'm good. I'm a teacher. I'm no pushover, and I've got that "never let 'em see you sweat" thing down. My children are just seriously stubburn! One day they love something, and the next day they hate it. If I didn't color my hair, I bet there would be lots of grays from this!

Other than that though, mostly they are awesome. Oh the signing and the new words and the silliness!!! The animal sounds! They are hilarious! And smart! And energetic!

Addison could walk months ago, but I think she just didn't want to. And then about two weeks ago, I think she up and decided it was about time. So, she toddles everywhere now. She is still so stiff. She has the funniest gait. But she is so stinkin' proud of herself!

I told them that daddy was going to give them a bath, and Addison said, "bath?" and started undressing! And so, Lauren did the same. The communication is soooo much better than it was a few months ago. I remember how frustated they used to get because they couldn't communicate with us.

Two more days of work... and it can't go fast enough!

Smarty Pants

2011-11-22T21:42:00.000-06:00

Tonight Lauren took off her socks. Apparently it was a difficult task at first, because she looked at us with disbelief and disgust as it took some effort to get them off. Her sister takes her socks off with such grace and ease, it can't be that hard, right?

And then, evidently her pants were hindering her ability to crawl all over every piece of furniture that we own, and so she figured out how to strip them off! And the look of sheer pride that swept over her face was HILARIOUS! She pranced around the living room for a while and then? Off came the diaper.

Then Addison saw that she was pantless and diaperless, and pure jealousy consumed her. She tugged at her shirt and looked at me, and I obliged her by taking off her shirt - to which she inspected and patted her belly.

We laughed and quaked in our boots at the same time.

And there it goes... I fear this is the beginning of the disrobing phase. Isn't it too early for that? Probably not. My former babysitter's daughter used to run around half naked all of the time, even outside... because I guess she was just plain fond of all of that freedom and toddler independence.

Also, both of the girls wholeheartedly enjoy turning the TV on and off. It is usually when some team is about to score a touchdown, or the last five seconds of some good whodunit that I'm watching. I bought a clear plastic thingie that is L-shaped and is made to cover the on/off button. It worked for about an hour and then Lauren ripped it off (looking at me in amazement that she was so powerful to have done so), just as she did the foam bumpers that protected them from the edges of the entertainment center.

Also, also... they now THROW things over the baby gate and onto the kitchen floor to get our attention. It has become very common for me to go in to fix a meal for them and have 5-7 objects jousted at me!

They are such funny little stinkers!

Pictures

2011-11-15T19:50:00.000-06:00

A Sunday in November when it's 70 degrees out? I'll take it!

Can you tell that I CHOPPED Addison's hair?

Leaves. We love to crumple up leaves.

Seventeen Months

2011-11-13T20:54:00.001-06:00

Well, almost. Officially, the girls will be 17 months on Thursday.

First, thanks for all of the shoe advice! I will try Zulily and when I can get to my mom's town in December, I'll check out her 2nd hand store. The Target sneakers I wound up with seem to be doing well so far.

So, 17 months...

Addison

Had a verbal growth spurt recently and says all kinds of words. Seriously, I think she said like 7 new words one evening last week. She repeats a lot of what we say, but will use the word again in the right context. She LOVES to read and will point to specific items in the pictures to ask what the word is.
She is ALL about the details. She loves leaves and will sit and study a leaf forever.
She CAN walk but does not seem to WANT to walk. Her dad and I are ready for her to walk!
Is fascinated with books.
She eats more variety than Lauren does, but is easily influenced to "change her mind" about food that her sister dislikes. ie. if Lauren rejects a food then Addison will also!
Snuggles, which I ADORE!
Detests socks, but thinks it is hilarious if I put them on my hand and play sock puppet with them.
Has spells of not wanting to sleep, and has to come out into the living room and calm down for a while before going back to sleep - lest she scream her head off for a very long time.
Got her first hair CHOP from her mom last weekend. I refused to pay someone to snip her bangs. And yep, it looks hacked because she wouldn't sit still. Oh well, it's out of her eyes.
Loves her Rock n Stroll toy.
Unfortunately, she lets her sister take her toys away without a fight.

Lauren

Holy Moly, she is running and climbing and is SO rough! She is our daredevil. She LOVES to play, to be chased, to take things from us and have us try and get them.
She is VERY playful and giggles at almost everything!
Her new thing is HITTING her sister and occasionally, us. Mostly with her sister it is for "fun". She thinks it's funny. We say no, and remove her from her sister. (If anyone is going though this and has some advice, please share!).
Is almost as fascinated with books as her sister.
Throws tantrums when she a) doesn't get her way, b) is tired, c) is hungry, d)the wind blows a certain way, e)the moon is full, half, quarter....
Continues to be a huge fan of sleeping. That's my girl!
Has a pretty darn cute little toddler trot.
Red curls... I am almost jealous of.
Loves her Rock n Stroll Toy, and pretty much ANY toy her sister has and is a toy thief. Is also sometimes a food thief.

Both have started eating better. They now eat some of what we eat, plus:

chicken nuggets SCORE!
Chef Boyardee (for the sitter, not for us!)
Whole wheat waffles (sometimes)
PB and J.
PB and Banana (sometimes)
Cheese quesadilla (sometimes)
Fruit - just about any fruit
broccoli drowned in ranch dressing
corn
my homemade Yukon Gold oven fries
yogurt (still whole milk)
Any brand squeeze veggie/fruit combo

And of course, half of a Flintstones Vitamin every day.

Seventeen months... crazy.

Questions about Toddler Shoes!!!

2011-11-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

My little bohemians have only one pair of shoes. We didn't really need them much during the summer. But now that it's cooler, we need some! I am having such a hard time finding affordable shoes that don't look uncomfortable. Where do you buy your shoes? Has anyone bought those Momo soft shoes from Target? Thoughts or ideas are much appreciated! Thanks!

16 Months and a 15 Month Checkup

2011-10-22T15:14:00.000-05:00

Yep. We had our 15 month checkup, two days after our 16 month mark. Cause, that's how we roll! No really, we got off track somewhere with our appointments and have never caught up.

Actually, I had little to do with it. Daddy took the whole day off work with them and took them in. YAY! He does a lot these days. Anyway, all was well. Did he get their numbers though? Nope. Of course, I'm bummed as I wanted to plunk them into my Growth App on my phone and see where they landed. Because I'm nerdy like that. :) But he said they only slid on the curve a smidge and that the doctor wasn't worried about their weight - which was a relief since they eat almost like I imagine fashion models do. The doc said to give them half a Flintstone vitamin daily.

The eating has been a little better lately though, I must say. Somehow the babysitter gets them to eat those Chef Boyardee microwavable Spaghetti O's and Chicken and Rice/Veggie combos. And also, chicken nuggets. This doesn't happen at home, mind you. She must drug them or something. But they DID eat my baked pasta last week with lots of mozzarella and today they ate broccoli with ranch dressing. And since broccoli is like gold in the veggie world, I'm thrilled. It's so random, because one day they will eat something and I'll be all... "YAY"! and then two days later they won't eat that very thing again. And they really would eat just fruits and cheerios all day if I let them. They will eat peanut butter, IF I sing a silly peanut butter song! They will eat those frozen whole wheat peanut butter and honey Uncrustables (cut up). They love whole wheat raisin cinnamon bread. And blueberry waffles...   But meat? Veggies (aside from corn and now broccoli) You have to beg, and then probably no.

Sometimes it is a matter of them seeing us eating things. Is that a Monkey See, Monkey Do thing, or does that phrase just refer to other kids? :)

I'll do those pureed veggie/fruit combos if I'm desperate. The Mash Ups or Gerber or Happy Tot kind. But they are kind of expensive.

Lauren has started throwing massive tantrums. This usually involves her throwing herself on the floor (ouch), screaming, and scooting her whole body backward. Usually it is when she isn't getting something she wants or when I'm changing her and she just isn't having it! Most of the time it is no big deal to me, but in the morning when I am trying to get her dressed and ready for work, it annoys me to no end! Addison has only done this once or twice, THANK goodness! And so.... how long does this phase last? Until they are 18?

Addison still could care less about walking, unless it involves walking WITH her Rock N Stroll Scooter. I mean, she has walked before several times between her dad and I, but apparently that thrill is gone. She can drag that thing all around the living room. This seems harder to me than walking alone, but hey... she's on her feet! The doc wasn't concerned that she isn't walking yet. He said what I thought he'd say, that is that she will walk when she is good and darn ready. It would just be nice if they were both walking and we could go out and have them "practice" together.

Their dad cannot wink, so he blinks. So they now blink ALL OF THE TIME! They blink instead of trying to speak, even! ARGHHH!   It's kind of cute though.

In general though, they are both just so much more alert and aware of their surroundings. They spent 45 minutes last night laughing and playing a kind of hide and seek game with a sock. It was hilarious, and exhausting after working all week.   :)

My "To Do" List

2011-10-09T10:27:00.004-05:00

Edited...

~~1. Write an actual TO DO List, so that I can do things and be motivated by the cathartic feeling of crossing things off.~~ I like this virtual one.
2. ~~Do three days worth of emergency sub plans that were due on September 14th. Can you tell I hate doing those?~~
~~3. "Finish" laundry that I started on Friday. And when I say "finish", I mean at least get the ever growing pile of dirty laundry that is in the bedroom done. For now.~~
4. Flu Shot. Requires taking the husband with me to the hospital in which he works at which gives free shots to employee spouses. Which also requires us to take the babies. Equals big family outing, packing a diaper bag, coordinating the timing between naps and feedings. Soooo yea, totally easy, right? Hahahaha! I got the dates all wrong, and the flu shots start TOMORROW! We went there today and wasted all kinds of valuable time.
~~5. Clean out the van which looks like the dump~~.
~~6. Go to the recycle center with the 5,000 diaper boxes we can't help but collect.~~
7. Get husband to go into attic and retrieve fall/winter clothes. Which he HATES doing.
8. Skype with the mother and sister in law. At dinner time. Which is when they decided was a good time to Skype every weekend. Because nobody is busy at dinnertime on a Sunday evening, getting ready for the next work week? Oh, and we are trying it this week AT the dinner table because my children are SO mobile that it is no longer working out for them to sit on the couch with us. Last weekend, they chased one another around the room, banged on the laptop that was on an ottoman, and took turns pulling the plug out and trying to eat it. hahahaaa! Sigh...
9. Ahem, box color my hair. I used to get the hairdresser to do it (WHICH I MISS!!!) but for now it's a diapers and childcare budget! Not happening. Maybe later this week...
~~10. Do a blog post, because it's been FOREVER!~~

But really, there hasn't been much to blog about. Yesterday I ~~had my hair all chopped off because who has time for hair, really?~~ was talking with my aforementioned hairdresser/twin mom of 2 year old girls about how amazing it is that the girls seem to stay the same for several weeks and then BAM, they do 10 new things at once. So they develop in spurts, for the most part. So nothing huge to report.

Cute thing though, Addison saw her picture on my laptop and pointed and said, AHHH THISSS SUN. And of course my husband and I made a gigantic deal of it and she said it again that night about 15 times. But since then? Nope.

It's kind of the same with walking. She only walks when she's TRULY inspired, which isn't very often! Here I thought she'd be like her sister and once she gained the confidence to do it, she'd KEEP doing it. But, notsomuch. Annoying because I know she CAN. And I want her to work on it. But I won't push, too much. She will when she's good and ready.

"I hate shoes! I want to be a hippie and NEVER wear shoes! Grrrr!!!"

"ditto!"

We went to the sitter's daughter's 1st birthday party last weekend and had a really good time. There were lots of toddlers there, and toddler parents, which was fun for us since we are OLD and don't have many toddler parent friends. Did ya'll know that I'm staring at the face of 39? Did I actually type that? gasp.

On Wednesday the sitter called and said her daughter had 103 fever, could we come and get the girls. So the husband did that. And he stayed at home with them on Thursday because the sitter asked us to. Well, they were incredibly snotty and whiny. They hardly napped at all. And daddy, is awesome but does not have all of the tricks up his sleeve. Can I say that? I came home and fed them immediately and put them to bed. Not a peep or a whimper. I stayed home with them on Friday, thinking they were super sick from his description of their day, but I think maybe they would have been ok at the sitter's. They were really snotty, so I used that aspirator bulb and some Vick's Baby Rub every time I changed their diaper. And before they went to bed, I gave them 1/2 tsp Children's Benedryl D which my doctor said was ok. Not a peep all day, except for when I squeegeed their noses, which they detest! Mommy mojo. :)

So, I had a three day weekend. You'd think I'd have everything on my TO DO List done, but NOT even close!

Now, of course Addison has a fever. Right before bed she felt hot, and I checked it. 102.5 Daddy is reluctantly staying home and taking her to the doctor tomorrow to make sure it's not an ear infection. Sigh...

These Bare Feet Are Made For Walking

2011-09-23T01:02:00.000-05:00

First, Currently I have 250 posts in my Google Reader! Work is seriously getting in the way of my blog life! :)

Also, my VERY cautious Addison has started walking. We're talking, the from mom to dad to mom, beginning stages of walking.

You like how I say that with complete confidence, because I've just been through those walking stages with Lauren and so I am now an old vet who totally "gets" the evolution of walking?

Lauren however is a lean, mean, walking machine. She tromps about with speed and abandon. I'm LOOOOOVING her little toddle! So full of the cute!

Of course she toddles right into things, like the corner of the entertainment center and her sister and other similarly undesirable objects to come in forceful contact with.

But the loveliness is that she gets right back up and starts toddling some more. I wanna be like her when I grow up - just getting back on that horse, ya know? Adults can learn a lot from a kid.

I really, really love how they are so different. And I've got to tell ya, I feel guilty about how often I easily compare Addison to her daddy and Lauren to myself. I am sure they both have traits from each of us, and probably loads of traits that are all of their own making.

But Addison, she's quiet and reserved and loves to gaze at small objects and look for the detail and I am quite certain that she is constantly figuring out how things work with fascination. She LOVES the touch and feel books - she pets them, and she is ridiculously fascinated with all of my jewelry. She's almost clean after she eats. Addison, will be fine most of the time but don't you dare cross her because she has a temper and gets this most contorted and disgusted look, and expresses said disgust with blood curt-ling SCREAMS. She is not ticklish, at all. She fights sleep with a seemingly unparalleled passion.

And Lauren, on the other hand, is loud and impulsive and not at all concerned with the details of things. She is very, very, very verbal. She plows through life. She steals toys. She's extremely messy. If you touch her, she'll squeal with laughter because she is so ticklish. She's lovey, but she doesn't enjoy sitting still for long. She gets super excited about things, like Cheerios and doggies. I think she might be a stunt double when she grows up (see earlier paragraphs about walking into things). She digs toys that make noise and also ones you can bang/thrash upon. She's REALLY good at going with the flow and not getting upset about things - which is awesome. She embraces sleep.

My sweet, sweet girls!

15 Months and Pooped!

2011-09-18T10:12:00.000-05:00

The girls were 15 months old yesterday!

And also, I'm pooped! Teaching and taking care of toddlers makes me pooped!

You thought this was a post about actual poop, didn't you? Aren't those interesting!

So, the girls were 15 months and are doing some fun things these days.

Lauren is walking like crazy, everywhere. She paces, which frankly drives me a little batty but I'll give it to her, she's got new legs and darnit, she's gonna use 'em! I must say the whole "toddle" thing is awfully cute. She also holds her arms out, which makes me think of Frankenstein.

Addison is JUST NOW, like this week even, starting to let go and stand without holding onto things and does occasionally take a step or two.

They are totally into their board books these days, and I have read, "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?" about 500 times this week. And also, they love "Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type". Yep. They have a thing about cows, apparently. We have always read to them but now they are just very interested in books, picking them up independently and looking at them or handing them to us over and over again to read. LOVE this!!! I hope I have two budding readers on my hands!

I feel like they understand a lot of what we say now. They will hand us an object if they know the word for it, like ball and book. The new sitter has been working on sign language and they are picking up quickly. They also wave ALL THE TIME, and blow kisses and give really, really WET kisses!

Addison is obsessed with blankets and being under them, which amuses Lauren.

Lauren takes toys from Addison a LOT, much to the new sitter's dismay. I was asked to work with them on this, but really??? How much will that help??? Addison is so laid back that a lot of times she doesn't care, and moves on to another toy. Occasionally she will wail. Apparently the sitter's children are not as laid back and DO care when Lauren is a thief.

They are both such picky eaters and we are pretty much down to milk, waffles, yogurt, oatmeal, cheerios, and fruit. We went out to eat on Friday night and they are cheese and breadsticks, but I doubt they would eat those things at home. I'm a little nervous they have dropped in the percentiles for weight and wondering if we need multivitamins. When we offer them foods they don't like, much screaming and throwing of food ensues. This makes my husband really cranky, I guess because he came from an, "eat every last morsel on your plate or you are the devil" home. But then he is annoyed at me because he thinks I just feed them junk - which I sortof do but I want them to eat SOMETHING??? Does this sound familiar to anyone? It's typical toddlerdom, right?

So, back to being pooped. I always forget how much I have to back up every year, and realize that my 2nd graders are more like 1st graders who have probably also digressed a little over the summer. It takes them a loooooong time to do everything and by 1:00 I think they are tired and their little brains are kaput. Plus, I have a lot of "projects" to work on this year. It was my turn, really. I've had kind of dreamy classes for several years in a row. And I don't mind (bring on a challenge), but let me just say that at 8:00 on Friday night I was in bed!

Yep, I know these pictures are sideways and I cannot figure out how to get them upright! Sorry!

Alas, I don't know what to think about the new sitter. I REALLY, REALLY want it to work out. I really like that she is so close to my house. She is not as warm and fuzzy as I once thought. She does not give me the rundown of the day like my old sitter. She is a little crazy in that she goes with their sleep "cues" instead of a schedule, which we have always done for our sanity because who wants two babies on different sleep schedules??? And thus, naptimes at home have been kind of wonky. One day this week she texted me, "remember us? What time do you think you might arrive?". I THINK she was just kidding, but it totally rubbed me the wrong way. She does seem to read and play with the girls, which is good. I love that she's signing with them. And she is going through a separation, which is a lot for a person to deal with, especially one with three kids. I am just really unsure of how this is going to pan out. I HATE the thought of the girls having to transition to another sitter. I don't want that for them. So, we will see...

15 months. How did that happen???

Fly By Update

2011-09-07T20:17:00.000-05:00

Just a fly by update...

1. We had an awesome weekend and I have pictures to upload.
2. The girls did well at the sitter's Friday, Tuesday, and today. Keeping my fingers crossed!!!
3. It's 9:14 and I considered going to bed at 7:30 but have stayed up out of stubbornness, because all work and no play makes for a dull PJ!

And... I'm off to Snoozeland...

She's No Nanny McPhee

2011-09-03T19:23:00.005-05:00

What an insane week!

Those tantrums that I whined about earlier this week? They are way down on the totem pole of my worries now. Sounds good, right? Notsomuch.

So Tuesday was the first official day back to work for me. Now if you're not a teacher, just know that the eight or so days before school officially begins are a stressful rush of getting your classrooms ready. And you walk into something like this where the furniture has been piled in the middle of the room and it is up to you to sort it out, move it, etc. I have a LOT of ~~crap~~ teaching materials! Plus, just out of the four days so far, we've had approximately three days of ~~snoozefests~~ meetings and staff development. Oh, and our building has no AC.

And Tuesday was the girls' first whole day at the new sitter. Apparently Tuesday went well. All smiles. No huge report of their day or questions at the end like the old sitter, but that was ok with me because I was about to collapse from being so tired. But Wednesday the girls apparently cried a lot, and on Thursday around 1:00 I had just gotten back from ~~torture~~ a meeting and unfortunately I checked my email. There was a HUGE email from the new sitter who was stating that she wouldn't sign a contract at this point, that maybe my kids aren't daycare kids and need a nanny because they have been crying on and off a lot and were not improving thus far. Like, it got worse instead of getting better. And that they weren't playing well with the other children and haven't been eating well, but if I was ok with that then we could continue to try it...

I admittedly FREAKED out and blabbed to my husband and every teacher in sight that I was so upset. I called about five daycares, and confirmed my suspicion that it would be seriously out of our budget.

Then when I picked the girls up, I was able to talk with the sitter for a while about it and I felt a lot better. I guess she was just saying that it was a very big adjustment for them and that I should know up front that it has been a hard few days.

But my argument was that I knew that it would be hard. They were with me all summer and with the other sitter since they were 11 weeks old. And they are at an age where they are going through tantrums and separation anxiety and frustration because they can't verbalize much more than mama and doggie. And they are twins and have that twin mindset that other kids should play the way they should. So, of COURSE it is going to be hard.

The sitter is also going through a separation, which may or may not have something to do with her handling of the situation. Taking care of three children alone while dealing with the emotional stuff that a separation entails would make me a little shaky.

I told her that I really wanted this to work for all of us, and I understand that it is a huge transition for the girls. But I really feel that she should have not sent the email, and should have taken some time to just casually chat with me about her concerns. I told her that it upset me.

Ugh. Drama. I hate it! I so hope this works out. How would you feel? What would you do?

Anyway, aside from that the girls seem to be doing well. They are eating well at home and sleeping well everywhere. Addison has not cried at night the last three nights (knock on wood), and Lauren has been walking like she is getting ready to be a on Project Runway.

We are enjoying a lovely three day weekend and the girls actually slept in until 7:00 this morning and we ALL took a two hour nap this afternoon! Heaven!

In Which Her Head Exploded From The Tantrums!

2011-08-29T18:57:00.000-05:00

Let me just say, this is how I feel about tantrums.

Ahem...

$%^&*(O)P$%^&*()%^&*() explicative, explicative, explicative!!!!!!!

Cuss.   Cuss. Profanity. Etcetera...

That sums it up.

There are two issues at hand. One is that Addison is still manipulating us by screaming at the top of her lungs at bedtime until we feel incredibly sorry for her poor sister and bring her into the living room to calm down, for like, an hour, almost every night!!! We can ignore her, but that means she will cry for up to two hours and that is agony for everyone. So, she wins.

I know it is because she doesn't want to go to bed. Daddy is home, and I think she thinks there is a party going on. I also know that she is tired in the morning by her 10AM naptime, and is also tired at 2PM for her nap. So, I don't think she is ready for one nap just yet. Since we just started today with the new sitter (for about two hours, and tomorrow it starts all day), I also am aware that things will be sketchy for a little while until she gets used to the transition.

But Good Lordy, she can WAIL like nobody's business! Seriously, I think she's going to throw up sometimes she gets so carried away!

It makes me grit my teeth.

The other issue is with both of them. Their new thing is to WHINE and CRY the entire time I am in the kitchen making any meal. They BOTH do this even when their dad is home, and he is starting to get offended. He'll try to play with them and they completely ignore him.

It's CRAAAAAAAAAAAZY! Is this just a phase?

I don't know what to do with them until they are four or five and I can reason with them, somewhat!

Ughhhhhh!

If you have toddlers, does this happen to you? What do you do? Why didn't they come with instructions!

Sorry... needed to vent. :)

In other more positive mommy news... Lauren is WALKING!   She's been walking for four days now and does a little more each day. I think she just does it now to get us to hoot and holler for her! She is so proud, and it is adorable!

TOMORROW is our official first day of work now! My district's schools had ceiling tiles down and plumbing issues, so everything was pushed back four days. Today I took the girls to our sitters for a few hours because, A) she is charging us for all four days, B) so the girls could get a small idea of how it is before they have to go all day, C) so I could actually go to the doctor for myself - something I've needed to do for a while (apparently I have Rosacea). Anyway, it went ok. I sobbed for a few minutes after dropping them off. Apparently Addison was ok and very curious, and after about 45 minutes Lauren was tearful and wanted constant holding. Huge sigh...

One day at a time.

Quaking and Reflecting

2011-08-24T10:14:00.000-05:00

Ah summertime, you are my FAVORITEST...est..est time of the year! I will miss you dearly!

Today was supposed to be my first day back at work. But then, we had an earthquake. Yep. I am about 25 miles from the epicenter, and while I know the west coasties are probably giggling at us, this is a BIG ole' deal over here! Our neighbors had tree work done on Monday.* The tree is 50,000 feet tall and the (oh so quiet) tree dudes spent the ENTIRE day just taking off just the branches. Which... I am sad but my husband is not, because he rakes. Anyway, I thought the guys were coming to take the rest of the tree down yesterday, so when the earth started moving and I was in the middle of changing Addison, I grabbed her and ran out to the living room to peer out at the tree. And when I saw NOTHING, and the pictures, lamps, glass in the entertainment center, TV, etc started to shake... I have to admit I got a little panicky! I'm all... (ok self, get it together! It's probably an earthquake. What do I do during an earthquake? Well... the tornado drills at school have us going into the hallway. I'll do that!). And I grabbed the girls and sat in the hallway and WATCHED the floors and walls shake. It was loud, like a train. But, having been through oodles of Hurricanes and snowstorms, what was good was that it was over quickly! And then the girls napped while I ~~drank a bottle of wine~~ tried for a few hours to get in touch with my husband, because the phones were down.

Anywho.... we were supposed to start work today but they are having structural engineers inspect the buildings today so we aren't even allowed in.

Which, I am completely TORN up about! :)

Actually, there is definitely a part of me that is fired up and ready to start work. I have a lot of ideas about how I want everything and I have a ton of stuff to accomplish before the kids actually start. And, I do actually love my job! I mean, sometimes the grown ups, notsomuch... but I love the kids. I want to see how much my former students have grown. I want to meet my new students, and figure out the puzzle of who they are and what I need to do to get them where they need to be by the end of the year. And starting a new year is exciting, because you start all fresh and new!

I remember after our first miscarriage, bawling and telling my husband and my my mom that all I wanted to do was be a good wife, a good mom, and a good teacher. And I was serious.

I have so LOVED being at home with my girls this year. I won't lie. Part of wanting to be a teacher was the fact that I'd get to spend summers with my kids. We are SO close, those girls and me!

I have been freaking out a little about the new sitter. It is weird, because I didn't freak out last summer at all. I totally trusted our girl from the getgo. But, I also seriously didn't know what the hell I was doing. I remember basically asking her to tell me if I was doing ok! haha! And now, I am all control freak about my girls. I sent my new sitter a schedule, lists of what they like to eat, etc.

I shared my worries with my new sitter, and she keeps telling me to just breathe. It will be ok. And she is probably right. She does have three kids, after all! And she said that it's different now because they are older and they have facial expressions and such. Anyway, thank goodness my husband will be doing the dropping off! I don't know if I could stand it! And... what is so nice is that at least they have one another - which should help, right? And their blankies, and some of their toys, and whatever else I could smuggle in!

If you have any tips on how one can make the transition to a new sitter easier on her kids, and on herself, do tell!

So, to reflect...

Being a stay at home mom, is hard. Being a working mom, is hard.

We had some SERIOUS bonding time! Seriously. Think, super glue.
I was so glad to be able to do the laundry during the week. No kidding, I LOATHE spending half of my weekends doing housework when I am working - because I am too pooped to do it in the evenings.
We ate better, because I had the energy to cook!
I could pee whenever I wanted. You laugh, but teachers are notorious for bladder issues because we can't just leave our kids when we have to go to the bathroom! Peeing = luxury.
Not packing a lunch.
I stayed up late (which for me is10:30) because I knew I could sneak in a nap during the day if I needed one!
I painted and did some projects that would never have gotten done otherwise.
I read. A lot.
I found staying at home to be isolating and somewhat monotonous.
It was hard to get out by myself with the girls. Although, after reading some of your comments, I realize I am a wimp.
I feel lopsided. Working makes me feel a lot more well-rounded. And in the world of me, that is HUGE.
I generally just missed being out and about.

So yes, I have loved spending the summer with my girls, but I know that my time spent with them will be more valuable now. When you only see them for a few hours in the evenings, you don't hesitate to spend that time doing quality stuff. And the girls, they need to be with other children and face new challenges. It will help them grow.

Tomorrow starts a new chapter in our lives. Let it be a good one!!!

*Seriously? We lost power (storms + enormous trees + ALL above ground power lines + notsoawesome power company = lost power) the last TWO Sundays in a row and have had some kind of power crew or cable truck or chainsaws going the past two Mondays. And they ALWAYS come in the middle of naps!

Twin Logistics

2011-08-16T15:02:00.000-05:00

Going to the park with one year old twins... BY MYSELF.

I have this awesome kiddie park at the end of my street. It's got a water feature and everything. But I really need help right now to make a trip there worth it's while. Here's how my trip today went:

Go out to car (leave babies alone in Pack n Play! = stress!).
Unlock annoying gate that only husband or bodybuilder can unlock)
Get enormous stroller out of car. Set said stroller up. (heavy) Make sure it is locked because our driveway is one giant steep hill.
Put shoes on four feet. Take one baby out to stroller. She has already removed her shoes. Give up on shoes. Stress because one baby is inside by herself.
RUN back inside and get baby from pack n play. Stress because other baby is OUTSIDE by herself (ok, only like 20 seconds, but still!).
Finish removing shoes and throw them on the floor. Yell at dog for trying to escape.
RUN back outside and strap 2nd baby in.
Push enormous cart down to the park. Look around. Do not attempt to take children out of cart because what would we do anyway? They are still only cruising the furniture. The swings are in the middle of tons of mulch and I can't get the stroller in there.
Go back home, which includes pushing enormous stroller up our steep driveway.
Again, take one baby in a time. Stress....

I guess this is just a hard stage. I think my husband thinks I should get them out more, but this is kind of how it is. I know we'll be doing a lot more fun things next summer when they are two.

We've done a lot of going shopping and meeting friends for lunch. Those are more doable.

I've had similar stresses about going to the grocery store for the whole weekly groceries, and just sort of gave up and waited until I could either go alone or with my husband and the girls.

Tell me it gets easier!

Also, I hate those leash things, but am actually considering them now!

Gettin' Our Protein On

2011-08-15T20:10:00.000-05:00

We tried lots of new proteins this weekend!

Rules, shmules... who follows that whole "wait three days" to try a new food anyway?

Well, we used to but lately we just feed the girls whatever. Although I'm still a little leery of peanut butter.

So, pretty much Addison will try anything, and Lauren eh... notsomuch!

We got dinosaur chicken nuggets, which we diced, of course. I am now the expert dicer! And I realize the irony of buying dinosaur shaped food and then dicing it, but the package geared them for kids and I am a sucker for advertising!

Both girls didn't like chicken nuggets at first.

Addison was ok with it once WITH Ranch dressing. Then I gave it to my mom to feed her. My mom was visiting and was up for an adventure with feeding toddlers and well, who am I to deny her such pleasure? Well, Addison THREW the chicken nuggets on the floor.
We also tried tiny (painstakingly cut up) broccoli florets in Brummel and Brown. They also landed on the floor, and not even the dog would take them.
I will keep trying, perhaps with ketchup.

Then I ordered the most yummy meatball sub, and Addison was all, "mmm, mmmmm" about the bits of meatball that I shared. Lauren cussed at me. She has a foul mouth.

Big Shredded Cheese was a hit with both! That's so much easier than breaking off bits. Thanks!

Whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread went over as well as the white version. Mmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmmm..... Does every one year old mmmm, mmmmmm over their food? Or just ours? They do it in unison and are LOUD about it! They did it at the pancake restaurant on Sunday and the waitress was giggling!

Hummus with pita bread. Addison, thumbs up! Lauren, "What is this #$%^&*(!!!!" Same with hot dogs.

We still have fish sticks to try. I've got more of your ideas swimming around in my head, but I think this was a good start, right? And I will keep trying these things in hopes that some day Lauren will get with it!

I was an insanely picky eater when I was little, and I think Lauren is taking after me. Actually, she has a LOT of my characteristics... although I'm trying not to "project" them onto her... if that makes sense? Anyone else do that?

Question: If your power went out for um... (counting in head)

OK... counting on fingers.

.... (crickets chirping).... no, for like 15 hours. And you had JUST bought groceries, including three jugs of whole milk and some yogurt, would you use it? I guess this is sort of after the point and all, but my husband and I had this great debate, and he won. We used it. Well, I threw out the milk that was 3/4 used and opened a new gallon. And I only opened the fridge like twice. And it was 60ish degrees last night (thankfully).

Anyway, rough night. Rougher day. I'll just gracefully leave it at that.

The sippy cup experiment is still ongoing. I had decided to just pick the cup up ONCE and put it back in the fridge - unless I thought it was truly an accident.

My mom and husband picked the sippies up for the babies and gave it back. Suckers! So we'll see... I am definitely getting these Booginhead SippiGrips for when we go out to eat!

Anyway, thanks all for your comments and suggestions!

Linky Party: Crying Baby Pictures

2011-08-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

First, THANK YOU for all of the wonderful food ideas! If you commented, please click over and read my latest reaction. I appreciate your ideas!

Marcia at 123 Blog is hosting a linky party about cry baby linky. While we have several pictures of the girls crying at professional photos, we are cheap and do not have digital ones. But these are from about 3 months and still crack me up! Oh how they have changed!

However, Addison can still belt one out!

Picky Persnickety Eaters

2011-08-11T14:44:00.000-05:00

The girls are eating pretty good, except we're having a hard time getting protein into them! Peculiar, they will eat chicken from a restaurant but not at home! I've tried scrambled eggs, chicken, and lunch meats. Does anyone have any suggestions on what meats toddlers like to eat?

New foods they like include:

corn (with brummel and brown) We use frozen steamers in single packs - so easy!
Pancakes

cinnamon swirl bread from Pepperidge Farm

peaches in any way, shape, or form

watermelon

mandarin oranges

citrus mixes

cherries (pits removed, of course)

plums

They have eaten whole yogurt smoothies with oatmeal pretty much all summer, with fresh fruit. Great breakfast.

We eat hot dogs all of the time on the grill, because we are classy like that. If we totally cut them up would they still be a choking hazard? Probably.

They are drinking 18 ounces of whole milk a day. The ped said 12 ounces a day, is he craaaaaazy? Am I crazy?

Addison will eat smooshed peas.

Lauren will feed them to the dog. Who doesn't really like them either.


"I'm NOT eating these scrambled eggs mom, and I am aware that you tried to sneak spinach in them"

Anyone else have an excessive amount of frustration with picture orientation when uploading crappy iPhone pictures? No? Just me?

Also notice that Lauren's bib is on the floor. My kids have started throwing things at the table. Yup. I figure it's good practice for little league.

Addison will get this utterly disgusted look on her face and rip that sucker (bib) right off, delighting in the sound of the velcro releasing it's powers.

Lauren is a copycat and will take hers off just for fun. Just cause, "my sister did it, so it must be awesome".

And they both CATAPULT their sippy cups to the floor about 568 times a day. And I fetch them.

It. Is. Great. Fun.

Are my kids the only one year olds who throw everything? Is it a whole power struggle, or is it just for fun? Because I pretty much have ignored it, hoping it will go away.

It's not going away. And it makes me kind of grouchy inside. Like I need some bubble wrap to pop to release the bad stuffs a going on.

Addison has a mouth full of teeth. 11, I think. Lauren's coming along now at 8. Someone once asked me about teeth, so I'm throwing that in there for good measure.

So protein foods? Do tell.

Also, back to the nap thing. They are not ready to drop the morning nap. Eye rubbing, rubbing little faces on us, yawning... these are the signs that two naps are needed. No, I think Addison is pretty much just playing us like a fiddle. (insert banjo music here) She doesn't want to leave the party in the evenings. Cause... that is what we do when they sleep. We party.

As in, we internet, watch T.V (on low volume which stinks), read, and do chores. PARTAAAY ANIMALS.

So, we're doing some tough love stuff. AKA cry it out. Fun stuff.

Bedtime Tantrums and Molars

2011-08-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

So, Addison cried (screamed, cussed, broke the sound barrier, maybe you heard her?) for an HOUR this evening before falling asleep.

This morning my husband had to get ready for work at THREE AM, and she was up stirring. And I could not get back to sleep. Seriously, I couldn't shut my mind up. Is it just me that does that? Thinking about stupid things, like the laundry or some little task I need to do.

And we woke up at 6AM because, that is when they wake up EVERY day. And EVERY day it goes like this.... Addison whimpers and wakes Lauren up. This also wakes the dog up, who gets all antsy and prances around. Then I get up, let the dog out, and get their bottles ready.* And they both start SCREAMING at me. Then I go and change one while they wiggle and squirm and yell at me on the changing table. I take her to the living room and give her a bottle. Peace. Then I go through the whole thing again with the other child. Meanwhile the dog is at the back door barking to be let in. By the time I finish letting him in, the girls have inhaled their bottles and are ready to play.

That, is when I have my coffee! And maybe some Advil for grown-ups. :)

So when 10AM rolled around today, I was READY for them to nap again. This is probably the 2nd nap I've taken with them since mid-June. And wouldn't you know, Addison throws a tantrum again. It took her a good 40 minutes to fall asleep.

Tonight I gave her infant Advil. We've been doing that off and on for a few weeks because she's getting her molars. But I'm not so sure that is the reason she's fighting sleep. I think she's just throwing tantrums. Are there telltale signs of tantrums, or is it kind of a guessing game? We bring her out to the living room and she's all smiley, watching TV, pointing at things to ask for their words.

It's just so painful to hear her screaming. And poor Lauren, I feel so sorry for her. She always gets the HUGEST gold star for putting up with Addison's crying so gracefully. That Lauren, she's ALL about the sleep. Thank goodness.

So, usually the Advil works wonders and Addison is out in like 15 minutes, but lately she's been fighting it like tonight and she's also been getting up some at night periodically. Which I loathe because I don't feel rested when that happens and/or I can't fall back to sleep.

They are also getting close to 14 months and I wonder if it's time to merge their two naps into one? I think I read 15 months on that one place, and 18 on another. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Thanks so much!

*Yes, we're still doing bottles with milk, but it's whole milk. They are doing just ok with the straw sippy cups with water/smidge of apple juice but it is INCREDIBLY slow. We are wimps and the bottle just seems easier. I'm sure that the new sitter will "help" us transition in a few weeks because she probably won't want to deal with bottles. :)

The Lowdown

2011-08-04T19:46:00.000-05:00

First, ever post something and later think... gee that was probably insensitive and I probably came off as a bit of an ass (Notting Hill)? No? Well, I do. And yesterday's post is now giving me that vibe. I didn't mean it that way at all. Really, it doesn't matter how you split the workload with your spouse, whether you have twins or it's just you guys. What matters is what works for you, and if you're happy. I guess my point was just that I feel lucky to have a husband that contributes as much as mine does. I was bragging, in an odd way. :)

Sooooooooo, I've been blogging since February 2008. Back in June 2007 I'd gone to the RE and then had surgery, and then there was testing, and more testing... and that fall I read a lot of blogs to try to make sense of everything! Actually, I think I found Mel's Stirrup Queens Blogroll - and it amazed me that sooooo many other couples were going through infertility. I was thirsty for knowledge. I needed support. And who knew I'd find this amazing community of women? A. MAZ. ING!!! I am closer to some of you than I am my own friends, because we communicate more. So what if it's virtual.

And now? Now that it's turned into a mom blog? Now, you guys are my mentors, my cheerleaders, my educators. And this place is a great way to document my girl's development and growth and get feedback from other moms who are going through this incredible whirlwind that is babyhood/toddlerdom. I've so enjoyed having time to read more of your blogs this summer. I continue to be grateful for the connections. Honest to Pete, I know like ONE twin mom in my area. And most of my friends are either well past this stage (on account of, I'm an old fart), OR they didn't have children (more likely). So, it's sort of lonely, if that makes any sense? Point is, I'm sticking around.

OK, so fast-forward to this summer when I discovered teaching blogs! And *Pinterest! And teaching blogs through Pinterest! I have found so many ideas that I want to implement in my classroom that I am almost ready to go back to school early (not really, but I am excited about the new finds!). And, same thing that happened when I discovered infertility blogs, I want to share my findings, ideas, thoughts also.

So I'm doing three things. 1. I'm editing this blog. Probably I should take out some of the huge rants about work, huh? :) 2. I'm moving the edited contents of this blog to Double the Blessings. 3. I'm starting a teaching blog. The teaching blog will be a little more public. I might share it with colleges and friends. And I'm not sure they want to click over here and read about my lady business and the gigantic truck of a speculum used for IVF, and whatnot. So, I am in the process of editing up to my last IVF (dropping it into a document and saving it for myself), and moving things over to a new blogspot that is actually called Double the Blessings, (because this one is still technically labeled Infertility on the Brain). So, the big whole point here is, construction is happening here behind the stage...

If anyone knows an easy way to move posts over from one Blogger to another Blogger (same account) let me know.

And that's the lowdown. :)

*Duuuude (yes, I grew up in the 80's), Pinterest is this way cool virtual pinup (tack) board that you can link other peoples ideas to. Say you're wedding planning? Tag a picture and pin it up on your Pinterest Page under Weddings, and then all of your ideas are there in one place. Say you're into cooking, teaching, remodeling your bathroom, you can make a section for each of those things and keep your ideas there. SO. VERY. COOL. If you want an invite, leave your email in a comment and let me know. :)

On Sharing Responsitilities - Twin Parenting

2011-08-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

So, I've been around but just haven't posted lately. I'm busy revamping the blog. More on that later! :)

I think my husband and I are a bit on the nontraditional side. We have always done pretty well at splitting responsibilities in our household. We each have our "jobs" to keep things running. He cleans the bathroom (I know, I'm lucky right?). He folds the laundry all military style which is fine by me. He cleans up after dinner, unless he cooks and then I clean up.

Some things I just have to do myself, mostly because I like them done a certain way or (more likely) I like them done more frequently. For example, the carpet has to be vacuumed pretty much every day, because the babies will put ANYTHING in their mouths and my sweet husband is not a fan of vacuuming (he literally ASKED me how the vacuum worked a few weeks ago!).*

I also am particular about how things are put back in the fridge, and in the cabinets, etc. I hate searching for things.

Don't get me wrong. I can totally be a slob. Right now you cannot see the surface of my dresser because it is piled a mile high with clothes and other stuff. Actually, I'll admit that our bedroom currently looks like an episode of Horders, but that is mostly because we are still dealing with living in a small house - not being able to move because of the economy (I'm NOT giving away my house!). So, we're really having to prioritize what is important and are making a lot of trips to recycle, consign, donate, trash, etc.

I will admit that this whole particularism has recently lead to a bit of bitterness on the part of my husband. For example, if I go behind him and wipe faces, he gripes (even though they still have food all over their faces, up in their hair, crusted on their ears!).

I digress. Where was I? Oh yea, shared responsibilities.

So, we've ALWAYS pretty much split the work load 50/50. Well., the babies are no exception, however sometimes I wonder if we only had one if it would be that way. I imagine it is harder for parents of mutiples to get away with just leaving one parent in charge most of the time, especially those first few months. Anyway, during the school year we take turns feeding them, changing them, etc. During the night, we take turns getting up to help them get back to sleep, which actually does not happen much these days. But, OH MY GOSH how did we even survive those first few months? Anyway, we have done a pretty good job at splitting the parenting responsibilities

I had fraternal twin girls in my class this year. Well, one of them was, and the other was in another class. The administration usually splits twins in elementary school, which could be a whole other post that I have opinions on. Anyway, the mom asked if my husband helped any, and I was all.... ohmygosh, yes! And she said hers did NOT, and that she doesn't know how I work and raise twins at the same time (as if I have a choice?). But at that moment, and a few others, it has occurred to me that I am lucky to have a very involved husband and cannot imagine having it any other way.

So, what is the split in your household? Is it mostly you that runs the show, or do you share most of the responsibilities? Are there certain things that you do because you want them done a particular way? Do tell.

*In fact, Lauren has started to hand me things that she thinks I might tell her "no" about! I jotted off to the bathroom this morning and came back to both of them tearing up my Eddie Bauer (WINTER!!????) catalog. Lauren handed me a ripped up page, as if to say, "Hey mom, you'd better take this away from me before I choke on it, OR before you tell me no!". So. Cute.

Bossy Relatives, Part II

2011-07-19T14:56:00.000-05:00

We actually had a lovely weekend! Yes, there were stresses but for the most part, it was fun!

After staying at home most of the week to ~~clean my house from top to bottom~~ get my projects done, it was nice to get out this weekend. We went to dinner on Friday night with the girls and the family and the City Market Saturday morning. We had babysitters Saturday afternoon, so we went grocery shopping (in which my husband totally missed the girls!). We went shopping. I consigned our exersaucer, and I made an appointment for a massage (that I've had a gift certificate for since Christmas!). Then we all went to dinner again.  On Sunday I got a much needed haircut, went out to my favorite Indian restaurant and had an amazing buffet, and leisurely strolled around Barnes and Noble. Then we went out for dinner again Sunday evening, and for ice cream later.

Apparently the girls are super sweet because they got 5,000 bug bites on the day before my in laws arrived. My step mother in law did not complain about it (much to my delight). She did make a big deal about bringing bug repellent on the trip.   Because... we're in The South which is infested with giant bugs everywhere during the summer. Well.. she didn't actually say that, but I know she was thinking it!

There was nothing about childproofing or booboo's. Thank. Goodness. I think on Saturday morning I said something kind of flippant about, "I can't pad the walls", so maybe that did the trick. But usually, subtle doesn't work well. But, whatever.

No, my only complaint is that she wanted to spend so much time with them that she didn't get the schedule. And I have to say, even my family doesn't seem to "get" the whole schedule thing. And while I try not to be rigid, I feel like my girls need to be able to depend on getting their needs met. And I KNOW from experience that when that doesn't happen, meltdowns occur and the repercussions can LINGER for days.

I think Sunday she put them down to nap as we drove up in the driveway - like an hour and a half late! haha! I imagine her saying, "Oh, crap! I was supposed to give them a nap!"

But they had fun and had new experiences, which is awesome for them (makes 'em grow, I tell ya!). They LOVED ice cream (well, custard). They liked orange better than vanilla, go figure! And new to their menu of finger foods within the past few weeks:

Cheese Quesadilla
chicken (REAL chicken, not the purees!)
raspberries
plums
corn
peaches
Eggplant Parmesan (Michangelo's Frozen) Yum!

Anyone have any more suggestions for finger foods? I'm trying to completely move away from the purees.

Last night daddy fed Addison and this morning I went to clean her bib out and there must have been three tablespoons of corn in the little pocket!   Suckerrrrr! :)

They are finally getting the sippy cups!!! Hooray!

Operation Whole Milk is in affect. Currently doing 2 ounces per 8 ounce bottle, thinking about switching to 4 ounces tomorrow. We still have a lot of formula left though, so I see no need to rush.

We've enjoyed a peaceful few days since, recovering. So, how was YOUR weekend?

13 Months

2011-07-14T10:49:00.002-05:00

I really should be painting... yes, when the girls nap I am miss project girl - or I read - or I clean... But it took them 500 hours to go down for a nap today (feelin' kind of jipped!) and so I felt that blogging was naturally a nice quiet activity. Naturally.

First, thanks for your comments on the Bossy Relative Post! I'll have you know that I didn't respond to her email and that yesterday Lauren banged her head so hard on the entertainment center (the part that I didn't PAD!) that I thought a bomb had gone off. She has a GINORMOUS bruise on her forehead. And also, Addison has an enormous bug bite on her cheek and has bonked her forehead on her crib. And last time my step-mother in law visited she freaked out about "the bugs in the south". She's from Ohio. Apparently they don't have bugs in Ohio? I'm probably going to keep quiet, but we'll see. :)

ANYWHO...

The girls had their 12 month checkup, here almost at 13 months. They had
their fingers pricked to check for Anemia and two shots. Yesterday afternoon they were the crankiest of cranky. Lovely shots.

Addison is 21.4 pounds and is 31 inches. Lauren is 19.10 pounds and 30
inches. Don't ask me what percentile that is. Going to the doctor alone with two babies and filling out 8,000 forms and unclothing and reclothing them is a lot. I only know the exact numbers because I asked the nurse to write them down! The doc did say that both are doing well on the growth curve and the little dots were in good spots. Doc said both were tall (thanks daddy!). He said Addison's noggin was looking good and I agreed. She has plagiocephaley, as in she spent at least half of my pregnancy with her head wedged in my pelvic area which caused her head to be a little flat at the back. It was really obvious early on, but it's only mildly obvious now.

We're starting to transition to cow's milk this weekend. I think I'll start with 2 ounces a bottle for a few days, and then 4 ounces, and so on. We still have three giant containers of formula. I'm hoping it will
be cheaper than formula! We spend $20 a week on formula a week and they have been drinking 24 ounces a day. Doc said they should get 12 ounces of milk a day. Seems like not much! He said that would help with their picky eating, because they will be hungrier for solids. I told him that we were still on a mix of baby foods and some finger foods and he was ok with that, saying there is no timeline for when to transition fully. He said just to offer a variety of foods and not to worry if they don't eat even for (gasp!) a few DAYS! That will be hard for me because I stress if they don't eat well in one sitting. I'm all, getting up and looking for something (fruit) anything they WILL eat. I have figured out that they will eat meat if there is fruit mixed in. Bwahahhaaha, Am So Sneaky! Control freak much?

STILL working on the sippy cup. We've even tried apple juice (shhhh!). The doc said just to do water. They will take a few ounces and that's about it. Sigh.

Both girls are walking A LOT while holding onto furniture. Lauren will let go
sometimes. He said 13 months was average for walking and that they seemed to be doing fine. I predict it will be 15 months before they let go, just based on their history. They were 3 weeks early, so maybe they are just a little on the preemie side and things are taking a while. Will. Not. Stress.

Addison has 9 teeth and Lauren has 5. Addison bit Lauren yesterday morning for
trying to take her toy! Lauren will chase her around and pester her for whatever she has, and then often Addison retaliates. Well, actually I've seen Addison try to walk away first, which I think is pretty darn clever for a one year old. Some of my 2nd grade students still don't get that!
They play more with one another than just playing beside one another. They
laugh and squeal and chase each other (play tag). They will stand next to one another and whack one another's hands and laugh about that. Apparently it is hilarious!

Also, the 1st 10 minutes of naptime are often full of giggles and mayhem. They nap in their cribs which are in the same room. Mostly, I find this endearing unless it goes on forever and I'm in need of some peace.

That's the latest. :)

Bossy Relatives

2011-07-12T18:36:00.001-05:00

So, my in laws and my parents both live out of state so I take oodles of pictures on my phone and just send them - as a way of keeping in touch. That's nice of me, right?

Yesterday I sent one of Lauren who has a nick on her forehead because she was um, exploring the grate/air vent thingie that is on the floor. Can't really childproof that, can I? She emailed me that I'd have to line the rooms with rubber (direct quote) to keep them from bumps and bruises, and also to keep them away from our front steps.

I had a little visual of strangling her. :)

I'm so tempted to email her back and tell her that I've lined the walls with matches and glass and arsenic, and that we've added motor oil to the steps. Because... we're just like that.

And not to be mean, but she hasn't had kids at all. She hasn't any idea what it's like to raise twins.

And also... I'm a teacher and I know kids get bumps and bruises constantly and if they don't they must be living in some sort of bubble, not allowed to explore at all.

Also, also, she's coming to visit this weekend with her two sisters and my father in law. And I WAS kind of looking forward to it, but I'm not so sure now.

So, how do you deal with people who tell you how to parent (especially relative-type people)? Do you confront them? Do you ignore it? She doesn't visit but every six months or so, but do I want to set a precident that she can say whatever she feels?

Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy

2011-07-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

I love that song! The old one... with the catfish jumping and the cotton all high. I think of it every summer.

I took the girls to North Carolina last week to visit my parents. It was lovely. VERY laid back, lots of help, etc. I got lots of reading done.  NOTHING technical! My coworkers were talking about all of the teaching books they were going to read over the summer, and I was all....  pfffft! I'm reading some Sookie Stackhouse, Southern Vampire Series in paperback (I'm on #9). And whatever easy, fun reads I can find. I'm thinking about reading The Help, but holy cow it is $16 in paperback. When did paperbacks get so expensive?

The girls are doing well!  Addison bonded with grandpa. He did what grandpa's do, anything that he could get away with and then hand her over to me. He fed her hushpuppies, corn doodles, and Orange Crush. Now we can't have a can open without her coming over and wanting a sip (which we DON'T do!), come to think of it she is interested in pretty much anything that we would not feed her.

Lauren sort of clung to me the whole time, but that's ok. She also started saying mama (probably a few weeks ago, and she says dada but not directly at him so we don't know if it is deliberate or not). She is also saying "Uh Oh" like, 5,000 times a day which is RIDICULOUSLY cute!  She says it kind of like a valley girl, uh ooooooooh!

They also have this new game, chase me and then sit and laugh, rinse and repeat.  So funny!

Plus, grandma got them bathing suits and they sat in the pool and splashed forever until Lauren crawled out and that was the end of that.

They are still not huge fans of being confined for hours at a time in the car seats. Neither am I, come to think about it. Both ways, they yelled the last hour (4 hour drive). I mean, YELLED. As in, "dammit, get me out of this stupid car seat and let me go plunder into things like I am used to!"

Addison is teething and kind of reminds me of the Tasmanian Devil. She chewed her crib really, really badly. I got those gummy crib rail covers and the adhesive was MISSING! Of course, she pulled down a Sierra Mist on the box and instructions so I feel like I can't return it to the baby store that rhymes with Smabies are Fuss. Ugh.

We had the laziest of lazy weekends. I think we'd missed daddy and he'd missed us, and so we were just fine with being couch potatoes and loving on one another. I did clean out the pantry though! Apparently I hadn't done it last year at all because so many things were out of date! Wonder what I was up to?

One year pediatrician checkup on Wednesday. Yay for measurements and stats and talking to the ped about INCREDIBLY picky eaters and switching over to cow's milk.

Also, I have like 5 bazillion blogs in my reader and am trying to catch up. :)

Childcare Continued and Finger Foods

2011-06-29T10:04:00.000-05:00

Oh, just to update, I think we've found a sitter! She blew away the two other interviews. Stay at home mom, oodles of experience including public school, warm fuzzies abound! She actually got down on the floor and gave the girls toys to play with while we talked. She seems super organized. She has a sense of humor. She will be TWO miles from my house, which is actually also on my (and my husband's) way to work. No more toting the girls in the car for 30 minutes in the morning and 30 in the evening. I need to call her today, because she had to crunch some numbers.

If she doesn't work out, I may actually consider a center. The only reason I didn't do a center to begin with, was because I'd worked in one before and have some bad vibes about it. The one I worked at gosh, like maybe 15 years ago, had horrible turnover problems. The pay was ridiculous and I'd end up doing a lot more than I was told I was originally responsible for. I just wanted something more homey, loving, consistent for my girls when they were really little, and I think I'd prefer that now. And daycares seemed at lot more expensive. We were paying $45 a day (included both girls!) which I realize was a steal. Although, the sort of guaranteed stability of a center does really appeal to me. There were a few times last year when my sitter's children were sick and we didn't have a backup plan in place, so we stayed at home with the girls.  However, I'll admit it was a good excuse to stay at home with my girls!

Soooo... feeding is a continued stresser. Literally, I get stressed about mealtimes. I have one child who locks her jaws when she doesn't want something, which is quite often. I have another child who is soooooo messy, she takes the spoon away from me and slings it around. I've tried giving them both spoons to hold and explore, which helps a little until the spoons hit the floor. Mostly, I'm frustrated because they used to eat most everything we gave them and now they are super picky. I even tried feeding them mac and cheese from the steakhouse we went to this weekend and they spit it out! And, it was REALLY GOOD mac n cheese! What kid doesn't like mac n cheese? Mine. Seriously though, they won't eat any of the stage 2 meat/veggie combos. They won't eat American cheese chopped up or string cheese. They won't eat ~~homemade~~ Stouffer's Lasagna. No on the tofu cubes dredged in Cheerio dust....   no, no, no...   They do eat lots of fruits though. They are ok with diced bananas and avocado and peaches, and all of the baby food purees.

We are also still struggling with the sippy cups, even the cool straw ones that you squeeze and up comes the liquid.

So, I have visions of them in kindergarten eating only fruit purees and drinking from good ole' Doc Brown's bottles in the lunchroom.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? I'm pulling my hair out, a little. :)

The Childcare Search

2011-06-27T20:29:00.000-05:00

Ugh... Still looking for childcare. I hope I don't sound too mean here, but...

We met a person on Saturday, and let's just say I didn't get warm fuzzies from her. Her house was tiny, and she hoped to have six children there - which I can't even imagine. Her son's room doubled as the playroom and I saw no age appropriate toys. She said they didn't have a set schedule, we just do "whatever", which I assume means that is sort of her philosophy... Well we have a schedule, and still have a feeding, diaper, nap log that we LOVE. We have a schedule but are a little flexible with it. But there is no willy nilly... whenever. Children need structure. She also did this weird thing where she uses paper towels soaked in baby oil, set in a coffee can for wipes, which she said she'd gotten from the Duggers (which, I'm sorry to offend anyone but the Duggers annoy the crap out of me). I think she actually mentioned the Duggers three times. Also, she wants to homeschool her 3 year old, who most obviously has a speech impairment and needs therapy (something a public elementary school would provide).  Mostly though, like I said I just didn't feel the warm fuzzies from her and I just can't imagine leaving my girls there all day.

Then today we went to the cousin of our previous childcare person. She was very sweet and I did like her. However, her house is way out in the middle of nowhere, her husband hunts (so makes me think guns, lots of guns around), and there were I think she said 28 hound dogs in a kennel in her backyard - which just made me nervous. Can't really see dropping my girls off there either.

So, we have another interview tomorrow. This person is in the process of moving like in 5 days... which is a little weird - but she she will be moving probably three miles from my house. So, bummer that I can't see the house all set up - but she does seem nice.

I actually found an interview questions list on babycenter.com which I will use tomorrow. I tend to get there, and then blank on what to ask.

This is SO HARD.   I'm considering actually calling daycares.

Also, if you know anything about doing a background check on someone, let me know. :) I also considered paying for someone to take CPR/First Aid classes and actually going with them because it would be good for my certification to be updated as well.

Thursday AND Questions for a Childcare Interview?

2011-06-23T19:03:00.002-05:00

Well, at the end of Tuesday (after two days of staying at home with the twins) I was feeling really tired! But really, we just had to find our rhythm! AND... I realized that I was still decompressing from the last weeks of teaching. The last weeks of teaching involve state tests, and although I don't teach a tested grade - the testing grades pull every resource person available and that often means we are on our own, and usually with a weird schedule. Also, the end of the year to-do list, report cards (ours look like a high school student's!), and packing up my classroom in boxes (FOR THE 4TH YEAR IN A ROW!!!) was exhausting. Then, we had the girl's birthday and company over the weekend. Probably too much info, but it just goes to prove that I was decompressing from all of that. And forgetting that I was decompressing, and stressed because, "oh my gosh, can I do this?!"

Plus, today I tweaked our schedule and I think it worked well! Until maybe we have to GO somewhere. But I don't know how to not wreck our schedule when we go out. If someone can tell me how, I'd appreciate it! I guess I could squish naps closer in with feedings... Anyway. I'm always torn about that. I want them to get out and experience the world, but I hate for them to be off their schedule. I guess that will get easier once they drop the morning nap - which we are no where near ready to do.

Anyway, it goes something like this:

6:00 8 ounces of formula (talking with the pedi on the 13th about weaning them, not sure if I should do it now or wait until they are just on the sippy cup - which at this rate may be when they are 5 and in kindergarten and embarassed to still be drinking out of a bottle!)
8:00 solids (usually yogurt, oatmeal, and fruit mixed together, some cheerios)
8:30 bath
9:00 -10:00 nap (today they slept until 10:30)
10:00 - 12:00 Play, Mom reads books, etc.
12:00 8 ounces formula (we worked on the sippy cup) & solids (today we did a concoction of avocado, multi-grain cereal, a little formula, and banana, plus sweet potatoes and some banana puffs.
1-2:00 Play, play, play (today they giggled for like 45 minutes of it. I wasn't in on the joke, but apparently it was HILARIOUS!
2:00 - 4:00 nap
4-5 play
5:00 Solids (Today we tried pasta primavera - and got a resounding NO! We had peas, carrots, and an apple/strawberry/banana baby food. And yogurt Melts.
6:30 8 ounce bottle. OK, maybe we'll do that at 6:00 from now on because they were a little cranky.

Does this bore everyone to death, or do you have ideas? Find it fascinating? Ha!

Yesterday, I actually napped during one of their naps! And today? Today, I read for pleasure. :)

So, I thought they were so cute in the picture below, but after I took the shot I looked at them a little closer. I'd JUST vacuumed like 30 minutes before this, and what do you know, Addison has this twig in her hand that she'd been gnawing on. I think Lauren was like, "what IS that? Looks yummy!" They are always picking up the most minuscule things. I've had to vacuum daily.

Also, if you were interviewing for childcare, what would be the most important questions you'd ask? I have two interviews this weekend, and about three other people to follow up with.

The Staying At Home Mom Thing

2011-06-21T20:59:00.000-05:00

"sorting" toys!

It is so awesome to not have to get up and rush off to the sitter's and then to school, then rush all day, to go home... and rush and then put the babies to bed. SO. NICE.

But, I am still tired. This mom thing 24/7 is tiring! It's so much easier when my husband is home.

I think it will just take some time to get into a rhythm.

Actually, it's been ok until this afternoon.

Also, I think I've been trying to catch up on the stuff I usually do on the weekend, plus some mini-projects (cleaning/rearranging furniture, etc) I have rearranged furniture so much since having these babies, trying to figure out what is most efficient and baby proofing! As an aside, anyone else use furniture as barricades for cruising babies? Do I really need to buy one of those plastic folding wall thingies (jails!)??? The two pack n plays seem to be getting too small.

So yea, I collapsed yesterday evening on the couch at 8:30. And yesterday went well! Yesterday, Lauren discovered that she could steal finger foods on Addison's high chair! Hahaha!

This morning went well also (Lauren started pulling up, actually!). Both girls napped peacefully in their cribs, not a peep for an hour and a half. Then this afternoon, I laid them down to nap and they LAUGHED for 10-15 minutes. I'm pretty sure they were conspiring and/or making fun of me. Then Addison cried and cried and cried, so I caved. I brought her out to the living room, cuddled her, and put her in her pack n play. WHERE... she stood up, and I laid her down, and she stood up, and I laid her down... and she cried, and cussed at me... and then finally she went down. Then 20 minutes later, Lauren got up (cried, protested, whined). And so, naturally I brought her into the bedroom, sat her down, and worked on some of the aforementioned projects. She was in awe of my sorting clothes and putting clothes away - which is kind of weird, actually. Then, Addison woke up. And they played and were cranky with one another... OHMYGOSH! You stole my passie! Bap, boom, wham! Drama. Then, it was solid feeding time. I tried tofu cubes with Cheerio Dust. Lauren was all about it. Addison wouldn't even try it. Total lockjaw. LOVE it when she does that! So, genius mom that I am, I just mixed the tofu in with some baby food/fruit. Voila! THEN, it thunderstormed and the dog was scared, and he barked. He barked a LOT. And Addison, she screamed and cried a LOT. End of meal.
More cranky babies...

I called a bunch (3) childcare people. It was painful. I had to make myself do it. Am in total denial that our sitter quit us. I have two interviews/house showings this weekend. Wish us luck. Meanwhile, the babies were cranky. Tired and cranky.

Dinner was almost as fun. Carrots were thrown. Food was spit out. A fireman's hose was needed for cleanup.

Still though, there were LOADS of cuddles and giggles, and excited to crawl in my lap moments. And, more and more they are playing WITH one another instead of side by side. And they seem to have actual conversations in their own language, with varied intonation and excitement. Clearly, lifetime bonds are forming which makes my heart melt. As a single child, I can't even imagine what that must be like? As a teacher and someone who has taken some child develoment classes, I am so fascinated by them.

They went down for the night without a whimper, by the way. Tomorrow is a new day. :)

First Birthday!

2011-06-19T19:40:00.000-05:00

Our party went very well! The girls were happy and it was a sweet occasion.

It was not without some drama though. We had our party at the park down the street. It is a neighborhood park, but it is owned by the city. It is a great park, with a water area for little ones and a playground and lots of shade. There is this wonderful pavilion with four metal picnic benches.  You cannot reserve the pavilion, like in some other local parks. It is first come, first serve.  I drove to McDonald's at 8:30 (don't judge me!) to get breakfast. As I came back, I noticed a balloon on the park sign, so I drove in and took a peek.  Two women had already set up for a party!  So, naturally I drove home, had a panic attack, and told my dad and husband to go down there and put up their dukes. Well, they did but the ladies (ahem, cowards) had left and had someone at the park "save their space". Meanwhile, another group of people came to set up a party and they just decided to set up underneath a tree. So, that is what we did also as to avoid a confrontation. By noon, we were one of SIX parties at the park! As it turns out, it all went well and we just got some folding tables and some chairs and hauled our party over beneath an old tree.  But when we left around 3:00, guess who had NOT shown up for a party? Yep. The people with the pavilion. Maybe their party was in the evening? Hahaaa... people. What are you going to do?

Everything else went ok, except maybe that it was hot, but it IS June, after all.  Dad and I went and got the cakes, which were SO YUMMY! White cakes with butter cream and raspberry icing! We got sandwich platters and fruit/cheese platters, chips, and drinks.

The girls weren't sure what to do with the cakes at first. Lauren stuck her hand in it and then sort of looked at me, like, "now what?" So I gave her a taste and then she totally demolished it - all 10 or so inches of it.  It was everywhere! Addison went next, and I think she got the idea by watching her sister, because she dove right in. She actually picked it up and dumped it on herself! This is the only way to eat cake that good!

They got some fun toys, two Rock n Stroll scooters, a Busy Ball Popper (what a great invention!), a Laugh and Learn Table, some bells and a piano, some board books, and some clothes. I am happy to have more things to entertain them with, as tomorrow is the beginning of my summer break from teaching! WOOHOO!

I also got their portraits done on Friday with their birthday onesies and tutus.  Lauren cried. And cried. And then bawled. Addison was just somber. They were sort of like that for their Christmas pictures also. I think the pictures turned out cute though, although I would have liked some smiles.

Today we went to a pancake restaurant with my parents for a Father's Day brunch.  Then later, they went with us grocery shopping.  This is a big deal because usually I go by myself and my husband watches them, or he goes and I watch them.  The both of us, one with a shopping cart and one with a giant double stroller... just seemed like a lot.  But it recently dawned on me that we can use the grocery carts that look like race cars, because they hold two children! And... my husband can drive. :)  The girls loved it!

I guess we continue to be a little delayed in some milestones, although at least they ARE doing the things that need to be done... just late. Addison has become the speed crawler and continues to have rug burned knees. She is pulling up on everything now.  Just last weekend she would get all panicky EVERY time she wanted to sit again because she didn't know how. We'd have to "help" her get back to a sitting position. Her legs were also very stiff. Now she is more confident, and is cruising on the furniture, even making transitions from one piece of furniture to the next. She also pulls up in her crib a LOT! She has become a huge nap fighter - and has been known to fight the nap for up to an hour.  She doesn't cry, she just stands or sits up, and talks!

Lauren started out crab crawling for a while. She watches Addison a lot and now crawls on all fours.  You can tell she very badly wants to pull up, but just hasn't quite figured it out. I know it won't be long.

Addison has started blowing raspberries a lot and laughing at herself! It is hilarious! Lauren tries to copy her!

Food wise, I am very glad to be home with them now because I want to experiment a lot. They are over a lot of those pureed foods. Mostly, they are completely over the meats and proteins, which is frustrating to me. So, I'm using that Wholesome Baby Foods Website as sort of a guide.

I'm also noticing big differences in their taste for things, and the HUGE fight (tantrum? toddler thing?) with foods they now have decided to dislike.

Mostly though, I am trying to offer finger foods at every meal and make sure they get variety in their diets.

We are working on the sippy cup thing! We should have done more work with them on this much earlier. I am sort of kicking myself. It takes patience. Addison has started taking a few ounces with it if you hold her like she is getting a bottle. The sitter started doing this transition last week, where she would offer the midday formula in a sippy cup, and then later give the remainder in bottle form. So, well go with that for now and then talk to the pediatrician in a few weeks at our checkup.

I can't believe they are a year old already! What an amazing year!!!

The Bump

2011-06-15T21:27:00.004-05:00

My twins will be ONE on Friday!

I'm kindof emotional about it! What a year! It's flown by so quickly.

I've thought a lot about how lucky we were that they were OK, lucky that I didn't go into labor too soon, lucky there were nothing but mild complications, lucky that they have been healthy and happy, relatively speaking.

As their birthday approaches, I've also thought a lot about the pregnancy and birth. I don't think I posted the last pregnancy photo, the one that is decent and not taken with my cell phone! So... in honor of Marcia at 123 Blog here is my last bump picture at 36 weeks and 3 days, I think.

Those purple balloon flowers are blooming now. Right on schedule.

I was so uncomfortable, it's not even funny! I loved that I was growing babies, loved feeling the movement, loved the best hair and nails ever. But it was so hard.

Baby A (Addison's) water broke on the 16th at like 9AM. I was laying in bed, because HEY I was on bed rest and who knew when I'd be able to sleep in again, ever! (not yet!). I heard the pop, and thought... that can't be what I think it is. And then I stood up and it was craziness. I called my husband who had been to the hospital 500 times with me before on various false alarms, a fall, etc... and he was all, "Are you sure? Call the doctor to see what they say, ok?.  Haha! And I was like... um, OK! But we'll need towels!" And we actually had to go into the OB's office.  The OB took one look at me and made us go right over to the hospital.

Both girls were in position, so I was going for the vaginal birth.  I got Fentanyl (sp?) and labored for about six hours before asking for an epidural. The epidural made me sick. I hurled and shook. The nurses called it the baby shakes. I shook HARD on and off for about 9 hours. I was so exhausted from shaking and puking. I was stuck at like 4cm or something like that, and Lauren was in distress around 11:30PM. Her heart rate was erratic and later we found out she had meconium and really scary bad low blood sugar (thanks to my gestational diabetes, which I thought was under control). I had a c-section around 1AM on the 17th. Addison came out screaming and was 6lbs4oz. Lauren came out really quiet, which scared me SO horribly. She was 4lb6oz. WAY off from the ultrasound.

A really grouchy nurse took me for recovery. I nervous talked her to death.. haha! I remember begging her for ice chips and her taking forever to cave.  My husband went with the babies, which was good but also sucked. I got to hold Addison after a few hours and they wheeled me back to see Lauren who was hooked up to a million tubes and had her arm in a cast for the sugar IV. She was so tiny!

We spent the next 6 days in the hospital, two days we were technically there "rooming" with the girls so insurance would pay for it. The girls were there for two weeks. They had a very hard time maintaining their body temps and were in isolettes.

I attempted breastfeeding for ten days.  My milk never really came in. I got a little when I pumped, but really nothing but a few ml's. I tried fenugreek and all sorts of things. I wanted to breastfeed badly. It infuriates me when anyone judges me (or anyone for that matter) for not breastfeeding.

It took us a few months to really get the groove of parenting, and honestly they change so fast that I am always discovering new things I should be doing!

They are the LOVES of my life! My husband is amazing with them!!! I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Every injection, every penny, every tear.... all so worth it. And more.

The Week That Was

2011-06-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

Crawling, crawling, crawling... everywhere.

We need to... bolt the TV to the wall, get some kind of thingie that keeps the doors from not shutting on fingers, find some way to hide our mangled mess of cords for the laptops and other electronic toys. Am open to suggestions!

Addison is getting around alarmingly well these days and has rug burn on her little knees. Lauren is still kind of crab crawling, which is effective but a tad less efficient. SO cute! SO much work! Geez!

Poor Lauren, on Friday I got a call from the sitter that she had 102.5 fever so we gave her ibuprofen and daddy picked her up and took her home to rest. The sitter's kid had some kind of viral thing that week and had a high fever, so I thought it was just that. I called the nurse, who said to alternate ibuprofen with Tylenol. So we did that, although I didn't think we should wake Lauren in the middle of the night to give her medicine. So, at 3AM she woke up with 104.5 fever! 20 minutes after her ibuprofen she was down to 100. Whew! I took her to the doctor Saturday morning. I LOVE how our pediatrician is open at night and on the weekend, but I guess that is the norm? Anyhow, after the torture of digging gobs of wax out and mommy holding her in a vice grip... we found an ear infection-possibly in both ears. So, she got her favorite pink antibiotic and spent the weekend lounging around in her bouncer, temps up and down and very lathargic. She seems to be on the mend today although she was really fussy this evening - probably tired. Damn ear infections.

She is so sweet and has started head nudging to cuddle. She is generally too energetic to snuggle - just her personality I think. Addison is super snuggly and super laid back.

My parents visited this weekend in the middle of it, and spent the night Saturday night.

Oh, bouncer update. To rewind, we used to be bouncer dependent as in, the girls would ONLY fall asleep in the bouncers and were growing way too big for them. No, we didn't take the bouncers to the dump. BUT, we did do the whole (modified) Ferber cry it out last week with Addison. Uh huh, yep, at 11 months we did it. Cause we're slow like that. Or um, wimpy. Anyway, we don't think Lauren needs it because she will just sleep fine anywhere, anytime. Well, mostly. But Addison screamed like a crazy woman. And it was just like they say it is, where she was really bad the first night, and then it got easier. And now, she just does her thing and goes back to sleep. So yea, we were wimpy but that's ok. It was HARD to listen to her cry those first few nights, but I am glad that she now seems to be able to soothe herself back to sleep. So, we are not bouncer dependent anymore! Although we still use them a little. If Addison is in the right mood, she'll just crawl out of the bouncer anyway! Little Houdini that she is.

I keep thinking of this time last year, and how incredibly uncomfortable I was. And I look at my girls and am AMAZED at how big they are. Such an adventure!

Test Driving Our New Wheels

2011-05-30T20:41:00.000-05:00

Hahahaaaaaa!

So, we love the stroller. It's a Jeep Spark Tandem something-or-other. It is a lot more substantial than the double snap n go, however it is heavy to lift in and out of the van. The girls are obviously a lot more comfortable, although it was 800 degrees yesterday when we took them to an outdoor restaurant. It probably would have been ok, but they took 500 hours to bring us our food and so the girls were a smidge cranky - rightfully so, and so were we. We've crossed that place off our list.

So... Britex or Evenflo... trying to decide on convertible car seats. I am amazed some car seats go up to 65-100 pounds. My 2nd graders are like 65-70 pounds and I don't think they ride in car seats. I'll ask them tomorrow, watch them laugh at me!

Haha! We know what YOU'VE been up to!

2011-05-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

Said the lady at a party this evening, as we walked past her and her male friend.

And I smiled, and seriously thought..."she doesn't mean S.E.X. does she?". And later when I talked about it with my husband, he confirmed that yep, she probably meant SEX.

haha! People. Really?

Because seriously, nope.

Oh well.

Hmmm... what else is new?

The girls are crawling like crazy and pulling up on everything, and INTO everything!!! Which is fun and exhausting at the same time. No walking just yet, but I suspect it won't be long.

We lowered the cribs because I walked in last night and Addison was sitting up, just a crying underneath her mobile. That, and she's been sitting up in the pack n play - a lot. In fact, she'll roll over and sleep with her butt in the air!

We bought a double stroller to replace our double snap n go. It's a Jeep Spark Tandem. It arrived today, and tomorrow is our first test run. It seems super heavy, but I guess that's what you get with double strollers.

I'm about ready to buy convertable car seats too. We have the Chicco Keyfit 30 infant seats which are supposed to go to 30 pounds, but they are really HEAVY to carry now! I'm guessing Addison is 23-24 pounds, Lauren is maybe 21. So technically, we have more time. BUT, they are so heavy! And soooo long. Their feet stick out of the end pretty badly. My sitter says that life is a lot harder without the carseats, but I'm thinking that only applies if you have just one in a car seat. She mentioned going to the bathroom in a store, etc. But we just simply don't go anywhere just carrying the car seat. Mostly because we always have two babies with us at a time. We always have the stroller with us. I don't know...

School is out in three weeks and I AM SO READY to enjoy my girls full time!!! And I'm ready for a break from teaching and so are my students.

I still haven't found a sitter for next year. I've had a few leads, but nothing has panned out. I'm starting to stress.

I'm excited about experimenting with solid foods over the summer. I've got a list on my fridge of fun finger foods and stuff to try. The girls were slow to really develop that pincher grasp, but they seem to have mastered it over the past few weeks with melts and puffs, so ~~I'm~~ they are ready to move on.

What are your plans for Memorial Day Weekend? Lots of baby snuggles here!

Sippy Cups and Weaning and First Birthdays! Ack! Help!

2011-05-14T21:06:00.000-05:00

My girls will be 11 months old on Tuesday! This is total craziness! I often find myself torn between cheering them on to grow and develop and selfishly wanting to stay babies longer. It's going so incredibly fast!

They are so much fun these days! This week Lauren has started playing peek a boo with Addison. Lauren lifts up this toy mirror and hides behind it, and then reveals her face to Addison and both of them giggle like crazy. It's SO awesome!

I worried they would never start crawling, but Lauren has become quite the expert scooter. She twists and scoots herself across the room almost as fast as she might walk. She is REALLY INTO the entertainment center and the power chords for our laptops. I put bumpers all over every imaginable object in our living room today and am considering what kind of contraption I can get to hide our chords. But YAY, she's crawling (sortof!). She is also VERY interested in standing and has been pulling up on everything. She's not quite figured out how to get herself all the way up, but I think she's close. Actually, both of them have been pulling up on our legs a lot, and the side of the couch. I have a feeling I'm going to be hopping this summer trying to keep up with them! Addison gets down to the traditional crawling position and crawls forward for a second to get something. Then she realized that "GASP!!!" she's on her tummy, and she goes in reverse. She scoots back about 4 feet before she repositions herself into a seated position. I think one day soon she will forget that she's on her tummy and just go for it. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have done more tummy time with both of them. I am so wimpy, and they would whimper about being on their tummies, so I'd just put them back on their backs immediately. Total. Mom. Pushover. Who knew! I'm SO not that way as a teacher.

I've also discovered a bunch of teeth this week! I knew they had been teething because they have been cranky and extra slobbery and biting down on stuff, and then crying. There has been a lot of baby orajel dispensed in our home as of late. Thursday I looked and both of them had their two top teeth come in. So now, Addison has 5 teeth and Lauren has 4.

We are still looking for a babysitter for the next school year. I've got one lead and am starting to feel panicked! I'm also in denial. I love our sitter. HUGE sigh....

Sooooo... the girls have started really pushing the bottles away at feedings, especially with the sitter. At first I thought it was just because it wasn't me feeding them, but now I'm starting to wonder if it's a sign they should start transitioning to whole milk. Let me know your thoughts on when you knew it was time to wean or just your bottle weaning story.

I finally got a chance to read up on it, and clearly we need to get this whole sippy cup down pat before we start transitioning to whole milk. We've tried a few different types of cups, to no avail. I guess we will keep on trying that.

They are still on purees with their solids. Their day goes something like this:

6:00 8oz formula
9:00 1/2 c Whole Milk Yogurt, 1/2 tub fruit, 2 TBSP Oatmeal
12:00 8oz formula
3PM 2 TBSP Mixed Grain,1 tub fruit or a veggie
6:00 1/2 jar Meat,1/2 tub Veggie & 8oz formula

We've tried some Puffs and Yogurt melts but I think maybe, possibly the pincher grasp thing is not all there. They get it in their fists and then have a hard time getting it in their mouths. I guess I didn't think they were close to weaning off of formula because they don't eat much solid food yet, but maybe they are? I guess this will be on the list for their 1 year ped visit in about a month, unless we figure things out before then.

This baby thing is total rocket science!

Anyway... I got the CUTE first birthday onesies today with hot pink tutus today! So fun! I was thinking of having the party at Red Robin but I'm not sure. And then, I've seen lots of blogs with kids 1st birthdays with cake! So... I should get them each their own personal cake and just let them dive in? Photo op, right? I can't believe they are turning ONE in a month!

Just Keep Swimming...

2011-05-04T21:07:00.000-05:00

******

Totally my philosophical motto these days, or er well, ever since IVF and all of that... actually. Don't you think Socrates or Aristotle would agree in the beautiful simplicity of Dory's famous line? And really, what else are you going to do but keep swimming.

I've had all of these ideas for posts floating around in my head, but actually blogging them? Well, clearly that has not happened. You can probably, sorta, kinda, maybe guess why.

Sooooo, we went to my parent's house for my "spring break" which was actually only 5 days because of a snow make up day and evil school calendar makers, two and half of which we were there - four hours away. It happened that we needed to leave AFTER the babies' dinner time on a Friday night, which we thought, "oh, they can sleep in the car. They would be sleeping anyway". And while Lauren totally gets the whole car sleeping thing, Addison does NOT. It took her three out of the four hours to fall asleep and she was rather grouchy up until then - even with one of us in the third row seat to cosole her.

Babies need their routine.

The trip back was in the afternoon, but we still were off our routine and had grouchy babies.

The weekend was good though, like really, really good! Mr. PJ and I got to go to Olive Garden alone and just out shopping together. This is, of course, something we could do with the babies but it was nice to be out together. And we COULD get a sitter if we wanted to, but I hardly ever want to leave my babies because I am away from them so much while working anyway.

And then four days later, in the middle of the week, my mother in law and sister in law came.

They stayed at a hotel which is about a mile away, which was nice. They GET it. My parents do that too, they stay in a hotel. It's just more restful for them, and less stressful for us all. Small house... babies... you get it.

I don't think I told much of the story about last summer. This is very "on the down low" for you if you are a Facebook pal. Kthanx! :)

My mother in law came and stayed for a MONTH after the babies were born.

So my summer went; bedrest, csection, sick babies 2 weeks in the hospital, csection infection, sleep deprivation, postartum depression?, adjusting to twins,...

Nothing went the way I had dreamed. And I had a lot of time to dream.

My mother in law had early Alzheimers. I really didn't understand how much she had the disease and I honestly really didn't understand the disease itself.

So now, I'm getting it. I'm understanding how things were and you know hindsight, it's 20/20.

She thinks she is not all that bad off. She tries to reassure herself by coming up with obscure details from the past or directions to places. But she'll be in the middle of talking to you and forget what she is saying or insert or omit a word that doesn't belong. She is inherently a VERY busy person and wanted to drive our car around our town, which made me VERY nervous. She got lost once early on, just walking around our neighborhood. She HAS to be doing something ALL of the freakin' time, which is soooo not us. We are pretty darn laid back, not lazy but laid back. And she'd forget how things should be done or was inflexible if we (I) changed my mind about something, which I did a LOT because I was trying to figure things out. Oh, and on the one hand she is very opinionated and NORMALLY her whole life I think she kept a lot of her opinions to herself, but now really has no filter and just says what she thinks. On the other hand, she has always been very easily offended and easily upset and so I made her cry about 5,000 times last summer. My friends came to help some and she thought that was a conspiracy to leave her out.

I went badly. Did I need to say that?

She left earlier that she'd planned. We both apologized before she left, because really, I know I was an ass to her at times. I felt/feel like irrepairable harm has been done and haven't really tried to reconnect with her. I am not sure if that is even possible. Too much, too long... ya know? She tried to call me a few times since then, but I haven't called her back. We used to talk on the phone almost weekly. We Skype with her sister and her every Sunday, which is painful in and of itself because she forgets the girls' names and stuff like that, and she prolongs the conversation and doesn't understand where the camera is, etc.. What a horrible disease.

I don't know why I'm hashing this up right now. I think I locked it up in some deep hole and went on with my life. I really did, I mean she left and I felt renewed and in charge again, and I hit the ground running. I was also over my infection and gearing up for teaching (something I actually felt confident about), and I leaned on my sitter a bit to let me know that I was actually not going to break those beautiful, amazing children I finally had.

I know I asked the sitter a bunch at the beginning if she thought the girls were ok? If I was doing ok? I so needed reassurance. "You have an A+ PJ. You are Supermom. You knew you would be." But seriously, I hadn't been around babies, hardly EVER. Really. It was all new. I still have no clue about a lot of things - which is why you'll find me here asking stupid questions. But I do feel like I'm doing a good job.

They didn't come with instructions. :)

Anyway, the visit went well, but obviously brought a flood of memories.

I also have thought a whole lot about what was happening last year about this time. Last year I went on bedrest at the end of April. A few weeks ago I was digging through my folders, about to teach a new Social Studies Unit on Economics, and all of this NEW stuff was in there, stuff I'd never seen before. And it took a minute for me to realize that I didn't teach Econ last year! It was my long term sub! So weird.

Last year, I missed May. Literally, I was on the damn couch in May, which is such an amazingly beautiful time of year in Virginia. Seriously, today I saw fields of yellow flowers, a baby calf by it's mother, bright green leaves on lush trees on a mountainside. So beautiful.

Aside from the sneezes and wanting to cut my nose off.

And missing that time, and feeling miserable, takes a toll on a person. Not that I wouldn't do it 100 times again for my sweet girls... but I'm just saying it's been a time of reflection, is all.

Just keep swimming.

******OK Blogger changed and I can't find spell check.

How it Goes

2011-04-15T20:57:00.000-05:00

Hmmm... third attempt to do a post in the past week or so, and this has been sitting in my draft pile. Intentions, intentions... anyway this is a hodge podge kind of post. Bear with me!
-----------------------------------------
Funny thing happened today! I had a 2nd grade student "Joe" tell me that another boy "Tom" (who happens to be a fraternal twin) had something to tell me. Then Joe tells me that Tom said he was pregnant. Tom is half embarassed, and smiles and says his tummy hurts! I look at him all serious and say, "Yep, I bet you are. That's how it starts". Everyone giggles.

Then later the Tom says his tummy still hurts, and I say, "I bet it's twins, cause they run in your family".

They are SO hilarious! And um... soooooo in need of a spring break, as I am. Three more days!
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The babies will be TEN months on Sunday. How crazy is that? We've been having a good run lately. For the first time in weeks we had a weekend with no sick baby, or sick mommy. It was wonderful!
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Lauren started not taking all of her bottles for the sitter. She'd do it at home for me, (not my husband, just me) but not for anyone else. She'd take a lot less during the day and I'd have to give her more in the evening to get her sort of caught up. Not good. We were doing 4 bottles a day 6oz ea and 3 solids meals. So on Wednesday on a whim we dropped it to 3 8oz bottles, and it worked! She's taking the full bottles and eating all of her solids! Yay! I was going to wait until Spring Break, but I'm glad we didn't.
________________________________

We are still bouncer dependent. We will go cold turkey soon, we just have to commit to a time. I'll update! I'm sure it will be interesting (cough, sleep deprived!).

It may just be a fluke, but tonight Addison didn't want to go to sleep. She fussed and cried and even wailed at one point. 45 minutes later, I was all... hmmmm., let's just put her in her crib and see if that works. At this point, it couldn't hurt. And I'll be damn, she went to sleep immediately.
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I'm so incredibly bummed! Our sitter who has been AMAZING, is going to teach in the fall. So, we are looking for a replacement. It was devine the way we found her. Her sister subbed for my class for years, and just approached me when I was only about 3 months pregnant and asked if we needed a sitter. At that time, I was all... well, I don't know if I'm going to work or not (which was so totally unrealistic). And when I came to my senses I gave her a call. Did I mention she has been perfect? Well, mostly. Her kids have been sick, but you can't help that. AND, I hadn't talked to her in ages and then I called her in late JULY and confirmed that she was still willing to do it, and she agreed. And THEN she agreed to do it a month earlier than we had originally planned. And she was perfect. Did I mention that? Sigh...

I've started asking around so we'll see. $45 a day for two kids is what we were paying, and she was awesome. Doubt we'll find that again.
--------------------------------
Baby Clothes. OH! MY! GOODNESS!!!!

I really haven't gotten rid of much of the girl's clothes since they were born and there is an ENORMOUS pile of old diaper boxes just consuming one corner of the babies room. I'd take a picture, but they are sleeping in there right now and if I wait until tomorrow, no telling how long this post will sit unpublished. Anywho... I tried Thred Up.com which is sort of an exchange site for clothes and toys and I got a box of clothes that I really, really didn't like. And it was $15 really for a box of clothes that I probably will only use one or two items. So, I don't know if I want to go that route. If I had oodles of time, I could have prepared them (tagged, hanger, pinned, etc.) and sold them at one of the two great consignment sales we have in the Spring, but... alas no oodles. I MAY get them together this summer for the fall sale.

Part of it is me, I LOVE baby clothes and every time I am out shopping, I gravitate toward the baby clothes. But, then with twins and the spitting up and the drooling and the etcetera... well, we do go through a lot of clothes. And then the seasons changed and are still in transition so ohmygosh, we currently have shorts, skirts, short sleeve stuff, long sleeve stuff, you name it!

And then part of it is my mom. Apparently I have inherited her sickness for clothing, except I am horribly picky and only like about 60 percent of what she gets. But I'm grateful!!! Because it's expensive to clothe two babies! But, HOLY COW, the GINGHAM and the LACE are abundant! And the turtlenecks and the stuff with collars that stick up, and the stuff with 5,000 snaps. I am picky. Give me a cute onesie or a T-shirt, and some jeans and some khacki's and I'm good. I like simple, not frill. I like to dress them in things I would wear.

And so, I smile and that stuff will come out when mom visits, which is about once a month. Seem ok? I think it would devastate her if I fessed up, and she's already kind of a mess for other reasons that would just be TMI, TMI, TMI...

There will be tutus at their 1 year party though. Pink simple Tutus. Grin!!!

_______________________________
And that is how it goes. I earned my paycheck, and maybe someone elses this week. I'm looking forward to a sweet weekend with my sweet family. Life is generally good and I am thankful.

Bouncer Dependent

2011-03-31T19:12:00.000-05:00

So, we have this problem. I know I've talked about it before, but ugh! It's a problem.

I think our babies are totally bouncer dependent. But I guess only at home. I think if anything wakes them up, they can't get back to sleep without being in the bouncer.

See, we were having trouble getting them to sleep in their cribs really early on. But we found they would fall asleep in the bouncers, and we could just put them in the cribs after about 15-20 minutes.

So we do that. We have our routine. Bottle, solids, pj's, bouncer, crib. And they nap in the bouncers during the day when they are home. It worked. But now, obviously they are getting WAYYYY too big.

But they will wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to get themselves back to sleep. And so, we have to put them in the bouncer and sometimes that means sleeping in the bedroom beside the bed. Sometimes, that means us sleeping beside them on the couch, because they are so fussy getting back to sleep that we don't want to disturb the spouce.

Sooooooo, what do we do? We haven't really tried NOT to use the bouncer, because we are YUUUUUUUUUUGE fans of sleeping and pretty much every night we are desperate for sleep. But I guess we'll just have to bite the bullet and do it one weekend. Sob. Cry. Moan.

But they sleep at the sitters in the pack in play EVERY day. I guess probably because it's routine.

This is also probably the reason they are not fans of being on their bellies and probably the reason Lauren's noggin is so bald in the back that she appears to be wearing a lovely red toupee.

We DO play with them, and they DO spend lots of time sitting up and playing and being in the exersaucer, and hanging out on our laps, etc.

But yea, apparently we are horribly bouncer dependent and have already ruined our children. Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

I'm almost tempted to go cold turkey. Little angel on my shoulder says that is the way to go. Little devil however, is all.... "ARE YOU CRAAAAZY!???"

Nine Months Postpartum

2011-03-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

Today, I took the preprogrammed phone numbers off of my cell phone for:
1. The Reproductive Doctor
2. The High Risk OB
3. The Fancy Prenatal Diagnostic Center
4. The Hematologist

I am back to being ME, which consists of only vaguely having any recollection of where I am in my cycle. I'd better stick some tampons in my bag, just in case. (grin)

I ditched my daily pill box. I am down to only needing Synthroid to control my hypothyroidism and generic Zantac. I probably should take a vitamin, but after YEARS of having to take them daily "just in freakin' case I was pregnant", I feel kind of OK with taking a break.

I have NO needles in my house. I got rid of them. And the syringes, and the alchohol prep wipes, and the tiny bandaids, etc. I don't know if you recall, but I had to do a blood thinner for about 9 months. One painful shot a day, for NINE months. On top of Progesterone up until 10 weeks, and then of course the stims before that.

I went to the doctor about a month ago for something minute, but before that I hadn't been to a doctor since um, AUGUST! Nobody poking at me.

What I do still have, are the four glaring positive pee sticks! Kind of gross, maybe and I know I have more proof than that - obviously. But still, it's a reminder of a happy time. A hard fought, long awaited, happy time.

We still have three embryos in the freezer. We're paying up to keep them frozen. I doubt we'll use them, but still... possiblities exist.

I was on birth control. I tried Seasonique, which was awesome for three months until the free sample went out and I went to renew it, and insurance wouldn't cover them. That was when we decided to throw caution to the wind (ahahahaha, such a slim chance!) and just not use anything.

Not that we have time for that kind of nonsense, horseplay, galavanting...etc.

What IS different, is that even though I don't have any idea what day I am on in my cycle today, I do KNOW when I'm ovulating now. Like, it is a really pronounced and big pain in my side (ovary). I used to feel that when I triggered, but not any other time. Now, I just feel it every time. Strange.

Anyway, just reflecting. I'm in a good place.

Stealing Socks!

2011-03-24T20:07:00.000-05:00

Sooooo,the girls are sick. Or were sick. Or are in the process of getting better, I think.

The sitter's is the house of plague and ick, apparently. Something about having a kindergartener in the house and two other little ones with little germs and hands that go everywhere.

Seriously, the two year old squeals with delight almost every morning when the babies arrive, and goes up to them and gets in their little faces and makes them giggle. It's cute and it makes me cringe, all in one.

Anyway, the sitter's oldest (the kindergartener) had Strep which turned into Pneumonia despite her staying home from school and being on meds. All three girls and their mom eventually were sick. The dad doesn't sound too hot either, but he swears it is just allergies.

They had a round of strep a few months ago, and were told by their pediatrition that babies don't get strep, so we didn't worry too, too much.

Then our girls were snotty and Addison had a rash on her bottom all weekend, and into Monday when they stayed home with dad.

Let me pause on the staying home with dad part, because he did not take temps (Oh my gosh, seriously!!!), did not give ibuprofen, and texted me to find out how to mix the solilds, even though the directions are in our feeding log. And, it was freakishly 80 degrees out and he dressed one in jeans and long sleeves and one in a short sleeve onesie and a skort. Both had socks. ahaha! Ahem. BUT, I am grateful he was home with them and loved on them and let them rest.

So we went to the pediatrition Monday after I got home from work and Addison has a blazing ear infection. Which... how do you know these things??? She wasn't tugging at her ear, but of course she has since. She got a round of Amoxicillin.

We got lousy sleep all weekend, Monday night was good with just a few whimpers.

Tuesday, I stayed home with the girls. I LOVE staying home with the girls. There are 12 weeks left of the school year and I am already counting the days. Anyway, they were in good spirits. They rested well, they ate well. I had them do a little less playing than normal. But that afternoon they were sitting on the quilt and they actually pulled one another's socks off and chewed on them, and laughed hysterically! Funny, funny stuff!!!

LOVE watching them play. SO FUN!

But all hell broke loose Wednesday night, because they were SO fussy. Between the two of them we probably got about 4 hours of sleep, total. And not in one chunk. It was reminicent of the early, early days. And when you expect it, it's hard - but when you don't expect it, it's brutal.

Last night they slept 11 hours straight. It was bliss! I'm crossing my fingers for tonight.

I hate to be tacky, but I have mom questions for those who possibly have mom answers?

1. Can I feed them regular yogurt? The Gerber yogurt is expensive, and it seems like a giant tub of plain yogurt mixed with some baby fruit and some baby oatmeal would be a good breakfast.

2. Blackout curtains or blinds? Where to get them? It is so bright in their room at 7PM when they go to bed!

3. How do I know when I can drop their 4th bottle to just 3 bottles a day?

4. Anyone know any tricks to get babies to take a sippy cup? Also, any tricks to get them to hold their own bottles (and when does that happen?). They can hold it when it's down to a few ounces. Addison is interested, Lauren is not.

5. When did you switch to the convertible seat? How was the transition? Would you recommend staying in the infant seats as long as possible? Ours hold up to 30 pounds but are getting heavy.

THANKS!

Where do all of the passies go?

2011-03-19T10:14:00.000-05:00

We replaced a bunch of passies about six weeks ago, and we literally have a basket on the coffee table with about 12 passies in it (dependent much?). But this past week or so, we've been scratching our heads, wondering where they all went to. We even blamed the sitter.

Then I got the brilliant idea to look behind Addison's crib!

Almost 9 Months! Eat, Sleep, Play

2011-03-12T15:11:00.001-06:00

This Thursday the girls will be nine months old!

"That looks like a good binky! Lemme see!"

"Why yes, yes it IS a good binky!"

They don't have their 9 month checkup until April 1st. Somewhere, way back when, our appointments got pushed back a few weeks and they seem to continue doing so.

Some recent developments:
Addison -

has two teeth on the front bottom.
can sit pretty well, and this has pretty much happened within the past few weeks. She can reach for something and pick it up, and then get back in her position. I took the boppy away from her yesterday, but she fell after about 30 minutes, which I kind of think is pretty good stamina.
had a rash this morning on her bottom, so I took her to the pediatrician. Apparently she has a delicate bottom and is allergic to something in Pamper's Cruisers. Anyway, she is TWENTY pounds!
Dislikes peas like her mom.
Is outgrowing her 9 month clothes already! I've been working on their 12 month wardrobe, but it all summer stuff.
Is finally getting some hair.
Loves her ducky and his blue foot that is perfect for teething.
Is totally in love with a bunny rattle/stuffed animal we call Peter.
Bounces all of the time.
Not a fan of the bath, especially the being cold afterwards until mom can dress her.

Lauren -

has one tooth on the front bottom
is sitting pretty well, but still needs the boppy. She's tumble over and then get kind of "stuck".
I have no idea what she weighs, maybe 18 pounds?
Dislikes peas like her mom.
Is getting SOOO tall!
Is finally getting some hair.
Also loves the ducky foot!
Is making the most AMAZING sounds! She's really verbal and has such a great range of consonants. I love to hear her "talk".
Bounces all of the time.
DRAMA when getting dressed.
Splashes like a mad woman in the tub! Loves a bath!

Eat

So the girls have been taking 4 6oz bottles of formula and eating lunch and dinner since January. And the pediatrician said to get them to 3 meals a day by the time they got to 9 months. The pediatrcian is very laid back and, more to the point, very nonspecific about feedings. But I did want to follow that guideline.

So now they are eating the following. And I got the ideas for this based on Gerber's menu planner and babycenter's suggestions, and of course I modified it.

Tell me what you think.

6-7AM 6oz formula
8AM Breakfast 1/2tub baby yogurt and Oatmeal w/banana (we chose that time so the sitter could feed them)
10-11AM 6oz formula
12-1 PM 1/2 tub fruit w/mixed grain cereal & some formula to thin it out
2-3PM 6oz formula
6-7PM 6oz formula, 1/2 tub meat, 1/2 tub veggie & some formula to thin it out

Addison has taken to this meal plan fine, but I think it's too much for Lauren because she refuses formula sometimes.

I was stressing about this until this morning when the ped said she'll eat when she's hungry and not to worry.

Sleep

We were having sleep issues, but they seem to have subsided. Addison had been waking up her sister about 1 or 2 in the morning. So we'd grab her and take her in the bedroom with us, and let her sleep in the bouncer. The bouncer, which is entirely too small for her but we are so dependent on the darn thing. Anyway, I think she'd learned that she could sleep in mom and dad's room if she cried and that was bad. But she seems to have since forgotten - knock on wood.

So, we never really did the Ferber thing and I wonder if we should have.

Our only big issue now is that they always fall asleep in the bouncers. The same bouncers that as mentioned, are too, too small. I might experiment tonight and try putting them in the crib one at a time. They do it at the sitter's, why shouldn't that work here? Haha! Logically, right?

Play

We have them sitting up, facing one another on the quilt with loads of toys all of the time now. They are a blast to watch! They steal one another's toys, and then laugh about it! I know that will be short lived, but it is funny. I can imagine the mental conversations they have:

A: Oooooh, that is the ducky! His foot is the bestest teether ever! Give him to me!
L: I know, I know! Isn't it awesome? It feels so good on my gums. Here you go. (gives up ducky, picks up rattle)
A: OHHHHHH! That is the coolest rattle! It sounds like the rain! GIMME, GIMME!!!
L: I KNOWWWWWWWW! Isn't is fun? (Lauren gives up the rattle and takes the ducky back).

Maybe you had to be there, but it's a hoot to watch!

Nine months. SUCH fun!

A Typical Day

2011-02-23T19:53:00.000-06:00

First, let me say I am SOOOOOOOOO blessed. I'm happy. Being a mom, BEST thing EVER!!!
But it's tiring. So. Very. Tiring. I don't think you can fully comprehend it until you've done it for a while.
And people smirk and say, "I don't know how you do it". And I think, what a dumb thing to say. I think they are trying to empathize but it comes across as, "poor you", which annoys me. I am supermom, damnit.
So, yes things are good. Things are sometimes hard. Things are a lot different. But good. Here's how:
My Typical Workday.
6:00 AM wake up. Feed and change baby.
7:00 Pack babies in car and leave.
7:30 Arrive at sitter's. Talk with sitter.
7:40 Leave for work. Take sitter's kid with me.
7:55 Arrive at work. Rush. Talk. Teach. Mother students. Rush. Teach. Do pointless paperwork. Laugh with students. See spark in student's eye that means they UNDERSTAND! Rush. Ask kids to clean up. See blank look in another stuedent's eyes that says we have more work to do. Wonder when that will happen between the rushing. Get interrupted. Make copies. Clean up after kids. Think about peeing, but don't because I'm teaching. Answer 5,000 emails. Grade papers. Teach another subject. Wonder if they A.listened and B.understood. Put out fire. Laugh at kids. Kids are funny. Make copies. Set up a center. Fire drill. Teach another subject. Send kids home and plan for another day. Maybe pee.
4:00 Leave work. Pick up babies. Talk with sitter.
5:00 Home. Diapers. Play with babies. Love on babies.
6:30 Bottle and solid feeding.
7:00 Bedtime.
It's a long day folks. :)
I know I grappled with staying at home, probably about this time last year. But really, that isn't an option. And I do like teaching. And I pretty much don't do much on the weekend without the babies, because I WANT to be with them. Seriously, aside from my parent's coming to visit about once a month, we haven't had a babysitter and I'm ok with that.
I'll really be ok this summer when I spend nine weeks with my girls. I am SO looking forward to that.
And they are with a really good sitter. I adore her.
It's just a long day, is all I'm sayin'. It's different.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

2011-02-10T19:59:00.000-06:00

Note that, playing in the exersaucer is NOT part of our bedtime routine, but they looked cute in their pajamas so I thought it fit with this post!

OK, here's the lowdown. Actually, here's the whole schedule. Tell me what you might tweak, because the girls are waking up at 5AM or 5:20, or 5:40. Pretty consistently, we will hear one or the other on the monitor* go... bap, whaaa, fooo...buuuuhhh... hehe.... haha... And some days, when we're well rested ourselves, it's hilarious! And other days, it takes a while to find the humor. :) Plus, the sitter says they aren't napping enough.

6:00AM 6oz bottle
7:00 Go to the sitter
10:00 6oz bottle
2:00 Rice Cereal/Fruit & 6oz bottle
4:00 To home
6:00 Rice Cereal/Veggie & 6oz bottle
7:00 Bedtime

We chose 7:00 for bedtime because they would, and still do, get cranky between 6 and 7. That gives them 11 hours, which is pretty good right? I've read they need around 14 hours, and I don't think they are getting the other three. I know that every child is different and that the 14 hours is not set in stone. However, FIVE AM folks!

I don't have set naptimes, although I have been recording the times for about a month. It is very random. Some days they will have long naps, and some days it's a series of catnaps. We usually get a morning nap, an early afternoon nap, and often a late afternoon nap (which can include the 30 minite ride home). I guess we could try that, and have a "routine" about it, you know wearing a sleep sack or getting a lotion rub or something(?).

Also, at the sitter's Addison naps in the pack n play, and she'll nap in her crib at home. This is a good thing, because we don't have to tip toe around and can get work done. But Lauren can NOT fall asleep in the pack n play, or her crib, and if she falls asleep in her bouncer**, I cannot get her to sleep in her crib for long. I think she wakes up and is all, "WHOA... where am I? Look at that mobile! Look at all of the toys that I never play with! Where the heck is my mooooom?!!!" Where Addison is very, VERY, laid bad. "I'm tired, will sleep, whereever, whatev, snooooooore." But, she's got to be good and ready.

They often fall asleep after they eat at 10 and 2, I've noticed. But the duration, I think that's the issue.

Anyway, I have the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins book and will admit that I have only skimmed it and probably need to actually study it. I just thought I'd get the blogosphere's input.

*I HATE that monitor! HATE in all caps, HATE it! It snap, crackles, and pops like crazy. We often have interference. And it's just this constant buzz, that for a light sleeper like me, drives me crazy. It's a Fisher Price. We've tried other channels, and placing it in different places in the room. It's still aggrivating. Necessary, yes. But annoying.

**Ohmygowwwwwwwwsh, what are we going to do when they outgrow their bouncers, which will probably happen in the next two days. Seriously, my children are growing FAST! What do people do, post bouncer? Where do you put your child? haha. Ahem. Seriously? Help?

Still Infertile

2011-02-08T20:22:00.000-06:00

I don't know how many of my readers know my whole story. At this point, I feel like I kind of have two stories, or even three. The infertility story, the twin pregnancy story, and the twin mom story. I know that I've picked up readers at different stages of the journey, and probably quite understandably lost a few along the way.
We started late. I was 34. Now I'm 38. Was that the problem? Nah, it was a myriad of problems and I don't even think the doctors would put us in a neat category anymore. Uterine Polyps? No. Male factor, sperm morphology? Maybe. And thenit was Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.
The whole ordeal included 5 IUI's, 5 IVF Attempts (it's complicated, but yes we tried that many times), and three miscarriages. It blowed.
It was, without the shadow of a doubt, the hardest thing I've been through. But I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat to have these girls.
So how do I feel about infertility? I still identify myself as an infertile. 36 weeks and about to burst with babies, I probably still identified myself as infertile. Deal with it long enough and it becomes ingrained in your soul. I talked with a mom of three the other day about my girls. Her daughter, let's call her Sandy was in my 2nd grade class a few years ago. Sandy had a little brother and her mom had one on the way. Her mom was a PTO mom and was always at the school. She is/was a really kind person and I enjoyed talking with her, but it was also very painful. Sandy's mom was also very pregnant and delivered at the same time I was coming to grips with my infertility and had started treatments that were ending month after month in failure. There were days when I would avoid her as she was near the end of her pregnancy, and I distinctly remember completely avoiding her after her baby was born. The baby, was so beautiful. The baby, now a toddler, was bouncing up and down the stairs at my school the other day, in his boots. He is still beautiful. Sandy's mom was all, "I heard this rumor that you had twins!" And of course I was all, "yep, and it's wonderful and they are ridiculously cute, and sunshine and rainbows". And the mom was all, "I don't know how you do it with two at once, I try to have mine one at a time". Sigh. And I will NEVER be like that, because every time I show off my babies, I wonder if anyone around me is struggling with infertility. Every. Time. I would really love to bring my girls by the Reproductive Endocrinologist's office. I'd love to think that maybe, just maybe, the day I bring them in just happens to be when he is having a bad day. He's had to show someone an empty yolk sac and talk D&C, or tell them their pregnancy isn't progressing. He's had them cry in hysterics on his table. And I could show him these two miricles and it would be part of a human thank you, that is better than the bills (which I am in one form or another probably still paying). It would be nice, but it would definitely have to be an after or before hours scheduled thing. Because, I won't just wheel that double stroller through the waiting room. It's about respect for my own.Ironically, that same year of teaching I had a student who was one of nine. Yes, NINE. The child was wonderful, and so have her siblings been that have come after her. Lovely children. Quiet, unassuming, respectful, a little lost but very steerable, children. Love. You've heard the story before, mom is living in welfare, kids are left home alone a lot, multiple dads, etcetera. etcetera. I resented her for her fertility. I resented her for not understanding that her fertility was a GIFT.

We actually have had quite a few kids like this. Not with nine siblings, but kids for which you know or assume might be in a really hard situation and moms who keep on having children. Or kids who are sent to school sick, hungry, dirty, etc. It was those parents who got to me the worst. And it still bothers me a LOT of how unfair it is that some people just don't know what a gift it is to be a parent and do not plan it, when there are others who would sell their soul for one sweet baby, and would lavish them with kisses and bathes, and food, and attention. So unfair.

I am blessed beyond all belief to have my dreams come true. I am a mom. I have two daughters. But I will always be a little infertile.

The House of Ick

2011-02-05T18:57:00.000-06:00

This is my account of dealing with sick babies, so just be forwarned!

So far, every time the sitter's kids get sick, we get it too. It's so frustrating, but I'm sure it's par for the course.

This week it was the stomach icks. I had to pull over on my way home from work on Thursday and completely change Lauren because she got sick ALL OVER everything. And when I got home 15 minutes later, apparently Addison has quietly gotten sick too. And this went on for a few hours. Great fun.

I called the nurse who said to do Pedialyte, one oz every half hour - instead of formula. So my husband ran out and got some of that grape (SYRUP!!!)but by the time he had gotten home, both girls were snoozing.

Friday morning we argued over whose turn it was to stay at home. Mr. PJ stayed with them until 11:30 and brought them to the sitters.

Meanwhile, I was teaching and I felt the nausea come in waves. I quietly took my kids to lunch and walked back to my classroom and promptly hurled 500 times.

Which, is so unfair because given the number of times I've gotten sick with my pregnancy, I think I've exceeded my quota and should NEVER get sick again!

Anyway, so I went home and left the babies at the sitters. I slept ALL afternoon. I drank grape Pedialyte syrup. It was so strange to not have the babies at home. And my husband came and got them after work. This is a big deal, by the way, because the sitter's is close to my work which is about 30 minutes from my house.

The babies seem to be faring much better than me. We gave them smaller amounts at feedings and fed them more frequently. They were ok today. Not thier normal selves, but ok.

Mr. PJ has been sick all day and refuses to um, give it up, because he has a thing against doing so. Is that a guy thing? So he's slept all day.

I think I have 4 1/2 sick days left until June. Ugh! And nothing's ready for teaching on Monday.

So, what do you do when your kids are sick, a LOT?

Seven Months and Then Some

2011-01-29T20:04:00.000-06:00
Really, December 28th was my last post? What a horrible blogger I've been!
Things are really pretty good, in general. We have hiccups along the way, but doesn't everyone?
Hmmm... where was I? Back to work after a short winter break. I LOVED staying home with the babies and have welcomed a few snow days since then. I do love our sitter though. I can't express how blessed we are to have found her.
The girls were seven months old on January 17th, which is just amazing to me. They are growing like crazy. I'm guessing that Lauren is around 16 pounds and Addison is probably about 19 pounds. I put Addison in a 9 month outfit the other day and it was too little! Most of their clothes are 9 months or lots of them are from Old Navy (who has such cute baby clothes!) and those are 6-12 month size. I think they will be out of them by the end of March, maybe earlier. Time to start looking for 12 month stuff. Crazy. Has anyone tried threadUP.com? I think I might try that. You pay $5 for like 10 pieces of clothing and then you send away 10 pieces of your old clothing (they send you the box and the shipping is covered), I think is how it works. Only thing, I think once they start solids that it's hard to keep clothes stain-free. I do the OXYclean spray if anything gets soiled, but so far I'm not impressed and I'm thinking it may be unrealistic to have everything come out clean.
They are both taking 4 formula feedings now of 6 ounces, although lately Addison seems to want more and so we will go and make her another 2 ounces. They are eating solids twice a day. Right now I am mixing one container of fruit/veggie with 3 tablespoons of formula and two tablespoons of rice cereal (that is fortified). This week we tried prunes, which they actually seemed to really like. Weird! Although, I think it'll be good for when they are constipated. TMI, probably...
Both girls are still needing support when sitting, although I think Lauren is on the brink of doing it herself. No crawling yet. Have I mentioned that my girls don't like being on their bellies? The no crawling and the not quite sitting on our own - they kind of stress me a bit. I know they were three weeks early, but I'm still worried that they haven't totally hit these milestones. They do, however, LOVE the exersaucer and are both standing in that. And Lauren will stand if you are right there to sort of support her. She loves to straiten out and she can lift her head when laying on her back to a seated position. So... we'll see.
We've moved bathtime into the bathroom, with the baby tub in the big tub, mostly because Lauren splashes and kicks like crazy and hubby was getting soaked. Hubby always does their baths, by the way! I think you're supposed to wait until they are sitting on their own quite well before you transition them to the big tub. And um, twin mom question... when is it safe to bathe them together in the big tub? I can see that being a lot of fun, with toys and bubbles and all.
Just in the past month or so, they have really started to interact and observe one another. It's a lot of fun to watch! I have to watch them carefully though, because they will use one another as a teething ring!
They are really into this Leapfrog laptop that their aunt gave them for Christmas, and anything soft that they can chew on. The sitter, who has three girls of her own, is surprised they haven't cut any teeth yet. I think Addison has been teething pretty bad, because she has been waking us up at night with her whimpering - when (oh, this is a good thing) they are pretty much sleeping through the night and have been since the beginning of the month.
Still working on getting them to nap long enough. I think I need to get black out shades for their bedroom. Addison has napped a few times in there and has done quite well, although it often takes her a long time to actually fall asleep. She's always fought sleep in general and is the first to get cranky because she's tired and has refused to sleep. But Lauren, usually can nap just about anywhere, ahem... except apparently her crib! Because she'll fall asleep in her bouncer, and then you put her in her crib and her eyes just boing, wide open! So yea, black out shades maybe... Does anyone else have a specific schedule for 7 month old's naps? I know ours generally fall asleep around 10 or 11, and then around 2 or 3, and occaisionally in the late afternoon. But we haven't gone as far as to say, hey... they will nap at 10AM and 2 PM, and we will plop them in the crib for said nap. But maybe they need that structure? Or is it too early for that?
I finally sortof feel like I've gotten the hang of working and being a mom. I've had a lot of flashbacks lately of how I felt a year ago, and then of what I've been through. For instance, we're starting new units at school, weather, geometry, etc... and I remember how crappy I felt last year and how I just did what I could to get by. And those kids, they did fine and are probably ok now - I don't think I did any damage! BUT, now I am all into it, all excited to try new things, and that's a good thing. That's why I do teach, I love it. And well, I also like to eat. Anyway... it was quite a year is all I'm saying. Another example, I feel yesterday. The ramp to my classroom was all snowy, and if you or anyone would have seen me, I'm quite certain my fall looked like one of the Looney. Tunes characters and should have had the sound effect to go with it - feet flying, falling on my ass. Anyway, bad memories of falling when I was about 33 weeks pregnant. And while I'm really sore today, it is nothing compared to the horrid pelvic pain I had back in May.
I'm rambling...
Here's a pic of the girls, and I'll try not to be such a stranger.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

2010-12-28T18:56:00.001-06:00
OR... a bad blogger. Because I'm not. A bad blogger, that is. I'm not really beautiful either, I just wanted to get your attention.
I DID do this long huge post with three pictures and all and juicy questions and musings about solid foods and such about two weeks ago.
I pushed post about 5,001 times. And it did not post, obviously. I asked nicely, cussed at it, sang softly to it, but nada. Then I was frustrated. And busy. And Christmas happened. And we went traveling with our twins. More on that later.
And because I am NOW a genius, I have fixed my settings and posted aformentioned post below for your pure enjoyment.
So, now that I've got your attention, let me tell you about something important. Important mostly because I think it's funny, but probably it's just ME that thinks it's funny and you have to be there, but whatev, you're a captive audience. :)
So yea, we're still swaddling the babies in their miracle blankets.
They will probably still be using passies when they go to Kindergarten. We are weak parents.
Anyway, the new thing is that they totally fight us when we go to reswaddle them at night.
Because yea, they sleep through the night sometimes, but does it count that we're up reswaddling and popping the passie back in their mouth at least once a night?
We need to try "Cry it Out" or something like it, but it's choosing which night/s we want to be tortured that seems to be the problem, and then when to tie that in with kicking the swaddle?
I know, I'm all over the place.
Anyway, so picture trying to reswaddle a baby that's arms FLAIL about and then actually getting the swaddle around her only to have her immediately pop her arms out! And they are STRONG and pushy and fighty and stubburn about it.
But babies with no swaddle, do not sleep. It is such a signal for them at night. Literally, during the initial swaddle and reswaddles there is this fierce battle with the flailing of the arms and them taking the passie out because, omg they are obssessed with taking the passie out, inspecting it, and then trying to get it back in-any old way just IN, darnit!
But the very MILLISECOND they are fully swaddled, WHAM! They are OUT! Zonk! As if, they were bopped over the head unconscience with a frying pan or something. Often there is even immediate snoring. Seriously.
OK, so it's not that funny. Maybe it's just a tired mommy that thinks it's funny. Or maybe you just need to see me tell the story and try to mimic flailing baby arms in detail. Friggin hilariousness.
So, travelling with 6 month old twins was a production. We went to Cleveland to see the inlaws. I'm pretty sure there is going to be a new policy that says that we visit them only when it isn't snowy and gross. And apparently the babies have a time limit on trips, and they loose their tolorance at about six hours, which is pretty good if you ask me. Of course we stopped oodles of times and fed them and loved on them and changed them, etc. Of course, I risked life and limb as well as created a new thigh excercise by getting on my knees in the passengers seat to lean over and pop passies in mouthes and to distract them with toys. But at about six hours, both ways, the girls LOST their cool. Mom's mommy mojo ran out. And all hell broke loose, in the form of similtaneous screaming and at one point some barfing brought on by screaming. BOTH times they lost it, the roads were dicey. On the way, sleet and snow on the 500 lane busy freeway near Cleveland. On the way back, icy, snowy roads over the mountain in the middle of nowhere, on the (untreated) back road that is a "shortcut". Twas a looooooong way down if we'd slid off the road, is what I'm sayin'.
I'm always looked out after. Always.
The family was ok. We had the entire upstairs of my sister in law's house, which we needed. Pack n' plays are a PIA to put together. Cussing happened. I'm glad our house doesn't have stairs, and if it did we'd have a changing table on each floor. I had to dress the girls in 70 layers because it was so cold. When we got there, I made sure to tell everyone that I'd like to stay as much on the girls' schedule as possible. HA. 7:00 bedtime? Nope. Naps? Totally interrupted (seriously, one time my step mother in law actually petted the girls in the middle of their naps!). And the, GO, GO, GO, all the time going. By the way, we're going to church. At 7PM. Their bedtime. Lauren had a crying fit before church, and luckily zonked the entire time - even through Hark, the Herald Angels Sing, and all of the "twins? girls? They don't look alike. Bet you're busy, huh? My cousin's friend's, fiance's, coworker had twins...etc..."
But it WAS good that my husband's part of the family got to see the girls and vice versa. It's been since July and the girls, of course, are ginormous now. And my mother in law, which I've not posted about but probably shouldn't because some things are just better left undone, was decent.
Home sweet home and cozy and warm and routinelike for the next week. Love.

Solid Food Questions

2010-12-28T18:55:00.000-06:00
Dear internets, my source for advice, my cheerleaders.... how I adore you. :)

And to show my gratitude, first Addison and then Lauren, having their first feeding. Isn't it lovely?

Just when I think I have things figured out... (smile)

I know there is no hard and fast rule about feeding solid foods, and I have read a few things, but I just wanted to see what other people do or have done and see if anyone has any advice on dealing with the mess.

We started about a month ago, just with rice cereal thinned out with formula. It wasn't a huge hit, but I'm now thinking part of that was getting them used to the Bumbo and that it was just two big things going on at once, which was overwhelming for them. We did that for four or five days and then went to bananas - when I got the notion to try it in their bouncers instead. So, I don't know whether they just love bananas or were much more relaxed, but they have been eating in their bouncers ever since. Purchasing high chairs is definitely on my to-do list, but I think Santa (AKA grandma) is getting them for Christmas.

Anyway, bananas for four days, then sweet potatoes, then butternut squash, then apples. They seem to like all of the above. Lauren actually gets excited in between spoonfuls, like you can't get it in her mouth fast enough - which is awesome because she is kind of a slacker with the bottle sometimes.

I've been giving them half a container once a day in the middle of their evening bottle feeding - just to get them used to eating solids. Does that sound like enough? They just turned six months yesterday.

I've tried Gerber and Sprout fruits and veggies. Making it on my own is a lovely thought, but we rarely have time to cook for ourselves, so pre-packaged baby food it is.

They take around 25 ounces of formula a day - about 5-6 oz. every four hours.

The sitter and I have talked about having her start to do solids during the day in January, after the winter break.

So I guess I'm also wondering where do we go from here? What combination is good? Some rice, some fruit, some veggies? Two meals a day? Three?

And WOW, what a mess it is! They have some seriously cute onesies that have sweet potato stains on them. How do you deal with the mess? How do you deal with the stains? We do have a bazillion regular cloth bibs, but I think I'm going to try the Bumpkins bibs. We've been going through more clothes and doing more baths.

In other news, the whole fam has had pink eye. One. After. Another. No kidding. Lauren had it, then two days after her last dose of antibiotics, Addison got it, then Mr. PJ got it last Monday and I think we shared kitchen towels and I wiped my eye, because I got it yesterday in one eye, and today in the other. Plague. Nastiness. Horror.

I keep worrying that I will reinfect the girls. I wonder if that's possible?

Lucky me, I got two snow days to deal with it, which is great because man am I low on sick days!

Here is the best thing about my snow days.

I think I may have patched things up with the mother in law. We'll see. I'm totally dreading the eight our trip in the middle of the mountains next week with the babies in tow. Hopefully it turns out better than I think. Any tips on travelling with infants is welcome!

They are both taking nice long naps these days, which is AWESOME! And often they nap at the same time, which is LOVELY! Still working on sleeping through the night, but getting better. That's a whole other post.

That is the latest. :)

Merry Christmas to all, if I don't get to blog again before then!

Pink Eye & Christmas Toys & Many Random Thoughts

2010-12-02T11:28:00.006-06:00
So, the babysitter has three kids, one of which is in kindergarten at my school. My school, especially kindergarten, is rampant with pink eye.

All three of the babysitter's kids had pink eye over Thanksgiving, and the sitter got it on Sunday. Mr. PJ stayed home from work with the girls on Monday so that the sitter could go to the doctor.

We made a judgement call (a poor one, obviously) to send the girls back to the sitter on Tuesday.

Yesterday morning Mr. PJ was all, "Hey, Lauren's eyes look kinda puffy". Of course I've seen a bazillion cases of pink eye and took one look at her and called a sub. I took the day off and took both girls to the ped.

I got the drops for her eyes and did her first dose at noon. She was so miserable, you could tell. Second dose was at midnight.

Am I being too anal? When they say, take suchandsuch 2 times a day, do you really have to wait 12 hours between each dose?

Anyway, she looks better today, but is nowhere near back to normal. She's not her usual jovial self. I know she feels crummy.

She's also been very congested. Lemme just say that I HATE that nasal aspirator! I really think it's only worked for me like once. I even tried the saline drops, and that doesn't seem to help.

Is a baby decongestant really that bad?

I have a humidifier going in the girls room. My husband doesn't think it helps at all, but it's got to be worth a try.

I've also been using that Vick's Babyrub.

And wiping Lauren's eyes a lot with warm washcloths to keep the gunk away.

I gave her a warm bath this morning.

Addison has been an angel-very calm and sweet. I've avoided holding her too much.

I'm washing my hands and using hand sanitizer like crazy, and keeping everything Lauren touches away from Addison.

I have 5 sick days left and 2 personal days until June. We've had doctor's appointments and stuff. I'm kind of worried about that. What do other people do? Can you do a drop-in at a childcare center? We don't have any family nearby to cover us.

I drove 30 minutes to work last night at 7:30PM, did my plans for my sub, and left at 8:40PM. My school is spooky at night. I envy people that can just call in sick and be done with it.

Yesterday was my birthday. It was nice to be at home with the girls, even though Lauren was sick. I still say, in an ideal world I could work (afford to) about 3 days a week. I would miss teaching if I stayed home all of the time, but I miss the girls when I'm at work all of the time.

The post about my mother in law is swimming in the draft box! Still contemplating it.

I made coffee and biscuits and am hanging out in my sweats today. All good things!

I think I'm going to get the girls an exersaucer for Christmas. I need one that doesn't take up a lot or space. (HAH, right?!) Any suggestions?

Fisher Price has a little kitchen thingie that I might get also. And a car thingie. I went to Toys R Us last weekend to look and ohmygosh who knew there were so many toys for babies! It was kind of overwhelming, actually.

What are some of your favorite baby toys?

Such randomness.

Favorite Twin Gear

2010-11-22T18:53:00.003-06:00
When I was pregnant, I had about 5,000 freak outs about what kind of stuff I needed. I got LOTS of great advice from my blog and other blogs that I read. So I figured it was time to give back and do a post on my own favorite stuff, and conversely stuff that I don't recommend.

We love/loved:

Fisher Price Beautiful Garden Bouncer - We loved it so much that we got two. We actually have another bouncer that doesn't actually "bounce" and haven't really used it. It was about $20 more!

Miracle Blankets (worth the money. Seriously. Thanks Melanie!)

Double Snap N Go Stroller

Chicco Keyfit Carseats

Carters Onesies. LOVE them. Especially the sets from Target that are $7.99 for three. Paired with sweatpants.
I loathe anything with 5 hundred million snaps.

White socks that all match

Dr. Brown's Bottles

Wipe Warmer

Things that were a waste:

We got a moses basket that is so pretty but the girls never would sleep in it. I'm thinking it will house toys later.

We really haven't use the glider that much, but I do like it.

We have a take along swing that was great when it worked, but it petered out on us at about 10 weeks

______________________________________

Thank you all so very much for all of the advice on feeding, twin interaction, and daddy stressing when I'm away.

Last weekend Addison was sick. Friday she was so very stuffy and had a 99 degree temp Friday night and into Saturday. I used the nasal aspirator and saline to torture her. I gave her baby ibuprofen. I used Vicks Babyrub. And I let her rest a LOT this weekend. I was tired too, so this worked out well. I think she's a lot better. Lauren was pretty stuffy too. Baby snot is rather annoying! We have ordered filters for the humidifier. I think the forced air is really drying for the babies.

All this to say, we didn't attempt the feeding. We've decided to try next weekend when my parents are here.

I'm loving the idea of feeding in a Bumbo right now. I'm pretty sure Lauren is ready to start sitting up soon. She SCREAMS at us a lot. I guess she's experimenting with her voice octave's! Anyway, she screams I think when she wants to be held (always), and lately I think when she wants to be held sitting up. So, we're getting a Bumbo ASAP!

Plus Bumbo = multi purpose?!

We'll take messy baby eating pictures with their "ewwwwie" faces and I'll post them. Promise.

Totally off the subject but, I got baby clothes for a birthday present (MY birthday) from my sister in law today and my mom said she was mostly doing baby stuff for our Christmas. Um... ???

Daddy didn't ditch the swaddle last weekend either.

Wimp. (giggle!)

Thanks so much for letting me know the girls are normal for not hugging and texting and double dating already. I thought it was a bit early, but I wasn't for sure, for sure.

Ohmygosh, it's 8:49 already. Must. go. to. sleep. (if I want to survive).

Next post? Cry It Out or Dealing with the Mother in Law. Which is less of a Debbie Downer?

Smirk.

Twin Interaction and Starting Solids and Daddy Stressing

2010-11-18T18:51:00.004-06:00
OK, here's one that's not in the baby development books. How much should my twins be interacting at five months? I can lay the girls down next to one another, roll up a blanket and prop them up on their sides and they MIGHT check one another out. They sometimes seem curious about one another, but not a lot. I'm just wondering if that's normal?

We will be experimenting with rice cereal soon. It's a plan, anyway. I went to get a high chair and forgot my Babies R Us coupon.*and** The What to Expect first year bible says that you should let them get used to sitting in the high chair for a few days before trying to feed them in it. Makes sense. "Here kid, sit in this weird chair, in this weird position, and eat this weird stuff from this weird spoon"... blah blah, etcetera, etcetera, you get the idea. So, I've got to go get a high chair this weekend. But I did manage to get the rice cereal and some spoons and baby bowls with lids. Oh, and we have 500 million bibs. So, the plan is to try it once a day in the evenings for a while and see how it goes.

Hubby is trying "no swaddle" this weekend. I like how he's the one who gets no sleep if it doesn't pan out.

I am not a fan of lousy sleep. It's 8:14PM and I'm going to bed as soon as I hit Publish. And this is typical, even on the weekends. Seriously.

I think the girls can go all night without eating, but just want to be cuddled. Sometimes they don't even finish the bottle, which is frustrating.

I don't mind cuddling them though.

I'm open to advice on starting rice cereal. :)

*The spacesaver ones that strap onto a chair - tell me if you think these kind are horrible - they seem like a good idea.

** So, there's this issue with me going shopping or just "out" for any extended period of time. Like grocery shopping, Tarjay, etc. Invariably he gets completely stressed out when in charge of both of the girls at the same time. Inevitably, I get a call or a text that goes something like, "Are you coming home soon? The girls are both screaming their heads off and I don't know what to do". So, I've been stressed out when shopping or "out" because I feel completely rushed. So, I decided this weekend to just take ONE baby out with me so that he only had one to deal with. Bingo! It was a very happy baby and mommy shopping! Except, forgetting that coupon. And I figured out that I can use the double snap n go with just one carseat, in the front. It's kind of wonky, but with a big ole' diaper bag in the bottom to balance things out, it seems to work.

Twin logistics. Whew!

The cute thing, (well, kind of cute but high maintenance) is that usually if the girls are fed and changed, all I have to do is hold them and they calm down. Like... I can almost count on it. I guess it's a mom thing? I don't know. It's kind of sweet. :)

Bumpkins (Photos!)

2010-11-13T18:02:00.004-06:00
I call them Bumpkins. Don't know where that came from, but it stuck.

Tummy time! She's thinking, "Now, how did I roll over before? I've gotta get off my tummy. I don't get why mom keeps putting me down like this. What is up with that?"

Addison slept like this for a LONG time this afternoon. I guess she was comfy?

Just... awwwww!

Thanks for the swaddle advice! I think we're going to wait a bit to transition them now. It just seems like such a comfort to them and I hate to take that away. Maybe we'll try in a few weeks and see how that goes.

Cribs and Swaddling, Oh My!

2010-11-11T18:57:00.006-06:00
So,things are going well! They are back to their normal routines of waking up once a night. Actually, Lauren slept through the night on Tuesday. Of course, it was my husband's night with her. That's the way it always seems to be. What's up with my babies sleeping through the night for him!!!

7:00ish bedtime seems to be a good time.

Lauren goes right down. Change, feed, swaddle, sleep. Boom. It's lovely.

Addison needs to cuddle first and fall asleep in someone's arms or to be bounced in the bouncer for a bit.

We set up the pack n' play that had gone back into storage and are using it for a changing table in the living room during the night.

The bath definitely helps. It's kind of a production with two though, so I'm not sure we'll be doing it every night until we have to. I do like the idea of that being their trigger to go to sleep though.

So, they are swaddled in their Miricle blankets still. We'd been wondering when a good time was to stop swaddling them. Then I read on The Bump.com that you should stop swaddling between 2 and 3 months and that swaddling them too long can actually inhibit gross motor growth! Uh, oops! So, we're going to try not swaddling this weekend. Wish us luck.

Ohmygosh, it's 8:15 on a school night and I'm still awake! Gasp.

Mothering and teaching are so tiring!

Thanks again for all of your advice. :)

Back to the Cribs

2010-11-07T11:08:00.002-06:00
First, thank you all so much for your comments on Addison's noggin'. We are still thinking about what to do, but you have given us more options that we didn't know existed. LOVE the blog moms!!!

So, since about 6 weeks, the girls have been sleeping in their bouncers in our bedroom. One on each side, husband in charge of one, I'm in charge of the other, we switch off every day. This has worked relatively well. However, A.) They are quickly outgrowing the bouncy seats B.)It's so easy to wake them up with a cough or just turning over and C.)It's not very conducive to marital relations. So, we decided it was time to go back to the cribs. Originally, we'd switched to the bouncers to make it easier when they were getting up 5,000 times a night.

Anyway, it went ok. Just ok. Because they have been getting up once a night and last night Lauren got up THREE times! I think especially the first time she was upset when she woke up in a different place. She cried that angry, "I'm so mad at you!" cry.

She woke Addison up once. I'm kind of worried about that.

We've been using a monitor and we leave the doors wide open. Their room is across the hall.

Still swaddling them with their miracle blankets and popping a passie in their mouths.

They do fall asleep fast if they get a bath, but I've read lots of places that they only need baths about twice a week. Once they get older, I can see having that as part of their evening routine.

I'm assuming that it'll get better once they get used to it. I'm hoping they will find their rhythm. But. you know we've gotten used to not getting up a lot at night, so last night was rather brutal. I'm thinking bedtime tonight will be EARLY!

So, any advice on how to make this an easier transition would be awesome.

Also, what's a good bedtime for an almost 5 month old? Sometime between 7 and 8 has been the norm, and they naturally wake up around 6:00 (even on the weekends, sigh).

Noggin' Update

2010-11-04T18:41:00.002-05:00
Addison's tests came out fine. No Hydrocephalus or fused plates, which is really good news. Both of those scenarios were pretty scary.

She does have Positional Plagiocephaly

This is because her little noggin' was squished down in my pelvic bone for a long time. I remember early on, like maybe 16 or 20 weeks, getting an ultrasound and them having a hard time getting measurements of her head way back then. And thus, the ultrasounds being way off with her weight and the horrible labor in which she was stuck. Apparently it is common with twins.

The hold up on the test results was with the hospital, not the pediatrician, which helped restore some of my confidence in the ped. I literally didn't get the results until Tuesday afternoon, and we'd tested last Friday. Of course I got the call on my cell in the middle of a meeting, and was all antsy for about an hour while I patiently waited for people to ask dumb questions.

The deal is, we can:

A. Get a 2nd opinion
B. Look into getting a helmet. If you know anything about this, let me know. What I hear and what the doc confirmed is that there is no clear evidence that it works. That it's a pain to deal with. That it's costly, like 3 grand. That insurance doesn't usually cover it.
C. Do lots of tummy time. Position her on her side to put pressure on the lumpy parts. Be very patient.

Leaning toward C so far.

The doc has twins. He was there when I delivered. So, yea he's not been stellar, but I hate to loose those two things if we switched docs. Anyway, one of his twins has/had Positional Plagiophaly also and is seven, and the doc said he can still feel where the plates aren't aligned right, BUT that his hair covers it and he's fine in all other aspects.

I'm open to thoughts.

Also....

Lauren rolled over, twice today, for the sitter. Yay, and sigh. I tried to get her to do it tonight, but she just nodded off to sleep on her tummy.

Still Here...

2010-10-30T17:51:00.005-05:00
I'm just so darn busy! It's so hard to find time to post these days.

In fact, I started this post last night, and Lauren has been on this, "you must hold me mommy, and nobody else, or else I will scream and yell" kick or phase or stage. And while it's kind of sweet, I haven't gotten squat done this weekend because she's been attached to me. Plus, I missed Addison and daddy missed Lauren.

She is currently yelling at dad. Betcha if I picked her up, she'd quiet down right away.

The girls are four months and two weeks now. It's craziness, that time has flown by so quickly!

This picture was taken two weeks ago. Teddy appears to be shrinking.

At their 4 month checkup last week, Addison was 13lb10oz and 23 3/4 inches, Lauren was 12lb9oz and 23 inches.

Mr. PJ took the day off of work and took them to the appointment. We're taking turns with days off, etc. I sent him with a gigantic list of questions for the ped. One, was about Addison's noggin. It's still misshapen and disproportionately big. The ped said something to the effect of, "oh after you left, I thought about sending her for an xray and ultrasound last time (two MONTHS ago!)". But he didn't. Which really irritated Mr. PJ. The ultrasound was to look for Hydrocephalas (fluid on the brain), and the xray was to check to see if her plates had fused too early. So, they made the appointment and last Friday I took the day off, my parents came to help, and my husband actually helped also, because he works close by. And let me tell you, it took all four of us! It was a stressful morning. Addison cried during the entire ultrasound. Something about having goop all over her head and a conducer wand moving around on it. Silly girl. Oh, and I think she was hungry. We'd fed her beforehand, because hey, we're no dummies. But she wasn't that hungry when we fed her. Between the ultrasound and the xray, I fed her again and she gulped it up. My dad took her for the xray and said she fell asleep on the table. The docs wanted an ultrasound of Lauren's head also, for comparison. So yea, Lauren cried the whole time also. And she'd just been fed. It was stressful. Anyway, the unofficial word on the Hydrocephalas is that she doesn't have it. I haven't heard from the ped about the xray. I'm assuming he will call tomorrow.

Stressful.

Lauren is trying to sit up and pulls up on us. She's VERY chatty!!! And very smiley.

Addison is still the more laid back of the two, very observant. She has started to talk more though, which I absolutely adore!

One year ago we were getting HPT results and a gigantic beta (on the 30th, I think!). What a year it's been!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T18:22:00.004-05:00

Happy October!

2010-10-02T19:35:00.003-05:00
Wow! It's October! How is that even possible?

Life is blissfully boring. Kindof.

Last year this time I was cycling, ready for the miracle transfer on October 20th. What an amazing year it's been!!! We think about it and even discuss it often, how incredibly lucky we are, how it felt to feel like we'd quite possibly never be parents, and how much our lives have changed. Last October, all the stars aligned and our world changed for the better.

I'm happy. Can you tell?

The girls are growing sooo fast! They have been chewing on their fists pretty hardcore for several weeks now, and I'd been wondering if they were teething. About a week ago I dusted off my baby bible and read that teething usually happens around seven months, but can happen as early as three months, especially if mom or dad started early. I thought nothing of it, but today I felt Lauren's gums and sure enough there is definitely one tooth coming in. I called my mom and apparently I started teething around four months. I have a few teething rings that I threw in the freezer. I tried it with her, and she was having none of that! Mr. PJ thinks that Addison's are coming in also, but I'm not so sure.

They both can hold a rattle and shake it. I think that's one of the developmental milestones?

Last weekend we bought a Dodge Grand Caravan, and we are loving it so far! I've been driving a Honda CRV and with two car seats, it's been really cramped. We had to wait for some funds to free up, so it took a while but I'm so glad we've finally got a mini-van. My routine includes dropping the twins off at the sitter's and taking her little one to and from school with me, so it's really nice to have that third row and the auto doors...and space for the stroller, etc!!! Finally.

School (work) is good. I love my class and as usual, it's the grown-ups that are tough, not the kids. But still, not too tough.

So what's new with you? Thoughts on teething and what kind of things you can do to soothe the little ones?

My Three Month Olds?

2010-09-13T19:01:00.003-05:00
Well, I guess technically they are 12 week olds. July had 5 weeks and has screwed up the timeline. So, on the 17th they will be 3 months old, I think?

12 weeks and adjusting. OK, mostly adjusted.

Anyway, things are pretty hunkey dorey. I'm still tired. So very tired. But, tired and happy makes it a pretty damn good kind of tired.

Here's Lauren. She totally smiles and I think she's begun laughing. It's kind of an "ahhhh" kind of laugh, and she gets all squinty with her eyes. SO AMAZINGLY CUTE!

Here's a pic of Addison. I cannot believe she smiled that big and I actually caught it on camera! Her smiles are usually more subtle. She typically has those, "awww mom, you're being silly" smiles. I think she judges me.

I have some feeding questions. We don't have a doctor's appointment for another 5 weeks or so. The people who work with my husband have been pushing the rice formula, saying it makes them sleep longer through the night. What's the deal with that? When do they start on solids and what kind of formula/solids ratio do you start them on? The What to expect in the 1st Year book is helpful, but not so helpful. It's not very specific.

I calculated they are eating between 20 and 25 ounces a day of that Gentlease generic. Both of them have GERD, I'm pretty sure. They are on Zantac. They usually eat between 3 and 4 ounces every 3 hours. At night, we feed them around 6:00 and again around 9:00 and then they usually go until 2:00 or 3:00, then we top them off in the morning around 6:00 so the sitter doesn't have to feed them upon entering her house (and so they don't have a screaming fit on the 30 minute commute to the sitter's! Screaming fits while I'm driving are NOT fun!

Daddy gave them a bath all by himself this weekend for the first time. He's really, REALLY good at this dad thing!

I just talked to my mother in law for the first time since she left here at the end of July. Lots of weirdness there. I knew she'd want to discuss what happened, and I just want to move on. She was an ass, I was an ass... it was what it was. In hindsight, I think we would have been better off just doing it on our own from the beginning. We couldn't really get into a routine or feel completely comfortable until she left and we could figure things out for ourselves. Oh well.

We're still working on integrating the dogs and the girls. I know people will feel strongly about this, but I have to do what I think is best. We have mostly had the dogs separate from the girls. They have their own area. We let them hang out with us when we're in the kitchen. But they just haven't hung out in the living room with us much. The girls are just so small and delicate. The girls spend a lot of time near the floor, in their bouncers, on the playmat, in the swing. And I know the dogs wouldn't ever purposely hurt the girls, but all it would take would be the mailman coming by or someone ringing the doorbell for the dogs to go berserk. And I just don't want to take any chances of that happening near the babies. So the rule is, the dogs can come into the living room and hang out only when my husband and I are holding the babies. That seems to be working out ok. We also try to walk the dogs often, take them to the dog park, and have the girls "give" them cookies. I do wonder what other people do though? How do you integrate your furchildren with your babies, safely?

So far I am happy I've returned to work. I mean, if there were such a thing, I'd rather work 3 or 4 days a week, or part time - but that doesn't exist for teachers but for the rare few. I'm enjoying my new class. I'm enjoying teaching again. It's my 6th year teaching 2nd grade and I feel like I'm mastering it. I mean, you can always do better but there is a point at which you feel very confident that you're doing well - and that's where I'm at right now. Only thing, I'm not enjoying the budget cuts! I'm having to do lunch duty for the first time, and let me tell you, 7 year olds can be rather disgusting eaters! Other than that, things are good.

My sitter is wonderful so far! She has three girls between the ages of 5 and 2, so she's got this mom thing down pat. I feel like my girls are in good hands.

I'm rambling... but life is pretty good, I must say. Last year I was gearing up for another IVF about this time. I was so sad, so very sad about the struggles and the miscarriages. It still haunts me. I feel so incredibly blessed to have my girls. I'm not sure I've ever felt so contented.

Random Thoughts on Returning to Work

2010-09-02T19:30:00.002-05:00
But first... my last post was post 300. No kidding!

OK, now for some random thoughts about returning to work in no particular order:

I'm tired. So very tired.

It is so good to see everyone.

Work drama. Ick.

I have new clothes because I am 30 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight. Which is great, right? Except I'd still like to loose 20 more and I'm not sure that will happen because I'm working now-thus stress eating. But still, new clothes - yay!

I can't afford new clothes. Must. Buy. Formula.

I miss my babies!

Less bottles = less bottles to clean.

Less diapers = less trash.

I will NEVER catch up on all of the laundry that I used to be able to do during the week!

So very sleepy.

Getting hugs from my old students who I had to abandon for bed rest! They have grown so much!

New students. So cute (for now). I love the first few weeks of school. We affectionately call it the honeymoon period.

Going off the deep end with my husband last night because I am tired. So very tired.

Moving classrooms for the 4th time in 5 years. Yuck.

Long term subs do not do things the way you do them. Nuff said.

My babies are ginormous! I think they grew a foot today at the sitters'.

Car seats are a pain in the ass to put in and get out of my car, every. single. day.

I'm tired.

yawn...

Sleeping and Eating

2010-08-25T17:50:00.002-05:00
Kathleen asked me to do a post on twin sleeping and eating, so here goes! :)

I'm guessing it depends on the parents, and whether or not you breastfeed on how things go with sleeping and eating.

I am pretty laid back. Seriously, I met with my sitter yesterday and SHE had a list of questions for me, not the other way around. I know she'll take good care of my girls. I've given her some loose guidelines, and she'll do what works for her. Anyways, laid back. Plus the pediatrician said there were no hard and fast rules. The girls are gaining weight and seem healthy. We go with the flow.

So my girls are on formula. I just bought four ginormous cans from Sam's Club of their version of Enfamil Gentlease, but we've tried a bunch. We go through a LOT, and it's expensive!

When my husband is home, we try to feed the girls at the same time. We pretty much take a twin, and are in charge of that twin. Of course we help one another out, but generally we're in charge of one girl. When both of us are home during the day, we try to feed them every three or four hours simultaneously. Right now we're making 4 oz bottles, but if they scarf it down, I'll go ahead and make another 2 ounces. Usually they peter out around 3 ounces though. I find we do "snacks" sometimes also. Like if one of the girls is crying and nothing seems to work, I'll try a snack. Or if they are rooting, which is often the case. When there is only one of us at home, we try to feed them back to back. I tried feeding them at the same time with the boppies, and it just wasn't working. It's kind of comical, actually! Plus, when one needs burping, the other doesn't just wait patiently!

Being alone with twins is probably a whole post in and of itself. Sometimes they take turns having meltdowns. Sometimes they have meltdowns together, which is fun. But I've learned not to get too stressed about it. And I've developed some strategies. I've found that I can put one foot on a bouncer tap it to calm that baby while I'm feeding the other baby. Sometimes I have one twin in the boppy on the couch next to me, when I feed them so that the other hand can be free to do things like repeatedly reinsert a passie! You cope. And if any twin mom has any more strategies, please share!

At night, my husband and I also do feedings at the same time, except we wait for one of them to wake us up. So if one twin is hungry, the other gets fed also. We tried taking shifts, and doing feedings separately, and have found doing it together works for us. At 10 weeks, they are waking us about every three to five hours, with some longer sessions. They sleep in their bouncers next to our bed, all swaddled in either their miricle blankets or swaddle me's. They hate their expensive cribs!

Speaking of which... I need to feed one of the twins now. :)

Two Months

2010-08-20T12:15:00.009-05:00

Two Months Old! I can hardly believe it!

-Lauren weighs 9lbs8oz, which is great since when she was born she was 4lb6oz!
-Addison weighs 10lbs even
-Both are wearing 0-3 month size or 3 month clothes. These are a little big on them, but newborn sizes are way too small. They have TONS of 0-3 size clothes from the showers/gifts. Seriously, different outfit every day! It's fantastic.
-Taking 3-5 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours with longer stretches at night. Sometimes we'll get 5 hours out of them. Occasionally they will sleep a really long time, like Wednesday night they went from 10-5:30 which was AMAZING, but I paid for it the next day because they were super cranky.
-We started them on Enfamil Premium Lipil formula, but have experimented with Similac Sensitive Soy and Enfamil Gentilease. They had what I thought was tummy issues, but after talking with the pediatrician today, he thinks it's normal baby poo. Apparently it's ok for it to be loose?!? I don't know. He also said we could use the grocery store brand or Wal-mart (Even though I loathe that store, I might venture in there to save on formula). He said the off brands are the same. There is a HUGE price difference, and we are going through a LOT of formula.
-Both are lifting their heads at least 45 degrees.
-Both smile and coo and have their own sweet little personalities. Lauren absolutely cracks me up. She makes the funniest noises! Addison is quiet and you can just tell she is analyzing everything. She's constantly gazing at things in awe. Her facial expressions are amazing, where Lauren seems a lot more verbal. I think Lauren likes to hear herself talk, kinda like her mom.
-Addison's little legs were curled up in utero, and her head was way down in my pelvis. So, when she was born her legs were really curled up and her head was misshapen. We took her to a pediatric orthopedic who said her legs would straiten out, and they have! Her little head is still kind of flat, although it's better. We're keeping an eye on it. We may possibly have to do the helmet thing to straiten it out, but I hope not.
-Lauren has an umbilical hernia. According to google and the pediatrician, it should resolve itself within the next year or so.
-Lauren really, REALLY loves the play yard. She coos and smiles and kicks and punches. It's so fun to see her on it! Addison likes it too, but is not quite as amused. However, Addison does really like the mirror, and really anything shiny. She is mesmerized by our front door (glass), and the pot lights on our ceiling.
-Both are wearing size one diapers. I am SO grateful to my friends and family for getting us diapers. We must have 2000 size one diapers! I will be crushed when I have to actually go buy some.
-We took the girls with us out to dinner twice this week, and not a peep out of them!
-I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of having twins. Taking them places is kind of a big deal! I don't get why my pediatrician's office would have a double door like a door and then a foyer and then another door)? Don't they know how many strollers come through there, and what a pain it is to navigate through double doors? If someone with twins knows how to grocery shop with them, let me know. I have a double snap n go, so I can't very well have a shopping cart also. Speaking of which, OH MY GOSH do they turn heads! They are like people magnets! :)
-Well... except this one lady today. I was at the pediatricians office, clearly trying to unload my twins into the snap and go. I tripped and almost toppled poor Lauren. One of the belts was stuck, so I had to unfold the snap n go contraption, I was a little late, Lauren was crying.... and this lady comes up and asks me where Dr. blahdeblah's office is! And very patiently I said, "I'm sorry, I don't know", and she then asked me if some blahdeblah practice was there, to which I said, "I don't know, I'm just here for the pediatric practice", and then she walks away. And a minute later comes BACK and asks if another doctor's practice was in this building. ahahahaaaaaa! I think I may have actually unconsciencly laughed out loud because she was being so absurdly inconsiderate. Seriously?
-We're mini-van shopping. We're thinking Sienna or Odyssey. Let me know if you have one of those and what you think.

Really, the first six weeks or so were just awful. I had a LOT of health issues, and like I said, mother in law issues. Thanks to those of you who said you had mother in law issues also. It made me feel better. Anyway, I didn't get the one month picture with Teddy like I wanted to. But I'm LOVING this two month shot! Teddy is a little squished, but he seems happy. I think I have something like 500 photos of them so far. Obnoxious? Probably. But I've earned it.

Our Internet issues are FINALLY resolved, thank goodness. I've missed the blogs.

Oh also... let me say again, being a mom is worth every bit (and more) of heartache, every cent, every needle poke, every invasion of my privacy, etc... that I endured throughout my bout with infertility. Just... YAY!!!

Okie Dokie!

2010-08-09T20:02:00.004-05:00
OK, it's been hard BUT... the twins are fantastic and things are looking up!

I don't want to get too into it, but here's some things I've learned:

Don't have your mother in law stay with you for a month after giving birth to twins. While I appreciated her help, I think there may have been permanent damage done to our relationship. We'd have probably been better off just doing things ourselves.

Don't stop taking thyroid meds cold turkey. Bad things can happen.

Ahemmmmmmmmmmmmm okie dokie, now the GOOD things!

My girls are sooooooooooo adorable! Yes, I'm biased, but still. They are two months old. How is that even possible that two months have blown by so quickly?

I will post more soon and maybe add some pics! I'm still having internet issues, and so busy with the girls. And I'm going back to work next week.

OK... I'm alive!

2010-08-02T17:49:00.001-05:00
Just in case you thought I dropped off of the face of the earth!

Life postpardum with twins and inlaws... need I say more?

And internet issues.

I'll post soon. :)

Powdered Formula Questions

2010-07-06T16:02:00.005-05:00
OK, so the nursery had our babies on Enfamil Premium Lipil Nursettes, and someone gave (yes GAVE) us a couple of cases of them, so we've been (spoiled) using them thus far. But we are about to run out and will be switching to the powdered stuff

Give me the rundown on how to use the powdered stuff, if you know. Regular tap water is ok,right? Do you do it one at a time, or mix a load and put them in the fridge? Need to warm them? Need to buy a bottle warmer? How many bottles do we need to have per baby?

I'm sure this will come with some practice, but I always find your tips so helpful!

Thanks!

Also, just to update... the infection is healing. I went to the doctor today, and will have homecare nurses come and change the dressing every day for the next week. Then I have another doctor's appointment a week from now.

The Birth Story

2010-07-05T19:34:00.005-05:00
And here I am at what is probably the 20th attempt to write this...

So much has happened, that the birth story seems so incredibly long ago. Some of it is a blur because of the meds, and bits and pieces are making their way into my mind and into my dreams. Funny how the sub conscience processes things.

First let me say that I am so irrevoracably in love with my daughters. Snuggling them up to my chest and gazing upon their faces, is just euphoric. They are beautiful and sweet and utterly amazing. I feel incredibly blessed and priviledged to be their mother. We are a family - finally.

OK, so the birth story. Let's just say it wasn't the walk in, give birth, baby is handed over to mom, given breast - baby automatically knows what to do and milk is just there, happy family goes home the next day - kinda story. Um, no.

So, I had decided finally to go for the vaginal birth since my girls were both vertex, and doctor "king of multiples and anything high risk" said things looked perfect. Wednesday morning, I was awake but hadn't yet crawled out of bed. Getting out of bed is a lot of work when your belly weighs 8,000 pounds. So, I hear, that's right I HEAR this big POP sound, and I think to myself, "self, that couldn't be the water". So about 30 seconds later self convinces me to sit up and whadda ya know, whooooooooooooooosh goes baby A's water! And we were out of TP of course, which was fine because I just went for a full on towel. It was a lot. No mistaking, amniotic fluid.

I call Mr. PJ whom, after carting me to labor and delivery a couple of times already, responds, "you sure?, why don't you call your doctor". Mkay, so I did and the doc says to come to the OFFICE right away. And the doc glances at my lady bits and does the strip test and points and says, "get thee to the hospital". And, so we did.

Thank goodness we'd test driven that pretty blue room on Monday, because I labored in that room all day, and part of the night. I think the "official" number of hours they called it was sixteen hours. So, the water broke around nine AM. MY OB, the fantastic wonderful one, was on! He comes in around 10:30 and we chat. I think I was 3-4 cm at this point, and they decided to give me pitocin to speed things along. I had some chicken noodle soup and an apple and was still starving, but I understand why they don't want you to eat much. Anyway, I'm offered an epidural and I'm all, "the contractions aren't too bad, I can handle it". This from the woman who switched to stabbing herself with heparin 3x a day, "just in case" there was an issue with the epidural. Don't get me wrong, they hurt - but I was dealing. I did get the "mommy shakes" pretty badly, which lasted for the the next 12 hours-bottom lip quivering and just miserable. I think it was 3 or 4 PM when I finally begged for the epidural. Getting the epidural was no big deal, not even as bad as the bee sting they describe it to be. Then of course, I was writhing in labor by the time I got it, so it's all relative. I also threw up repeatedly. I do this with pain and nerves, so it wasn't surprising.

Anyway, tick tock, more of the same... by 8PM I was 9 cm and then was checked again around 11 PM, still 9cm. My OB came in and took the mile long strip of fetal heartbeat and contraction records and studied them intensely. He came over to me, and I could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong. Baby B had a regular-irregular heartbeat, which means she was in distress. We needed to do a c-section. I think I grunted and said that we needed to do what he felt was best for the babies, so let's go.

I think I was in the OR within a half an hour. It was a surprisingly small room. There were probably 15-20 people. They moved me from one bed to another, and I just puked from the stress of it all. Within 15 minutes my girls were born, at 1:06 and 1:07 AM. Baby A, Addison was 6 lb 4 oz and baby B, Lauren, was 4 lb, 6oz. We were all kind of shocked by that, since the last ultrasound estimated they were within 3 oz of one another. Addison came out crying, and Lauren did not. That and the fact she was so small worried me immediately. I asked several times whether she was ok, and I think someone finally said yes.

They were whisked away to the nursery and my husband got to with them. I spent the next two hours in recovery with a mean, bitter, old nurse. She was just very negative. I practially begged for water and was lucky to get ice. She said I'd bleed a lot, and I haven't. I asked about breastfeeding and she said, "we don't worry about that here until 24 hours later. I was so pissed! I knew her shift ended soon though, so I just asked the next nurse who happened to be one of 5,000 lactation consultants on the floor. More on breastfeeding later.

Despite my managing the gestational diabetes, both babies had really low blood sugars when they were born. While Addison's leveled out within a few hours, Lauren's was low for so long that she had to have an IV and stay in the nursery for several days. We got to take Addison into our room a few hours after she was born. The nurses wheeled me in to see Lauren the day after they were born but the next day the nurses wanted me to walk down there by myself. Just getting a shower that day was really difficult, so I was really nervous about walking what seemed like a mile to the nursery. I finally got up the courage to do it, and when I was holding her I cried - feeling so bad about not being able to see her all day and feeling guilty for giving Addison more attention. Ahh, post partum hormones!

I think it was Saturday when they let Lauren come into the room with us. That's when both girls started having trouble keeping their temperatures regulated. They ended up staying in the hospital for almost two weeks.

Coming Up for Air

2010-07-03T15:55:00.003-05:00
OK, I'm in survival mode so this will be brief.

On Sunday I quit breastfeeding because I was only making 5ml TOTAL per 25 minute pumping session, my nipples are flat so I had to wear nipple shields, and the babies were frustrated. Breastfeeding is a beautiful, wonderful thing, but it's not for me. Someday I hope to do a whole post on it. I think even the biggest breastfeeding advocate might be able to sympathize with me. The lactation specialists think that it is hormonal, and may have a link to my infertility issues. They said that it happens sometimes with IVF patients. One of the nursery nurses whom I'd confided in said it best, that our bodies are bitches to us sometimes!

On Wednesday the girls came home. YAY!!! I won't lie, it's hard. Keeping them on the same schedule, getting them to sleep and eat when they are supposed to is difficult. The sleep deprivation is crappy. But they are beautiful and sweet and I love them to pieces!

Also on Wednesday, I'd been feeling crappy for several days and I finally called the doctor. I have the worst damn luck. I have a c-section infection. I guess it's a deep tissue infection where the surface layer is fine but the underlying stuff is not right. The doctor made three small holes in my incision and I have a drain in them. I've had to go every day to have them drained. It's kind of a medieval torture session each time. I have a home care nurse coming all weekend to torture me, and then I go back on Tuesday. I do feel a lot better now though. I pray that it didn't do any permanent damage.

I'm trying to decide where to go with my blog. I'd kind of like to have a blog to share with the world (ie. folks I know). But then I love being semi anonymous so that I can REALLY share what I think (ie vent). Thoughts?

Yay!

2010-06-29T08:33:00.002-05:00
The girls have been out of their isolettes all evening and were in a crib together! At last together!!!

We are going to the hospital at noon and spending the night with them in a room, doing all of the feeding, bathing, etc... If they maintain their temps and do good, we can take them home TOMORROW!

HOORAY! Wish us luck!

P.S. Am sick and feel like crap.

My Days...

2010-06-27T14:03:00.002-05:00
Addison and Lauren are still in the nursery at the hospital. They had trouble maintaining their body temperatures, even though they were born at 37 weeks. I'm guessing they will be home within the next few days, as they are being weaned out of their isolettes.

I've been working on the birth story. I think I've made about 5 attempts to finish it, but amid everything else it hasn't happened! Let's just say it's complicated and that despite the best laid plans, things don't always go as you assume.

My days have been thus...

Let me add that breastfeeding has been hard and that I am not the milk cow that I'd dreamed about.

pump
eat
nap
take ibuprofen
look at sausage feet and legs and feel sorry for self
look at scale and feel happy for self
get breastpump stuff and go to nursery
spend two hours feeding the girls. That's right, two hours. Oh. Em. Gee.
go home
nap (feel happy for self)
have coughing fit (I've been blessed with a chest cold, which is great fun after a c-section)
pump (cuss the pump)
eat
nap
repeat.

More to come...

They're here!

2010-06-18T14:36:00.004-05:00
Addison Elizabeth

15 hours of labor and an emergency c section later... and I am exhausted. I'll post the birth story later. For now though... I leave you with pictures.

And Lauren Olivia

This is it!

2010-06-16T10:33:00.002-05:00
My water broke! I'm at the hospital and I get to stay! :)

Update and Answering Some Questions

2010-06-15T15:35:00.003-05:00
OK there are several of you that I'd love to converse with, but your ID won't lead me back to a blog or an email. If that sounds like you, please drop me a comment on how I can get in touch with you. :)

First, an update: No babies today, so far. I had lots of contractions last night, however it was better than the night before. I did get smart and drank a few glasses of water throughout the night, when I'd get up to go to the bathroom. I think that helped.

This morning I had a doctor's appointment with the hematologist. My platelets were low, which I think would account for the clotting issues I've been having. So, she took me COMPLETELY off of blood thinners! YAY! So, no blood thinners and no terbutaline. Folks, I don't have to stick myself until... after I deliver. ahaha, which is probably short lived, but I'll take it.

Girls day out today - lunch and Sex in the City II. :)

Now, answering questions: Marcia asked if we've picked names. Yes we have and I'll announce them with one of my first posts along with the girl's pictures. :) She also asked what we decided on help. I think it'll just be what it'll be. My husband will be home for two weeks. My parents are coming as soon as I go into labor and the hospital. It'll take them four or five hours to get here anyway. They are staying about a week. My mother in law is coming after my parents leave, probably. There may be some overlap. Then my father in law and my step mother-in-law are coming - and will stay in a hotel. My parents got a camper, with AC, flat screen TV, and a kitchenette and bathroom. If it fits in the driveway, they will leave it here for my mother in law. My mother in law is staying several weeks, maybe three or four? I'm sure it will be chaos, but I think I'd rather have too many people around then not enough. They will just have to get used to me with my udders hanging out. I made a list and put it on the fridge of things for them to do, so I can just point and be done with it. On the back of the list are instructions for feeding/walking the dogs and meal ideas. We have loads of frozen dinners in the freezer - and lots of takeout menus.

Lauren, I tried to get an induction date yesterday! The doc looked at me like I was evil and I got the, "every day is important for growth" speech. And I get that. I'd like them to be a good birth weight and healthy. But I do think that at 38 weeks it wouldn't be unreasonable to go ahead and induce! That's just on the 24th, which isn't too far away. I have another appointment Friday, so we'll see what that doctor says.

Three doctors, who often have three different opinions is frustrating.

And that's the latest.

Labor and Delivery. Again.

2010-06-14T17:26:00.002-05:00
It is my goal in life to test drive every labor and delivery room in my hospital. Today's room was lovely. It was large and had blue walls and a mural of a park with a path, a tray ceiling, wooden floors with a lovely inlay, and two empty carts for babies.

Did you know that your body creates more oxytocin at night? This explains why I've been having tons of contractions at night. Last night I had what I thought were pretty hard contractions, all night. They woke me up several times and so about 6:30 I plopped the monitor on myself for an hour, and called the Alere nurse to get the reading. I'd had five in one hour. She offered to add a bolus (extra dose) of terbutaline to stop them but I told her that I was actually ready to ditch the thing. I've been tethered to the stupid machine for seven weeks now, including sleeping, showering, etc. If the girls came today at 36 weeks and 4 days, they would probably be ok. Anyway, she insisted on calling the doctor on call, who wanted me to go to the hospital.

I brought my hospital bag and my boppy pillow, but left them in the car. I knew I wasn't staying.

First cervical check, still what it was last Thursday - 2% dilated, 90% effaced. The doc leaves, the babies are being monitored, I'm being monitored... hours pass.

About four hours later, 2nd cervical check, same. Discharged.

I did have pretty regular contractions all morning. Some of them were intense. But no cervical change = no imminent labor.

Whatever. I guess the girls are happy in there for now. It's all good.

I do get to toss the terbutaline pump, which is WONDERFUL!

And so, while we were waiting on the doc, a few of Mr. PJ's coworkers came to visit. He works at the hospital, did I mention that? They had planned on having a shower for him today! So, when we were discharged, we had a shower! And they had all pitched in to get us a glider, which was one of the last things we actually needed. And we played games, and I was bad and ate cheesecake. And all was good. :)

There's an App for That!

2010-06-11T16:10:00.003-05:00
Timing contractions... there's an app for that! Seriously, there are a bunch of them for iPhone. And the one I got makes charts and everything! How cool is that?

OK, I'm easily amused. And lazy.

Mr. PJ did not go on the evil interview today, but instead stayed home with me and pampered me and is VERY excited that he might meet his girls soon.

So much pressure! I hate to disappoint! Now watch it be like two weeks from now and they are having to induce me. I hope not, but ugg.

Last night, I had LOTS of back pain radiating up. Not very sleep conducive.

This morning, I lost some mucus plug, which confuses me because 2cm? Doesn't that imply that there is no mucus plug?

Last night I had 4 contractions on the monitor thingie in one hour. This morning it was about the same. This afternoon, I'm thinking it's something like one for every 15-20 minutes, but I just downloaded the app so we'll see. Not terribly impressive.

We'll see if a trip to BRU will help.

I'm still on the Terbutaline Pump, so I'm guessing that it's keeping me from going into full labor. I don't know. We'll see. I'm supposed to go off of it next Friday. I'm considering asking to be taken off of it on Monday. I'm over it... I'm huge and tired and so uncomfortable. I'm dealing with gestational diabetes, this pump attached to me, I'm being griped at by a nurse almost every day because my diastolic blood pressure is hanging out at 90. And the blood thinner thing... lemme 'splain...

Last week I switched over from Lovenox to Heparin. Heparin doesn't last as long and is reversible. Well with Heparin I had to do three injections a day. With a big ass needle. In the thigh.

Anyway, this week I've had about three HUGE nose bleeds that took forever to stop (gushing, pouring nosebleeds). One time I guess I hit a blood vessel with the needle and when I pulled the needle out it was like a gyser, 4 inches up in the air and then down all over the floor. It clotted when I applied pressure, but it scared the crap out of me. And I've been putting coverlet bandaids on my injection sites and then taking them off 8 hours later - and they were still bloody. Oh yea, and my teeth bleed when I brush them. Anyway, I called the hematologist today to complain and they let me go down to 2 doses, and said my labs came back ok. Still... I'm ready to stop messing with the heparin.

Anyway... I've lost patience and am just so ready to meet my girls. I'm ready to bawl when they come out and hold them and love on them.

36 Weeks! Doubt we'll make it to 37!

2010-06-10T11:36:00.004-05:00
At my appointment this morning I had a cervical check. 2cm dilated, 90% effaced, -1 station!!!

This is my first time doing this, but I think since the doc said that he doubted I'd make it to my next appointment a week from now, that I can get excited!

The doc said that everything looked good for a vaginal delivery.

By the way, I waited by myself on the table for 45 minutes with my pants off. And it was 8,000 degrees in the room. But I'm over that. Almost.

I knew things were feeling different. I do the contraction monitoring twice a day for an hour each with this #$%^&*bleeping contraction device (I honestly hate the thing, I feel tethered to it). Usually we get zero to one contraction, but these past few times it's been four contractions each. Then for the past few nights around 3 or 4 PM I've woken up, and woken up, and woken up... with really bad lower back pain. Every time I sit up (which is a monumental feat in and of itself), the pain goes away. Or if I switch sides, the pain goes away for a few minutes. Well, except last night when it wouldn't go away so I took a tylenol... which worked all of 30 minutes. It's kind of cruel that 3rd trimester sleep is crappy, and then the next several months inevitably entail crappy sleep as well. My friend says it's God's way of preparing you.

Here is a 36 week shot. I keep meaning to ask my husband to take a REAL photo (you know, the kind with a real camera, not a phone, and the kind without me with dumb phone in front of my face. But alas, it never seems to happen.

I did get to the hair salon yesterday, which was GLORIOUS! I got a cut and highlights. I think my last haircut was in March and my last highlights were in December. And we all know that these things are not going to happen in the near future, so I'm really glad I got to do them! Plus, my hairdresser of at least the past 12 years (have I mentioned this?) has one year old twin girls via IVF (same RE). She delivered vaginally at the same hospital. We had so much to talk about and she made me feel better about some of things I have worried about.

Oh, also my darling, lovely, beautiful husband has an interview tomorrow morning approximately 66 miles away which google maps says will take an hour and a half. He made said interview and didn't even ask me. I do NOT wish to move to the city where he's interviewing, nor do I wish to live in the middle of nowhere in between his perspective job and mine, which is still about 45 minutes! Also, what if I go into LABOR while he's out of town? Also, also, he's taking a personal day which he could have spent with us after the babies are born. Ugh!

So has anyone else had really bad lower back pain like that? And... just how long can one stay 2% dilated, 90% effaced, station -1? How imminent do you think the birth might be?

35 Weeks!

2010-06-05T09:41:00.003-05:00
I know, I'm slacking on the belly pics. I'll try to take one today and post it.

Thursday marked 35 weeks! I'm so tickled that we've made it this far!

So on Thursday I had an OB appointment and nobody to take me, so I drove myself. I also had to go to get labs done and stop by the pharmacy. The OB appointment went well. I said something like "sooooo.... 37-38 weeks is what we're shooting for?" and he (not my regular OB) said "well, 36 weeks is a big milestone and with twins it's usually around then. We'll take you off of the turbutaline pump around then, and very often women go into labor after being taken off". And my heart sank because... OMG, that's just around the corner! And I'm ready, I think. But I'm not ready. Ya know? He said he'd delivered twins the day before at 37 and 1/2 weeks via c-section and that was late.

However, I thought they were taking me off the terbutaline at 37 weeks. So, we'll see.

So, I'm out doing these errands and we get the MASSIVE raining sideways thunderstorm. It actually stormed for hours, on and off. So I did a lot of waiting around between the downpours to get things done. And of course we had no power when I got home. There was a power pole snapped in half, dangling in the road down the street. So, long story short, we had no power from Thursday afternoon until Saturday at 4AM! Made for one grouchy mama!

I had an ultrasound on Friday at the fancy ultrasound place. It was with MY OB! I had to wait 45 minutes, but whatever, it was in the AC. Both girls are vertex (whoa)! He said they are cramped in there. One measured 5 pounds, and the other was 5 pounds 3 oz. I would like a couple of 6 pounders at birth, but 5 something isn't too shabby! I am still not gaining weight, and am literally stuck at a total weight gain over my entire pregnancy of 12 pounds. Eating right for gestational diabetes is not helping, since it's basically a low carb diet. Anyway... the babies looked good. No follow up appointments at the fancy ultrasound place! Doc said we'd play it by ear. I told him that I think I might go for the vaginal birth IF (and only if), conditions are IDEAL for it - which... it's looking that way. I did switch over to heparin last night, so there will be no issues with getting an epidural. Three injections of heparin a day is going to get old though.

I also asked if I could get out some now and do low key stuff, like go to a movie, get my hair done, go out to eat. And yep, I'm basically OFF of bedrest!!! I just shouldn't overdo it. YAYYYYYYYYYYY!

So we're getting there! Like I said, I'm ready, but I'm not ready. Is one ever completely ready for such a thing?

Feeling Better!

2010-05-29T10:49:00.002-05:00
Just a quick update to say, I'm feeling better! Thanks to those who have commiserated with me. :)

I think the pelvic/thigh thing is working itself out. Rest seems to help a lot, as I get up in the mornings and feel as though it's healed some. I'm still sore though.

I also got to get OUT of the house yesterday! I cheated and went to lunch with a friend, who then took me to my OB appointment. I got a mini-ultrasound, which was enough for the doc to say the babies both have beating hearts and are still head down. (Ohmygosh, I might go for the vaginal birth! I don't know... still on the fence.) Anyway, it was good to see that they are ok. I told the doc I was a little worried because since I've had the fall they have been kind of low-key in the kicking department. Of course last night and today they have been acrobatic! Figures! He said that if something bad were to happen from the fall, it would have already happened by now, so I was relieved.

I always feel very rushed at my OB appointments. Does anyone else feel that way? I had this laundry list of things to discuss and I only got to touch on them.

My next big ultrasound appointment is next Friday, June 4th. There was some confusion as I'd scheduled it for Monday, but I didn't realize the receptionist meant June 7th, not this Monday (which, to my bedrested out-if-sync surprise is Memorial Day!). It took a lot of work to just get it moved up to the 4th, as the receptionist was horribly rude and cranky!

34 Weeks and Whiny

2010-05-26T18:20:00.006-05:00
Woohoo! 34 weeks! That's a big developmental milestone, right? Hot-diggety! Next goal, 36 weeks. Wrap me in a bubble until then.

I'm recovering from the fall I had on Monday. Monday evening I could barely walk. I tried Tylenol, which did nothing. I couldn't lift my legs to get into or out of bed, my husband had to help me get out of bed several times that night just so I could go to the bathroom. I had trouble just standing up. I even cried a few times, the pain was just unbearable. I tried Advil, which is what the OB recommended and it did nothing.

Tuesday morning I called the OB, who took a couple of hours to call back and say to add heat and called in a script for Vicodin. I hate taking something so strong while pregnant, but I was pretty desperate at that point. Now that some of the pain has subsided and is more isolated, I think what happened is that I pulled/strained/stretched my inner thigh muscles on that left side (the side I fell on).

Sleeping on my sides is what is the hardest thing, not that it was easy before. But any pulling on those muscles is very painful. So, I've reserved the Vicodin for that. Tonight I might try to go without it.

I hate being so whiny, but I'm pretty miserable right now!

I rescheduled my OB and Ultrasound appointments from this Wed/Th to Fri/Mon just so I could recover a little more before venturing out. Other than that, not a whole lot is going on. I worry about muscle atrophy, and how bedrest will have affected me when I deliver and recover AND care for two infants. I have trouble transitioning from summer break to working in the Fall, I can only imagine this transition!

So, I fell...

2010-05-24T16:43:00.004-05:00
Yep. I have a history of falling and breaking bones. So I've been pretty proud of myself for making it through this pregnancy without falling, until now.

Seriously, we had all of that snow and ice, and I was fine. But today, like a dummy, I took Jackson out on the leash (as per the vet, because of his recent surgery). Well, an 80 pound dog is no match for a wobbly old pregnant woman, because he saw/heard something exciting and ran off yanking me down. I fell on my side, almost instinctively even. I scraped up my left arm and my right leg, which doesn't make sense. But luckily it was in the grass, and some good ole' wet red Virginia clay. I don't think my belly even touched the ground. However, I fell, and I fell hard! It scared the crap out of me! I cried and panicked immediately.

I called the Alere nurse, which is the home monitoring nurse that I contact regarding my terbutaline pump and contraction monitoring. She barely let me finish my story before she was all, "get thee to labor and delivery, STAT!", and she called my OB's office. I called my husband at work and freaked him out, and then went in to the hospital for monitoring for about an hour and a half. Everything looked fine. Getting two wiggly babies on the monitors was a challenge. I had three contractions the whole time, two that I didn't even feel. The doctor came in and we chatted. He upped my terbutaline dose by 10% and will see me again on Friday.

My biggest complaint is that my pubic bone hurts like crazy. As in, it's horribly painful to just WALK! I guess I stressed it when I fell. I'm taking Tylenol, and if that doesn't work he said I could take some Aleve - but I don't want to. I may even try a heating pad! Seriously, getting up the stairs to come into the house was horribly painful.

I don't want to go to Labor and Delivery again for several weeks!

Never a dull moment.

Debbie Downer

2010-05-22T12:00:00.003-05:00
Kind of a Debbie Downer post, but I need to vent/share!

So, I mentioned in a few post a few weeks ago about my dog Beckley who had glaucoma. He's a 13 year old Pointer/hound mix. We let him out in the backyard one day, and he literally came back in with his eye all swollen, white, and disfigured. We spent about a week trying different meds to clear it up and various other therapies, only to have the eye deadened/fluids drained to decrease the pressure and stop the pain. So he is now blind in that eye. I am unsure whether he'll even get to keep the eye, as I had Mr. PJ take him back to the vet on Tuesday and the pressure and it had gone up quite a bit. She wants to recheck him in about a week. Money spent so far, probably $800-$900.

And then our other dog Jackson had his own crisis Thursday night. He's a German Shorthaired Pointer, 80 pound dog, almost three years old. He got sick Thursday afternoon, and his tummy was gurgling but I thought he'd probably eaten something that didn't agree with him-since he is such a billy goat this happens. Then later on in the evening he's all panicky, whining an walking in circles and my husband notices that his belly is all distended/bloated. We know bloat is an issue for his breed, so my husband rushes him to the emergency vet. Xrays reveal lots of air pockets in his abdomin and his intestines bulging taking up so much room in his belly. So he had an emergency surgery, and then had to spend all day Friday at our vet for observation, where he was scared and howled all day. We worried about him so much! He's on opiates and painkillers, and eating chicken and rice. He's pretty much been curled up next to me on the couch or in the bed since he's been home. Money spent so far, probably close to $3000.

Oh. My. Gawd.! Like we don't have enough going on right now?

I am just glad and grateful that they are mostly ok. I know it could have been worse. But still! Ack!!!

33 Weeks: The Ped

2010-05-20T09:35:00.002-05:00
Woohoo! 33 weeks!

First, thanks everyone for your comments weighing in on cesarean verses vaginal delivery. I so enjoyed reading your opinions and birth stories. Clearly, either way has benefits and drawbacks over the other. I am still undecided. I have an appointment next week with my actual OB, whom I haven't seen in probably eight weeks. So, I'll pick his brain too.

I guess overall I just want the birth and recovery to go smoothly (I know, who doesn't?). I'm starting to get nervous about the birth, breastfeeding, sleeping, dealing with family, etc... So much unknown.

Of course, being on house arrest doesn't help to distract me! It's been a boring week, folks!

I snuck out to meet the pediatrician yesterday. My friend took me, so at least I didn't have to drive. The whole appointment was all of 20 minutes, but it was nice to meet the pediatrician. He actually has twins himself, so that should be helpful.

It's probably the biggest practice in my small town, and he said they have 45 sets of multiples-which surprised me! Apparently there is a multiple group in town and they meet at the coffee shop that's about a mile from my house - so yay! If I have a c-section he can be the one to check out the babies, otherwise it'll be whomever is on call.

The practice has it's own lactation specialist, and the hospital apparently has a slew of them. He said that I would need to pump within a few hours of birth, which confuses me a little because I thought it was more important to actually breastfeed right away. I guess the pumping is more for stimulating milk production. Doesn't it take a couple of days for your milk to come in? Isn't it just colostrum at first? Clearly I need to read more.

Apparently they do genetic tests on the babies, shots and immunizations, check the hearing, etc. while they are in the hospital. Sounds like good stuff.

33 weeks! Next milestone, in one more week!

Cesarean VS Vaginal Birth?

2010-05-18T11:37:00.003-05:00
Honest to Pete, I'm so on the fence on this. IF given a choice, what IS the right decision? I don't know. Kind of leaning toward cesarean, but honestly I don't really know.

All along I've said that I'll just let the babies decide, but the truth is that I might get to decide. Right now both babies are vertex, although I think one might be face up and one might be face down. They can still turn at this point, right? But since they have both been down for weeks, I'm thinking they are getting ready to exit.

Pros for C-section (sorry Kate!):
* It's over in about an hour, right?
* Avoid the risk of baby B turning.
* Avoid the risk of them getting entangled in the chords (is that a concern with fraternal?)
* It's over in about an hour!
* No pushing
* Lady business stays in tact - pelvic floor kept in tact

Cons for C-section:
* Recovery, recovery, recovery
* Laying there knowing that you're cut open is not appealing to me
* Potentially not being able to immediately bond with the babies/breastfeed
* Potential for hemorrhaging/clotting risks

Pros for a Vaginal Birth
* Potentially being able to bond with the babies right away
* Recovery is quicker
* Better for babies' lungs

Cons for a Vaginal Birth
* Pushing for a long time/work! Waiting!
* Potentially having to do both C-section and vaginal
* Lady business disrupted
* I haven't had any birthing classes!
* Potential episiotomy/tearing - Owww!

What are your thoughts? Have I left anything out?

32 Weeks: Appointment Marathon

2010-05-13T12:58:00.003-05:00
YAY! 32 Weeks!!!

Or, I've Become Extremely High Maintenance!

Yesterday started off with an O.B. appointment.

We mainly had a big conversation about blood thinners. Let me rewind. Last week I'd spoken with my hematologist over the phone. I've been on a blood thinner called Lovenox since last October. It was an experimental treatment for recurrent miscarriage that was suggested by my R.E. I don't have any clotting disorders, as far as we know. And hey, it might have actually been what did the trick, so I'm ok with it, although it has been a pain in the thigh... literally, I give the injection in my thigh once a day. And, it kinda hurts.

So the hematologist tells me to ask the OB whether he wants me to switch to Heparin or stay on Lovenox. She said Heparin is three injections a day, but it's effects are less time (obviously), and it's reversible. I cringed at the thought of pricking myself more! She said the advantage of switching to Heparin would be that it's shorter lived, and that's about all she said so I wasn't really understanding.

So the O.B. gave a little more information, but still not enough. He said, "oh we'll just induce you then or if we do a cesarean we'll schedule it 24 hours in advance". He said it had to do with the anesthesia (and here's the scary part), that they would be reluctant to give me an epidural or spinal if it hadn't been 24 hours since my last Lovenox dose.

I am VERY, VERY fond of the thought of an epidural! Or spinal!

Then I read this article and it all made sense. It's a shame that conversations with two different docs didn't make clear what one little internet article did.

So, I called the nurse today and she thinks because things look so good (see below) that I should try to go two more weeks on Lovenox as to save myself some extra pricks, and then switch over to Heparin, but to go ahead and get the Heparin now so that I can switch over quickly if I need to. See, high maintenance.

So, that went well and then my friend and I went to Applebee's for what I thought was a last hoorah carbfest before going to the gestational diabetes educator. Of course someone screwed up and the diabetes educator didn't have my numbers from my 3 hour glucose check, so I have no idea how bad I failed. But, we tested my blood sugar and the big salad with sour cream and chicken and the spinach artichoke dip with nachos was apparently the right amount of carbs! haha! Go figure? Anyway, I am not thrilled about this whole obsess over what you eat thing. I've been doing good however. I keep thinking it's the terbutaline that made me fail my test. Dammit. I also have to check my blood sugars FOUR times a day, and pee in a cup to check keytones in the evening. High maintenance.

Then I went home and monitored for contractions. Nurse called back and said I'd had two.

And I was exhausted for doing so much.

Then last night I monitored again (because I have to be hooked up to the monitor for TWO hours every day). Nurse called and I had three contractions!

Then this morning I had an appointment at the fancy prenatal (ultrasound) diagnostic place. The cervix shrunk again, from 2.9 to 2.1 which I thought was bad, but the doctor wasn't at all worried about. It isn't funneling, which is a good sign. He was all happy that I've made it to 32 weeks, exclaiming how the babies now have 100% survival rate. Two more weeks and I can deliver at the little hospital that I want to deliver at, instead of the huge hospital with the NICU. Either would be fine, but obviously I want to deliver at the little one. The babies are each around 4 pounds each. They still have lower fluid levels than he'd like, but are ok. All baby parts look good. Both are head down, where they have been for weeks. I wonder how likely it is that they will stay that way?

He also said that he wouldn't worry about the three contractions in one hour, rather six is the more realistic threshold. Apparently things change the further along you get.

So anyway, between testing blood sugars, monitoring contractions, taking meds, greasing up my belly, peeing on keytone strips, and resting, I'm pretty busy! Pretty high maintenance!

Thanks!!!

2010-05-11T17:31:00.004-05:00
Thanks so much for all of the advice on baby gear! I feel better now, a little more prepared. I know things are going to probably be hard enough, but if I have the right gear maybe that will help! Yesterday I ordered a whole bunch of stuff. We have loads of stuff already, but mostly stuff that people have bought us, which surprisingly didn't include much from our BRU and Target registries.

Anyway, I found this great list on breastfeeding gear. I got some of the stuff on this list also.

I packed my hospital bag also, as much as possible. I left a list for my husband for the items that cannot stay in the bag (cell phone, etc.).

But, I'm holding out for at least 35 weeks!!!

Two appointments tomorrow, one regular OB and one with the diabetes educator. I've read up and have started trying to balance my diet, except for tonight when I had Subway, and probably tomorrow when I have lunch with my friend who TOOK THE ENTIRE DAY OFF to take me to my appointments!

Still not many contractions on the monitor. I have another appointment on Thursday with the doc and the fancy ultrasound machine. My mom is coming up tomorrow, (she lives 4 hours away) to take me to that appointment. If my cervix is behaving (or hopefully has further improved), I'm going to ask to at least be able to take myself to my doctor's appointments and maybe go out to dinner/see a movie once in a while. Mr. PJ's vacation days have whittled away to seven days now, which I am not happy about. He's not taking any FMLA.

One of my babies definitely has the hiccups a lot. She hiccuped twice today! This isn't a new thing, but the hiccups are just so intense now. The other baby is just plain wiggly, and she likes to kick the contraction monitor. I hope that they are doing well and gaining weight. If my stretch marks are any indication, they are. GOOD LORD!!! I didn't look in the mirror for a few days and then I almost cried when I did. It's HORRIBLE. Everything below my belly button looks ripped apart and red, despite having lotioned 3-4 times a day. Sigh.

Thursday will be 32 weeks. :)

More Baby Gear Questions

2010-05-09T13:33:00.003-05:00
Please excuse my general baby rearing ignorance! I realize to many seasoned moms this post probably reveals just how little I know about taking care of infants. Sigh.

I'm trying to make the last bit of purchases before the babies come.

Glider - Pretty necessary, right? I've got one on my registry, that comes with an ottoman. We were going to put it in the nursery, but I was reading my Mothering Multiples book and it suggests putting it in the main room - which would be our living room. I can see where that would be better because I could sit and watch TV, etc while feeding. Of course that would mean ditching some other piece of furniture in that room. Thoughts? Also, I am really hoping to breastfeed.

Breastfeeding - What should I have on hand to begin with? There's a Medela Gift Set
that I was thinking of getting. Will that be enough for the first few days at home? Maybe I need two.

I was supposed to go to a breastfeeding class last week, but since I'm on bed rest that didn't happen. I ordered a book that is exclusively on breastfeeding, and I've kind of skimmed the Mothering Multiples book, but this week I plan on really reading it front to back.

I don't want to buy too much. I want to make sure that I am able to breastfeed before investing too heavily. I plan on renting the pump from the hospital.

I should invest in a pack or two of the old fashioned cloth diapers to use as burp cloths, right? I mean, I've got about 10 of the fancy burp cloths, but they seem so small. I've got about 2 billion bibs that people have given me, but again, they seem so small. And what's the purpose of them anyway? Just to protect the babies' clothes, right? Do I need to use a bib every time I feed them?

I also ordered the book Eat, Sleep, Poop and plan to read it cover to cover ASAP!

Do I need to buy those special support headrest things, or can we just use one of the 800 blankets we have, rolled up?

My head is spinning.

Almost 31 Weeks: Belly and Nursery Pics

2010-05-05T19:00:00.008-05:00
30 weeks: Gargantuan!

Bed Rest is better. I think that first week was rough because we were sort of thrown for a loop. But just having last weekend for my husband to get things in order helped tremendously.

Plus, my folks have been here since Monday, which has been nice. My mom was worried and came with my dad, who had already planned on coming to help do some construction/revamping of our laundry room. The bedding for the babies' room came on Tuesday (which my mom bought for us!), so my mom washed everything and put it up for us. I think it's lovely! It's lady bugs and flowers. Clearly we are not completely done! Our snap n go stroller came and needs to be assembled, and the car seats need to be put in the car. We still need to purchase the glider, that I found today will be on sale starting Friday. But, things are coming together!

I love the shot of the diaper mountain that we have! I think we bought ONE of the smaller boxes, and all of the rest were gifts. So grateful!

So, I am having to monitor twice a day/1 hour each for contractions. I've got this belt with a little circular sensor on it that hooks up to a box, that hooks into another box. If I move too much, the sensor beeps (yells) at me. And guess how many contractions I've had since starting this, 11 days ago? About three, total. Seriously, what's the point?

I'm getting used to the terbutaline pump and barely notice when it gives me a dose. It still makes my otherwise serene pulse shoot up to around 100 though. But whatever, if it's repairing my cervix, I'm all for it.

My mom got to take me to the lab to get my three hour glucose tolerance test yesterday, which consisted of fasting 12 hours, getting four vials of blood drawn, and drinking more of that orange goop. All over an enthralling three hours at the lab.

All of this after last Friday when the OB said I'd probably fail it anyway, because I am on the terbutaline. And he said, but that's ok, we see gestational diabetes all of the time, you'll just have to change your diet a little and maybe take some insulin - like it was no big deal?

So yea, I failed miserably. Ben and Jerry, I'll miss you!

Then yesterday, my 13 year old dog comes in from being out in the backyard and his eye is swollen shut. I thought maybe an insect stung him. My husband takes him to the vet and he has glaucoma. The vet gives him eye drops and pain meds, and today when he took the dog back, it's worse. More meds today, more money... let's hope he doesn't loose his eyesight!

So yea, some minor hiccups, but I'm grateful for a lot of things. I'm grateful that I haven't gone into preterm labor, and try to count each day that my babies bake as a blessing-tomorrow will be 31 weeks. And every time I go into that nursery, I am in awe of how much love and generosity it represents, because we have spent very little in there and have so much. Life is good, mostly.

Bedrest: Week One w/Update

2010-04-29T20:36:00.008-05:00
So what I'm learning about bedrest is that I'm lousy at delegating things to my husband - which doesn't bode well for us with the whole twins thing. Must work on communication!

I suck at telling him exactly what I want. I kind of suck at actually knowing exactly what I want. I'm not specific enough. I forget that men don't read minds and have a hard time anticipating things I think are obvious. That and, I'm used to just doing things for myself.

I'm distracted as I try to type this post. Being on Terbutaline, for me, is like being amped up on really strong coffee with maybe a side of black tea and another side of Mountain Dew. But I guess my body is getting used to it, because my pulse is now down into the 80's, where it was around 130.

Now where was I?

Bedrest.

Well, we are just so freakin' off our routine in general. Sundays we usually do laundry and groceries, etc. And I was busy being sick as a dog. I didn't make a grocery list, told him to just guess, because I couldn't hold my head up. And so... consequently I have an almost astonishingly horrible food selection.

That and... my husband kind of let the house go this week. And last night I told him that some friends were probably coming by to bring goodies.

And he didn't get the hint to clean.

And instead of directly telling him, I got my bedrested butt up and cleaned a smidge today. Bad, so bad, I know. But even what I did, wasn't enough to stop my husband from being royally embarrassed when my friend came over.

Lemme pause to tell you about her goodies...

She brings me Whole Foods Mac and Cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes, black bean soup, cheese fococia, gatorade (because I've been ruined and now plain water isn't enough), chocolate, ice pops, white hydrangeas (my fave), eight hours of Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice, and a beautiful journal. LOVE her!!!!

Anyway, he was so embarrassed, that he cleaned. And by clean, I mean everything but the floors because as mentioned before, he somehow doesn't see/mind/acknowledge dirty floors. But still, I don't have to look at a dirty house tomorrow. Yay!

I'll admit, I reveled in his embarrassment a smidge, because well... lesson learned.

I'll give him some credit though. He did have to take off work to take me to the doc, which took twice as long as it was supposed to. And he's doing it again tomorrow. He had to go to the pharmacy and pick up my meds.

But other than that, bedrest hasn't been all that bad. I know, I know... it's just begun. I'm sure I'll be bored to tears in a few weeks. But for now, I'm kind of enjoying sitting around. I'm kind of busy with the upkeep of me anyway, what with the eating all of the time, and the meds, and the monitoring for contractions. I'm feeling kind of high-maintenance. :)

In other news... I failed my one hour glucose test. I think it was 164, and from what I've read the cutoff is 140. So, three hour glucose test next week. Gag. Let's just add gestational diabetes to my list of high-risk factors.

Ultrasound tomorrow morning. Wish me luck. Will Update.

_______________________________________________________________

Well, the cervix has nearly DOUBLED! Apparently I had the numbers wrong, last week it was 1.5cm (yikes!), and now it's 2.9cm! The doc explained it much better this time, that it was an infection likely eating away at the cervical mucus, and the terbuatline makes it heal and reform. Kindof amazing!

Baby A's fluid is still discordant with Baby B's, meaning it's lower. He doesn't know why, since the babies don't share a placenta. He's not as worried about it though, because their growth is both the same and is "very good for 30 weeks".

He also said I'd likely fail the 3 hour glucose test because of the effects of the terbutaline, but that we'd be able to control the diabetes through diet and/or maybe a little insulin. Grrrr! My drug list is already out of control.

Anyway, I'm soooooooooooo happy about the cervix! Still on bedrest, but he said let's call it "house arrest".

Follow up in two weeks. :)

This One's a Humdinger!

2010-04-27T14:52:00.006-05:00
Alrighty...
TMI warning

So, Friday I took my first betamethasone shot, (steroid to develop babies' lungs). I felt fine.

Saturday I took my 2nd betamethasone shot, and proceeded to vomit for at least 12 hours, pretty much once an hour or so. I won't describe it, but it was sooo not normal. I also think I was having contractions, so I called my doctor and went to labor and delivery to be checked out. I actually asked for an IV drip to hydrate me.

The doctor and nurse took an incredibly detailed history. They hooked me up on the fetal heartrate monitor (which was no easy task with wiggly twins!!!), and of course I had to get up to pee about three times while being hooked up. The doctor did a fetal fibronectin test, which is supposed to tell if one will give birth within the next two weeks, and that came back negative (yay!). He also did a manual exam to check my cervix, which was VERY uncomfortable. Everything looked good. I had a few mild contractions while being monitored, but they weren't worried.

Then I went home, and the nurse from Alere came. She'd said she was going to be at my house for three hours, and it ended up being four! And of course, all I wanted to do while she was here was crawl up in my bed and rest. Anyway, she teaches me how to use the contraction monitor, which I'll be doing twice a day. She also taught me how to use the Turbutaline Pump, which is a liquid form of the med that is delivered to my blood stream every four hours. It's literally hooked up into my leg. That kind of hurt going in, but it's ok now. Anyway, just before she leaves I hurled again, and did a few times that evening. On top of that, I had (TMI) not normal diarrhea for about 12 hours.

So... I don't know if I had some bad drug reactions or a virus on top of all of this, but it was rather horrible.

I had two doses of the turbutaline and each time my resting pulse shot up into the 130's, I felt jittery, and just horrible. My blood pressure goes up too, but I think 134/80 is the highest it's ever gone. So I called the doctor and I got to skip a few doses and then he lowered the dose a bit. The first half hour or so is still kind of uncomfortable - like I've had a ton of coffee (which I don't do well with anyway). But I think I might be able to tolerate it. The OB said sometimes it takes a few days for the body to adjust. He also said that turbutaline can actually cause the cervix to lengthen.

Last night I actually slept for SIX solid hours in a row, including sleeping through a dose of meds, which amazes me. I haven't slept that much in a row in months! And today I was able to eat kindof, sortof decently.

I've monitored contractions three times, for an hour each and haven't had any so far! yay!

At my OB appointment today, the babies looked good. I think I blogged that on Friday one doctor thought there was a fluid problem, and another doctor said it looked fine. Well, today my doctor said the fluid looked fine around her. And I get to go back to the fancy diagnostic center on Friday, where MY OB will be able to look at the fluid again. So, it sounds good on the fluids. Different doctors, different opinions = frustration.

All of this, and it's the emotions that are the hardest. I'm freaked out that my babies might come this early. I want them to grow more! I'm not ready! I don't want to have them at the big hospital! I don't want them to have to stay in the NICU for a long time. I'm just freakin' scared!

I mean, I know rationally that it'll be what it'll be. And all will probably pan out well, and that this is par for the course with twins. But honestly, I've kind of skipped the scary sections in my books on preemies and complications and such. So... guess it's time for me to start reading those. You know, since I have time! :)

Good thing though, I'm not on total lie in the bed and don't move bedrest. I can sit on the couch and eve sit outside. I've got a friend bringing over eight hours of Pride and Predjudice, and other friends coming over later in the week. My parents are probably coming next week for a few days. So, that's good. Mr. PJ is having a hard time adjusting to all of this, but I think when we get a routine established, it'll go better. It was all so abrupt.

So, let's hope things continue to get better and my girls stay put for a while!

Bedrest

2010-04-23T14:37:00.005-05:00
And... the shit hit the fan today.

I went in for my monthly growth ultrasound. The tech measured my cervix, which had been 3.16 and her measurement was something like 2.4ish. I knew that was bad.

She said the babies measured fine, 42nd percentile for both of them - around 2lb 14oz. Later the doc said one was even over 3 pounds. He gets different measurements as you'll read...

Then the doctor came in. This is the guy from my last ultrasound who was a raving lunatic about fixing the machine and had the whole personal cell phone call in which he bitched someone out, in front of us. Lets call him Dr. Lunie. So Dr. Lunie came in and right away remeasured my cervix, which by his measurements were 1.7 something. Again, bad. Worse, actually. And then he measured the fluid, and apparently the fluids are discordant. If I can get this right, or at least close to right... Baby A's fluid is low, he says the placenta isn't as efficient as it should be, so the brain is taking most of the oxygen and the kidneys are low on oxygen so they are not working efficiently therefore there is not a lot of urine, which is what a lot of the fluid is made of.

So when Dr. Lunie told me I was going on bedrest I seriously lost it. I mean, physically I'm so ready to rest and am almost glad. But financially and emotionally I wasn't prepared. I whimpered a little while getting dressed.

So Dr. Lunie sends me to the hospital for a Betamethasone injection. I think that's supposed to develop the babies' lungs. They sent me to the infusion center, so I walk in and there are a bunch of people hooked up to IV's - which kinda freaked me out. Then when the nurses made a big deal about it being twins, some old lady who looked like Maxine from the Hallmark cards was all "good grief, I couldn't hardly handle one, shaking her head, muttering about, blah blah blah...". Of course I was all, "we'll be fine", and I proceeded to knock her upside the head. Mentally, of course. The Betamethasone was just a shot in the arm though. I get to go back for another tomorrow. yay me.

I also get to do the Terbutaline Pump, which apparently I get to hook up to myself and it will I guess drip the meds into my system constantly. Sounds fun. I think this is supposed to stop what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions, but what the doctor thinks were maybe the real thing.

So Dr. Lunie is either all about the drama, or seriously concerned.

Inbetween the doom and gloom ultrasound and the betamethasone injection, I did my one hour glucose screening and had lunch with my husband. That orange goop is disgusting!

While at lunch with my husband, I saw my RE!!! It was good to see him, and show him my ginormous belly! :)

Then I had my regular OB appointment with one of the three doctors at the practice. And here's the kicker, the OB said the fluid around baby A looked fine and dandy. ahahaaaa! (points finger to head as if it were a gun). Seriously? Alrighty then. He also said that if I have to deliver in the next five weeks then I'll have to deliver at the OTHER hospital in town. The big one. The one that has an excellent NICU, but still... it's big and I don't know any of the doctors. Scary.

I'm allowed to go to my breastfeeding class on Monday, and my childbirth class on Tuesday.

I've got another appointment on Tuesday, this time with MY OB. It'll be interesting to see what he has to say. And then another big ultrasound on Friday.

Damned cervix.

Shitty day.

Response to Asking for Help

2010-04-22T16:48:00.002-05:00
WOW! What great comments and wonderful advice! Thanks so much. You've given me a lot to think about, but mostly I feel a lot more confident and now have some ideas on how to deal with family visits/help.

Sounds like some combination of going it on our own and having help will be good, so definitely the staggered visits.

My husband is only taking two weeks off, right when the babies are born so I'm thinking that having my mother in law come when he goes back to work is ideal. I will just be very specific about what she is to do. It's the "what to do" suggestions that I enjoyed so much. I'd have never thought of frozen meals, but that sounds perfect! And the gift card for groceries! Just, perfect!

I'll have to sit down and talk with Mr. PJ to iron some of this out, which certainly didn't happen this week! We've been incredibly busy. On Monday I had my baby shower at work. It was FANTASTIC! Seriously, I was so blown away! After so many no-shows at my other shower (mostly because my mom scheduled it for Easter weekend!), and after checking our registries religiously and seeing hardly anything come up purchased, I was worried. We got three bouncers, so we'll return one and put that cash toward a car seat. We got about 700 diapers and over 700 wipes!!! Apparently, Sam's is the place to buy them. We got a swing, a mobile, gift cards, and TONS of clothes and blankets. Plus, it was just plain fun!

Do babies really need a lot of blankets? They've got like...15 or 20! They are mainly for swaddling, right? We did get the Miricle Blankets, so I'm anxious to see how well they work (I've heard good things). Like everything else, it probably depends on the baby though.

Babies should come with instructions. :)

Seriously though, I've been reading as much as I can about baby care, sleep habits, and whatever I can get my hands on. And I promise to not take anything too seriously, but it's better to be armed than go in blind.

On Tuesday evening Mr. PJ and I had our first (of SIX, ohmygosh I might not make it!) Childbirth and basic care class. I enjoyed it, although it was past my 7PM bedtime. There were lots of interesting people there, but nobody is pregnant with twins which was kind of disappointing. We got lots of oohs and ahhs when I announced we were pregnant with twins, which I selfishly kind of enjoyed. Most interesting thing was the explanation of effacement and dialation, which always really confused me.

Tomorrow - NO WORK, YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!

One hour glucose screening - I'm supposed to fast for that right?
Ultrasound marathon
OB appointment

Things have been going so good so far (aside from pregnancy's aches and pains), I'm kind of nervous that they will find something wrong. However, I'm excited to see the babies again, for more than five seconds.

What a week.

For New Moms: How to Ask for Help?

2010-04-18T13:39:00.007-05:00
I know I have a span of readers who are at different stages of this baby thing, from trying to conceive to mothers of multiple multiples! And I love that, I do! I so appreciate those who are still trying to conceive, because I know it was hard for me to read when my blog buds were very pregnant. I appreciate those who are newly pregnant and enjoy doling out advice to them (having just been there), and I look up to those who are past my stage and especially those who have given birth and beyond.

I adore my blog readers! I have learned so much from you and I wish I had more time to read/reply/post. (Am so looking forword to not working in a few weeks!)

But this post, this one is a plea to those who have done the newborn thing. Or maybe you're planning on it?

My mom, my mother-in-law, and my stepmother-in law, and probably my sister-in-law are planning on visiting for/after the girl's birth.

My house is little. I have two dogs. It's tight quarters. :P

My husband and I are very type B. I can swing my type B over to A when needed, and am quite good at this fakery. It's survival when teaching, and I'm pretty good at organizing. When I've gotta! But, I'm pretty laid back at heart.

My people and my husband's people don't know each other that well, being that they live in different states and all.

So, I know I can't avoid tension and there will be times when things go awry. But my question for you guys (because being even a smidge prepared is better than going in blind), is what helped you the most when family came to "help". Did they do dishes, diapers, feedings? Some of everything?

and... how did you schedule it? Was it one parent at a time? Did you stagger them? Did it add to the stress of newborns, or did it help to alleviate stress?

So yea, my mom is pretty laid back and his mom is pretty high strung (like, she never sits down)! I can see my mom wanting to just cuddle them, and his mom doing things a different way than I'd do them and that kind of annoying me (but not wanting to say anything because hey, she's helping).

My mom said something about coming for the first three days, and then coming back for several weekends during the summer - probably staying in a hotel. His mom said something about coming for two weeks strait - definitely staying with us. Sister in law, just here for a weekend. Step mother in law - I have no idea, but I think she will just want to visit and not help.

Anyway... yay, help! And ugg, help. Ya know?

Thanksomuch for your opinions!