Eight Months!

Time is still flying by, and the boys are growing like crazy. Each day we are on to new things and as much as I LOVE it, I know it means they are growing up and it hurts my mama heart just a little :)

This month we had several firsts--

• We went to the beach for the first time- it was cold and almost rainy so we quickly took a few photos and went back to the beach house. The boys have not yet actually touched sand. 
• H started sitting unassisted consistently and about 3 weeks later A is following suit!
• Both boys have learned rolling is a way from here to there and both continue to scoot backwards on their bellies CONSTANTLY. 
• A loves to lay on his belly with his legs under the couch. 
• We went to our first baby shower that wasn't for us!
• The boys stayed with my parents for the first time while Mommy and Daddy went to dinner and dessert without them-- I realized two hours away from them was LONG ENOUGH!
• The boys had their first bath in the kitchen sink! We used one of the bathtub ring/chairs suctioned down in the sink- they LOVED it!
• We put them down in the grass for the first time-- A didn't see what all the fuss was about, H scrunched his face and wasn't sure at first, but then was more than willing to wrestle with his brother a little. 
• The first very real, unprompted kiss. H was laying on the floor with his lollie in his mouth A scooted over and studied him for probably 2 minutes, reached over grabbed his lollie out of his mouth, kissed him right on the mouth (open mouth and all!), replaced his lollie and went about his business. Meanwhile I was a complete pile of mush at the sweetness I had just observed! 
• We celebrated their first Easter with baskets of goodies before church. H slept through church and A spent most of the service spitting up on me- motherhood :)
• They had their first taste of much thicker cereal and we are not looking back-- feeding time is significantly less messy.
• We took the boys out for cart food for the first time. It was pouring down rain, but what else would we expect in the NW!
• H got his first and second tooth! (For my own record : bottom R 3/25/13, bottom L 4/3/13)
• A got his first tooth- perhaps that isn't quite true, his first tooth has broken the surface (bottom R 4/8/13)
• We let the boys suck on (while we held it) a slice of apple. H wasn't sure about the flavor, but loved sinking his teeth into it. A just drooled all over it and made a sour face. 
• Both seem very close to crawling, but we'll see!

At the beginning of the month the boys were eating two large-ish solid meals per day along with 4-5 bottles of formula. We've since moved to three meals most days all smaller than before and it seems to be working out for everyone. I try to feed them in their highchairs at least once per day, otherwise they sit in the bumbo or if we are on the go they eat a pouch of food right in their carseats-- those pouches of food are amazing. In addition to solid meals they are also having 3 6oz bottles and one 7oz bottle daily.

Otherwise, things are moving right along. One of our favorite things right now is putting them into their saucers to play for a bit while we eat, watch a show on tv, or tackle any other project. They turn toward each other and scream and laugh. I know I've said it before, but I LOVE how special their bond is. They are quick to worry about/comfort the other when he is upset and it warms my heart every.single.time.

A had to make a trip to the doctor this month for a reflux checkup. He had started throwing up more again and we were curious if he needed his dose increased. That coupled with the fact that he wasn't yet  sitting and often spitting up when he was put into that position to practice made us think his reflux/tummy trouble might be causing some delay in sitting because of discomfort. Even while spitting up what seems like CONSTANTLY the kiddo had still gained weight and is moving closer and closer to the average growth curve. He still remains on the tiny side in just the 14th percentile for weight, but that is a huge leap from the 4th just two months ago-- we must be doing something right! We increased his dose as he was no longer in the therapeutic range with his weight increase, so hopefully that will help the spitting up and make him feel better overall!

Another month has come and gone and I expect the next few will be much the same, especially with summer on the way. We are loving our little family of four and have such content hearts... FINALLY! It feels so good to be at a place in our lives where we can just live and be happy. I wonder once in awhile about the possibility of another baby someday, but for the moment I am so incredibly happy where we are.

Met.formin

Quick question for any PCOS'ers that are still sticking around to read my sporadic (at best!) posts....

My RE mentioned at some point during my treatment that it might be a good idea to go back on met.formin after the birth of our babies/breastfeeding. We didn't talk about it too much, she just said it might help control the PCOS symptoms and I didn't give it a lot of thought at the time because it seemed like a long way off. Well, here I am. Done breast feeding and obviously no longer pregnant- and while I am no where near ready to start trying to get pregnant again, I am thinking about how important it will be for my body to be in the best state it can be once we are ready.

So, my question is this... Did you go back on met.formin after having your baby/ies as more of a maintenance medication for PCOS rather than a drug in conjunction with fertility treatments? 

I saw my primary care doctor today for a thyroid check-up and talked with her about the possibility of starting back on met.formin. She was receptive to the idea, but said we first needed to check my fasting glucose level and my HA1C to ensure that the met.formin wouldn't be adversely effecting my blood sugar.

Another installment of 'If you don't have anything nice to say....'

SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

Seriously. Generally moms of twins or more have a fairly good grasp on what twin parenting is like. I would say typically they are happy to commiserate, but they are also quick to build up another twin parent and be encouraging. Yesterday, not so much. 

It had been a trying day already. I had finally gotten brave enough to try the library story time. It is for 0-12m olds, but they ask you not to bring your child if they are 'having a hard day' or 'leave the group if they become upset'. Well, what are the chances that both of my children will behave 'correctly' for the same 45 minutes? I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone and just try it- if we failed miserably I gave myself permission to never go back. After making the decision I raced around the house trying to get us ready to be at the library by 11. Finally as I was sweating and putting the boys into their car seats I have the grand idea  that I should double check the time-- 10:30, not 11. There was no way we were going to make it, and now that we were ready-ish to leave the house there was no way I was just unpacking them and staying home. 

So, we skipped story time and headed to an outlet mall that is pretty close by. We spent the early afternoon shopping and the boys were fantastic. They both napped, chattered and easily took their pouch of food on the go. Our day had been redeemed! 

Until I decided to make a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home to buy some coffee and cream. They boys again were perfect in the store. H spent his time growling at the passers by and A gnawed on a teething ring. When we got to the register to pay, the checker immediately told me that she too has twins. I smiled and asked their age, thinking this would go similar to many of my positive interactions with twin parents. It did not. From that moment on she said the following things to me.

• Mine are 14 and AWFUL. Soak in this time, it only gets worse. 
• When I found out I was having twins all I cared about was that one of them be a girl because I would have never survived. 
• You have two boys, I am SO SORRY. 
• I'm not kidding, it really is horrible. 
• Do you remember how absolutely horrific the first 3 months were? Didn't you just want to give them back?
• They are really cute, but that wont last. 

She then just tried and tried to get me to bad mouth my children and my experiences with them thus far. Which I obviously did not give into. I just kept saying things like I can't imagine life without them, they've actually been really easy and  I guess preparing ourselves for it to be really difficult paid off.

I do not understand people like this. Especially mothers. Are we not supposed to build one another up and encourage each other to do the best we can? I know motherhood doesn't look the same for everyone and judging by this woman's age she was likely pretty young when she surprisingly became pregnant with twins and may not have been blessed with many of the things that have made twin motherhood easier for me, but here is the thing... encouraging another person doesn't cost a thing, and often it is the best gift you can give. 

So even though this lady obviously left a bad taste in my mouth, she also served as a reminder of the mother I want to be. The one who tries hard to see the positive, the mother who doesn't speak poorly of her children (especially to strangers!) and the woman who builds up other moms. 

Seven Months...

Better late than never!

I know I say it every time, but I cannot believe how quickly the days and weeks are flying by. These boys will be ONE before we know it!

There haven't been a ton on changes this month. We're  mostly working on sitting unassisted- which H is super close to doing consistently. A, on the other hand, is MUCH more interested in being on his belly scooting backward everywhere I'd like him NOT to be. I'm not worried, he will figure it out one of these days! Neither of the boys have any teeth, but we are still sure they are on the way. The drool is never ending and the swollen gums are there.... as are the slightly grumpy dispositions occasionally!

We have finally gotten into a routine with solids and it has been really fun to feed the boys- they LOVE it! I can't get spoonfuls into their mouths quickly enough! We still lack a schedule, but in general I'm ok with it. Right now, that is our rough outline of a day....

• the boys have a bottle roughly every 3-4 hours during the day depending on when they have solids.
• for part of the month we were giving the boys solids just once a day, but by the end we were feeding them twice a day. Usually oatmeal and fruit for breakfast and rice cereal, a vegetable and maybe some leftover fruit for dinner. 
• this month we tried to move up their bedtime, but with teething babies it was hard and it seemed like they needed that later feed in order to make it through the night (even so, H end up in bed with us nearly every night around 4 or 5) so we switched back most nights.
• between naps and feedings the boys love their saucers, anything that plays music and lights up, reading books and having me sing to them.

 And because I just need to get this done before its time to write their 8 month post there are a few more things...

• both boys are in size two diapers and both wear 6m clothing most of the time. A could probably still wear and few 3m things and H fits into a few 9m things. 
• We've tried baths a few new ways, but it seems we are all still happiest to bathe with mama. 
• We finished trying all of the 1st foods and are on to second foods and some yummy combos that they seem to love!
• A still spits up... a lot. 
• We've found that Phillip Phillips is amazing for nap time. For some reason they get quiet and snuggle down as soon as I turn it on. It also works in the middle of the night. The insurance commercial that has one of his songs on it also makes them stop what they are doing.
• Both of the boys get up on their hands and knees and rock like they are going to do something, but they haven't yet-- I am just fine with that. Life with two movers is going to be EXHAUSTING!
• A and H are still sleeping in our room together in one crib. I continue to love having them close, and it makes those painful night time wake ups about 100x more tolerable. 
• We stopped breast feeding. I planned it and I knew when the last feeding was and while I missed it a little in the first week, I knew it was time-- we were all ready. The boys transitioned really well because we did it so slowly over the course of several weeks. 

Making Life Easier!

It is not news to anyone that life with twins is... well, it is a lot of things- but busy is right at the top of my list. In addition to being busy, it is cumbersome. Have you ever tried steering a double stroller while carrying a HUGE box of diapers? Plan on sweating. And, if you're at that in between place between maternity pants postpartum and your pre-pregnancy pants, you know when you have to pull up whatever you're wearing about every ten steps-- forget about it.

What has made my life about a hundred times easier is having diapers delivered to my house. I've used both amazon and diapers.com and both have been great. Today as I was making my order I realized that there is a referral program and I thought I'd quickly toss a shameless plug out to all of you to order from diapers.com AND use my referral code so I can cut down price of my next obscene diaper order.

Here is the thing, I find the diapers (we use pampers) to be cheaper than they are in the store (we usually shop at target) and I order them one day and usually receive them on my doorstep the next day- all complements of free shipping on orders over $49.  It is AMAZING! They also sell their own generic brand of diapers and you can first order a sample of them before committing to a whole case. I did that this time, so we shall see!

Anyone who uses my referral code gets 20% off their first order on diapers.com AND any of their eight sister sites which you'll find as tabs at the top of their web page. Just enter my code in the promotion/savings code box at checkout..... CHRI809447

 Also, make sure you take advantage of their new customer discount on a box of diapers (BABY7AFF)-- awesome deal!

6 months... a little late!

First, how are my babies already six months old? Second, I'm a crappy blogger.

The boys are as sweet as ever. They smile constantly and are really starting to have more personality which is really fun to watch develop. Their love for each other melts my heart on a daily basis with all the hand holding, kisses, snuggles and hair twirling I am forever snapping a picture of their brotherly affection.

The droll is never ending but there are no teeth to be seen just yet. We're back on the solid food bandwagon and most days we are really good about remembering to actually get some solid food into the boys. Can I just say it is SO difficult to add/subtract things from a routine you've been living as a cycle for the last six months? Holy cow! So far the boys have tried rice cereal (like, not love- made better with something sweet-ish mixed in) prunes (like, but looks SO gross when spit up later) peas (not a favorite, but again mixed with something sweet they are tolerable) and both banana and squash are LOVED by these boys. In terms of amount, they each eat a table spoon of cereal mixed with one ounce of formula and 1/4-1/2 of a container of fruit and the same of a vegetable. Currently we are only feeding them solids once per day most days, generally in the evenings unless it is a new food, then we feed in the morning in case there is a reaction. In addition to solids the boys get five bottles per day of 5-6oz of formula and breastfeed twice, once first thing in the morning and again right before bed at night.

They are growing- both of them- finally! I think its finally safe to put away ALL of the newborn and 0-3 month clothes. A had been wearing some, but I think its time to call it quits. H is pretty well out of 3month clothes, but 3-6 stuff still fits depending on the length. Each of them just graduated up a size in diapers A is in a two and H is in a three. A weighed in at 14lbs 4oz and was 25.5" long placing him in the 4th percentile for weight and 19th for height. H weighed 16lbs 4oz and was 27.25" long. These stats put him in the 28th percentile for weight and 78th for height. They are both growing and thriving healthy boys!

They had shots again this month and took them like champs! Generally they run a low grade fever and are pretty sleepy the afternoon/evening of immunization day and this time was no exception. H was grumpy for a couple of days, but he seems to be back to his normal self now!

A & H are still sleeping in our room at night in a shared crib. It seems like they still loving being close to mama and even more so, to each other. Whoever gets into bed first lays and stares at his brother's place in the crib.... makes my heart nearly burst every night! They are still sleeping through the night averaging 7 hours then a quick nursing/diaper change and another 2-3 hours depending on the baby and the day. It is WONDERFUL, but it makes the vary occasional wakeful night REALLY difficult. Mama has gotten very used to getting a good stretch of sleep again :) We are currently working on naps. The boys have always napped in various places, the swing, bouncy seat, boppy, my arms... you get the picture, everywhere BUT their crib(s)! I decided to work on H first, knowing he'd be easier. So far I've gotten a couple good naps out of him in the nursery (gasp!) using a sleep sack instead of a swaddle (double gasp!). Once I have him consistent, I'll throw A into the mix. I'm hoping this will just transition over to night time and will help me move them from our room into the nursery... we'll see about that!

Developmentally, the boys have hit just about every milestone for their age. We spend a lot of our days rolling around on the floor, playing with our hands/feet and playing with anything that plays music and lights up! We're still working on sitting up, but it seems like its getting super close and it will likely be one of those things that just happens one of these days. A is scooting backwards and has a lot of control over his little body-- I'm sure he'll be mobile before too long. AHHHH!

The sweetest thing these boys do is lay together and H twirls A's hair while they snuggle up together. In fact, just this week we had gone to our bedroom for bedtime and I had nursed H and he was waiting for daddy to give him in bedtime bottle right next to me as I nursed A. As soon as A got into position, H reached over and put his hand in A's hair and began twirling-- these are the moment that I sit and look at my boys and hope their love for each other is as pure and simple for all of their lives as it is in this season.

Motherhood...

This past weekend the boys met someone they hadn't met yet, someone who is a twin and also a mother. She very candidly asked me... 'So, is it like Christmas every morning?' in the moment, without skipping a beat I said YES!

And now,days later, I get teary eyed just thinking about it. It is absolutely the most perfect description of how I feel. They are words I would have never thought to say to describe my feelings on motherhood, but they are the most perfect.

For me, motherhood feels like Christmas every.single.morning.