I keep getting comments from friends about how calm and composed I sound. Perhaps that is because, in order to have time to update the blog, things have to have been going well. On the crazy days, I'm trying to sleep instead of frittering time away on the computer!
Not that we're not enjoying ourselves. But it is hard. I started thinking yesterday that, since they eat about every 3 hours, we repeat the same thing 8 times a day. That is 56 times a week- and its been a month now, so we've done it about 300 times. Without a break. And knowing that it will continue for a minimum of a month more, and that only if we're lucky. The book that my friend Kearsley sent, the American Academy of Pediatrics baby guidebook, describes it best, I think: grueling. Sometimes I can't help but think how easy it would be if we just had one baby- then we wouldn't both have to get up for both night time feedings (we have one at about 11 or 12 and one at about 3). But then I read about colicky or fussy or sensitive babies and think that one of them would be harder than both of our "easy" babies for sure. And I know I'm getting a lot more help because we have two. Just this week we actually had to cook dinner for ourselves- we've gotten a month's worth of food from family, friends and neighbors. Plus, we get twice as much love, twice as many almost-smiles and twice as many laughable moments.
It is interesting, having two, because we see a larger range of what a baby is like. If we just had Adeline, we would think that all babies are loud sleepers: grunting and gurgling and whinying and flailing around. But if we just had Meredith, we'd think that all babies slept like, well, babies. She seems to have more time in a deep sleep whereas Adi spends a lot of time in REM (I'm guessing). Adi gets tired and we put her in the cradle; she cries for a predictable 3.5 minutes before falling asleep mid-cry. But Meredith whimpers and calls out a few times for ten or so minutes, and often needs more help settling. She'll just lay in the cradle with her eyes wide open, like she has pretty much since birth, appearing to not want to let her heavy eyelids block out the world. I guess this is what parents must notice about their later children, but having them both at the same time makes it easy to see the comparisons.
I haven't taken pictures in several days. I'm not sure why not- they are certainly just as cute as they have been. Cuter even. They say that we're supposed to say some 30,000 words to them a day (or was it 60,000?) and we're wondering if it is okay that all the words are the same: "you're so cute", "you're so adorable", "I love you so much". It is impossible to go an hour without kissing their chubby little cheeks.
Tomorrow is our 1-month doctor's appointment (although we passed that milestone yesterday). We're excited to see how much they weigh. Last week we estimated their weights on our bathroom scale and got around 7.5-8 lbs. They are growing out of their smaller clothes and we're going to need to move up to the next size of diaper soon. No longer newborns!
Adi seemed bigger last week- her cheeks suddenly got square and her double chin expanded. I think Mae caught up a little this week- her cheeks are bigger, although her face is just a different shape than Adi's. I was worried that she seemed smaller last week, but Dave reminded me that it is okay for them to be different. Again, if we just had one, we'd be happy with any adequate weight gain, but when they are different it is easy to think that something is wrong with one or the other. I guess I started expecting them to be the same, since at the 1 and 2 week appointments they came in exactly the same. So we'll see tomorrow, what the scales says.
Dave is sleeping on the couch now with Meredith perched atop him; she managed to sleep for 30 mins but was having trouble staying down so he got her. It is hard to wake them all up for the next round, but the sooner we get in our 'bedtime' feeding, the sooner we can go to bed (hopefully!)
Not that we're not enjoying ourselves. But it is hard. I started thinking yesterday that, since they eat about every 3 hours, we repeat the same thing 8 times a day. That is 56 times a week- and its been a month now, so we've done it about 300 times. Without a break. And knowing that it will continue for a minimum of a month more, and that only if we're lucky. The book that my friend Kearsley sent, the American Academy of Pediatrics baby guidebook, describes it best, I think: grueling. Sometimes I can't help but think how easy it would be if we just had one baby- then we wouldn't both have to get up for both night time feedings (we have one at about 11 or 12 and one at about 3). But then I read about colicky or fussy or sensitive babies and think that one of them would be harder than both of our "easy" babies for sure. And I know I'm getting a lot more help because we have two. Just this week we actually had to cook dinner for ourselves- we've gotten a month's worth of food from family, friends and neighbors. Plus, we get twice as much love, twice as many almost-smiles and twice as many laughable moments.
It is interesting, having two, because we see a larger range of what a baby is like. If we just had Adeline, we would think that all babies are loud sleepers: grunting and gurgling and whinying and flailing around. But if we just had Meredith, we'd think that all babies slept like, well, babies. She seems to have more time in a deep sleep whereas Adi spends a lot of time in REM (I'm guessing). Adi gets tired and we put her in the cradle; she cries for a predictable 3.5 minutes before falling asleep mid-cry. But Meredith whimpers and calls out a few times for ten or so minutes, and often needs more help settling. She'll just lay in the cradle with her eyes wide open, like she has pretty much since birth, appearing to not want to let her heavy eyelids block out the world. I guess this is what parents must notice about their later children, but having them both at the same time makes it easy to see the comparisons.
I haven't taken pictures in several days. I'm not sure why not- they are certainly just as cute as they have been. Cuter even. They say that we're supposed to say some 30,000 words to them a day (or was it 60,000?) and we're wondering if it is okay that all the words are the same: "you're so cute", "you're so adorable", "I love you so much". It is impossible to go an hour without kissing their chubby little cheeks.
Tomorrow is our 1-month doctor's appointment (although we passed that milestone yesterday). We're excited to see how much they weigh. Last week we estimated their weights on our bathroom scale and got around 7.5-8 lbs. They are growing out of their smaller clothes and we're going to need to move up to the next size of diaper soon. No longer newborns!
Adi seemed bigger last week- her cheeks suddenly got square and her double chin expanded. I think Mae caught up a little this week- her cheeks are bigger, although her face is just a different shape than Adi's. I was worried that she seemed smaller last week, but Dave reminded me that it is okay for them to be different. Again, if we just had one, we'd be happy with any adequate weight gain, but when they are different it is easy to think that something is wrong with one or the other. I guess I started expecting them to be the same, since at the 1 and 2 week appointments they came in exactly the same. So we'll see tomorrow, what the scales says.
Dave is sleeping on the couch now with Meredith perched atop him; she managed to sleep for 30 mins but was having trouble staying down so he got her. It is hard to wake them all up for the next round, but the sooner we get in our 'bedtime' feeding, the sooner we can go to bed (hopefully!)
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2 comments:
Hang in there Dani and Dave! You may not believe it now, but this time period will soon be a distant memory... you will look back and wonder how on earth did you all survive it! My twins are turning 4 next week, and trust me, all those grueling months are SO WORTH IT!! Life gets more and more fun each month. Kearsley gave me your blog address, I love it!
-Shelly
you made me cry with: "...we're wondering if it is okay that all the words are the same: 'you're so cute', 'you're so adorable", 'I love you so much.'"
I love watching you and Dave fall in love with these little girls, and enjoy them.
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