Happy Halloween

Not always peaceful...

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!)

Simultaneity

All the books recommend it for twins- do everything you can for them at the same time, in order to save time.

Dave has figured out tandem carrying


And most of our feedings are now simultaneous- thanks to the Anna breast feeding pillow given to us by a friend. This makes it so our feeding/burping/diaper changes take an hour or less, which is quite nice when they still wake up every 3 hours to eat!

More magical days have passed- the girls are 3.5 weeks old now and we are starting to notice changes from when they were first born. Adeline seems to trust us more to change her diaper (no more shrieking) and Meredith seems to have taken a clue from her sister that sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease (she really yells now when startled awake). Both girls seem to be growing like crazy, they're with round bellies, square cheeks and double chins. In a week, they'll have their 1-month doctor's appointment.

We've settled into a nice routine, occasionally upset by someone who really doesn't want to sleep (when we do!), but for the most part it is working pretty well. I'm feeling pretty calm and well-adjusted, which I owe completely to Dave (who goes to work all day, then comes home to the housework, taking care of the girls and getting up at night to help with the feedings) and my parents (who still come for 4+ hours a day to help me). My sister and other friends and neighbors who keep bringing us food have also made it easy on us. And we've just started to realize that so far the girls have been pretty easy. Maybe that will change, but we feel lucky that we've had this time to start the learning process of parenting. I hear that it never ends!

On Sunday night, Kara & Eric's daughter, Ella, came to visit her cousins. She is 8 months old now and seems practically a teenager compared to our little babies. Here she is with my mom:


There are just so many moments when I can't stand how cute they are. I'm trying to appreciate every moment; it is easy for me to start thinking ahead to how nice it will be when they are sleeping through the night, a little more proficient at breast feeding, etc. but I realize that, alone with those milestones that will make my life easier, we will lose the tininess of the newborn stage and the complete satisfaction they get by simply eating, sleeping and staring into our eyes.

Here's some snapshots from the last few days.

Mae and Adi, "playing" together after tummy time:

Meredith practicing her fencing pose:
Daddy with both girls (Mae in yellow, Adi in pink):
Adi curled up against me after a feeding. So far, both girls really like to be held, which is very rewarding.
Daddy with Adi after a "baby bidet" diaper change & wash:

Milestones...

First bath (at home). This is me with Adeline








They met their Great Grandma Bundy (shown here with Meredith)











And came with me on their first walk (kept warm by blankets made for them by Great Grandma Bundy)










See, I told you it was beautiful outside


And even more beautiful with Adi & Mae

two weeks old

Well, Adi & Mae are both doing great- they each weighed in at 6 lb 14 oz on their two-week doctor's visit, which is about 14 oz heavier than their birth weights- an amazing rate of growth, apparently. I credit all the family and friends who've been helping us, so that I can rest, eat and get my milk supply up. Pat (Dave's mom) must have changed two hundred dirty diapers in the last week, and Dave is also a pro. There is a lot of baby care that I haven't even started doing yet. This week, Dave will go to work but my parents have offered to come over whenever we need them, so hopefully I can start to figure out how to care for them without too much stress.

They are just the most delightful, adorable beings. It is hard to believe there are little people in there, but they do have pretty distinct personalities. Meredith is alert and spends a lot of time watching whatever is in her view, skipping sleep on several cycles during the day. Adeline sleeps more but when she is hungry or getting her diaper changed, she is not shy about letting us know her displeasure very loudly. We've been lucky that they were basically on the same schedule when we got home from the hospital, and we've always been able to wake the second baby to eat after the first, which means we can get some sleep (or food, or showers in).

I think my favorite thing about them is their random arm motion. I guess all newborns are like that, but they seem to be performing some sort of post-modern, sans-music ballet. One arm suddenly flies up, the other out to the side, then hits the owner (or her sister) in the face. I guess their legs kick like that too, they're just harder to see. We've been dressing them almost exclusively in the organic cotton sleep sacks that our friend, Laurie Rasch, makes and very generously gave to us (http://www.lapsaky.com/) so they look like little Maggie Simpsons. And it is amazing how loud they are- the sounds that come from both ends. It makes us laugh several times a day.

I feel quite recovered from pregnancy and the surgery, although not completely. So many symptoms just disappeared overnight. The itchy PUPPP rash keeps coming back so I'm going to see a dermatologist this week but meanwhile I've been suppressing it with oral steroids that I can take since I'm not pregnant anymore. It's amazing how far I can walk now- I'm up to 30 minutes, which is about 30 times longer than I could walk by the end of the pregnancy.

But usually on my walks, I end up in tears. Of joy. Granted, it is a beautiful time of year- the leaves are turning so all the deciduous trees are a mix of green and gold, the sun is (usually, though not today) warm but the air is crisp, the wind blows just enough to sift crunchy golden leaves onto the sidewalk, the cat tails in the nearby lake are all shades of rust and orange. I've usually enjoyed autumn but have never experienced it like this before. I just can't help but think that the world is more beautiful now that our daughters are in it.

one week old

We're adjusting to life at home with Adi and Mae and they're being pretty patient with our lack of skills. Dave does pretty much everything while I simply sit and feed them. We are very lucky to have lots and lots of help; my parents have spent every day with us and now Dave's parents are here to do the same, my sister has come over several times and friends have brought us meals and even fixed the car. When feedings can take up to 1.5 hours, and they eat every 3 hours, there isn't much time for anything! I don't know how anyone does this without so much support.

Yesterday we had our first outing, to the pediatrician, and we were only 20 minutes late! Both girls weighed in at exactly 6 pounds which is amazing because they had lost 8-10% of their birth weight at the hospital, then gained over 2 oz a day since we got them home. The doctor kept saying she couldn't believe the numbers.

Thanks for all the emails and comments, I obviously haven't had a chance to respond but it is great to hear from everyone. In fact, Mae is stirring now, just in time for her feeding.

Here's what you're really looking for:


On the way home from the hospital

Grandpa Bundy does a 'syringe feed' of pumped milk with Adeline
Grandma Coleman holding Adeline
Dave 'preps' Meredith for lunch while I try to figure out if Adeline really needs more food (she never stops rooting)
Dave and the girls get a little sleepBurping Meredith

Holding hands

This was taken by the nurses just before their (Adeline and Meredith's not the nurses') first bath.