Christmas

We had our second Christmas with Michael and our 1st with all 3 kids.  It certainly seemed that Michael got Christmas a little bit this year.  He certainly didn't get Santa, but he started to unwrap some of his gifts.

This was the first year we hosted Christmas breakfast.  We got up before the kids and hoped to have some time to clean up before they got up and also get some of the food prepared.  Unfortunately, the kids were up before we finished and we started opening gifts.  The kids seemed to really like all the toys and we videoed the kids, but id not get any pictures of them opening their gifts.  The favorite for all the kids seemed to be the refrigerator magnets.  Eva Rose got her first doll and stroller and the boys got legos.  All 3 kids love dumping the legos and Michael and Eva Rose seem to like playing with the doll stroller.  Unfortunately, at first, Michael did try to get in it himself, but now he just pushed it around the house.  Eva Rose has definitely been puling up on it and starting to push it just a little.  Thomas just likes to play with everything.  after opening and playing, we realized that we were pushing the limit and really needed to start getting food together.  Everything pretty much went off with out a hitch and the only draw back was that I ended up in bed with a migraine.  Things got better and we travelled to Maine and had a great time at my sister -in-law and brother-in-law's house.

Michael's absolute favorite gift is Thomas' sock monkey in the box.  He laughs every time it is played and blinks his eyes just before the monkey pops up!  He's so cute to watch; laughing and getting excited waiting for the sock monkey to pop up.
All in all it was a great Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2008

Michael Christmas 2009

Eva Rose Christmas 2009

Thomas Christmas 2009

Hope everyone had a great holiday and many wishes for a fabulous new year!

Amy

Way back When-esday

Our 1st Christmas together 16 years ago 1993.

Who would have thought that 16 years later we would have been married 2 1/2 years with 3 kids; 21 1/2 month son and 11 month twins!

Our Christmas card 2009

Amy

Play Date

Eva Rose and Thomas playing with one of the big soft blocks.  At one point, they ended up in this one rocking.

Today we met a couple of other mom's at Together in Motion in Arlington.  It was a little crazy getting all 3 kids out of the house and to Arlington by 9:30 this morning, but it was worth it.  All 3 kids had a great time playing with new climbing toys and playing with many balls.  Most of the time, the 3 kids were scattered in all directions.  It was crazy trying to keep an eye on all 3 but it was doable.  They played with other kids, but did not spend a ton of time playing with each other.  It was fun getting out of the house and being with other kids and other adults.  It will be fun to do again, but I'm sure that we won't do it that often since it really was crazy getting all 3 kids out of the house and keeping an eye on all 3 kids by myself.  We did have a great time though!

Michael climbing.

Amy

Sleep update!

So we started sleep training truly on Wednesday night.  Surprisingly they slept thru on Wed even after H1N1 shots.  Unfortunately on Thursday and Friday night Michael and Eva Rose cried.  We just let them cry and after some time they fell asleep.  Last night we had some people over and were pretty good at keeping them on their schedule even though people wanted to play with them.  They went to bed at their normal time and slept thru til 7:30 this morning.  Did we do it?  I certainly hope so, but I am certainly not expecting that we are all in the clear.  I am definitely expecting to have more nights were we will have to listen to the kids CIO, but I am hoping that we are close to them sleeping thru without wailing and screaming for hours!  I have the Weissbluth book and have skimmed, but I really need to look at the Chapters for the kids' ages and see what he says, but I feel like we are on the right path and will finally get some much needed sleep!

Christmas shopping

We finally went out and shopped for the kids' Christmas gifts.  We totally spent way more than we expected to and got more than we wanted to, but when you have 3 little ones so close in age, I think that it seems like you got too much when in reality you didn't go too over board.  I am so happy that we gave in and bought Elmo Live for Michael.  I think that he is really going to go crazy when he hears Elmo talk to him.  We got Thomas big lego type blocks with a wagon to cart them around in.  Little miss Eva Rose got her first doll and carriage.  I was so excited that I found a doll carriage for her age group.  All the ones that I saw were for 2+ or 3+ years and since she will be 1 a month after Christmas, those just didn't work.  I can't wait for Christmas.   Even though I know that the kids probably have little to no clue about Christmas and presents, I think that they are going to enjoy at least some of their gifts, or at least I hope so.

Stil need to get the nieces and nephews their gift, but otherwise we are done!  Tom and I have decided not to exchange gifts this year.  We decided to save money and space.  There really is nothing we need, and I would much rather buy for the kids in the family than get something stupid for each other.  I would like to do something small for Tom though.  Any ideas out there for something that doesn't cost anything yet means a lot to someone you love?????

Oh, and I did get things for some of the adults, just not store bought.  I hope they like them!

Fluke?

So yesterday we went to get the first dose of H1N1 in Newton.  Not far, but getting the shot at 4:40pm then attempting to drive 128 north at that time was not my idea of fun.  I decided to go the back roads through Belmont, Arlington and Winchester.  Other than the beginning, I knew exactly where I was going.  Unfortunately I got a little lost in the beginning and My little Eva Rose cried, no screamed most of the way home.  I figured that since we had more crying than usual after a shot I would give them a quick dose of Tylenol before going to bed since I was going to attempt to get the 3 kids to sleep through the night.  We got home had dinner and bottles and off to bed without Tylenol since I totally forgot that I wanted to give it to them (I am not someone who pre-medicates just in case usually).  The twins were in bed at 8pm and Michael by 8:30 (this is their normal schedule for the last couple of weeks and actually seems to work just as well if not better than earlier bed times).  After they were in bed, I left Tom and went to B&N to get the Weissbuth book.  Unfortunately my plan was to start the book last night, but I was just too tired.  I didi read the first couple of pages and skim some of the book, but didn't really retain anything.  I will start today now that I got a good nights sleep.  That means, Michael went to bed will little to no crying and slept through without a peep and the twins did the same except Eva Rose did cry a little but went back to sleep without help after a pretty short time.

Is it a fluke?  I certainly hope not.  I know that these guys can sleep through the night and I think that it will be better for all involved!

Amy

Sleeping through the night

What is the definition of insanity?  To keep doing the same thing and expect different results!

I think I've reached my breaking point with sleep.  The twins seem to be doing ok, though we still need to be consistent with how we deal with sleep with both the twins and Michael, but it seems like the twins will be easier.  Michael, on the other hand, I think, is going to be a difficult venture.  Last night we absolutely started the CIO method for going to sleep.  It took him over an hour to go to sleep.  This is the longest time that it has taken him to fall asleep.  Usually, he will fall asleep easily but then wake after only a couple of hours.

Last night, it was tough going to sleep and staying asleep.  I have resisted the CIO method for sleep training, but I think it is time to do it.  After just a couple of hours of finally going to sleep, Michael woke screaming.  We let him scream for probably an hour and then I broke down and got him up.  I rocked him in his room and he was fine as long as he was in the position that he wanted to be in.  If I changed his position when I got uncomfortable, he cried and screamed.  At that point I decided that he needed to go back in his crib and go to sleep on his own.  It took awhile (can't remember how long), but he finally went to sleep and I had to wake him this morning!  The twins on the other hand slept through the night til 6:30 this morning.  If I remember right, there was a little crying but not enough to make me uncomfortable.

As much as I have resisted this, I am going to continue to do the CIO method (not that I was totally successful in starting last night, but I kind of started), since what was working is no longer working.  Tonight, all 3 kids will go to bed on schedule and will  start to learn to sooth themselves back to sleep.  As long as all their needs have been met, I should learn not to feel guilty about letting them cry themselves back to sleep, right?

Amy

H1N1

This whole vaccine issues is crazy.  I finally just scheduled my kids a time to get the vaccine next Wed.  The twins are getting the 2nd dose of their flu shot on Mon and then Wed we have to go to Newton to get the 1st dose of the H1N1 vaccine then hope that we can get the 2nd dose after 30 days most likely somewhere else since NWH is probably not doing more clinics.  According to the twins Dr, she feels that the twins need to get the vaccine especially since they were slightly premature and then had RSV when they were just weeks old.  The RSV places them more at risk for respiratory issues when they get sick, so even a cold may cause serious breathing complications or it may not.  One never knows.  I'm not thrilled about the vaccine, but given the alternative, I changed my mind and decided that the vaccine was important for them all to get.  At least they'll get the 1st dose and maybe it won't be as difficult to get the 2 nd dose!

Amy

Crazy somewhat sleep deprived life

I am fighting off some kind of illness.  Thankfully it's just a little sore throat, headache, being tired and just feeling blah!  Unfortunately, I am also working on getting sleep.  We were doing ok for a short time, then last night, when I felt my worst, Michael and Eva Rose just did not want to sleep.  I have thought about trying CIO, have thought about attachment parenting ways of getting them to sleep, and have kept them on schedule so that their sleep would not be disrupted.  I am not a huge fan of the CIO, since I can't handle letting them cry and am afraid that I will end up with 3 screaming kids.  I am more of the attachment parenting camp, but last night, I had to let both Michael and Eva Rose CIO.  They both had all their needs met, they were actually up for awhile because I couldn't get them to sleep, and to my dismay, Michael actually came to bed with me.  I know he is getting to upper teeth and he is not eating well at all.  I think Eva Rose is teething, but I can't see any new teeth coming in.  As much as I don't like it, I may need to do CIO from now on just to get some sleep.  The twins have been sleeping from 8-6 and taking 2 good 1-2 hour naps a day.  Michael is taking 1 2 hour nap and sleeps from 8:30- 8:00 am, but with a wake up through the night.  I can't figure out what is the right answer.  I need my sleep, but I hate hearing my babies scream.  And I don't run in at the first scream, I do let them cry a little before I go in.

I guess every day is a new lesson.  Nothing in life is black and white!

Now off to figure out how to decorate for the holidays!

Amy

Conference

Tomorrow I am attending a Journaling conference for social work license credits.  I haven't done anything with social work in the last year since I went on bed rest with the twins.  I now have 11 months to get a total of 25 credits.  That doesn't sound bad, but I need to find the time to attend a conference and the money to pay for it.  When you are working, you tend to have more options for free CEU programs and finding the time is much easier.  I now need to plan a babysitter for the whole day, usually my mom around her schedule or give her plenty of time to get her schedule in order.

I am really looking forward to this conference.  I signed up for it back in the middle of August and felt like it would never come, but here it is.  Even though I can't wait to go to this conference, this will be the first time that I have left all 3 babies for a whole day.  I've gone out for a couple of hours, either alone or with my husband, but never from 7:30 am til probably 5pm.

This will be an interesting day!  I get to be around my social work peers and I get to see how it would be if I were to be working 8 hour days.  Thankfully, it is only 1 day and I get to go back to being a SAHM which I love.  It will be nice though, to be around other social workers for a little bit and see if I still enjoy being a social worker!

Life is crazy,
Amy

Sleeping through the night

So, pretty much everyone in my twins group does CIO.  They are totally Weissbluth followers and for some reason, I just can't seem to allow myself to do it.  It has worked for so many other parents.  I really want to have my kids sleep and be on a good schedule.  It worked great for about 1 month back in September, then for what ever reason, they just stopped sleeping through.  It was probably my fault.  I probably became to lax with the schedule.  Today, after having both Tom and I up with all 3 kids, I decided to put the Weissbluth book on hold at Borders.  Now I just need to go pick it up, read it and make sure I follow through.  For some reason, I am able to CIO at nap time for all 3 kids.  Why is it that at night, I can't seem to let them CIO?

I'm hoping that I can get these kids to sleep through the night.  I am going to try to get to Borders tonight and get started on reading the book and trying to implement it!

Life is crazy!

Amy

Thanksgiving 2009

I had a really great Thanksgiving.  I am so thankful for my beautiful family.  I have a wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children who have absolutely made my life wonderful.  This was the first holiday that we had to get the 3 kids out of the house along with all sorts of extras.  We went to my sister in laws (1 hour 15 minutes away) for Easter but the kids were so young that it wasn't as difficult (if you can imagine that).  We only went 15 minutes away to my sister in law's, brother in law's, but for some reason it seemed like it was so much more difficult to get things together this time.  Dinner was delicious and as always it is wonderful to get together with family.  The kids had a really good time and were really well behaved.  After we left Peter's, we went to Tom's aunt and visited for a short time (the kids needed to go to bed at this point).  Unfortunately, we got a late start to bed time, but will be back on schedule tomorrow.

One of the best parts was how well the roasted nut and white chocolate bark went over.  I had a lot of fun making these and also making the box that I brought them in and the wine bag.  Tom made delicious Cranberry nut bread also.  I can't wait to make more nuts and bark and even the packaging!

Amy

Wednesday November 25th

Today is the day before Thanksgiving.  It was bring your kids to work, at least at Tom's school.  I took all 3 kids to school and Michael loved watching 2001 space odyssey in Tom's class.  Ok, so he really only liked or at least was really attracted to the scene when the apes were making noises.  Michael attempted to copy them, very cute!

After this, we went for lunch at a simple sub place in town.  Michael ate pretty good and the 3 kids were very well behaved.  When I left the house this morning, I packed clothes in case we went to see Santa at the mall.  I figured that given that this was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, maybe there wouldn't be that many people wanting to see Santa.  We got to the mall and there was no line.  I still had to change 3 kids into their dress clothes and hope by then there wouldn't be this huge line.  Tom and I tag teamed the 3 kids and got in line with only 1 person ahead of us.  Michael started screaming when we put him in the stroller and we were afraid that this was only a taste of what was to come.  When we got up to Santa, we put all 3 kids in his lap (Santa was awesome in how he handled 3 kids under 2!).  Thankfully all 3 kids cooperated and we got our picture.  Now onto getting Christmas cards ready!

Santa visit 2009

Happy Holidays,

Amy

Makes My Monday: Newest Changes

The twins turn 10 months old today.  Eva Rose has been standing for a couple of weeks and most times when I put her in her crib, right away she stands up.  We've been waiting for Thomas to fully pull himself up.  For a couple of weeks now, he has been able to get to his knees and has been so close to pulling himself totally up.  Today he finally was able to get to his feet for the first time.  I love watching these milestones, especially since they were a little early.  Not very early but enough that there may have been somewhat of a delay as well as being pretty sick in the first month of their life.  So far, everything seems right on track and they are happy and healthy.

Thomas standing for the first time

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get pictures (your camera is never ready when you need it) but, Michael went over to both the twins and gave them a kiss for no reason.  It is so cute to watch little kids kiss each other.  I love that he is so good with the twins.  I am so excited that they are so close in age.  I hope that other than normal sibling rivalry, they will be close.

Check out other Makes my Monday at http://twinfatuation.blogspot.com/

Amy

Sleep

So we have been having sleep issues in this house.  Back in September, I started to take away the twins 10 o'clock bottle.  Thanks to Sotoriffic twins, I had a terrific schedule to follow.  It worked great for about a month.  I honestly can't remember why it stopped working.  I can't remember if it was due to me not following the schedule close enough, if teething happened, if they got sick, or what it was.  Well, Friday was horrible.  The twins went down at 6:30-7:00 and went to sleep fine (they seem to go to sleep fine).  At around 10pm, Thomas woke screaming!  I tried to let him cry, but he was screaming at the top of his lungs.  I was so afraid that I'd end up with 3 awake kids that I finally got him up.  I changed his diaper, sang to him fed him, gave him tylenol, rocked him, but nothing seemed to settle him.  I was home alone til 11:30 and once Tom came home, I hoped that maybe that would settle him, but no.  Finally after 3 hours he went to sleep.  Through these 3 hours I attempted to put him back in his crib, but each time he screamed at the top of his lungs.  Then lucky me got to get up with Eva Rose at around 3:30 am.  Sat the schedule was totally off and again he woke, but this time it was midnight and for about an hour.  I now can't remember what time Eva Rose woke.  I think it may have been more like 6 which is very doable and I would be psyched if all 3 kids slept til 6am.  I'd actually be happy if they went back to sleeping til 5am (I won't complain if they at least let me sleep straight through til then.  I do think that Thomas may be teething since he seems more cranky than normal.  He is my light sleeper in general and Eva Rose is definitely my good sleeper.  Michael, thankfully is sleeping mostly through the night.  I think I may need to get either the Weissbluth book recommended from my twins group or The Baby Whisperer recommended my our family practitioner.  Someday, maybe, I'll sleep through the night again.  Til then, wish me the strength to get through.

Crazy life, but even sleep deprived, I wouldn't change a thing!

Amy

On Having Preemies

I hope sotorrifictwins.blogspot.com doesn't mind that I'm stealing her idea for a blog post, but any support for preemies is good, right?  I am also a mom to preemie twins born 4 weeks and 3 days early, according to a later ultrasound time line (according to usual calculating, and I guess later ultrasound timelines aren't as accurate, I was 5 weeks  3 days early).  Does it matter?  In the long run not really, but being at least 35 weeks allowed me to deliver at Mt Auburn like I wished.  Unfortunately, I did not have the uncomplicated pregnancy like Sotorrific Twins.  I had been on bed rest since week 23 and got steroid shots at 28 weeks for help with the babies lung development.  Like Sotorrific Twins said, it is so important to have prenatal care.  I was at a routine ultrasound when the ultrasound tech and MD noticed that I had a short cervix placing me at risk for pre-term labor.  The MD immediately put me on bed rest after a trip to the hospital for initial monitoring.  I was also put on progesterone suppositories.  I was seen much more often for OB appointments and also for ultrasounds.  The initial goal was for me to make it to at least 28 weeks.  Those next 5 weeks were really scary, hoping and praying that my babies would be safe.  Once I hit 34 weeks, the ultrasound MD told us just how worried he was.

At that point, I was taken off strict bed rest but still had increased monitoring.  It was at a routine NST that I had found out I was having issues with pre-eclampsia again (I was on bed rest for 6 weeks with my 1st son).  At my OB appointment that morning my blood pressure was totally normal, no issues.  By 4 pm, my BP had spiked to 188/111 (I was also on BP meds) and blood work and urine showed that I was truly starting to have pre-eclampsia.  I was going to try to do a VBAC, but baby B was breech (he had been head down 2 days earlier).  I had already started to dilate and they were going to try to break my water, but no go since I had a breech baby.

The babies were born just before midnight via c-section and were amazingly healthy.  They were both about 4 1/2 pounds and really only needed to be watched for their ability to suck, swallow and breathe.  We were lucky enough to be able to have them come home with us after 5 days.  Unfortunately, their low birth weight, small size and premature status placed them at risk for RSV.  Really unfortunately, they came down with RSV when they were 2 and 3 weeks old.

Like Sotorrific Twins, I also worry about meeting milestones at the right mark, but so far there have not been any issues.  Because of their RSV, I tend to be a little more worried regarding respiratory issues, they are more at risk for issues due to RSV.  H1N1 as well as the regular flu, is also a worry because of their preemie status and RSV history.

Thankfully, RSV is the only issue that we have had related to their preemie status and even then once they were stablized, they just grew and grew and reached milestone after milestone.  Luckily my BP is now normal and I am no longer on BP meds.

Prenatal monitoring is so important to your baby's health and well being as well as your own.  Make sure that you take care of yourself and get monitored when you are pregnant.  As you can see even with close monitoring, there can be major issues, but they can be addressed quickly.

Amy

Cloth diapering

About 4 months ago, we started using cloth diapers with my oldest son.  They seemed to work great for his issues with diaper rashes and it was nice not having so many disposables (and it wasn't even that bad with regards to laundry).  So, we decided to start using cloth for all 3.  I'm not sure why, but lately it seems that all 3 kiddos are getting horrible diaper rashes.  I started changing how I washed the diapers.  I used less detergent since less seems to be better when it comes to cloth diapers.  Also, I decided to try a couple of loads on the sanitary cycle hoping to strip the diapers of anything that may be defeating the absorbency ability of the diapers.  That seemed to work for the short term, but it seemed like the diaper rashes were back in full force.  I started being really conscientious about changing them every 2 hours or so (don't get me wrong, it's not like they sat in wet, dirty diapers for too long, you just have to change them much more often than disposables).  It's pretty crazy (sometimes I feel like all I do is change diapers), but isn't that what happens when you have 3 in diapers?  The kids' doctor wanted me to use desitin, balmex, or something like that, but that means using disposables for longer than I wanted to.  I decided to use up the few disposables that I had and I was going to buy more, but for whatever reason, the stars didn't align and I didn't get out to the store in time.  Because of this, I started back in cloth sooner than I expected.  I was going to go out later when the kids were better or my husband was home and get desitin (as much as I didn't want to use it, it does work great) and more disposables since you can't use desitin with cloth as it screws with odor and absorbency.  When I was changing diapers later on, the rashes seemed better especially since I was changing diapers often.  I also wrote to a cloth diaper list that I belong to and they suggested that I try fleece liners.  I had some fleece material at the house so I cut out some liners and it's amazing how much the fleece wicked away the moisture from the kids' bottom.  Since I no longer have any projects that I have to complete, my newest project is going to be making fleece diapers (almost like fleece underwear thanks to my husbands suggestion) to wear under the cloth pre-fold then a cover on top.  I'm going to keep the covers I have for now, but will eventually make my own fleece covers.

I really want to keep up with cloth diapering.  For me, it's a better choice and I also don't have to worry as much about running out of diapers (which can happen quickly when you have 3 in diapers, pretty much all the same size)

Looking forward to my newest project, but now off to knit a scarf and watch the Patriots!
Amy

Way back When-esday

The twins went for their 9 month visit today.  It is amazing how much they have grown and changed in the past 9 1/2 months.  They were so small when they were born.  We were lucky that they were not born til 35 weeks and 4 days since I had been on bed rest for 3 months (Uggg!)  When they were born, they weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces and 17 3/4 inches (Eva Rose) and 4 pounds 8.9 ounces and 17 inches (Thomas).  Today they were 17 pounds 12 ounces 26 inches and 18 pounds 10.5 ounces and 27 inches respectively.  They are both sitting up, babbling away, attempting to stand (can get to their knees) and pretty much crawling all over the place.  All 3 kids got flu vaccines and had blood drawn.  There were 2 people ahead of us at the lab and they so kindly let us go ahead of them (there are some nice people in this world!).  Hopefully we'll get the H1N1 vaccine soon, on a waiting list but should get it especially for the twins since they were a little premature and their prior RSV makes them more at risk for respiratory issues!

Michael is growing also, but I don't know exactly his weight or height.  He is so much more stable on his feet.  He's pretty much running all over the place not just walking.  He still is not talking.  At this point, he has only consistently said mom (unfortunately he also whines this), but has said da da and today said baby for the first time.  It's so fun to watch him interact with the twins, especially his sister.  At least at this point, there seems to be some sort of special connection between them.  It will be interesting to see if this continues as they get older.

I can't wait for more changes.  i love watching them grow and change.

                           

Michael 3/11/08

Michael halloween 10/31/09 (running out the door at my sisters wedding)

Thomas and Eva Rose 1/25/09

Eva Rose and Thomas Halloween 10/31/09

check out more way back when-esday at http://twinfatuation.blogspot.com/

Life is crazy, but I love it!

Amy

Milestones

It'a amazing how fast babies grow.  You don't realize it until you have your own and all of a sudden you realize that these babies are no the teeny little beings that they were when they were first born.  My oldest son is now 20 months and the twins are now 9 1/2 months.  Michael is so amazing to watch.  he has grown into such a little man.  He and the twins have such great personalities.  I am learning that Michael loves oldies.  He loves to move his arms and slap his legs to the beat of oldies 103.3.  One of the mom's in my twins group was asking about MD visits in the 1st year not including well baby visits, especially for preemies.  I remember going to the MD often for Michael since he wasn't gaining weight.  I wasn't able to breast feed and provide him enough calories.  Once we started him on formula, all was good.  Even though I felt like a failure, he was thriving.  He was not thriving on breast milk alone.  I realized all that mattered was that he thrived and grew strong!  He is now growing so big.  He eats pretty good, but loves to feed the dog and throw his food on the floor.  Hopefully, he'll start eating more and giving less to the dog!

Eva Rose and Thomas are now able to sit up on their own.  They are getting ready to stand.  They are already up on their knees and trying to get to their feet.  I actually had to move the shoulder straps in their car seat.  They are now at the top setting.  It made me think back to when they were first born.  They were 4 1/2 weeks early and each weighed about 4 1/2 pounds.  We weren't even sure if they were going to be able to use their car seat or need to use a car bed.  Luckily they did great with their car seat testing.  Unfortunately they ended up back in the hospital with RSV, but grew so big and strong after their hospitalization.  It's amazing how much they have grown.  We went to the MD Fri for a respiratory issue with Eva Rose and the MD was amazed at how much she has changed since her 6 month visit.  I can't wait for her to see the other 2 kids and her what she has to say about their growth!

I love watching the kids grow, change, and meet milestones.  It's amazing being a parent.  I love being the mom to 3 beautiful children and the wife to a fabulous man!

Life is crazy but I love it!
Amy

Way Back When-ednesday

After looking at the kids' christening photos I found my album and found a picture of my Christening with my grandmother and a couple of great aunts, one of them being my grandmother's twin sister.  I thought it would be fun to post a picture of my christening with one of the sets of twins in my family and then to post a picture of my kids' Christening.

My Nana, Auntie Nora, my great-grandmother holding me, and my Auntie Edie (my grandmother's twin sister) 1973

All 3 kids, Godparents, Me and Tom, and the priest (Tom's cousin John) 2009

It's kind of nice having both pictures in 1 spot.  I may have to print out my Christening picture for the kids' scrapbook, whenever I get around to doing one :)!

Thanks to Cheryl at http://twinfatuation.blogspot.com for hosting Way Back When-ednesday.

Amy

Halloween Makes My Monday

This year we spent Halloween at my sister's wedding.  We had a lot of fun and the kids' even got to dress up at the wedding.  Last year, unfortunately, I was just put on bed rest 2 days prior to Halloween.  I was unable to really enjoy Michael's first Halloween, so when this year came around, I really wanted to enjoy the 3 kids all dressed up.  Somehow, I was able to finish all the kids' costumes and I think they came out really cute!

Unfortunately by the time this picture was taken, Eva Rose had fallen asleep so we only have the boys

Unfortunately by the time this picture was taken, Eva Rose had fallen asleep so we only have the boys

The twins as scarecrow and Dorothy

Miss Dorothy by herself

Cold/Flu/RSV Season

Ok, so I was officially wigged out yesterday!  There's been a slight cold/runny nose going through the house since the beginning of the month.  I was sick with a cold and fever and getting sick the beginning of the month and the kids have all had runny noses for the last week or so.  Yesterday, Eva Rose started coughing and sounding weezy and raspy when she was breathing, but seemed pretty much herself otherwise.  I finally had Tom look at her to see if I was imagining things, and he heard the same thing.  I called the MD, and given that she didn't seem in any distress, we decided to hold off til this morning for an appt.  Also the MD felt that since we had been through RSV last February, we knew what to look for with regards to respiratory distress.  Well, after the doctors office closed, she started retracting when breathing.  I was having flashbacks to the whole RSV situation.  My sister (nursing student) looked at her and confirmed what we knew needed to happen.  Off to children's hospital ER!  It's amazing how traumatized I was by their RSV history.  I was tearing up on the way to the hospital, telling the current symptoms, and just walking into the bak of the ER.  Ultimately, she was evaluated and given a nebulizer, x-ray, and inhaler.  Thankfully nothing serious, like RSV, but we still need to watch her (and Thomas also).  We now have an inhaler for Eva Rose if she weezes and can give it to Thomas if he needs it.  Unfortunately, given RSV history, the chances that the twins will have asthma type symptoms with colds are increased.  g\Given their history of RSV, we are also being strongly encouraged to give the kids especially the twins H1N1 vaccine as well as the seasonal flu vaccine.  Not thrilled about the vaccine (H1N1), but I don't want them to have superimposed issues on top of the flu.

I love being a parent, but hate these issues that go along with it!

Amy

A Year of Slow Cooking: Subscribe to A Year of Slow Cooking

A Year of Slow Cooking: Subscribe to A Year of Slow Cooking

Knowing Your Limits and Trusting Yourself!

Having 3 kids 19 1/2 months and under changes your life.  It changes your life for the better, but there are many things as a parent you must learn.  As a parent in general, you must learn to listen to your instincts, you must learn to trust yourself, and you must learn to know your individual limits.  There are many more things that you learn once you are a parent, but these are the biggies that I deal with on a daily basis.  I am always seeking advice because I don't trust my own instincts with regards to being a mom.  It's great to have people give you advice, but what I am slowly learning is that you must take people's advice and use it so that it benefits you and your family.  There is lots of great advice out there from people who have been there that worked for them, but it may not work for your family.  For me, it takes time to remember that most of us as parents have a natural instinct to do what's right for their family, but it's even harder to actually use my instincts.

I also tend to want to do everything.  There is not enough time for me to do everything that I want to do.  This weekend was a perfect example.  I, like usual, procrastinated and didn't start the baby's Halloween costume til late.  I had 2 costumes to make and I only gave myself a couple of days to complete this.  Not smart on my part.  I really wanted to make the costumes and with taking care of 3 kids, I really should have started much earlier.  I also promised to help at a Halloween party and ended up not helping out because I was running late and then had 3 kids to watch with only 2 adults.  Not a smart move to leave  adult to watch 3 kids.  Then the worst part is I ended up fighting with my husband because I over extended myself, didn't plan and expected that he help me get out of the situation.  Not fair to him!  Hopefully I learned from this weekend!  Hopefully I will stop the procrastinating and start planning better.  I still have to finish my sister's guest book, another thing that I should have started on earlier.  After this, I think that I will plan better.  I still want to make things, but I will hopefully take more time and not wait til the last minute.

Procrastination is one of the areas in my life that I really need to work on.  With a family that needs a lot of my attention (because the kids are so small and my husband works so hard), I really need to plan my time better.

Babysitting

I am going for more allergy testing tomorrow and my mom is babysitting.  This will be the first time that she has all 3 up and for a number of hours, and the first person other than Tom and I to have the kids for more than just and hour or 2 during the day.  It's not that I don't think she can handle it, in fact I am more than confident that she can handle it, but I feel bad that she has all 3 kids all morning (at least if not longer).  It will be a good test for December since she will have them all day.  I am really looking forward to that day.  It will be the first social work conference that I have been to since I can't even remember.  It's been over a year, I know that!  I am taking a class in journaling and am so looking forward to this conference.  It's been so long since I have attended a conference that I wanted to go to instead of going to one just to get the credits.  I know that I will feel less guilty in December if things go good tomorrow (it's really tough do things that you need to do with out kids, especially when there are three, 19 months and under).  Thankfully, thanks to Sotorrific Twins, I have a pretty detailed schedule for her to follow.  Personally, I don't use the actual written schedule so much since I now pretty much know it by heart, but it is so good to have a schedule for someone who is babysitting.

This schedule has been a life saver getting the kids to sleep through the night.  Unfortunately, the last week or so hasn't gone as well as it did in the beginning.  I know that the twins are getting their top teeth and that they may even be growing through a growth spurt since they seem to need  a little more formula to get them through the night.  I have tried letting them cry it out and end up with 3 kids up.  I usually have a humidifier on so that their is some white noise, but that doesn't always help.  Hopefully they will sleep throught the night so that my mom can have a good day tomorrow and maybe they can get back on schedule!

Way back When-esday

Given that it is cold/flu/RSV season, I thought it only appropriate to post pictures of when the twins were in the NICU with RSV and what they look like now.  RSV is probably the scariest thing that I have ever been through, whether it was about me, my husband, or my kids.  They were so small and fragile when they were born, to see them decline so fast before they were put on machines that helped them get better, was so heartbreaking.  Once they came home, they truly blossomed into 2 beautiful and strong babies.  Now with RSV season here, I do get somewhat concerned that they will get it again, but I know that they are so much stronger and as my husband reminded me, their lungs are so much larger and stronger that when they get congested they are able to deal with it unlike when they were so small.  I know that they can get RSV again, and I hope they don't, but I do know that it more than likely will not affect them as seriously as it did when they were 2 and 3 weeks old.

Thomas Feb 2009

Eva Rose Feb 2009

All 3 kids Oct 2009

How big they have gotten

Amy

19 months and 8 1/2 months

I can't believe that the kids are 19 months and 8 1/2 months old.  I feel like it was just yesterday that I got married never mind having 3 kids.  Tom and I went from being single (though together forever) to married with 3 kids all before we were married for 2 years.  Who would have thought that after 14 years of dating, we would be lucky enough to have an instant family?  I certainly never did.  Now we have 1 kid who is walking all over the place getting into everything and 2 little ones that are not really crawling, but they are able to scoot themselves around the room.  It's amazing how you put them one place then before you know it they are in another place across the room.  Alright, maybe not across the room, but they have definitely moved quite a bit.  It's amazing to watch these kids grow and change.

It seems like not long ago we were feeding Michael every 2 hours trying to get him to put on weight.  Now, even tough he still doesn't eat a ton, he has gained enough weight were both Tom and I are amazed at how short of a time we can comfortably carry him.  The twins are now eating 3 meals a day and having 4 bottles.  They go for their 9 month appointment November 11th.  I can't wait to see how they have grown in actual numbers.  Unfortunately, all 3 kids will be getting shots (immunizations and flu shots) and blood work (Michael).  Should be a fun night!

All 3 kids are sleeping through the night.  The twins are in bed no later than 7 pm and Michael is usually in bed around 8 pm.  The only problem is that we have gone from sleeping til 6:30 am to more like 5:15 am.  Michael is great with going to bed now.  We change him into jammies and he gets milk.  Once he decides he has had enough milk (may b 2 sips or may be the whole cup and sometimes he needs to sit with both me and Tom) he walks to his room, waves buy and waits for the stars to come out.  He goes right into his crib and is out for the night (The turtle constellation light is awesome).  The twins just get changed, bottle, and go into their crib (sometimes they fight it, but mostly they are out relatively quick).

Off to check on no napping kids!

Amy

Christening

All 3 babies were Christened today.  We were lucky and only had our babies Christened today instead of a large group of babies that we didn't know.  We were also lucky since Tom's cousin celebrated the Baptism for us.  He had a great sermon about what to teach your children.  The main focus was to teach them love and respect: love between parents, love for the children, and respect for children.  Thankfully all the Christening Outfits fit all 3 kids.  It was really nice to have people make comments about the outfits since these are really the 1st clothing items that I have made.  I was even able to knit Eva Rose's sweater.  I was afraid that people wouldn't like them since they were simple cotton outfits, but once I saw all three of them in their outfits and how cute they looked, I new that I made the right decision.  I really liked the simple cotton outfits.  I was a great day and I have some great memories of the day that all three of our kids were Baptized.

Michael with Auntie Connie and Cousin Walter

Eva Rose with Auntie Colleen and Uncle Paul

Thomas with Auntie Rebecca and Cousin Teddy

Amy

Sitting Pretty

The twins are now sitting up on their own and playing.  Of course, I couldn't get a good picture of them playing together, but it was so cute.  Michael was even starting to play with them.  They still have some balance issues, but it was totally unreal how long they remained sitting on their own.  I have gotten a couple of pictures of them sitting, but it only lasted for a few seconds.  Today it lasted for many minutes with them playing with each other.

Thomas and Eva Rose playing together

Trying to get a picture of all 3 of the kids playing together, but Michael didn't want to cooperate.

I have a picture of the 3 kids for the start of each season except for the Celtics

Makes My Monday: Newest Changes

Both of the twins have been changing so quickly.  Both Eva Rose and Thomas have started pushing themselves up onto their knees.  It's amazing how quickly these changes happen.  Pretty soon they will be crawling, then onto pulling themselves up and then walking all before I know it.  Unfortunately, I rarely have my camera ready when they are up on their knees.  Luckily I was able to get a quick snapshot or 2 of Thomas, but not Eva Rose.  A huge part of me loves to watch these changes, but then there is a small part of me that wants things to remain the same.

He's on his way to crawling

Look at him up on those knees

Check out http://twinfatuation.blogspot.com/ for more makes my Monday!

Amy

Children's Hospital

I got a call from my sister in law tonight.  She said that her daughter, Leah, was talking with a nurse at Maine Med who mentioned that she had worked at Children's Hospital.  Leah mentioned that her little cousins were in Children's with RSV.  This nurse actually remembered my little ones when they were in the hospital back in Feb.  She remembered that they were preemies, that my son came in first and then my daughter, and that they were both intubated.  Unfortunately I do not know her name.  What I do know is that all of the nurses that took care of my tiny, sick, little babies were the most caring, supportive, willing to provide information and take the time to listen and answer all of our many and repetitive questions.  I am so impressed that with all the sick children that these nurses see everyday, that she and other nurses  remembered my two little guys.

My little ones are doing so good now.  They are healthy and growing by leaps and bounds.  I am so sorry that my little ones were so sick when they were so young and that they (and we) had to go through such a horrible ordeal, but because of the loving, caring, and supportive environment that they were in, they were able to grow so strong and healthy.

Everyday is a new experience with 3 little ones, but I am so loving this life!

Amy

Thursday!

Before I had children, I thought that life was passing by so fast.  Now that I have 3, I am amazed at how fast things change and how fast time passes. My little Michael is only 18 months, but he is such a little boy.  He no longer looks like a baby.  He is starting to look like a boy.  In some ways this makes me sad, but in many ways, I so love watching him grow and change and get more and more of his special personality!

The twins are growing and changing so fast also.  Thankfully they still look little babies.  But they are starting to lift their hips and rock.  Before I know it they will be crawling, then standing, then furniture walking, and finally walking independently.  I know that this will all take time, but I also realize that this will happen all to quickly.  They have the best little personalities.   It's amazing how all three are so different, yet they are all from the same parents.  I love watching my babies change and grow.

I have to say that I am loving this schedule that I have been using, mostly for the twins but also for Michael!  We are trying to get this house organized and looking at least semi-presentable.  Saturday, I am having a party for my sister, then in a couple of weeks we are having the babies christening at this house.  Today the kitchen started out looking pretty nice, then as we started to take things out to get rid of things, it started to look like a disaster.  Thankfully, now that the babies are all asleep by 8:00 at the latest, Michael being the last one in bed, I have time to get things done. Now, the kitchen looks much more like it did earlier today!  And the best part is that I can go to bed when I want and not worry about a last feeding for the twins and all the babies will sleep through the night til hopefully 6:00 am.

Life is crazy, but I love it!
Amy

Way back When-esday

Joining in again with way back when-esday!

Tom and I     6/16/2009

Summer 2009

Things certainly can change quite a bit in 2 years!

Amy

Scheduling

I am off to a great start this morning!  The kids have been up since 6:30.  They have all had their milk, breakfast, diapers changed and are in for their morning nap.  It is absolutely crazy how much scheduling your day helps get you through and is so much better for the kids.  I am going to use this time to get some housework done.  With 3 kids under 1 1/2, you really can't get housework done when they are up.  Not only that, but you want to spend time with them not cleaning (never mind that I hate cleaning).  I am hoping that since Michael is having a morning nap, he will still have an afternoon nap.  Then, I will have another 1-2 hours to get stuff done around here.  The Christening is coming up soon (October)  as well as a party for my sister's wedding this weekend.  The house needs to get cleaned and organized and I still need to finish the boys outfits for the Christening.  Life passes so quickly!

On to finish my coffee, shower, laundry, and clean!

Life is crazy, but having a good schedule really helps!

Amy

Crazy 2 nights

So I had a great first 3 nights with the babes sleeping through the night.  The 4th night Eva Rose woke at 4am  and screamed for I don't remember how long at this point.  Finally she went back to sleep and then got up at 6:15 like usual.  Then, last night Michael woke at 2ish and didn't want to go back to sleep.  I succumbed and got up and gave him milk.  That didn't work so I brought him in bed with me.  That quieted him down, but I didn't want him there for the rest of the night.  I finally put him back in his crib and he cried, but finally fell back to sleep after not too long.  Then not a couple of hours later, Eva Rose again woke screaming.  I got up an d put a CD on in her room and fairly quickly she went back to sleep.  Not great but at least she went back to sleep fairly quick.  Tonight may be another horrible night.  We went to the twin sale in Wakefield and really screwed up the schedule.  I hope that this doesn't screw up the night, but if it does, I know that it is my fault for being so foolish to not follow the schedule.  It's amazing what a schedule means to kids.  I am thinking that I am going to be a little more scheduled with things.  Mainly so dinner get done at a normal time.  The little ones usually eat at a good time, but Tom and I don't and that usually means that we end up eating out.  That needs to stop.  I need to get dinner for Michael, Tom, and I on the schedule and hopefully that will help with keeping things on schedule and help with Tom and my weight issues.  Maybe if we eat at normal time and eat at home vs eating out, we can start to lose weight, be a little healthier, and give Michael good habits!

Here's to a good schedule and a more controlled life.  Life will still be crazy, but it will be crazy in a good away vs  not so good way!

Amy

Thursday

So, Eva Rose is able to sit up somewhat on her own at least for a short time.  Thomas is not really ready for that yet, but close.  It seems like once things start they happen so quickly.  They both have 2 bottom teeth and I'm assuming that more are coming soon.  Michael is 18 months and has 2 teeth so far.  Knock on wood, I have to say the teething hasn't been an issue with any of the 3.  Hopefully it will continue that way.

Eva Rose sitting up 9/9/09

Thomas went for his follow up for his circumcision.  Everything looks fine.  It's amazing how quick these MD appts are.  It really amazes me how much it takes to get 3 kids into the doctors office and then the doctor walks in looks at the patient for 2 seconds and then says everything is fine and leaves.  It's great that is all that Thomas needed, but if that was all it was going to be, I don't think I would have packed up all 3 kids and had both Tom and I go to the appointment.

Michael is so cute.  I think he likes the bouncy seats more now that he is really to big for them.  He loves to try out Thomas' which was his, but he likes Eva Rose's pink one as much.  He's  so pround to be able to get in and out of  the seats on his own.  He's growing up so fast.  I look at him and no longer see a baby, I see a little boy.

Michael in Eva Rose's bouncy seat 9/10/09

Life is crazy, but I love it!

Amy

I know I said that I wouldn't write more, but it has been 3 nights in a row for all 3 kid's sleeping through the night.  I am so excited that this is going so well.  The schedule is great, and is so helpful.  Naps can be difficult, but night time seems to work well.  I hope that I am not jinxing myself, but so far so good!

sleeping through the night 3

Ok, last post about sleeping.  Someone must be looking out for me because I have had 2 nights in a row with little to no problems getting the twins to sleep from 7:30-6:30 the next morning.  We did have an big issue with Thomas taking is afternoon nap, but finally he went down for about an hour.  We went out and  purchased 2 sleep sacks thanks to the suggestion of Sotorrific Twins' mom.  Hopefully this will help with naps and night time.  The twins went down for a nap this morning with just a little crying.  I never realized just how important schedules, routine, and consistency are.  I love that the kids are all sleeping so good.

Thanks Sotoriffic Twins and Goddess in Progress for the support and the suggestions!  Let's hope that this continues.

Amy

Sleeping through the night part 2 results

Ok, so knock on wood it was a great night.  The twins went to bed at 7:30 pm.  I had attempted to put them down at 6:00, but that didn't work.  They got a little more formula and back in bed with just a little crying before falling asleep.  Michael went to bed by 7:50 pm, a little twinkle twinkle little star and the stars night light on and he was out (this has been his routine for some time now).  Unfortunately I didn't go to bed early, but did enjoy not getting the twins up at 10:00 for a last bottle.  Michael slept til 5:15 am which is early for him and the twins slept til 6:00 am, but I didn't get them up til 6:30 am.  Today, I again start following the schedule from the Sotorrofic Twins blog.  I hope that tonight is as good of a night as last night.

Off to feed the twins their first bottle after sleeping through the night.

Thanks for all the support from Sotorrific twins and Goddess in Progress!
Amy

Seeping through the night part 2

Ok, so sleeping through the night on the 3rd didn't work so well!  That is an understatement.  Little miss Eva Rose decided that she was going to wake up at midnight and not go back to sleep.  I attempted to let her cry it out, but finally at 1:40 am, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and got her up and fed her a bottle and Thomas woke up soon after.  Thankfully Tom fed Thomas while I fed Eva Rose.  We finally went to bed at little after 2 am.  They even woke up early.  I decided that I wasn't able to do this, I am not that strong.  I figured some day I'll get all 3 kids to sleep through the night from at least 8:00 pm-7:00 am.  Tonight, I decided that I am ready for punishment.  I am going to try it again.  I am hopeful that this may work better than it worked before.  I am going to keep trying if this doesn't work.  I have been using the schedule from Sotorrofic Twins blog.  I haven't been as faithful to it as I should be.  I know that it doesn't need to be followed to the letter, but it is a really good schedule to make sure that food and naps and playtime and outing time gets in during the day.  I'm sure that as time goes on this schedule will change as the kids grow and change in what they need, but again it is such a good base schedule.

Wish me luck on my sleeping!

Amy

Sleeping through the night

Tonight is the first night that we are trying the twins with sleeping through the night.  Thanks to Sotorrofictwins Blog, I have a schedule that I can follow to help them and Tom and I get through this.  Unfortunately, I did not follow this schedule totally today, but I followed it somewhat.  Unfortunately the twins went to bed later than they should more like 8:00 than 6:30 that I had on the schedule.  I guess it's ok, but tomorrow I really want to get them in bed earlier.  They went down a little after 8 and cried until about 8:50.  This was the first day that they ate 3 meals and had a little less formula than I would have liked, but I feel like they ate and drank pretty good for given that they are on a new schedule.

Let's hope the night goes better than I expect and that the twins will sleep through until close to 6:30.  I'm sure Michael will sleep through the night!

Thanks Sotorrific twins!  I think you have given me a great schedule to start with.

Amy

II decided to join in on the fun with way back When-esday

Thomas and Eva Rose just days old

Thomas and Eva Rose now!

Ok, so not so way back, but such a change!

In just a little over 7 month these little guys have grown and changed so much.  They went through a lot to get here and then went through some sickness early on, but now they are healthy and strong.

Amy

1st day back at work

Ok, let me clarify! I am not back at work, I am never not at work, but I love every day.

Tom went back to school today! It was a tough night with the kids last night, but otherwise not a bad day first day on my own again. It's pretty bittersweet with him back at school. I am now alone with the kids and on just the kids' schedule and mine, but I miss having someone else around to help with 3 little kids and spending time with my whole family. This summer has been the best summer. I got to spend every day with Tom and the 3 kiddos. Who could ask for better. Maybe better summer weather, but we took advantage of every good day. We went to farms and farmer's markets and enjoyed places like Rockport and Portsmouth! We ate great food, some of which I even cooked. I am looking forward to the cool weather. I love the cool brisk air of fall. I love wearing thick sweaters in the cool air with the sun beaming down on you. I love that the air is crisp and comfortable. I can't wait to go for walks with the kids.

I LOVE FALL! I can't wait to enjoy the crisp, clean, cool air!

Amy