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