Way back When-esday

I am again joining in with way back when-esday at http://twinfatuation.blogspot.com

There have been a couple of mom in my twins group that are pregnant and 1 of them just posted their latest ultrasound picture.  This got me thinking about when Tom and I first found out we were having twins.  I had some bleeding over the weekend prior to my ultrasound.  The on-call OB put me on bed rest for the weekend and since I had an OB appointment that Monday we decided to keep an eye on things and wait for the appointment.  Things seemed to calm down and on Monday we went for my regular appointment.  My OB checked for the heart beat and had a very difficult time finding it, but thankfully found a very stong heart beat.  I think I was about 11 weeks at that point.  Since I was only 3 months post-partum with my older son when I found out I was pregnant, my OB believed that I was further along than I thought and sent me for an early ultrasound.  We were scheduled to go 2 days later and it was definitely a nerve racking couple of days.  We went for the ultrasound and I watched both Tom and the ultrasound tech to see if I could gauge what was going on.  I couldn't read either of their faces.  Finally the tech said, "I'm never quite sure how to tell people, but it's twins."  When she showed me the ultrasound, I could believe how clear it was.  We kind of had a clue that this was going to be the result of the ultrasound, but we were still shocked!  We were going to have 3 kids and I was due 1 week before my older son's 1st birthday.  Unfortunately I didn't make it to my due date, but very fortunately I made it to 35 weeks.  My son was only 10 1/2 months when the twins were born.

My Crazy Life!

Our first pictures of our twins.  How much more clear can it get?!

August 13, 2008

One of the babies decided to turn and look right at us!

August 13, 2008

Amy

Big Boy Bed

So Michael made the big transition from a crib to a toddler bed Saturday.  He loved it!  We had a couple of really good nights.  That is until tonight!  As I type he is banging his crib, which we still have up (probably a big mistake).  After I put him in bed, I heard his toy vacuum going.  I had to go in and take it out.  I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.  Too cute!  Then I had to go in because I heard a bang and he was pulling all the books off his bookshelf.  I really need to go in and check on him, but it is quiet now and I am hoping that he is settling down.  Last night he went to bed later than usual so tonight I made sure he was in early.  didn't work out like I planned.  I'm hoping that he settles and things continue to go as well as they were going.

I so can not wait for spring.  When will the nice weather be here?  We have gone for walks the last couple of days and played on the swings, but it really is still too cold and I'd rather not have the kids out for too long in the raw damp weather.  Please come soon Spring!!!!!

Amy

Michael in his big boy bed

Having a blast on the swings.  Can't wait for the better weather!

Makes My Monday: Newest Changes

We now have two 1 year olds and an almost 2 year old (2 more weeks).  For about a month and a half, I have 3 kids all the same age.  Pretty crazy, but oh so fun!

The twins went for their 1 year appointment and thankfully like always I was not alone.  It was a horrible day for naps for all three kids, the twins were seeing a different doc since their regular doc is out on medical hopefully soon to be maternity leave, and generally just a bad day.  They have grown so much yet they are a little off their growth curve.  The doctor said that this often happens because of the switch over to milk from formula and changing to more table food.  Still, I think that their weight is great.  They were born a little over a month early and weighed about 4 pounds 7 ounces and 4 pounds 8.9 ounces and were 17 inches and 17 3/4 inches in length (Eva Rose and Thomas respectively).  They have continued to grow at what I consider an amazing rate.  They now weigh 19 pounds and 20 pounds and are 28 3/4 and 29 1/2 inches (Eva Rose and Thomas respectively).  They are meeting milestones right on target and pretty soon will be walking.  They also both say mama and dada.

Michael will be going for his 2 year visit in a few weeks.  It will be with the same doc that the twins recently had.  Hopefully by the twins 15 month visit their regular doctor will be back and she should definitely be back by their 18 month visit.  Michael is slowly saying words.  He very regularly says mama and hi.  He can sign milk but tends to refuse to do it now.  He has said night night and will wave bye.  He has said ball and baby.  These may seem like small things, but I am so happy that he is starting to say things.  Today, for the first time, I swear he repeated walk when I said that we were going for a walk.

The biggest change for Michael is that he is no longer in a crib.  We changed him into a toddler bed on Saturday and he did awesome.  We had the bed in the living room for most of the day and he loved sitting on it.  We moved it into his room and kept the crib up just incase we needed it.  We didn't need it.  He went to be fine and actually went to bed a little earlier.  He slept all night without a peep!  Sunday he didn't do well with his nap, but again went to bed with no problems and at the same time as the night before.  Again, he slept through the night and today went for a nap.  He loves his bed and I am so happy that we decided to put him into it!

I'l post about Michael's 2 year doctor visit after it happens.

Amy

Sleep

So, we have officially gone to 1 nap for all 3 kids.  After getting some great advice from the different mom's in my twins group and reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, I decided that for our family, cold turkey was he way to go.  So we went from a couple of 1 hour naps a day to 1 solid 2-3 hour nap depending on the child and the day.  Sometimes the day is horrible and no one wants to sleep and sometimes it's great and they all go down for a nap fairly easily.  They will still cat nap in the car, but now I don't freak out if they fall asleep because I know that once we get home they are awake.  Now I can plan our days easier around 1 nap time for all 3 kids not a morning and afternoon nap for the twins and only an afternoon nap for Michael.  Now nap time is late morning and then we have the rest of the day to do what we want or need.

Out night time sleep has been much better also.  We have been having some good nights for a little bit, but they were off and on.  Now that we have gotten the nap thing down better, I think that the night time sleep is going better also.  Thankfully we have had 3 consistent nights were all 3 kids have slept through without a whimper.  We have had nights were they sleep through, but usually there is a little crying that we have to put up with before they are able to get themselves back to sleep (this is usually just some whimpering not the loud screaming that we had been going through).  We have had a few things to contend with regarding sleep.  All 3 kids have this horrible rash and finally Michael's is better and the twins now have a new treatment that  think is working out well so far.  This just meant that they were waking for diaper changes and some comforting since their little bottoms were so sore.  Thomas' bottom looks like it will be better sooner than Eva Rose's, but it still looks sore.They must be feeling better since they are sleep better.

I so can't wait for spring to be here.  I think getting out in the nice weather and having the kids play outside is going to be helpful for al involved.  I think sleep can only get better, even though we do have to go through another time change, which I am so not looking forward to.

Amy

12 month doctors visit

Today the twins went for their 12 month visit.  It was a crazy day.  This morning I went for allergy testing and left Tom to care for the 3 kids for about 3 hours.  He realizes how difficult it is to take care of the 3 of them as 1 adult.  About 1 1/2 hours later, we left for the doctors.  Usually, the 3 kids do great.  This time, we saw a covering doctor since our regular doctor is out on medical leave.  The doctor was good, but I think Thomas especially was just having a bad day.  Thomas cried through the whole thing.  He is usually our cuddle bug, but today he was extra cuddly.  He did get woken up from his nap so I'm sure that was part of it.  The twins have a horrible rash, but we now have a better treatment and hopefully it will go away quick.  Thomas weighs 20 pounds and Eva Rose weighs 19 pounds a far cry from the 4 1/2 pounds they were at birth.  They were 29 1/2 inches and 28 3/4 inches respectively.

Not to bring up the RSV thing again, but this doctor who we had never met told us that she had heard about our saga with Thomas when he was rushed to the hospital from his 2 week doctor's appointment.  She said that the craziness that surrounded his doctor trying to find all the equipment that she needed to asses his condition led to many changes at the office.  His doctor moved from the Cambridge location to the Wellesley location because it was more equipped to handle pediatric patients.  I noticed that at the visit after Thomas was rushed to Children's, there was e new pediatric emergency kit in the office.  I have to clarify that we do not see a pediatrician.  We see a family practitioner and I am extremely happy with her.  I guess I would have to be to travel from Wakefield to Wellesley.

Amy

Bath Time

We got Michael an Elmo towel for after his bath.  It's not that we needed to bribe him to take  a bath, he just loves Elmo ( All of the kids love their bath time!).  Tonight I decided to take a picture of the twins wrapped in the Elmo blanket (I had taken a picture of Michael awhile ago).  Aren't they so cute! (I know I'm biased, but they are aren't they?)

Eva Rose 

Thomas

Michael

Amy

Way back When-esday

I'm joining in for way back When-esday.  Check out others at http://twinfatuation.blogspot.com/

Well this post is a little early, but I wanted to make sure that I got it in and I'm not sure I will have time tomorrow.  This time last year we were spending ours days at Children's Hospital in the NICU with both twins.  Thomas had already been in for 1 week and had already been weaned off the vent (thankfully it was only 24 hours).  Unfortunately he was still a very sick little guy.  He would be in the hospital for 2 more weeks due to RSV.  His sister was admitted 1 year ago today and was vented for 6 days when she decided to pull her tube out.  Soon after she pulled out her feeding tube also.  My feisty little girl new she was better and made sure that everyone knew it.

We were warned about RSV and took precautions, but unfortunately both twins ended up with RSV.  Thomas was rushed 911 from a routine MD appointment and was immediately vented.  It was probably the scariest day of my life.  We kept a close eye on Eva Rose since we knew that they had been sharing a crib and often slept facing each other.  The nursing staff at Children's were amazing.  The ER staff were so good at thoroughly explaining all that was going on.  There were 2 social workers in the room to support me and my husband.  Once Thomas was admitted to the NICU, the nurses and the doctors had to put up with us constantly asking questions often repeatedly.  They also had to deal with our continuous questions about how we would know how to bring in Eva Rose before she got too sick.  They were amazingly kind and supportive through all of this.  I know that this is their job, but not everyone does this well.  When we took Eva Rose in and she was admitted, it was both a blessing and a it was horrible.  We know knew that she was being closely monitored and well taken care of.  It was a major weight off our minds.  Now both twins were in the same room and they were safe.  By march 1st 2009 both came home together.  That was a major blessing (that they were both able to come home together).

Fast forward 1 year and the twins are doing amazing.  They are now at least 20 pounds if not more.  They only weighed 4 1/2 pounds at birth.  They have pretty much hit their developmental milestones right on target.  They are not walking yet, but are standing and letting go often.  They say mama and dada and clap their hands.  They have the best disposition, but both have tempers and can throw amazing temper tantrums.  Thomas is my little cuddle bug and Eva Rose is my little bully.  It is amazing to watch my 3 kids grow and change so much.

Through all of this, Michael was a champ.  He often came to the hospital once both twins had been admitted and behaved like a great little baby.  Again the nursing staff and the Child life staff were great with him too.  We are so happy to have healthy happy babies now!

This is how we knew both would end up with RSV

Thomas with just oxygen which was never in his nose

Eva Rose on the vent

Thomas and Eva Rose today

Sorry for the lengthy post, but this marks one of the major periods in my life!

Amy

Napping

So, I bit the bullet and went cold turkey for 1 nap for all 3 kids.  Today is day 2 and so far so good.  The 3 kids went to sleep for their nap much better today then yesterday.  The twins slept through the night, but Michael didn't.  Today we went shopping for the morning and the kids stayed awake the whole time.  I'm really hoping that going to 1 nap a day will be better for all involved.  Hopefully, the kids will take good, long naps and I'll be able to get things done and then the kids will sleep better through the night.

As an aside-I am hoping to use the nap time to get  the house clean and get some crafting done.  My newest project is making my daughter a dress out of some old overalls and making some cloth diapers as well as many other projects that need to be finished!

Amy

Sleep Questions

So my last post was about sleep issues.  For the last couple of days all 3 kids have had tough nights.  I hadn't been able to figure out why.  A couple of people mentioned that I should look at wether or not 2 naps are needed.  I put the question out to my twins group and am hopeful that I will get some good answers and ideas.  It's been nice to have this group to ask questions to.  The reason I am wondering this along with the comments from my last post is because yesterday the twins had 1 long nap in the morning and then only about 2 minutes in the car in the afternoon.  Last night we were back to normal.  The twins went to bed at 8 and Michael went to bed at around 8:30 and all slept through the night til 6 and 6:30 this morning.  I know all kids are different, but it is nice to have all 3 ids on the same schedule, which is something I have attempted at least with the twins.  This has definitely helped me to keep my sanity with having 3 kids so close in age.

I hate transitions!

Amy

Sleep

So we finally bit the bullet and did the whole CIO a couple of months ago.  Things were going great.  All 3 kids slept through the night, which meant that I slept through the night.  Life was grand.  I had the kids in a routine that worked for our family.  I started getting at least a little bit better at keeping the house clean and somewhat organized (no where near where I should have been but better than I had been).  Well, as my luck would have it, we are back to getting up in the middle of the night.  I am starting the whole CIO thing again, but it is so hard to have to go through it again.  I am assuming that this is a natural regression and that I just have to suck it up and deal.  Nap times used to be the best sleep that the kids got, now that is even tough.  I need to preface this next sentence with the fact that I thought I had about an hour before the kids would go down for their afternoon nap.  Today, we went for a little bit of a drive and Eva Rose fell asleep almost immediately.  Now what?  Do I continue driving or do I go home and attempt to put her to sleep in the crib as well as Thomas (who also fell asleep) and Michael. I finally decided that I would go home and put them all in their cribs.  Well that totally backfired and here I am almost an hour later listening to them all awake.  It's pretty much time to get them up and say screw it to the second nap for today (at least that is what Weissbluth says, I believe: attempt a nap for 1 hour then get them up and try again tomorrow).  Maybe we're off for the drive now and they'll still fall asleep and this time we will just keep driving.

Any thoughts on the sleep regression?  Our schedule has pretty much remained the same.  No real deviations.  The twins just turned 1 and Michael is almost 2.