7 Months!!

The boys turned 7 months yesterday and as we were trying to get their chair pictures done I realized that it just keeps getting harder and harder to take them--they're wiggly, they "eat" each other and they love to smile..just not at the same time for mommy unless I try really hard and then I still usually end up missing the shot!!

Let's see where do we start for this month. On a really good note, this month again someone asked me if it's getting easier and this is the first month that I can truly say YES it's getting easier..for now, that is until they start crawling but for now, yes it's easier!!

Milestone Updates : Ryan has 2 teeth

Both boys can sit independently for several minutes at a time--mind you they both still topple over but I think it's more of their way of getting back down because they can't do it controlled at this time. They both still roll, Ryan loves to log roll and then pivot and get into trouble with the computer cord or up at the TV--it's starting already. Justin is SO good at pivoting and it so fast and loves to "swim" on his belly. Both boys are also inching their way backwards at times on their belly and my guess is they'll be crawling before I know it. Other Firsts this month include Easter and your first swing ride!!

Nursing/Feeding: They boys are eating all sorts of new foods. Yesterday they started carrots and they went over surprisingly well, not a favorite but not like green beans. Neither of the boys like green beans although Justin will tolerate them. We've also started pears--Justin likes them and Ryan not so much. Peas are also a new food this month and they are ok. Most new foods don't go so well the first day but then get better, but green beans have been the hardest by far up to this point. They eat solid food twice a day, a new food in the morning and their 1/4 cups of cereal. They also eat at dinner time fruits and veggies and more cereal. They boys are still exclusively breastfeeding, generally every 3-5 hours depending on our day--so 4 times during the day and then depending on what our night schedule is. They are taking bottles much better though, although it tends to be a process--i don't know much about it because they take bottles from Guy if I'm not around and I've had some pretty busy weeks this month.

Sleeping/Napping: ahhhh yes...well for the past week, with the exception of last night the boys have been sleeping through the night and it has been a WONDERFUL thing for all of us. We/I decided to "feberize" the boys and have written other post about that. Ryan is doing great with it and knows the routine and if he's up he can usually get himself back down quickly without any intervention at this point which is the idea. Justin last night was miserable and is on the "second day" shall we say--he was so miserable last night and I probably should have given in, it would have been so much easier, but after orajel, diaper change, and all the timed intervals he finally settled down after some Tylenol was given--the poor boy MUST be teething who knows--but he also woke up Ryan, so needed his 20 minute interval check but was then done...no feeding but I was up for 1.5 hours...but they both then slept until 6:30am... I'll take it. So besides the past week, the boys were generally up just once, at different times of course...but hopefully this past week of sleeping through the night is a sign of really good things to come!!! The boys generally take two naps a nap, the morning nap is their long nap and on a good day is about 2 hours. The afternoon nap always depends on our day and Ryan is a much better napper than Justin who usually takes about a 40 min afternoon nap.

Likes/Dislikes:

Dislikes: Green Beans!! When mommy leaves the room, crying it out...

Likes: Justin LOVES toys!! I love getting new toys and watching him play with them. He studies them and looks at the gadgets until he knows what they do. Ryan likes the new toys too, but he's much more of a brute and uses brute force to make them work. Teething toys are also a big hit these days. They've gotten a lot of new toys lately or have just gotten new toys out of the closet that are now age appropriate and they are loving all of the new toys especially their new yellow bus, that has piano keys. Justin also loves being spun around in the air. Ryan loves when you get in his face to make him laugh. Both boys like when we read books to them, especially when Abigail is not around because they get to see and hear the book without interruptions. Both boys LOVE Abigail. Justin LOVES when we say prayers at night and he gets the biggest smile on his face. He also really enjoys watching Zoey and trying to reach out and touch her. We also got our new stroller this month and they really enjoy going for walks and looking all around.

Sounds and Motions They Make: They both are my "bouncing baby boys" and love to jumpy jump. I LOVE their laughs. Both boys are ticklish and enjoying laughing. Ryan's cry is great, he rolls his little tongue and he sounds SO mad when he cries. Justin's cries are more of a whine. Ryan still loves to blow raspberries and Justin is more but Ryan still does it much more. They both like eating their piggy toes.. but Ryan loves to suck on his big toe. Justin is such a wiggle worm especially in his highchair or when he's sitting in our laps, he's constantly reaching for whatever might be within his reach. When they're sitting I swear Ryan will push Justin over. Ryan is also trying to get at Justin's helmet more than before. They also enjoy taking toys away from each other and somehow it seems like Ryan does more of the taking....

That seems like so much that I have just typed about this month. I guess it's because you are doing more and more every month. I can't believe we have been blessed with you in our lives for 7 months you boys are truly my double blessings!!

Good Times and Great Friends

This past weekend not only did was have fantastic weather but we had the chance to get together with two of my college roommates and their kids!! Debbie and Morgan came down on Friday afternoon and stayed till Saturday afternoon and Julie and Xander came down Saturday afternoon. Friday during the day we just hung out with the kiddos. It was great, Morgan is such a peanut compared to my chunky monkeys and Justin just could not understand how someone his size could do all these things that he couldn't. He stared and looked in wonder trying to figure it all out. Friday night after all the kiddos were in bed, Debbie and I headed out for a beer or two. We left Guy with three sleeping babies and one awake toddler, who was supposed to be sleeping, but I knew he could handle her.

Saturday morning, Debbie and I got up at the crack of dawn to go to the MOPS consignment sale, and again left Guy with 4 sleeping kiddos. We hoped and hoped that it would still be that way when we got home and it was!! We had a great time and got some really good deals!! It was even better after Guy made us pancakes for breakfast.

Then Julie and Xander came down for the afternoon. Once Xander warmed up to us and let go of his death grip on Julie, all the kiddos did well. Morgan slept as did the boys and the big kids played outside while us girls chatted. After lunch we got the big kiddos in the pool and Morgan thought about it. Morgan also got to touch grass on her feet for the first time...not a big fan. All in all it was a GREAT visit with GREAT friends, somethings have really changed, like the five kids we had in tow, but most things haven't changed a bit!!

My First MoMs sale!!

Two Saturdays ago was my first MoMs sale. I had been tagging clothes for weeks, with the help of Mom and Guy. I had no idea how my things would sell and trying to decide what to sell and for how much was hard. So many of Abigail's clothes had memories associated with them like the outfits Auntie Trishie got her that she wore for her 1st B-day pictures and another one she wore at her first b-day party. Some outfits I priced high and knew I'd be glad for the money if they sold and if they didn't I'd put them away to keep for grand kids someday--what Abigail is wearing some of my clothes these days. As the sale grew closer we made decisions about selling bouncy chairs, swings, a car seat and base and other various items. My living room was over taken with things waiting to be sold. Finally at the last minute with 4 totes, a swing, bouncy, car seat and base and a nursing pillow in tow we headed to set up for the sale. After set up I was allowed to shop and boy did I shop, all clothes--mostly for the boys--it's great you can get lots of matching (which the boys are almost always in) and coordinating stuff for cheep and a swing for outside. Saturday morning I had to be there by 8am and was there till about 12:45. At the sale, I helped take of tags and take off hangers as people went up to the register. Seeing my items be bought was good like I said, it means money, but it was also hard because I have visual images and memories of the kiddos in the outfits and shoes that were being sold. I have yet to get my check, but everything that sold we got to keep 80% of and the club got 20%. All of my big items sold and lots of the clothes did as well. I only came home with about two totes full of clothes. Most of Abigail's stuff sold and very little of the boys stuff did, except for a lot of the stuff I really liked...darn...but the money will be put to good use for more clothes for the boys. I was happy with how I did and will tag more items for the fall sale as I clean through the drawers and get out summer clothes and put away the many clothes that the boys have outgrown and/or winter clothes!!

Here are a few pics of the clothes as I was organizing them for the sale.

Ferberizing the boys.....

I have just about HAD it with the boys not sleeping through the night. I may be making a bigger deal out of it than it really is, but because they're not both getting up at the same time, We're STILL up several times a night. I've been talking about using the Ferber method and letting the boys Cry It Out, and while it's not for everyone, I've talked to a few friends with singletons that it's worked nicely for. CIO involves checking on the child at set intervals, while crying to let them know you're their for them, but also involves letting them figure out how to get back to sleep on their own. I've been unsure about letting them CIO and then waking the other one up. The boys had been doing better and getting up once or waiting till 4 or 5am and kinda on an every other night status of sleeping through the night. Well the other night was not a good evening and when Ryan was back up at 10pm...after only eating 2 hours before I had just about had it and I decided that was the night we were going to start!! Ryan and I were up for 45 min or so, with checking at 3 min, 5 min and then 10 min and then about a min before his next 10 min check he fell back asleep and slept through the rest of the night--i did end up picking him up--even though your not "supposed"' to. Justin stirred through the crying but did not wake up!!
Night 2: around 12:40 Ryan was up crying...I did a 5 min check, 10 min check and then 2 12 min checks....one time he had his foot out of his pjs and another if I had just let him go a little longer at the 10 min check, he probably would have gone back to sleep, again I did pick him up but not long enough for him to fall asleep.... so after about an hour...yes nursing him would have been A LOT easier and quicker....but he went back to sleep for the rest of the night. Justin again stirred but did not wake. Abigail on the other hand, did hear her brother woke up and cried a little but went back to sleep and needed no parental intervention--I hadn't even considered that he might wake her--the boys have never woken her up in the middle of the night with their crying.
Night 3: Justin is up at 12am screaming....and then Ryan started screaming...I just couldn't deal with it so Justin got nursed b/c I haven't started to Ferberize him at this point and he is teething, although his time is coming, but Ryan got himself back to sleep and slept through the night--and that was last night....
So who knows what tonight will bring. I NEED my boys to sleep through the night and the reason I've started to let them CIO is: I KNOW they CAN sleep through the night and I KNOW that they are getting enough to eat during the day!! So here's hoping for better nights ahead!!

Our New Stroller!!!

I've spent many hours this winter trying to decide and find the best price for the "perfect" stroller for all THREE of our kiddos. After all of my searching I've decided their is NO perfect stroller but I'm SUPER excited about the one that we decided on!! So our new stroller came about a week ago and we finally had some really nice weather and took it out for a spin...crazy what a mom of three gets excited about!! Anyway yesterday we got out and had a great little walk. It's heavy pushing a big stroller and three kiddos up a hill but I LOVE our new stroller! The kiddos seemed to enjoy it too!!

Is this REALLY what we look and sound like?

It's really amazing..you can hear and obviously see yourself in the things your kids say and do.. I ofter think where did Abigail pick this up and then I think, is that something I really say...well Abigail was playing and taking pictures of her brothers toys. I looked over and had to ask realizing that yes this is something we do frequently....you know you'll do anything to get the baby to look and smile when trying to get a picture, right, so imagine trying to do that with two babies and a toddler...well you'll see what we do to try and get smiles---well at least how Abigail perceives it!!

Ryan gets his 2nd tooth!!

I just posted that Ryan got his first tooth and I said the 2nd wouldn't be far behind...well today upon further inspection I noticed that his second bottom tooth came in!!

What'd you say?

Abigail, whether she hears you or not has started saying "what did you say?" except it's not quite that clear. SO in the interest of getting it on tape b/c she does it all the time- it's pretty funny and we wanted to have recording of it, Guy might have mumbled a little so that the point came across. Enjoy!!

Ryan's 1st Tooth!!

Ryan cut his FIRST Tooth!! He got his bottom left tooth and the bottom right is not far behind!! Mind you last night when his tooth broke through he slept 12 hours not that that is normal, we're still usually up once a night!! But now we KNOW he can do it, so no more excuses!! Congrats on your first tooth big boy!!

Easter Egg Hunt

It was cold, WINDY and there were tears....but at the end of the day when asked what her favorite thing we did today was...she said" picking up Easter eggs and the candy." It made it ALL worth it. So a bunch of our friends kiddos including Carson, Julia, Jackson and and Lily were all going to to see the Easter Bunny and for the Easter Egg Hunt at Palmer Park, hosted by the Skipback Lions Club. It wasn't quite the same memories that I have as a kid doing Easter Egg Hunts but maybe that's becuase Pop-pop was a Lion and had an in where we did our egg hunt. This morning was SO windy and freezing, that I didn't even know if they would have it, but sure enough we waited for what seemed like forever for something that lasted for like 2 min if that. Even though she HATED the wind, Abigail really enjoyed picking up the eggs!! When it was finally time to pick up the eggs she forgot all about the wind and went on her way. After finding one egg I think she thought she was done and started to head back to Guy. I then came in to let her know she could keep getting more and help her finish picking up as many as we could find that were left. I think our total equaled three eggs.

6 Months...

The boys turned SIX months on Sunday. It's hard to imagine that a year ago we found out we were having TWINS and in Six More months they'll be a year. I remember the moment we saw TWO on the ultrasound and then leaving the office wondering when it would sink in and we'd get used to the fact that there were really TWO. Well at six months I'm very aware that yes there are TWO-- there are times when even I have to do a double take and ask is this really MY life.... I was giving serious thought to whether or not life at six months with twins was an easier than it was when they were newborns and my honest answer is no...The boys still don't sleep through the night, we've added eating solid foods to the chaos of our daily lives and they're not independent in sitting. While they do nap and can take great naps b/c they're not sleeping through the night they wake at different times each morning, making a scheduled nap time nearly impossible. We've also added in PT 1-3 times a week for Justin--in addition to his helmet fittings. However now we not only who's crying but I can usually tell what the crying means and that makes things easier. And while the daily routine may not be any easier and in fact harder some days, the boys now have personalities, smile, coo, and laugh and this does make getting through the day easier and definitely more rewarding.

The boys both enjoy their exersaucers and Justin uses one and Ryan the other b/c "his" can "bounce". Ryan gives raspberries all the time. Ryan loves playing/eating his feet and his toes. Justin really likes learning how toys work and using his hands to figure things out including playing with his rings and taggies. "Glowie" is also still a favorite toy.

Ryan is definitely my mover and grover...he loves to log roll and will be the reason I REALLY need to baby proof this house. He is also tripod sitting fairly well, but still needs close supervision. Justin does roll and he occasionally sits...but we're going for PT for him and he's getting stronger everyday. Justin continues to do well with his helmet and he goes for another fitting this Friday.

We have started solid foods this month and the boys have liked everything they're eating with the exception of apples. They get each food for 4 days before we start something new, so far they've had avocados, sweet potatoes, apples and bananas in addition to their rice and oatmeal cereal. They typically eat two times a day, each meal includes rice or oatmeal and something else..whatever is new in the morning and then 1 or 2 ice cubes of something else in the evening with more cereal.

Sleeping....hmmmm I guess it's getting better but I'm still up usually 2 times a night. Solid foods have helped, but have not allowed us to sleep through the night with the exception of a few nights. We no longer get both boys up when one wakes up. Usually they both wake up once a night, sometimes only one wakes up.

Nursing..yeah we're still nursing but we're nursing less, the boys eat every 3-4 hours, this is very nice. But like I said we're still up nursing at night, more nights than not.

Ryan is still the big boy and they even had him being longer this month, not sure if it was an error in measurement or if he just looks shorter cause he's my chunky monkey but his stats were weight: 18.11 oz(75%), height: 27 3/4 inches (90%) and his head was 17 inches

Justin weighed : 17.3 oz (50%), height :27 1/2 inches (80%) and his head was also 17 inches

So my hopes for this month are pretty much the same as last month...sleeping through the night, independent sitting and getting out more because of nicer weather!!

Meal Times...

The boys are eating "real food" twice daily and while for some it may be something we do everyday and could do in our sleep- today after their morning meal... Justin literally fell asleep after his last bite. Meanwhile Ryan was not so tired, but he too went down for his morning nap after eating!! Today's morning menu was rice cereal and apples, of which Ryan is not liking so much and Justin deals with it. This evening's meal went much better they had lots of cereal and sweet potatoes. While we were feeding the boys, Abigail was playing with her sticker book upstairs. When I went to check on her, this is what I found and she told me she "dressed up" her animals.

Abigail and her letters

Abigail has been learning his letters with Nana, which until a few days ago, I was unaware of. So Abigail said this is for Ryan and this is for Justin and she showed me the block with an R and J. I was so shocked and I asked her if she was doing this with Nana and she said yes. Nana was here yesterday while I was working and they again worked on her letters and this is what she showed me today!!!! She may not know what the letters themselves are or even that the J was upside down, but the fact that she did this all on her own while playing today was really cool!! Good Job big girl and happy half birthday. You're mommy's smart little cookie for 2.5 years old!!

And we're sleeping....for now...

I can happily say that RYAN has slept THROUGH the night THREE nights in a row...now I realize that by writing this I'm probably jinxing myself, but we'll see. Justin has also had three really good night..830:-4:00am, 8:00- 6:30am (and this was his first night with the helmet on all night!!), and 8:15- 4:50am... I thought these days would NEVER come. As of about two weeks ago, I was ready to throw the towel in, it was so rough. Then even when we first started cereal for the first few days it made NO difference. I hope that they will continue with this sleeping pattern, because it has been SO nice. It has really helped that they are eating cereal and "something else" --right now it's avocados. The one night that we didn't give them food twice, it was another rough night. So I'm really hoping that this is a sign of good things to come. Abigail was sleeping through the night much earlier than these two boys. I also think that since I've stopped waking them both up when one is up, it has helped them learn to sleep longer. Whatever the case may be, I'll take it as long as we're sleeping!!

Justin's Helmet arrives!!

On Friday we went to get Justin's helmet. All five of us were there about an hour getting him fitted properly and left with his helmet on. He has done well since he has gotten it. There has been a wear schedule that we have tried to follow as closely as possible, however we've been nervous nellies and have not had him sleep an entire night yet with it on. All of a sudden you look very closely and feel every little abnormality on his head, which just tends to make you more nervous and paranoid as to whether or not we're doing the right thing. Justin truly doesn't seem to mind it when it's on. It does make it even more difficult for him to lift his head when he's on his belly. It comes down to just above his eyebrows which means he has to lift it even higher to see. The helmet also seems to make his torticollis more noticeable because he doesn't have the strength that it takes to keep his head in the middle. Although Justin does not mind the helmet and has taken naps and slept in it for a six hour period of time, when it comes off, he LOVES when we rub his head and he' s very smiley!! We're all still getting used to it but Justin is doing much better with it than we originally imagined!!

More Food

Since the boys had their first "solid" food last week, they have had two more foods. On Wed they had organic oatmeal cereal. Today they started with organic avocados--I would not say that they were a favorite. However both boys finished them by the end of the evening. Last night Guy and I started mass producing food for the boys. We made acorn squash, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and have apples just waiting to be cored, peeled and steamed!! Next weekend we'll be back at it, making carrots and perhaps peas and beans. What we really need is more ice cube trays with lids so that we can freeze everything that we're making!!

The Boys 1st "Solid" Foods

We started "solids" on Saturday--although it's really like slightly thickened milk. They had organic rice cereal. Justin seemed to do a bit better than Ryan, but neither boys fussed and both did very well. I think that Justin is probably getting about 75% of what we're feeding him and Ryan maybe 25-50% of what actually goes in stays in. Ryan does do better with repetition though. His facial expressions really showed that he didn't care too much for it--he would have rather continued trying to eat his hands, bib and feet. I can't believe that they're old enough to be starting solids. Although I've chosen to start them earlier than Abigail in hopes of increased sleeping periods at night--we all really need more sleep!!!

Justin 1st Helmet Fitting

Justin went last Wednesday for his first fitting for his new helmet. Guy met Ryan, Justin and I in Blue Bell where we'll be making several visits to over the next few months. We were very happy with the orthotist and the whole process. He was a really good boy and it didn't take long at all. A bunch of pictures were taken of his head and face from a number of different directions. He then put on a stockingette, that made him look like a little baby thug...pretty cute actually. Then he laid down in the STAR scanner, as if he were on a changing table. Guy helped hold him still and so that he didn't wiggle and we could get an accurate scan. The scan showed that his asymmetries are great enough that the helmet should be completely covered, which is very good news. It also showed very clearly his torticollis. We picked a light blue color that can have stickers put all over it if we so choose, or if we decide Abigail can do so. We are hoping that he should get the helmet this Friday or Saturday so he can start wearing it. We got a copy of his scans which were taken at various levels of his head from his ears up. As a PT I found them very interesting and they would have been even more so if they weren't of Justin. When Justin is done wearing his helmet we'll get another set of scan that are shaded in a different color so that we can see how far we've come and the changes that were made.

How did I get so lucky?!?!

Just a quick post to remind myself that sometimes it does happen, ok so seriously as soon as I started typing Abigial starts saying..."DADDY" why it's always daddy who knows, b/c he's here to get her how often compared to me, but anyway. What I WAS going to say was that I had three sleeping kids, Abigail is just NOW waking up for the day... and the boys are napping. I was able to eat, shower and play wii fit, and almost blog...wow somedays things go wrong and somedays they just go right!!

Justin's Journey

I had mentioned before in several different posts that Justin is being treated for torticollis and plagiocephaly. On Friday we had his appointment with a fantastic doctor, the head of neurosurgery, from Dupont. Justin who has been great at PT and the doctors in general got such a pout and a whimper when the doctor was looking at his neck and head. Perhaps he knew what was coming. Dr. Campbell took a look at Justin's head and neck, all while I was holding him. Then we talked about the different options for him and decided he would indeed benefit from a cranial molding helmet. This sounds like a lot more than it is, but it is something that will take some getting used to for everyone, hopefully Justin will adjust quickly. We will go back for a follow up visit with the doctor in 4 months.
The helmet will be worn 23 out of 24 hours a day, for at least 6 months. But it will really depend on how Justin's head does with the helmet to see how long he really will be in it. It will provide pressure, opposite of where his head is asymmetrical at this point, in hopes of getting his head and face more symmetrical. We are just now starting the journey of looking for an orthotist to fit him for the helmet. The helmet will need to be refitted approximately every 2-3 weeks, so we will be in this for the long hull. Hopefully we'll find an orthotist who accepts our insurance and then hopefully the insurance will cover the helmet, but most likely that will be a battle as well. Medically speaking the doctor has said that Justin's asymmetries are great enough that it should be covered, yet insurances are typically very reluctant to pay.
It will be strange at first to see Justin in a helmet so often and in all of our pictures. Guy was even a little surprised that he really needed one. It didn't come as quite a shock to me, but I'm glad that I pursued the issue and hope that in a relatively short time the helmet will help Justin. I hope that the insurance issue doesn't burn me or Guy out and that all works out for the best. PT wise Justin is doing very well, both in the office and at home. We're still waiting to have him evaluated for early intervention, he should qualify based on his diagnosis, which will just help him even more. Even though I know how to and treat other children with the same diagnosis, I can't be doing everything that I may like to be doing as often as I would like for Justin. For me it is differnent being on the parent end of the spectrum, but thankfully I have the backgroud of a PT as well, and I believe that will serve us and more importantly Justin, very well. So we have officially started a new journey with Justin, his PT--torticollis, plagiocephally and hopefully a helmet.

5 months

Well we're not really sure when the boys celebrated their 5 month birthday, just ask their Grandma, she knows all about a real birthday on the 29th of Feb. Anyway the boys are doing well and I'm writing today, because I didn't get to yesterday--so it works for me!!

What's new this month...The common cold seems to be going through the house, for what feels like the past month but probably more realistically for the past two weeks. Today, Ryan and Abigail are STILL coughing and have been for a while and Justin has just started the coughing yesterday. We just purchased a cold mist humidifier, so I'm hoping that will help the congestion and the runny nose and some of the coughing. Both boys also seem to be teething, but Justin's two bottom teeth are starting to show, but have yet to actually cut through. Justin has also started his PT for torticollis and plagiocephaly and is doing very well with that. He's such a big boy when he goes and is SO tired when he comes home.

Both boys are grabbing at their feet, Ryan started doing so about a week after Justin. They both roll both directions, although Ryan will almost immediately roll to his belly when placed on his back and instead of rolling back he usually just cries. They are working on tripod sitting and when placed in the bouncy chairs, if Ryan's not trying to roll out of it, he's trying to sit upright in it. Justin LOVES kicking his feet--whether it's in the bouncy, at his new toy on the floor, on the playmat kicking at the things above him or even in the bath. In the exersaucer Ryan loves to bounce up and down. "Glowie" and their rings tend to be their favorite toys these days.

We don't have height and weight stuff for the boys this month because they don't have a scheduled dr's appointments until next month. Hopefully we won't be there beforehand with all the colds we've experienced. But the boys are now both in size three diapers, but we've moved on to Luv's instead of pampers with hopes of less blowouts..boys really do have so many more than Abigail ever did. They are now primarily wearing 6 month Carters clothes although I'm still trying to fit them into as many 3-6 month onesies as I can, before they completely outgrow them.

Nursing/Feeding-- I'm still exclusively nursing and I'm really proud of that, but it is taking it's toll on me and we're discussing all of our options, although truthfully I hate to give it up, even though it's very taxing. The boys are doing well with nursing during the day and usually can go 3 hours between sessions, unless I feed them sooner, because of getting them up and into to bed. At night they are all over the board. They can make it 5-6 hours, but generally they are going 4 hours at a stretch, but then again last night was only 3--making life very difficult for me because I just can't seem to catch up on sleep or get on any real schedule.

Bedtime/Sleeping--The boys are sleeping in their own cribs and made that transition very easily. I was hoping that by separating them, they may not wake up as often, needless to say this has not been the case. The boys are going to bed anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30 depending on if I work or not and when Abigail gets to bed. Justin sleeps on his right side, or on his back and Ryan sleeps on his belly. I honestly thought that the boys would be sleeping through the night, and they're not. I'm hoping that once we start cereal in the next week or so, that this will help. I also try and let them cry it out for awhile, although I have not done so whole heartily up to this point and won't until they're six months. But I also feel that in their defense it's hard to learn to sleep through the night when I'm usually waking at least one of them up to eat, because the others up and I don't want to be up again in 30 min. So my hope is that the cereal will help and if not, they will start getting some tough love and I may stop waking both up once I know that they really can make it. It's so difficult because there always seems to be an excuse, one is sick or one is teething, etc. One aspect of sleeping that has gotten a lot better in the past month has been naps. The boys seem to want to nap after being awake for a period of about 1.5 hours. Their naps vary in length and don't always make it down at the same time, but for the most part the are always in their cribs and doing well. They seem to do best when I put them down, but everyone pitches in and tries to help because I can't always be the one to put them in for nap time. Justin also seems to be a lighter sleeper and so if Abigail is yelling from her crib, the phone rings or any other various noises occur than he usually wakes up, which throws off the whole schedule in general and that of the boys sticking to the Same schedule.

We have gotten out of the house a little bit more this month, we've gone to a family "winter party" on Valentine's day hosted by the mother's of multiples club that I'm a part of, and we also went to a playgroup with a bunch of the same kiddos. We have also gone out a lot thanks to Justin's PT and various appts.

I've decided that life will get a little easier when the boys are sleeping through the night, are sitting and when we can get out of the house a little more and enjoy some nicer weather. I hope that most if not all of these things will happen in the next month, although as I'm writing this we're "supposed" to get the most snow that we've had in three years--we'll see!!

Back to Belly

Justin rolled from his back to his belly today for the first time!! Last Saturday he rolled from his belly to his back--which I finally got to see for the first time yesterday in his PT session. Ryan is going both ways but still primarily rolls from his back to his belly--he's my rolly polly Ryan. He also sleeps on his belly, which just freaks me out if I think about it too much, but we put him on his back and onto his belly he goes. The one nice thing about being on his belly is that his hands are no longer ice cold when he wakes up. Meanwhile Justin sleeps on his right side at night and scrunches up, it's very cute, but his hands are still ice cold.

I caught a glimpse

Last night was the second night, with the exception of when they were in the hospital, that they slept in separate cribs. This is something that I have put off and put off doing. I guess I had visions of them sleeping in the same crib and snuggling together--an image I would have loved to see and maybe someday when they are both in a pack and play together I will. I also already miss going in and seeing them just sleeping next to each other and how different they are even when sleeping. We never really went in to check on Abigail after she went to bed. But because of the set up of the house and our rooms being connected to theirs, we always check on the boys at night, and it is something I really enjoy. So for now, we have separated them into their own cribs. It seemed as though they were waking each other up and now that Ryan rolls over to his belly to sleep almost instantly I thought they might want some more space of their own. I had also hoped that maybe we wouldn't be up as often. Well we have made it a lot longer into the night before they wake up for the first time...6 or 6.5 hours from their last feed which is heavenly, but then they're up about 2 hours later looking to eat again or just up, so I'm still up the same number of times. I do however think that separating them has helped in letting us get a longer first chunk of sleep, but who knows it has only been two nights. What I did notice yesterday, after their first night apart, when I laid them on the floor next to each other, they looked at each other and smiled at each other and touched the others ones face. Have they done this before and I've missed it, Was it because they enjoyed being next to each other and missed them the night before, or was it purely coincidence--who knows maybe all of the above, but I was SO GLAD to have caught this moment and glimpse of the two of them without any words just looking at each other and smiling, hopefully it will be the first of many sweet moments between the two of them to come.

Our week without Guy

Last week, Guy went out of town, and we all survived!! Nana was here all week, with the exception of a few hours, and I couldn't have done it all week alone without her help. Abigail also got to get out of the house and go to Grandma and Grandpa's house overnight, which was ALSO a huge help, b/c she is a bundle of energy that can sometimes take it out of you. We had a very busy week, while Guy was gone, I worked, Justin had his PT eval and I had a meeting which I gracefully got out of!! Things were difficult at times, and boy did I miss his help in the middle of the night, but all in all it really wasn't a bad week. Thankfully the hardest day was Friday afternoon, by then I was spent, and so was Nana, and we even had an extra set of hands thanks to our surprise visit from Uncle Neal..but Guy was home a few short hours later and all was well. Perhaps most of the trouble on Friday was becuase of my genius idea to do a last minute Valentine's Day project with the kiddos for Guy. The activity caused an uproar with all of the kiddos--see our other post for more details on that. So Uncle Neal's visit was quite a pleasant surprise, he had been up north for business and got caught in the major wind storm that we were having and could not get out of Newark. So Guy called from CA to let us know he was on his way, he arrived late Thursday night and took off early Sat. morning. It was great to see him and Abigail had a great time with her special visitor, and without him, we wouldn't have all the Great pictures depicting our Valentine's Day craft project.

Our Valentines Day Project

What was I thinking, trying to do a last minute Valentine's Day gift for Guy from the kids that involved paining their hands?!?! So to set the stage it was about 2pm on Friday afternoon--Guy had been out of town all week and yet I decided to do this 4 hours before he was expected home. And what did I pick to do, something we have never done before, probably for a good reason, I decided that I was going to paint all the kiddos hands, make hand prints in the shapes of hearts and give it to Guy for Valentine's Day from the kiddos. Well Abigail had never used paint and she LOVED it, but stopping the activity and giving her brothers a chance didn't go over so well...not to mention the fact that it was nap time. So now, we have a screaming two year old on our hands and Justin who doesn't want his hand painted--Nana's trying her best to paint his hand, I'm trying my best to keep his hand open and get the hand print down on paper and Justin is trying his best to get his hands in his mouth and on his and my clothes. Then Abigail went up for nap and we got a little smarter when trying to get Ryan's hand. My sweater came off, and all of Ryan's clothes did too. We tried to do it like superman, but that didn't work either for many reasons, but he was also drooling on the project, so we went back to the original way. Ryan stayed happy most of the time until the very end, mostly he was sucking on my arm and that made him very happy!! Lastly we woke up a sleeping Justin in the swing to get one last hand print, he was more willing and then went back to sleep--lucky us!! Abigail ended up telling Guy when he got home that night that she got her hand painted and Nana wiped it off with wipes, but he didn't know exactly what we did till he got the gift on Saturday and it has since been taken into his office. So although it was quite an ordeal, there were many laughs and perhaps even more tears..but it is an experience that neither Nana or I will ever forget and thanks to Uncle Neal we have a bunch of pictures that captured the moment!!!

Justin's Day of Firsts

Today is the boys first Valentine's day, but Justin had a big day of firsts himself. He started grabbing his piggy toes!! Of course we're not quite quick enough to have captured the moment on camera, but he's done so a few times today, so we may get lucky yet. But even more impressive he Rolled from his belly to his back today!! We didn't get that on camera or video yet either, but he was having a fit and Guy walked back into the room to find him looking up at the ceiling instead of the playmat!! Good job big boy!!

A Good Weekend

This past weekend was a lot of fun. The sun was shinning and we all had a chance to get out and enjoy the weather. On Saturday we went to Manderach park and although we could/should have used better judgement on dressing Abigail we all had a good time.

The hope was to go for a walk with everyone, but the path was surprisingly still snow covered. So we just played the the snowy/slushy/muddy and very wet playground. Did Abigail have rain/snow boots or snow pants on, of course not. Did Abigail get very wet, of course so, but thankfully it was so warm and not windy that she didn't mind. We played on a bunch of the things there, she had a great time and the boys chilled in their stroller just enjoying the fresh air.
On Sunday Guy and Abigail went to church, while the boys and I stayed home since they didn't have a great night the night before and I was tried!! When they got home we ALL went out to eat breakfast. I think this is the first time that All five of us went OUT to a restaurant without any help, we couldn't think of another time if we have. It was great, there was no wait and the boys pretty much slept through it, which equaled success!! Plus we found a new restaurant that is great for breakfast and lunch and is very close to home so that's even better. We then came home and tried to fly a kite, but it was too windy for Abigail to enjoy the sun. The afternoon seemingly became very long and I got more anxious about the upcoming week as Guy is going to be in San Diego all week with work, and it's a busy week, with work, meetings and Justin's PT eval. Plus in the past week Abigail has started asking WHY about EVERYTHING!! I knew this day would come, but trying to rationalize why for everything can become tiresome. However on a very positive note--she is doing very well with potty training! She has used the potty at least once a day for over a week. Today she asked to use the potty and went, used it another time and then had a stinky on the potty--we couldn't be prouder, who knew!! She doesn't always want to go and she's not going often with telling us, but she's proud of herself when she goes and she knows we're proud of her too, plus she LOVES getting her stickers!! So although the afternoon was long, dinner and bath time went well and we had a good evening. Hopefully we'll also have a good week!!

Just another day

Today was just another day in our busy lives, but after reading a blog that I frequent often I thought I'd write one myself--sure there are LOTS of other things I could /should be doing but this is more fun. I probably should be getting ready for bed, I was sick yesterday and the boys were up every two hours last night--boy are twins hard sometimes. They weren't Both up every two hours, but if you wake one, you wake the other, so needless to say sleep was very disturbed for all of us last night. (This is random and off topic but I hope that LOST is taping right b/c we're not watching it and for some reason the DVR says pause?!?! hmmm well it will be on again next week if not) Anyway so it was a long night last night--but I woke up feeling so much better than yesterday that even being up so often felt much better. Some wash got done today, well kinda in typical fashion, it's washed and folded, just not away. Everyone else is up in bed and the house is quiet and it's only 9:30, which is great.
The boys still won't nap at the same time which is beyond frustrating. Abigail has been bossy and whiny, which is also beyond frustrating. But then there are the little things, that even it all out--Justin has been SO smiley lately. He's this way with everyone, especially Abigail. Tonight as I was watching TV and waiting to nurse them, trying to hold them off just a little bit longer.. he was just smiling, laughing and talking to me and it was So contagious. I remember this when Abigail was his age as well and it's so much fun. The other highlight of the day was that Ryan took a TWO hour nap in his crib alone today. I'm trying to get better about getting the boys up for naps in their cribs. Somedays it happens, some days it doesn't and I have yet to try putting them both up at the same time. But I was so proud of Ryan, he went down without crying and stayed asleep without Justin being there!! Another notable moment, perhaps becuase it was the first of many more to come, was when the boys were "playing" on the floor together. Abigail was in the basement, Guy was in the kitchen and I was on the computer and Zoey wasn't around so I knew it was one of the boys. Justin let out his I'm in pain cry and knowing no one else was around I knew that it had to be Ryan. I looked down and Ryan had his hand in Justin's mouth and was pulling down on his lip. So I swooped in and took out his hand and told him that it's not nice to put his hand in his brothers mouth and pull--so was this the first fight of many? I hope not, but it was very cute, simply b/c they're 4 months old--any other age and I don't think it would have been so cute. So these were some of the highlights of our day. It doesn't take much for an ok day to turn into a really bad day really quickly, but on the bright side it doesn't take much for it to turn into a good day either. Justin and Ryan made my day today, for very different reasons, but both little things they did were oh so worth it!!

4 month dr. stats

The boys went to the pediatrician and had their 4 month appt. today.

Justin weighed: 14 lbs 14 oz (50%)
length: 27 inches (95%)

Ryan weighed 16 lbs 11 oz (80%)
length 26 inches (80%)

Both boys did well with their shots--they had a total of 4 each and their oral dose of the Rotavirus vaccine.

The only other thing to note was that Justin was diagnosed with torticollis--an issue with his neck muscles being shortened on one side and weak on the other. He often tilts his head to the right and rotates to the left, especially when sleeping. He also has plagiocephally which is the flattening of the back/side of his head. This does not come as a surprise to me, since I've had a co-worker look at him to confirm what I had been seeing for some time. We are hoping to take him to a specialist to determine if any other treatment, in addition to physical therapy, needs to be done. Although you never want to hear that anything is wrong with your child, this is minor, and is something that is fairly common. I have also seen and treated it in my profession, with good results. Justin continues to be a happy litte baby and handles the increased stretching, strengthening and repositioning that I have already begun doing very well.

Four Months

The boys turned four months today and long gone are the days of my little tiny babies. Yes they are definitely still babies, but they're so big--(tomorrow we'll find out just how big) and doing so much more-- relatively speaking.

Some firsts this month have included Ryan rolling from his back to his tummy. Justin also blew raspberries at Nana for the first time on Jan. 14.

The boys both seem to enjoy time in the exersaucers, while we have three, we only have one upstairs in the family room. Our family room looks like it could be a daycare with the exersaucer, a playmat, a tummy time mat, a bumbo, a bebe pod, two bouncies, Abigail's table, Abigail's house, a swing, books and a ton of toys for both all three kiddos. Justin's favorite toys seem to be the rings which he "studies" and plays with all the time. Ryan is really enjoying a sesame street toy, that says "i love trash". It moves around and has little balls that spin and light up. Justin is also very into kicking his feet and looking at them, he loves to just watch them move.

Nursing/Feeding: I try my hardest to keep the boys close together in their schedules not only for the nursing, but also to try and get them to nap at the same time. They continue to eat every 2-3 hours. I also try as hard as I can to get to 3 hours, just b/c they aren't small boys and they can go 3 hours easily if I'm not around. We are not tandem nursing and I don't think I've even tried this month even though I often think about it, and then don't' do it. Guy continues to try and give the boys bottles when I'm not around. Usually one of the boys will take a bottle and it's not always the same one--but he has learned that if they don't wait 4 hours, the certainly won't take a bottle.

Sleeping/Bedtime: The boys have been champs about pushing up their bedtime and they nurse and go to bed shortly after Abigail. So generally I'm feeding them around 8:15 and 8:30, which is great for us. It then gives us a chance to chill and unwind or pick up around the house, kitchen, wash etc.... They are still sleeping in the same crib, but are no longer swaddled as Justin was getting too long and Ryan was getting too big. We often lay them diagonally so that they don't hit each other. I really believe that they like sleeping in the same crib, especially Ryan who will often cry until Justin is there with him. At night we were going 5-6 hours before feeding, then they went back to 3-4 hours, now I'd say it's 4-5. So we're generally up 1 or 2 times a night--all in all not so bad, but honestly I thought we'd be closer to sleeping through the night, simply b/c we've been up 1-2 times a night pretty much from the beginning.

The boys are in different size diapers, so we're now buying three different size diapers, 2 for Justin, 3 for Ryan and 5 for Abigail. Clothing wise they both fit into 3-6 month clothes but 6 month outifts from Carters seem to be our favorite size these days.

I've also gone back to work this past month, which has been great for me!! I'm only working 1-3 hours a week, but enough to get my feet wet and get out of the house. It helps me keep my sense of me, instead of just Mommy.

Special times, mean different things to different people. Guy was just saying how he feels like he gets more special moments now that the boys are more alert, something that has really changed this past month. I on the other hand have had some special time in the past week when the boys have been very peacefully sleeping. At about 4:30 am the other night we had just gotten a blanket of fresh snow and after Ryan nursed he just stayed in my arms and I was able to sit back and look at his precious face and all was quiet, then I had to wake Justin up and feed him. Then the following morning Justin was upset and I picked him up and he fell asleep on my shoulder, something that is not typical for him, plus something that Abigail never really did, again just special moments in time. It's these times I want to write and remember, because they are few and far between in all of the chaos that surrounds our daily lives. Abigail really is enjoying the boys more and more and likes it when they're awake!! She now likes and asks to hold them on her lap. She is also great and oh so sweet when she trys "hushing" them down. Both boys respond so well to her and she likes talking to Ryan and making Justin smile. Both boys are so ticklish and Ryan has a great laugh. My baby boys are growing up before my eyes and in no time will be Abigail's age. Today's challenges will be distant memories and we'll be facing different challenges than we are today. I still think I'll be tired, just a different tired.

My roller coaster ride

Life the past few weeks, ok maybe months, have truly been a roller coaster ride for me in particular. I haven't blogged nearly as often as I would like, but no matter what I do, who I'm taking care of, or how much help we have there is ALWAYS something else to be done, that seems more important than blogging. I suppose it always Was like this and will always Be like this, but since the end of the pregnancy and the birth of the twins-- it has been very in my face and noticeable. We're doing well here...I've gotten out alone a few more times, more so than I did when Abigail was this age, mainly b/c I took her with me, and because we have family close by!!

Abigail has been her typical self, good as gold when she gets out of the house and alone time with any adult--I can't blame her and a little bossy when couped up for too long in the house. During football season we were working on cheers like "Its Great to be a Florida Gator" and lots of Penn State cheers including "when I say Jo Pa, You say Terno"...it took her a little while to catch on but she got it down. So much so that she has taken it to a new level, the other day I was getting her dressed and I was putting on tights and she said they were "leggings", and I said "no they're tights" and she responded by getting a silly grin/smirk on her face and said "I say leggings, you say tights, Leggings-tights" and so on...she has also done it with "I say no and you say "Yeah"..she's quite a character....

The boys are doing all sorts of new things everyday and they're naps are starting to coincide a little bit more and they have more awake time so entertaining three kiddos at once for longer periods of time, has been somewhat challenging for me. We all ventured out on a cold snowy day to go to a playdate with some other MoMs. Getting myself showered and fed, in addition to all three kiddos fed, dressed and ready to go took just about two hours, so that all four of us could get out of the house and into a public place--was certainly not my idea of fun and was very frustrating and disappointing. I had two cranky babies, b/c they don't like being in their carseats if we're not in a moving car, can you blame them, and I couldn't be off and running and playing with Abigail as I had hoped for--but afterwards Abigail told me "Mommy I really liked that" so it made it worth the hassle and frustration, at least for the most part.

I realize this post has been very random--but that's kinda what life is like for me these days, I go from one thing to another and often feel that there isn't much cohesion in our daily schedules..I like routine or should I say schedules and I look forward to the days when the boys schedules become a little more routine, so that awake times can be more fun for everyone!!

Roly-Poly Ryan

Ryan has been getting SO close to rolling from his back to his belly--no not the way they typically roll first, but ya know...So close that we've gotten the video camera out several times for him to just look at us...well last night we were awoken to crying from the boys room a little eariler than usual, but still at a somewhat "normal" waking time, so Guy went to get a baby and bring him back for me to feed. When I heard him say "you need to come see this--it's worth it." The crying wasn't even coming from Ryan he was sleeping peacefully on his belly...my little baby rolled over, without us seeing it, but we were able to snap a few pics before he had been there too long and was unhappy.

Dance Moves

So Abigail loves to dance. She has come up with a few moves, but the best one is when she holds both elbows out to the side and dances around. It took us awhile to figure out where she learned it, but then we realized it is exactly how someone (i.e. mommy and daddy) dances when they have two twins in their arms :-)

Go Eagles

It was a family affair... Although having to deal with all the kiddos made watching the game tough :-)

Nighttime

Tonight was a good night for the kiddos. We gave Abigail a "little bath" where she got to play with her new bath crayons. After bath she came into the boys room where Ryan and Justin were playing with Mommy on the floor. We got some great pictures of her laying under a blanket with the boys. When it came time to say goodnight we said prayers, but instead of having Abigail folding her hands we had her hold Mommy and Daddy's hand while we each held one of the boys hand. In perfect timing the boys (who were laying next to each other on the floor grabbed each others hand (unprompted) and held it throughout prayers..

Our first family cold

Well families share lots of things, something we're constantly working on and telling Abigail. Well the same is definitely true of colds as well. Guy started with a cold the week before Christmas, he had it bad and it lasted a while, especially for him--but was healthy for Christmas. Then Christmas night Abigail had a fever and came down with the same cold. From there Justin got it, I got it and now Ryan has it. The lingering effects are still affecting myself and the kids (mainly the boys), but it's amazing how long one cold can last when it goes through a family of five.

Three Months!!

The boys are now three months old and I don't' know where the time has gone. They are SO much bigger, especially Ryan. Justin is currently suffering from his first cold and has a slight cough but no fever--which is more than I can say for Abigail and Guy when he had it. Although they still sleep a bunch they are so much more alert. They love to watch Abigail and Zoey, again especially Ryan. They don't go to the doctors this month so there are no stats on height and weight, although this month they "outgrew" the size one diapers and are no longer wearing 0-3 month clothes.

Ryan likes to watch TV, more so for the lights and colors and he likes any toys that have lights.

Justin loves music and is calmed by his music box teddy and his new glowworm he got for Christmas. The boys love tummy time and like being down and out on the playmat batting at their toys and watching and listening to the star that Grandpa fixed for them. In the past two weeks they have really started kicking their feet both on the playmat and in the bouncy chairs. They have started using the bumbo, for short periods of time--their head control is great, but it's a lot of work so they don't stay in it for very long. Ryan has also been in the exersaucer and really liked a yellow octopus which is on it. We also got out and about to enjoy the warm weather we had and went to the Elmwood zoo and Longwood Gardens. The boys also continue to be very smiley babies and Ryan loves to "talk" and hold a conversation, while Justin is still just learning to use his voice. A few days before Christmas we were lucky enough to snap a picture of them when they were BOTH smiling for us!

Both boys did well on Christmas day. Justin was super smiley in the morning and late evening. Both boys let me eat dinner without interruptions. They didn't get to really look at all the colors on the Christmas wrapping paper like Abigail did when she was their age, but that's because she was ripping off all of the wrapping paper for them. Justin did however like the sounds of the crinkling wrapping paper. Ryan started blowing raspberry's on Christmas day and Pop-pop was the first to hear them.

Nursing--we're still nursing so that is a good thing.(bottles are still not going so well--that's not a good thing) During the day they still nurse every 2-3 hours and it truly depends on whether they are awake or asleep for how long they go. They still start to scream if hungry and the other one is eating, even if not sitting right in front of me, the sense of smell is really amazing. Tandem nursing is going well in bed, when I try in the mornings but is not something I'm pursuing at this time.

Sleeping--they are going to bed between 9pm and 10pm and up until the past few nights(over the holidays), the boys were sleeping 6-7 hours before waking up to eat. Then they will go back down for another 3-4 hours. We are starting to try and move bed time up to closer to 9pm or earlier but for now that hasn't worked so well. The boys are also still swaddled at night, but are getting to big for the swaddles and should be moving out of them soon.

Things we hope to accomplish this upcoming month:

no more swaddling

naping in their crib

earlier bed time

better bottle taking