Things I am loving

1.  Talking to my other mom friends during the day.  I love connecting to my mommy friends in this way.  I love the comradery that comes from being a new mom and everyone knowing how hard it is.  I love the words of encouragement that everyone gives telling you that you are doing a great job even though you feel like you are failing.  I love that they have all been through the exact same thing and tell you they can relate.  I love that tearful confessions (“I feel sleep while feeding my baby, I could have smushed him”) are answered with “We have all done that Carrie, cut yourself a break”.  My stories of how tired I am and how I feel like I am neglecting one baby when the other needs something are answered with reassuring words that both babies feel their mom’s love.  My confession that I am failing at being able to take care of my household chores, washing cloth diapers, washing bottles, taking care of twin babies and a husband and 4 animals so we hired someone to come for 12 hours a week were met with statement like “no sh*t Carrie, no one can do all that.”  Good for you for hiring someone”.  I think what I love the most are the genuine “You’re doing a great job” statements that comes out of my friends' mouths so easily.  I need to remember to say this to my friends in the future when they have a new little one.  It means so much, more than I could have imagined.

2.  Our snap n go stroller (Thanks Richie and Lois!).  This stroller is perfect for getting the babies to and from stores, as well as for going on morning walks in an effort to regain some fitness.  It is not that bulky and drives smoothly.  It folds and fits nicely in the wagon of our SUV.  Without this, I would barely be able to leave the house. (note the convent cup holder!)

3.   Moby carrier- I love this carrier for wear around the house or at friends’ houses.  Learning to wrap the fabric took only a few minutes and once you get the hang of it, it is very simple.  I love how snuggly the babies feels when you carry them in the holder.  Also, if I have to pick up the other baby at the same time, I can.  The only things I don’t like about this holder is that the tails of the material touch the floor when you wrap them around your body.  Other than that, it has been a huge help.  I look forward to using the other holds (side hold and outfacing) as the babies get older.  Do any of my friends back east use this holder?

4.Boba-  This carrier has been great for family hiking.  The number one feature of this carrier is that is has a built in sunshade, critical for Arizona outings.   The carrier is comfortable and sturdy.  I hope the babies still like it as they get bigger.

5. BumGenius math diapers- we have been cloth diapering our boys and the BunGenious brand of diapers have worked really well for us.  I love the all-in-ones because you do not have to stuff the pockets and they seem to absorb just as well.  The diapers come in cute colors.  In particular, I love these Einstein ones we have.  They have math all over them and they say "I'm a genius!"!

 

6.  Toy recognition.  It took awhile but my boys have finally started to respond to toys and they seem to have some favorites.  Brody in particular loves his wubbanub giraffe.  He likes to clench its neck and shove the legs into his mouth.  It makes me laugh when I find it positioned on his body after he falls asleep.  The other day Chris brought the giraffe into Brody and his eyes got big and his mouth parted and he did his happy dance.  It was so funny, I hope they keep these kinds of antics up for awhile. 

7.  Remembering how to use my self timer! Priceless.

 

  

  

Things babies say: 3 months 2 weeks

 I'm a ninja, watch out! (Brady)

I'm not picking my nose, really! (L: Brady, R: Brody)

 

Will smile for true t-shirts (Brody)

I am one cool cat (Brady)

 

Why do they always put me in this baby prison? (Brody)

 

 

There's a baby in the bucket, dear liza, dear liza (Brody)

 

 His hand looks delicious!  Wonder if he will let me chew on it. (L: Brody, R: Brady)

Ever heard of a purple nurple? (L: Brody, R: Brady)

Things Mommie's say

100% organic cuteness!

Things that make you go hummmm

I knew it was coming.  I've been afraid of it since the moment I found out I was pregnant.  "It" is the hair shedding that happens after you give birth.  The hair loss has been shocking, and despite my best efforts to prepare myself, I feel a small tug at my heart with each strand that I find.  Everyone says your hair gets lushous and thick during pregnancy and it is so true.  In fact, I do not think I lost a single hair for 10 months and the end result was a thick head of hair.  But, all good things come to an end and all the hair that never fell out is going to make a mass exodus, seemingly all at once.

My "what to expect" update prepared me for this last week.  When the email entitled "post partum hair loss" showed up in my inbox, I knew I had reached the end of what can only be termed "Van Halen hair, part deux" (Part one occurred when I was a sophomore in college!)  Practically the day after receiving the update, my hair started to shed.  I was ready, I knew it was coming.  However, it turns out, I was not ready for all the components of the hair loss.  Case in point- this statement that was in the "what to expect" email: 

During shedding season, beware of long strands wrapping around your baby's tiny fingers, toes, wrists, or PENIS. That can hurt (really!); so if your little one is fussing and you can't find a reason, make sure the culprit's not a "hair tourniquet."

Hair tourniquets that attack the penis, really??!  Of course I had mention this to Chris.

Me: "Babe, most of my hair is going to fall out here in the next few months.  Also, if the babies are crying and we can't figure out why, they may have a penis tourniquet made out of my hair.  I guess we are supposed to check to that."

Chris: "Ummm, ok.  Please try not to get any hair around their penises.  Also, feel free to buy a hat if you want."

Now every time the babies are crying for no apparent reason, Chris looks lovingly into their eyes and asks "Do you have one of moms hairs wrapped around your winki?  Does it hurt?  Should I check?"  

And he does.  

My hair has not been the cause of undo pain yet, but it is only a matter of time.  Thanks What to Expect for this helpful hint.  I am off to buy a hat.

How Babies Grow a Latte: 2 and 3 month updates

I have failed to provide a 2 month update on our boys.  As we fast approach their 3 month anniversary, I gave up hope that I was going to put together a separate 2 month post and decided to do a combo 2/3 month update.  Let's hope this catches me up for month 4!  I blame my lack of a 2 month post on showering, or lack there of really.  See, I usually think of my blog posts in the shower, but my showers have not been consistent (gross, but true) and the ones I have taken are very, very short, so I have not had a chance to think of what to write!  That being said, let me take a brief step back to talk about our lives at month 2 and then update you on the boys' current shenanigans.

Month 2:
Looking back, I think the transition between month 1 and month 2 was less about the boys developments and more about our ability to survive.  We were lucky enough to have help (via visiting family) for the first 4 weeks.  But after the first month, Chris went back to work and our help left, leaving me on my own to figure out how to care for these 2 munchkins.  I am not going to lie, it was rough.  The lack of sleep was overwhelming.  I had a lot of engorgement/duct blockage issues with breast feeding and pumping causing tears and many, many uncomfortable days and nights.  Chris had to come home early on more than one occasion because my ship was sinking and he needed to bail water.  We had cloth diapers to wash and bottles to clean and two babies that always needed something.  Despite being awake for most of them, there were not enough hours in the day to get done everything that needed to be done.  Slowly though, over those 4 weeks, we figured things out and we managed to make it to their 2 month doctors appointment with two healthy, happy, growing babes.

(L: Brady, R: Brody)

I had a lot of help from this new trusty friend.  Some mornings, having a home brewed latte makes having been awake much of the night all ok.  Happy-chino, don't mind if I do.  

We saw our first smiles this month and as expected, they melted our hearts.  Chris would yell out that one of they babies was smiling and I would ask, "Are they farting?".  I was obsessed with seeing real smiles, not ones that were caused by relieving gas pains.  Eventually we saw or first real smiles and all the sleepless nights seemed to melt away.  At first, Brady's smiles were a little easier to capture by camera than Brody's.

(Brady)

Month 3.

This past month has been really fun!  The boys started to sleep-in longer intervals and those intervals even started to overlap!  I started to get a little more sleep making all of our lives a little happier!  After the boys got their first shots, we felt more comfortable taking them out and about.  I have mastered getting two babies in and out of the car by myself. In addition, we have been on several family hikes and the boys have even been to Whole Foods and the farmers market for some food shopping.  I can honestly say we are living again and it feels great.

As the personalities of the boys have continued to emerge, I am constantly surprised by how much of their personalities were apparent from the start, even in utero.  I don't want to fall into a pattern of constantly comparing the boys, but when you have two babies it is easy to do.  The number one thing that consistently amazes me is how different two babies, twins nonetheless, can be.  One develops a rash from our detergent, the other doesn't.  One farts up a storm because I ate too many beans, the other is fine.  One loves a particular toy, the other hates it.  One sleeps easily, the other sleeps restlessly.  Although their similarities are abundant, it's their differences that crack me up and keep me wondering what they will be like as they grow older.

Brady.
Brady shows and communicates his emotions very clearly.  We knew this early on when we saw him waving his fist during our first sonogram. I could always feel him pounding away inside my belly when I was sad or upset.  His mercurial personality has been apparent from the start.  When he is happy, he screeches with delight.  It almost sounds like he is yelling, but he is just expressing his excitement.  When he is uncomfortable (usually due to gas), he screeches in pain, throws his fists around, bangs on us, all in an effort to tell us what he needs.  He demands to be held, is quick to give a smile when he is happy, he is a restless sleeper, often moving and murmuring in his sleep and he sleeps way less than his brother.  The other morning when we woke up, I looked over and he was smiling ear to ear.  His smiles are open mouthed and glorious.  Now,  each morning I am greeted by his toothless, open-mouthed grinning face and it is wonderful.

 

Brody.

Brody is a laid back and generally pretty relaxed guy.  If Brody starts to fuss and is not tended to right away, he tends to just fall back to sleep and wait for us to get to him.  Brody also found his smile during these last 2 months!  When Brody smiles, his mouth develops into a cute flat line or a crooked grin.  In addition, Brody has been experimenting with sticking his tongue out.  His little tongue pokes out and in in (usually a little to the left) in a rapid movement that if you did not know to look for, you might miss!

 

In the last few days, Brody has developed a wicked lower lip pout.  When he pushes out that lower lip and it starts to quiver, it melts my heart.  How can something so sad be so cute at the same time?  Brody has also started to be a masterful coo-er.  At night when he is eating, he looks right into my eyes and "talks to me" for what seems like forever.  His most cute coo sounds like he is saying "OOOOhhhhhh" and I like saying things to him to elicit this response.  While Brady was the first to smile, Brody was the first to move into 3-6 month clothes.  Our big boy has developed some pretty cute thigh and arm cub.

 

Both boys found their fists this month.  I love watching them look at their hands and move their fists to their mouths.  Brody in particular was enamored with his own hand when he found it.  He spends most of his free time looking at it and moving it to his mouth.  

Brody

 

Brody

Brady

Also, this month both boys have clearly seen and acknowledged the dogs, particularly Rocco.  The first time Brady locked eyes on Rocco (as Rocco was peering over the car seat and drooling on him) a confused look can across his face and then a huge smile.  It was so cute!  Brody was a little more nervous about Rocco's drool and he started to whimper when Rocco looked right at him and then he reached out to try and touch him.  It is going to be so fun seeing these guys fall in love with their pets.

Favorite developments this month:

-Smiles

-Hand sucking

-Clear recognition that I can help them

-Better head control

-Batting at toys and us

-Pulling stuff closer to themselves with their feet

-Hugging us

-Smiling when they see a toy they like

-Generally more aware of their environment

Nicknames we are still using:

Collectively, Chris calls the boys the MBs (Man Babies).  We also use the following nicknames for the twins.  

Brady-

A-Bee the Bay-bee

A Bops

Man Baby 1

Brody-

B B the guns

Gunderson

Brody Bear

B Bops

Man Baby 2

Happy 3rd month birthday boys!  You are becoming so much fun!

Things babies say: Week 7

I know our boys are too young to talk, but we swear they talk to us already!  For example, when Brady has to burp and it won't come out, we swear he says "OWWWWWWW".  And when Brody is screeching while Chris is changing him, we swear he cries "DADDDDDDDDY".  As we approach the 2 month mark, I have lots to say about our boys personalities, but we will save that for another post.  For now, I will let the Babies speak through some of the less than perfect pictures I have taken over the last few weeks.

I have the best shoes.

How did they get up there?

My shirt is so right. (Brady)

I do not really have antennae.  But if I did, they would be blue. (Brody)

Look mom, I'm flying. (Brady)

My dogs are tired.

Wake up! (L: Brady, R: Brody)

Fine, I'll sleep just like you. (L: Brady, R: Brody)

Check the picture Mom, make sure I look good. (Brody)

Brody: Where is thumbkin?

Brady: Here he is.

(L: Brady, R: Brody)

My hands are beautiful.  Wonder if I have a hand twin?  Oh wait, I do! (Brody)

I take 2 of those to go. (Brody)

Umm, aren't we forgetting something here?  No shoes, no shirt. . .  yeah, nothing about no hats. (Brody)

I have such a headache. (Brody) 

(insert appropriate sound.  i cant spell real words let alone onamonapias) (Brady)

Waiter.  Check please. (L: Brody, R: Brady)

Hi Mom! (L: Brody, R: Brady)

I'll bite you. (L: Brody, R: Brady)

Do you know what a wet willy is?  You do now! (L: Brady, R: Brody)

Oh yeah, take that. (Brody)

Horizontal stripes, really? (Brody)

Things Mommies Say:

Gosh these boys are cute!