Friday, October 11, 2013

3 Months with a Full Heart

Three months ago, Max and Harper came into our lives! How crazy is that?!

We get a lot of comments about how hard it must be...we either don't know any different or our babies are rockstars. It isn't difficult. They are the happiest and easiest babies. I know that at any milestone this could quickly change but they are amazing.

We have been battling a stint of stomach bugs between the two of them, but they are still cooing and smiling even though I know they must not feel well. What champs!

They are on a pretty consistent schedule now. Just in time for them to start daycare on Tuesday! I know we are leaving them in very capable hands but I still worry daycare will disturb our flow. Here is a good run down of their day (granted I am back to work but Jeremy has done awesome at adhering to a consistent schedule):

Go to bed between 7:30-8:00pm (This is after our bedtime routine which I have posted about before)
Wake around 4:00-5:00am
They eat and go right back to sleep.
Wake for the day around 7:30am.
They play until late morning and eat around noon.
After they eat, they have been going down for a 1-2 hour nap.
They will play a couple of hours and eat again around 4:30pm.
They will sometimes nap another 1 to 2 hours or have another play session. Then they are ready to eat and do it all again.

They are still rocking the whole sleeping in their cribs thing. We are also getting great sleep because of this. I know some babies have a hard time transitioning to the cribs but we have really just been lucky. They LOVE their cribs. I love hearing them when they wake in the middle of the night. Yes, I just said that! But they don't cry. They just squeal or yell to get our attention. When we go in the nursery, they are kicking and cooing. It is the best part of having to wake up in the middle of the night!

They have upgraded to the larger bottles. Max eats 6 ounces consistently at every feeding. We probably need to up this because he is getting to where he acts hungry still. They only have around 5 feedings in 24 hours. The doctor says to figure 2.5 ounces for every pound of baby when figuring the amount of formula in 24 hours. I think he is close to 13.5 pounds so he could easily have 6.5 ounces at each feeding. Harper hasn't been eating as well as Max. In fact, we took her to the doctor on Tuesday and she only weighed 10 pounds 15 ounces. This is only a couple ounce gain since her two month check up. We think she lost a pound during this sickness she has had. She is on the mend so she should be packing on the pounds now. She eats anywhere from 4-5 ounces. We are hoping she will start eating more when she is feeling 100% again.

They both roll all over the place now. It is almost instant to placing them down for tummy time. Max is close to rolling from tummy to back. Either way, they can maneuver themselves all over their cribs during the night. We never know where they will end up in the morning!

Going back to work has been difficult but is getting easier. I miss them terribly during the day but cherish our weekends and evenings a lot more. I still have great hopes that I won't have to teach next year and I can stay home with them. Just praying that it is possible for our finances. I hate the thought that "strangers" will be spending more time with them than I do!

Here are a few recent pictures. I also included a couple pictures from our family session nearly a month ago now. Our friend, Rachel, did an amazing job and we love them!






















-Lisa-

Monday, September 30, 2013

Sad, sad day!!

This will be brief since it is my LAST DAY of maternity leave. I have snuggled Max and Harper most of the day knowing I will be in baby snuggle withdrawals the next 8 months of my life. Jeremy and I are in talks and plans to see if this will be my last year teaching for awhile. I would love to be a stay at home mama until they are in school or much older.

Tomorrow morning will be a tough one. But Jeremy is home with them (BY HIMSELF!) for the next two weeks. They start daycare October 15. We took all of their "stuff" to daycare today and met some of the teachers. It is a great place and they will be in great hands...but I am SO SAD.

Here is a bit of what I will be missing!

Max loves to talk and coo!
So serious

They love their Bumbo seats!

Sleeping in







This is a common expression from Harper when she isn't smiling!
















-Lisa-

Monday, September 23, 2013

What Does the Fox Say??

**Max does not have a hernia. Woo-hoo!! Instead it is fluid that they expect to dissipate in a few months and isn't dangerous. Prayers answered for sure!**

Some milestones for the babies this weekend...(all a tad sad for Mommy).

1. We started transitioning them to their cribs on Friday night.

I was not ready. However, Dr. C said it is best to do this when I am off of work. He also recommended doing this before they were 3 months old. I felt so far away from them. I wanted to sleep but a part of me also wanted them to NEED me so I could go snuggle them. But they slept! Wonderfully. And...we slept. Wonderfully. We use our same bedtime rituals and so that made it easy on all of us. Here is our bedtime ritual:
  • Wipe down or bath time (We give baths on Wednesdays and Saturdays.)
  • Lotion them up with calming, lavender lotion
  • Dress in their jammies
  • Feed them in low lit nursery
  • Storytime (We read together as a family. I got lots of books as gifts but we also have made trips to the library for more variety.)
  • Turn on their "Baby go to Sleep" music. (It is lullabies with heartbeat sounds in the background.)
  • Lay them down when they are drowsy.
  • Sometimes Max takes his paci but not always.

2. We both went out without Max and Harper.

Jeremy and I are huge baseball fans, especially our home team-the Kansas City Royals. We usually go to several games a season. We didn't pre-purchase our tickets this year because of the twins. I was hugely pregnant for the first half of the season and even on bedrest. So we didn't go. Then we weren't going to take newborn babies to a baseball stadium. So...we decided since this past Sunday was the last home game, we needed to go. My sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and niece kept them while we went. I felt much better leaving them because they were in great hands. They love those babies so much! It was odd for both of us to be together without them. By the end of the 8th inning, I started staring at pictures of them on my phone. And wouldn't you know...it went into extra innings! I was ready to abandon the game at 0-0. But I am glad that Jeremy convinced us to see the amazing bottom of the 10th inning to see the game winning homerun. The babies were fine and Mom and Dad survived too!

I forgot how much I missed one on one time with Jeremy.

3. This next one has nothing to do with a milestone but the title. I am so obsessed with this ridiculous fox song. If you haven't heard it, you must. Jeremy is fed up with me singing it or humming it constantly. Last night, I sang it to the babies. I think it is a great way for them to learn the animal sounds--ha! You must know what the fox says!


-Lisa-