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| Family photos in the park |
The winds of change!
Lots of changes have happened in the past month. For starters and on a good note, the babies are both regularly sleeping through the night. (Happy dance) Kelsey on average goes 5-7 hours between the night feeds and Logan goes 6-8 with an occasional 9 hours between. His record has been 11 hours!!! He might have gone more but I woke him to feed in the morning. Then they both go back to bed and usually sleep another 3-4 hours. That means on a really good night I can get 10 hours of broken sleep or on a bad night I'm still getting around 7. Either way, it's wonderful because I need all the energy I can get because once 10:00 a.m. rolls around my day is non-stop until around midnight when they go down. I rarely nap anymore but sometimes I get lucky and manage a 30 minute cat nap. Remember last month when I said I try not to sit down because I get drowsy?? Well, this month if I get a chance to sit down, it's like heaven on earth to put my feet up!!!
I have sooooo much to do each day that it's just crazy bananas. Being alone with all 3 kids is really hard work and I often find myself eating for the first time each day around 1:00p.m. and it's not always healthy(lots of cookies! I have developed a sweet tooth much to my dismay). Between feeding all 3 kids(I am constantly feeding someone) washing and prepping bottles, preparing breakfast and lunch, laundry and prepping dinner I am usually run ragged by the time Paul comes home. It's nice to have him home in the evening to take some of the load off and provide Austin with more attention. I try really hard to contain myself but unfortunately Paul gets a lot of grumpy mommy moments, I really am sorry honey! I miss my mom (it's her busy work season) and cousin Katie's help. I have had friends come over for a couple hours each week which is really great but I really need someone here ALL day. With me not working, we absolutely cannot afford for me to hire help so volunteers it is! I honestly don't know where I even found the time to write this blog. It takes multiple days of writing a little here and there, adding pictures and editing and about a week later I can finally send it out!
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| Logan's first real bath- 13 pounds of chunk! |
I live in my pajamas and only get dressed if I need to leave the house. Even when I shower which I find time for about every day and a half, I just put a clean pair of pajamas back on! Sexy!!! I have a appointment to have a massage this weekend and I just cannot wait to relax for an hour then enjoy lunch at Brio with friends! The mommies group is calling it Mom's day out at Crocker Park! I am attending 2 of the 5 functions during the day away! I would do more but they all cost money that we don't have!
Okay enough about me and back to the babies. They are now sleeping in their own nursery. We had to do a 3-room shuffle in order to get everyone where they belong. We have spent our weekends bit-by-crying-baby-bit cleaning out our 3rd floor and moving Paul's office up in order to move Austin into his new big boy room and the babies into the nursery.
As for the nursing, Kelsey is nursing wonderfully and in fact she gets most of the feeds now. Logan has started causing too much fuss while nursing and popping off too much so he gets nursed only twice a day and formula the other feeds. Kelsey has to have a minimum of 2 formula feeds because of the calories it offers or she would probably be exclusively nursed. I enjoy nursing her so I am sticking with it for now! Logan's reflux is much worse than Austin's was. With Austin, the one dose of Zantac a day was all he needed and he would just spit up ALOT. Logan doesn't spit up nearly as much but when he does, it really hurts him :( He arches his back and pulls up his legs in pain. He receives 2 doses of Zantac a day and to help him he eats smaller bottles(3 ounces) more often. Sometimes a hour apart and sometimes 4 hours apart. I also have switched him to a sensitive tummy formula as it appears that he might have an issue with lactose. They are both on an on-demand feeding sequence but it has it's own schedule built-in where they both generally take a long nap in the afternoon/early evening same as Austin. This is my only saving grace. I turn off everything (lights,TV,sounds) and sometimes just sit on the couch and stare at the ceiling motionless.
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| Kelsey after bath- 11 pounds of skinny! |
The babies enjoy some wake time it the morning after their good night's rest and again in the evening after their long nap! We often have a witching hour starting at 9pm and ending at midnight when they usually go down. It really is the hardest part of our day because Austin, our night owl is usually awake until 11 or later too! Getting everyone to sleep is relentless! We are back and forth with Austin who still struggles with going down on his own and waking up in the middle of the night sometimes. We have tried so many different methods, limiting nap time, changing when nap is, no nap, keeping a light on, laying with him, letting him cry it out, sometimes things work but mostly he is inconsistent :/
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| Austin with his best buddies at 12 weeks old |
When the babies are awake they are only sometimes happy. When they are content they are smiling and have started with some occasional cooing, mostly from Logan as he smiled first too. They can both roll over from tummy to back during their tummy time and I am hoping for some giggles soon! They have their fair share of fussing.(The majority of their wake time.) Again, mostly Logan. He is a very high maintenance baby, much harder than any baby I have ever dealt with which is mostly due to his reflux. Kelsey has her moments but usually calms down when she is propped up and can look around. I blame the fact that I can't just hold and cuddle with them as to why they are so unhappy. It is really hard to enjoy them when there are two. I was lucky that I got to spoil and snuggle with Austin and really wish I could give these babies that same attention. I am sad to say they both have to spend so much time in a vibrate chair or swing just so I can manage to get through the day. I would like to note that this hard time only started a couple weeks ago, up until then they were pretty good and I ran things very smoothly.
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| Logan is a cheese ball |
Austin has adjusted to his siblings very well. He asks to hold the babies by putting his hands out in request. He gives the babies their NUKS when they cry and he likes pointing out their body parts. He was very used to other children in our home from me watching kids so he copes well with not having my undivided attention. He enjoys getting his picture taken with them and says "I chee" ( I cheese). We recently got ambitious and took our own family photos in the metroparks! They turned out well considering we were chasing Austin around, holding the babies and using the tripod and remote to take pictures!
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| Another self taken family shot |
I am very much looking forward to the day when things get better and easier on me. I am definitely going through a rough patch with this age group and I have had great reasurrance from family and friends that their will be light at the end of the tunnel. No offense to anyone else but the only people who actually make me feel better are other moms of twins because THEY really get me and there really is no other comparison!
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| Mommies group Halloween Party- yes we match! |
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| Annual pumpkin picture....epic fail! |
So, on that note let's hope next month's post is more pleasant with the holidays approaching and I will have more help from family again!
