Twins are 8 months old

Spring has sprung!!

8 Months old and in somewhat matching clothes

I don't know where to begin this month. It feels like forever since I last posted and I feel like so much has happened! It was a very hard month (one of the hardest since month 3) the babies have been very exhausting and overwhelming(they are just not very content unless they are held). We started out with some very weary nights a couple weeks ago but since then we are doing better at night and everyone can usually stay in their own room. The babies have outgrown their one size fits all sleep sacks and had to move up to the next size which appears to be one of the things helping with their sleep. They both became tummy sleepers this month too! We always lay them down on their backs but because they are pros at rolling, they are usually on their tummies most of the night and wake up looking like seals on the beach, which is actually pretty adorable. Austin had no interest in sleeping on his stomach so this is a new experience for us.

Happy St. Pattys Day, we are slightly Irish

Tummy sleeper

We briefly put Logan back on Nutramigen because he was always fussy but weren't convinced that was the problem and he is on normal formula again. It's quite the guessing game these days, formula, possible teeth, who knows, they are just super crabby! Both babies have been chewing like crazy and I think I see teeth coming but you just never know. Austin chewed for 9 months before a tooth arrived at age 1!! Logan is progressing by leaps and bounds. He is sitting up on his own with the occasional drop backwards, he can maneuver himself on the ground by rolling and scooting and managing some complex Yoga moves. This week he readily gets on his knees and rocks, it won't be long now until we have a crawler. He babbles dadada but I don't know if we will say it's his first word. He has started holding his own bottle which is extremely liberating for me to hand him a bottle and I can feed Kelsey at the same time. He is also able to use a sippy cup of water during meal times. Speaking of meal times, the babies have had lots to eat this month, those being apple, peas, green beans, millet, peaches, avocado, zucchini, tahini and plums and yogurt. They don't care for the green vegetables and protest by gagging and spitting. Luckily, I found that the Tahini (ground sesame seeds) similar to natural peanut butter is a good flavor masker and they eat their peas and green beans mixed with it.

Playing together

Morning self fed bottle

Kelsey has had a busy month. Her topical Timolol unfortuantely had no affect on her hemangioma so we are moving to the Propranolol. Because she had some heart issues in the NICU we had to have an ECG aka EKG to clear her to be safe to take the meds. The ECG did come back with some irregularities so we had to take her in for an Echocardiogram (heart Ultrasound). She did really well and her heart is just fine so she can take the medicine which will be twice a day for 6 months to a year. As for development, she has been behind Logan about a month with her new tricks and is fine with just rolling around and sitting with assistance. She weighs 16+ pounds and Logan is nearly 19 pounds, both being considerably smaller than Austin was at 8 months (24lbs). Despite being small they have tripled their birth weight by age one just like Austin did, an uncommon thing to do!!!

Drake and Ellee came to visit during Easter break and I found this sweet message after they left!

Kelsey all hooked up for her Echocardiogram

I started work breifly. I had Claire who is 5 months old on Mondays and Fridays for March. She was on a waiting list for daycare and we expected her to start in June but they had a cancellation and she started this week so I am back to the drawing board. It was a good opportunity for me to see if I could manage another child and I did fine. My job hunt has begun again, I am back on Care.com searching for part time infants.

Grandma finally got a picture holding both babies

I recently went buck wild with a new project! While filling out the twins baby memory books (yes I have time and yes they are all filled in)I came to the family tree page and was stumped that I didn't know some of the data needed to complete the page! This sent me on a family history whirlwind. I was able to track down my info but I went many steps further and decided to collect as many generations of photos that I could get my hands on! Once they were found I copied and printed them out for a family tree wall in our house. We are so lucky that I have 7 generations of photos on my side and 6 generations for Paul's side (if you count us and the kids)! I am glad I did it and we learned some really neat things along the way. A couple being that my grandparents lines both date back to Koblenz, Germany and that Paul's side is partly Jewish and arrived from Russia! Combined, our children are German, Polish, Irish, Hungarian and Russian! We may have some other nationalities too that I haven't dug up yet!

My finished family tree wall of photos

As for their schedule, we are kind of all over the place this month. They wake up regularly at 8:30 and have a bottle, from there it gets sloppy except that they eat about every 2 hours and take only 30 minute naps at a time. I have tried larger meals to stretch it but they only eat little bits often. I have tried keeping them up to make a longer nap possible but that doesn't work either. They are downright high maintenance babies! Luckily, Austin is easy but because we are pushing his speech development, I still don't manage to get much education time with him. *We did have two break throughs this week for Austin. One, we got him to wear his music headphones at the OT for listening therapy and just today he signed more and said wawa (water). I know that doesn't seem like much for a 3 year old but for him it is!!! Most days Austin doesn't nap which gets him in bed around 8 p.m. and the babies go down about 10:30. I really don't see any freedom in my near future.

Austin at his OT with his headphones

Indians Home Opener day and playing with his sister

We had a round of sickness this week too. Paul had a nasty cold. Kelsey had a snot nose. Austin spiked his first ever fever on Monday but it was brief and have no idea why. Logan woke up Tuesday with croup again and was on a steroid and his nebulizer for wheezing. I appear to have my seasonal spring allergies so it's been a fun snotty week I tell ya! On a good note we had a very nice Easter weekend visiting our families and enjoying play time with cousins and yummy food! The weather has been decently nice so we can get out a bit more but I am looking forward to even nicer weather for us to all unleash some built up steam!!!

Easter at Grammy's with the cousins

Austin wanted nothing to do with the Easter Bunny

Easter Sunday

Kelsey in her O-SO-Adorable Easter dress from Laura

Logan in quarantine with croup round 2

This girl wiggles so much, she is UNDER her play mat

Miss K getting sleepy in her jumperoo

Daddy getting a back massage.....or is he?

Watching Baby Babble together

Nap time snuggles

At the Zoo on Good Friday, quite the feat!

Until next month and the babies 9 month portraits....

Twins are 7 months and 5 months corrected

From the heart.

7 months old

Time to reflect. This month I have been thinking a lot about my life. *It might be because I am trapped inside with 3 kids during the suckiest winter I can remember in Ohio*. It has been a very trying month for me. I boast that I am a positive person but you can get really depressed when you don't get ANY natural vitamin D! There are things I miss, we used to just get in the car on weekends and drive places and do randomn shopping, hiking, visiting friends, eat out and drink a lot! We did all of those things with one child just like when we had no children. Having 3 is a total game changer. We are out numbered and leaving is not spontaneous, it involves packing our Yukon to the gills with kids and stuff...lots of stuff! Because of their age group I literally cannot handle all 3 kids on my own in public. That is especially hard as I like being out doing things. I miss my friends, it's so very hard to get together with them or even just talk on the phone..we text...how sad! When I do get out I get glimpses of my former self...who knew twins would change me sooooo much!

Multitasking starts at 7:30 A.M.

To be brutally honest though, I wouldn't have it any other way! I am the luckiest person on the planet. I get to stay at home with my kids versus go to work! My whole life as far back as I can remember, I loved babies and wanted to be a Mom! Yep, that's it! I never gave too much consideration to a career because all I ever wanted was babies! God sure did produce! I love my kids with every ounce of my being. I sacrifice for them on a daily basis. I sleep less to comfort them, I eat less to make sure their belly's are full first. I clean less so that I have time to snuggle and cuddle them. I constantly think, that can wait- they are more important! Before now it was very hard to relax and just have true sweet moments with them. I was so consumed with the work load that survival was first love was second. I know someday we will be able to be social again and at least when the weather breaks we can go outside. Overall, it has been a very sentimental month. The realization of my tubes being tied has got me sad at each passing milestone. I won't be pregnant again, give birth or most recently, nurse ever again! That kind of stuff is sad to me, I know we made the right decision but it's still hard none the less!

At Christmas, my childhood friend and neighbor was diagnosed with cancer. He and his wife just had a baby girl. I have been thinking about him/them for these past months! I have been reading his very positive posts about radiation and chemotherapy and just hoping he would be lucky enough to meet his daughter! It has made me really appreciate that my family is all healthy and happy and that I have nothing to complain about! Life is not life if it's all sunshine and lollipops! Struggles are what make us realize when we are happy! So I am happy! Happy for our marriage, happy for our kids, happy even when things are difficult, happy my life is so very different than it once was and happy I live in freezing Ohio because that's where our family is, happy happy happy!

A rare dinner date out

And now for the usual updates!!!

The babies are on a roll this month, literally. Kelsey was first to roll tummy to back at a month old and now she can also go back to tummy. She is crazy strong and tosses her body over very quickly. Logan just learned too and needs some fine tuning. They are both sitting up with assistance in their boppy pillows and love to stand in their saucers. We are borrowing one that Logan can jump in because he is more rowdy! The boy loves to stand and has taken steps with assistance. He isn't strong enough to stand on his own or cruise but he sure does want too! I walked at 9 months so I would not be surprised if he can at least cruise by then. Logan is also my backbender! If we do not strap him into chairs he arches and twists until he is out of it!

Learning to play and share

Cousin Clara and Grammy feeding the twins dinner

We are finally seeing a consistent routine in the works! The babies wake up about 7:30 a.m. and have a bottle. They usually have a cat nap before waking up again to eat breakfast around 9:30 which consists of a fruit and oatmeal. So far we have introduced banana, mango, nectarine and pear. They take another small snooze(still napping between each feed) then have a bottle around noon. At 1:00ish I get everyone down for a nap including big brother Austin. By 3:30 or 4:00 they wake and have another bottle. They eat dinner about 6:00 which includes oatmeal and a vegetable. We have introduced squash, carrots and sweet potato. They sometimes nap again and then at 8:30 they have a bottle and go to bed around 9:30p.m. Kelsey is usually easy and goes to sleep in her crib on her own. Logan usually needs rocked or his pacifier back a couple times until he is officially out for the night! On any given night one of the babies ends up in our room and sleeping in the cradle (in effort to not wake up the other twin). Just about every night 2 kids sleep all night and one doesn't sleep well....I barely ever win and once in awhile all 3 sleep for an interrupted night!

This is what $3.50 of homemade carrots versus $5.00 of store bought Pears looks like!

This past Saturday we got really brave and super ambitious and decided to attempt to take all 3 kids to the West Side Market. We each wore a baby in the Bjorn and pushed Austin in an umbrella stroller and he walked for some of the time. We had no melt downs or unhappy babies and we got plenty of unsolicited attention and "you're brave comments." We have started to learn that if we want lives, we better be brave A LOT! We spent about an hour in the market and walked away with 4 bags of groceries and a tray of berries. Leaving was quite comical and I wish we had a photo of us lugging kids and the groceries back to the car!

Austin in his snow cave

Austin with Grandpa

Austin and Clara having a "suck" break, wore out from playing with each other!

Until next month...

Twins are 6 months old and Austin turned 3!

Sleepy, Sneezy, Doc, CROUPY, Bashful, Dopey, UNhappy and Snow White(aka mommy)

We love to watch Mickey Mouse

Sickness has infected us and overshadowed Austin's 3rd birthday and the twins 6 month milestone. We had 2 trips to the pediatrician, a stop at Urgent care and a visit to the Pediatric Emergency Room all in 10 days time.

All 3 sleeping...WOW!

It started with Kelsey, the day before Austin's birthday on a Saturday. She became super congested with a productive cough. I considered this to be mild cold and just decided to try and keep her away from her brothers. Three days later on Tuesday Austin woke up coughing and Logan woke with the very distinct Croup barking seal cough. It was very mild to start and didn't cause me concern. Austin had Croup last fall so I knew the symptoms and that it was mostly treated at home and left to run its course. Well, by the afternoon Logan's mild case went extreme with a constant Stridor(vibrating raspy breathing usually only heard between the barking cough) he couldn't breathe without crying and the Stridor was all the time. We rushed him to urgent care in efforts to avoid the price of the Emergency room(sad that we even have to consider the raping cost). He was given Decadron (oral steroid) and put on a nebulizer (compressor run inhaler with a mask). He laid perfectly still minus some leg kicks and received his dose. We then needed to wait and see how he managed and after about 30 minutes he relapsed and it was determined he needed to be sent to the Emergency room(we declined a ride in the ambulance) where they would decide to treat him again or admit him. Sure enough he was given another nebulizer treatment, this time we had a two hour wait period. At midnight he had improved enough to go home without needing admittance. We were given a script for another round of Decadron for the next day. He appeared to improve but the following day(Thursday) developed a whistling hiss to his breathing which warranted a visit to the Pediatrician. We decided to take everyone in on Friday to rule out anything serious such as Flu, Pneumonia or Strep. The final diagnosis, Austin had a ear infection and on Amoxocillan and Advil. Kelsey had RSV ( respiratory virus) using a home nebulizer with Albuterol and Tylenol as needed and Logan had the combo of RSV ( same treatment as Kelsey) and the lingering Croup treated with Prednisolone (oral steroid).

Logan on the home nebulizer

Outside to improve the Croup symptoms

starting to feel better

We had to postpone Austin's birthday party to get everyone healthy. I am grateful he doesn't understand his birthday yet so he wasn't disappointed. We are also grateful that my mom came to help out for 4 days when we truly had our hands full of snot, Tylenol and tears! She happen to be here for our worst night when we all divided up and slept with a child each. Paul and Austin in the master. My mom and Kelsey in the nursery and Logan and I in the guest room. It definitely made life more manageable but not easy by any means! These bugs took its toll on this family lasting a whole 12 days!

Last Monday, I was feeling ambitious plus we had ideal conditions for a photo shoot(snow and sun which makes our dining room bright). Even though the kids were still not 100% I managed to get some very good smiles and cooperation! Our one hiccup which ended our shoot in a screeching halt was Logan coughing so hard he gagged and threw up all over my prop blanket and mat! I really need to keep this picture thing up! I love being creative with my backdrop supplies and enjoy being crazy silly in order to capture fantastic baby smiles! I may even turn my photo taking skills into a business. I am in the process of coming up with a witty name for my company and buying some much needed supplies (lighting and vinyl backdrops). I plan to concentrate on maternity and infant portraits. I have had friends suggest that I get affiliated with the hospital and do in-house photography, we shall see!!!

Always holding hands

We can roll!

Too cute

such a stud

As for check-ups, Austin was in a couple weeks ago before he was sick for his 3 year old well visit. He weighs 33 pounds and is 38 inches tall. He is average for his age but we did get diagnosed with some developmental delays and sensitivities which we already knew but needed to receive a script to be able to have a private OT ( Occupational Therapist). We met his new speech teacher amid all the sickness and he took to her very well. Chris will be at our home every Thursday afternoon for an hour. We will then go to the OT every other Wednesday. We really wanted every week but our copay per session is $40 so we can only afford a couple weeks a month.

The twins had their 6 month well check visit this Thursday. These babes are growing like weeds! Kelsey is now 14.4 pounds and 25 inches tall. Logan is 16.8 pounds and 25.5 inches tall. Kelsey is starting to catch up to her not so chunky anymore brother. Both babies are now on the growth chart and are doing fantastic. This month we have had many changes. Logan is now off the Nutramigen and drinking the same formula as Kelsey the Similac Advanced. We are still waiting to see if he is experiencing any side effects. I also stopped nursing Kelsey as my milk supply seriously diminished and I was having to feed her more and more formula. The babies have also started eating solid foods. First we started with Oatmeal and now they are eating butternut squash from grandpa's garden. Next we will being trying pears. I will be making all of my own baby food again this time around. It is very easy and cost effective especially with TWO to feed! Kelsey is a good little eater, it only took her a couple of days to catch on and she even makes Yummy sounds! Logan on the other hand is not a big fan yet, he makes awful faces and it takes him double the time to finish his bowl. I am wondering if he will like fruits better than veggies?? The last change is that Kelsey's hemangioma(blood blister on her temple) is being treated. My uncle Rick had heard a talk from a local dermatologist that specializes in pediatric hemangiomas so we took Kelsey in for a consultation. We are first trying Timolol gel (a topical glaucoma medicine) twice a day for a month to try and shrink it. If there is no change we will use the oral Propanolol( blood pressure medicine) which is VERY effective but opted to use the less invasive method first.

Eating for the first time

Lastly, we were finally able to celebrate Austin's 3rd birthday, two weeks late! We had a drop off in attendance because of the date change but we still had plenty of people that were able to attend. He had a ball and it was really fun to see him interact with his peers, blow out his own candle and unwrap his gifts as he finally got the concept this year! We were lucky to have good weather, good food and good fun! As always Grammy Barb did a fantastic job on his birthday cake and nearly all of it was eaten. I may need to give her a hand this summer when it comes time to make the twins first birthday cake and smash cakes!

Austin's choo choo cake

Playing in the snow on his real birthday

snuggles with Kelsey

Until next month!

Twins are 5 months old. Corrected Age 3 months!

Better late than never!

5 months old already??

I am a little behind with this post and in a couple weeks I will be posting their 6 month updates! We had a very good holiday season! We were home for two separate visits during Paul's 2 week winter break. First for Christmas then again for New Year's and cousin Clara's 5th birthday! The kids all got lots of gifts but thankfully not too many so at least our house is not exploding! We received lots of money that will go toward formula for our expensive twins :)

Santa Babies

Kelsey and GiGi on  Christmas Day

Grammy and her 5 grandkids on Christmas Eve

The babies are starting to show their personalities! Logan is quite the attention hog! He prefers to interact with someone versus being left to himself. He has taken up standing often. He would much rather stand on your legs or in the exersaucer than lay or sit in a chair. He is getting more and more happy and is quite the ham bone always grinning and he is very fun to tickle with the best belly laughs! He is often tricky to get down to sleep but once he does he is out for the count (11:30-8:00)and when he wakes up in the morning he coos and babbles in his crib waiting patiently for a bottle! He is still using Nutramigen (4-6 ounces) about every 2 hours during the day. Kelsey is our little mouse. She is also very happy and has started giggling too. She is a fan of big brother Austin and finds him quite amusing, especially if we chase after him around the house! She adores watching him do things and I think they may end up being great pals! She is also our party girl! She loves to see what is going on and has a hard time sleeping if there is action or new people to look at! She whips her head back and forth to make sure she isn't missing out on anything exciting! She gets this from me! I get very anxious with the idea of a party!! She goes down to bed easier than Logan but often wakes during the night. She doesn't need fed usually just wants her pacifier back! Both babies have been chewing at their fists desperate to find their thumbs. They do succeed sometimes and suck but neither is a consistent thumb sucker and still use their pacifiers more often. They also have not shown a preference to which thumb yet, just chewing on which ever seems closer! Kelsey still nurses and I go back and forth about how long I want to continue. Next month they will probably start cereal and some solid foods so I will probably cut back or quit then but we will see!

Morning smiles

Logan standing on New Year's Eve

Each month presents a new challenge. This month is a juggling act. Almost every day the babies are on an one up, one down schedule with usually no break! It's exhausting! I am hoping that sometime in the next two months I can get their nap times synchronized so I can work with Austin or have time to relax! Luckily, I am writing this today because the babies are napping at the same time and Austin is learning letters on his tablet! I suspect the babies are exhausted from last night! We attended a party at Paul's boss' house for the National Championship Ohio State football game! The kids all did great and stayed up for the game. We arrived home and went to bed around 1:30 a.m. so everyone is a little off schedule as we slept in until 10:00!

O-H

I-O

New Year's Day for the Bowl game

I don't often touch on Austin but for this post I will! As many of you may know, Austin will be turning 3 this month and is delayed with speech. We have had a speech therapist and OT for the past year through Help Me Grow, a state funded organization! At age 3 he will then be switched to Lakewood schools. He is enrolled in speech preschool and will get services in our home from February until June. Then he will attend preschool for speech starting in the fall! He will go to school M-Th. We have not decided yet if he will attend the morning or afternoon session both lasting 2.5 hrs. He was referred by our pediatrician at his 2 year appointment because he had less than 10 words. He now only has about 25 words, 25 sounds and a handful of alphabet letters! We are hoping he blossoms soon because he has trouble communicating basic words to us. We are also introducing potty training. When placed on the toilet he does produce but he has no interest in telling us or cooperating so we are backing off for the time being because he is not mentally ready! This year will be a very challenging year with him and I am expecting the terrible 3's to rear their head soon. I think terrible 2's are a crock! Most 2 year olds are very good...age 3 is what's difficult!

Austin's 3 year old photo

Twins are in the air or water I tell ya! Everywhere we go, someone is having twins! I personally know of 5 sets last year (and a handful I have heard about but dont know them) and now I have two more friends due this year! I don't know if I am more aware of twins because we have them or if the rate of twin births is actually on the rise! Either way, we now have a large circle of people to share stories and tips with! They truly are a wonderful blessing but it's very exhausting mentality and physically. Lately I have noticed that I feel like I no longer know myself! I barely partake in anything that is not child related! Even when I leave the house it's for a child's appointment or to get supplies for kids! I am desperately ready to be me again and don't know when that will ever happen! Ashley the mom is here to stay but I hope Ashley the wife and Ashley the friend show up again soon!

Busy daddy

Mamma's boy

She sleeps like Mommy!

Drake Helping out During Christmas Break

I am a planning to take some portraits of the twins for their 6 month blog entry with their update on growth! Until February....