I have an hour before I have to feed the gremlins again, so I figured I'd say hey to you guys and post some more pictures...because I've only taken about 1,309,934 pictures of them.
A few weeks ago, my days were pretty routine. I'd wake up, work for 8 hours in my home office, do housework or run errands until David came home, eat supper, watch a House or DVR'd show or play a game just to relax, take a shower, go to bed, wake up and start again. No biggie. Here's a post from earlier in which I broke down the days...the only exception is that David is no longer a tax accountant PRAISE GOD!
Well...the past three weeks have been pretty routine, too. I was telling my dear friend Katie earlier today that I live in three hour increments now. This is what I mean...
Since there is no real "start" to the day, I'll just begin at 7:00 a.m.
7:00 a.m. - Feed the twins. This involves either breastfeeding or feeding from a bottle. Both are time consuming...both are messy...both require lots of burping. Harper is the best eater. Piper Lee INSISTS on adding her own sound effects to the feeding routine. She sounds like a rusty bicycle/donkey/old screen door. It's completely unnecessary and only added for dramatic effect. It does add a lot of air to her meal and must either be man-belched or poofed out the other end...if neither of these two options occur, you're in for a real special treat for the next three hours in the form of a red-faced newborn yelling obscenities at you.
7:40 a.m. - Change the twins. Nine times out of ten, both munchkins have left nice, curdy, yellow surprises and a huge pool of wet in their diapers. We've been using the Pampers Swaddlers so far...uh...LOVE. THEM.
7:50 a.m. - Try to get the twins to go to sleep. Either they will immediately doze off into baby dreamland or you'll spend the next two hours resenting your ability to hear. If they sleep...you sleep. If they don't sleep...you don't sleep. On the special occasion that neither of these things happen, you're stuck with a wide-awake and absolutely adorable little person just longing for you to talk to them, which they will happily listen to for hours on end. But, you're entirely too sleepy to carry on a conversation with an infant with no vocal skills, so what do you do? Well, you HAVE talk to them, because they're too cute for that not to happen. And thus, you lose this increment's nap.
7:50 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - If the twins were fed with a bottle, pumping is in order. Sooooo boring, but entirely necessary if you want to not die of pain. This is also when I grab something to eat.
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - You either sleep or don't sleep.
10:00 a.m. - Well, I'll be...feed the twins again.
10:40 a.m. - Change the twins...again.
10:50 a.m. - Try to get them to sleep...again.
11:00 a.m. - 1 p.m. - This is when I try to pay bills, we straighten up the house, not die of starvation, pump (if necessary), organize the BANK of milk storage bags in the fridge and freezer (yes...a bank...I would show you a picture, but I don't want Shane and Brooks to have a hissy fit), and sleep a tiny bit if we can.
1 p.m. - Looky there...they have to eat again.
1:40 p.m. - Diapers.
1:50 p.m. - Please sleep, little babies.
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. - This is when I try to accomplish any freelance work I have or send files to my main client or sleep. (I've only been working once or twice during the week right now. Working my way back up to full-time in the next few weeks.)
4 p.m. - Feed.
4:40 p.m. - Poop and pee.
4:50 p.m. - Sleep/playtime.
5 p.m. - 7 p.m. - Little Davey comes home to four extremely exhausted women...well, two of them are exhausted. The other two are drunk on milk and, after having gorged themselves, are sleeping quite contentedly. We all eat supper in a daze.
7 p.m. - Feed.
7:40 p.m. - Poop and pee.
7:50 p.m. - Sleep/playtime.
8 p.m. - 10 p.m. - Showers...oh, wonderful wonderful showers. You'd never think it, but babies get gross. They start smelling...and not just from the diapers. They just smell like...well...poopsourmilkpeedroolspitupbaby. But, they still smell so good and sweet and they're so soft and cuddly. We try to sleep during this time, too.
10 p.m. - 7 a.m. - This is when Mom and I turn into zombies...it's very scary. I think our eyes start glowing. We speak in monotones...our conversations are very limited and robotic, almost like someone else is speaking for us. We have burping contests...see whose baby can burp first/the loudest. My team always wins. Well, actually, Team Piper Lee always wins. I don't even think we're aware of what we're saying or doing. It's still the exact same schedule throughout the night, except for some reason, the girls think it's hilarious to be super grunty and squirmy at night, so our hoped-for two hour increments of sleep are generally more like 30-45 minutes at a time. Thus ends the neverending cycle.
Since it was arctic weather outside when we brought them home, we've kept them in the living room in these fabulous chair sleeper things we got as gifts because it's warmer there. They've taken naps in their crib and handled it famously. David's slept in our bedroom because he's been studying hard for a section of the CPA this Saturday and he's been working, so he's needed to rest. Mom's been sleeping in the guest room because she wakes up if a butterfly bats its eyelashes. And I've been sleeping in the recliner in the living room with the girls because I can sleep pretty much anywhere and I get better rest than Mom does in the chair and because it's super duper comfy...(and I'm near the kitchen...a.k.a. food).
These times change a lot and it's not exact, but this is just a general idea. And, all in all, the girls really are good kids. They fuss and fidget like all babies do, but they sleep pretty well. Only a few times have we had serious meltdowns. They've gotten some tummy aches and they're pretty gassy. What can I say, they're my kids...har har buuuuuuurp har har har. We've tried out Avent bottles, Medela bottles, and Playtex VentAire bottles. The Playtex is working best for us right now. We're going to maybe try the Podee bottles and maybe the Dr. Browns. Who knew there were so many choices.
I've been doing well, thanks for asking. Mainly, I just want to get an epidural in my chest and I'm so very very very tired. I was losing weight a little too quickly at first because I was just too overwhelmed to eat regularly when we first got home, but Mom's been making me drink Ensures to ensure (ha, see what I did there) that I stopped losing it so quickly. I gained 59 pounds total. I've lost 42 so far. I know that seems like a lot, but the majority of that was right after they were born. I mean, they weighed like 20 pounds each. Anyways...17 pounds to go. Yay for breastfeeding! Except now I'm hungry and thirsty 24/7.
Speaking of breastfeeding, I have little mini moments every day where I think to myself, "Is it worth it?" It hurts. It really does. Not just the actual breastfeeding...but all day long, it hurts. The class teacher said, "If you're doing it right, it won't hurt." Well, she was high or something because, from what I've heard from others, yeah, it hurts. And sometimes, it gets you all out of whack and you get flu-like symptoms. Not the flu, but you just have a general feeling of malaise (shout out to you, sistah). So, every other day, I've been achey, tired, and irritable...and I think, "Is this worth it?" And my Mom and David have been so supportive and have told me if I changed my mind about breastfeeding, I'm still the best mom to these girls and I have to pick what I feel is best for them and me. I know breastmilk is best, but this is tough. And how many kids out there have grown up on formula and are perfectly fine. I know my kids would be a-okay. My original goal was 6 months. That all of a sudden seems very daunting to me, so I've changed my goal to 3 months and I'm going to go from there. It's more of a challenge to me than anything. People have told me I'd never lose my weight or I'd never fit into my regular jeans again...yeah, if you know me at all, you know that if you tell me I can't do something, I'm going to do it just to spite you. Like, I had a man tell me I would get stretch marks. Like men know anything. So, of course, I did everything in my power (used Bio-Oil religiously) and howdy ho, no stretch marks. Weeeeeeeeeeell...no stretch marks on the belly, sides or thighs. When things happened up top after the girls arrived, that story changed. BUT, no stretch marks during pregnancy, so those don't count. Hey...my blog, my rules. Anyways...does breastfeeding get better? Any tips or tricks?
Alrighty...the natives are getting restless...time to feed the barbarians.
Can you deal with THIS?!
(Btw, I hate the toboggans they're always wearing. Dr's orders..."Keep the hats on them until they're at least 6 weeks." Just wanted you to know they weren't wearing them because I thought they were fashionable or something. They have much cuter hats that Senia, Kelly, and Tiffany have made them...just waiting for their noggins to fill out a little more so they can fit in them.)
The girls look fab. They are just the sweetest, cutest things.
ReplyDeleteMy dad's a CPA....so I understand what it means to have a family member gone during the first quarter of the year! :) Good luck to your hubby on the exam portion he is taking!
Nursing does get better....but the flu-like symptoms are usually a sign of mastitis. I am sure not a doctor, but I would talk to them and see what they say....if the milk is contaminated, you will have to pitch it. And your mom and husband are right, nursing or bottle feeding, your just trying to be the best mother you can be. At least you tried!
I never got mastitis, but I did have my share of plugged milk ducts.....no fun! (and use warm compresses or get in a warm shower!)
I hope the pain goes away. Oh, and with sore or cracked nips (sorry!) use your own milk to lubricate them and air dry as much as possible (that means walking around with no top for a couple minutes daily!) :) No worries, Davey and tie girls won't mind, but your mom might!! :)
You sound like you're doing well, keep it up!
OK, I obviously can't help with the whole breastfeeding thing other than to encourage you that no matter what, you are awesome! But, I have heard numerous friends praise the existence of Dr. Brown's bottles. That's really all I can contribute to this conversations.
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding does get better. Yes, I was told by many professionals that if you do it right it doesn't hurt, but most moms I have talked to have had some amount of pain. I only had one baby, so I can't imagine how hard it is with 2...but you are doing awesome. I was surprised at how hard it was on me emotionally in the beginning because I was the only one who could do it and it was painful. At times it felt lonely and I was a bit resentful because while others were sleeping or having fun or whatever, I was stuck feeding the baby. I felt terrible for feeling that, but I just had to remind myself that I was doing the best thing for my son and it would get better soon as he would be eating less often. I hurt really bad for the first two weeks, but remember you are feeding twice as much...lanolin helped me a lot. I even had bleeding and my son threw up milk and blood once which was scary until we knew that it was my blood. Also, I have had friends use nipple shields in the beginning to give themselves a break and let things heal a bit.
ReplyDeleteIf you can make it to the 3 month mark, or even before, you may decide that you can easily make it to 6 because by that point, they'll be sleeping A LOT more and so you won't be so exhausted and they'll eat a little less often. Both of those combined make for a much happier mommy.
Keep up the great work, and no matter what happens, they have already gotten an awesome foundation and will be beautiful healthy young women before you know it!
HA! Oh how these days were just a short time ago yet seem like ages. I remember never knowing what day it was but ALWAYS knowing what time it was. The every 3 hour thing is killer.
ReplyDeleteoh yeah, don't know if you have heard of or read The Happiest Baby on the Block by Richard Karp, but it was great for us. It teaches ways to help babies stop crying and to sleep better etc. We learned how to swaddle from that book and because of swaddling our son started sleeping 5-7 hours a night most nights after a couple weeks. So, not that you feel like reading at this point but it is a very helpful book...just ignore the evolution stuff.
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding gets WAY WAY easier! The soreness goes away but te best part is that that feedings get WAY WAY shorter. Pretty soon the babies will feed for like 10 minutes total - it's a lot easier. I know at first I was overwhelmed by it and thought I could never continue - now my baby is 15 months old and still nurses 2x a day and I will be sad to quit.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing great, hang in there, it gets better.
ok, ok, this is becoming like one of those times when you are leaving a messge on a machine and it cuts you off and then you call back and then you seem crazy for leaving a ton of messages...but after I left the last one I realized that I told you the wrong name...the dr.'s name is Harvey not Richard. I think I mixed him up with Richard Ferber another dr. who talks about sleep.
ReplyDeleteLove the pics of the cutie pies! And breastfeeding gets so much better! Once your milk supply regulates and you don't get so engorged, it's way better! The day will come when the babies are so not interested in nursing anymore and you will be sad! So, enjoy it even though it is painful sometimes. Can't wait to see you guys! Love you
ReplyDeleteYou're doing so good nursing TWINS! OMG! I can't even imagine! One was hard enough and I can't tell you how often I thought of quitting (and still do!). I never pumped though until I started working. I HATE pumping. In fact I think about quitting twice a day (when I have to pump at work), but then I talk myself out of it when I get home to my sweet Lillis. It does get way way easier. I think right around the 1 monthish mark is when my nips starting feeling better, just better, not pain free. If you can make it to about 6 weeks to 2 months you'll be set. They start eating less and they eat faster. I'd say for the last several months Lilli has only been eating for about 7 minutes on one side per feeding. Hang in there. Either way, you're doing awesome! The sweet babes will be just fine no matter what you do!
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, if you ever need anything feel free to email me! I was so blessed to have my sisnlaw as my personal breastfeeding consultant. It's always nice to have someone close you can ask the weirdest breastfeeding questions!