Out and about: Week 4 Update

It happened.  The boys and I got out of the house for the first time last week!

MONDAY

After being at home for 3 weeks, it was finally time to venture out and get some fresh air.  Monday morning I decided that our first adventure of the week would be a quick run to Babies 'R Us to pick up a few items that we needed.  The initial plan was to load the twins up after their 10am feeding; however, that didn't happen.

Having already showered in plans to get out in public, I was ready to load up the kids and leave at 10:45am when the boys finished their bottles.  But the timing of this feeding meant that I was now hungry (because I showered instead of breakfast...some days these choices must be made).  So at 10:45am I was now hungry and decided to fix a bite to eat.  Then I needed to pump.  Then bottles needed to be washed.  Then I collected dirty laundry.  Then it was 30 minutes until H&H needed to eat again.

It was then 1:30pm.  Still at home.  So I fed babies and planned to load up the car after this feeding (I'm still ready to go).  We finished that feeding just after 2pm, and then I had to pump.  FINALLY at 3:10pm, we were in the van and rolling down the road! SUCCESS!

Our trip to BrU was uneventful, but nice.  We got everything we needed, and even picked up something for Grady. We were home again by 4:15pm and it was time for the boys to eat again (then more pumping, and bottle washing, and starting some laundry, then Grady and daddy got home).  Whew!

TUESDAY

We had visitors on Tuesday last week.  My grandmother, Pucky, and my Aunt Teresa came for a visit and to help me with the babies.  During their visit, they fed and changed the babies and I just got to sit there and enjoy their company and relax.  We didn't even turn the tv on all day and it was amazing.  I LOVE visits with family!

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday I got a little too ambitious, but it turned out ok.  The boys and I just hung out at the house for most of the day, and then Kevin called and said he had a meeting after work.  So after their 4pm feeding, I got H&H dressed and loaded in the car to go pick up Grady from daycare.  After we got Grady, I decided I needed some things from Target so why not just go pick them up. 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Me and my "good" ideas.

Once we arrived at Target, I got the babies loaded in the stroller and asked Grady if he would walk and hold my hand.  Nope.  He looked at me and said, "I carry you" (which means I'd rather you carry me so I don't have to walk).  He finally did decide he wanted to walk once we got in the store (and that's when our trip started to take a turn).  

I don't even remember what all I had in mind to pick up while there, but all we had time to grab was a gift bag for a birthday gift that we needed on Saturday.  Grady found a shelf of plastic Disney cups and I told him he could get one of them; however, he wanted 10.  He kept trying to pick up an entire stack of cups and when I kept handing him just one he started with the "toddler in the floor screaming in the middle of Target" routine.  (He rarely behaves this way, but for all of you out there that don't believe me...it really did happen and there wasn't much I could do about it.)  The great thing about toddlers is that their attention span is relatively short (at least Grady's is), so the best method I've come up with to combat the stubborn toddler is to deflect to another object or activity.  I got him to help me pick out a bag and some tissue paper and the tears dried up real quick and he was happy again.  With a smile on Grady's face I decided not to push my luck and told him it was time to check-out.

As usual, I got in the WRONG CHECKOUT LINE!  The lady in front of me was having some issues with her payment, but I had already committed to this line and had 2 people behind me.  Thanks to this woman's complications, I got to purchase some additional items to maintain the peace with my toddler.  (I do understand that I'm the adult, and I'm bigger, and what I say goes.  However, sometimes it's easier to give in and purchase a few little items in the checkout line.  That's what all that junk is there for, right?)  So we finally checked out and left target with a gift bag/tissue paper, a plastic Disney cup (Frozen with Elsa, BTW), a pack of chocolate chip cookies (I'm guilty of this one), a Hershey bar, a small package of gold fish, and a bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream chips.  SUCCESS!

On top of that ambitious adventure, I decided that all 3 kids needed a bath that night. I had no clue what time Kevin's meeting would be over, so instead of waiting for assistance I took on bath time.  It was a fairly smooth process.  Grady got to play while I took turns washing the babies in their tub on the counter.  After bath, I got Grady ready for bed, and then he helped me with the twins.  He's so cute with them when he wants to take care of them.  

Kevin got home around 8:30pm and I had all 3 kids ready for bed.  Grady went to bed as soon as he got to see Kev and then the babies ate again around 9pm, got swaddled, and put in bed.  Then I actually got in bed by 10:30pm.  SUCCESS!

THURSDAY

Continuing with our week of getting out of the house, I decided to take the boys into the office with me (because I needed to submit some paperwork).  We actually managed to leave the house only 30 minutes later than I had planned, and we got back home around lunch time.  SUCCESS!

Also, on Thursday, I attempted the whole baby wrapping thing.  I've been scouting YouTube to learn how I can wrap and carry the twins at the same time.  First I attempted one baby at a time (surprisingly easy and comfortable). But that extra baby complicates things.

One baby = Easy (look, no hands!)

Harrison was not too sure about this one.  I found a different way to wrap twins after I did this one that I like better, but Harrison was still not a huge fan.  When I wrap Hudson, he almost immediately falls asleep.  When I wrapped Harrison (even alone), he immediately went into escape artist mode and started looking for the nearest exit.  The double wrapping thing may not work out for my kids.

FRIDAY

We didn't go anywhere on Friday, but the boys did turn 1 MONTH OLD!  When we woke up, I took the standard "month sticker" picture.  The past month has had a lot of ups and downs (the ups are mostly related to these kiddos and the downs are with my body dealing with having these babies).  I can't get enough of these sweet babies, and it's kind of sad that I only have 2 more weeks at home with them before I have to start working again.  (Luckily, I get to work from home for a few months before leaving them at daycare while I go to the office all day.)

 

Sometimes the pictures mom wants to take don't turn out as planned....

Grady at 1 month vs. H&H at 1 month

I would say that we had a great week.  On Saturday, we went to cousin Lilli's 1st birthday party and then Sunday the boys made their first appearance at church.  I think it's safe to say that we're settling into our life as a family of 5, and things are going pretty well.

Thank you to everyone who has made us meals and stopped by to visit and help me with the babies.  We have such amazing friends and family and are so grateful for them.

 Pictures from this week:

#twinning 

Some day my body may be "normal" again...maybe?

So obviously my body has been on a roller coaster of changes since the beginning of this year.  I gained a total of 43lbs from January to mid-August, and since August 18th I have lost 40lbs.  My legs and ankles and feet were extremely swollen for the better part of 6 weeks before delivery and another 2.5 weeks postpartum. (I finally have knees and ankles again!) I also became anemic during pregnancy, while trying to keep both of these kiddos well nourished.  Not to mention all of the hormonal changes!

After delivery, it's amazing how quickly your body starts working to get back to it's "normal" state.  It is truly amazing the way God designed our bodies to be able to carry a tiny life (or lives) and then shift back after delivery.  (Of course it doesn't go back exactly as it was before, but you're able to find a new "normal" that is still remarkable considering what your body just accomplished.  Every "imperfection" tells the story of how you became a mommy.)

I continue to thank God each day that he made me strong enough to carry these babies as long as I did and that they are healthy and growing strong.  I'm truly in AWE of His Awesomeness and I know He will continue to carry me through these changes.

"On My Own"

Hudson and Harrison entered this world 3 weeks ago today!  For the past two weeks, we have had either Kevin's mom or my dad stay with us to help out with the babies and around the house.  But today, for the first time, I am going to attempt things on my own.

So for today, I've decided I'm going to blog about how my day goes.

Night Recap

Last night, we got home from visiting Gani and Denny around 9pm and it was time for H&H to eat.  After Kevin and I got everything unloaded from the car, babies fed, Grady put to bed, and bottles washed for the night, we finally got in bed around 10:30pm.  

1:30am - Harrison woke up to eat, so I fed him, changed him, swaddled him, and put him back to bed.  Kevin got up 30 minutes later to do the same with Hudson while I was pumping for their next feeding. 

A Day with the Twins

5:15am - Harrison woke up to eat, so I fed him, changed him, swaddled him, and put him back to bed.  Kevin came in to do the same with Hudson after he had showered for the morning.  I then pumped and got a shower myself (this in itself is the first accomplishment of the day).

6:45am - I woke Grady up and got him dressed for school while Kevin packed lunches and washed bottles. By 7am, Kevin and Grady were out the door for work and school.  

9:00am - I fed Harrison and changed him out of his jammies and then I fed and changed Hudson and we moved downstairs for the day.  I pumped and ate some breakfast while they snoozed in their cradles.  So far, so good.

10:30am - LAUNDRY time!  We've got a good stack of clothing, changing pad covers, burp cloths, etc. that have accumulated since yesterday morning, so that means it's time for a load of laundry and then some lunch!

Took time to put away 2 basket loads of clean laundry before rounding up dirty clothes to be washed.

11:00am - LUNCH/Relax

12:00pm -  Babies eat (Harrison then Hudson).  Babies spit up.  Harrison needs clothes changed, goes through a burp cloth.  Babies get a diaper change.  Hudson immediately poops in his clean diaper while Harrison spits up all over his fresh change of clothes.  Spit up claims onesie, burp cloth, and a blanket as it's victim.  Harrison is left in diaper while Hudson gets a new diaper.  Hudson spits up on his onesie (not bad enough to change).  Harrison gets fresh change of clothes and is put in his cradle....spits up on clothes {face palm}.  Harrison gets wiped down and it will dry.

Mommy needs to pump!

1:00pm - Pest control guy calls and asks if it's still a good time to come by and spray and do termite inspection....sure....why not!

Pest guy leaves, time to change out the laundry.  Oh wait, bottles need to be washed?  Better do that.  Need to pump first

1:50pm - Finally pumped (just an hour later than I wanted to)

2:10pm - Bottles finally washed and sterilized

2:30pm - Updated blog and got bottles ready for feeding in 30 minutes (didn't we just do this?!?!)

2:33pm - Harrison got cranky.  Picked up baby and he gnawed on shoulder.  Guess he can eat now.

3:00pm - Hudson got to eat, and immediately fell asleep (in my arms...so I snuggled and watched some tv).

4:25pm - Pumped again (What's for dinner?)

4:45pm - Relaxed on the couch with H&H and waited on Daddy and Grady to get home.

5:30pm - Daddy and Grady got home and we all ate dinner

6:00pm - Fed babies...again

6:30pm - Pumped again and Started watched "Planes" with Grady while babies snoozed (ohhh, and just remembered I have laundry in the dryer that needs folding...ugh)



I think it's safe to say that we made it through our first day and survived! Now that Daddy and Grady are home, we will hang out with them, get baths for the kiddos, and start our bed time routine.  Maybe tomorrow we can attempt to sweep the floors.  Maybe.

Getting on a Schedule

Most moms would agree that the best favor you can do for yourself with a newborn is GET ON A SCHEDULE.  I had an idea of how our schedule would look (based on how things went with Grady), and after only a few days at home I realized it was time to throw that plan in the trash!

Every baby is different (and then there's the fact that we have 2 this time).  So Kevin and I have been taking things one day at a time, utilizing the help that his mom and my dad have been able to provide us, enjoying the meals our church family has been keeping in our fridge, and adjusting our plan for a schedule each day.  I have yet to have a full day at home alone with the twins, but I believe this week we are going to attempt it.

The New Plan (Survive)

Feedings

Our new plan is basically to not have a plan.  Difficult for me to wrap my mind around, but from our trial and error method that we've been using thus far I think this is our best option.  There are certain things throughout the day that I strive to achieve (like keeping the twins on a feeding schedule 15-20 minutes apart).  The original plan included me feeding both babies at the same time so that I wouldn't just be constantly feeding babies.  However, after attempting this, I've learned it's best (for me) to feed one and burp him and then move on to the next baby.  They actually eat better when I feed them one at a time, and after doing feedings both ways I've discovered that at any given feeding each of these methods takes about the same amount of time.  So I wasn't really saving myself any time by trying to multi-task.  The "no plan" part of this includes the fact that if both babies wake up to eat at the same time, I do what is needed for that feeding.  The key for me to stay sane is to just do what works each time throughout the day and not get hung up on it being done "my way" each time.  Basically do what it takes to survive that feeding and make it to the next one.

Pumping

Ohhhh the pump.  I'm re-attached to this pump bag again, and on an entirely different level than I was with Grady.  Currently, I'm strictly pumping and bottle feeding both boys (for 2 main reasons: I can monitor their exact intake to make sure they're getting enough to gain weight AND when help is around we can divide and conquer).  In order to stay on schedule with the fellas, I pump after each of their feedings.  They eat a lot...therefore I pump a lot.

After their next weight check, I will likely start to breast feed a little more to help reduce some bottle washing, but I will keep pumping to stock up the freezer. 

Feeding and pumping consume approximately 30% of my day.

Night Schedule

I will brag on these amazing babies for a minute (I have already knocked on wood for this).  They are on a good 3 hour schedule during the day, but at night these wonderful children of mine are on a 3.5-4 hour schedule (which means I get 2-3 hours of consecutive sleep!).  We feed them around 10-11pm at night, again between 2-3am and then not again until 6-7am! 

For the past 2 weeks, we have had someone staying with us at night (Kevin's mom or my dad), so Kevin and I will take the 10-11pm feeding, I get up with our helper at 2am, and then Kevin takes the morning feeding with our helper before heading to work.  Once we're on our own, I will get up to feed both babies for each feeding and then Kevin will change and put them back to bed while I pump.   We will re-adjust slightly when I start back to work and can't nap any during the day, but for now this will help Kevin and I both get some good sleep each night.

Bottle Washing

So. Many. Bottles.

When you consider the fact that after each feeding we have 2 bottles and my pump stuff, the sink fills up quickly.  With the help we've had so far, they make it really easy for me to stay on top of this part of the day, but once I'm on my own during the day I will become very busy.

If I wash bottles after every other feeding, then bottle washing will take up about an hour of my day (minimum).

My nightly routine for bottle prep has gotten pretty smooth.  I pack the white basket full of everything I will need upstairs so that I'm not going up and downstairs all night long.  I typically pack:  6 pump bottles, 3 sets of pump attachments, 6 feeding bottles, and lids for the pump bottles to store the extra pumped milk (which I do have to take down to the refrigerator). This will typically get me through the night feedings and have bottles ready for the first morning feeding (between 9-10am).  Then I get to go downstairs and wash it all and sterilize it to start off another day.

Laundry

I can't even wrap my mind around this, because our helpers have done every bit of our laundry for the past 2 weeks! #blessed #Ihatelaundry #laundryistheNEVERENDINGstory

This will be the only time EVER that our laundry is so caught up in this house.  Something you should know about new born twins (if you can't already guess), is that they generate a LOT of laundry.  We have at least one full load each day that consists of burp cloths, baby clothes, blankets, mommy's shirts and pants.  Basically anything in the spit-up zone is at risk around here.  Hudson was an overachiever Thursday of this past week, because between 8:45-9am he had already spit up all over 2 of my shirts, 2 burp cloths, and his jammies.  That my friends takes some real skill.

I can only imagine that once I'm left on my own, to fend for myself, I will need to do at least 1-2 loads of laundry each day of the week and probably an extra load of Kevin and Grady's clothes and sheets on the weekend.  Loads of laundry happening over here.  Loads!

Naps

The babies get to take them, and while I've had help I typically take at least one 30-60 minute nap each day.  However, once the help leaves, I doubt I have much time at all for naps.  We will see. I'm pretty creative and if I'm tired enough then the laundry will wait and I will sleep. =)

Diapers

Can't even describe how many diapers we use each day.  THANK YOU to everyone who has sent us diapers. THANK YOU!

Working out/Getting mommy back in shape

Hahahahahahahaha! So far I've been happy with the natural results of the power of breast feeding/pumping.  There will come a time and day when I'm able to start running/working out again, but I'm not too concerned about when that day comes.  I've only got 8 more pounds to lose to get the number on the scale back to where it was before I was pregnant, however, that number has nothing to do with the effects pregnancy had on my body.  

I am happy to report that my knees and ankles have returned to their "normal" size, and it's a lot easier to move around now that all of the swelling has subsided.  

Summary

So in a typical day (so far) I wake up, feed babies, change babies, pump, wash night bottles and pump accessories, eat breakfast/lunch, gather up laundry from the night before, feed babies, change babies, pump, gather up laundry, sit down and attempt to relax, feed babies, change babies, pump, wash bottles, gather up laundry (start a load), etc.  You get the idea.  

Then at some point Kevin and Grady get home.  I play with Grady in his play room or take him for a walk, we eat dinner, get Grady a bath, read some books, feed babies, change babies, pump, wash bottles, put Grady to bed (it's a fight every night), sit on the couch with Kevin for 30 minutes and wait until babies need to eat again.  Then get what sleep we can to function during the next day.

This is why our best option is to have the "no plan" plan.  We just take what we can get, survive the day, snuggle with these precious babies and soak up all of their newborn cuteness (then change clothes because they likely spit up all over me again).  We work Grady into the babies schedule and get him to help whenever he is interested (he loves to help burp them and always brings them their paci).  Grady get's his special time to play with mommy and daddy in his new play room, and this has helped us transition pretty smoothly to having all 5 of us at home.

This plan is subject to change at any point this week.

2 Week Check-Up

The Monday after we got the boys home, we took them to the pediatrician to get a weight check and have Dr. Malone take a look at the health of the little guys.  At that visit, Hudson's weight had dropped from 5lbs 9oz (at birth) to 5lbs 2oz and Harrison's weight had dropped from 5lbs 1oz (at birth) to 4lbs 12oz.

This past Tuesday, we took them in for their 2 week check-up.  I'm happy to announce that they got a perfect report, and our goal now is weight gain.  Ideally they will be gaining at least 1oz per day.

Here are the boys stats from their 2-week check:

Hudson Weight: 6lbs Length: 18.5” Head Circumference: 33cm

Harrison Weight:  5lbs 8oz Length:  19” Head Circumference: 33cm

They're taking in more milk each day, and we haven't had to use formula to supplement their feeding in the past week.  (I've even been able to start freezing about 15-20oz of breast milk for the past few days. Which means that most of my day is spent pumping and feeding, pumping and feeding.)

We go back again on September 23rd for a weight check, and then we won't go back again until their 2 month check up.