I just weighed the babies yesterday and they are getting quite hefty. Maya weighs in at almost 12 pounds and Kate is up to 11.5 pounds. They are almost exactly on the 50th percentile for their actual age (based on their birthdate) and in the 95th percentile for their adjusted age (based on their due date). This is a huge change from when they were born and didn't even make the chart for their adjusted/gestational age (they were below the 5th percentile). In fact, at last month's pediatrician appointment, the nurse was excited because they finally made the 5th percentile for their actual age. Maya has become very "pleasingly plump" (as my grandmother would have said) with big fat rolls on her thighs - and Kate is a little slimmer but a bit taller, I think. I think Maya takes after me as I hear I was a chubby baby, too.
I'm wondering if they need to move off of the "preemie" formula that has more 2 extra calories per ounce and go to the regular baby formula. I'll ask the doctor next week...
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Who's that pretty baby?
Both babies are starting to really like looking at themselves in the mirror. Here's Kate looking at herself and looking a little surprised.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Kate's friend/nemesis
Kate will spend an hour or more underneath her little baby gym staring at her friend, the monkey. We can't decide if she likes the monkey or is scared by it and is afraid to look away. I'm leaning towards the former as she does break into spontaneous smiles and coo's while staring at it. We do sometimes see her glancing somewhat anxiously across the room at the monkey.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Three Months old
The babies are three months old today and oh how they've changed since they were born! Here's photographic proof...
Kate at 1 day old
Maya at 1 day old
And, both girls today!
(Thanks to Great Uncle Maury for taking the 1 day old pictures.)
The babies are really part of our family now and I can't imagine life without them. Every day I have with them seems like such a gift and I'm trying to enjoy each moment and every smile.
Kate at 1 day old
Maya at 1 day old
And, both girls today!
(Thanks to Great Uncle Maury for taking the 1 day old pictures.)
The babies are really part of our family now and I can't imagine life without them. Every day I have with them seems like such a gift and I'm trying to enjoy each moment and every smile.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Dogs, Babies, Toddlers, Oh MY!
Our good friends came to visit yesterday with their two little ones (age 4.5 and 15 months). It was fun, if a bit chaotic with four little girls, one ravenous and needy dog and four parents trying to catch up and enjoy a meal. It's amazing to think that this time next year our girls will be Bryn's age and walking, talking and doing all that other toddler stuff. It goes by so fast!
The girls are really enjoying outings these days and seem to be fascinated by new places, like the grocery store, the drugstore, etc. I am now trying to hold one while I walk around stores so she can get a good look at things and then push the double stroller with the other one in it. It is difficult to maneuver the long stroller with one hand, but it's worth it - and my arm gets a good workout. I bought a fancy new stroller over the weekend that faces forward and is more upright, so the girls can both see the world instead of staring at me or at the ceiling like they do in their "Snap-n-go" stroller. I might take it to the mall tomorrow to see how it works.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Another day
It's the end of another day - the 87th day since the girls were born. Every day they are growing and getting easier and more fun to hang out with. Josh was out of town working for the past few days and my mom came to help while he was gone. We missed Josh, but it was very nice to hang out with my mom and have help feeding and taking care of the babies. It's much easier to take care of two babies with two people!
My mom had to leave at 2:30 today, so I was flying solo the rest of the day. It went well - I even did bathtime by myself. Of course, this means that one baby is howling in protest at being left in the swing while I bath the other one. The noise level in the house was enough to drive Rosie upstairs away from the commotion.
We've gotten into a very nice schedule and the babies seem to be on the waning side of the current fussy age. There was actually not very much crying today (bathtime notwithstanding) and both babies took decently long naps. I was worried that they wouldn't want to go to bed after taking nice naps during the day, but they went to bed peacefully and happily and fell right to sleep. It's nice to be able to count on them going to sleep without a fuss and sleeping well for a long time - it's a nice time to be able to cleanup the house, get things ready for the next day and relax a bit.
Oh, and if you're wondering how I feed two babies at the same time by myself - here's a picture. It was important to me that the babies get cuddled while they eat - and necessary that I feed them at the same time during the day (otherwise there is a lot of screaming by the baby who has to wait to get fed) - and this is how I accomplish that. Now that the they are getting better head and neck control, I can even burp them at the same time, too!
My mom had to leave at 2:30 today, so I was flying solo the rest of the day. It went well - I even did bathtime by myself. Of course, this means that one baby is howling in protest at being left in the swing while I bath the other one. The noise level in the house was enough to drive Rosie upstairs away from the commotion.
We've gotten into a very nice schedule and the babies seem to be on the waning side of the current fussy age. There was actually not very much crying today (bathtime notwithstanding) and both babies took decently long naps. I was worried that they wouldn't want to go to bed after taking nice naps during the day, but they went to bed peacefully and happily and fell right to sleep. It's nice to be able to count on them going to sleep without a fuss and sleeping well for a long time - it's a nice time to be able to cleanup the house, get things ready for the next day and relax a bit.
Oh, and if you're wondering how I feed two babies at the same time by myself - here's a picture. It was important to me that the babies get cuddled while they eat - and necessary that I feed them at the same time during the day (otherwise there is a lot of screaming by the baby who has to wait to get fed) - and this is how I accomplish that. Now that the they are getting better head and neck control, I can even burp them at the same time, too!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Sleep, wonderful, sleep.
I've been getting more sleep than a mother of infant twins ought to. Between the babies sleeping well and the help I got from Josh's mom and my parents, I've probably been averaging 9 hours a night! I've been hesitant to post this for fear of jinxing it, but the babies have been actually sleeping almost through the night for the past two weeks. They have been going to bed with minimal fussing and are sleeping between six and eight hour stretches. Last night I actually slept from 10 PM to 7:30 AM because my parents spent the night and did the night feeding. I feel so refreshed and happy - and, more importantly, the babies seem really happy, too. I think they like to sleep at night, too.
In other news, the weather here has been very warm - in the 60s in the shade during the day. It's unfortunate for the drought situation, but it makes it pleasant to do things outside. Yesterday, I took both babies outside on the deck in their bouncy chairs and they loved it. They seemed fascinated and were looking all around. Here's a picture of them...
And here's a picture of Maya with her grandpa.
In other news, the weather here has been very warm - in the 60s in the shade during the day. It's unfortunate for the drought situation, but it makes it pleasant to do things outside. Yesterday, I took both babies outside on the deck in their bouncy chairs and they loved it. They seemed fascinated and were looking all around. Here's a picture of them...
And here's a picture of Maya with her grandpa.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
New Pictures
Me bouncing with the babies. Thanks to Alice for the tip about the bouncy ball - they love it!
Grammy with both babies
Kate trying to crawl
Grammy with both babies
Kate trying to crawl
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Maya's rolling, too!
We had an exciting day in Babyland. Pam and I took the girls to a "Baby Massage" class which was very fun. The babies surprisingly seemed to really like being massaged - I had been bracing myself for a lot of fussing during the class, but they did really well.
Also, this evening after her last feeding, Pam noticed that Maya was very energetic and happy and suggested we try to let her roll over. We put her on her stomach and she rolled over almost immediately - and continued to do so six times! She's a champion roller now! I think the babies are rather precocious in their rolling skills as the books say they should be rolling over by four to six months - and they are really only six weeks old (adjusted age). Pam says that Josh rolled over at six weeks and was crawling by three months (!), so maybe they take after their dad.
Here are a few new pictures:
Maya hanging out with dad
Maya mid-screaming fit while Kate looks concerned/amused (that's pretty much the way she always looks)
Also, this evening after her last feeding, Pam noticed that Maya was very energetic and happy and suggested we try to let her roll over. We put her on her stomach and she rolled over almost immediately - and continued to do so six times! She's a champion roller now! I think the babies are rather precocious in their rolling skills as the books say they should be rolling over by four to six months - and they are really only six weeks old (adjusted age). Pam says that Josh rolled over at six weeks and was crawling by three months (!), so maybe they take after their dad.
Here are a few new pictures:
Maya hanging out with dad
Maya mid-screaming fit while Kate looks concerned/amused (that's pretty much the way she always looks)
Monday, January 12, 2009
One of those days
It's been one of those days - where both babies were very out of sorts and spent a large part of the day crying and fussing. I think I might have permanent hearing damage from Maya screaming in my ear all day - that girl has some mighty impressive lungs on her. I'm not sure why they both were so fussy today, but I'm hoping they got it out of their system and will be back to normal tomorrow.
The silver lining of a day like today is that they wore themselves completely out, so went to bed without a peep. Having a quiet hour in the evening after the girls go to bed is really a sanity saver - even though I think I still have ringing in my ears from Maya's screaming.
The silver lining of a day like today is that they wore themselves completely out, so went to bed without a peep. Having a quiet hour in the evening after the girls go to bed is really a sanity saver - even though I think I still have ringing in my ears from Maya's screaming.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
A rolling baby gathers no moss
Kate rolled over from her belly to her back twice in the past two days. She tries everytime she's on her belly now, but only gets all her limbs in the right place occassionally. Her neck muscles are really getting strong and she can hold her head up for a long time while on her belly.
Maya is starting to vocalize a lot more and is now making g and h sounds - like goo and hee. It's very cute.
I'm dreading Friday when Josh's mom has to head back home. It's hard to deal with two babies by myself sometimes and it's been so wonderful to have her help.
Maya is starting to vocalize a lot more and is now making g and h sounds - like goo and hee. It's very cute.
I'm dreading Friday when Josh's mom has to head back home. It's hard to deal with two babies by myself sometimes and it's been so wonderful to have her help.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Sleep update
It's been really wonderful having Pam here. We're all getting spoiled and it will be so difficult for me to go back to solo twin care when she goes home. Today we went to my parent's house and the babies got lots of attention from both grandma's.
And a sleeping update:
After that night when both babies were awake most of the night, I decided that we needed to really start adhering to a pretty strict schedule with the babies during the day and make sure that they had the same night routine and bedtime every night. I put them on a three hour schedule during the day where they first eat, then play and then rest/sleep until the next feeding and I try to keep them awake for at least 1.5 hours for each three hour increment. At night they get put into PJs, swaddled, and put to bed by 8:30 PM. Since we started that three nights ago the girls have gone to bed very easily and peacefully. Last night they slept an unbelievable seven hours straight and would have slept longer, but I was worried about them and woke them up. I'm not sure if it's just a fluke or a result of the schedule, but whatever the reason, it makes life a lot more bearable and pleasant.
And a sleeping update:
After that night when both babies were awake most of the night, I decided that we needed to really start adhering to a pretty strict schedule with the babies during the day and make sure that they had the same night routine and bedtime every night. I put them on a three hour schedule during the day where they first eat, then play and then rest/sleep until the next feeding and I try to keep them awake for at least 1.5 hours for each three hour increment. At night they get put into PJs, swaddled, and put to bed by 8:30 PM. Since we started that three nights ago the girls have gone to bed very easily and peacefully. Last night they slept an unbelievable seven hours straight and would have slept longer, but I was worried about them and woke them up. I'm not sure if it's just a fluke or a result of the schedule, but whatever the reason, it makes life a lot more bearable and pleasant.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Grammy is coming
The last two nights have been slightly nightmarish with one or the other babies awake for most of the night. I feel slightly beat up from holding one or both babies all day and night.
However, help is on the way in the form of GRAMMY! We are all so excited that Josh's mom is coming to visit for two weeks. Josh is in Reno picking her up as we speak - after her 20+ hour epic journey from Nova Scotia to Reno. Hopefully the girls cooperate tonight and we can all get a bit of sleep.
However, help is on the way in the form of GRAMMY! We are all so excited that Josh's mom is coming to visit for two weeks. Josh is in Reno picking her up as we speak - after her 20+ hour epic journey from Nova Scotia to Reno. Hopefully the girls cooperate tonight and we can all get a bit of sleep.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The smile switch
A switch seems to have suddently turned on in Maya's brain yesterday and now she's smiling up a storm. She went in what seemed a single instance from being basically expressionless (except for when she was crying/screaming) to being a smiling, expressive baby. It is really fun to make Maya smile and Josh and I spent a lot of time today trying to get her to. It's like having a new toy to play with! Maya seems to love it when I giggle at her and when I coo at her in a very high pitched voice. My voice is actually kind of hoarse from all the high pitched cooing.
Kate is slowly easing into her social smiles. She's been the more expressive one and I've seen her smile quite a bit - mostly when she's drifting off to sleep, but not necessarily in response to something that made her happy. I'm sure she'll be smiling like her sis very soon.
Kate is slowly easing into her social smiles. She's been the more expressive one and I've seen her smile quite a bit - mostly when she's drifting off to sleep, but not necessarily in response to something that made her happy. I'm sure she'll be smiling like her sis very soon.
Friday, January 2, 2009
A good reason to have health insurance
10 days of hospitalized bedrest, c-section and five days recovery - $50,000+*
Two babies in the NICU for 14 days - $60,000
A baby's first smile - priceless
We got the hospital bill for the Maya's stay in the NICU today. Her stay was $30,000 - haven't gotten Kate's yet, but I'm sure hers will be a bit more because she needed IVs and a bit more care when she was born. The health insurance hasn't paid the claim yet - they say it's under "review". I'm sure they'll pay, but it will make us feel better when we get confirmation.
Also today, Maya smiled for the first time. I was singing Jingle Bells to her and she broke out in a big toothless grin. (yes, I'm still singing Christmas carols - they're the only songs I know all the words to) Luckily she's not too picky about singing actually being in key - it's nice to have an appreciative audience.
*not all the bills have come in yet
Two babies in the NICU for 14 days - $60,000
A baby's first smile - priceless
We got the hospital bill for the Maya's stay in the NICU today. Her stay was $30,000 - haven't gotten Kate's yet, but I'm sure hers will be a bit more because she needed IVs and a bit more care when she was born. The health insurance hasn't paid the claim yet - they say it's under "review". I'm sure they'll pay, but it will make us feel better when we get confirmation.
Also today, Maya smiled for the first time. I was singing Jingle Bells to her and she broke out in a big toothless grin. (yes, I'm still singing Christmas carols - they're the only songs I know all the words to) Luckily she's not too picky about singing actually being in key - it's nice to have an appreciative audience.
*not all the bills have come in yet
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
We had a rip-roaring New Year's eve - cooked a nice dinner and then were in bed by 8:30! We did wake up at 1:30 to wish each other Happy New Year and feed the babies.
My brother is staying with us for a few days and Josh and Jason have been playing lots of World of Warcraft. Here's a picture of Uncle Jason holding two babies with just one arm (his right arm is in a sling because he had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago). Now that's an advanced uncle-ing move if I ever saw one.
Here's one of Kate hanging out today.
My brother is staying with us for a few days and Josh and Jason have been playing lots of World of Warcraft. Here's a picture of Uncle Jason holding two babies with just one arm (his right arm is in a sling because he had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago). Now that's an advanced uncle-ing move if I ever saw one.
Here's one of Kate hanging out today.
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