More First Steps!

Owen took his first steps yesterday! He walked for the first time on the day of their first birthday party. How perfect is that? We were getting the babies ready for bed and Owen decided to let go of the baby bed and walked maybe eight steps to get to me. He was of course holding his panther and I'm thinking that may have given him the courage he needed to give walking a shot. He was quite proud of himself and of course we were too! Way to go my little babies...you are truly toddlers now!

First Steps!

Today Kathryn took her first steps! She took about six or seven steps to my Mom while my Grandmother and I held our breath, waiting to see if she would take more than the usual one or two steps before falling. It was totally unexpected, but all of the sudden she got very brave and we all just melted! We will try to get some pictures or video up soon...Bruce wasn't here today for the big event, but I know we'll get a repeat performance tomorrow. He can't wait to see his little girl walking. I just had to share the big news with everyone!

The First Hair Cut

Today Owen got his first hair cut! He was such a big boy and sat still once I handed him my keys to play with. He held Panther (his favorite hand blankie) the whole time. The place I took him to gives out first hair cut certificates which was pretty cute and I saved a few locks of hair for his baby book. As he sat in the kiddie-size chair, part of me was a little sad that Owie was getting his first big boy hair cut. However...his new do looks precious and he still looks like a baby to me. He is such a handsome little guy. Kathryn also had her bangs trimmed for the second time today and I've posted a couple of pictures from the first time I took her. She won't get her first real hair cut for a while, but because her hair naturally grows straight down on her forehead I'm going to have her bangs trimmed until she's old enough to grow them out and tuck her hair behind her ear herself. Needless to say she looks beautiful and I'm hoping going to get our hair done will be something fun us girls can always do together (including baby sister too!). We're heading home for Christmas this weekend so I'll have more to post soon. Here are the pics from today...enjoy!

One final shot of all those long curls!

What a big boy

Doesn't he look cute?


Enjoying a mum-mum while getting her hair done.

The pretty lady checking herself out in the mirror

Progress!

I am very excited about the progress we are making with our schedule, solids and sippy cups. Last night we fed the babies dinner at 6:00 while we ate and gave them their formula in sippies at the same time. We then did baths, brushed teeth and our normal rocking/cuddling routine before putting them in their beds. Owen did fine because he's always ready to sleep, but Kathryn wasn't having it. After Bruce and I both tried to put her down with no luck we decided to let her cry it out (I really hate that phrase and I have never let either of them cry it out at bedtime or in the middle of the night, but given the fact she's almost one, I knew it would be ok. She was just mad, but all her needs were tended to.) and within 15 minutes she was asleep.

So tonight we tried something different. They ate a great dinner which consisted of half a veggie burger each, cheese toast and cottage cheese with peaches around 5:30 and played for a little while after. We then did our normal routine but instead of giving them their formula in bottles, we cuddled with them while they drank it out of their sippies. It was like they had been doing it for forever. Kathryn fell asleep quickly in my arms once we were in their room and only fussed for maybe two or three minutes after I put her down and then was out. Owen was out as soon as Bruce put him in his crib with his favorite blankie. So I think we have found our new routine and getting rid of that evening bottle may not be as traumatic as I thought it was going to be.

Today they had their first taste of whole milk and I broke out the video camera because I was sure they would make some funny faces, spit the milk out or totally reject it altogether and it would be too cute to not catch on film. Nothing...they just kept drinking like it was water or formula. Ok...how great! I only gave them three or four ounces each today and will gradually increase the amount every few days in the coming weeks. I know many people switch cold turkey, but I just feel like for them, slower is better. They have both had tummy problems in the past. Let's just say when it comes to digesting food, one has a super fast tummy and the other's is super slow.

They are on a lovely little schedule now and I think this one will stick for at least a couple of months. They eat three solid meals a day and roughly two snacks. They each get formula in the mornings and at night and a little midday. The rest of the day it's water. Sometimes Kathryn will boycott her morning nap and not go down until the afternoon, but she knows what she needs better than I do so I just go with the flow. Owen, however, never misses a nap and thoroughly enjoys each one. I can pretty much set my watch by his napping schedule. On a typical day it's an hour and a half to two hour nap for the first nap and 45 minutes to an hour for the second.

I started this post last night and I'm finishing it up this morning. I am thrilled to report that for the second morning in a row the babies slept longer. Kathryn slept until 6:20 and Owen slept until 7:00! Wow! I'm starting to wonder if there is something to filling their little bellies up more at night. But I don't want to jinx it so for now I'll just assume it's a fluke.

No pictures this time, but I'll get some up in the coming weeks. Christmas will be here soon. I hope everyone out there is happy, healthy and doing well.

February 10th is the Day!

We have a c-section date! Our little girl will be here on Wednesday, February 10th and we are so, so excited! They gave me a few options for dates today at my appointment and said it was up to me. My Grandmother also told me this afternoon that February 10th is my Great-Grandfather's birthday and the day he and my Great-Grandmother got married. I wish I could say I knew that when I picked the date, but I didn't. However, I like the fact that Sullivan will have a connection to her great-great-grandparents (aside from being family obviously). Mom and Pop Strickland were wonderful people and I am fortunate to have had the privilege of knowing them when I was a little girl.

Some of you know this, but long story short, I am now seeing a new doctor off base and will deliver at a civilian hospital. Bruce and I are excited about this change and after meeting the doctor today I know I'm in great hands. He came highly recommended from a friend and I can see why. It was an answered prayer being able to make this switch and I feel like I can now enjoy the rest of this pregnancy and worry less about the delivery. I'll go back in two weeks for my 32 week ultrasound and this time I know I'll be given pictures to take home with me which I'll post ASAP for everyone out there. Bruce and I can't wait to get another glimpse of our little girl! Until next time...

A Little Humor and Reflection

It's very rare that I ever post anything about myself, how I'm doing as a twin mommy, the kind of day I've had, etc. In my opinion, life with twins is all about routine and the unexpected. So I just chalk each day up to a learning experience and a blessing. Some days aren't so hot (like yesterday for example, but more on that later) and some days I think "man, I have so got this twins thing down!" It's an adventure to say the least; a very loud, chaotic and amazing adventure that I am beyond privileged to be a part of.

There are times when I feel a little guilty for being so tired, not getting the babies out of the house more, wishing I had some help (ok, make that free help)and maybe a "mommy break" every now and then or a date with my husband that we didn't plan three weeks in advance because we knew someone would be down here visiting to watch the babies. Then today, I run across something so funny that it just makes me realize I'm normal and that it wouldn't be normal if, as a mother of twins and soon-to-be mother of three babies under the age of 15 months, I didn't think about such things.

Being a mother is by far the more rewarding, precious job a woman could ever have. It is also the hardest, most demanding and emotionally taxing one too. I know that for the rest of my life I will worry day and night about these sweet, beautiful babies and that to me they will always be my babies. I often wonder or think, "Am I doing it right?" "Can I do it better?" "Will they always want to be close to me like I am to my Mom?" "I hope they always live close to us so we can be together more often than we are able to be with our families." "I hope they know how lucky they will be to have two other siblings and I want them to be best friends."

I've been struggling lately a little and it's easy to get down sometimes even if it's just for a few moments. My belly is getting huge, I'm really slow, they diagnosed me with a hernia at my last doctors appointment and I'm just doing the very best I can here lately. I know I forget a lot of things; forget to call or email friends back in a timely manner, repeat myself or completely not hear things that are said to me. Just this week Bruce and my Mom reminded me of a conversation I had had with each of them individually that just did not ring a bell. Yes, I'm having conversations with people that I can't recall. So forgive me everyone out there - I love you all and I promise I'll be back to normal (if there's such a thing) soon enough.

On to what got me blogging this morning when I should be washing bottles, doing laundry and making breakfast. Read this - I found it on my twins forum this morning and loved it. It was a post from another twin mommy and needless to say it was a hit with all of us on there. In a strange way, it made me feel really good to know that yes, what I do is hard and yes, others find it hard to do too!

This comes from a girl I went to college with - she and her husband decided to give up a very comfortable life in a very comfortable part of town to begin a ministry to serve inner city families, particularly children, in Dallas. They have four of their own children - between 5 and 10 years old - and have taken in a number of children who have been rescued from their own homes. They recently had a set of nine-month-old twins placed with them by Child Protective Services ... here is her assessment, which I found hilarious - and true.

Sunday, October 4, 2009
An open letter to mothers of twins.

Over the past week, having new twins in my house, I have come to the realization that I may need to apologize to some of you for comments I may have made, and things I may have done in my dark, unenlightened past.

To save time, I am writing this post instead of calling or writing each of you individually or whatever Emily Post would say was proper form and all.

If this doesn't apply to you, read along anyway, you may be unknowlingly guilty of the same offenses.

Dear Mothers of Twins,

Please forgive me for ever saying how nice it must have been to get two babies and only have to lose the baby weight once.

Or that it must be so fun since they're both doing the exact same thing.

Or, "I could never have a night-nurse. I wouldn't like someone in my house all the time, and besides, I cherish that time to bond with the babies alone."

Or for ever inviting you to meet me for lunch at a busy, hectic place without good parking or a door that will accomodate a side-by-side double stroller.

Or for being slightly judgmental when you gave your older children chocolate cake for breakfast. It DOES contain eggs.

Or for wondering why you fell asleep during our conversation about leggings vs. skinny jeans. And wondering if you realized you had spit-up on your left shoulder and smushed cereal bar on your right and neither of those "accessories" were featured in People Magazines Style Watch.

And finally, at least for now, forgive me for not being sympathetic enough when you were racked with guilt because if you were holding one crying baby, the other was just sitting on the floor crying by himself and you wondered if he would be scarred for life because of it.

Or for not praying for you every stinkin' day.

Sincerely,
Hoodmama

And for the mothers of triplets or more. I am wearing saccloth and ashes for you, and sending you a case of Diet Coke. And a medal.

I found the timing of this to be ironic because yesterday was one of those days where I felt like I was spinning my wheels. You know that dream you sometimes have where you're trying to get somewhere and you just can't for whatever reason? Well, it was like that. Here's a recap.

6am - Wake up, change diapers, Bruce makes bottles, feed babies with Bruce, chase babies, change diapers again, enjoy a few sips of coffee before it gets cold.

7:30am - Feed babies solid breakfast and start making mental plans for the day.

8am - Nap time. Babies actually fall asleep around 8:30, run for the shower, dress, dry hair, hear Kathryn crying on the monitor at 9:30, go pick her up, take her with me to finish drying hair.

9:45 - Owen wakes up, feed both babies solid meals again and while they pick at their finger foods round up all of our stuff, load car, pick out outfits, lay out diapers, feed dogs, etc.

10:45 - We're all in the car and headed to drop off my medical records at my new doctor's office. Swing by post office and secretly thank the brilliant person who decided to make a drive-through/drop off mail lane outside. Hope it continues to only sprinkle for the rest of the day.

11am - On the road to the doctor, pull in parking garage (thank goodness...covered parking), unload much heavier new stroller, hope I'm not going to hurt myself, put jackets on babies, load them in stroller, notice one wheel is super close to being flat, keeping my fingers crossed we fit through the doorways, drop records off and make an appointment for Friday. Hoping Bruce will be able to watch the babies while I meet the new doctor and go for the first appointment, wish there was a way he could come with me. We are very excited about going to a civilian doctor with an excellent reputation!

11:30 - Back to the car, yep, tire is really low! Load babies and stroller. Head to Target because we're all dressed, in a good mood and have a couple of hours until it's time to eat. Miss my turn so I have to go the long way, starts to rain a little harder.

Noon - Get to Target, unload stroller, babies and half-way to the door wish I had my umbrella. Babies are happy because their canopy on their stroller is huge! What did I come here for again? What did I need to buy? Stop in to the restroom, wiggle stroller through door while nice Target man holds it open for me. Only slightly awkward.

12:30 - Print pictures for Bruce's office as a surprise for him, while they print go round up other stuff we needed. Wishing I had brought a back pack instead of a diaper bag because basket under stroller isn't big enough - grab a shopping basket.

12:45 - Getting tired, can't find what I need, babies are getting wiggly, tire stroller goes completely flat.

1pm - Pull into an aisle, break out mini tire pump, read instructions and think to myself "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." Inflate tire after about 20 minutes of trying and wonder why they didn't make a bigger, faster pump for this thing. Tell nice lady who asks if I need help I'm ok, even though I'm sure I don't look it.

1:15 - Pick pictures up, pay for stuff, raining much harder, walk quickly to the car, load babies and stroller and get in. I'm starving, drive through Chick-fil-A and then head home.

1:30 - Feed myself, babies, change diapers, let them play a few minutes, put them down for a nap. Sit down, watch a rerun of Desperate Housewives and wish I had the finesse of Bree Van de Kamp.

2pm - Babies finally fall asleep, frame pictures for Bruce, straighten up the house, sit down again.

4pm - Babies wake up, have bottles and play, play, play.

5:30 - Bruce gets home and babies and I are so happy to see him! They crawl as fast as they can to the baby gate to greet him with big smiles.

So as you can see, a lot goes into what should be a two hour outing. I was a little discouraged because it was the first time I had tried to run more than one errand on my own in about a month. Then before I fell asleep last night I started thinking about the fact that I still did all of this on my own (and survived!)at seven months pregnant. So even on days like this I am so fortunate!! I am fortunate to have a big enough car to get the three of us and our stroller places, I am fortunate to have a great stroller to make pushing them easier as I get bigger, I am fortunate that my babies love being out and didn't have any melt downs, I am fortunate to be able to still get around this far along and do what I need to do.

Here's the deal. I had always dreamed of having twins and I got them! How many people are that lucky? On top of that, in about 10 weeks we will have another beautiful daughter to cherish and watch grow up along with our two other babies. Despite the exhaustion and challenges, it just doesn't get any better than that. While there is a lot of truth to what this singleton mom writes, until you are actually a mom who has had twins you just don't understand that you wouldn't have it any other way. Like I said before, I am beyond privileged to be part of this adventure.

Today is a new day and I feel great! The sun is shining, the breeze actually makes it feel a little more like fall here and the babies are having one of their best days yet. I thank God for giving me tiny challenges along the way to remind me to keep a sense of humor and to be thankful for every day and every moment. In the grand scheme of things, I really don't have much to worry about.

To my children: Thank you for allowing me to be your Mommy. I hope I am teaching you as much as you are teaching me. It's a blessing to be able to learn and grow with you. One day I will look back and tell you these stories - or maybe you'll read them on here - and explain how your Dad and I got through our days (and nights) and I know we will all laugh together. You are my world and I love you more than you could possibly ever know. Thank you for your kisses, hugs and laughter.