I'm fighting the urge to go slip into bed right now to actually post a little about the girls right now. As hectic as life is right now, I really want to be able to look back and remember this season.
I feel like things finally started to "click" at the end of this month. I feel like I'm finally kind of starting to "learn" them a little more and know what they like and dislike, when they need to be wrapped up to fall asleep and when they just need their paci. It has been so hard not "knowing" them and their needs. I've told Michael so many times that I feel like I'm less than a first time mom this time around. I felt pretty confident when Bryson was a baby. This time around, not at all. It's so hard scrambling through the days... BUT it really is slowly getting better.
It's so neat to watch their "identical-ness". When I feed them together, they eat the exact same way and then stop within seconds of each other. They hit developmental mile stones at almost exactly the same time (Emily rolled over a day before Maddy though), they cry/scream in the same pitch, etc. :)
I love our girls dearly and there are so many wonderful words I'd use to describe them.
Blessings.
Beautiful.
Smiley.
And there are so many words that I could not use to describe them.
Easy going.
Chill.
Happy go lucky
I sure hope that changes quickly! They are just a tad high maintenance and fussy. ;)
For the first 2 months, I swear they were only happy if they were asleep or being held. We got meds for "silent reflux" at their 2 month appointment and I feel like that is helping a little.
They still spit up quite a bit, but not nearly as much as before! Still, 100% of tummy time involve some kind of spit up from each of the girls. And I have to drape a blanket over myself when I burp them, because a good amount of the time, it's gunna come spewing.
For the past couple weeks, my mom and Debbie, a family friend, have been coming over for a couple hours once a week. My mom watches Ellie during the day, so she gets to come hang out with Em & M :)
It is SO nice to have an extra set (or two) of hands!
My sister has also been coming over few a few hours a week to help with the girls. I usually get to sneak in a nap and its heavenly!!
Eat
They are nursing about every 2-3 hours. I'm working hard to get them to stretch it out to 3 hours, but sometimes they just can NOT wait that long. During the day I tandem feed them, but in the middle of the night, it has to be individually or they would get choked up. I also feed them by themselves if I'm at my parents or inlaws house because, well, there is just no way to tandem feed discretely!!
We're working on getting them to take bottles right now. Neither will take a bottle from me, so I have to enlist help. Michael has given Madelynn one bottle and my mom and Debbie gave the girls a bottle last week. I think they are totally uncoordinated drinking from a bottle because both of them swallowed a TON of air and only took about 2 ounces. That left them ridiculously cranky and wouldn't sleep because they were starving. Not giving up though :)
Also, I nursed in public for the first time ever a few weeks ago. eek! It was time for Emily to eat, and after a little persuasion from my family, I stayed at the table in the restaurant. eeek again!! :)
I got the courage to do it again last week. I took Bryson to McDonald's to run off some energy and while we were there the girls needed to eat. I found the far back corner table, blocked it off with the stroller, covered myself up and was good to go. Bryson usually doesn't think twice when I feed them, but for some reason he decided it was the perfect time to announce to the whole playland that "Mommy is feeding my sisters baby milk with her big boobies!" I DIED! aahhh!!
I get the biggest kick out of this picture of Madelynn! When they are hungry, they.are.hungry. They both scream like their arm has been cut off if they have to wait to eat.
You know how when you're nursing one baby, you can get up and do something if you need to? Get a drink of water, go check on big brother playing Legos, etc. Well, when you're nursing two babies, you can't do a single thing except sit there until they're finished eating and have burped.
One day last week, Michael was working late and I had stopped at Sonic and got Bryson dinner. I was sitting on the sofa in the living room nursing the girls and he was eating dinner in his little recliner chair. He was eating and doing his thing and then said, "um, uh oh Mommy. I have a problem over here" and calmly holds up his little styrofoam cup of lemonade. He had poked his straw straight through the side of the cup and it was spilling all over the floor. I couldn't do a single stinkin' thing except sit there and try to tell him to run and put it in the sink. I was trying to rush him, but by the time he carefully put his food on the end table and slowly inched his way out of his chair, every drop of lemonade was covering the floor. He finally looked in his cup, looked at me, shrugged, and said, "hmm. guess I was too slow this time. Next time I will be faster. Now you can clean this up." Haha!! UUUgh all the while I was glued to the sofa watching this whole thing happen in slow motion! All I could do was laugh at the whole thing :)
Sleep
Thank goodness, they're getting better about sleeping!! Up until last week, the girls thought their "night time" was from 12-12. That was exhausting staying up until midnight, getting up to feed them both in the middle of the night and then getting up with Bryson at 6:30 or 7, whenever he woke up. If I got 4 hours of sleep, it was a "good" night.
Now (as of this week), they go down for the night around 8:30. Their first long stretch is 6-7 hours long (I still have to wake up to put pacis back a few times) feed them around 2 or 3 and then again around 6 or 7.
(Em & M)
They got used to sleeping in their bouncers when they had congested noses from RSV early on and then again with the reflux, they needed to sleep at an incline. So most nights they are still in their bouncers, but we're making the transition to the pack n play. Once I know they can sleep just as well in there, we'll move them to their own room. I just don't want to get up and down and go to their room 30 times a night right now. It's crazy because B was in his own crib at 2 months and they're still snoozing away in our room at 3 months. Oh well.
Madelynn is definitely the better sleeper. She is a superstar napper and sleeper at night time. Emily is an awful sleeper. She takes cat naps (20-30 mins) and wakes up several times at night. i really hope that changes! Maddy falls alseep within seconds of being swaddled with her paci and it takes Em about 15-20 mins to go to sleep. Usually her naps are in the swing.
Fortunately, for now, once they're asleep, they're really good at tuning out each others cries and big brother's loud voice :)
Play
They're both rock stars at tummy time. They get stronger by the day! They both rolled over for the first time a little before 2 months, but do it consistently now. Emily looks like she is trying so so hard to roll from her back to her tummy, but not yet.
Both of them pretty much hate to be on their back for longer than a few minutes, so they're not crazy about the play mat. They'll swat at the toys and look in the mirror, but it doesn't buy us any extra time.
They both like to sit in the bumbo (in short bursts) and they love to stand up. Especially Madelynn :)
They smile and coo quite a bit now and it is so much fun to see their little gummy grin!!
They also noticed each other for the first time a couple weeks ago. It was the sweetest, most precious thing!! They catch each others eye during and after almost every feeding now and I just love loove watching them interact!!
This is a video of the second time they really noticed each other. They even grabbed hands!! It is going to be SO fun to watch them together :)
(It's having trouble uploading, but I will keep trying)
Bryson still LOVES "his babies". He takes so much pride in announcing to everyone that he has twin sisters and that he's the big bother. When they start fussing, Bryson will jump up and tell us to sit back down while he gets their paci. He asks to hold them and burp them often. He always has to be fair about it and hold each of them, even if it's only for a few seconds. He makes my heart burst with love for him with how much he adores his sisters. :)
These have been some of the craziest few months, but I would not trade them for anything. I know sometimes the days are long, but I know all too well that the years are short. I know one day I'm going to look back and wish the girls were itty bitty newborns again. We love our girls so so much and love how much joy they add to our family. We can't wait to see what next month has in store for them!!
Happy 3 months, Emily and Madelynn!!
