Sickos

The entire household has a damn cold. Thanks day care! Let me tell ya, it's NOT fun dealing with two sick twins and a sick husband when you feel like you've been hit by a bus. The house is still largely unpacked and a total mess, and frankly I don't care anymore. I just wish the twins would sleep like adults sleep when they are sick. Ugh, misery!

Carson @ 3 months

Birth
3 months

The twins will be 3 months old this weekend. Carson had a rocky start in life, but he is a completely different baby now!

Weight: About 10 1/2 lbs. He is wearing size 1 in diapers and 0-3 months in clothes.

Feedings: 4 oz every 3-4 hours. He is acting like he ready to move up to 4.5 or 5 oz soon.

Favorites: Bath time, his pacifier, bouncy seat, laying on my chest, having his chest rubbed

Least Favorites: Diaper changes, the swing

Issues: Tends to be gassy

Personality: Sweet, secure, passive. When he cries, you know there must be something really wrong.

Areas to Work On: I honestly can't think of anything other than sleeping through the night.

New Things: Loves looking out of the window. He has also discovered blocks...which he loves to grab at and knock down.

Comparison: He is more vocal than Kate. He is making new sounds all the time. He also likes to play with objects and she isn't into that yet. Overall, he seems more independent and laid back compared to his twin sister.

Randomness: He has the fastest growing fingernails in history! I have to cut them every other day or so. When he starts to cry, it sounds like a little motorboat starting up. It's beyond cute!

Kate @ 3 months

Birth
3 months

The twins will be 3 months old on Saturday. Miss Kate has come a long way in those three months!

Weight: About 8 lbs. She still wearing Newborn size diapers, and the clothes are still too big for her.

Feedings: Usually about 3 oz every 3 hours. We are still working in stretching the feedings out to 3 hours though.

Favorites: Bath time, laying on my chest, her new swing, being held, cuddling with brother on the sofa

Least Favorites: Pacifier, excessively long car trips, having to wait more than one minute for her bottle, being put down when she's not ready

Issues: Tends to have a touch of reflux which requires a bit of Mylanta or else she may throw up

Personality: In the past few weeks I am seeing more changes in her. She is getting better at self-soothing, so there are less screaming fits. She is extremely sweet and happy when she's getting exactly what she wants, when she wants it. She is not the diva she once was though!

Areas to Work On: Stretching out her feedings and increasing her ounces. So far, she has shown no increase in either.

New Things: She is just now liking her Boppy pillow. She is also discovering the great outdoors like her brother. She sounds different...different sounds, coos, even a slightly different sounding cry.

Comparison: She is more visual than Carson. She can be distracted by music or other sounds. She is also starting to imitate me...like when I stick my tongue out at her, she will stick her tongue out too. Overall, she is more clingy and emotional (if that's possible in a baby) than her brother.

Randomness: I've never cut her fingernails before. She is doing much less chirping in her sleep now. She is no longer a noisy baby, and it happened overnight! She's never worn a bow before. In fact, I don't even own any bows or headbands for her.

Indoctrination begins early...

The University of Texas' future Class of 2029!

It's Pitty Party Time...Woo Hoo

Before babies (taken late April 2006). Umm, this photo is more "suggestive" than intended. Mark took it because I wanted to show one of my girlfriends that I finally found a place that waxed my brows to my liking. Anyway, notice how I have a jawline? Make-up on? Clean straight hair? Some evidence of playfulness and life?

Current (taken in Houston last week with Kate). Glasses, much fatter face, wild looking brows, out-of-control hair...looking and feeling like I had just been hit my a truck. Well, at least I had on some lip gloss.

I have been feeling a lot better this week thanks in part to Nanny Mary and being able to sleep between nighttime feedings (the twins are holding strong at 3 hours between chow times). But I still feel pretty yuck. I don't think I have ever felt or looked so horrible in my entire life. I've noticed that I am now wearing the official "mom attire" all the time now....yoga pants (they are comfy and fit), over-sized t-shirt (to hide my post-pregnant-with-twins-flabby-gut) with formula stains on the left shoulder thanks to spit up, no make-up (and I look really shitty with no make-up), air-dried hair pulled back in a bun (i.e., frizzy, style-less, but grateful I at least got to shower), flip-flops (but no pedicure), and glasses (instead of my contacts).

Before I had the babies, I remember seeing women wearing the mom attire in the grocery store and thinking to myself, 'Wow, she needs a day off.' Of course, at that time I was probably standing in the express lane with a 12-pack of Diet Coke in one arm, talking to a client on my cell phone, and trying to get to a sales meeting ASAP...all polished, clean, well-rested, and put together....and stupidly thinking I needed the day off!

My how things can change in a year. Despite all of my bitching, it's been a good change though. I can't imagine my life without the twins now. On those rare days I actually get to leave the house to run errands, I miss the babies the whole time. They are growing fast now. They are starting to sleep longer and be more expressive. I am trying to find a way to incorporate a few small elements of my former life before babies into my new life with the babies. Not sure how or what just yet...but getting my fat ass to the gym a few times a week and getting a hair-cut are pretty high on my list right now.

Pedi Appointment: 2 Months Old

Kate

Birth (2/12)...2 lbs, 11 oz; 16.25 inches

NICU Discharge (3/15)...4 lbs, 4 oz

3/20...4 lbs, 8 oz

3/30...4 lbs, 14 oz

4/13...6 lbs, 3 oz; 18.5 inches

Carson

Birth (2/12)...4 lbs, 4 oz; 17.5 inches

NICU Discharge (3/15)...5 lbs, 13 oz

3/20...6 lbs, 2 oz

3/30...6 lbs, 13 oz

4/13...8 lbs, 0 oz; 21 inches

Carson is in the 92nd percentile on height on the preemie growth chart, and 75 percentile on weight. Little Kate is still trying to catch up, but she has come a long way in 2 months!

Pulse check

I am still here. I am still alive (and the twins are too!). I am still exhausted. I am still adjusting to this new life and schedule (or lack thereof).

New nanny started yesterday. She will be here only two mornings a week. Details on that when I'm not one-handed typing.

Looking forward to today's pedi appointment...I get to leave the house (!!) and I can't wait to see how much weight the babies have packed on.

Due Date

Well, it has finally arrived! My official, full-term, 40-week due date is today...Easter. Of course, I gave birth on February 12th -- which now feels like a lifetime ago and reminds me yet again just how early the twins really came.

We had a big family gathering at our house yesterday. My grandfather (aka Papa) got to meet the twins for the first time. It was nice getting several of my aunts, uncles and cousins over for a big meal. I've always loved family time, but I especially love it now since they just whisk the twins away the moment they walk in the door. I am convinced my family thinks we are the two biggest liars on the planet because the twins are perfect, sweet, non-fussy angels when we have guests over. The moment everyone leaves, of course, they cry, scream and keep us up all night. Anyway, we had a good time.

Damn, it is COLD here in Austin. We had freezing rain, sleet, and all that good stuff yesterday which had never happened in central Texas in April. Last week I had on the A/C and was walking around the house in shorts.

My mom was here for the weekend which was awesome. When my mom is here that means I get to sleep a a full night's rest.

Now I don't want to jinx myself here, BUT...the twins seem to be doing a little better. They have increased their food in the last few days and are sleeping for longer periods of time between feedings. Carson is taking 3 to 3.5 ounces now (up from 2 oz), and Kate is taking 2.5 ounces regularly (up from 1 to 2 oz). During the day they are often sleeping 3-4 hours at a stretch. Carson is also sleeping that long at night, but Kate is getting up every 2-ish hours between 12 AM and 8 AM. I've also noticed that their awake/alert/active periods are getting longer during the day. Instead of eating and then wanting to go straight back to sleep, they are now wanting to be a part of the action. They look around, they play in their bouncy seats, etc...the last thing they want is to go back to bed.

Oh, and I did not get to meet the possible nanny on Friday. There was a miscommunication thanks to the King of Miscommunication (Mark). Apparently, he did not tell her that I was coming up to his office that afternoon with the twins for the Egg Hunt and wanted to meet her. She thought I was coming to see her next week. So now I have to figure out a way to go up there next week.

Lee Harvey Oswald

This is how twisted my mind works sometimes. I have been referring to the above photo of Kate as her "Lee Harvey Oswald impression"...now you can see why.

Photo Shoot @ 6-weeks old

Instead of loading all of them on here, I added a link if anyone wants to see the entire collection of twins' first professional photo shoot from last weekend. We will probably shoot them every 3 months until they are a year.

Anyway, so here are the twins at 6-weeks old. Let me know (or leave a comment on the photo) which ones you like best. I'm still trying to decide which ones I want printed.

Kate & Carson's Newborn Photo Shoot

30-something....eek!

I was going to write a long, deep retrospective on my 20s, but who the hell has time for that?! So here are two photos taken today.

I had a good 30th birthday. I had some family and friends stop by...which was extra nice because they did most of the baby "maintenance" for the day. Then Mark and I went out for a very nice seafood dinner. We had planned to go see some stand-up comedy (one of our favorite things), but we were both just so exhausted after dinner that we blew it off and went home instead (further evidence that I'm getting old).

Perhaps I will write more about the ending on one era and the beginning of another one day when I have some free time...HA HA...as if that exists anymore.

Oh, and for the 6th year in a row (i.e., for as long as I've been with Mark), my mother-in-law has forgotten my birthday. No call, no card, no gift, nada. Reason #172 she is called the monster-in-law.

What a difference sleep can make!

Today has been a better day (so far). This is mainly due to the fact that (a) Mark did night duty and I got 7 hours of consecutive sleep, (b) my mom will be gone for 2 days and we desperately needed a break from each other, (c) I finally heard back from the UT School of Nursing and I am getting good feedback on the nanny hunt, and (d) Mark's massive case just settled today! He took the afternoon off and we had a good talk. I don't want to say all is well just yet, but we are on a better path.

Kate has been cluster-feeding like crazy today. The pedi said this might happen, and it definitely happened today! She is only eating an ounce or so and doing it every hour to hour and a half. Good grief! I hope this doesn't last long.

Random thoughts...you can never have too many bibs. Also, I heard back from a local nanny service and they charge $225 per night for a night nanny plus a 10% agency fee and taxes! I find it hard to believe that a nanny working 5 hours per night 5 days a week can make over $60,000 per year. So, I'm back hunting at UT School of Nursing.

Kate

Let me know if you are getting sick of all the new photos.

Twin Overload!

New Photos of Carson

His hand was behind his ear in this one.

More & More Photos of the Twins

All of these taken today.

New Photos of Kate

I love baby feet!

Here are some photos of Kate & her little feet taken today!

Photo of the Day: Fish Face

Kate is notorious for her "fish face" expression. Sometimes she will literally fall asleep with her fish face. It is not a momentary expression, she can hold it for a while. Here is one from this morning.

Nanny Needed?

Getting ready for her first at home bath.

Napping the in the Pack-n-Play

Day 2 is in the books. All continues to go well, but I am really beginning to wonder when I am going to sleep once my mom leaves. The twins are fed every 2 1/2 to 3 hours and it usually takes an hour to feed both (feed, burp multiple times, change diaper, cuddle & put back to bed). We are talking more and more about hiring a day nanny to help me out a few days or hours a week...especially since Mark is travelling so much right now. If I am doing day shift and night shift (so Mark can sleep for work), when I do sleep? Do any experienced twin moms have advice on this topic...sleep, nannies, time management? A NICU nurse suggested placing an ad with the UT School of Nursing. Good nanny help might be found there. Thoughts?

Here are some photos from today...including Kate's first bath at home. Overall she appeared to love the bath, but it's funny how it took three adults to determine the proper water temperature! The rest are posted on Kate & Carson's Flickr page (link in the sidebar).