Twin Expectations

Recently on a message board that I frequent, the topic came up: how did your expectations of parenting change when you discovered that you were having twins?

I always knew that I would breastfeed. I was breastfed, my brother was too, and I just grew up thinking that exclusive breastmilk was the way to go for feeding babies. According to my mom my brother never would even take a bottle, it was the boob or nothing for him! I pretty much thought I wouldn't even need to have bottles in my house. But when I found out I had two babies in my belly I wondered if it was even possible to breastfeed. I was pretty upset about it. I had envisioned sitting in a rocking chair with my sweet little baby, just rocking in the sunlight in a pretty cotton gown, with a halo over my head of course. And choir singing softly in the background. You know, like Mary & Jesus. lol How do you even go about it with twins? I jumped online for answers, like I always do, and found that LOTS of women breastfeed their twins! I even found a book dedicated to the subject! Now, it wasn't exactly what I envisioned, there were much more pillows and babies and boobies involved, and there was no rocking chair or halo. And we did use bottles, lots of bottles. And I had to sit with a pump hooked up to me like a cow hooked up to a milking machine. But I DID breastfeed. And my girls DID get all the vital nutrients of my milk. And we DID form that wonderful Mother/Child bond during feedings. In fact, my girls also bonded with each other during this precious time. Many a meal they would reach out and hold hands while nursing. And those memories will be with me forever.

There were a lot of other expectations that pretty much went out the window when we found out we were having twins. We had to buy a new car, we had to buy twice as many baby items, we have 2 weddings and 2 college tuitions to plan for.

There are normally 2 reactions people give us when they find out our girls are twins. The first is, "Oh you're so lucky! I wish I could have had twins!" And the other is, "Oh my gosh how horrible! I'm glad it's you and not me!!!" And the odd thing about being a twin parent is that I go through both of those emotions, sometimes in the same hour. And honestly, I kind of resent both of those reactions, especially when declared by strangers in the grocery store. Because neither is really correct. Yes, we're lucky, but there's also a great deal of hardship that comes with such luck. And yes, I'm glad it's me and not you. But there are often times when I wish it were the other way around too.

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Coming Soon!!!

Anya & Ziva's Birth Story - I realized yesterday while copying everything over to this site that somehow it's gotten lost in the shuffle. :( But it's alright, I'll re-write it and hopefully add some new perspective... oh.. and pictures!

Christmas Leftover's Soup aka: Ham Bone Soup

8 Months And Going Strong!

Lots of changes this month!

The girls are now sleeping in the nursery. Anya was a bit fussy the first few nights but calmed down faster each night and now she doesn't complain at all about it. As a result I'm sleeping wonderfully! YAY! We also set up the high chairs and started solids. Anya is taking to eating really well. Ziva is a little tricky, it's very hard to put food in someone's mouth when their tongue is sticking out. It's very entertaining though, both for me and the girls. Messy, but entertaining.

We also got a jumparoo which they girls both love! They squeel and laugh while they're in it, really fun to watch. They've each also fallen asleep in it. lol DJ thinks we need to get another one, but since they're only going to use it for a few months I really don't think it's worth it.

They still aren't crawling yet, but they're finding lots of other ways to move around. Ziva has gotten really good at rolling where she wants to go, and now that Anya is in her crib more she is also rolling over more often and reaching for things that she wants. Bottle time and diaper changes have gotten tricky because Ziva is ALWAYS on the move. While she eats she's kicking and waving her arms around, turning her head... it's like a wrestling match trying to feed and change her. Anya on the other hand is much easier, she just lets me do what I need to do. They've both gotten very giggly. Just last week they started interacting with each other a lot more. After a feeding when they're both on my lap they'll reach for each other and smile and laugh at each other, it's so cute! I can't put them in a crib together because they get too excited and someone ends up scratched or poked and cries.

At their Dr. appt. we learned that Anya is 14 lbs. and Ziva is 13 lbs. This means that they haven't gained much weight over the past month, so we switched to the higher concentration baby formula and we're going to be pushing solids more so hopefully next month they'll have a decent gain. It makes me glad that we're going in every month for their synigis injections so that we can catch things like this before it becomes a real problem.

Another big change, I've lowered my dose of lactation drugs by 1/2. I accidently skipped a dose and realized that it's those meds that were making me so sleepy and tired all the time. Up until then I was taking a nap every chance I had because I was SO exhaused, I just felt like I couldn't function. So now I only take it at night and I feel SO much better! It's like I'm back to being me again. As a result my house is clean again and I've actually made dinner a few times instead of running out every night for take out. And I just feel less overwhelmed by every day tasks because now I actually have the energy to accomplish them. I've also decided to give up my breastpump rental when it comes due this month, and that will be one more task out of my hair each day. I've just decided that the girls have already gotten such a huge benifit from my milk and at this point I need my own sanity back. I'm still nursing Anya though, but we are supplimenting her with formula more and more these days and since she's learning to eat well I'm sure that in a month or two she'll probably be done nursing. I'm glad to finally see a light at the end of the tunnel, but sad because I know I'll miss sharing that closeness with my girls. I have a feeling that I probably won't have much time to think about it though because at that point they'll surely be mobile.

7 Months Strong!

I'm a little late updating my blog this month, lots of stuff going on!

Anya & Ziva are growing like little weeds! Every time I pick them up I groan a little. :P There have been all kinds of subtle changes about them so I'm not sure I'll remember them all, but they're getting much more coordinated with their hands and they're getting very good at grabbing and reaching for things. Ziva is now able to get up on her knees and rock back and forth on them, and Anya gets up on her elbows and scooches forward, so they'll both be crawling really soon! Ziva has also learned that she can get places by rolling over.

One sad development, a couple weeks ago Ziva decided that she no longer wants to nurse but wants the bottle instead. I could have taken the bottles away for a while and insisted she nurse because I'm pretty sure it was just a bad case of nipple confusion but since she's not the only baby I have to take care of I decided not to fight it and to just let her have her bottles. She still gets some mommy milk in her bottles though, but she isn't getting as much as Anya who is still nursing like a pro.

We're about to make some big changes at our house. Up till now the girls haven't had any solid foods, we decided to delay solids up to this point after talking with our pediatrician. But that's all about to change! We got a pair of high chairs last weekend, and yesterday I went out and bought rice cereal and bowls and spoons. So I think we're going to start solids either today or tomorrow.

Also, up till now the girls have both been sleeping in our room, Ziva in a crib and Anya in a bouncy seat. Well Anya's getting a little big for the bouncy seat and we're thinking that she'll progress more with her crawling and rolling over if she were also in a crib. So instead of bringing the other crib into our room (there really isn't room for it) we've decided to move both the girls into the nursery so that they can each be in their own crib. Some twins share a crib, but the way Ziva moves all over hers I'm sure that they would end up waking each other up. So we're planning to do the big switch-a-roo with the baby furniture today. I'm kind of happy/sad about this change as it has been one of my greatest joys to wake up to two smiley faces, but it will also cut down on the number of times I wake up during the night because of the little sleepy noises they make.

The holidays were nice. We had a good time Christmas over at my parents house. I actually did stay up till midnight this year for New Years, last year I was so sick and pregnant that I was in bed early. We've already taken advantage of my parent's baby sitting coupons and went out to dinner with our dear friends Lee & Sabrina. We're looking forward to using many more of those coupons this year! And we're already talking about which vacation ideas we want to do first with the girls, it should be a very fun year!

Six Months Old! Hurray!

Anya & Ziva's sixth month in this world started out with a big bang and a terrible Dr's appointment. They both seemed to know what was coming and started crying looooong before they got their 4 shots each. But we did find out that Anya weighs 13 lbs and 13 oz. and is 23 inches long. And Ziva is 12 lbs 8 oz. and 22 3/4 inches long. So they're slowly but surely getting to be about the same size. :) Little Anya is such a chunk now, and Ziva is starting to get little rolls of fat around her wrists, so cute!

They're both starting to recognize their own names and they're becoming more coordinated with their hands. Ziva can almost put her pacifier in her mouth by herself and Anya can take the velcro'd butterflies off her bouncy seat. They're both getting better at sitting up, and Anya is getting better at standing with help. They are both full of smiles and seem to be such joyful little girls. They smile and laugh ALL the time now and are a lot of fun to play with.

We're still nursing, which is always an adventure in patience. We talked to our pediatrician and decided to delay solids for another month. Once they're able to sit up better without support they'll be ready for solid foods. They still don't have teeth yet, but they're very drooly and put their hands in their mouths all the time so I'm sure teeth are going to be here soon.

We're hangin' in there. :P DJ is on vacation until after the new year so thankfully he's been around to help out and I've been able to get some rest. Which is much needed because the girls are getting over their first colds. Thankfully it's been a mild case of runny noses and sneezing and with some saline and extra momma's milk they seem to be doing a LOT better! Just in time for holiday festivities! We're planning to spend the day at my parent's house and hopefully we're able to create time for the girls to rest so that they don't get overtired and melt down like they did on Thanksgiving.

The Day of Firsts

Yesterday my girls were just blossoming so I thought I'd share.

Ziva rolled over for the first time by herself! I was so shocked, but I guess I shouldn't have been because she's been turning her head and arching her back to reach for her pacifier for the past week. I didn't see her do it, but I went to wake her up from her nap and she was on her belly sleeping! I was so happy and terrified at the same time! All the SIDS info warns about putting your baby on their back to sleep, so I was really worried about how I was going to keep her on her back now. But I called her pediatrician and she said that she might not do it again for some time, and also that there's a train of thought that if she can do it herself then she's probably strong enough to keep herself from sufficating. So I said a little prayer and put it in God's hands. Yikes!

AND... a few hours after that during a feeding, Anya reached out and grabbed Ziva's hand! And she kept staring at Ziva and Ziva's hand and let go and grabbed it again and again! She must have done it 4 or 5 times so I know she was trying to do it and it wasn't just an accident! It was SO sweet! Their first physical interaction! They've been interested in each other before but it only amounted to looking at each other, but now they held hands! It was so precious!

Yesterday just made my heart warm. :) They're growing and changing so fast I can hardly believe it.

Babies & Zuccini

Well time flies when your feeding babies around the clock! Seems like the past 2 or 3 weeks have been an absolute blur.

The girls had their 2 month check up which included their first shots since leaving the hospital. They did ok for the shots, they cried, but that's to be expected. What wasn't expected was we learned that they weren't gaining weight the way they're supposed to. So now instead of just breastfeeding we have to do all this other stuff each feeding. And when I say other stuff I mean I breastfeed, then pump, then fortify the pumped milk with formula, then feed them that via bottle. Oh, and I found out I have a yeast infection in my nipple, so I also have to swab each of their mouths with some medication on a q-tip after each feeding too. So much fun let me tell ya! But the good news is that after one week of doing this they were both back to gaining weight like champs. We have another weight check tomorrow, but I'm sure they'll pass with flying colors. At the last check Anya was up to 8 lbs. 11 oz. and Ziva was up to 6 lbs. 8 oz.

In other news, I'm being bombarded with zuccini! Seems like everyone who comes to my house assumes that I'm in need of some. I realize that this is the NW and that zuccini grows great here, but good grief just because I didn't plant any this year doesn't mean I want to fill my fridge with it anyway! I've already made two loaves of bread and frozen away enough shredded zuccini to make 6 more loaves, but yet the zuccini keep coming. I think I'm going to have to put a sign on my door that says "No more zuccini!" They say if you live in the NW you either give or get zuccini. Maybe I have to plant some next year just to fend off those who like to give it. lol So does anyone have any good recipes for zuccini???