How is this even possible that we are closer to the twins being one year old than we are to when they were newborns? Time sure does fly my friends. Read below to see a few highlights from this past month.
I Bounce, You Bounce...We Bounce
FINALLY!!!! These two littles of ours are
finally enjoying sitting in their bouncers and exersaucers. This has been a
game changer folks. I do not really ever remember Hattie and Rhett truly enjoy
being in either type of seat. I always hoped they would so I could shower, fold
laundry, make dinner or who knows what else. Once the twins were old enough to
try these seats out they started to show the same signs as the bigs and I
wondered if any babies in the world actually liked these things. Well, let me
just tell you...I have not given up trying to get them to like these. And
finally, it has happened! They are playing, moving, hanging out and watching
the bigs play from these seats and I couldn’t be more excited. This allows my
arms and back a little bit of a break, allows for the babies to play
independently, practice standing, securely moving around, bounce and chill out.
These two pieces of “furniture” I guess they would be called are crucial to
have double of, at least in our case. At first, I thought we could get away
with one of each, but honestly it’s nice to have the different options to set
them in the same piece or not. The bouncer is beginning to be not as convenient
as the exercausers now that the babies are wanting to move even more. We have
caught Low trying to escape and even though she is buckled in, she almost has
flipped herself off the front. Once Ryne really got himself rolling back and
forth so much, he tries to do that in the bouncer and gets stuck because he is
strapped in and gets a little frustrated. The bouncers have served us a good
purpose in keeping the babies upright and fairly immobile after a bottle to let
their tummies settle. The exercausers have given the babies independent play
time, exercise and exploring toys, sounds and textures. We are truly enjoying
this phase and know that it won’t be around for long. We will be on to the next
exciting adventure before we know it, but for now we are loving the small
amounts of time they get to spend learning and playing the different seats.
Harlow trying to tell me she is too old for this seat now....she needs to slow down.
Get in My Belly
A few of my friends who have had babies in the
last year or so followed this “new-ish” type of baby feeding called Baby Led
Weaning. And before I begin, they have LOVED it and have absolutely done amazing with it, I however am not as good at this as they are. When I decided I wanted to try this out I went to Google to
read up and there isn’t a whole lot out there for it. Sure, there are blogs, a
book, a website and articles and such but it hasn’t been around for all that
long to be able to bring it up in conversation where most people would know and
have advice for starting and going through the process. People have been
feeding their babies rice cereal, pureed baby food and actual bites of food I’m
quite certain since the beginning of time. But according to Wikepedia
(who knows all am I right?) there isn’t any scientific research behind this
method of introducing your baby to solid foods. Having said that, it really
doesn’t matter if there is research behind it or not because I know and have
seen it work for so many others. A few things I have learned in testing it
out...I am a freak. Everything you read about it says do not flip out when your
baby begins to choke/gag, he/she is learning how to eat and the choking reflex
is normal and part of the process. I tried and tried to not flip out, but I
just couldn’t do it. I first started by giving the babies bananas, they did
pretty good with it other than it was so slippery they had a hard time grasping
them, and then we tried cooked carrots...this is when it all went wrong. The
babies were loving the carrots but Harlow was chewing on hers and must have
gotten a piece back further and began to gag, she seemed absolutely fine and
even stopped gagging. We thought everything was just fine, exactly as
everything I read they figure it out. Every minute or so she went back to the
gagging and I would reach in her mouth and search for whatever was causing it
and never found anything. After a few times of this gagging I really started to
get worried and reached in again and found the carrott. It was right then and
there I realized this method was not for me. Low was absolutely fine and maybe
we will revisit BLW in a month or so when they are a bit older but man oh man
was I stressed out and I don’t have time to be that stressed out. We ended up
switching to the pureed fruits and vegetables and feeding with a spoon old
school style. This is how we began feeding Hattie and Rhett and for the most
part both are really good eaters. Eventually we gave them bits of food here and
there and we will absolutely do that with Ryne and Harlow. In fact, since I
began this post we have given them a few bites of broccoli, sweet potatoes, pancakes, waffles, peanut
butter, quesadilla and even pizza crust. It will just take some time for primarily ME to
get over the worrying and also for the twins to grow in their grasping and
interest in trying solid foods.
Everyday I'm Juggling
*Please tell me you sang it*
I love learning new things, like seriously.
One reason I became a teacher is because I LOVE to learn. However, I am one to
admit that I have tried and tried to learn and practice juggling. And by
juggling I mean like legit juggle and never have I been able to successfully do
it. Being a parent you have to juggle (not like literally with your hands, well maybe sometimes) many--many things in your life. One thing I was not
prepared to juggle is attempting to teach and “spot” both babies when they are
learning to sit. Holy cow, just imagine this scenario….babies are finished with
their bottle and it’s play time. Woo hoo right? Okay, well they now don’t want
to just lay down all of the time or they are getting to the age they need to do
more than just lay down. They roll over but then get mad or are just now
staring at the floor and how fun is that. Insert learning to sit. So here I am,
I have a million little toys out on the floor and I’m ready. I begin to prop
one baby up in front of me and using my body as the backup in case said baby
falls back. I look over at the second baby and realize…”hmm maybe that one
needs some practice too.” So I pick up second baby but as I’m doing this I
wobble first baby so that practice isn’t going so well anymore and second baby
is confused as to what is going on and both babies are now kind of in front of
me, flopping back, and forward and sideways and grabbing toys and kicking and
drooling and looking for me and at each other….and so on. So then I think “hmmm
let’s try using the Boppy to help support them or just one of them”. Great idea
right? So I decide Harlow has much more control over her body and trust me she
does, so I place her with the Boppy super snug around her like an innertube on
the lazy river and then prop Ryne back in front of me. We begin to play with a
floor toy that sings and practices the ABCs and all kinds of fun things….so
fun, I know you’re jealous. We are having the best time just singing, hitting
the toy, smiling and I am thinking that I am nailing this. As soon as that
thought barely crossed my mind Low does not fall backward like I had so
specifically preplanned by surrounding her with the pillow comforting Boppy,
she lurches herself toward the singing toy and bangs her cheek on the side,
leaving a bruise almost immediately. Ugh! I then grab her as fast as possible
all while trying to make sure Ryne (the other baby I’m attempting to have
practice sitting) doesn’t fall forward or backward or sideways or well anywhere
he can get hurt. So now I have learned that Low is not a fan of learning to
sit. All she wants to do is stand and try to crawl, pretty sure this girl wants
to completely bypass this phase. As for Ryne, I think he would be perfectly
content to just lay back on the cushy Boppy with toys being handed to him all
day long. He might roll around here and there just to change position a tad but
really he is not too concerned about holding himself up in a seated position.
After this not so successful attempt to practice our next developmental skill I
have attempted many other times with similar endings. Pretty sure by the time I
get the “hang of it” and come up with something that works they will just sit
up on their own without a thought and we will be on to our next
thing….crawling, pulling up, walking….oh my, maybe I can just keep them
immobile for a bit longer!
Let's Go Out to Eat, It'll Be Fun They Said
Being twin parents, parents to four children,
parents to any children or just people in general sometimes you just need OUT
of your house. Maybe you don’t have the creativity to come up with a meal to
make, you don’t want to take the time to clean the kitchen and dishes, you
haven’t gone to the grocery store or you just flat out want to leave your house
and people watch somewhere other than your dining room and your precious
children. Well, let me just tell you that when we go anywhere and I mean
anywhere we are quite the spectacle. Getting packed up and carrying all of our
things and people into any establishment is quite the feat. As soon as we enter
and begin to talk to the hostess they kind of look at us like we are some type
of reality show when we begin to tell them how many seats and specifically what
type of seats. As we stand there is when all the smiles, stares and
conversations begin. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts people love kids and
twins. I don’t blame them though, I love kids and twins too (and I’m just not
referring to my own). Back to the restaurant….once our table area is set up we
begin our hike and then starts the musical chairs of how best we will fit the
car seats, high chairs, big kids, our humongous diaper bag, oh and of course
Matt and I. We usually move chairs and people around at least three times
before finally settling down and looking at a menu. What I find funny is (well
a lot of things but this is one at least) we always ask for high chairs, but we
don’t use them for the babies to actually sit in them. They aren’t exactly
ready for that yet (see the previous section about learning to sit). We flip
the high chairs over and set the car seats in them, which is not always the
safest choice at all. Most high chairs are uneven when they are flipped upside
down, imagine that. However, if the place we are eating does not have any of
those “slings” this is our only option. So we usually have one hand on the high
chair to keep it steady and then continue on with the chaos with one free hand,
which is never free the entire rest of the meal. After around 5-10 or maybe
even less minutes the twins usually want out of their cozy car seats and thus
begins the most difficult part of the dinner….holding a baby while trying to
eat, drink, take big kids to the bathroom, cut big kids food up to cool it down
and basically juggle (see what I did there, back to the juggling). The tricky
part of having twins compared to when we would go out to eat when Hattie or
Rhett were little, we would always have one adult to trade the baby off with.
Not now, no siree, we each get to hold a baby! We do trade babies back and
forth to help with fussiness and wiggles. Anyway, back to the meal so the rest
of the time probably goes as you can expect if you have ever been out to eat
with children. There is a lot of patience being had when it comes to keeping
the older two entertained, the younger two happy and maybe having a
conversation with my husband….ha yeah right I threw that in there as a joke.
One thing I always notice while we are in the midst of this chaos is the people
surrounding us. Matt and I are always hypersensitive as to not bother people
around us. We know we are a lot to take in, we are pretty much our own field
trip or maybe even an exhibit at the zoo where people are staring at the weirdos
behind the fence. Despite what Matt and I might think when we see and hear what
is happening at our table it is quite comforting when I take a moment and look
around. The majority of people around us are engaged in their own chaos and no
matter what is going on with us they don’t have a clue and the other set of
people are “oohing and ahhing”, pointing and smiling and I have no doubt trying
to figure out the ages, names and life story of our entire pack and therefore
seem to encourage the chaos to continue. Moral of the story, we like to get out
of our house as often as possible...but usually have my parents “Papa” and
“Mamoo” in tow, ya know for the extra hands and good conversation.
*Bonus tip*
Bringing Papa and Mamoo along to the restaurant is key for a much more enjoyable meal.
God Gave Us Den Pops For a Reason
Sunday mornings are a bit nutty around here,
we start off the day just like any other day and then out of nowhere it’s like
we are running around the house like crazy people, because we probably are but
that’s for another post. Anyway, getting all 6 of us fed, bathed, dressed,
packed and out of the house always takes at least an hour but usually two,
especially on Sunday mornings. We have to strategically feed the babies at a
time where they won’t be starving as soon as we get to church, hopefully get
them to nap before we go for at least 45 min if we’re lucky and feed, bathe and
get the bigs dressed. Oh and I suppose Matt and I need to be fed, showered and
dressed as well huh? We go to the 11:00 mass to allow ourselves as much time as
possible to make it there. We usually roll in about 11:00 on the dot, partially
due to trying to find a parking spot and getting Rhett to “quickly” get out of
his carseat and his coat on. Regardless, we make it and then begins the circus
show. Finding a pew once mass is about to start (or sometimes has already
started) that can accomodate all of us is quite the task. We come barreling in
as quiet as we possibly can while I’m sure people are just in complete
confusion and wonderment at the show that is us. We usually have to split up in
two pews front to back. The twins are still being carried in and out of places
in their carseats, so those beasts take up quite the amount of room, as well as
a diaper bag (which is HUGE btw), coats and of course us, the people. My
parents usually are there before us and hopefully are able to save some space,
but sometimes that doesn’t work out. The bigs are pretty good about being good
listeners and what not during church with the occasional potty break, fruit
snack after communion or small toy or book to hold. The littles are actually
also really pretty darn good too. They tend to stay in their carseat for around
10 minutes or so and then we usually end up getting them out. I find it always
amusing to watch the look on people’s faces seated near us watching the entire
thing go down during mass. We usually trade babies, kids and seats multiple
times, feed the babies, burp the babies,(ps you can’t keep a burping baby from
belching one out during the most quiet time of the mass) and solve at least 25
minor issues between the bigs all while trying to listen to the priest and sing
a few songs. By the end of mass we are pretty darn exhausted that we always end
up treating ourselves to a Den Pop before heading home. That sweet pop is just
pure perfection and tastes that much sweeter after a successful outing to mass.
7 Month Old Milestone Pics
