one year ago...

you were floating to existance. happy one year conception babies!

tWiN bEnEfITs

i feel i have so much to write about this week.. i'll start with yesterday.. after all week going back and forth about leaving the boys to go to the city i just decided it was ok. so i left yesterday morning at 7am and set out for the fall sale that the manitoba families of multiples puts on twice a year. now being my first time i was not quite sure what to expect although i had been warned it was a BIG deal and to come prepared for chaos. so i show up (late) at the Rec Centre. imagine a hockey arena (i think its indoor soccor tho) anyways.. imagine an arena - the whole part inside the boards is packed with stuff. from big equipment to clothes to toys to smaller equipement to a wall full of shoes - everything you could imagine for kids age 0-14. i wish i could paint you a proper picture. imagine a roped off area of big equipement we are talking 20 car seats, a dozen double strollers, probably 20 umbrella strollers, big toys, high chairs, play pens you name it. the tables of clothes spread out the whole arena. mounds upon mounds of clothes.

so little old me ready with my wagon and rubbermaid tub begins the process of covering this vast space. trying to negotiate my way amoung all the crazy people. the first hour is open to only members (who by the way have been lined up since before 8am) so as i am shopping i look up every once in awhile from the piles of stuff and see the "public" lined up 4 times around the outside of the glass staring in hoping you won't pick up that outfit or hoping you will leave that train set for them. there was a point where i actually had to laugh i mean this was hard core. so i spent about an hour and half throwing mass amounts of things into my tub only to wait in the longest lines ever at 10 checkouts. i walked away with so much and spent exactly my budget of $100. as i left and started to make my way home i would look in the back seat at my huge garbage bag of clothes and toys and stuff and smile one for having come in the first place and two for having survived my first sale. can't wait for spring to do it all over again.

back to being nervous about leaving my boys..i pumped this last week and broke into my emergency freezer supply to leave dave some bottles to give the guys. i fed them around 6:30 before i left and apparently my little angels were so good for their dad. they played and laughed (they started doing that this week - all out laughing) one ate at 10:30 the other dave had to wake up at 11 to eat) and then they hung out again till i got home after 2. i felt refreshed and overwhelmed with how much i love my boys after being away from them.

so the bottom line if you are a twin mom and you have a group you can join DO IT! it was so fun to be around all these twins and triplets and to have the benefit of this awesome sale. i heard they had over 600 people come through in the 4 hours it was open. anyways thats it for today. i have more to write about but will save it till tommorow.

life with twins....

Its getting colder here. Thanks to Joseph Ari was going out in style with his new toque.

Bath time is fun now that we have two baths. Here are Ari and Noah just hanging out.

People often ask what life is like with twins and the question sometime stumps me because its hard to put into words what life is like. Its days that flow together, its double the feedings, its double the catnaps, its lots of diapers, its double the smiles, double the coos, double the hugs, double the baths and double the clothes. Its double the happiness, double the laughs and double the love. Its full. Life is full.

I keep telling people I kind of feel like in the last few weeks I have come out of a cloud. My days are more regular and becoming a bit more routine. The first few months were a blur. Trying to figure out how to take care of two and it feels like I was just treading and trying to stay above water. Now we are swimming and it feels good. I enjoy my days so much more. The boys stay awake longer and the three of us talk and play which is fun. They are so expressive. There little personalities are coming out too. They are different in so many ways.

Ari is my relaxed baby, he is pretty laid back in most ways although he is quite the eater. He loves to eat maybe that’s why he is bigger than Noah now.

Noah is more aggressive and excited. He is expressive and he knows what he wants. Especially when he is hungry. They have different cries now. And they only cry when they are hungry, scared or they just want to be put down and go to sleep.

Our feeding schedule is pretty routine. They each get a breast and it takes about 20 minutes to feed, burp and feed some more. Then when you think you are done the other guy wants a turn. It amazes me somedays that I stuck with it; the beginning was so hard but now its normal and easy. I would encourage everyone to stick with it. It does get better.
We go through lots of diapers each day..I have never counted but I would estimate about 10-15/day.
They still sleep quite a bit during the day but for shorter amounts of time. Our nighttime routine is to feed them around 8:3o-9:00. In their crib together by 9:30 or 10:00 and they are so good now that they just fall asleep usually within 15 minutes with no crying no problems. Then our little angels sleep till about 4:30 or sometimes 5:00 - I feed them and back to bed till usually around 9am. We are happy with that for sure and the best part is that we didn't have to do anything to achieve this it just happened.

So that is the practical stuff. I was trying to think of things people always ask me about having twins so I could enlighten you...
*They have just started to notice each other. They will sit together and suck on each others arms and turn their heads when the other makes a noise. There has only been one attack when Noah scratched Ari so bad on his face it was bleeding. Other than that they are pretty calm with each other. They sleep in the same crib and do not seem bothered by each other. If one is sleeping and the other one crying the sleeping guy won't budge.
*Breastfeeding is much easier than people would think. I have tried to tandem nurse and don't really like it. So usually I feed them seperately which I like cause it gives me private cuddle time with each one. One gets one side, burps then back on the same side. Switch Repeat for the next guy. Its true that you can feed two. I have never had any problems with supply and I still pump once a day which is ok with me.
I think thats about it.. Like I said before I really feel like I am coming out of a cloud and enjoying life more. I am not a fan of hearing how my life must be full of double trouble because in all honesty I can't imagine life with one and I feel my day is full with double blessings. I mean seriously look at those faces. Noah's smile here is awesome. How could that be trouble?

16 weeks

can you belive its almost been 4 months since the boys were born! yesterday we saw the doctor and she was so happy with how the boys are doing. Ari has surpassed his brother and is now the heavyweight at 13lbs 10oz and Noah not far behind at 13lbs 7oz. the last time we were there they were in the 12th percentile for their age and now they jumped to the 45th percintile. the boys are becoming so much more independant. they enjoy being put down and they are content to sit and watch me rush about or content to have all three of us lay on the floor and watch each other. they have taken to talking lately. especially if i talk to them or sing (their fave) they respond with little bird like sounds that make their whole face light up. melts your heart.
i have been enjoying reading other multiple moms blogs which i will be putting links too soon. i am amazed each time i stumble across another mulitple mom and get to hear her stories and see how their life has been blessed by two. another multiple mom reminded me that i too don't mind hearing people always feel like they have to say "double trouble" because us twin moms know there are the sweetest secrets and treasures to be had by having two. sometimes my heart feels as big as it could get and then they do something to make it swell even more.
the down side to the last two weeks is we have all been sick. noah got a cold first then me and now poor ari is struck with it. its sad watching little guys so congested they have to struggle to learn to breathe through their mouths. we are hoping this will be behind us soon and not turn into a vicious cycle of us infecting each other over and over. all i can say is its getting tiring trying to remember which breast is ari's and which is noah's.