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?