MOVED

I have officially moved. I thought I'd be posting here and there on It Will Happen, but I've decided to focus on The Cook Twins. Please stop by and visit us there. I am keeping this blog up for historical reference until I can move the posts over to The Cook Twins. Also, I am trying my best to keep up with all my blogger friends I made during my It Will Happen days. Hope to talk to you all soon!!

Natural Twins

I can't believe I forgot to blog about this, but I did! OK, so we're getting the girls 6 month pictures taken at P.ortrai.t Inn.ovations. Pretty good pics for low price - I'm always surprised at the great shots they get. Anyway, enough of a plug for them. So, we're sitting waiting when we're informed they are running a bit behind. (45 minutes behind it turned out.) A young Mom and her daughter, and the Grandma, walked up and sat at the couch facing us.

Grandma: Twins?
Me: Yep! Two girls.
Grandma: We're going to have twins, too.
Me: (Looking over at young Mom) Really?
Young Mom: Yes, twin boys.
Me: Wow! How exciting!
My Husband: How far along are you?
Young Mom: 30 weeks.
Me: CHOKING ON MY DIET COKE....Really? Wow. I think I was your size at 20 weeks. (Seriously.)
Mom: Yeah, I haven't gained much weight.
Me: Screw you. (OK, I didn't say this.)
Grandma: We're so excited - two boys. We have lots of twins in our family.
Me: They do? That's cool!
Grandma: Yes, so-in-so has twins, and then Suzy has twins, and Margaret, too, but they did fertility treatments, so you know.
Me: Know what?
Grandma: Well, they weren't *natural.*

Yeah, OK. So, what? They don't count? WHATEV. I was a little peeved. One - because natural or not, twins are twins. And two - who LOOKS LIKE THAT when they're 30 weeks pregnant with twins? I was in bed eating 10 meals a day at that point in time. :-)

Oh, completely separate topic....Gabby slept ALL night. This is the first time in AGES. I decided that I was going to re-swaddle her (arms free) and put her back on the incline wedge. (It's a small wedge.) She woke up after an hour, but Daddy calmed her down and she was out the rest of the night. Not a peep from either of them. Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!

Moving....

So, I've thought about this for a long time and decided that now is probably the time to move to a different blog. I will post about IF on It Will Happen, but if you want to keep up with the girls, please visit us at The Cook Twins.

SIX MONTHS!

Where does the time go? I can't believe my babies are six months old!! Shit, back in August, I never thought I'd make it this far. I really didn't. The girls have gotten so big and are doing so much. I can honestly say I'm having such fun with them now. Smiles. Laughs. Rolling over.

There were some super tough times during those six months. Especially in the beginning. I am being 100% truthful when I say I do not remember much of the first three months of their lives. Little moments here and there, sure. But, not a lot of it.

• I remember going with my sister to get their 2 month pictures taken. They were so little. We went to Cas.a Ga.lla.rdo for lunch and prayed we would finish eating before they woke up screaming.
• I remember hitting Gabby's head on the shelf above her changing table the day we brought her home. What a great Mother. I cried and cried.
• I remember pumping at 3am while both my babies were in the NICU. I would call them every night and check on their progress during my 3-4am pump and wake up their Daddy to tell him how much Gabby had eaten, or if Grace had been awake all night.
• I remember one night during a colic spell for Gabby, Gracie started losing it, too. I wondered if we were going to have two colicky babies and I got so scared! But, she just had gas. So, I pumped and pumped her legs and she finally tooted.
• I remember Gabby's first colic spell. We were hanging out downstairs in the family room and she just started screaming. We held her and rocked her and tried to feed her. We finally stripped her down thinking she had a bite or something. But, nothing. Then, an hour after it started, it stopped. Just that sudden. Little did we know it was the start of two months of hell for us.
• I remember the first night we put them in real PJs instead of their gowns. I cried and cried. I still open up the tubs of clothes where their stuff is stored and look at their little clothes. OK, fine. I smell them, too. They smell like little sweet babies. I miss them being so little.
• I remember when Grace pooped in the tub.
• I remember when Gabby peed on me on the way to the tub.
• I remember the first time I heard Gracie laugh. It was during a middle of the night feeding and she just laughed in her sleep on the way back to bed. It cracked me up. This little, bitty baby laughing in her sleep. Sweet dreams, little one.
• I remember the best nap of my life. I was at my parents with the girls - still on maternity leave. I was exhausted. My Mom said - go back in my room and lay down. We'll take the next feeding without you. I thanked her and got in my parents bed. And took the best 1.5 hour nap I've ever taken. I remember waking up and not remembering where I was. That's how good it was.
• I remember packing them in the stroller and taking them for walks when the weather was nice. I swore that fresh air made them sleep better. So, every day before it got dark, I would try and take them for a little walk. If Daddy was home he would go with us.

OK, so I remember a little more than I thought. I miss them being so little! But, as I've said, times were tougher then.....I still keep track of everything they eat on a little notepad in my kitchen. I write the time we feed and the oz they take. That way, when I'm asked by the Dr. how much they're eating I can actually provide a response. I was flipping through the notepad yesterday and saw a page that read as follows:

Grace Gabby

3am 2.5 4

5am 2.5 ---

7am 2.5 2.5

10am 2.5 5

1pm 3.5 3.5

4pm 2.5 4

7pm 3.5 3

10pm 2.5 2.5

That, my friends, is a reminder of how far we've come. Eight feedings in one day. That was my life for so long. This must have been when they were at least 2 months old or so because that was when Gabby was dropping one of her feeds and sleeping one longer stretch. I think I'll save that page as a piece of their history. God, it was so tough back then. But, look at my smiling, happy babies at their six month pictures! Love them! Happy 6 Month Birthday, girls!!!!! I am so, so proud of you.

Grace: 6 Months

Gabby: 6 Months:

Fittings and Solid Food

The girls got fitted for their bands on Friday. They both did remarkably well!! Gab cried at the end when he pushed the plaster into to her head a bit. Grace could have cared less. She had her pacifier. That's all that matters to her.

Gabby getting fitted:

Grace getting fitted -

FOOD: We've been doing rice cereal, carrots and now bananas. YUM. I think the girls really liked the bananas. We'll do those for the next few days and then try sweet potatoes. The carrots left them with a bit of diaper rash. But, it wasn't bad.

Gabby has slept ALL NIGHT for the last few nights in a row. Hmmmm.....I wonder if the solid food is working? It must be. I mean for WEEKS we've been playing the wake up at 11pm, 1am, 3am game, and it's finally stopping. I am SO happy. This is how life used to be!!!

Raspberries and Helmets

Gracie has decided she knows how to blow raspberries. And she does it ALL THE TIME. In my face, sitting in her bouncy, just anywhere. It's so cute. I did it back to her yesterday and it sprayed in her face. She closed her eyes and opened them and smiled so big. So, that's our new game - Raspberries in each other's faces. Mannerly, I know. My girls will not be winning any etiquette awards, I'm afraid. Grace is also talking SO much these days. She talks a lot when seated, but lately, when I'm holding her, she has begun talking a bunch. It's so cute. Like we're having a super fun conversation. She just looks at me and talks away. Love it. Grace is still spitting up so much. We have her on A.xid and rice cereal thickening with every bottle. Nothing really seems to work. When I sit her in the Bu.mbo, she does OK for 5 minutes and then starts arching her back and eventually spitting up. It's odd. All the stuff I've read on Reflux says that babies are more comfortable sitting. Of course, not my baby!

Baby Gracie - 5.5 months old - picture taken 1/13/2009

Gabby is putting both hands in her mouth now. It looks like she is going to whistle so loudly, but she's just munching on her hands. Poor thing. Think it's teething? :-) Gabby has gone from being colicky and tough, to sweet as pie, to incredibly whiny. Nothing is good enough for her for more than 10 minutes. So, we just move around a lot. She is finally starting to put weight on her legs when you stand her up. She is doing better with tummy time, which is quite a relief. She was a little sick last week with a slight fever for a few days, but she got through it. At the Dr. she weighed 16 lbs 1 oz. I can't believe it!! If she were actually 4 months old instead of 5.5, she would be off the charts.

Miss Gabby - 5.5 months old - picture taken 1/13/2009:

Did I mention that both girls are wearing 6-9 month clothes and they aren't even 6 months yet!!! We're getting their 6 month pictures taken this Saturday. I haven't had formal pics done since they were 2 months old. Not sure why I skipped the 4 month - just got busy, I guess. Anyway, I'm promising to do them at 9 mos, and of course 12 mos again. Here they are about 3 weeks ago - right at 5 months old:

The girls love watching TV. Have I said that in past posts? It's almost embarrasing, but Gabby really likes it. My parents watch the girls on Mondays and my Mom commented that NOTHING would keep Gabby happy except TV. So, they watched Sesame Street and a Baby Einstein video. I guess it's OK - they're learning - that's what I keep telling myself! Below - girls watching TV at my parents house. Bum.bos are on a blanket on the coffee table....maybe not the safest idea....

The girls are at their other Grandparents today. Most Tuesdays my in-laws pick up the girls and they stay the night and spend Wednesdays together. It's a great break for us. Today, when they called with the morning report, I could hear Grace talking in the background. Then, they put her on the phone because Grandpa had her belly laughing. It was adorable. Gabby was asleep. I wonder why? Hmm, maybe because she's decided she likes waking at 5:30am these days. Shoot me for not enjoying the old days of 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep for both girls. How are we regressing? Not only is she sleeping less, she's waking up in the middle of the night several times. It SUCKS. This has been going on for WEEKS. I bought Dr. Ferber's book. Tried the "cry it out" - which works fine. She puts herself back to sleep on her own, but it hasn't stopped. I thought after a few nights the waking up would be over, but it's not. So, she wakes up and cries for a few minutes and goes back to sleep. I try to tell myself that they're not even 6 months old and that we're so lucky for where they are. On Monday, the first day of waking up at 5am, I fed her early at 6 and then again at 8, then got her back on schedule withGrace. She ended up drinking SO much that day - 37 oz! Usually she eats around 25-30. We haven't had a repeat of eating that much, but I'm secretly hoping that adding solids will fill her up and make her sleep better? Dream on, right?

So, the last few appts with the Ped have been good, but I've been really concerned about the girls' head shape. Gracie has always favored her right side, but in the last 3 months Gabby has, too. Needless to say, there are flat spots on the backs of their heads. I voiced my concerns everytime I visited the office and they've reassured me that it would be fine. So, last time I brought the girls in for their 4 month appt, we got a referral to the Children's Hospital to discuss the cranial bands/helmets. Our appt was last week and went really well. The Dr. said she'd classify them as moderate and gave us the option of doing them or not. For obvious reasons, I don't want to put the girls in helmets, but in the same breath, if their heads don't reshape on their own, I'll never forgive myself for not trying it. So, after much debate over the last week, I've decided to do it. I keep imagining them at 15 years old, with no dates to the dance, pissed at me for not taking advantage of an opportunity to reshape their heads. OK, drama. They will both be fitted for the cranial bands this Friday. It should take two weeks to get them made and then we're off. They'll be on anywhere from 2-4 months. The staff assured me that it's really only an adjustment for 2 days and after that, they do great. I am definitely going to put stickers and stuff on them so they look somewhat cute. I'm sure it's more traumatizing for me than them. I feel like I've failed them.

Anyway, that's all for now. So much going on with work, etc. Hope everyone is doing well out there!

So Big!

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Here is my 5 minute update.....Things are going well. Busy, but we're hanging in there. Christmas has come and gone. I can't believe the girls first Christmas is already over. :-(

Speaking of the girls....they are getting so big! They are 5+months old now. At their 4 month appt they weighed 12lb9oz (Grace) and 14lb2oz (Gabby). Can't believe it. They were both on the normal scale for full-term 4 month old babies.

They are sleeping great (10-11 hrs at night) and we're working on the nap thing. They are both chewing on their hands like crazy. I think Gracie is teething. Gabby's colic has been resolved and she is just an angel. (We ended up switching to the A.li.men.tum formula for her.) Gracie seems to have some reflux problems flaring up again. So, she's been fussy lately, but they're both my angels!

What else....they are both grabbing objects and talking all the time. Both girls laugh when tickled and they LOVE to watch E.in.stein videos. Both have rolled over from tummy to back. Gracie is putting weight on her legs when you stand her on your lap. Gabby has zero interest. I prop them on their boppies every morning for 15-20 minutes and they "talk" and smile at each other. It brings me to tears every time

They are both super-smiley in the mornings. I love going to get them out of their cribs. When they see me leaning over their cribs both of them break out into the biggest smiles. I love that!

I went into their room this morning and Gabby was laying width-wise in her crib. I'm not sure how she managed to get out of the incline wedge and turn herself 90 degrees, but she did. So, everything out of the crib tonight!

Gabby is no longer using a pacifier. She's been pacifier free for 2 weeks now. (We were playing the run-into-the-room-at-night-and-replace-my-pacifier-game for too long.) I am going to try and start working on Grace tomorrow. She'll be a tough one to break, but I want to do it now. We don't have the problem with her of the middle of the night, at least.

We are doing 5 bottles/day - about 7 oz per bottle, though they don't drink all of that. They end up drinking around 30 oz total for the day, which is on the low side, but they are growing fine. Grace is drinking less these days - she'd rather chew on the nipple. We start solid foods in a couple of weeks. Wish me luck. :-)

I am so blessed to have these crazy girls. Gabby on the left. Gracie on the right.