The Daily Grind

Eden and Everly are a little over 5 weeks now, and they are changing all the time! They both have some reflux, but since Eden seemed to be bothered by hers we put her on some medicine a few days ago. She has made some improvement which is nice for everyone in the house. Everly seems to be going through a growth spurt right now. She also has a little bit of a stuffy nose which together have made for a couple of fussy days. Even at their fussiest these girls are some of the best babies I have ever seen. I might be biased, but I have been around a lot of babies, and I really think we may have gotten lucky with these two! Time will tell of course, as circumstances are ever changing with babies, but as my Rochester friends would say "I think I have Kylie babies"! I really hope this doesn't come off as preaching, and I truly know that all babies (and parenting styles for that matter) are different, but I think the key for us is the schedule. Tim and I are both very type A people so a type A parenting schedule with a lot of routine and organization just makes sense to us. Because we as the parents are calmed and encouraged by the routine I think our daughters are as well. We follow a book called "On Becoming Babywise". This book lays out a sensible feeding and sleeping schedule that just makes sense for our family. We started it at about 5 weeks with Ellasen and it changed our lives. Before that we were just flying by the seat of our pants, and it was NOT working. Tim and I don't fly by the seat of our pants with anything so I am not sure why we thought that would work as a parenting style. When it didn't we started looking for a new way to approach the new little being in our lives. Babywise was the key for us!  We put the philosophies in place for the twins from the first day they came home from the hospital, and they are already very close to sleeping through the night. They can go from about 10 PM to 4:30 AM most nights now. They also sleep very well during the day. They are up for about 1-1.5 hours at a time. During this time we change diapers, eat, burp, snuggle and interact. As soon as they show any signs of fussing or yawning we swaddle them and put them down for a nap. We put them down awake and they fall asleep on their own. They usually nap for about 1.5-2 hours and we do the whole thing over again...all day long. This routine leaves me feeling balanced. I can interact with the girls and give lots of snuggles and kisses during their awake time, and still get some me time while they nap. I can shower, play a game with Ellasen or clean the kitchen with little or no interruption as the girls peacefully snooze in the other room. Life is good! We think they are starting to smile. I got what I think was a real smile out of Eden and Everly smiled at her daddy last night! The twins are also making real tears now! Both girls seem a little more aware of each other these days. They reach out to each other while they are nursing. Obviously not on purpose, but I can see that in the near future!  I don't know if my friends with twins will agree with this, but I feel like twins get a little more manhandled than singletons. It is impossible to pick up two babies by yourself and have them both nicely cradled in your arms. It is also more difficult to set a baby down gently with just one hand. Since I simultaneously breastfeed both girls the hardest part is burping them. Usually one comes off first and needs to burp, but the other one is still nursing (using one of my hands for support) so I have to keep that one feeding while burping the other one with just one hand. For those of you that have breastfed, just picture that for a second...not easy! We are managing for sure, but like I said...these girls are a little more manhandled than a singleton. Ellasen is loving her new schedule too. We have a friend who takes her for a play date and to school on M/W/F's and a mother's helper who comes on T/Th mornings. The mother's helper is GREAT! She plays with Ellasen and fixes her meals and does some household chores. She also usually preps our dinner so I can just put it in the oven. I love it! Ellasen is in love with her preschool. She can't wait to go, and she always comes home very excited to show me everything she has made.

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to lately! 

Eden

Eden wasn't having it! 

And another one bites the dust

Good tummy time Eden!

Gas smile?!

Ellasen is using my nursing pillow to "nurse" her "babies"

Drawing at school