Pogo Stick and Crazy Head

Lucas is finally having more solid bm's, although Tillys diapers are
still scary and she takes mylecon for stomach cramping.

Lucas is now able to find his paci and reinsert on his own in the crib
at night. We consider this a HUGE hurdle! Lucas also works his oceans
aquarium and plays the music and such by himself at night when he
wakes up, instead of waking us up, he just plays by himself. And
Tilly- who won't even turn her head to search for her paci- now holds
her own bottles for atleast half of her feedings!

Lucas now likes to jump up and down on our laps, and Tilly likes to
have "crazy head". That infant thing where they shake their head "no"
really fast. She thinks its funny. Today she was crinkling up her nose
at me whenever I crinkled mine at her. So cute! They both growl at us
like dogs. We don't know where they learned that, but we growl back.
We figure its some form of communication any way.

I am canceling their shots until next week. I want to let them heal.
Tilly has the worst diaper rash I have ever seen- and to think she had
never had it before we started solids. :-( The rotavirus just made it
ten times worse.

Lucas and Matilda 7 months

pregnancy update

Well, I am now totally confused about my Due Date.

OK, the timing of visability in my uterus matched my original due date
(at 5w 0d), as did the size of the babies for the first 8 weeks.
However, now they are measuring way ahead. Today baby A measured 13w
4d (which corresponds to my lmp), and baby B measured 14w 0d!!! Lucas
and Tilly never measured ahead- they always measured on time! So, this
has messed up my due date and I *know* when I ovulated! I am 13w 1d.
Or, 13w 0d. Anyhoo, I shouldn't complain as this gets me an earlier
section as I am now 13w 4d-14w 0d. Heh!

OK, I LOVED Dr. Hamner. I went into the appointment expecting to hate
anyone affiliated with Dr. Miles, and he was WONDERFUL. First, he
won't let me go past 38 weeks, although he doubts that will happen
anyhow and anticipates an earlier delivery. He also recognizes that I
can't do bed rest for 15 weeks this time.

As far as my lovenox, he said he isn't sure I need it since I don't
have a recurring loss issue, and my blood tests were one indicating
LAC and one only suggesting a clotting factor deficiency (the DRVVT
corrected the second time), but, if it made me feel better mentally to
be cautious, he said "Then lets keep it!" and dropped the subject when
everyone else has acted as if it was an issue for me to want to stay
on it as far as complications etc from the drug itself.

He mentioned regular cervical checks this time, so I won't have to
monitor changes at home. He said I was a very "busy person". Duane
laughed out loud about that, and told him having twins had been very
good for all my ocd issues!

As far as the NT, both babies had a nasal bone present. Baby A's
nuchal fold was 2.0-2.2 Baby B's nuchal fold was 1.6-1.8. Baby A's
bothered me, but they weren't concerned and said they both were in
very normal parameters- and also added that with them measuring ahead,
it would elevate the measurements, too. However, the taller baby had
the lesser fold. They said the mesasurements don't flag a risk until
they hit 2.98. I get my blood work back this week. If there is an
issue, we can schedule an early amnio as soon as 15 weeks.

The nuchal was first, the sonographer did that. Then I met my new peri
who may very well be my favorite doctor (after Fischy). I mentioned
that I had left his partners practice last time because of the anxiety
and idea of delivering at 39 weeks caused me, and he said "Everything
suggests delivery of twins after 38 weeks creates additional risks.
You will find us to be laid back in this office". I swear, I think I
could deliver at 37 weeks with this physician!

THEN, he took a peek himself and remarked on how active the babies
were, and how great their growth was. Then he did a gender assay!

!!!

At 13 weeks?

OK, and when he announced the genders, Duane and I were totally
unprepared- not expecting anything until my level II 5-7 weeks from
now. I nearly fell off the table when he told us, then became dizzy
and they had to get me a juice. Duane-who was paci tending Lucas- spun
around and kept saying "Did he just tell us their genders?" I
exclaimed something really ridiculous in a loud shakey voice and the
peri commented that I had an odd sense of humor.

He said we wouldn't confirm anything until my full anatomy scan at
18-20 weeks.

Duane said "I didn't expect him to be looking at their butts!".

Since it is early, we aren't going to confirm the genders and are going to go about as we had planned and try and be surprised. Surely they could be wrong at 13 weeks?

13w ?d twins
Lucas and Matilda 7 months

rotovirus

I knew it was a bad bad thing that kaiser neglected to offer the twins
the rotavirus vaccine within the timeline the oral vaccine can be
started... both my twins have it, and the only place we can think of
that they would of had "fecal oral" contact would be at the twins
consignment sale that I went to last weekend. I bought lots of good
deals, and sanitized everything, but apparently I didn't sanitize
myself enough and somehow passed along a pathogen.

Anyhow, no time to post, we are literally drenched in diarrhea and
vomit. We are worried about Tilly, who won't take pedialyte, so we are
giving her ginger ale mixed with pedialyte. Both babies are sobbing
when we change their diapers.

And here I haven't taken them ANYWHERE to avoid rsv, and keep germx in
the car and on my hands at all times!!!

BTW, our growth seems to be just like Susans whose Anders was born 1
inch taller than the twins... Lucas was 27 inches tall at 6 months,
and he weighs less however at 16 pounds 3 ounces. He is tall and
skinny! His height and head circumference is in the 50% percentile,
but his weight is 10%. I don't know Tillys yet.

Here is a couple pictures when they were feeling better last month!

Kindredly~
Lizzie
13w 0d twins
Lucas and Matilda 6 months old

Lucas is a SMOOCHER!

The first time was- of all days, Valentines Day.

I was holding Lucas on my lap after Duane and I ate dinner, and he
gets this weird look in his eye. I said to Duane "Whats wrong with
him?" and I started laughing when all at once he took some hair in one
hand, my ear in the other, and lunged at me open mouthed and smooched
a big sloppy wet one all over my face.

He has sense started kissing me in the morning, when he gets happy
about something, and when he is tired.

And last night he grabbed Daddy. I told Duane "He has his smooch
look", Lucas had had his hand on Duanes shirt collar and on Duanes
hair, and was looking for a place to lay a smooch on Duane, and Duane
got so excited he said "Lay a big sloppy one on me" and turned his
cheek to the side and boy did Lucas get him! He lunged in and smooch
slurped Duanes cheek and left some nice drool there to show for it.

:-P

I have an odd feeling his smooches might become bites later on. He
sort of grabs your face and sucks on it. LOL But, if I kiss him, he
does his version of a smooch back like he has been giving us.

NOT teething

Remember when my twins had so much teething problems?

Everyone said they were teething. They chewed on everything. They
soaked three bibs a day. They needed tylenol round the clock.

They weren't teething.

I had been letting them sleep half an hour in their swing in the a.m.,
three hours in the late afternoon in their cribs, and then another
half an hour in their swings in the evening. They only rubbed their
eyes prior to these naps. Then, at night they would go to bed about
7:30 and get up around 7:00 the next morning. 15 hours a day sleeping
is the norm at 4-6 months, so we were doing everything right.

Well, one day Matilda stopped being able to nap in her swing- she was
too distracted by everything going on around her. So, I decided to
start laying them down in their cribs for the morning and evening half
hour naps. The first day I just let them sleep, thinking they would
wake me up. Two and a half hours later!

They now nap 2.5 hours in the a.m.
They nap 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon
And 45 minutes in the evening.

Then sleep from 8:00 to 8:00!

These babies are sleeping 17 hours a day!!!

And they are no longer teething! Matilda is a NEW baby. Duane even
said last night "She has become the baby you dreamed of". For the
longest time Tilly and I just pushed each others buttons all day long.
She was cranky- I thought from teething, it turns out she was tired.
Now that shes sleeping 17 hours a day, shes the happiest baby ever.
She smiles all the time, sings, coos and babbles... shes pure joy!

Lucas is the same... I get the impression he doesn't need as much
sleep, but he also is no longer taking pain meds for "teething".

Now, as soon as Tilly starts fussing at a toy, we pick her up and put her down for a nap.

Lucas and Matilda 6 months 3 weeks
10w 1d twins

Nap!

We had a nice afternoon!

Duane and I decided to lay down when the babies did at 10 for what is
usually a two hour nap, and we all slept two hours and 45 minutes
uninterrupted! :-P

Then Tilly showed us her new "words" (she tries to say "la la" while
pursing her lips and spitting) and Lucas played pogo on Duanes tummy.

Hope everyone else is having a nice Sunday, too

Babies leaving our room

I had been wanting to keep Lucas and Matilda in our room awhile
longer. They sleep in a shared crib in our room, and take turns
climbing in bed with us when they feel bad (teething) or on Saturday
and Sunday mornings. I even feed them both breakfast in our bed while
we sing and cuddle.

Lucas hasn't been a good sleeper for a long time, but I kept thinking
we could get him "over the hump". He was waking up once every 45
minutes from midnight until 7 wanting his paci! Sunday night I was up
EIGHT times with him between 1-7 a.m.! I swear, I have been more sleep
deprived than when they were newborns.

Well, I have been making up for my sleep when they nap, only now he no
longer naps either. Yesterday after trying every five minutes for half
an hour to get him to take his paci, I broke down and started sobbing.
I was so exhausted and sleep deprived that my vision was blurred.

There other crib is in the nursery. I picked him up, took off his
swaddle, removed his sleep positioner, and laid him down on his back
in the crib. I gave him a sound machine and he was still whining and
sobbing (he had been given tylenol) and even though I hate to hear him
cry, I collapsed on our bed in the other room with Tilly beside me and
I slept through his crying!!! I have never done anything like that!!!

Last night Duane brought home a monitor and we did put him in the
nursery for the night. Tilly will be moved tonight. He only woke up
twice from 9 to 7:30! Can you believe that? And sweet Duane- he felt
so sorry for me that he put the monitor on his side of the bed and he
was the one who got up with him.

My only worry is that now he is rolling to his stomach to sleep. The
peditricians office says that its normal at this age and not to roll
him back, but we worry because he rolls to his stomach better than his
back. So, we put him back in his sleep positioner for now. We woke up
once and he had wiggled out and still found his tummy, but his head
was nicely turned and his fists under his face so we left him alone.

The funny thing is I feel like I have went on a vacation from just one
night of sleep!