Double Trouble

[buckeyegal]

Kelly--congrats! Sounds like you've been through a lot to get here, so enjoy every minute! Grab a glass of sparkling juice and read through our old posts. We have lots of tips about gear, etc. Good luck and we're glad you're here!

[baby2008]

Hello ladies ... sorry for disappearing from the board . I have a fight going on with these Iron supplements . I had terrible vomiting and heartburns and now i am all tired lying on couch with dark circles around my eyes.I am going to talk to my nurse abt it .
Thanx kimberly, buckeyegal for all the support . Kimberly I'll let u know abt the pillow. my husband's collegue had twins 2 yrs bk . She has a lot of twin stuff i guess ,which she was talking abt . Thanx so much for asking .
Kellym , hearty congratulations ..... I have been reading your posts all the time on the IVF board . U r such a brave woman. U will be a nice mom . Best wishes ....

[LauraLou]

Kelly- Congratulations!!! Twins are such a blessing!

Baby2008- Sorry you are not feeling well.

The boys went to the pedi yesterday for their 9 month checkup. They are 18 lbs and 28 inches long. I have been worrying about their weight gain but he said everything looks great! They are just tall and skinny babies. They are in the 50% for height but the 10% for weight. I wish I could say that!!!

Nicholas has finally started crawling, but it is this weird Army crawl thing that he does on his knees and forearms. I am not sure if he will ever do a regular crawl, as that puts his hands too far away from his mouth! I am worried he will warp his teeth because he sucks on his fingers all day and all night!

I call Jeremy "Attila the Hun baby" because he leaves a path of destruction where ever he goes. Who knew such a little thing could do so much damage?

[buckeyegal]

Laura--I can't wait to see pics of Atilla! Ellie should join him in his quest to destroy! ha ha! Good job on the checkup! They are skinny, aren't they? Those lucky guys! Braeden's the same way. I'm curious as to what our weights will be....YEAH FOR NICHOLAS!!!!! I'm glad he's moving! I'm sure he'll figure it all out very soon. It is funny how the hand can't venture too far from the mouth, huh? Please post another video soon...I'd love to see them in action!

baby2008...sorry to hear you've been feeling icky. Hope you're better soon. Sorry, did I just type "icky"? My vocabulary has changed this past year!!

Kelly--sorry I forgot to say earlier. I delivered at 36 weeks, 6 days. Pre-eclampsia hit me fast at the end. I'm only 5'4" and pretty short-waisted, so I guess it was bound to happen. Too much pressure on my body in the end. No NICU for our babies though, so that was good.

How are the rest of our expecting mommies doing? Haven't heard from you in a few days....faithandhope? Are you feeling okay?

[kellym]

Hi Ladies!

Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Can I ask a question about exercise? I don't yet have an appointment with my OB but wanted to know what your doctor's said about exercising.

Thanks!
Kelly

[kholtan]

Kellym~ About the purposeful movement in hopes of maintaining some overall tone and health. . .All my Dr.'s said it was fine as long as it was light and not over done but I tried to avoid it at all costs!!!!! Not because I wanted to get fat and flabby but solely because I hate it! I 'm not a fan of gyms, treadmills, or anything like that but I did stay very active and worked up until the day before I went on bedrest. My job was work enough since it was physical labor.

Laura! What a cute name for your babe! I wish the vidoe worked for me to see! I bet you are busier by the day chasing two little ones around now. Do they head opposite directions yet? Glad things are going so well. I understand about the weight. My little ones aren't even in the 1% for their corrected age! They still wear 0-3 month clothes and my little fella is light as a feather at 12.5 lbs. Annelise is probably close to 14 lbs. now but still she is so tiny but feels far more solid. Wish we all had this problem as an adult!

Kim~ Ellie and Annelise sound so much alike it's funny! She lives to eat and Bodie eats to live. I have been giving them prunes in an attempt to regulate their doops ( a new word my friend taught me who has 4 children!) and this morning we were welcomed by what looked like a prune BOMB!!!! Nice! Needless to say I hope that one day her brother will actually be big enough to stand up to her but for now she rules the roost!

Uh-oh!!!! Screaming babies from the crib~ Better run!
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

Kelly--I am a fan of the gym, and I worked out pretty regularly until about 30 weeks, when I went on a restricted work schedule (1/2 days--I'm a first grade teacher, so I honestly think that counts as exercise! ) I was allowed to do pretty much anything as long as I kept my heartrate under a certain number...I think it was 140? Double check that, to be sure! I did the elliptical, walked on the treadmill (I was too afraid to run....but I was allowed), biked, lifted weights, etc. I was just trying to stay in good shape so I didn't have too much weight to lose, and so I'd be fit to take care of the babies! Well, here I am 8 1/2 months later...still working out. Running lots, and I still have about 10 pounds that just won't go away. Good luck to you!

Kimberly--I swear it's that baby A thing. My Ellie can pound on her brother. She literally crawls over him to get to toys. I hope he moves better soon, so he can stick up for himself. I love the new word! Droop! I'm going to use that! Yeah, prunes will do that. I always have to convince myself that I"m feeding them chocolate when prunes are on the menu--I can't stand prunes.

bad news on our end today--We've had two rough nights of wakeups. Braeden's literally been waking every 2-3 hours. I'm assuming it's his teeth, but we've also recently taken away his sleepsack. Well, at 3:30 am last night, I decided to put it back on him, and VOILA! Sleep! go figure. I hope he sleeps tonight.....Now to make matters worse (keep in mind I"m sleep deprived.) ELLIE ROLLED OFF THE CHANGING TABLE THIS MORNING!!!!! I literally was right there, but I turned my head for a second to grab a drool bib. The girl is fast, I know, but I was freaked out! My DH ran her over to the ped to be checked out, and she's fine. Thank god! I'm going to be even more paranoid than ever now....she's got a little bump on her forehead. Thank goodness their heads are still soft at this age.

[kholtan]

Kim~ Two nights with no sleep!!! AGHGH! Sleep over here isn't as good as it once was either. Annelise still power sleeps although she randomly gets up after 8-10 hours to eat. She goes right back down for another 2-4 hours and I swear it makes me love her more every day! Bodie, however, gets up every 3 hours like clock work now days. What kills me is that is his schedule ALL day and night. It's very "babywise" of him but according to the book he should be an all night sleeper at this point. I would quit feeding him at night but lets be honest. . .He is a peanut and his size makes me want to feed him whenever he is willing to eat. What to do???? any suggestions??

So sorry to hear Ellie rolled off the changing table. I know it's hard to stomach but I think it eventually happens to us all. When I was a nanny their beautiful 6 month old baby girl was sitting on my lap facing me at the Pediatricians office and all the sudden she THRUST her body backwards and flew onto the floor head first! It was only about 2-3' down but it left a HUGE goose egg on her eyebrow. Thank god the nurse saw her do it or I would have about died wondering if anyone thought I beat her! That child is 16 and I still feel guilty about it! Ellie sounds like a tough cookie and I'm sure she has already forgotten about it.

Take care~
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

Kimberly--bodie still gets up every 3 hours? I would have lost my mind by now.....I don't blame you about wanting to plump him up. What does your ped say? I do remember hearing something about when babies are around 10-12 pounds, they're usually ready to sleep through the night. (BTW--that's how big mine were around 11 weeks, so it made sense to me that they slept through then.) Maybe his time is coming? Do you think he's just trying to spend time with you? I would think by now he'd be ready, but I hear about babies all the time who still wake at this age. I guess I was a lucky one. Good luck to you!

Thanks for your words about Ellie. I know I took it harder than she did. I felt so guilty, even though I really don't think I could have prevented it? She's been cranky most of today, but her head is fine.

I'm hoping I get some sleep tonight. If LOST weren't on TV, I'd be in bed now!

By the way--Are you gals getting e-mail notification when someone posts? Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. What's up with that?

[kholtan]

Kim~ I hear ya about the losing my mind over sleep thing! Bodie use to go at least 5 hours before waking up but after he had the 2 months of misery he has got up every 3, 4-5 on a great night. He is very little and I am hoping the meat on his bones will help us out a lot.
Our Pediatrician says the kids are both gaining appropriately for their birth size and that both charts are showing slow steady progress. They actually follow one of the lines on the chart perfectly so I'm not worried about it but they are very little. Annelise has such chubby cheeks that it fools us until we get her ready for her bath. What is really funny is Anna actually looks like she has a six pack for abs. That girl is sturdy for how small she is and SO strong. Her brother better watch out!
As far as him wanting to spend time with me, maybe the total of about 10 hours of his life he has spent without me traumatized him something fierce! Who knows but we do actually get a lot of one-on-one time with our chldren since I don't force them to have the same nap schedule. We'll see what happens. All I know is Annelise and her power sleeping is WONDERFUL!!!!!! 12 hours last night like clock work!

Today I am going to be my niece Nicoles' hair model! I am scared as heck! She is interviewing for a job at a salon and needed someone to cut and color. It is free so I am saving $150.00 (YIPPEEE) but I am very nervous about people screwing up my hair. Hopefully I don't lose all my hair or something today! Wish me luck! Maybe I'll take a picture and post the before and after. I know it will grow back and it's just hair but it's my hair! AGHGHGH!

Have a great day everyone!
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

Kimberly--Braeden has those awesome abs too! Lucky little stinker. I'm not sure if Ellie will ever find her abs. She's sooo chunky! I love her that way, though.

The reason I mentioned the "attention" is that my girlfriends little one was waking up at night to "feed" (she's bfing), but she figured out that he was just wanting to cuddle with her bb's. (go figure---a boob man). My cousin also had the same prob with her little guy. I was just wondering if bodie was doing the same thing.?

btw--you are very nice to your twins to let them nap when they want....I have to keep mine on a "similar" schedule over here...only for my sanity!

[kholtan]

Kim~ You crack me up! The little fella may be a boob man. Never thought of that. Next week I'm going to bust out the pack-n-play in the office and let him scream it out a few night in a row and see if he still wants to get up. We are taking friends to the mountains w/ us this weekend so he's lucky until Monday!

As far as napping goes, they are usually the same in the morning and mid day but by the last two naps it's helter skelter! It helps give me one-on-one time so I don't mind too much. They crack me up! Today the little fella has figured out that he can shake a rattle within inches of it's life! He just goes crazy w/ it! It's hilarious!!!! Gotta love them!

Better run since we are leaving VERY early tomorrow. I'm short on sleep as it is but to have to be ready and packed by 7 am might put me under!

Have a great weekend everyone!
Kimberly

[tolbee]

Hi Everyone,
I've been a frequent visitor to the thread but finally I've decided to post! We went through a round of IVF in June 05 which resulted in our beautiful DS. We tried FET last June and I gave birth to my b/g twin on 2/11/08 at 35th week. Both twins came home after 8 days at the special care nursery.
I am seeking advice on how to get through this crazy first few months. Luckily, my Mom is here for a couple of months and she's been caring for the twins during the day while I nap. I am in charge of the night shift. My DH is in charge of caring for our toddler as he is having a hard time coping with the changes (he wakes up constantly and extra cranky due to lack of sleep).
Despite the nap, I am exhausted and overwhelemed. The shifts in hormone aren't helping, either, and I am not enjoying our family as I should.
How did you guys manage? Did you care for the twins by yourselves at night or did your DH help out?

Thanks in advance!

Tolbee

[buckeyegal]

Tolbee--congratulations! Those first two months were very tiring for sure, but be assured, it DOES GET BETTER! Are you bfing? If so, that does put more pressure on you. If you're bottle feeding, then it's a bit easier to share shifts.

We have lots of family in town, so we had "someone" (my mom, his mom, step-mom, sisters, etc.) stay with us every night for the first 2-3 weeks. My DH runs his own business, so he really couldn't take time off work...he needed some sleep in order to be half-way productive. Those first weeks, I was up every feed (since I was bfing). I would just nap when I could. (I have to admit, I"m not a good napper, and I barely slept towards the end of my pregnancy, so I was very well-trained for no sleep! ) Our helper and my DH would take turns helping me on those night feeds. By about 6 weeks, we were only waking once at night, so then it wasn't so bad for DH to get up with me. (He had to bottle feed/supplement the baby I just finished bfing). By 11 weeks, they were sleeping through the night WHICH SAVED OUR LIVES! I swear, once they sleep through, it does change things. We were also weaning them at that point too, and going to bottles made our lives more enjoyable. But that was just what we had to do. I know many people bf twins just fine.

Your babes are still so young, and it's going to be hairy for a while. Have you read the book "BABYWISE"? It was very helpful to me, because it helped me get the babies on a schedule. I know it's not for everyone, but it might be worth looking at for you?

I remember that hormone shift. I cried nearly every day for the first couple of weeks. Not because I was unhappy, but because I was tired, my body was doing crazy things, and it was really overwhelming. But, I promise, it DOES get better! You are very lucky to have your mom with you. But, I do feel for you--I can't imagine having a toddler to care for too...he's got to be feeling overwhelmed. Hang in there. We're here for you. Maybe the girls who've delivered more recently might have some timely advice for you?

Oh, I just remembered....I made it a point to get myself out of the house at least for 15 minutes every day. Sometimes I walked the dog, other times I ran to the store, or I just sat on our front porch. It was my little way of getting "me" back. And that's very important. You have to take care of yourself if you're going to take care of your babies.

Good luck!

[tolbee]

Thank you Kim!
I broke down the day before yesterday partly due to my hormone but mainly from the fatigue. It is reassureing though to know that I am not the only one who is going through or has gone through these tough days...
I am looking forward to hitting the 10th week mark then. But I imagine they will be awake more in between feedings. For now they tend to sleep more. The challange then would be what to do when both of them are awake and need the attention at the same time.
My toddler is going through a very tough time adjusting to the new situation so I need to focus on him as well.
It is harder than I imagined and I did expect it to be tough. I am very lucky to have my Mom here with me until the end of April. Hopefully by the time she leaves, the twins will be sleeping through the night.
I am pumping and bfding a little. I have issues with milk supply and I had problem with feeding DS as well. To be honest, I don't know how I can produce enough milk for two babies when I couldn't even feed one baby previously. I don't know how long I can endure pumping and we'll see how it goes. I am taking all sorts of herbs and a medication to increase my supply. This is also adding stress to me.
Anyway, thank you for your reply!

Tolbee