Double Trouble

[buckeyegal]

Hi galsl,

Di--Glad to hear the kiddos are doing well! IT is amazing how different the babies' personalities are, huh? ellie is my laid back one while Braeden is the fussy one--always has gas...poor guy!

Kimberly--Oh, you poor thing. At least you'll get it all fixed before the babes come! We had to have our a/c fixed last week....once it got really hot the system just couldn't keep up!

Laura--So sorry to hear about the fusiness...could it be colic? I don't know much about colic...just that I dont' want my kiddos to get it. I hope they calm down more tonight.

As for us, things are pretty good. Both babies went 4 hours between feeds TWICE last night! Yeah! Ellie is getting really big, while her bro is trying to catch up. He's a bit smaller and lankier....I sure hope he catches up! We're going to have quite a bruiser here with Ellie! I'm winding down my helpers now. To be honest, I just want my house back! So, I"m trying to figure out how to single handedly deal with feedings during the day. DH can help at night, but during the day I"ll be on my own. I can manage to breast feed both at the same time...as long as Ellie doesn't decide to jump ship and refuse (which she has been known to do occassionally!). I just haven't figured how to deal with the supplelment bottles by myself. Any advice gals? Would love to hear how you're doing it!

take care gals...I hope we're sleeping a little more tonight!

[Macca8]

Hi ladies,

Good to see everyone is doing well with their new babies. I had a 4D scan this week and the babies are doing great. They were "spooning" each other, so cute. They are boys. I was told that at my 20 week scan but wanted to have 2nd opinion before believing it. We are delighted and hubby already has a list of sports he wants to enlist them to do..god help them.

Kimberly,
I have Carpal Tunnel Sydrome too. The blood vessels in the wrists swell at night and cause a stiffness/numbness in the fingers and sometimes down the arm. Mine tends to ease up after noon but on occasion been there the whole day. The midwife promised me that it would disappear within 2 weeks of having the babies if not before.
I also have SPD which is a problem with the pelvis where it has opened too much and causes some pain at night when I am lying down or when I sit too long. I have it mildly but I believe some ladies are on crutches for it. Thank god that's not happened.

Lisa XXX

Lisa XXX

[kholtan]

Hey Mommies! Hope all is well! Things seem to be on the up and up here! At least we have water and a/c now!! It's the little things that make ya smile!

Kim~ I totally understand when you say you want your house back. I'm actually pretty worried that the invasion of poeple will drive me nuts! I keep having people say they would love to stay with us for the first few weeks but I don't think I can do that. I am VERY picky about my house and I keep an insanely clean place for the most part and all the people I'm afraid will make me feel like I need to be constantly cleaning. I'm a little worried!!! You seem to be doing great! I'm sure the bottle thing will work itself out for you soon!

Lisa~ Sorry to hear about the CTS and SPD. It was suggestedby some women that I had CTS but my OB said it is just poor circulation. It is a little challenging to deal with but I'm working around it. Hope things get better for you. Thank goodness you aren't on crutches like you mentioned. That would be so hard.

Laura~ Sorry the babies have the fussies! It can't be easy when they just can't get content. Hopefully this week is bringing you more peaceful nights and days!

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping cool. It's going to be over 100 degrees here for the next 7 days!!! AGHGHGH!!!! I'm glad I work inside for the most part.

Take care and keep cool!
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

Kimberly....a little unsolicited advice for ya....take the help, cause you'll need it. I know it's hard to have people in your house (they're still coming to mine--I just can't seem to juggle two feedings simultaneously yet!), but when you have 2 screaming babies you'll appreciate another set of hands to help out. As for a clean house, I used to be that way! I still clean a little bit each day, but my standards are changing very quickly! Just be prepared...

[kholtan]

Kim~
Thanks for the advice. It actually holds alot more meaning coming from someone who has been there. It's going to be so challenging for me. It's funny but because of all my infant care work I use to do, I feel pretty confident about the everyday care of babies but letting go of some of my neurotic habits scares me to death! I use to put the plastic headbands back on my dolls after playing with them to keep their hair nice as a kid. If that doesn't say it all!!!!
I really do appreciate your advice and I'm sure I will have to learn fast. The other thing is that we have decided these will be our only children and I'm so scared of giving my time with them up to others. I feel like if I miss any moment I know it's gone forever. I guess we all struggle with different issues other than getting pg. Thanks so much Kim!
Take care~
Kimberly

[Malinka]

ladies I have a question about weight gain. What was optimal weight that your doctor adviced to you gain thru out a pregnancy? I am 15 weeks pregnant w twins and I am not gaining any wait at all I started as 115, was 113-115 my 1st threemester and now I am 116-117lb.
I am reading a book, by dr Barbara LUke( this book received great reviews) and she is sayng by week 15 the optimal weight with my body mass Index is a gain of 10+ lb. I am freaking out....
meanwhile i am eating normally, no junk food at all. Any input would be appreciated! Thanks

[kholtan]

I understand totally!!! I only gained 1 lb in my first four+ months. Then by the end of month 5 I had only gained a total of 3 lbs. Right now I am 27+ weeks and have finally gained a total of 16 lbs. I was really concerned at first but now my OB has me relaxed and he estimates I will only gain a total of 30 lbs. He said from the start I needed to gain 35-45 lbs. but the babies are healthy and I eat well so the reality is I'm just not going to get that much weight. As long as everything if going well I'm fine with that.

Don't worry so much over it becuase all our bodies are so different. It's more important that we are eating well and taking care of ourselves.
Good luck!
Kimberly

[LauraLou]

Malinka- throw out the Barbara Luke book!!! All it does is make you feel bad. I didn't gain much weight at all until the very end of my pregnancy. I lost weight my 1st trimester, only gained a couple of lbs in my 2nd, but in my 3rd I put on enough to get me to a total of 35 lbs, though some of that was fluid. The boys were 4lbs & 4lbs 13oz at 35 weeks.

If I followed the Luke book, I would have had to eat McDonald's milk shakes everyday of my pregnancy to gain all that weight. Can't think that would be very healthy for me or the babies.

As long as your babies are growing and on target for their gestational age, you are doing fine. I stopped reading books about twin pregnancies or raising twins because they stressed me out.

Sorry I haven't posted much lately the the boys are making me nuts! I can't believe that I ended up with not one but two colicky babies. I am so grateful to have them but wish I could fast forward 2 months and be done with this. They cry for hours and nothing makes they happy. It is really wearing me down. My mother said she has never seen such difficult babies in her life.

I sat in bed last night holding crying babies with tears running down my face. DH said "Well, you were the one who wanted them. Didn't you know it would be like this?" If I hadn't had two babies in my arms I would have smacked him hard. Luckily he apologized later.

They turned two months today and have gotten so big. They go on Tuesday for their 2 month appt and shots. I am anxious to see how much they weigh but not for the shots. Will probably make them cry even more!

I hope everyone is doing well. I have been so busy I haven't taken any picture lately. When I do, I will post them.

Laura

[buckeyegal]

Laura--Your DH is a brave fool for saying that to you! I"m glad he apologized. I know how hard it is with two babies, let alone two colicky ones. I agree with you--I am so blessed to have them, but it IS hard. I still have to have a helper (either grandmas or aunts or friends) over every day when DH is working to help me with the feedings. And Braeden is getting fussier every day. HE doesn't have colic, but even his crying is enough to send me over the edge some days. I sure hope it gets better for you! I'm sending prayers your way....

Malinka--I wish I had had your problem. I gained weight right away with the IVF drugs and kept gaining consistently. Although, people were always amazed that I was carrying 2 babies, as I looked like I was only having one. Despite that fact, I still gained between 45 and 50 pounds. YIkes! Don't worry about the scale, though. After your babies are born, your body will shed the weight pretty quickly. I still want to lose another 10-15 pounds, but I think my boobs alone weigh 10 each with all this milk! Good luck to you!

Girls....I think I might have found a possible "solution" to my feeding problem....I"m now doing the alternating feeding schedule. And I found these cool PODEE bottles that have long straws in them. Both Braeden and Ellie can eat out of these bottles without me actually having to hold the bottle in their mouth for them. They're harder to suck out of than regular stage 1 bottles, but I think they have a lot of potential in helping me feed two babies at one time! I'm still waiting on advice from you experienced gals out theree....however, I think you're just as busy as me feedingyour little ones!

We did have our 1 month check up yesterday...both babies are doing great! I can't believe they are a month old already! Ellie weighs 7 lbs, 11 oz. and Braeden weighs 7 lbs, 3 oz. They're eating like champs!

I hope the rest of you are well. I can't wait to hear about our next arrivals!

[LauraLou]

Kim- I have one of those bottles you're talking about. I haven't tried it yet as I wasn't sure they could suck that hard but may try it if it's working for you.

I feed the babies separately. I give one a bottle and change him, which takes about 1/2 hr. Then I do the other one. It takes about an hour to do both, which is hard in the middle of the night, but I can't manage both at once. I've tried putting them in their bouncy seats and feeding them at the same time, but it doesn't work well for me. Nicholas spits up a lot and needs to burp often, so it's too hard to do that at the same time as feeding Jeremy.

[buckeyegal]

Laura--Yeah, it's definitely harder for them to suck out of the podee bottle. We're using it about once a day right now, so we can work up the strength. Plus, we actually put an easier nipple on it, which seems to help. Good luck!

By the way, it sounds like bottle feeding the way you are is a fairly quick process....breastfeeding is taking me at least 40 minutes....ugh.

[Malinka]

Girls thank you so much for your input! YOu made me feel MUCH better.

Laura did you try dill water? I think they have it prepared in a pharmacy. Some say it helps prevent colics, maybe this will help?

[kholtan]

Good morning Mommies! I hope everyone is doing well and the babies are peacefully sleeping or at least not crying. It sounds like we have some fussy little ones out there. I'm sending all the happy, smiling, content vibes I can your way mommies!

Laura~ When I read your post I had to laugh out loud. My sweet DH has made the mistake of saying a few things while I have been pg that almost left me speechless. I recently made the comment that one afternoon after he left I just started crying because I felt overwhelmed by all that is left to do and how little time I had to do it. His reply was something like "You should have been more prepared and thought about this more before you forced us to do IVF." I about fell off my feet! Literally, I looked at him and simply said "I need to leave for a while before I say something I will regret." He didn't mean it how he said it but his choice of words was ill at best. I think that no matter how long you plan for this and no matter how many babies you have lost along the way, you are never 100% ready for what lies ahead. I'm glad he appologized and also glad you shared your moment. I can this happening to me in my very near future!
I hope the boys get over their colic soon. My nephew had that for about 3 months and it was so hard. Does anything soothe them? For my nephew, a bath settled him down for a while. He must have had 3 a day for a while!
Just be sure to be taking care of yourself as well. No matter how hard it is give yourself a few minutes every day. No baby ever died from crying. As a nanny, there were moments that I simply had to put the baby in the crib, walk outside and take a few minutes to unleash the few untapped nerves I had left. The boys are lucky to have you. Take care and good luck!

Kim~ Sounds like you have found a magic device! Did you get if off the internet? Feeding seems to be getting a lot easier for you. YEAH! Now if little Mr. Braeden would cheer up! At least it's just one of them right now. The weights of the babies sound great! Are they still in preemie clothes or are they in 0-3 months now? I'm trying to figure out what I will need and how many. I hope all conitinues to get better and better.

Quick question for the new mommies. . . my baby shower is coming up and I was just wondering if there is anything that you think is a MUST have on the registery? It's on the 28th and I would love the opinions of those with experience. Just curious but totally appreciate your input.

Have a great day ladies and take care everyone!
Kimberly

[LauraLou]

Kimberly- I can tell you what I've found most helpful, though your babies may be different.

The best gifts I got were the 2 bouncie seats. I don't know what I would do without them. I put them in the seats a lot during the day, otherwise they would have to lay down all the time. The seats vibrate which they love and they will nap for several hours in them.

My boys don't like their swings. Thank goodness I got them free from friends or I would be upset that I spent the money on them.

I love the Diaper Genie 2. It contains the smell really well. The only downside is the refills are expensive.

The Dr Browns bottles work best for us. Because the boys came early, they didn't have a very strong suck reflex. They couldn't get any milk out of the Vent Air bottles, it was too hard to suck. The Avent, Soothie and regular Playtex bottles came out too fast and the milk just ran out of their mouths.

If you do use the Dr Browns, get some of those dishwasher baskets to wash all the parts. Dr Browns have these straw things to reduce gas and they are a pain to wash by hand. If you use the dishwasher baskets, it makes it much easier. I bought 18 bottles and run my dishwasher every night, and never have to hand wash bottles. I know it sounds like a lot but 8 feedings a day x 2 babies is 16 bottles. Also get a couple of bottle drying racks because the bottles are still damp when you take them out of the dishwasher. You can get all this at Target.

Don't get too many clothes, as they grow really quickly. I have some preemie outfits they only wore once. I really like Dreft to wash their clothes. I like the Pampers newborn diapers much better than the Huggies. The Huggies diapers didn't fit tight around their legs and they leaked everywhere. Never have that problem with Pampers. I also like the Pampers wipes better. The Huggies wipes stick together and you end up pulling out 3-4 wipes at a time, which gets expensive.

I have two strollers. One is Double Snap & Go which holds two carsears. It's so convenient not to have to take them out of their carseats when making quick trips to the store, etc. The other stroller is a side by side stroller from Baby Planet. It has good sun canapies, a nice padded handle and the seats recline, so you can use it with newborns. I use this for walks in the neighborhood and trips to the mall, when I don't want to leave them in their carseats. This stroller will also work when they are toddlers. The Snap & Go was only $100 while the other was about $300. DH thought it was silly to have 2 strollers but it makes life much easier.

If there is a Carter's store near you, they have good stuff. Their baby towels and blankets are nice, as are their bibs. Most of the boys clothes are also from there. They have lots of sales and you can get cute outfits for $5-7.

The boys are waking up, so I need to run.

Laura

[buckeyegal]

Laura--You had great advice for Kimberly...I agree on most things! Bouncy seats have been a lifesaver. My babies actually like the swing, but I only got one. That's all I think we need. The Snap n go is great for us too! That's the only stroller we've used so far. WE do have a side by side, but we haven't even put it together yet. The POdee bottle is a definite thing to try. We got ours at Baby's R us. I haven't tried the Dr. Brown's bottles yet, but I think I might have to go get some!!!!

Other life savers:

Lots of little bibs for spit up--Target has some good ones
I did get some preemie clothes...very needed for those first 2 weeks, but no longer fit.
Swaddling blankets--can't have too many as they spit up on everything!
Gerber actually makes small newborn onesies--good for little ones! Most other onesies were too big for my babes--until now.

We actually got the diaper champ, and we love it. Plus you don't have to buy special bags. Totally agree with Laura about the pampers swaddlers...great fit! My babies are almost too big for them now, and NOW the huggies work well for us.

Hope this helps! I'd love to give more advice but it's feeding time! Again!