What a week this has been for sleep. The boys have started to really sleep good at night. They are still not close to sleeping through the night, but sleeping much better. Most nights they are going to bed between 8 and 9 at night. They they don't get up until some time between 2 and 4 in the morning for their one night feeding. Its so nice to only have to get up and feed them once in the middle of the night. In reality we are still not getting much sleep at night, but it sure feels like are getting tons of sleep.
The only problem is that they refuse to sleep in the morning. Even if they eat at 4 they still wake up early. Sometimes as early as 5:30, and if we are really lucky we might get them to sleep until 6:15. During the week this isn't too bad because I would normally get up at 6:30ish so its not too early for me. Its the weekends when it sucks. I try to be nice to Jamie and take care of the boys that early in the morning on the weekends, but sometimes, when they are both really cranky like this morning, Jamie ends up waking up to the crying and helping me feed them. Once they start sleeping through the night it won't be such a big deal to get up at 5:30, but right now its really tiring to have to wake up that early and have to jump right in to "calm the baby down" mode. Usually its Alex that wakes up, so like yesterday, I can rock him in the chair and give Kevin his nuk in the crib and they will both eventually fall back asleep until 7 or so. Hopefully not more than a couple of months and they will be sleeping through the night.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Chuggy is getting fuzzy
Its official Kevin has his first nickname...Chuggy. We don't really call him that all too often, but that's what I call him when he eats. He can down a 5 ounce bottle in about 10 minutes. When he finishes it he cries like he is still starving. So last night we tried upping his food to 6 ounces, and he was less of an angry baby when he finished 6 ounces, but he still seamed like he could have eaten more. Look at the recommendations you should start giving 6 ounces at 2 months, so we are about a week or so early on that, so we don't really want to go any more than 6 ounces right now. This morning I swear he spit up the whole 6th ounce so we are thinking that even if we started giving him more then he would just spit it up anyway.
Alex is still eating 5 ounces at a time, and that's a struggle to get him to eat it all sometimes. They are spitting up a lot less at random times now, but more seams to be coming up with the burps. At few of the last feedings Alex has spit up some much that there will be a puddle of partially digested formula in the burp rag, and if you don't get the burp rag there fast enough to catch the puddle then you get your entire shirt & pants covered in spit up (yes...I have done that a few times now ). Sometime he will spit up like that as much as 3 times per feeding. I'd say that I need to change MY clothes at least once every 3 feedings. But I guess the good part of the mass projectile spit up is that it rarely gets his clothes, and its much easier to change myself than it is to change him.
We have a doctor's appointment this Friday and we are going to talk to the doctor's about the spitting up. Hopefully the doctor's can tell us something that might help with it. Other than the spitting up they both are very healthy little boys. They are both growing very well. No idea how much they weigh now, but I can say that its enough that your arms start to get tired now when you hold them for too long ( especially Kevin ). Kevin is still the bigger of the two, but Alex is definitely catching up a little bit. As Alex grows and fills out he looks more like Kevin every day. In fact they are starting to look so similar that there are times that I need to look closely to tell which one is which.
In the last couple of days there is finally a good way to tell them apart with out too much work. Their hair is really starting to come back in. Kevin doesn't look like an old man anymore ( he had the bald top of the head with the hair going around the sides and back ). His dark hair is coming in and making the top of his head really fuzzy. Alex on the other hand is not looking quite as much like Lex Luther ( with his bald head ) as his blond hair is starting to come in. Since Alex's hair is so light you need to look real close to see it, but even from a distance his head doesn't look shiny anymore.
Alex is still eating 5 ounces at a time, and that's a struggle to get him to eat it all sometimes. They are spitting up a lot less at random times now, but more seams to be coming up with the burps. At few of the last feedings Alex has spit up some much that there will be a puddle of partially digested formula in the burp rag, and if you don't get the burp rag there fast enough to catch the puddle then you get your entire shirt & pants covered in spit up (yes...I have done that a few times now ). Sometime he will spit up like that as much as 3 times per feeding. I'd say that I need to change MY clothes at least once every 3 feedings. But I guess the good part of the mass projectile spit up is that it rarely gets his clothes, and its much easier to change myself than it is to change him.
We have a doctor's appointment this Friday and we are going to talk to the doctor's about the spitting up. Hopefully the doctor's can tell us something that might help with it. Other than the spitting up they both are very healthy little boys. They are both growing very well. No idea how much they weigh now, but I can say that its enough that your arms start to get tired now when you hold them for too long ( especially Kevin ). Kevin is still the bigger of the two, but Alex is definitely catching up a little bit. As Alex grows and fills out he looks more like Kevin every day. In fact they are starting to look so similar that there are times that I need to look closely to tell which one is which.
In the last couple of days there is finally a good way to tell them apart with out too much work. Their hair is really starting to come back in. Kevin doesn't look like an old man anymore ( he had the bald top of the head with the hair going around the sides and back ). His dark hair is coming in and making the top of his head really fuzzy. Alex on the other hand is not looking quite as much like Lex Luther ( with his bald head ) as his blond hair is starting to come in. Since Alex's hair is so light you need to look real close to see it, but even from a distance his head doesn't look shiny anymore.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Going out again
We went out for the first time last night since we had the boys, well actually pretty much since we found out Jamie was pregnant. Everybody kept saying that it was strange that I did not want to drink even though we were going out for my birthday. Boy I sure am glad I didn't drink at all. We had a good time...at some good food ( lineman's lunchbox ) and hung out and shot darts for awhile. By the time it got close to 11 PM we were both sooo tired that we had to go home or we were going to fall asleep at the bar. We missed the boys sooo much that even if we weren't that tired we may have called it an early night anyway. That was quite a long time past our bedtime so if I would have been drinking I don't think I could have made it that late, and I really don't think I would have been able to get up with the boys at night.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Jamie's SuperMom
Jamie has been pretty sick, running a fever and stuff, since yesterday afternoon. So that has left me as solo dad. I honestly don't know how she does it all day. Things are fine when the boys are sleeping, or when they are happy to just sit in your lap and talk to you. But I've only been doing the solo dad thing for one day and I'm ready to pull my hair out ( and that's not good cause I don't have that much to pull out ).
I guess the only time that it really got frustrating enough to pull my hair out was supper time last night. Kevin and Alex had decided that they wanted to get cranky at the same time. So it had been just 3 hours since their last feeding ( we are trying to go 4 hours between feedings now ), so I wanted to try to hold them off for a little while. Well they were going to have nothing to do with that. Its tough enough when one gets crabby at night, and nothing you do will calm them down. But you really feel bad when you got 2 that aren't happy and won't be no matter what you do. Normally when one gets crabby I can hold them ( laying on their side along my arm with their head in my elbow, and lightly patting their butt with my other hand ) and walk around for a minute or two and they will calm down. Then we rock on the chair and all is good. But I discovered rather quickly last night that with 2 of them in your arms their is just no way that you can hold them like that. And they don't especially like sharing the space on my chest when I try to hold them both while rocking. So I had to fall back to the one solution I knew would work and feed them early.
Really other than that one time it hasn't been too bad. But just the overall amount of work that you need to do when your by yourself is tiring. Alex is a pretty slow eater so from the time that one wakes up until the time you lay the second one back down is usually an hour and a half at night and two hours during the day. Then once they are laying down you have to watch them for a little while because they spit up so much. And with Alex insisting on eating every 3 hours by the time you get them all calmed back down and resting your lucky to get an hour before the process starts again. And Jamie does it well. Somehow she still manages to find time to do things around the house, like dishes and laundry and all the other stuff. She even got the bassinets all ready to go into storage yesterday. I don't know how she can do that. I'm gonna be lucky if can manage to get the dishes done today.
Edit: Now I know what keeps her going. Getting the boys up this morning was one of the greatest feelings. First there is that joyous feeling that you made it through the night ( or day in Jamie's case ) and the boys are still doing good. Then there is the smiles from Alex after you get him all changed and cleaned up for the day.
I guess the only time that it really got frustrating enough to pull my hair out was supper time last night. Kevin and Alex had decided that they wanted to get cranky at the same time. So it had been just 3 hours since their last feeding ( we are trying to go 4 hours between feedings now ), so I wanted to try to hold them off for a little while. Well they were going to have nothing to do with that. Its tough enough when one gets crabby at night, and nothing you do will calm them down. But you really feel bad when you got 2 that aren't happy and won't be no matter what you do. Normally when one gets crabby I can hold them ( laying on their side along my arm with their head in my elbow, and lightly patting their butt with my other hand ) and walk around for a minute or two and they will calm down. Then we rock on the chair and all is good. But I discovered rather quickly last night that with 2 of them in your arms their is just no way that you can hold them like that. And they don't especially like sharing the space on my chest when I try to hold them both while rocking. So I had to fall back to the one solution I knew would work and feed them early.
Really other than that one time it hasn't been too bad. But just the overall amount of work that you need to do when your by yourself is tiring. Alex is a pretty slow eater so from the time that one wakes up until the time you lay the second one back down is usually an hour and a half at night and two hours during the day. Then once they are laying down you have to watch them for a little while because they spit up so much. And with Alex insisting on eating every 3 hours by the time you get them all calmed back down and resting your lucky to get an hour before the process starts again. And Jamie does it well. Somehow she still manages to find time to do things around the house, like dishes and laundry and all the other stuff. She even got the bassinets all ready to go into storage yesterday. I don't know how she can do that. I'm gonna be lucky if can manage to get the dishes done today.
Edit: Now I know what keeps her going. Getting the boys up this morning was one of the greatest feelings. First there is that joyous feeling that you made it through the night ( or day in Jamie's case ) and the boys are still doing good. Then there is the smiles from Alex after you get him all changed and cleaned up for the day.
First Graduation
The boys made their first big graduation over the weekend. They have moved out of their bassinets and into the Cribs in the nursery.
We figured Alex would make the transition OK, but we were worried about how Kevin would do. Since Kevin would only sleep in the swing I was afraid I was going to have to put the swing in crib or something. But both of them are doing really good. We put them in the crib and of course they cry for a minute or two, but then its right to sleep.
I think they like being able to sleep next to each other. Instead of putting them each in their own crib, for now, we are letting them sleep together in one crib. We just put the little block that prevent them from rolling around in the crib and let them lie next to each other. Its pretty amusing because somehow Kevin always gets himself moved up above the block and turned on an angle. So his head is always nearly touching Alex's head.
EDIT: here's the promised picture...
They had been stretching out feedings from 4 hours to closer to 5 hours most of the time last week. Now that we put them in the crib they are only sleeping 3-4 hours at a time. Its only been a few days so I'm thinking this is just a transition period that they are going through.
It must be more light in the nursery than it was in our room though. As soon as the sun comes up in the morning Alex wakes up and crys until we get him up. Yesterday morning he at at 4:30 and by 6 he had decided it was time to get up. So we are going to have to make sure we get to bed a little bit earlier cause it seams like we are going to become "morning people" whether we like it or not.
We figured Alex would make the transition OK, but we were worried about how Kevin would do. Since Kevin would only sleep in the swing I was afraid I was going to have to put the swing in crib or something. But both of them are doing really good. We put them in the crib and of course they cry for a minute or two, but then its right to sleep.
I think they like being able to sleep next to each other. Instead of putting them each in their own crib, for now, we are letting them sleep together in one crib. We just put the little block that prevent them from rolling around in the crib and let them lie next to each other. Its pretty amusing because somehow Kevin always gets himself moved up above the block and turned on an angle. So his head is always nearly touching Alex's head.
EDIT: here's the promised picture...
They had been stretching out feedings from 4 hours to closer to 5 hours most of the time last week. Now that we put them in the crib they are only sleeping 3-4 hours at a time. Its only been a few days so I'm thinking this is just a transition period that they are going through.
It must be more light in the nursery than it was in our room though. As soon as the sun comes up in the morning Alex wakes up and crys until we get him up. Yesterday morning he at at 4:30 and by 6 he had decided it was time to get up. So we are going to have to make sure we get to bed a little bit earlier cause it seams like we are going to become "morning people" whether we like it or not.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Its shopping Day
Jamie's gonna go shopping today during the day. This will be the first time that the boys have stayed at someone else's house. They are going to go stay with Papa. I wonder how many scary memories it will bring back for him, taking care of twins again for the first time in 20 some years. Hopefully they like Nana and Papas house since this is where they will be going when Jamie goes back to work.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Brycen's Birthday Party
The boys got to experience Happy Joes for the first time today. Both boys just happily got passed around from person to person today. And they slept the whole time. Of course we've been home for a couple hours and they have been awake and fussy ever since. http://flickr.com/photos/edvedafi/tags/birthdaybrcyen3/
Happy First (Month) Birthday
Kevin and Alex are 1 month old today. I just can't believe that they are a month old already. It really feels like we have only had them for a week or two. I guess time really flies when your having fun. We'll post some 1 month old pictures later today (its also their cousin's birthday party today so we'll get some good pictures there ).
Friday, April 4, 2008
4 Weeks
Wow I can't believe its been 4 weeks already. It really feels like its been a few days.
Both boys are doing very good. We still go through stretches where they spit up a bit more than normal, but we also go through stretches where they don't spit up for a couple of days. Kevin is pretty consistently been eating about 4.5 ounces now. We were thinking of upping it to 5, but he seams content with 4 most of time, so I think we'll hold off just a little bit longer. Alex on the other hand is a picky little eater. It seams like the last couple of days he eats better for daddy than he does for mommy ( finally something that they like me more than mommy, usually when they are cranky they calm down a lot better for Jamie than they do for me ) . During the day the last few days, Jamie said Alex eats about 1-2 ounces for a lot of his feedings. But at night when I feed him he always eats at least 3 ounces, and most of the time he eats the full 4 ounce bottle.
Alex went through a little stretch last week where for a couple of days his poop was very dark green and the worst smell that I have ever smelt in my life. He was a little cranky during that time so I think he might have had a bit of a tummy ache, but all is back to normal with them now.
Kevin has started to occasionally pee through his diapers. They are still in newborn size, and we tried to go to 1s with Kevin, but they are still a little too big. It does seam like it is always either the generic brand or Luvs that he is peeing through, so until he gets just a little bit bigger we are going to make sure we keep using the Huggies on him.
Its amazing now to talk to the boys. In the last few days they have started to be a bit more awake and pay a little more attention to you. Up till now you could talk to them all you want, but never knew they were actually paying attention to you. Now you can sit and talk to them and actually hold their attention for a minute or two.
Well time to wrap this up so I can go to work...boy I hate going to work. I feel bad for Jamie having to stay home and take care of both all day, and I miss the boys so much every day.
Both boys are doing very good. We still go through stretches where they spit up a bit more than normal, but we also go through stretches where they don't spit up for a couple of days. Kevin is pretty consistently been eating about 4.5 ounces now. We were thinking of upping it to 5, but he seams content with 4 most of time, so I think we'll hold off just a little bit longer. Alex on the other hand is a picky little eater. It seams like the last couple of days he eats better for daddy than he does for mommy ( finally something that they like me more than mommy, usually when they are cranky they calm down a lot better for Jamie than they do for me ) . During the day the last few days, Jamie said Alex eats about 1-2 ounces for a lot of his feedings. But at night when I feed him he always eats at least 3 ounces, and most of the time he eats the full 4 ounce bottle.
Alex went through a little stretch last week where for a couple of days his poop was very dark green and the worst smell that I have ever smelt in my life. He was a little cranky during that time so I think he might have had a bit of a tummy ache, but all is back to normal with them now.
Kevin has started to occasionally pee through his diapers. They are still in newborn size, and we tried to go to 1s with Kevin, but they are still a little too big. It does seam like it is always either the generic brand or Luvs that he is peeing through, so until he gets just a little bit bigger we are going to make sure we keep using the Huggies on him.
Its amazing now to talk to the boys. In the last few days they have started to be a bit more awake and pay a little more attention to you. Up till now you could talk to them all you want, but never knew they were actually paying attention to you. Now you can sit and talk to them and actually hold their attention for a minute or two.
Well time to wrap this up so I can go to work...boy I hate going to work. I feel bad for Jamie having to stay home and take care of both all day, and I miss the boys so much every day.
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