20 months (almost)

So wow. I have not posted in FOREVER! I'd like to give a shout out to my father-in-law Larry Chaplin for impressing upon me the importance of keeping up this blog;) Mainly I think he just wants to see pictures of the girls, but that's ok I guess.....hahaha.

The twins will be 20 months old on December 5. I can hardly believe it! Time really is flying now. I can't say the same for last year at this time though haha. Its funny though, because I can't really remember much of last year. I think thats how it is for the first year with twins. When people ask me how it is having twins I say "easier now." But honestly you couldn't pay me enough to redo that first year. Unless of course it was enough money to hire a full time nanny!  We made it though, and are finally getting to the part where twins are fun, as so many people had promised us.

Gosh, I don't even know where to start! Its been almost a year since my last post!

Miss Norah is in preschool now. She goes to Holy Trinity Catholic School's 3 year old preschool program. She absolutely loves it and so do we! She has a small class of 9 kids and a really great teacher. She has blossomed socially since she started going and easily makes friends with kids. She used to be pretty shy around people she didn't know. When we go to the mall play place or the park she is generally the one leading around a small group of kids. That's my girl ;) She turned 4 October 29 and has the attitude to prove it. Wow does the girl have spirit! But I love that about her, it makes her who she is and she will do great things some day. She is an excellent big sister...for the most part ;) We have to do a lot of reminding to be gentle and to play nice and to not yell at her sisters. But she has taught them so many things. I honestly don't think they would be where they are without her influence. They absolutely love her and look to her to direct their play. Almost all day they pretend different things...usually they are all puppies. Or Norah is the kid, Vivian is the dad and Mary is the mom. Mary also likes to pretend to be an angry kitten. Its funny how the second/third kids start pretending so much earlier because of the older siblings example. Norah didn't start pretend play until 2.5-3 if I remember right, which I probably don't haha. Norah can also tell the twins apart now. She says "just look at their faces!" Katie was babysitting them the other day and she was getting who she thought was Mary out of the bathtub but Norah said no, that's Vivian! And turns out she was right. She knows I think because they spend so much time together playing. She also told Bekah she can tell them apart because Vivian is "the mean one who yells all the time." Which is partially true lol.

The feisty pirate princess

Speaking of Vivian Lee, she is so hilarious. I feel like she will be the one who will be in plays and  drama/acting. She LOVES to get a laugh and you can tell when she knows she is getting attention because she will stick out her tongue and smile and keep looking over her shoulder. She also gets more mad than sad. Mary just gets sad and cries but if things don't go Vivian's way she gets MAD. She will scream and lay on the floor and have a little tantrum. She will also hold a grudge for quite a long time for a 20 month old! Her and Norah tend to fight more than Norah and Mary. And in a twin fight Vivian usually comes out on top. Mary just seems to want to get along and tries to talk to Vivian but most times Vivian doesn't want anything to do with it. They are starting to have more sweet twin connections but for the most part its a lot of yelling and tears. They fight over me all the time, and who gets to sit on my lap. But if they are both sitting there they get annoyed with the other one and start pushing each other. Its pretty hilarious but I try not to encourage it as I'm sure it won't be cute for much longer ;) The other day though another baby (Isaac, I'm looking at you!) took a toy from Mary and she got sad and started crying. Vivian was watching the whole thing and first offered her pizza crust to Mary and then walked over and got down in her face and babbled something that I think was supposed to be comforting. It was pretty adorable.

Cheesy face Vivs

Vivian is a very good eater. She will eat pretty much whatever I give her. Which is probably why she outweighs Mary by a pound now! And is also slightly taller. She has always been the bigger of the two but it is becoming more apparent now. I don't know their exact weights but I'm guessing Vivian is around 19 pounds and Mary is around 18 pounds.

They both sleep really well. Down around 730 PM and up around 830 AM. No more night wakings to nurse!! I am feeling SO AMAZING with all the sleep I've been getting. So good in fact that I have been sacrificing sleep time for kid free time and staying up late. No regrets...the peace and quiet is WORTH IT. No one asking for snacks or fighting, or asking me to "read a buhhp (book)!" They also take a 1.5-2 hour nap daily. Love them for that haha. They do like their sleep. Still separate cribs in the same room. They usually talk/laugh for awhile before falling asleep and talk when they wake up in the morning. I just started putting blankets in their cribs a month or so ago and they love them. I had nothing in there for the longest time because I was so paranoid about SIDS. They just cuddle right up. But they do have a specific way they like to be tucked in and this is what happened the first time daddy put them to bed with their blankets....

I'm supposed to be on my tummy daddy....V

And what is this baby doing on my chest!?!?! M

Mary Ivory is a lot more sensitive than Vivian. She notices more things and is WAY more attached to mama. They both love me of course, but Mary notices when I leave especially when we are in a new place. She just wants to get along with people. She is more apt than Vivian to go along with whatever Norah wants to do. But don't let that fool you, she does have a quiet stubbornness about her...I blame it on her daddy who is the most stubborn person I've ever met;) She loves to give Vivian kisses and I think she wishes they talked more. She gets sad when Vivian takes something from her but doesn't get mad like Vivian does. They do have some pretty good fights though. She is straight up the pickiest eater ever! She makes me so crazy! I try everything. But she will study it and then look at me and say "no." Very distinctly. She also tells me every time she poops ("poop, poop, mama, poop") and is very upset about it until I change her. I'm so happy about that...because as soon as they turn 2 I'm gonna potty train them. Norah was an absolute nightmare to potty train and so I'm determined to do better with the twins! Vivian will sometimes tell me if she's poopy but she is definitely not as reliable as Mary. Its funny though because they will tell me they have poop and then I say oh you have poop? And they say no, no poop. But they really are. Silly girls. Their fave thing to say while changing their diapers is "no poop!" if there is none and "all gone poop!" if there was some.

Sweet Mary Ivory

They are still nursing 3 times per day. I have limited it to before bed, when they wake up in the morning and before their nap. Because it turns into a WWE match if they are too awake for it! They push, shove, kick, try to steal each other's side, you name it. Nursing twin toddlers is not as sweet and relaxing as nursing one toddler haha. I would nurse them separately but that is not allowed...what one twin does the other must do as well.

They absolutely love Kyle. When he comes home they both run to the door yelling "daddy daddy daddy dada dada" and cry if he doesn't pick them up right away. Which he definitely does not mind. Vivian will go to him or me interchangeably. Mary still prefers me.

They love their baths and are always asking for "bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!"

Their current musical obsession is the Okee Dokee brothers. They could watch their music vids on  youtube all day. Its the magic cure to whatever is making them sad. And I actually love the music too so its a win win for all!

They call Norah "Norna," and that is the first thing they say when they wake up in the morning or from their nap. They get sad when she is at school. They call Java "good girl." Never Java, just good girl. Its adorable.

Favorite foods include clif bars, chicken (preferably from chick fil a), yogurt, frozen peas, any kind of fruit, and of course BREAD. What is it with kids and bread.

Vivian the pumpkin, Mary the monkey, Norah the pirate princess

In other unrelated to children news...Kyle and I went away at the end of October for the first time since the twins! We had a great weekend in Minneapolis/St Paul hanging out with friends and enjoying the adult life without children ;)

We look pretty darn good for having 3 kids, right? Right?!?!?!

Also in other news I am starting a new job tomorrow! I took at job at Wesley Acres working on their skilled unit. I am very sad to leave hospice, but was needing more hours than were available there. I am still staying at Taylor House PRN and hope to pick up a shift at least once a month! I will be working every other weekend at Wesley Acres as well as some extra evening shifts during the week. I think it will be good for all of us, especially me and my sanity ;) I have found that I am a much better mom when I can get out and be an adult from time to time!

Well, I hope that covers it...I mean it really probably barely scratches the surface of the past 11 months but there is a quick snapshot! 

Wishing everyone peace joy and love this holiday season!!

I wish Kyle was in this picture too...:( Also I'll be honest and say I'm not completely certain which twin is which. Oops;)

9 months

9 months??? What??!?!!?  I seriously cannot believe it. Actually they will be 10 months on February 5!

Mary left Vivian right

Here's a breakdown of their main habits. In case anyone is interested. If you aren't, I totally get it;)

Sleeping

Vivian likes her sleep more than Mary. They both *usually* take a 2-3 hour nap in the AM, roughly 2 hours after they wake up for the day. Mary sometimes likes to live life on the edge and cut this down to 45 minutes. Not cool. I LIVE for that morning nap time. I usually just relax and catch up on emails or take a nap while Norah watches a movie or catch up on laundry/cleaning. So it really cramps my style when Mary decides to not sleep;)

Then they will take another 45-60 minute nap about 2-2.5 hours after they wake up from their morning nap. I like them to be awake by 4 or else we have trouble going down for bed.

Their bedtime has been pushed back to 630 or sometimes 7 depending on the day instead of 6 or 615. They go down very nicely usually and wake up 2-3 times. We visited Grandma and Grandpa Chaplin this past weekend and they slept TERRIBLY. They knew it was not home. Mary slept worse than Vivian, her personality is more intense than Vivian's and she just couldn't settle in as well.

If one wakes up then I automatically wake the other. Its just easier that way. Mary is usually the one who wakes up. They sleep in separate cribs now in the upstairs attic/loft bedroom. I have rearranged my house literally 5 times since the twins came home and I think I finally have the perfect set up!! Kyle says that it better be what I want because he's not taking the cribs apart again;)

Eating

Messy mary

They both still get the majority of their nutrition from breastfeeding. A couple months ago they started refusing bottles when I go to work. So now they get breastmilk in a sippy cup when I'm at work. Mary usually flat out refuses it, but Vivian will drink it down;) They nurse probably 8-10 times per day. Or more depending on how fussy they are. Sticking it out and nursing them was the BEST thing that I have done. Its so easy now to nurse them and they are so healthy!! I know that its breastfeeding that has played the biggest part in that. 

Vivian is a little neater

We started solids in January when they were 9 months actual age, 6 months adjusted. They do pretty well with them. When we started out they did not like any chunks, it had to be completely smooth. I never fed Norah purees but did more baby led weaning, so this has been all new to me! Lately they have started doing better with tiny pieces of cooked veggies, etc. 

Mommy how dare you laugh at me!!!!

One of Vivian's favorite foods so far is hummus. Go figure. Mary wants nothing to do with it. They both love greek yogurt. They like avocado but only if its spiced up with some garlic powder and salt. Can't blame them! They love bananas, and a lot of times I will puree a banana with a hardboiled egg yolk so they get some protein/fat with the banana. Mary also loves fresh spinach pureed with a banana. Vivian does not like it. They don't quite have the motor skills to pick up small pieces yet, but are working on it. I just ordered them new high chairs from IKEA, and can't wait to get those!!  I'm hoping learning to independently eat will provide a nice distraction and break up our day more. Both tried some steak the other day when we went out to eat in Ottumwa and LOVED it. I cut off a strip for them and they sucked all the juices out of it but weren't able to bite pieces off obviously. True Iowa girls;)

Both still have just the two front bottom teeth. But they are HUGE. And sharp. Take it from me! They went through a stage of biting while nursing but after a few firm no's they stopped within a week.

Oh! Weights. They will be weighed Friday, but as of January 9 Vivian weighed 12 pounds 14 ounces and Mary weighed 12 pounds 4 ounces. I have no idea how Viv got so far ahead! I knew she was feeling heavier but wow. They have never been that far apart. I know that they both have grown a lot this past month. They are starting to bust out of some of their clothes and fit snugly in others. Its nice to see them getting some chub! They still aren't on the growth charts..but gaining appropriately so its all good! They will most likely be the babies you see that are walking and wonder how they are walking because they are so tiny.

Motor Skills

Vivian is wondering how exactly she can get her hands on that amazing toy Mary has.

Ruffle booties! Also you can see how tiny they really are in this pic.

Our little Christmas presents;)

They sit up like pros now, but so far do not crawl. They get very mad and frustrated on their tummies and end up rolling onto their backs. They have both attempted army crawling once or twice but just can't seem to get it down. I am SO READY for them to crawl. I know, I know, it will be crazy, blah blah. But try spending the day with two squirmy 10 month old babies who just want you to hold them and do all the moving for them that they wish they could do. Its about as fun as it sounds. I know it will all happen in time, but HOLY COW. They just want to stand and hold on to things. Preferably me. I feel like a human jungle gym. If you consider their adjusted age of almost 7 months its pretty normal that they wouldn't be quite crawling yet. I have to keep reminding myself of their adjusted ages as usual. They do a lot of suicide dives for toys over my legs and a lot of trust falls when the let go of whatever they are holding onto expecting me to catch them. Haha.

 They still like their exersaucers and will sit in those for 10-15 minutes at a time. They are very grabby, and you better not have anything within reach that they aren't supposed to have! When we visited Grammy and Gramps in Cedar Falls last week Mary spilled my lukewarm coffee and Vivian spilled my water glass all during one meal. They do great with picking up toys and transferring them hand to hand, etc. Still working on fine motor skills to pick up little things. Its funny because with Norah I pretty much had no clue what was normal and what wasn't and what the developmental stages were. But with the twins being preemies I am much more aware of what they are/aren't doing.

Social

Chewing away

Sick but dressed up! Mary left Vivian right

Their favorite form of communication is growling. For real. They growl at each other and at us all the time. I'm not sure if they picked it up from the dog, or what. Its pretty hilarious. They scream a lot too, but aren't babbling much yet. That's one area that they are FAR different from Norah in. She was always (and still is!) a big talker. They *should* start making consonant sounds soon. As Kyle likes to say, they are true Chaplins;) Which means they only talk if there is something to say haha. Mary is the more serious one of the two, and likes to just observe. Its pretty rare for a stranger to get a smile out of her, and sometimes even mommy daddy and Norah have to work pretty hard to get a smile. Vivian is more laid back and smiley, and likes pretty much everyone. Until they pick her up, of course. From a distance you are pretty nice though! Both are VERY attached to mama. I mistakenly thought of course twins can't be as attached to me as Norah was. hah. Yeah, I was wrong. They LOVE their daddy though, he is a very close second and for that I am thankful. Norah was suspicious of him until about 15 months lol. 

Mommy and Mary

They love singing and music, and will stop whatever they are doing (playing, crying, etc.) to stare at the TV when the West Wing theme music comes on. I have developed a little addiction to the show lately...lol. It is SO FUNNY. And I always get lots of smiles when I sing "My Favorite Things" song from Sound of Music. 

Norah is a HUGE hit and the only one to successfully get them to belly laugh so far. Kyle and I can if we tickle them, but they will laugh outright at funny things that she does. She of course loves it and will continue the activity ad nauseum. 3 year olds!!

They don't really pay much attention to each other still. Its like they just take each other for granted. Occasionally one will really notice the other and stare at her like what the crap is that other baby doing here?!?! And there is a good amount of grabbing faces and ears and pulling each other over while they are sitting next to each other. No smiling or talking to each other yet though. However, they can sense a mile away if their sister is nursing and they are not and they let it be known very loudly that they need to nurse too;) They do steal toys from each other too....whatever twin has the toy that is moving is the one that gets it taken. Babies are so weird!

Miscellaneous

Christmas cousins in furry vests! Shockingly this is the best picture we got;) Vivian is NOT HAPPY

We finally found a distinguishing feature! Well Grandma Lory did. They were taking a bath at her house and she pointed out that Vivian's belly button is an inverted V shape! How cool is that. Mary's is just round. I guess we chose the right names for them when we randomly assigned names to them in the NICU;) I feel bad it took us 10 whole months to figure it out. Its nice to have something concrete to count on to tell them apart. 

Two girls and their dog;) Java gets almost as many smiles as I do! 

We are still sticking close to home and have stopped doing play dates or anything until spring. All three girls were sick with colds twice within one month over Christmas time, and it was SO DRAINING! They handled the illnesses just fine, with the exception of both twins getting double ear infections after their first cold and having to go on antibiotics:( I realized that it was Norah who got them sick both times, so my main priority is keeping her healthy. We will still occasionally go out to the mall at a non busy time just to get out of the house. I can't wait for March when we can go for walks and to the park! Norah and I REALLY miss our friends. Its sad not being able to see people. I do still get out during the evenings and that really helps. The girls are getting Synagis shots every month to help prevent/fight against RSV and that has been such a relief to me knowing that they have that on board.

I've started working out in the past month and it has helped tremendously with my stress levels. I go 4-5 times per week after I put the twins down for bed. Kyle then spends some time with Norah and puts her to bed while I'm gone. It works great!! I've also lost a few pounds so I'm definitely not complaining about that;)

Norah is going to take some swim lessons this summer, and will start preschool in the fall. I would also like to get her in a ballet class. We are going to make up for our isolation this winter. We have a few fun things planned for the summer too, a trip to Chicago and a meet up of some other Mono-Mono twin families! I have met a lot of other momo twin moms online and a few of the families are going to come to Des Moines in June for a weekend. SO MANY BABIES! And most of us have older girls as well as the twins so it should be a good time for all;) I can't wait to meet in person the ladies that have been such a huge support to me in the past year and have truly walked in my shoes.

Norah and Vivian

Hmm well I feel like this has kind of turned into a Christmas letter type post. Haha. There are many details in here that I am sure you don't really care about so....sorry.I did warn you!

It will be a year exactly on February 6 that we found out about the twins. I can hardly believe it. So much has happened in a year. God has been so good, and we are very thankful to be on this side of things. We are very much looking forward to an amazing summer with our 3 little ladies;)

Oh and for the twins' first birthday I'm planning a big party/open house. If you are reading this consider yourself invited! I know many of you won't be able to come, but we just want in some way to thank everyone for their support this past year. We also want to give people a chance to meet the twins! Many important people in our lives have not met them yet, so this will be a sort of coming out party:) The date of the party is April 19, and I'll post more details closer to that time and get an invite out. 

Again, thanks for reading!! Here are some parting shots...

My first little girl and I

Twins!!!

Tandem babywearing!

Merry Christmas!

Grandpa and his girls. They are all wearing Iowa State Cyclones shirts;) It was the end of the day so nobody was really very happy 

Mary and I with my mom!

Pretty little Vivs

Mary with the Vandekrols! Another shot to show how tiny they are. The twins, not Kevin and Amanda;)

6 months old

Wow, I really can't believe its been half a year since the little ladies decided to make their appearance ;) It has definitely been the craziest and most stressful time of my life, but we are so thankful for where we are now and how far we have come. We are settling more and more into a routine, and the girls are turning out to be pretty good sleepers since we've instituted more of a bedtime/nap routine. That makes for happier babies and happier parents :)

Crop circles around the babies..one of Norah's "creative" games ;) Also, what my living room usually looks like

We had their six month check up this week, and they have both hit the 10 pound mark! Mary finally passed up her sister and weighs 10 pounds 4 ounces, but Vivian isn't far behind at 10 pounds 3 ounces. Their heads are the exact same size and they are just a quarter off in length. They got their 6 month shots and their flu shots, and handled those pretty well. The doctor is very pleased with their progress, and says that we are doing a great job with them!

Whyyyy do you take so many pictures mom??!? Vivian left, Mary right.

We are following with the AEA early access program which helps us track the girls' development. They come out every other month just to check up. So far the girls are doing great and haven't needed any interventions. They had a follow up hearing screen a month or so ago and both passed. We also had an appointment with the developmental clinic at Blank to check how they are progressing. It is standard for all preemies to take part in the program. Overall they are doing great. The princesses were hungry and tired by the time they go to the assessment part, and so did not perform as well as they could have ;) The nurse practitioner gave us some exercises to do and encouraged more of the dreaded tummy time. Vivian does really well with it and holds her head up at 90 degrees the whole time, but Mary gets a little bit more tired and needs more support. Mary also started reaching for things this past week, but Vivian doesn't seem to be interested in that. Honestly though, I'm not sure Norah would have passed the assessment if I took her in when she was a baby...I did little to no tummy time with her and she crawled and walked perfectly fine. Babies develop at their own pace, and the girls improve every day so we're not worried.

Vivian. Not sure why she looks so terrified...

And Mary...who looks like shes gonna cry haha

They are exclusively breastfeeding still, except for bottles of breastmilk when I go to work AKA vacation every other weekend. They nurse frequently during the day, probably every 1.5-2 hours (its their favorite hobby), but go for one 6 hour stretch at night and eat and then sleep for another 5 hours so I really can't complain!! The doctor said we could try cereal/baby food but we aren't planning to start til at least 9 months actual/6 months adjusted. They are growing great on breastmilk so I figure why mess with a good thing? Plus I am wayyy to lazy to actually spoon feed ;) I'll probably wait til they have enough teeth to handle mashed steamed veggies and finger foods. I did that with Norah and it was awesome and didn't require much work at all.

So big!!! Mary left, Vivian right. I usually dress Mary in pink and Vivian in green. 

Speaking of teeth, they each have a tooth poking through!! For both of them on the bottom left. They are constantly gnawing on their fists and are drooling all over.

Booty shot! They are actually getting some rolls!

 They turn into pumpkins by 7 pm, and that last hour from 6-7 is not too fun haha. Generally they will sleep 7 pm- 1 am and then nurse and then sleep again til 5 or 6 and nurse, and then sleep again til 8 or 9. I am in heaven!!  It took a couple of rough nights and a little adjusting for all of us, but we are very happy with it now! Then they nap from 10 or 11 til 1 or 2 and are up for another 2-3 hours and then take a little 30-60 minute nap around 3-4 and then go down around 7. They need lots of sleep still...and since we have been more strict about nap/bedtimes (thanks to daddy) they have been sleeping more and better. We have them in one crib now with a little divider in the middle. I think they like being close to each other. It works great except for when one wakes up and then wakes the other one up. Twins, twins, twins. I do like to keep them on the same schedule though. Otherwise I get nothing done and have no downtime. Its taken me this long to figure out that I prefer it this way. So when one wakes to eat at night I wake the other even if they are sleeping. And they don't even fully wake, just nurse with eyes closed and then go back to sleep. A routine/schedule is a MUST with twins. I was driving myself crazy trying to go by what they wanted. And nobody likes a crazy mommy!!

They still act like 3-4 month olds instead of  6 month olds, which is completely normal since they were 3 months early. I am so ready though to be out of the immediate needs stage. Its like when they need to eat it has to be NOW, when they are tired they need a nap NOW. Playing only lasts about 15-20 minutes and then they want to be held. I'm hoping in another month or so they will be more interested in the world at large and will be more content to play with toys and sit on the floor. You can't blame them..the only things they are really good at are nursing and sleeping;) Oh, and talking...they love to talk and coo. They haven't laughed out loud yet, despite our best efforts. They are a tough crowd! No matter what you do, its just blank looks from two huge pairs of eyes. I think its probably gonna be Norah who finally gets them to belly laugh.

Mary leaning on Viv ;)

Norah is doing well too. She has been at Grammy and Gramps house this past week and is having a great time. I don't think she really wants to come home haha. She's been playing with her second cousins a lot and loving it. Grammy of course spoils her so why wouldn't she want to stay there ;) She says the funniest things these days, and I can't believe my chubby little baby is gonna be 3 in just a couple weeks!! I have missed her this week, but the break has also been very nice.

Sassy little lady

The girls also did qualify for the synagis shots, which will protect them/help them fight against RSV. Its not a vaccine, but a shot of antibodies that will lessen the severity of RSV if they get it this winter. It can be deadly for babies, especially preemies, so I'm so thankful that they qualified. The shots are really expensive, so its a process to apply and find out if insurance covers it. A home health nurse will come every month and administer the shots so we don't have to take them to the germy pediatricians office. We will be laying low this winter and avoiding crowds and mostly staying home and limiting visitors. So basically its gonna be a long winter, but that will just make the spring more exciting!! At least that's what I keep telling myself ;)

Modeling our pretty princess dresses from Grandma. Mary left, Vivian right.

Well, sorry this is so long and kind of boring, but I figured some people (probably only grandparents!) would want the full 6 month rundown ;)

This picture was taken right after bath time. They HATE baths. I mean...screaming bloody murder the instant they hit the water. I have no clue why. Norah LOVED baths...it was the only thing that made her stop screaming in the evenings.  Yet another reason they don't get bathed quite as frequently as Norah did;) #second+thirdkidprobs

Life with 3 kids under 3...just livin the dream ;)

Well, I had a feeling this would happen. I would get home and get too busy to post! I can't even remember the last time I posted. I so vaguely remember writing something about having twins not being so bad. HAHAHAHAHAH. Um yeah. The last 5 weeks or so have been kind of hellish. Good thing the little darlings are so adorable!!

The first few weeks they were home they were still so sleepy that all they did was sleep and eat. Starting about 4 weeks ago they woke up and became little divas;) They really aren't fussy babies...its just the fact that there are two of them and they generally want the same thing at the exact same time. Kyle and I spend our evenings trading them back and forth, and I take the louder one and nurse her for 20 minutes, and then we switch out because by that time the other one is screaming. And so on and so forth for 3-4 hours. Its super fun! I do tandem nurse at times, but they are so fussy at that point that I can't manage the both of them. Kyle has had a couple good quotes lately...one of them the other night around 9 pm when we were both incredibly exhausted and the girls were just ramping up for their nightly fuss fest was "It doesn't get much harder than this does it?" And the other day..."This is a nightmare." I think I just laughed, because its either that or cry lol. Of course we would never want it any other way, but gosh the days and nights are long! Our go to to calm them down is slings. Kyle wears one and I wear the other and we trade off when the one he has gets hungry. I can't imagine having a better husband to help me through this, he is such a good daddy!!

There is a little bit of tension, because sometimes I feel guilty that I'm not "enjoying every second," especially because of their birth circumstances and how far they have come and how blessed we are to have them. But at the same time, the reality of having newborn twins is one of the hardest things we will probably ever do. I think a lot of the pressure I feel is in part because I am their only food source, and I am constantly nursing or pumping it feels like. And on top of that making sure I'm drinking enough water and eating enough food (with all the extra time I have!). I am so glad that I am able to nurse them, but it is a huge undertaking. A lot of it is mental, and reminding myself that I can do this, and that other people have done it, and that it can only get easier the older they get. I saw a lactation consultant a few weeks ago and she helped tremendously and I am still in touch with her in case anything else comes up!

They are growing so much though, and it is amazing and fun to see them change. Kyle got the first smile out of Vivian last week. I was kind of mad haha.  And Mary smiled at me for the first time last Friday the 2nd. They are starting to try and coo which is adorable. I feel like wow, there is actually a person in there! One of the parts of having preemies that I didn't anticipate was the newborn phase lasting FOR FREAKING EVER!! Its not the poor little darlings faults, but I am so ready for a new phase. They are 4 months old actual age, but only 5 weeks adjusted. 5 weeks is still basically a newborn.

They do pretty good sleeping though, which I am so grateful for. After their fussy time they pass out for 5 hours on a good night. If I can get 4 hours uninterrupted sleep I can totally survive the next day so I'll take it!

I have been needing help during the day, because they are in the phase of if they are awake they want to be held. So my sisters and my mom and mother in law and sister in law and friends have been taking turns coming over during the day to hold babies. I can do it alone, but its not pretty and by the end of the day I am a nervous anxious wreck. Most all of them are teachers/in school so I will lose the help in a couple weeks which is sad :( I am going to hire a couple of mothers helpers to come for a few  hours every day so I don't completely lose what little sanity I have left.

Now on to weights and growth! We had their four month check today, and Mary weighs 8 pounds 1 oz, and Vivian weights 8 pounds 6 oz. Vivian is just a little bit longer than Mary, but their head circumference is exactly the same. They made it on the growth chart (3rd percentile) for head size. Not surprising because Norah was always in the 99th percentile for head size. They get it from their daddy;) The doctor is very pleased with their progress. They are doing a lot of things that are expected in 4 month olds (which is their actual age), so I'm thinking they will catch up pretty quickly! They also used to favor their right side, and always wanted their heads turned that way which can lead to a flat head on one side,but they don't anymore, and their heads are perfectly round now. Lots of times preemies need physical therapy to correct this, but the girls did it on their own! So proud of them. They are due for another hearing check in a couple months, and got their 4 month vaccines today. They cried for all of 20 seconds and then passed out and are still sleeping. It took my sister Emily and I to wrangle the both of them and Norah and even with two of us all 3 girls were crying by the end of the trip. Fun times!!! But thankfully the doctors office is right next to Dunkin Donuts so I got myself an iced coffee on the way home as a reward haha.

I went back to work a couple of weekends ago, and am just working every other weekend. It is very good for my mental state, plus I get paid! I love my job and my coworkers so I can't complain at all. Kyle had been doing awesome with the girls, and usually has help one of the evenings.

Alright, I will stop boring you with the mundane details of my life;) Here are the pictures!!

3 sissies. Mary left, Viv right

Secret time;) Mary orange, Viv blue

They love each other ;)

Nightly fussy time, some sling action outside

Two little bugs. They love to be swaddled and instantly calm down when I do, so I keep them wrapped up most of the time!

All the cousins. Kyle's sisters kids.

Viv looks a little concerned!

Pretty Mary

Two little girls on a big couch.

Norah and Vivian time

Two little swaddled bugs!

Mary is shocked!

Big yawn from Viv

Cute lil face

Daddy and both girls in the sling. Not sure why he looks so mad...haha

Big girls! Mary left Vivian right

All 3.

First time trying out the Bumbos. Vivian hated it, Mary loved it.