Chaplin Twins: 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!!