Emma and Caitlin are about 3.5months old now. They are growing really well. They have more than doubled their weight since birth and recently they have started 'talking'. Sleep is good, and luckely they agree with us on that front. Since they were about 8 weeks old they have been sleeping from 7:30 pm to 2:00 am no problems. Nowadays the 2:00 am feed is moving slowly closer and closer to the 6 am feed. They often wake up close to 4:00 am. I'm really hopeful we might loose the 4 am feed soon once they start sleeping through until 6. For those without kids, you don't realise how much this sleep deprivation thing really knocks you for six until you have newborns in the house.
They are interacting and showing more and more of their personalities. This is amazing to see, and really cute. Every once in a while they seem to notice eachother and poke their tongues out at one another or make little sounds at one another. I can just melt when that happens :)
Emma is the more gutsy of the two. She is on the whole a really happy baby. Doesn't cry much at all. However, when she isn't happy she is not backwards about being forwards. Her smile is so georgeous, it lights up her face and is totally adorable. She still has periods of "newborn-ness" where she stares off into space not noticing much of anything. She is also the smaller of the two, yet her development of movement she is a bit further advanced than Caitlin. She is better at lifting her head, and she is better at reaching for and grabbing hold of things.
Caitlin is the larger and older of the two (by about a minute). She now knows familiar faces from strangers and isn't too sure what to make of people she doesn't recognise. She scares easely, but is also relatively easy to calm down when she gets upset. New noises, new things etc she gets a bit upset. The other day Duane immitated a phone (prrt...prrt) and she got a real fright. Caitlin is more 'alert' than Emma, She really recognises different people and remembers them for longer. She is also more coy/shy. Where Emmas face starts smiling bigtime, Caitlins smile starts small and then works its way across her face to be atleast as radient as the smiles Emma gives. She has a larger 'vocab' of sounds, and tries to imitate more. She is not as physically advanced as Emma. Lifting her head is not something she is really good at yet, but then again, she has a bigger head than Emma so its a lot more work.
Today we had our first swimming lesson and both girls really enjoyed it. After a while Caitlin really had enough and started crying. I'm sure she'll enjoy it again next time tho. it also looks like both girls have started teething. A bit early, but if thats happening it explains the stream of saliver, the gnawing on the hands and the irritability.
Caitlin talking to papa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guwKHS7B7BU
Emma Laughing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjUqJTMB4m8
Playing is so exhausting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA7kKYNhSFo
22 September 2008
09 September 2008
Mum of twins
The girls are 12 weeks this week, one more week and they are officially 3 months and we'll stop counting weeks and start counting months. Its funny how that works. When you are pregnant you count in weeks. Then when you deliver you start counting days, then weeks and now we're upgrading to months :)
The girls are doing great and life has changed somewhat. I've joined a mothers group at the child health clinic. The clinic itself is amazingly good at making me feel inadequate and a horrible mother. Also, they (the girls) have dropped a feed and since I've been concerned with their weight-gain. I'm going to be happy once we see some good gains again. The girls look healthy tho, and there is absolutely nothing wrong except for this cold they have picked up from Duane.
So rather than look at the girls, I thought I'd use this review point to look at myself and how I'm doing. Not as interesting for you all as reading about the girls I'm sure, but something important for me to do. As most of you know I've suffered the effects of post traumatic stress disorder for quite a number of years now, and mostly I'm able to manage really well. I've not needed medication and/or therapy for more than 13 years. Hec, I even went through the whole infertility business without needing additional support. Emotionally I'm doing good. I've not had any major "bad spells" since giving birth, I've been surprisingly upbeat and together actually. I've been coping far better than I thought I would. Duane sais I should be proud of myself, but it is hard to be proud of something that is the way it should be in the first place.
I've identified something in myself which I don't know how to deal with. I don't mind asking for help, but only if something is of the nature that I feel that getting help is justified. I feel awkward asking people to come and help me with the girls when Duane is away as they are our responsibility and I shouldn't need to trouble others with that. The short of it is that the actual 'care' for the girls is not that hard. Changing a nappy, washing them, feeding them etc. It is the attention they require that makes it challenging and that bit is the fun part.
So really when I ask for help it is not for them, it is more for me because I feel lonely and need interaction and that is where it becomes hard to ask. I have no problems asking if it is for them, but asking something for me? now thats hard. It feels like imposing on people for the wrong reasons and using the girls as an argument which feels wrong.
For some reason I've cultivated the attitude of "if-people-want-me-around-they'll-ask-me-and-if-they-don't,-they-obviously-don't-want-me-around-so-I'm-better-off-staying-away-and-not-troubling-them" for a LONG time eventhough it is not logical I feel really selfconsious and awkward contacting people
Then there is the perfectionist in me who keeps telling me that if I can do a good job at work normally I should be able to run a neat household as well. It can't be 'that' hard right?
So between the two of those I get exhausted and I still feel like I don't give the girls what they are entitled to aspecially when they are both upset and need settling and I'm home alone. Yesterday morning I sat on the floor bawling my eyes out because both of them were terribly upset, I couldn't work out what was wrong with either of them and I just felt like I failed them, myself, Duane and mostly I felt like I was a terrible mother.
So what do I do? I feel sorry for myself for a bit, then pick myself up, give myself a mental kick up the bottom and keep going. What else is there to do right?
ok, thats me done bearing my soul.. hec most of you whom have seen me feed the girls have seen my boobs, why not right?
On a different note: Something I've heard a lot lately: "Geez, you don't look like the mother of twins". I've been thinking about this a lot. What would a mother of twins look like, how would you recognise one in the street? Are we supposed to grow a second head? Maybe a third breast? different skin tone? A look in our eyes that shows we're close to insanity?... I'd love to know *grins*
The girls are doing great and life has changed somewhat. I've joined a mothers group at the child health clinic. The clinic itself is amazingly good at making me feel inadequate and a horrible mother. Also, they (the girls) have dropped a feed and since I've been concerned with their weight-gain. I'm going to be happy once we see some good gains again. The girls look healthy tho, and there is absolutely nothing wrong except for this cold they have picked up from Duane.
So rather than look at the girls, I thought I'd use this review point to look at myself and how I'm doing. Not as interesting for you all as reading about the girls I'm sure, but something important for me to do. As most of you know I've suffered the effects of post traumatic stress disorder for quite a number of years now, and mostly I'm able to manage really well. I've not needed medication and/or therapy for more than 13 years. Hec, I even went through the whole infertility business without needing additional support. Emotionally I'm doing good. I've not had any major "bad spells" since giving birth, I've been surprisingly upbeat and together actually. I've been coping far better than I thought I would. Duane sais I should be proud of myself, but it is hard to be proud of something that is the way it should be in the first place.
I've identified something in myself which I don't know how to deal with. I don't mind asking for help, but only if something is of the nature that I feel that getting help is justified. I feel awkward asking people to come and help me with the girls when Duane is away as they are our responsibility and I shouldn't need to trouble others with that. The short of it is that the actual 'care' for the girls is not that hard. Changing a nappy, washing them, feeding them etc. It is the attention they require that makes it challenging and that bit is the fun part.
So really when I ask for help it is not for them, it is more for me because I feel lonely and need interaction and that is where it becomes hard to ask. I have no problems asking if it is for them, but asking something for me? now thats hard. It feels like imposing on people for the wrong reasons and using the girls as an argument which feels wrong.
For some reason I've cultivated the attitude of "if-people-want-me-around-they'll-ask-me-and-if-they-don't,-they-obviously-don't-want-me-around-so-I'm-better-off-staying-away-and-not-troubling-them" for a LONG time eventhough it is not logical I feel really selfconsious and awkward contacting people
Then there is the perfectionist in me who keeps telling me that if I can do a good job at work normally I should be able to run a neat household as well. It can't be 'that' hard right?
So between the two of those I get exhausted and I still feel like I don't give the girls what they are entitled to aspecially when they are both upset and need settling and I'm home alone. Yesterday morning I sat on the floor bawling my eyes out because both of them were terribly upset, I couldn't work out what was wrong with either of them and I just felt like I failed them, myself, Duane and mostly I felt like I was a terrible mother.
So what do I do? I feel sorry for myself for a bit, then pick myself up, give myself a mental kick up the bottom and keep going. What else is there to do right?
ok, thats me done bearing my soul.. hec most of you whom have seen me feed the girls have seen my boobs, why not right?
On a different note: Something I've heard a lot lately: "Geez, you don't look like the mother of twins". I've been thinking about this a lot. What would a mother of twins look like, how would you recognise one in the street? Are we supposed to grow a second head? Maybe a third breast? different skin tone? A look in our eyes that shows we're close to insanity?... I'd love to know *grins*
04 September 2008
Babypoo doesn't stink
I came to a conclusion today: Babypoo doesn't smell all that bad.. atleast, not yet. We're still breastfeeding so I'm sure it will be a totally different story once solids are introduced. It must be something biological though, maybe only the poo of your own babies doesn't stink. Just so you don't get too grossed out and stop taking care of the baby or something like that.
So how are things going? Good. The girls are now 10 weeks and have dropped one of the night feeds. Unfortunately they dropped the 10 pm one, not the 2 am one. We tried to have them drop the latter by waking them up for their 10pm feed... that didn't work. The moment we stopped doing that, they slept straight through.
I've been going to mothers group at the child health clinic. Total waste of time, except for meeting the mums. The person running it is not all that realistic about things. I still think the pediatrician had the right of it when he said to me "when people start talking about absolutes when it comes to babies, don't listen to a word they say. Every child is different, and what works for one, doesn't work for the other". Needless to say, I'm not listening to a word this person has to say.
We enrolled our babies for their first 'school'... swim school. We're starting beginning of october.
I don't really have anything insightful to say this post, exept: "sleep is good".
Take care all,
Agnes
So how are things going? Good. The girls are now 10 weeks and have dropped one of the night feeds. Unfortunately they dropped the 10 pm one, not the 2 am one. We tried to have them drop the latter by waking them up for their 10pm feed... that didn't work. The moment we stopped doing that, they slept straight through.
I've been going to mothers group at the child health clinic. Total waste of time, except for meeting the mums. The person running it is not all that realistic about things. I still think the pediatrician had the right of it when he said to me "when people start talking about absolutes when it comes to babies, don't listen to a word they say. Every child is different, and what works for one, doesn't work for the other". Needless to say, I'm not listening to a word this person has to say.
We enrolled our babies for their first 'school'... swim school. We're starting beginning of october.
I don't really have anything insightful to say this post, exept: "sleep is good".
Take care all,
Agnes
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