Annabelle used to be the fussy one, crying often and being tough to soothe. However, for the past three weeks, she turned into a love bug. She stares at things (not usually people) for hours on end entranced by the shadows on the blinds or the stripes on my shirt for example. She'll coo and squeal and talk to those stripes or polka dots like they are her best friend, telling them all her deepest, darkest secrets.
Last week, she started to smile (the social smile) with mommy. She thinks I am the funniest thing ever, especially when I say her name like, "Annabelle, well, well, well, well, well, well." She also likes to imitate mommy. If mommy sticks her tongue out, Annabelle will too. This is one of our favorite games. And even Daddy can be funny too, although she doesn't like his scratchy kisses as much as Abigail does.
Other people she won't smile for, but she will be glad to cuddle in their arms. Annabelle is happiest being held. Ever the disturbed sleeper, she kicks and grunts and talks, coughs and chokes, and may even look straight at you while sleeping. But in your arms, she is like a sack of sugar, never moving. One of Annabelle's distinctive trademarks is her sigh. She sighs during each breath of her eating, just a simple feminine sigh, and will also sigh during each breath of her sleeping.
For toys Annabelle seemed to notice them first; she held onto a long rubber handle and waved it back and forth (she also learned how to holdher pacificer in first). Then when shown a mirror, she smiled at herself in it. No other toys interest her right now as she prefers human interactions and the designs that the light makes in different parts of the house. She also recently discovered her hand when it passed by her eyes, they widedned like saucers as she figured out, "Hey this thing is connected to my body! Cool!"
Annabelle has developed quite the Buddha belly and has started to get some thickness in her thighs. You can see little rolls developing on her arms as well. These are all good signs that she is gaining the weight she needs to grow. Annabelle has always enjoyed her pacificer, and now her mouth continues to be a place where she can explore and test new things. If Daddy's nose approaches her face, well, she'll try to suck on that. What's sister's hand doing in my face? Well, let's suck on that too. How about sister's elbow, shoulder or arm? Tastes good to me! Mom's finger? Why not! Annabelle has always made funny faces in her sleep, and she continues to make funny faces now that she is more cognizant of the outside world. Eyes wide, mouth crooked, nose crinkled, forehead wrinkled, Annabelle is truly a funny character.
Abigail, previously the mellow one, hit six weeks and found her voice. When she's hungry or tired or has painful gas, she will let out a siren cry to let you know. She'll kick and wriggle and grunt and push. And if she's truly uncomfortable, there isn't much you can do to soothe her. She continues to be a barracuda during feeding time, biting, pulling, hitting until she hits her stride and eases into the motions.
But during awake periods she is still the biggest flirt ever. She is fascinated by human faces and will stare at them for hours. She discovered her bedmate and that is her first pleasure. While Annabelle grunts and squeals and cries in the crib, Abigail will literally sit and stare at her not making a sound. What built in entertainment! What is that thing doing over there, she seems to be thinking...
Abigail is not specific in her flirting strategies; she will smile at anyone who holds her and smiles at her. She will look at you from the side, her eyes in the corner, her head tilted, the longest most beautiful eyelashes fluttering. At first she'll stare, and then suddenly let out the most subtle of grins that quickly turns into the biggest gummy smile ever. Sometimes she'll do a sideways grin, with just one side of the mouth turning up, and sometimes its just the upper lip. In those circumstances, I tell her she looks like Elvis, and I'll sing my rendition of "Bllue Christmas" to her, which then elicits more smiles. Even Annabelle will stop and stare at mommy's face when Elvis comes out of her mouth.
Abigail likes music and she will kick her legs and wave her arms to the sounds. She also started dancing with daddy in the kitchen. It doesn't matter the type as long as you are having fun, she is having fun.
Can't you tell, we are in love with these girls!!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Plugged ducts
Warning: there will be graphic details of breasts in this blog. Sorry to all my sensitive readers!
Can you say "owwwwwwww!"
What started as a tiny lump three days ago turned into an immensely painful three hour ordeal Wednesday afternoon.
I was dancing to the new CDs my cousin Dina sent for the girls. I had one baby and Charles had the other. We were having a grand time!!! But I kept feeling a sharp pain shoot through my left breast. It felt like a stretching sensation, like a balloon being slowly filled with sand under my skin. The pain would subside but it kept getting worse and worse.
Eventually the pain got so bad I decided to look at the breast but nothing looked out of the ordinary. But as soon as I felt the breast, I knew something was wrong. The whole left side was a hard as a rock. It hurt to put much pressure on it. I had had lumps before (caused by milk getting clogged in the ducts) and usually with a little pumping and massage it would work itself out. So I started pumping and massaging. The pumping provided milk but the massaging was hurting; that was unusual because in the past it felt good. It was just such a huge mass that I didn't feel like I was able to find a spot to start breaking it up.
I thought maybe a warm compress would help too, but it wasn't warm enough. So I decided to take a warm shower. In the shower I tried to take a wash cloth and press the mass toward the nipple like I was moving it out. It hurt soooo much!!! And nothing was moving! I spent about 20 minutes in the shower only massaging and pushing on that mass. Eventually I had some movement of the mass toward the nipple but not much. And it hadn't broken up much at all. I wanted this thing out! It was like having to pee out a golf ball!
When I got out of the shower, it was time to feed the girls, but everything was so tender that it was the last thing I wanted to do. And I was worried about the girls drinking whatever was stuck in there.
So I pulled out our baby manual, Baby 411, and looked up plugged ducts in the index. It told me to try everything I tried (warm compress, pumping, massage, etc.) The last thing it told me to do was breastfeed! Huh, interesting! I guess it was safe for the girls after all. But the one thing I hadn't tried was, it said to aim the girl's nose toward the plugged duct when feeding.
When breastfeeding twins at the same time, there is really only one position that works and that is the football hold for both (their legs to my sides and facing each other toward my stomach). But the mass was kinda at the top, outside edge. So I had Charles take Abigail and feed her a bottle, while I took Annabelle (the more gentle nurser) and I
put her in the more traditional cradle hold. This put her nose toward the outside edge of the breast.
And sure enough, Annabelle saved the day!!! While she nursed I continued to massage and push the mass toward the nipple. Annabelle's sucking motion helped pull the mass apart so that it could break up more easily. After about ten minutes, it was almost gone and I was able to switch back to the football hold and finish feeding Abigail too (whose patience had worn thin since she finished her bottle).
My lesson here is to massage lumps as soon as I feel them, never go more than three or four hours without breastfeeding or pumping, and to switch positions when breastfeeding to pull milk from different parts of the breast when possible. If I don't do these things, this could turn into a more serious problem called Mastitis. And from what I've read, I don't want that!
Whew!
Can you say "owwwwwwww!"
What started as a tiny lump three days ago turned into an immensely painful three hour ordeal Wednesday afternoon.
I was dancing to the new CDs my cousin Dina sent for the girls. I had one baby and Charles had the other. We were having a grand time!!! But I kept feeling a sharp pain shoot through my left breast. It felt like a stretching sensation, like a balloon being slowly filled with sand under my skin. The pain would subside but it kept getting worse and worse.
Eventually the pain got so bad I decided to look at the breast but nothing looked out of the ordinary. But as soon as I felt the breast, I knew something was wrong. The whole left side was a hard as a rock. It hurt to put much pressure on it. I had had lumps before (caused by milk getting clogged in the ducts) and usually with a little pumping and massage it would work itself out. So I started pumping and massaging. The pumping provided milk but the massaging was hurting; that was unusual because in the past it felt good. It was just such a huge mass that I didn't feel like I was able to find a spot to start breaking it up.
I thought maybe a warm compress would help too, but it wasn't warm enough. So I decided to take a warm shower. In the shower I tried to take a wash cloth and press the mass toward the nipple like I was moving it out. It hurt soooo much!!! And nothing was moving! I spent about 20 minutes in the shower only massaging and pushing on that mass. Eventually I had some movement of the mass toward the nipple but not much. And it hadn't broken up much at all. I wanted this thing out! It was like having to pee out a golf ball!
When I got out of the shower, it was time to feed the girls, but everything was so tender that it was the last thing I wanted to do. And I was worried about the girls drinking whatever was stuck in there.
So I pulled out our baby manual, Baby 411, and looked up plugged ducts in the index. It told me to try everything I tried (warm compress, pumping, massage, etc.) The last thing it told me to do was breastfeed! Huh, interesting! I guess it was safe for the girls after all. But the one thing I hadn't tried was, it said to aim the girl's nose toward the plugged duct when feeding.
When breastfeeding twins at the same time, there is really only one position that works and that is the football hold for both (their legs to my sides and facing each other toward my stomach). But the mass was kinda at the top, outside edge. So I had Charles take Abigail and feed her a bottle, while I took Annabelle (the more gentle nurser) and I
put her in the more traditional cradle hold. This put her nose toward the outside edge of the breast.
And sure enough, Annabelle saved the day!!! While she nursed I continued to massage and push the mass toward the nipple. Annabelle's sucking motion helped pull the mass apart so that it could break up more easily. After about ten minutes, it was almost gone and I was able to switch back to the football hold and finish feeding Abigail too (whose patience had worn thin since she finished her bottle).
My lesson here is to massage lumps as soon as I feel them, never go more than three or four hours without breastfeeding or pumping, and to switch positions when breastfeeding to pull milk from different parts of the breast when possible. If I don't do these things, this could turn into a more serious problem called Mastitis. And from what I've read, I don't want that!
Whew!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Sleep
One of the popular questions I get is "Are you getting any sleep?" and the answer is always "Well yes, but..."
Anyone that has been around an infant understands this statement but it surprises me how many people have never been around and infant or who don't understand their growth pattern.
When they press for more details I try to explain: "I do get sleep but I get it in the form of four two hour naps throughout the night. The girls will eat at nine, then go to bed at ten. I'll sleep from ten til twelve, when the cycle then starts over. So it might take me twelve hours to get eight hours of sleep."
Why is this the case? Well it's because their stomachs are so small. After three hours, they are starving and that's when you hear their "newborn cry" (as my mom calls it). It's a pure and instinctual cry that just means "Owwww! My stomach hurts!!! Feed me!!!"
One visitor asked me then, "Well what do you feed them, baby food in a jar?" (sorry Richard!) my response: "uh....no....(awkward moment)....breastmilk." I could see the wheels turning then! Ha!
If I ever had a rough night, or just felt I was so tired, I would repeat what my good friend Monica told me, "Just get through the first eight weeks. It does get better."
So, for the first six weeks or so, Charles and I splight the night shifts: we would both be up for the midnight feeding, then I would get up for the three and six am and let Charles sleep (my theory was that one of us
needed to be able to drive a vehicle!). Then Charles would take the nine am feeding and give them pumped breastmilk in a bottle. That would allow me a coveted four hour block (from seven til eleven) that helped me survive the first six weeks.
Another reason that babies wake up at night is that babies have trouble differentiating between night and day (another tip from Monica). It makes sense because after all, their previous home, the womb, is dark 24 hours a day. So to help them understand night and day, we treat them differently at each time. In the day, we engage with them by talking, singing, dancing, walking etc. But at night we try to reduce the amount of stimulation by whispering softly and minimizing talk, keeping the lights down low (night lights are great),
and then putting them right back into the crib, swaddled, etc after feeding and changing them. I've been doing this part since day one; I mean when I'm half asleep I don't want to talk or turn the lights on either.
Two weeks ago, Charles and I instituted what I call "the bedtime routine." It basically means that after the last feeding of the evening (whether it be 7, 8, or 9), we give them a warm sponge bath, give them a little baby massage with baby lotion, put them in warm, clean jammies and diapers, turn down the lights, swaddle them, and then read them a book or rock them until they show us the sleepy eyes. Then we put them in their crib for the night sleep.
It surprised me how quickly after we instituted the "bedtime routine" that the girls increased that first nighttime nap from two to three, sometimes four (last night was 5 hours!) Monica, who currently has a five month old, told me something that stuck in my mind: if you can just get four hours in a block, then all the other naps don't seem so bad.
Now, the bedtime routine (and their age) has allowed the girls to make their own four hour block of sleep instead of Charles having to use the precious, stored breastmilk.
Thank goodness!! Because I do love to sleep! :-)
Anyone that has been around an infant understands this statement but it surprises me how many people have never been around and infant or who don't understand their growth pattern.
When they press for more details I try to explain: "I do get sleep but I get it in the form of four two hour naps throughout the night. The girls will eat at nine, then go to bed at ten. I'll sleep from ten til twelve, when the cycle then starts over. So it might take me twelve hours to get eight hours of sleep."
Why is this the case? Well it's because their stomachs are so small. After three hours, they are starving and that's when you hear their "newborn cry" (as my mom calls it). It's a pure and instinctual cry that just means "Owwww! My stomach hurts!!! Feed me!!!"
One visitor asked me then, "Well what do you feed them, baby food in a jar?" (sorry Richard!) my response: "uh....no....(awkward moment)....breastmilk." I could see the wheels turning then! Ha!
If I ever had a rough night, or just felt I was so tired, I would repeat what my good friend Monica told me, "Just get through the first eight weeks. It does get better."
So, for the first six weeks or so, Charles and I splight the night shifts: we would both be up for the midnight feeding, then I would get up for the three and six am and let Charles sleep (my theory was that one of us
needed to be able to drive a vehicle!). Then Charles would take the nine am feeding and give them pumped breastmilk in a bottle. That would allow me a coveted four hour block (from seven til eleven) that helped me survive the first six weeks.
Another reason that babies wake up at night is that babies have trouble differentiating between night and day (another tip from Monica). It makes sense because after all, their previous home, the womb, is dark 24 hours a day. So to help them understand night and day, we treat them differently at each time. In the day, we engage with them by talking, singing, dancing, walking etc. But at night we try to reduce the amount of stimulation by whispering softly and minimizing talk, keeping the lights down low (night lights are great),
and then putting them right back into the crib, swaddled, etc after feeding and changing them. I've been doing this part since day one; I mean when I'm half asleep I don't want to talk or turn the lights on either.
Two weeks ago, Charles and I instituted what I call "the bedtime routine." It basically means that after the last feeding of the evening (whether it be 7, 8, or 9), we give them a warm sponge bath, give them a little baby massage with baby lotion, put them in warm, clean jammies and diapers, turn down the lights, swaddle them, and then read them a book or rock them until they show us the sleepy eyes. Then we put them in their crib for the night sleep.
It surprised me how quickly after we instituted the "bedtime routine" that the girls increased that first nighttime nap from two to three, sometimes four (last night was 5 hours!) Monica, who currently has a five month old, told me something that stuck in my mind: if you can just get four hours in a block, then all the other naps don't seem so bad.
Now, the bedtime routine (and their age) has allowed the girls to make their own four hour block of sleep instead of Charles having to use the precious, stored breastmilk.
Thank goodness!! Because I do love to sleep! :-)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sisters
I just thought these pictures were cute, showing how the girls have a connection. The first picture was them holding hands in the NICU after I had breastfed. I am not sure they realized whose hand they were holding but it was cute nonetheless.
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The picture below was how I found the girls one afternoon during their nap. They were facing each other and almost touching hands, almost in the same positions.
Just yesterday they really began to notice each other. Abigail will stare at Annabelle for a long while in her stoic way. And Annabelle will make all kinds of funny faces and movements to entertain her sister. Charles also videotaped them this week. Annabelle had her pacifier in because she tends to need it more than Abigail. But Abigail saw it like a big red nose and started grabbing it. It was so cute!
Guinevere has a friend who is a twin, and she told us to be aware that the girls may talk to each other before they talk to us as sometimes twins have a language all their own!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Station 86
As the girls are getting older, we are able to take them out more (keeping up good handwashing of course!). One of the recent trips was to Charles' current station to visit his Firefighter crew. They were a great support to Charles while I was pregnant in addition to being a fun crew to be around.
Firefighter Manny below, is holding Annabelle. Manny and Charles share a love of bike riding and Manny has two girls of his own. Captain Jeff, on the right, who happens to be a gourmet cook, is holding Abigail. Charles already is an amazing cook in my book, but this guy is like a chef. He brings a cooler of fresh fruits and vegetables grown from his garden or ordered from local farms to make his meals while away from home. Let's just say that these boys eat well.
Firefighter Manny below, is holding Annabelle. Manny and Charles share a love of bike riding and Manny has two girls of his own. Captain Jeff, on the right, who happens to be a gourmet cook, is holding Abigail. Charles already is an amazing cook in my book, but this guy is like a chef. He brings a cooler of fresh fruits and vegetables grown from his garden or ordered from local farms to make his meals while away from home. Let's just say that these boys eat well.
Charles will be going back to work on May 17th. A few weeks ago, he said that he can't wait to get back to cussing, spitting and "being a man." But then today, he said, "What are these girls going to do without me here?" We will all miss him for sure!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Mother's Day
On my first Mother's Day, Charles let me sleep in by feeding the girls a bottle for the 9:00 am feeding. Then he woke me up at 11:00 am with breakfast in bed with my favorite things: eggs over medium, ham slice, toast and fresh fruit. When I started eating, he turned on a playlist of songs he downloaded: all the songs from our "songs of a new life" blog! Sooo cute!
Later in the day Guinevere and Matt arrived and hung out at our house for a little while. They relieved Charles and I from the babies for a bit and provided a bit of laughter when Abigail burped up all over Matt's shirt and Annabelle let a huge poop go over Guinevere's leg. Both Matt and Guinevere said it felt like a small earthquake and Matt was sitting across the room from her! Luckily there was not a containment breach on that one.
Matt rinsed his shirt and then the six of us headed to Zins Valley Restaurant for our combination celebration: Guinevere's birthday (late), my birthday and my first mother's day. The waiter treated Guinevere and I to free glasses of champagne and we shared a basket of Thyme fries to start. I got the iceburg lettuce blue cheese wedge salad with a carmelized onion, bacon, and blue cheese pizza. Charles got the asparagus salad with homemade lasanga with artichoke sauce. Matt got the chicken breast club sandwhich and Guinevere got the chicken curry with fresh vegetables and a cup of red bell pepper soup to start. It was a delicious meal!!! The girls chilled in their stroller next to our table as they had previously eaten. :-)
Later we walked a couple blocks to Ben and Jerry's ice cream where we each got a cup. I got the oatmeal raisin ice cream, Charles got peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, Guinevere got a sorbet (what flavor
Guin?) and Matt, what did you get? When we got home we hooked up the television to the computer and
watched all the home videos we had made so far of the birth of the babies. For me, it was crazy to watch it all from an outside perspective. I was so in shock going through it that my view was much simpler.
It was a wonderful day spent with the three people whom I am closest with in my life! What an awesome day!
Amy
Later in the day Guinevere and Matt arrived and hung out at our house for a little while. They relieved Charles and I from the babies for a bit and provided a bit of laughter when Abigail burped up all over Matt's shirt and Annabelle let a huge poop go over Guinevere's leg. Both Matt and Guinevere said it felt like a small earthquake and Matt was sitting across the room from her! Luckily there was not a containment breach on that one.
Matt rinsed his shirt and then the six of us headed to Zins Valley Restaurant for our combination celebration: Guinevere's birthday (late), my birthday and my first mother's day. The waiter treated Guinevere and I to free glasses of champagne and we shared a basket of Thyme fries to start. I got the iceburg lettuce blue cheese wedge salad with a carmelized onion, bacon, and blue cheese pizza. Charles got the asparagus salad with homemade lasanga with artichoke sauce. Matt got the chicken breast club sandwhich and Guinevere got the chicken curry with fresh vegetables and a cup of red bell pepper soup to start. It was a delicious meal!!! The girls chilled in their stroller next to our table as they had previously eaten. :-)
Later we walked a couple blocks to Ben and Jerry's ice cream where we each got a cup. I got the oatmeal raisin ice cream, Charles got peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, Guinevere got a sorbet (what flavor
Guin?) and Matt, what did you get? When we got home we hooked up the television to the computer and
watched all the home videos we had made so far of the birth of the babies. For me, it was crazy to watch it all from an outside perspective. I was so in shock going through it that my view was much simpler.
It was a wonderful day spent with the three people whom I am closest with in my life! What an awesome day!
Amy
Monday, May 10, 2010
One Month Old
When I went down to Santa Barbara this past winter vacation, I stayed with my best friend Jessica McMillan and her mom. We had the best time starting my acknowledgement journey. You see, despite the fact that I had a belly like a watermelon, I was sort of in denial that I was pregnant and therefore I had not really acknowledged the occasion by buying anything.
At this point, I was five months along and showing well. So my friend Jessica took me to all the thrift stores in Santa Barbara and we started picking out baby clothes. Her theory was that since she lives in New Jersey and won't be able to see the girls everyday, that she would get to buy them some clothes. And since they were used clothes, I wouldn't feel weird about buying them because it wasn't like a huge investment. Anyone that knows anything about Santa Barbara knows that people dress well and throw out barely used clothes often.
So Jessica and I got about two or three bags worth of gently used baby clothes to start me on my baby journey. One of the outfits that were my favorite were these tiny brown onsies. Having two girls, I often see clothes in pink and although I have nothing personal against the color, anything in repetition gets tiring after a while. So finding these two brown onsies was a special treat. But I was worried that they would be too small. So I asked the lady at the counter if there would really be babies small enough to fit these tiny onesies. She replied, "Most definitely, and if you're having twins, you might get to see them in real life."
And so I did. And now that the girls are one month old (technically six weeks now!), they finally fit!
Abigail is modeling the polka dots below on the blanket that my mom bought. I thought this blanket might be a good measurement for their size over the next twelve months as I could measure their growth against the wording on the front.
Annabelle is modeling the flowered onesie below.
And here are the sister together....Cute as a button!
You can see how active Annabelle's body is by her hand and leg postures. Abigail is very observant with her eyes.
Thanks Jessica!!! Kisses!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Half done house
Sung to House of the Rising Sun by The Rolling Stones...
There is a house with two babies
They call the "half-done house"
It used to be the cleanest house
Before the babies came
We had a plan to start our chores
And when they're halfway done
The babies cry; you no longer try
To think that you have won
The dishes stare; your underwear
Is scattered here and there
The toilet's clean; the sink is not
The bathtub is gangreen.
........................................
It's funny how quickly you adapt. Before I used to do my chores like
loading and unloading the dishwasher and taking out the trash on a
daily or as needed basis. But the main vacuuming, dusting, cat litter
and laundry would occur on the weekends. I would wash the entire
house, say, on Saturday and clean the bathrooms and mop the kitchen.
Now I only have "free time" in two hour increments so I've had to take
a different approach. In the morning block, I clean the babies room
(take out diaper trash, change sheets and pads if they are dirty, and
start a load of baby laundry). After that, I pick one chore/room to be
done for the house and tackle that as best I can. As the song above
illustrates, the chores are often half-done so for example, the rest
of the bathroom will be put on tomorrow mornings schedule.
Gotta be flexible!!
Amy
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Nicknames
It's funny how little babies get nicknames so quickly. Some of the names are due to their looks, some due to personality traits, some due to their little size. All of them are cute as a button and I am sure they won't all last, but here are a list of our current nicknames for the girls:
Both girls:
pretty girl, squeaker, baby, little one, sister (or sista), munchin, peanut, monkey, cutie, sweet pea, Yin and Yang
Annabelle:
The name related ones: Annie, Bella, Bellie, Little Bellie
The look related ones: Mogwai, ET, Turtle, Ironman
The personality related ones: Sweet baby, Crack baby (named by Charles, NOT me!)
Her Indian name: Tornado Dreamer
Abigail:
The name related ones: Abby, Abradoodle, Abracadabra, AbbyCadabbie
The look related ones: Flirt, Smiley, Dimples
The personality related ones: The Gold Standard, Little Sister, Barracuda
Her Indian name: Sleeps Like Rock
Both girls:
pretty girl, squeaker, baby, little one, sister (or sista), munchin, peanut, monkey, cutie, sweet pea, Yin and Yang
Annabelle:
The name related ones: Annie, Bella, Bellie, Little Bellie
The look related ones: Mogwai, ET, Turtle, Ironman
The personality related ones: Sweet baby, Crack baby (named by Charles, NOT me!)
Her Indian name: Tornado Dreamer
Abigail:
The name related ones: Abby, Abradoodle, Abracadabra, AbbyCadabbie
The look related ones: Flirt, Smiley, Dimples
The personality related ones: The Gold Standard, Little Sister, Barracuda
Her Indian name: Sleeps Like Rock
Sunning
Probably a controversial treatment, but our girls have had a little jaundice since they were in the NICU. (The jaundice has almost disappeared now.) It was never severe enough to warrant the florescent lights at the hospital, which was good. But when we saw the doctor on our last visit, he recommended a little sunshine directly on their skin to help with the jaundice. He even referenced old pictures of nuns carrying the orphans out of the orphanages and having them sun bathe. :-)
Our version is to open the blinds right by the changing table and while they are airing out after a diaper change, give them about 5 minutes or less in the sun. They actually seem to love the feel of the warmth on their skin. They get so calm and happy!
Here's Abigail showing some booty!
Here's Annabelle getting her tan. She has the most expressive forehead. Look at those wrinkles!
Little baby toes, and Charles getting creative with the camera. Go Charles!
First Outing to the Park
The second week the babies were home, we finally got to go outside for a much needed walk. The rains subsided for one day and Simon was so happy to have some outside time. Below is Simon playing in the drenched volleyball courts. His diseased back legs means he doesn't really go on walks anymore, but he loves to paddle around in water, run in the grass, and eat the grass. Charles and the girls look on as Simon finally gets his time.
A close up of the stroller shows Abigail dreaming away. She often smiles in her dreams and shows her very cute dimples.
Although Annabelle is definitely the more "active" sleeper, she is most calm out and about, or in our arms while sleeping.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Tummy Time
Since the new recommendations from SIDS says that babies should sleep on their backs they don't get all the exercise they used to get when they were put to sleep on their stomachs or sides.
"The experience of being on their tummy helps babies learn to push up, roll over, sit up, crawl, and pull to a stand," explains Danette Glassy, a pediatrician in Mercer Island, Washington, and chairperson of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on early education and childcare.
So when the babies are awake during the day, we put them on their bellies on the bed and watch them grunt, squeak, push, nod and pull. Charles gets special joy from listening to their bodily noises; the act of being on their belly seems to cause very loud gas.
Annabelle is smiling and Abigail worked so hard that she fell asleep.
Charles needs his tummy time too. :-)
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Human octopus
My other limbs have become very talented now that I have two babies. It seems at times the only way to continue running the ship and raising babies is to do them simultaneously.
So as I fling one girl over my shoulder to burp her, (the other safely in daddys arms or asleep in her crib) and attempt to wash a dish or two, inevitably something falls to the floor (a burp cloth, a swaddle blanket, a piece of mail, my cell phone, my pants... Yes this has happened as I lose some of that baby weight and Charles didn't help at all... he was laughing so hard!)
My toes curl and try to grab the item so I won't have to bend over with a floppy head baby. Sometimes it takes a few tries but like I said, my limbs are becoming talented. The cell phone was the hardest to do; the top of the foot played a roll here. Yes I could hold onto the baby's head and bend over but where is the
fun in that? Plus moving a sleeping baby upside down does not always guarantee a sleeping baby on the way up. Have you ever turned a baby who hasn't burped upside down? I don't suggest it. :-)
Teeth are also useful. Opening a package one handed (remember baby is in other hand) is almost impossible. But add teeth to the mix and you've got the best gripper since the thumb was invented. Legs become cradles, bellies become pillows, forearms are slings, fingers are head stands and washers and massagers and groomers and pickers.
The best thing about all this flexibility is the ability to calm a worried baby or warm them by your touch, and have them warm your heart by the affect you have... While still having clean underwear.
Amy
So as I fling one girl over my shoulder to burp her, (the other safely in daddys arms or asleep in her crib) and attempt to wash a dish or two, inevitably something falls to the floor (a burp cloth, a swaddle blanket, a piece of mail, my cell phone, my pants... Yes this has happened as I lose some of that baby weight and Charles didn't help at all... he was laughing so hard!)
My toes curl and try to grab the item so I won't have to bend over with a floppy head baby. Sometimes it takes a few tries but like I said, my limbs are becoming talented. The cell phone was the hardest to do; the top of the foot played a roll here. Yes I could hold onto the baby's head and bend over but where is the
fun in that? Plus moving a sleeping baby upside down does not always guarantee a sleeping baby on the way up. Have you ever turned a baby who hasn't burped upside down? I don't suggest it. :-)
Teeth are also useful. Opening a package one handed (remember baby is in other hand) is almost impossible. But add teeth to the mix and you've got the best gripper since the thumb was invented. Legs become cradles, bellies become pillows, forearms are slings, fingers are head stands and washers and massagers and groomers and pickers.
The best thing about all this flexibility is the ability to calm a worried baby or warm them by your touch, and have them warm your heart by the affect you have... While still having clean underwear.
Amy
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