Friday, February 21, 2014

Goodbye baby weight!!!!

Officially lost all my twin baby weight! Praise Jesus! The girls will be 37 weeks tomorrow so that's how long it took me to lose the 5,000 pounds I gained. I know they always say it took nine months to gain it, it should take nine months to lose it. And yeah, technically I wasn't pregnant for the full nine months due to early delivery, but I had TWO so I think I am right on track. I wish there was a magic solution I could share (aka sell) with the other mamas out there for losing pregnancy weight. But in the end, eating healthy (most of the time) and working out (ha when I can) is the trick.

 I followed weight watchers which I think is hands down the easiest weight loss plan. For the brief time I was breastfeeding, it does  give you extra points to account for all the calories you are burning. And don't try to cheat the system and not eat all your points. That's stupid and unrealistic, plus it will mess with your metabolism. I really want to set a good example for my girls too so I don't want to do any weird diets that eliminate certain foods or force you to replace meals with shakes or cereal. No thanks. So I've been trying to focus on good choices and fewer processed items. Since I've been making all the baby food, we've had lots of fresh food around and I make extra and freeze it. That being said, I still love chipotle (now I get a burrito bowl with no cheese or sour cream) and have a serious weakness for chocolate and milkshakes. That's why I love weight watchers because you have extra weekly points for things like this. Obviously you can't splurge too often or you run out of points. 

So go me. Good luck to the other women trying to lose the baby weight. You'll get there. 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

And then the other baby got sick

Well Brooklyn got her sister's fever. I worked from home Tuesday due to yet another awful snowstorm. Our day care called around two and said Brooklyn had a fever (100.4) so I picked her up. Unlike Bailey who is the happiest sick baby ever, Brooklyn was not very happy at all poor thing. She felt so crummy she hardly slept all night, but we did get in some nice cuddle time watching Little Mermaid. We kept her home from day care on Wednesday. (Darren, who is also sick, took a sick day from work. Apparently it's going around the entire family. I feel like a sick zombie. Luckily I never get fevers and never even register normal so I'm holding strong at 96 degrees. Vampire blood.)

She had a better night Wednesday but didn't seem 100 percent this morning so I kept her home from day care again. This time my aunt was able to come over and watch her.

I wondered if both babies would be devastated being separated for two days. I mean, they've never been apart since conception! Well they weren't phased in the slightest and I'm pretty sure didn't even notice, ha.

Both the girls have colds too. Just in case you think I am lying about their colds, check out all the disgusting dried boogers on Brooklyn's face this morning. For your enjoyment.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

First baby sickness!

We survived babies' first virus.

Other than the NICU, they babies have been super healthy and we haven't once had to take them to the doctor besides well check up visits (which is really awesome, since preemies can sometimes get really sick. I think the summer birth date helped tremendously). Well Bailey threw up Saturday night and then was having trouble sleeping so I took her into our bed. At four am Sunday, she woke up crying and was radiating heat - temp of 102.6. So it's the middle of the night and I am frantically flipping through What to Expect the First Year to see if I need to take her to ER or just stick with Motrin. Apparently when babies are over 6 months, a high temp alone doesn't mean anything; (unless over 104) it's more how they are acting. And Bailey, of course, is the happiest sick baby ever. She would cry and then start smiling, laughing and talking. So on Sunday she was having a tough day - hardly eating and wouldn't nap really, on and off crying (but still playing). Brooklyn had a slight temp of 99.7. So lot's of Motrin all day.

Anyway, I had talked to the doctor Sunday morning but was still a little nervous on Monday and wanted to make sure it wasn't an ear infection or upper respiratory infection (Bailey also has a terrible cold). Plus we were both off for President's Day. So we took them in just to be safe. Everything looked good - just a virus, the doctor said. So we officially had our first unnecessary doctor's appointment but I'm sure there will be more.

Girls both weighed exactly 18 lbs. What are they twins or something?

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Bailey rolls!

It's official. Bailey is now a back to tummy roller. She's been able to go about 95 percent of the way for several months now (Brooklyn rolls onto her stomach all day long).  She finally did it about a week ago on the bed. We found her on we tummy in her crib this morning, and she also did it at day care today (Anne said she cried as soon as she rolled). My baby is growing up!

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Eight months and a dramatic size comparison

Eight month photos. Check out the size comparison to Minnie Mouse from the three week pic vs the eighth month pic. 

Also, you can see how well they are sitting now! Big girls! 



Tuesday, January 28, 2014

34 weeks

So the girls turned 34 weeks on Saturday, which means they've been alive an equal amount in my uterus as outside in the real world.

A Pinterest inspired photo below. 33 weeks in vs 33 weeks out. Technically they were born at 34 weeks but since I went into the hospital at 33 weeks 6 days, there is no 34 week pic!

Monday, January 27, 2014

A long overdue update

It's been a while since I've posted. Who knew working, raising two babies, trying to have a life/marriage, staying up-to-date with your shows, etc would be so time consuming?

Both girls are continuing to do so well. They are both in the sitting up for a little bit until they topple over stage. But doing a lot more playing and interacting with the world and preparing to be mobile soon. God help us when those two are on the move because it's going to be nuts!

A few weekends ago we had two play groups in one day. First we went to one with a few of the girls I work with plus their friends. This was nice because almost everyone lived in Rocky River and the babies were all pretty close in age so will be in the same class. It's pretty obvious being around kids that were born on time that the girls are a little behind for their actual age but right on schedule for their adjusted age. AKA although they are 7 1/2 months, they seem more like 6 months because they were six weeks early. The second one was our twin group meet up (see pic below). Shockingly, with eight babies, we still managed to get in a game of Apples to Apples. It was really fun!

They are really into their jumpers right now. Brooklyn (as the crazy baby) has already been jumping like a maniac and Bailey just figured out a couple days ago that she can jump up and down too.

Darren and I have actually had a few chances to get out recently. We went to my work party (theme 1920s, and yes I am on the planning party committee like Angela in The Office) which was amazing. And like a miracle, the girls slept soundly till 8:10 am the next morning when I woke them up because I was getting nervous. Bless their little hearts for not waking up at six am after mommy had a few cocktails. We also had a date night and saw a movie a place called a "movie theater." Did you know, for two tickets to see a 3-D film it cost $30!?!? (Crocker, go figure). But Gravity was very good if you are wondering!

It's been super cold due to this polar vortex and it being winter in Cleveland so the poor girls have to be super bundled up each morning before day care. They do not care for all the layers, ha.

Darren is doing really well post-surgery and while he still can't do everything, he is able to pick the girls up and change diapers again (HOORAY!). You will never realize how much your spouse does until they are out of commission.

I am still making all the girl's food. They are doing great. They are even starting to eat bites of our dinners (depending on what it is) so they are getting a good variety. They've even had a little meat and cheese (very small pieces obviously). Still loving their fruits and veggies for now. Hopefully the healthy eating habits stick with them!

I hadn't planned on ever getting a video monitor but a couple of the girls in twin club mentioned a brand that was only $65 on Amazon. Done and done. I am so curious once they are able to stand up what crazy thing we witness. Stay tuned!

I am so thankful for all the new friends I've made in my twin group. It's been so fun discussing our chaotic lives and comparing survival strategies with people going through the same thing.

I am still only bathing the babies about once a week. Perhaps this makes me a slacker mom or a realistic one. I started using a laundry basket since they are too big for the infant tub and that works a lot better.

In other news, Darren and I both signed up for the half marathon in May. I'm running two to three miles on the treadmill a few days a week so I have a lot of training to do, but I have time! We'll see how it goes. My goal is to finish and not worry about my time. I only have three to five pounds left of baby weight (depending on how mean or generous the scale is) so we are almost there.

A final funny story. My cousin Mandy had her daughter Kate's baptism yesterday (and yes, I dressed the girls in red ball gowns). So we took the girls to mass beforehand. And everywhere we go, it's like a freak show because people love twins and want to come and ask questions (and obviously my favorite topic is to discuss how cute my babies are, so this works for me). Usually there are the standard questions (are they twins? are they identical? where did you deliver? do twins run in your family? how do you tell them apart? what are their names? how old are they? were they early? etc) but I got a pretty good one from a woman who was obviously a little mentally unwell. She asked me, "did you fertile?" which I am pretty sure she meant, did you use fertility treatments? But I really liked her wording lol. "No, I didn't use fertility treatments, twins run in the family."

Oh yes, if you'd like to watch some videos of the girls on YouTube, have at it:

Monday, January 6, 2014

Melt your heart pictures...

Just had to share a few more!

Staying warm in their bumbo seats!
Just. So. Cute.
Bailey plays hair dresser with Brooklyn. She was so excited to touch her sister's head, ha!
Darren and babies sleeping in bed. (Blurry since it was dark!)




Oh look my fav Asian Instagram twins turned one!


Baby food making adventures. We used to have a freezer! 

A sampling of matching outfits from Christmas

We received so many matching/coordinating outfits for Christmas.

Here are some pictures!








A story from bed time

Last night as I was putting the girls down for the night, I had them laying on the bed in the nursery for story time per our usual routine. Bailey was a little fussy and Brooklyn kept reaching out to touch her face, in a gesture I interpreted to mean she is comforting her (ah!). Anyway, I gave Bailey a pacifier and she immediately calmed down. Until Brooklyn reached over, yanked the pacifier out of Bailey's mouth and tried to put it in her own mouth! So much for comforting her sister. :) Silly babies!