A Cousins Sleepover

Hey everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving!  We had a great holiday at my sister-in-law’s house, although Kayla threw a fit and refused to eat dinner at the table.  But, besides that, it was fabulous!  However, the most fun part of the holiday weekend came the next night, Friday night…

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law and my husband and I have always exchanged wedding anniversary gifts with each other.  This year, my husband had a great idea!  Instead of getting each other gifts, from now on we would take each other’s kids for a sleepover and a free night out!  So, my sister and brother-in-law’s anniversary was October 27 and we decided to take our 6 year old nephew and 3 year old niece for a sleepover at our house with the girls Friday night of Thanksgiving weekend.

The kids came over around 5pm and we fed everyone dinner.  Then we played in our basement and when it was time for the girls to get their bath and go to bed, we set up our niece and nephew with a TV show.  Once the girls were sleeping, we played the WII and around 8:30 our niece actually begged to go to sleep because she was so exhausted!  The kids came in our room a few times after we put them to bed before they actually went to sleep with some very funny excuses.  For example, the first time they came in, literally 2 minutes after we read books and said good-night, they said they had bad dreams.  Dave and I were like, “You couldn’t have had bad dreams, you didn’t even sleep yet!”  Then they fought over a stuffed animal, complained they were making mean faces at each other (which of course they wouldn’t know if their eyes were closed and they were really trying to go to sleep), but finally everyone was asleep by 10pm.  Dave and I looked at each other and both agreed it was a super fun night and relatively easy.   Then, everyone woke up on Saturday!

Oh my Gd, how do people have 4 kids?!  Everyone woke up at 6:30 am which is typical for us anyway.  But, there’s definitely as big difference between 2 kids and 4 kids!  Everyone was great, but my 6 year old nephew was not super into playing with the baby girly toys we have in our basement.  Our 3 year old niece was a little easier to please with the girls’ toys, but everyone always wanted to do something different!  My sister-in-law came to pick up the kids at 10 am and I felt like I had had a 12 hour day already!  Everyone was very delicious and fun, but it was exhausting!  People give me a lot of credit for having twins, but I have to give credit to anyone with more than 2 kids!

Now, I will definitely have my niece and nephew sleepover again for sure, as often as they want to.  I really did love having them here and I know as the girls get older and closer to their cousins it will be even more fun!  But, before the sleepover, Dave was kind of considering having more kids.  I think after the sleepover, we’re on the same page – 2 are more than enough!!

Zoey's walking!!!!!

Oh my God, Zoey’s walking!!!!!!

Finally, after taking her first steps about a month and a half ago, and after miles and miles of walking holding onto my pinky finger, this weekend Zoey started walking all by herself!  I am so ridiculously proud of her and so relieved she made it!  I feel like having preemies makes you a little wary of developmental milestones.  And, while Kayla has hit every one of them on time, I’m always a little more worried about Zoey.  I shouldn’t be because she has hit every milestone also, just about a month-6 weeks behind Kayla.  And walking was no different.  She literally started walking 5 weeks after Kayla!

Now, the fun really begins.  Zoey is definitely still looking like a drunken sailor with her steps, but she keeps taking more and more on her own.  I think once she’s a little steadier on her feet, things will get interesting.  I will have 2 walking babies!!  Of course I am super naive and I’m expecting that they will always go in the same direction with each other and listen to me when I ask them to come to me.  I’m sure I am in for a huge reality check!  My guess is my girls will be constantly going in opposite directions.  At least I’m going to get skinny running after them! 

I know this blog is a little short, but I just wanted to share the fabulous news about Zoey with everyone.  And Kayla’s still delicious too!  Oh, but before I sign off this week, I highly recommend everyone check out a friend of a friend’s amazing blog: www.playingmom.com  Dani, the blogger, just won a cool award and gave me a shout out which I so appreciate it!  And her blog is awesome!!  Anyway, happy thanksgiving everyone and I’ll write again after the holiday.

Bad days are really bad!

                Before I start venting this week, I need to give a shout out.  My close friend Sean reminded me that I forgot to put a very important fact on my lists of why twins could be better or harder, and this one counts for both.  At birthday [parties, especially at this age when the girls are too young to totally appreciate it, I get 2 pieces of cake or 2 cupcakes, 2 of whatever dessert is being served.  This is fabulous for me and my husband because we each get the yummy treats.  But, it could also be bad when I’m trying to lose my baby weight!  So, Sean, excellent point, I’m just not sure if it belongs in my “better” list or my “harder” list!  Either, way I will admit I have been enjoying this little twins perk lately!

                Onto this week.  I have been having a few bad days lately.  I could blame it on teething because I really do think both of my girls are getting entire mouths of teeth right now.  Or, I could blame it on the weird weather – first it’s winter-like, then it almost feels like summer.  Maybe for Zoey, she’s frustrated that she’s still not walking on her own.  Wait, is she frustrated, or am I just frustrated?  Probably both of us!  But, in general, I think it’s just the life of having babies.  And, it doesn’t matter if you have 1 baby, twins or 10 babies at the same time, there are just going to be bad days and I think it’s important for all us parents out there to remember that.  We’re human and sometimes we still wish we could just snuggle up in bed and do nothing, even though we’re supposed to be adults now.  This is what’s been happening:

                On Monday I had a playgroup in my development with my fabulous mommy friends and everything started out great.  The girls were playing in the basement, laughing hysterically at the singing Mickey Mouse doll (which is now on their long Hanukkah list) and having a lot of fun with their friends.  We went upstairs to the kitchen to eat lunch and I think what happened next is partially my fault.  I didn’t feel like dragging my 2 booster seats with me so I tried to feed the girls their pizza with them sitting on the floor.  Big mistake!  Kayla was walking all over the place and wouldn’t sit still and then Zoey was crawling and following her.  I eventually gave up and tried to put them in a high chair and a booster seat and Zoey started screaming bloody murder!  Literally, I have rarely seen her get like this.  So, I picked her up and of course, the second Kayla saw me do that, she started crying hysterically.  While my friends were trying to help, it got so bad, I actually had to leave.  I couldn’t believe the fit they were throwing, bad enough that I actually left, which I can’t remember ever having to do even when the girls were young and had reflux and could be so difficult at times!  I was so upset!

                Then, on Tuesday, I met a mommy friend for lunch and we went to my favorite place, The Mixed Grill, in Plainview (I am literally there at least twice a week!)  Kayla’s new thing is she likes to wiggle her way out of the high chair and stand up.  She kept doing it so I took her out and what do you know?  As soon as I lifted her up, all Zoey could do was say, “Up, up” and point her hands to the sky.  I gave in and took her out and found, myself sitting on the floor of the restaurant trying to contain my 2 girls.  Not fun! 

                Then, this morning, I took the girls on a walk and after about 20 minutes in their stroller, they started getting a little antsy.  I took them out and we walked up and down the sidewalks in my development.  Well, Kayla walked and Zoey walked with me holding 1 of my fingers.  I was ready to bring them inside and I said to Kayla, “Kayla, come inside with Mommy and Zoey.”  She looked at me, shook her head no, and proceeded to walk in the other direction.  I tried again and the same thing happened.  I was floored!  I’m proud of her that she understands me and can respond to me, but shaking her head no is definitely the wrong response!  Needless to say, after the last few days, I think I need a drink, or maybe 10!

                But, I do have to remind myself that as many bad days as I have with my girls, the good days do tend to outweigh the bad.  They are just very delicious right now and learning so much every second.  For the most part, I can’t stand to be away from them for too long.  I can just eat them up.  But, not today.  Maybe tomorrow and I just have to remind myself that it’s okay to feel this way!  Thanks for listening!

Why 2 Might Not be Better Than 1!

As promised, here is my list of why having twins is so much harder than having 1 baby at a time:

1.        There are 2 of them!  Plain and simple, there are 2 babies at the same time, who can’t do anything for themselves!

2.       As a first time mom, who decided to stay at home while my husband went to work every day, I was outnumbered from day 1.  Thank God I have 2 arms, 1 for each baby!  But, to be honest, before the girls could hold their own heads up, 2 arms weren’t all that helpful!  I seriously do not understand how moms of triplets do it! 

3.       Along the same theme that there are 2 babies, there’s also double of everything.  Double the poop, double the spit up, double the diaper changes, double the bottles, double the formula, etc. You get the picture!

4.       Double everything also means double your time to do things too.  In other words, especially in the beginning, everything was always a race against the clock.   If both babies were sleeping I was racing to pay the bills before someone woke up.  Or, if it was time to eat and 1 baby was calm, I was racing through the first feeding so that I would get to the next feeding before she threw a crying and screaming fit!  There just never seems to be enough time with 2 babies!

5.       Let’s talk about crying.  One baby crying can be so sad or so annoying, depending on the situation!  But, imagine having 2 babies screaming their heads off at the same time.  Or sometimes, even worse, 1 baby screaming her head off and just as you calm her down, the next one starts screaming her head off.  It can get pretty horrible and can make you seriously doubt yourself as a mother.  It can feel impossible to be able to soothe both of your babies.

6.       Another reason twins are harder is the schedule.  I think the #1 piece of advice I got when I was pregnant with twins was that as soon as they’re born I needed to put them on the same schedule.  As I’ve mentioned before, that was actually one of the advantages of having the girls in the NICU because they really took care of that for me.  Once I had the girls home, I just had to keep it going.  But, that’s a lot easier to say than to actually do!  I think I got very lucky that my girls, on their own really, went down to nap or sleep at the same time.  I made sure to feed them at the same time, or 1 right after the other, even if someone didn’t eat that much at a feeding.  And while I agree it is the most important thing about having twins, it’s hard to do!

7.       When you have a baby and make mommy friends, everyone talks about their babies.  It gets very hard not to compare your baby to everyone else’s.  Who’s doing what first or for how long, etc.  I think I got pretty good at ignoring that since I had 2 babies and they were preemies.  I just kept reminding myself I was in a totally different situation.  But, I have found it impossible not to compare my girls to each other.  After all, I live with both of them in the same house 24/7.  When 1 girl does something, I’m excited, but just waiting for her sister to do it!  It can make appreciating some of the milestones a little difficult!  But, I know, especially as the girls get older, I want each one to be her own person.  I have to stop with the comparing as soon as they’re both walking and talking.  At least I hope I can!

8.       As happy and excited as I get when the girls reach a milestone, some milestones make things more difficult.  I couldn’t wait for the girls to start moving!  It definitely made them happier.  But, then I had 2 babies crawling in opposite directions!  Let’s just say I haven’t been bored in over 14 months!  But, at the same time, I love every day they get bigger and better!  In fact, now that Kayla’s walking, I can’t wait for Zoey to do it too.  I do know that some of my twin mommy friends have found it much harder for a while though.

9.       Just like with any siblings, typically, when one of my girls gets sick, it’s just a matter of time until the other 1 gets it.  What makes this harder, especially at this stage, is that they can’t tell me what’s wrong or what would make them feel better.  I just have 2 sick babies who want all my love and attention and I end up feeling very inadequate that I can’t fully provide enough for either one of them.  Being sick sucks and it definitely sucks even more with twins!

10.   To sum it up, the most difficult part of having twins is THERE ARE 2 OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!!!  Just imagine anything you go through with one baby and double it!

Well, that’s my list for now.  And I must say, I am pleasantly surprised that I only have 3 extra items than my “good list.”  I guess that just goes to show that as impossible as having twins may seem at times, it really is the best thing that has ever happened to me (besides meeting and marrying my husband!).  I really wouldn’t change it for anything.  I don’t think I’d want to do it again, but I am so happy and so proud to be a mommy of twins!   

Why 2 is really better than 1

Lately, my girls have been absolutely delicious!  And to celebrate that I am writing the reasons why having twins is so much better than having 1 baby at a time:

1.        You only have to have 1 birthday party per year

2.       When you’re in a store and you just can’t decide between 2 of the most adorable outfits, just buy them both!  You have 2 babies who need to be dressed so just go for it!

3.       If you were planning on just having 2 kids, and you have twins, you never have to think about it again.  No more pregnancy, no more baby stage, no more spit up or poop diapers.  You’re done! 

4.       When you have twins, a very special bond forms between you and other multiples of twins.  One of my closest friends now who is probably one of the only people who truly understands what I’m going through is my twins friend.  Even though she’s back at work now and I’m still home with the girls, we can relate to each other in a way our families and our other friends just can’t.  It’s amazing!

5.       If you like being the center of attention, having twins is for you!  You will get stopped everywhere you go.  Literally, I cannot walk down the mall without being stopped a bunch of times for people to marvel at the girls or tell me about someone in their family who has twins.  Again, this refers to number 4 on my list, there’s a special bond between people that have twins, even among strangers!

6.       There are very cute things to use to decorate when you have twins.  For example, my husband just bought me a decal for my car that is a picture of twin girls and says “Got Twins.”  We also saw online a sign to hang in their room that says, “Born together, friends forever.”  I have a picture frame with the saying, “Two peas in a pod” and it’s the cutest frame I own!

7.       I think the best part of having twins, especially same sex twins, is that they have an instant best friend.  Even at just 14 months old, you can see how much my girls love each other.  They look for each other, they cuddle with each other, and they play peek-a-boo with each other.  And from what I hear, it only gets better as they get older.  Of course, they’ll fight, but the always have that 1 person they can depend on.  They always have a playdate, someone to do anything with.  They always have someone to laugh with, cry to and spend life with, in a way I don’t think anyone but twins can truly understand. 

Okay, so here’s my list so far.  Hopefully I’ll add to it as the girls keep growing.  Stay tuned for my next blog which will be my list about why having twins is so much harder than having 1 baby at a time.  I think that list might be a little longer!!