Nine months old

The kids turned nine months old on Thursday, and for the first time we didn't make their Dr. appt. for their birthday, since even back in June DH had the foresight to make it a four day weekend for us.

They are both rocking up on their knees as of a week ago, though he more enthusiastically, so our lives are about to change and soon.  Both are taking to finger foods like champs, and are complete omnivores so far.

Alistair is up to 19 lbs. and 5 ozs. (25-50%) and is 29 1/2" long (90%), and his head is 46.1 cm (75%).  He is still up 6-0 on his sister in the tooth race and he is delighting everyone with his completely random bouts of giggles.

Marielle is up to 16 lbs. and 11 ozs. (25%) and is 28" long (75%) and her head is 44.9 cm (75%).  Her favorite activities include spinning herself around/doing tummy donuts on the bare floor, doing what appear to be advanced yoga poses and clapping.

They continue to be on all breastmilk (plus solids) for now, so their weights will likely remain on the low end as to grow taller, as breastfed babies tend to have a lighter weight curve than formula fed babies.

They got their first flu shot today and will get the second of the series in three months.  They also got hemoglobin/iron tests (normal) and lead exposure (TBD, but hopefully negative)

They still sleep about 11 hours at night, ~7p-6a, (and have for the last five months or so) and about another three more cumulatively during the day in now two 1-2 hour naps.  They (almost always) love their schedule, which we take pretty seriously, since it keeps them very happy.  If we were deciding our family size based on these two, we'd have another ten.  Though I don't think I could love anyone more.

 I'm not a big fan of hair bows, but I do adore her in it (and she seems to like it too)

Kicking back in his big boy chair 

 Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
Thanks for bringing us along, now we are going to eat your tapas (and they did!) 

 Calm between cries

Pumping some Boppy iron
 

My younger sister came to visit us from NYC over Labor Day weekend, so my next older sister and all the cousins came down to visit too. 

The "strap chewers" watching the big kids play at the playground...

You know what is a bigger freak show gets more stares than twins in a double stroller?  Twins plus four under five in a quad stroller.  We were quite a sight at the zoo and the mall and the pool...  Happy first weekend of autumn! 

Marking days (and knowing your risks for PTL)

The kids are 8 1/2 months old (nearly eight adjusted) and have surpassed their time inside, 36w4d, with their time outside, 37w2d, and today is the one year anniversary of the surgery that kept them cooking past 21w4d and saved their lives. 

After losing my mucus plug last 8/19 @ 19w (and then having an OB clear me w/a long and closed cervix as we were heading OOT on vaca) and then six days later discovering my funneling cervix at our anatomy scan (which put me on bed rest), I quickly found an MFM that ordered that I be monitored more closely (and put me back on P4).  After a week of twice weekly checks showed that my cervix was stable and then much improved/normal, the third showed that I was beginning to dilate.  By the time I got into surgery that afternoon, I was already two cm dilated (with four cm being the limit for being able to be sewn shut).  It was one of our very worst and (in the end) best days...

Every day now, I look at the babies and know how lucky we were that my appointment just happened to be on that day and that my body failed so slowly.  We've just passed what would have been the first birthday of our first baby who we lost.  I am a very emotionally resilient person, as is DH, but I'm just not sure that I would have been able to cope very well with birthing three lost babies.  There is a limit to how much you can even imagine bouncing back from...

In an attempt to hopefully save others from a similar situation, I wanted to share the risk factors that I had (and should have put me on a short list for closer monitoring) and all the many others, so you can advocate for yourself and your babies.

According to the March of Dimes, I had all three of the greatest risks of having a preterm birth:

A uterine septum (or other uterine/cervical irregularity) can cause problems, even after removed.  In our attempts to get pg, I'd also had several surgeries (three over the course of 16 months) to address my septum and a polyp, which involved dilating my cervix (any D&C-type procedure increases the risk of having cervical problems or adhesions).  I'd also had a cervical cone biopsy in my 20s after an irregular Pap, which thankfully was benign, but left me with a little piece of my cervix missing, which also weakens it.

Though I was carrying multiples, a major risk factor, just having done IVF and being pg with one baby is sadly also a risk factor for preterm labor.

Since my first pregnancy ended in a spontaneous loss, this also put me at higher risk for another preterm loss (since the root causes, including low P4, were likely the same).  First trimester losses sadly garner little serious attention, so it was not considered a risk at the time.  Though if it had been several weeks later, it would have raised more red flags and I would have been a candidate for a preventative cerclage, rather than needing a rescue cerclage.  How sad is it that you not only have to lose babies to be treated proactively, they must be farther along...

Though I was nearly 35 when all this occurred and age (high or low) is a risk factor, I was very healthy and didn't have any of the other health related risk factors (preeclampsia, high blood pressure, diabetes, under/overweight, clotting disorders, other disease/infections/birth defects, etc.)

All the other/lifestyle risk factors actually ran counter to my situation.  These include race, socioeconomic status, marital status, working status, access to prenatal care, unintended pregnancy, smoking, alcohol/drug use, lack of social support, stress, domestic violence, and exposure to environmental pollutants.

If you are TTC or newly pg, please check out the list of risk factors (there are so many, but some intersect w/those causing IF, like PCOS) and see if any of them apply to you and discuss with your physicians.

And so it is finally September, when we also mark two years since we lost my FIL and my sister was dx w/cancer.  Those were some dark days...  Thankfully, my MIL is bolstered now by having my BIL back in India, a new DIL, and of course new grandbabies (which she'll be back to see in the new year).  And my sister is so far cancer free since her surgery and chemo last year.  Thanks to those who sent her cards and/or added her to your prayers.  We also get to mark another year of marriage (6!) and life (36!), opportunities that we cherish.  We know just how lucky we are and are very thankful, every single day.

If you are going through hell, keep going... -Eleanor Roosevelt

Enjoying the last throes

I feel like I'm always talking about the weather, but with little ones it often makes the difference between leaving the house or not (no small thing when you are home all day every day) and this year has been absolutely crazy.  Until August.  Usually in Chicago, August is the worst, hot, humid, awful mess, when people can't get out of the city fast, far or often enough (this time last year we were in the Hamptons). But thankfully this year it has been just lovely, a bit more like September, which almost always has days full of the weather that I like best.  It will be interesting to see what this fall is like, whether it'll be more summer or snow, or maybe locusts or something...

 

Daddy took a day off and we took the kids to our Central Park and they had a blast climbing all over. 

They do have pants, but I overdressed them and then it got warm, so we lost them.  One of the benefits of being small.

This little guy has one gear, reverse, which leads to fun times under furniture.

 He has now sprouted teeth #5 and #6, on top, and humors me with the occasional "mama" and I swear the other day said "bye bye" after I was prompting them to say this to all the nice people at the mall who wouldn't stop harassing us.  You never realize what a freak show twins are until you try to casually take them out into "civilization".

 

Her big girl chair finally came today (his is still on backorder) and she LOVES it.

My little reader still working on her teeth... :)



Moe and Curly

The kids are coming up on eight months and have been changing so much over the last few weeks.  They are both sitting up by themselves now, jabbering like crazy (it's all "dadada" over here so far, apparently I'm just some lady who watches them all day ;) ), and having fun playing together.  They love to steal each other's toys and bang them around while squealing, when not rearranging themselves on the playmat so that they can be touching (i.e. kicking) each other at all times.  I found them the other day both leaned over and he had her foot in his mouth and she was pulling his hair and they both had huge smiles on their faces. :)

Alistair now has four teeth, as his two uppers broke through a few weeks ago, but she is still all gums.  Marielle is definitely stronger with her fine motor skills, picking up small objects using just her thumb and forefinger (the pincer grasp), but I think he is closer to crawling.  The pic below is his favorite position to get himself into and now he has started scooting backwards.  They no longer stay where you put them for very long.  Our days of non-mobile babies are definitely over.

She is crazy for story time and loves to "read" books by herself, while he'd rather just chew on the boards and laugh at me while I make a fool of myself doing the voices and animal noises. This is a really fun age. They laugh a lot.  They are so aware and interactive with everything and everyone.  I've seen several wave like motions, but we're not there quite yet.  I marvel at how big they have gotten in such a seemingly short amount of time, but also look forward to the coming months when we'll be moving to vertical, which will be amazing to see. Their personalities are so cute and are really starting to blossom.

New wheels

No, not me (I'm all set), but the kids got their big kid stroller (which I have realized is basically just a kiddy version of my blue SUV) for their six month/half birthday...  And they absolutely love it!

Their inaugural trip to Ravinia, a few sprinkles, but still fun

2012 Bumbleride Indie twin in Ocean

I had worried about getting a stroller with air tires, since I know they can be a pain (talk to me again after I'm stuck somewhere with my first flat), but the ride on this thing is amazing.  It is basically self propelled, easy peasy, and can take on anything.  Even the bumps in our sidewalks would slow down the City Mini, and since this was only slightly larger when folded and how many strollers do we really need, I sold the City Mini.

Had we had twins at another time of year, I probably would have gotten this earlier and with the carry cots (bassinets) or it is one of the few that also takes two car seats (Maxi Cosi).  Though the seats go flat, they are rated from six months (I have no idea why this is).  Before I finally bought this, I had considered a BOB or the Summit XC since they are practically giving them away now, but I loved this one just too much.  And thankfully, the kids agree.  Good kids.  This is not a serious runner, but neither am I.

So now that I've sold our double snap n go and the City Mini double, we are down to just this, the Twin techno (for travel, etc.) and the single Mac jogger (which I rarely use, but love too much to part with).  Hopefully, we should be set now.  And since I fell in love with the one stroller that apparently never goes on sale, and I have a strong aversion to paying retail, I thankfully found a retailer in my old hood (in Boston) who got me a good deal.

Breastfeeding/Pumping

So we are at seven months of breastfeeding (or rather pumping, to be precise), and plan to keep going to the end of the year, so I figured it was time to share whatever wisdom I have derived from the process of over 1,000 pumps in and nearly that many left to go... :/

Commonly breastfeeding is cheaper than the alternative, though this was not why we wanted to breastfeed.  I can't claim this has been the case for us, as you will see from all the crap equipment we needed to pull this off, but it was important to me to do even though/especially since we had twins and they were early.

I do admit to some regret over not being able to feed the twins at the breast (add it to the list of things that didn't go according to plan; conception, pregnancy, childbirth, etc., etc.), but rather just from it, but we always try to make the best of our situations and seem to now be experts of the work around.  My milk came in on day three, which from what I understand is pretty speedy considering I had an emergency C-section before 37 weeks.  We started with them at the breast and even in the few days when there we almost nothing there (drops of colostrum), we were also pumping.

I've considered trying to get them back on the breast several times, but decided that even though I have tried everything to up my supply (water, fenugreek, oatmeal, etc., etc.), it is what it is (regardless of how often I pump) and since we still have to supplement, I decided it would probably just make more sense to keep them on bottles rather than doing both at each feeding.  Though now that they are eating twice/day for the last month, they are getting almost all breast milk, or roughly 40 of the 50 ozs. they eat, and we use even less formula than we have in the past.  Now that they are down to four feedings/day, I am also pumping four times/day.

So here goes, the haul...

We started out in the hospital with the Medela Symphony pump. 

This is a serious piece of equipment, but I unfortunately had a bad experience with it.  Maybe in my over zealousness to get my supply going, and a lack of proper medicating in the hospital, it caused me severe uterine contractions in the days post delivery.  Like please kill me now pain.  So for anyone who thinks I got off easy with not one but two different nearly painless labors (in Sept. and Dec.) and a C-section, there you go.  We all get ours in the end.  I had to be more heavily medicated thereafter, but I was not deterred.

At home, I had already bought a Medela Pump in Style Advanced. 

This is perfectly fine pump, but after somehow managing for nearly a month, maybe because DH was home, I finally decided that having to sit with this monster to pump seemingly all day and night while simultaneously caring for two newborns was not going to work.

So then, I bought the Medela Freestyle.

This is similar to the PISA, but is smaller, lighter, and is portable since it has a rechargable battery, so it doesn't need to be plugged in while you are pumping.  NB: the PISA can be used with a battery pack, but I would imagine that too is very cumbersome.  The Freestyle has worked well for us.  It is "easy" to take along when we travel, and yes I have pumped in the car (though not while driving) on long trips.

That leads me to the other thing that I had that I wasn't sure if I would use.  My "free" nursing cover. 

This has been very handy even though I am pumping exclusively.  It may sound strange, but sometimes you need to pump when close family is around and I'm not going to go hide in a corner to do this (and the kids still need to be cared for).  I hook up in private, cover up, and go about my business and no one seems to mind.

Another must have are good pumping bras.  I've found the bandeau style ones to work well, though I have a halter as well.  I have several of these by Medela.  (I know this post sounds like a big ad for them, but they just make all this stuff...)

When not pumping, I've found that simple, inexpensive (not too elastic or tight) sports type bras work well.  For those like me who would otherwise not wear a bra to sleep, which is not an option while BFing IMO, these are much more comfortable.  I've tried wearing and now have a dozen different sizes of regular bras from pregnancy and post, but since I am home, comfort and easy accessibility are key.

Now, for nipple care. 

When I was feeding them at the breast, I was using lanolin cream and the gel pads from the hospital, but when we started pumping full time, I had to switch things up.  I've tried several brands and settled on these, though there are certainly many other kinds.

I could not live without my Medela gel pads, which is why we spend a small fortune to keep me in them.  I've tried going without and it just doesn't fly.  I'm sure having two babies on my nipples would be rough, but the pump is also very tough of them.

I don't have a problem with leaking much anymore, but when you are abusing your nipples with a pump as much as I do, you need some padding.  Again, I've tried to go without and no dice.  I've found that I like the pads from Lansinoh the best, though I've tried others as well.

Like many others, we love our Dr. Brown's bottles.  When we first got home and were pinch hitting and feeding them from the simple Medelas that came with the pump, we had some minor spit up issues.  But once we got these, those all but disappeared.

Since we had MIL here when DH went back to work, from 1-5 months, the kids were held while they were fed, but now that I am flying solo and we've put the kids on a schedule, we really use our Boppy pillows for feedings a lot.  BTW, they are now also perfect for sitting practice.

That's it, but please chime in if there is anything that you recommend that I may have forgotten. :)

30 weeks/Seven months

We've been busy summering and trying to stay cool in this insane heat.  My mantra this summer is the same as last, my two favorite inventions ever are IVF and A/C. ;)  It turns out we are experiencing what is the hottest year ever on record in Chicago (90s in spring, 120 heat indexes in summer).  So much for getting outside and enjoying it as much as I planned with the kiddos.  Now, I'm just praying we have a decent fall.

We're still waiting for her to spring some teeth like her brother.  She is getting really close to sitting independently, but he seems in less of a hurry, though he rolled first and looks like he could take off when he's on his belly.  She is amazing with her hands and can keep herself occupied for long periods of time studying and handling just about anything.  He is still all about kicking and still loves nothing more than chewing on everything and being held.

I try not to obsess about any of these things, as I know everything will come in good time.  In the meantime, I figure anything they might lack in advanced early development they more than make up for in ironclad immunity, hair, their willingness to eat anything, love of sleep, and general agreeableness and hilarity. 

These pics are from Bastille Day (like the 4th, only French and 10 days later...)