Intrepid Murmurings

 I am typing this on my new MAC laptop, woohoo!  While also wearing two babies in carriers on front and back, while bouncing on the ball to get them to sleep.  Got to go put them down soon to give my shoulders a rest!

Well, after my last post I finally got a few hours of solid sleep and that helped my outlook some.  Ha!  We still really need to get cracking on some changes, though.   

Unfortunately, in the past few days both babies have caught a gross cold from Emma, and are snuffly, snotty, coughing little girls. Yuck.  I wanted to start doing some sleep stuff last night but its hard when they are so uncomfortable and having trouble breathing as it is (I'm getting it a little bit, too).  I pulled out TNCSS again and am definitely working on getting them to start falling asleep without sucking (basically you detach them over and over again right before they fall asleep until they just accept it and fall asleep without it).  It actually works faster and with less fuss than I'd expect, but at 3am with two babies its really hard to keep at it.  REALLY HARD.  After awhile, all plans get called off because I just have to get some sleep or I will be unable to function.  But, I have hopes that it will slowly work if I just keep at it whenever I can.  

I am also looking into getting a chair to nurse the babies in upstairs, as I currently have no option other than the bed, which is really difficult to get them both off of by myself without waking them.  We have a regular glider that just does not accommodate the twin nursing pillow plus the three of us anymore.  I am looking into something like this, and have a bunch of unused credit card points that I can use to get it. Should I go for it?  I think it will be used for a long time after nursing is over for reading bedtime stories and such, or as a comfortable living room or family room chair.  

This morning I got up and left the house at 7:30 (!) to go to the twins club sale with Delia.  We are members, so for a half hour before it opens to the public we can get in and snap up all the good deals.  So fun!  I got a playgym mat that I've really been wanting, two different styles of baby bath seats that should be AWESOME to help facilitate baby & Emma combo baths,  some fancy cloth diapers at great prices, and some misc. clothes that we were needing.   I love getting good deals on baby gear! 

Okay, more very soon.  I have a 4 month update about the babies that deserves its own post.  

5 things I NEED to get done today this week soon:

1. Address/stuff/mail thank you notes/baby announcements (better late than never???)
   
2. Fold and put away mountains of laundry
3. Sort through and put away 0-3 month clothes, pull out 3-6.  Yay!
4. Bake some muffins.  Sneak in fruits/veggies for Emma.
5. Vacuum the tufts of dog hair off the floor
   

5 things I AM doing while ALL 3 kids are sleeping:

1. Check my blogs/forums/facebook
2. WRITE A BLOG POST!
3. Eat more Rice Krispie Treats
4. Shower?
5. Start folding clothes right as somebody wakes up....

• Starting off the week on a sleepy note -- the babies woke me literally EVERY HOUR last night, and I eventually had to get up and give Delia a bottle around 4.  Not sure if she was just hungry, uncomfortable, or not that sleepy.   Emma woke up around 6 :15 so we were all up for the day then.
  

• So far I have been able to avoid bottles at night, which has been nice.  But now it seems there's a 50/50 chance somebody will need one.  I hate dealing with the bottle in the night, though its better if I have it all ready beside the bed if so.

• The feeding thing seems to alternate between crappy days and not-so-bad ones.  Some days it seems like one or both girls just refuse to nurse and want bottles all day long.  Others, like yesterday, I can get them to breastfeed a fair bit, and it feels like a success. 

• My current goal is to try to make it another month or month and a half, and then see if we can get solids going.  My lactation Dr. suggested starting solids early to help get calories and nutrients into them in a form other than the bottle, to alleviate the bottle preference thing and keep them breastfeeding some (we'd still supplement with formula too, just not as much)  She suggested pureed meats and avocado as good first foods, which I have heard elsewhere (La Leche League) too.  Meats are high in the fats and iron that the babies need, as is avocado.  Emma never took to baby cereals anyway so I think we will try it.  But I don't think I will start any sooner than 5 months -- even though the Dr. was suggesting it.  Its just so against all the recommendations these days, and I'm still a little obsessive about gut maturity an allergy prevention!

• Ugh, just got back from a sucky daycare drop off.  All three kids crying, wheee!  I had to drag Emma in while Elsie wailed on my front and Delia hollered outside in the stroller.  Emma had stopped crying and was kind of hiding in the kitchen with one of the teachers when I left -- pretty sure she was fine as soon as I was gone and she had some waffles....
  

Hey, all 3 kids asleep right now!  The stars align!  I should be doing a thousand other things (like the 6 loads of laundry sitting here to fold. 6!) but alas.

Sleep is going better.  We acquired another Amby Hammock so now both babies can go in one at the same time.  They will occasionally wake a bit when I transfer them and immediately go back to sleep.  Heaven.

It is insane how the sleep thing rules my day though.  Good sleep = good day, Bad sleep = me desperate and feeling like a failure.  With three kids it really is essential but hard to get the sleep thing down, though.

Apologizing for any misspellings here (ha -- I just misspelled misspellings!).  Can't seem to find a spellcheck with my current version of this blog software.  And man do I need spellcheck.  Luckily Mozilla helps me some. 

Breastfeeding -- we are doing pretty well on this new supplementing regime.  Basically they are getting more formula, more often, but still nursing a fair bit.  A lot, actually.  Just not all the time.  Phew. I think they are getting about 50% breast milk at this point (which, if I only had one baby would be enough!). I kinda want to wean off the meds I am on (Domperidone and Metformin, the Dom being the one to kick first, for sure), but am scared.  I've been half-assed with the herbs but my awesome lactation Dr. seemed to think that the meds far outgunned the herbs anyway, and that herbs have their own (somewhat unknown) risks as well.  Hurrumph.  What to do.   Herbs FEEL healthier than pharmaceuticals but I know thats not necessarily true.  At all. 

Things I have done in the past 5 days that has made me feel productive:  went to Costco (with Emma, not the babies, thank goodness)!  Finished writing up E & D's birth story!  Waded through my huge pile of paperwork, paid bills, and filed all papers.  All of them!!!! Did thousands of loads of laundry (see above) including cloth dipes twice!  Went to Target with the babies (still overwhelming to take them both out, but I gotta keep doing it).  Cleaned up a million little people, wooden bananas, books and plastic cups -- oh wait, that happens everyday, and doesn't necessarily make me feel productive at all, though it must be done to keep us sane.....

• Whoops, missed a day, sorry folks.   Nothing much to report here.  Lots of crying, screaming, tantrums this AM.  Very little napping, boo! But then Lonnie came home early, and he and Emma had a nice long nap while the babies slept on me for much of it -  not ideal but at least peaceful.

• If you happen to be off chocolate due to a nursing baby's unfortunate intolerance (boo!), these are actually quite nice if you want a crunchy, cream filled sandwich cookie.  Who would have guessed?  For frozen goodness, these delights, in the non-chocolate flavors (chocolate is fab if you can, too) are great. And they are both dairy free!

• Speaking of which, it was Lonnie's birthday yesterday.  31derful years, ha.  It was low key and not much hoopla involved, but he seemed okay with that.  We celebrated with vegan pie AND cake, thanks to our local co-op.

• I am not one for slogans or dressing the kids up in matchy matchy outfits most of the time, but this paired with these, kinda cracks me up...

OMG you guys! 

The babies napped in their room today, not on me!!!! This is day two of attempting this and holy $#*% its working! 

The blackout shades are drawn, and I have a fan on for white noise.  I swaddle and feed them until asleep (rock or bounce if necessary), then put Delia in the Amby, Elsie in a bouncer in the crib.  They both actually stayed asleep through transfer!  This morning Elsie  slept for 45 min, Delia for 3 hours (!) until I woke her up to feed. I actually got to hang out with Emma some, and folded four baskets of laundry.  And made and ate lunch without someone crying!

Elsie went down for a second nap in the Amby in the afternoon and also slept for 3 hours, which allowed me to cook and feed Emma and me dinner (while Delia snoozed in the sling) and then do bath/books/bed stuff since Lonnie worked late.  If this continues, my life will be revolutionized.  Emma almost never napped for longer than 45 min, until way past 12 months old, so this is fab.  It is exhausting to try to keep any sort of schedule and mesh the babies' and Emma's in any sort of manageable fashion, but if this becomes a reliable way to get them down we can then work on timing later... 

Happy 3 month birthday, Delia and Elsie!I can't believe its been 3 months (though other times it feels like its been a lifetime already!). 

I have been feeling guilty about my lack of blog activity, but what can you do?  I just don't have the time.  I'm going to try something, though -- posting EVERY day, even if its just something short and lame (which it often will be, I'm sure).  Since I am always typing one handed, long posts overwhelm me.  But a short thing might be easier to tackle.  I am sitting in this chair next to the laptop nursing A LOT, still, after all.

Things are going well here, considering.  This is not at all easy, but we all expected that.  The girls are approaching 10 pounds (still on the small side for age, but they feel big to us!)  and are awake a lot more.  Lots of smiling, hitting/kicking their toys, looking around at everything.  They adore watching their big sister's antics!

Breastfeeding is going so-so, and sleep is pretty hellish.  They still wake EVERY time we set them down, day and night.  I feel like something drastic is going to have to happen soon, and that is really unpleasant.  I just don't have the time and energy to work on their sleep, yet that is what is dragging me down.  Vicious cycle.... 

Here are a couple newish photos (posted in the August gallery)

Elsie smiling in the shade

Delia's Grin

Why Grandma ought to buy washable markers...(it did all wash off though, whew)

So, Elsie & Delia are 10 weeks old, and I can't believe how the time has flown.  Though it has been a crazy blur of weeks, things have really gone better than I envisioned! 

The first few weeks were rough, admittedly, mostly because of the breastfeeding issues, both of them losing more than a pound.  It was all very familiar, though, so it wasn't quite as upsetting or emotional as it was with Emma.  The actual physical pain from nursing went away really fast this time (it hung around for 3 months last time!), and figuring out latch stuff, tandem nursing, and supplementing was HARD, but easier than if I had been breastfeeding for the first time.  While they still nurse really frequently  -- every hour or two, except at night -- we are now in a good routine with supplementing and they are gaining weight well, at about an ounce a day.  Both are right around 9 pounds!  Which seems little when I think of Emma's birth wieght (9lbs3oz) but its a good 3+ pounds more than where they were at their smallest. 

I have been noticing this week that Delia hasn't been gaining well, due to her sleeping through feedings (which her sister takes advantage of).  You snooze, you lose around here...

In terms of sleep, well there's the good and the bad.  The good is that Elsie & Delia both seem to need/want MUCH more sleep than Emma ever did.  Woohoo!   Sometimes it seems like they would sleep all day if they could.  And, they seem, at night anyway, to cycle in sync which allows us all to get longer stretches of sleep.  Right now, they often have one longer stretch of 4 hours, and then another 2 or 3, broken up, before morning.  I am feeling pretty well rested, because of this.  

The downside is that they are still very dependent on me for sleep.  They don't take pacifiers (I've tried!) and like to nurse to sleep, and don't transfer well, so they mostly nap on me.  Hence, I have a lot of time in the armchair, looking at my Internets, but not good for actually getting stuff done and tending to Emma.  Night is the same way -- they sleep draped on me, pressed on either side of me, wedged in with pillows.  Some would say a smothering nightmare, ha, though I feel it is totally safe since I can feel if they move, and know their faces are always towards me anyway.  Believe it or not, we all sleep really well this way, but I do want to get them sleeping in their own spaces (still probably in our bed for easy nursing though) soonish.

This past week, my first solo week with all three has gone pretty well!  There are stressful (really stressful!) times, ususally midday, when I am trying to juggle fixing Emma's and my lunches, getting her down for a nap, and two whiny screaming babies who are wanting to nurse/nap too.  I just have to let them cry, and thats HARD!  And then they get so hysterical they don't settle when I am able to tend to them.  Up until yesterday my only trick for soothing/calming both at once was nursing, but I just got my new Beco Butterfly carrier, which allows me to put one very easily on my back.  Last night I was able to put one in there on my back, one in the ring sling on my front, and bounce them both to sleep on the exercise ball!   While also watching the Olympics! 

This week has also led to having the babies put down more often, and they seem to be getting more used to that, too.  Sometimes they can sit in the bouncer, the swing, in their play gym, or under their mobile for decent stretches (of course, not always at the same time...).  Lying on the changing table is also a favorite chill zone.  My next step is getting them to take naps in these places, or in a different specific bed places.  Thats going to be a challenge, but if I can get them to do it, it will revolutionize my life. Ha.  However, since it didn't happen with Emma until much, much later, I am not counting on it.  Cautiously optimistic, perhaps?

Delia & Elsie

 Lonnie & Elsie

 Elsie's Feet

Delia's Goofy Face

These are just a few of the photos my friend Mona took of us and the babies recently.  Aren't they great?  Elsie and Delia were about two weeks old when they were taken.  She is an awesome photographer and also a hilariously funny blogger, as well.  Thanks, Mona!

There is literally no time to post around here, sorry all.  I have sat down to work on a post at least  20 times in the past few weeks , to no avail.  My "free time" (ha!) comes in 5 minute chunks at most, and if it is longer I try desperately to do things like shower, tidy up the house, make and/or eat food, etc. 

I do get a fair bit of reading/computer/TV time (but its one handed, not at all good for typing!), so its not like I don't have some kind of down time, its just that the time that I don't have a baby or two in my arms is close to nil.  I bet it adds up to an hour or two during the day, but that is still not much.  Luckily, they don't wiegh much and are pretty cute, so its not so bad.   

Nighttimes are killing me, though I suppose it could be worse.  Our current arrangement is Elsie and Delia with me in our bed (with crib attached, though they refuse to sleep in it) and Lonnie in the guest bed, dealing with Emma wake ups, if there are any.  The babies current nighttime trend is to sleep from 10 or 11pm to 1 or 2 am, and then be awake for 3 hours after that.  They will nurse and fall asleep, but as soon as I transfer them down to the bed, they wake and cry.  I can nurse one down from there, but the other cries, then I switch, and they switch.  The 2 or so hours of crying is HARD to deal with!   Its not even really bad crying, sometimes just fussing as they are gearing up, or complaining while I try to nurse one and hold a pacifier in the others mouth, but still, definitely not sleeping.

Eventually, around 4 am I give up and pile up the pillows in a ridiculous arrangement to support them in my arms so they can both nurse to sleep, while I am flat on my back.  It works, but its not all that comfortable and really not what I want to get them used to.  But what else to do?  I think they would fall asleep hard enough to transfer if I walked them around, or bounced them, but I can't do it for both at the same time.  So one would have to cry, for quite awhile, by themselves (they tend not to fall into a sound sleep if the other is screaming in the same room -- and if I go into screaming babies room with sleeping baby, to transfer, that one will wake up again).  Luckily, though, I am able to get a few more hours with them sleeping on top of me, and can even move them down onto the bed at some point when they are in a deep sleep. 

Ah, this too will pass.  I hope?  

On the upside, they are finally gaining weight!  About an ounce a day, which is good, though more would be welcome as well.  They both reached their birth weights again this week (which is pretty late, as they are 4 weeks old today!), and will hopefully continue that trend.  We are supplementing with formula as well as TONS of breastfeeding, and I am still on the meds, which seem to be doing pretty well.  My doctor again reinforced how I really ought to be pumping since I am taking these meds (guilt guilt) but I Just Cant.  Not enough minutes in the day!

They are also getting more alert all the time, and they are doing lots of head raises to show off their strong necks.  They look like little turtles!   I can't believe its almost been a month since they were born, holy cow.  Gotta write up my birth story before I forget!

On Tuesday, May 27th, Elsie Olivia and Delia Grace joined the Hutchinson family.  Finally!  Labor was boosted/officially started at 9:30am with a rupture of membranes, and from there progressed really well.  We were able to have pretty much the birth we were hoping for, given the challenges of a twin delivery! 

Elsie was born first at 2:33 pm, weighing 6lbs 12 oz.  After a bit of manipulation to get her heading in the right direction, Delia was born at 2:55, weighing 7lbs 5oz.  They are doing great and were able to stay with us the whole time and go home on Thursday AM. Right now we are working A LOT on breastfeeding (going fairly well, with some very familiar and expected bumps due to the whole milk supply business, and sleepiness).  Sadly, the sleepiness does not include the hours between 9pm to 3am!

Emma has been enjoying her new sisters, loves giving kisses and hugs, and remarking on their tiny hands and feet.  She is also obsessed with their tiny diapers and all their gear.  But she (and her parents as well) is also very glad Grandma Cynthia is here to pay attention to her, too!

Here is a link to some pics -- more coming soon, I hope! At this point, we are having trouble even remembering to TAKE pictures!

So, in another two hours we will be checking into the hospital to have some babies!  Crazy!  The induction starts tonight with a med to help prepare the cervix, then, hopefully, we will be able to get some sleep until the real action starts in the morning. 

Unfortunately, the laptop is broken-ish (the screen won't close without threatening breakage) so we will not have that for updates, and we don't really know how to text message from our phones (lame, I know) so we probably won't get the news out over the web until later.   We will have our cells and will be updating friends and family through that, of course.  Wish us luck!  Babies tomorrow!  

Yeah, we are heading towards an induction, currently set to begin Monday night.  Whee!  

I was actually encouraged by the Dr of the day to do it tonight, and man, it was HARD to say no to that, but I really think its for the best.  Everything looked fine with both my health and the babies, including a quick ultrasound to check fluid levels.  The main reason for his wanting to schedule the induction this week instead of early next is because the 38 week mark falls on Saturday, and they don't schedule elective procedures on weekends or holidays.   But the 38 week mark, based on my due date, was set by an ultrasound at around 11 weeks, which is known to not be entirely accurate to begin with...

Many crunchier folks really disagree with the 38 week rule for twins, but my perinatal practice is pretty firm that the research shows a (very) slight increase in fetal demise after that time.  If the babies don't come on their own it will be 38weeks 3 days, which I am fine with.  And while I am SO ready to be done and SO uncomfortable, I do really want to  give my body all the time we can to bring things on naturally.  The rate of inductions that end in c-sections is really high, due to all the interventions (and the fact that your body may just not be ready) and I would really like to avoid all that. 

So, yeah, here we are.  Ho hum.  At our appointment on Weds we had a non-stress that took 90 minutes (instead of 20 or so) because the babies Would Not Cooperate, and could not be tracked down for more than a minute or so before moving or having their heartbeats disappear.  Not scary, since the heartbeats were fine, it was just annoying because the nurses (2 of them!) were poking, prodding, and rearranging me that entire time to try and get a good reading.  They finally did, all looked good, and we were able to move on to the Dr.

The cervical exam showed no progress, a dilation of 1-2 cm which it has been at for weeks.  I still think Baby A "lefty" moved back up, and that is what caused our progress to reverse.  Today I've felt a little like she might have dropped more again, but its hard to tell.  I am not sure Emma ever did, actually, because she was high throughout my labor and I finally just pushed her down at the end.  If we can get Lefty to drop, though, it could make things move along, perhaps...

So, thats the story!  We will have babies by Tuesday, I think, unless they decide to come sooner.  Come on babies!  Memorial Day Weekend is a good time to be born! 

Happy Birthday, kid!  We had a fun day yesterday with a picnic in the backyard, lots of friends and family.  Emma enjoyed all the company, adored the babies who attended, and for the second year in a row, was not at all interested in her cupcake.  Ah well.  More for me.  

I am sorry I am lazy with the pics -- we have a few to upload and more on my moms camera, and will try to get those up soon!!! 

The weather here has been AWESOME, and yesterday was pretty hot by Seattle standards.  I love it, generally, but until I am no longer pregnant and can actually fit into summer clothes, I am fine with things getting back to normal, heat wise.  I know I am super lucky to have made it this far without experiencing swelling during pregnancy, but for the first time ever I had some and I'd prefer to not have it get any worse!  Feeling lucky to have had spring due dates both times around, and no hugely pregnant in the middle of summer issues. 

Sorry for no update this past week -- this weeks appointment showed no progress on the baby front.  Baby A has still not dropped (after her move back up a few weeks ago) so it kind of looks like they will be hanging in for the long run.  However, if there is no action this week, I will be induced on Monday the 26th-ish.    So no matter what, in less than 8 days we will have babies!  Yahoo!