The brothers: 7 months.

Those brothers turned 7 months a couple weeks ago. Naturally, I am just now writing their post. In my defense we were on vacation for the last week and I aimed to leave my computer in the bag as much as possible. Either way we have a couple of cute, happy 7 month old boys in the house.

Both boys can sit up on their own now. They still tip over on occasion but they are sitting pretty darn well. This marks my favorite time in baby life. Can sit up to play with toys and see things, can't move yet. Perfect.

They both roll a bit but not to get places, no army crawling yet. Fine by me. They have tried some solid foods but their sleep got really bad when we started more solids so we backed off for a bit. They seem ready to try again. We'll see how it goes.

I think my favorite thing they both do right now it look up into your eyes when you are holding them (often when getting them ready to go to sleep) and smile while reaching out to touch your face. It is just the sweetest. They have also started to pat us. Perhaps because we pat them to sleep a lot, either way so sweet to have a little man patting your back for you.

Both boys are very easy going adaptable babies, it is like they know they are twins and have a big sister and that we just can't always accommodate their desired schedule. They are champs at napping on the go and just generally going with the flow.

I think the differences in how they look are becoming a bit more pronounced. Kai has sharper features than Soren. We may call him baby bird. Still blue eyes!

They still seem to be working on teeth, no teeth yet though.

Right now they LOVE

• Their piano
• Sitting up in the forest
• The bouncer and exersaucer
• Cats
• Chewing on all of the things
• Attention
• Silly faces and noises
• Old McDonald
• Dog and elephant
• Hanging out in their stroller outside
• Walking and taking naps in the carriers

Hates

•  Solid food
• Sleeping in pack and plays
• Being tired

Lots of loves, very few hates. Happy little dudes.

Breastfeeding twins: 6 months later.

First, a disclaimer. Every family should feed their baby in a way that works for them. Breast, bottle, whatever keeps baby alive and happy is wonderful.

I have reached a major goal I had when we found out we were having twins. They have been fed only breast milk for the first 6 months of their life. No formula, no food just mama milk. Is this the right path for everyone? Nope. But it was for us and I feel pretty proud that we made it to 6 months.

The brothers have been breastfed from day one. They have also had breast milk from a syringe, breast milk from a finger feeding tube, and breastmilk from a bottle. They take their milk anyway they can get it. Though they definitely prefer it straight from the tap.

Most of you know I volunteer to help breastfeeding moms at our local hospital. As part of that volunteer work I have been able to attend several breastfeeding trainings and seminars. During a mother and baby summit statistics on the percent of babies who were breastfed exclusively for 6 months were discussed. In Michigan, 75% of moms try breastfeeding at least once (awesome!) but only 16% breastfeed exclusively for 6 months (that means only breast milk for baby it does not matter if baby eats said milk from breast or bottle). Audrey was in that 16% and I really wanted to achieve the same with the brothers. Would they be A OK if we didn't make it? Of course they would. Would we have given them solids earlier if they wouldn't take a bottle? Sure. But they did take a bottle so we could try to meet the AAP and WHO recommendation of 6 months. And we did! Yay!

Other than to have a party for myself, I feel like this post is important for expectant twin moms. When I was pregnant I could not find very many personal accounts of breastfeeding twins which left me feeling a bit unsure about what to expect. Would I be able to exclusively breastfeed? The answer to that is yes. Would it be easy? The answer to that is no and yes. Super hard at the beginning super easy after about 3 months. Overall, the easiest path possible in my opinion.

I say we took the easiest path possible because I went back to work and oh good god how I hate pumping and making bottles and washing bottles. So. Much. Work. Weekends are like pure bliss. No bottles to wash no pumping to be done. Sometimes I do pump on the weekend so I can go out . But when we go out, all we need are diapers, wipes, and me! And did I mention I hate washing bottles.

You still may be asking, but isn't breastfeeding twins twice as much work? I would have to say at this point, no. Was it at the beginning, yes. But breastfeeding is always by far the hardest for the first three months. The brothers are way faster at eating than Audrey ever was. I think because they know one is waiting, who knows. But they are quick, like 5, 10 maybe 15 minutes. They are also increasingly easier to feed simultaneously, which means super quick feeds. Even their middle of the night feeding is a half hour in an out, easy peasy. Unless they don't want to go back to sleep, which is just cruel.

So, to recap. Breastfeeding twins hard at first, much easier as time passes. In our case, easier than bottles. And biggest bonus of all, I am able to get some one on one time with each baby every day by breastfeeding them, which I love. It is hard to carve out time during which you are solely focused on one twin, feeding them separately at least some of the time allows me to do this and I love it!

Can you breastfeed your twins? I think so! Having a great support system in place is definitely key, but it can be done. Of course some women may need to use formula as well or may find breastfeeding just doesn't work for them. That is OK! I just want future mamas of twins to know that breastfeeding is a choice you can make. Just like I want future mamas of twins to know that vaginal birth is a choice you can make, as long as the babies are in the correct position. It doesn't have to be C-section and formula. It can be, and that is perfectly OK, but it doesn't have to be. And that is what it is all about right? Having a say in how you birth/feed/raise your baby!

Godspeed twin mamas. Two babies are no joke!

The brothers: 6 months

Those brothers are a half a year old. It is really, really hard to believe they have been here a whole 6 months. Truly.

They are generally happy little guys. Though they are both working on some teeth which has their temperament and sleep a bit sporadic. Good days are pretty good, they usually only get up once to eat. Bad days are, well bad. JT and I tag team on those days and we survive. It is only sleep after all.

They are doing all sort of fun things to mark their 6 month birthday. They both roll from their belly to their back, they can sit up on their own for 30 seconds or more, they have tried bananas - they were indifferent.

An aside - differences between first child and subsequent - we were/are not in a rush to get those boys eating solids like we were with baby number one. We know how much more work food is. Also, we have zero pictures of their first food experience. Though I do have some of Soren eating a breastmilk popsicle. Sorry dudes.

One of our favorite things to watch is them interacting with each other. When they see each other they get really excited. Arms and legs waving all over the place, big smiles. They also reach for each other, hold hand, pet heads, all of that cute stuff. And, of course they steal things from one another, punch each other in the face, and kick one another. I'm sure that will continue for the long haul.

They are getting big. Big enough to ride in the jogging stroller comfortably. Big enough to read books. They actually seem to love books and reach out to touch all of the pictures. Big enough to put their pacis in their mouth by themselves. Big enough to hold their own bottles. Big enough to play in their jumper and exersaucer.

They are for sure not serious babies. Not at all. The smiles come so easy for these little dudes. Especially for Audrey, she gets smiles from them with barely a look in their direction. They love their big sister and she loves them. "Oh, brother. I just want to touch you. Oh, brother I just want to kiss you." She loves them, lots and lots. She especially loves when it is time for them to nap or go to bed because she gets to watch a show. She is always saying "brother are tired they need to take a nap. I watch a show?" Smart lady, you are.

In other exciting news: the brothers eyes seem to have gone from gray to blue! Audrey's eyes had already turned brown by now. The brothers' have lightened up to blue. For some reason I find that to be very exciting, I suppose because neither of us have blue eyes. I told JT they are just trying to live up to their name to the best of their ability with blonde hair and blue eyes. Sweet little Scandinavian babies.

Girls will be girls

Yesterday I had my first heart walking outside my body experience. What am I talking about? It was the first time other kids were not so nice to Audrey, she was distraught, and there was nothing I could do to help her (to be clear I don't think I should have done anything this is life). My heart. Oh my heart.

This was the most minor of minor incidents so I cannot imagine how I am going to feel when she is a tween and actual mean things are happening.

We were at the park and there was a sandbox with toys. Honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention, just letting A play. And I did not know who the toys in the sandbox belonged to. I thought they might be the parks as that is sometimes the case. A loves the sandbox. It is her absolute favorite. So she went in picked up a shovel and started digging. The little girl who the toys belonged to quickly gathered up all of the toys, left the sandbox, and went a little ways away to tell her friends "that girl keeps trying to take my toys" in a not very nice way. Meanwhile A was super sad and confused. "Mama, where did the toys go? I want to dig?" Of course I said, "I am really sorry buddy, but those aren't our toys, so we can't use them unless the owner offers. I'm sorry I didn't know there was a sandbox next time we will bring toys. Let's dig with our hands." And I got in that sandbox with a baby strapped to my body to dig with her, because my heart was breaking for her. She just didn't understand.

Then. THEN. The other girl brought her toys back and started playing. Before A even tried to use a toy the girl said to her friend "that girl keeps trying to take my toys and dig in my hole!" This was the point at which I could not bear it anymore. I said, "she just wants to play with them, she won't take them."

The other girl thought about that a bit and finally offered that A could play with a toy, a tiny frog shovel but it did not matter to A. She just wanted something, anything to play with. A friend of the toy girl then offered A a big scoop and all was right in the world. Thank goodness. But good grief was it hard to watch this whole process unfold. Not even because the girl didn't want to share her toys. That is fine they are hers she doesn't have to share them. But because of how caddy she was about the whole thing. All she had to do was say TO A these are my toys and I am using them right now. OK that is fine they are your toys, I would have explained that to A and she would have understood. Just say it TO HER for the love of all things.

Moms of girls, can we agree to try, TRY to teach our girls that it is far better to have discussions such as this WITH the person. The talking behind backs, to friends, all of the caddy is so not needed. I know it is what girls do, I was/am one too. But please, PLEASE can we at least try to head this one off. Let's all agree to lead by example here.

For the love of my heart that is walking around outside my body, help me out. Let's not accept that "girls with be girls" let's try to help our girls develop into kind, considerate people who know how to communicate with one another in effective ways. It will serve all of us well.

Thank you for your cooperation.

If we only had one baby...

This post was supposed to got like this: list a bunch of times when I think if we only had one baby life would be easier because x,y, or z would be done. And then list a bunch of reasons why having twins more than makes up for the if we only had one baby.

Here is the deal. We have had a couple of weeks that have been hard. Travel, growth spurts, teeth. Hard stuff. The brothers are not big enough to do a lot of the very endearing twins things, and quite frankly I can't think of very many reasons why two babies are better than one right now.

Of course I love always having a baby available to love. And I love it when they hold hands. That is the absolute sweetest. It is also great when they get so excited to see each. Priceless. I would not trade them for one baby, not today, not ever.

I know the intense brotherly love will only grow over time, and I will one day have a huge list of reasons why twins are the bomb dot com.

But.

Today is not that day.

Today life with twins is hard.

When one baby sleeps the other wakes.

When one baby is content to play the other needs to be held.

When one baby is happy the other is sad.

When my head hits the pillow for bed one baby is hungry.

When I need to work before the kids get up one baby is up at 5:30.

And so it goes on.

Right now, on this day life with twins is hard. I love them to the moon and back. I would not trade them for the world. But real talk, having two babies is really F-ing hard. For reals.

Someday soon I will write the two babies are greater than one post. But not today. Today two babies are really F-ing hard. Because that is real life my friends.

So cute though.

The brothers: 5 months

The brothers are 5 months old. The age at which babies start to become little people. They have had a very busy month. They went on their first bus ride, they said goodbye to their first dog, they went to their first farmers market, and they played with their sister a lot.

First bus ride!

 

First farmers market.

 For the most part they are happy little guys. They still prefer mom to most anyone but they do love their daddy and their sister. They also love the pets. This is such a fun age when they start to smile and giggle in response to behavior.

 It is really fun to see how they are becoming their own little people in spite of the fact that they have the same genes. Soren has the most horrific high pitched cry you have ever heard while Kai just sort of grunts and whines much like Audrey did. Kai is much quicker to laugh but Soren lives with a smile on his face. Soren started rolling all over the place today while Kai has only rolled a time or two. Two separate people.

 The little guys actually sleep pretty darn well. Especially since we got them magic sleep suits. Our nanny will agree that the magic suits are far superior to the swaddle wraps. However, they are still babies and they take turns winning at sleep. Generally they are up once in the middle of the night and once early in the morning, so really pretty darn good for little men. Can't really complain, I mean I would love more sleep, or even just more than 4 hours in a row. But really, they are babies and they sleep like babies.

Things they love right now

• Standing up 
• Trying to sit up, they can do like 5 seconds on their own
• Their forest
• Their bouncer and exersaucer
• Toys
• Swimming
• Books
• Sister
• Pets
• Milk
• Being naked

Things they hate right now

• Baths - Soren hates them Kai is indifferent
•  Coughs 
• Getting their noses wiped
• Daddy putting them to bed when mom is available
• Being tired
• Having to wait their turn - twin life

They are pretty happy little guys for the most part. I love watching you grow beautiful boys!

Dear Shasta

Dear Shasta,

You my sweetest dog were the best dog a family could dream of having. From the very first time I fell in love with you at adoption day to the very last second you were with us. You were truly the best.

You have taught us so much about love, life and loss. Perhaps the best lesson we learned from you is you never know if you don't ask. Always ask. You see, when we adopted you your dad and I were both commuting an hour each way to work and lived in a no pets townhouse. We were going to be moving in a couple months. We saw you and I fell in love with your sad hound eyes, but I knew we couldn't have a dog right then. I could not stop thinking about you. Just couldn't. Your dad said send the foster mom an email and see if we might be able to adopt her now but not have her come live with us until we move. I said, there is no way. He said, you won't know if you don't ask. Well, do ask. Always ask.

We have so many beautiful memories of you sweet, Shasta girl. The problem is we were supposed to have so many more. There were supposed to be many years of memories yet to come. You were supposed to grow old while our children grow up, you were supposed to give into age after a long full life. Unfortunately, you were taken by sickness after a far too short, but very full life.

I am so angry that you had to leave us so soon, sweet girl. You are far too young to leave this earth, nine years is not nearly long enough. You were supposed to grow old and gray. Become stiff, lose your teeth. Age. That will never be. You still acted like a puppy until just weeks before you died. Excited to go for runs able to jump and chase. That is what makes me so angry. YOU were not ready to be done with life. You were still full of life, full of love, still full.

But your body was done. The sickness has become too much. You were in pain, uncomfortable, not yourself. Your dad and I were tasked with deciding when sickness had taken the life from you. That is a really hard job. Really. Really. Hard. However, we agreed we would rather give you relief a day early than make you suffer one day too long.

We watched you these last few days to try to decide when. You are a tough girl, you carried on with a smile for as long as you could. But you let us know when you were ready. Perhaps the clearest message of all though, was that you slept in our bed the last night of your life. You have never, not once, slept in our bed all night. We usually had to beg you to come visit us in bed before you curled up on your chair. You have always been a dog who loves her people but also her personal space. I cannot thank you enough for giving us that precious gift, sweet girl. We will forever remember that we got to spend your last night together. All night. Thank you for saying goodbye to us so we could say goodbye to you.

Watching frogs in the window well.

I cannot help but feel so sad for all that  I had planned for us. You see my sweet dog, you were supposed to grow to be best friends with Audrey. I had visions of you two exploring the yard together, playing fetch, cuddling on the couch. This dream had just started to materialize. Audrey had begun to assign you the role of "Toby" in her Sheriff Callie game. She had begun to ask you to come with her places, she was starting to see you as a friend. My heart breaks.













But, all we dream does not come to be. I am so very sad that none of our children will have memories of Shasta dog. I desperately want them to remember how amazing you were. How gentle and kind you have always been to all of our children. How you hate to hear a baby cry and love to steal snacks from toddlers. How excited you get to go for walks and runs. How you love to chase tennis balls in the basement and lay on your couch. Yes, you have a couch. I imagine it will remain your couch for many years to come, because it has always been Shasta's couch. Since the day we bought it.

Saying goodbye is so hard. So very hard. Thankfully we had a chance to say goodbye. To give you a week of make a wish activities. One last walk in the woods, one last swim, one last cheeseburger, one last ice cream. We are also so thankful to have an amazing vet who did a wonderful job helping us to say goodbye to you. So caring, kind, and respectful. It made the whole process as easy as it could be.

We will remember you Shasta. We will make a memorial for you in our woods. Your woods. The woods you spent hundreds of hours in. Your favorite place in the world. A place we will be able to go to remember you sweet Shasta dog.  We love you so much and are so heartbroken at the loss of you.

I just want to watch Marley and Me all day and cry for you. JT thinks I am insane and has zero desire to watch a sad movie. Male female difference perhaps, but I want to grieve you with giant shaking sobs. Because you, my sweet dog deserve giant shaking sobs.

We will always remember you Shasta. All of our great times. All of the walks, swims, trips to the park, adventures, and cuddles. We will love you until the day we die, sweetest girl.

All of our Love,

Mom, Dad, Audrey, Kai, and Soren