Happy Memorial Day!

This weekend we introduced the boys to the summer by spending every day in the pool and they LOVED it! The weather has been great and last year we didn't get out at all, so we are making up for lost time and getting some color back on our skin!

We were invited over to our friends' place for swimming and some BBQ to celebrate Memorial Day. As part of my initiative to start taking the boys out more, I said yes. We weren't sure how they would be, since they hadn't ever been in a pool, so Saturday and Sunday we made it our mission to "practice" with them. We took them to our own pool first to see if they would like it and, as expected they loved every minute.

Once we lathered them up with sunscreen (their least favorite part) and got their suits on, into their floaties they went. We got them these floaties with canopies over them which worked wonderfully and kept them out of the direct sun. We were also working on keeping their hats on as practice for our mini vacation later this month. With their light skin, and the big guy's light hair (and lack thereof), we really want them to start wearing hats when they go out. They usually leave them on for all of 5 seconds and them throw them off, but we learned that if we distract them quickly after putting it on, they'll leave it alone.

I loved being able to relax in the pool watching the boys enjoy the water. My wife and I have such a good system going that we were both able to swim, eat, and enjoy being out with the babies and our friends. The boys are so much easier now and were really good babies. They ate, played, swam and went down for their mid-afternoon naps on a blanket on the grass. Ah the life of a baby... I wish I remember what it was like!

We're Back!

Ok, I know its been months, and I just haven't had the energy to gather my thoughts and post something. Its 5am here now, and this is my best attempt at getting this blog up to date.

Lets start with the biggest news: THE TWINS ARE ONE! Holy monkey! We have one year old TWINS! It is still amazing to me that we were lucky to get TWO babies. I still have no idea when that will wear off.

The big guy is walking...or should I say RUNNING all day long! The little on, my little pajarito, is still a going at his own pace, but walking is definitely on the horizon. He cruises along anything he can hold on to, but is just hesitant to let go and try on his own. I've been taking his hands and walking with him, slowly releasing my grip so that he's really walking on his own and as long as his hands are touching mine, he is good, but as soon as I let go he goes down! Yesterday he was watching his brother jammin all over the place and he finally let go and took 2 steps on his own, so I know pretty soon we are going to be in big trouble. :)

They are both talking up a storm (in their own language of course) and I'm wondering if they do it on purpose to keep us guessing. In English they say: Mama, Nana, Toot (hahaha), Hi, Bye (or "Ba"), and they do the cookie monster laugh! Which totally cracks us up! The big guy is also saying "wow wow", which is how we refer to our dogs.

On the health front, we made it a whole year without them getting sick and then, not only did they catch something but I ended up in emergency with both of them (while my wife stayed home with the other) within a week apart - so NOT fun. The big guy had croup, which sounds scarier than it is and he was wheezing and uncomfortable, he even woke himself up from a nap struggling to breathe (hence the emergency room visit). They gave him a breathing treatment and steroids to help open up his lungs and within days he was good as new. Of course, I panicked wondering if the little guy was going to catch it, and how badly it would be for him given his lung issues. We tried our best to keep them separated, and disinfected everything, to no avail. Luckily, when he did finally get sick a week later, he didn't get croup, just a cold. I ended up taking him to the ER because he started having retractions again (where his breathing causes big indentations under his rib cage) which he hadn't done since he had been taken off the oxygen. I thought for sure we'd have to put him back on, but again, it looked scarier than it was. His oxygenation levels were in the mid 90's so he was getting all the oxygen he needed, just working harder to get it.

I was a wreck, mostly because we were so close to the official end of RSV season and the boys were doing so well. I had this silly notion that I'd be able to protect them forever, which proved impossible no matter what I did. I am happy that at least they were bigger and stronger, and survived just fine without having to be admitted into the hospital, but I don't want them to be sick again for a long LONG time. It is just too stressful, and I'm still exhausted from their being born! ha!

Now on to the only thing since pregnancy that I have been able to control, Breastfeeding. Yes, the boys are still drinking breastmilk exclusively (in addition to solid foods now) and have not had any cow's milk yet. I can't believe we made it to a year! I calculated that I have spent roughly 2300 hours of my life pumping! and that doesn't include the hours on end of nursing day and night.

I still nurse the big guy when we are together and the little guy gets bottles of expressed breastmilk from my wife. When I am at work they both get bottles from my mom with no problems. Since they are eating 3-4 meals a day, plus snacks, their milk intake has dropped to 20-25 ounces each, which is about half of what they used to drink. It has been so nice to not have the pressure of pumping 80-100 ounces a day!

My ultimate goal was June 12th (the babies' due date) since that is when they "really" turn one. So far, it looks like I'm on my way to achieving that goal, and then some. If I didn't have to pump and could just nurse I'd do it alot longer, but lugging my pumping gear, coolers, bottles, etc. to work everyday is really a pain in the butt, and I just don't know how much longer I can do it. So as of June 12th we will officially be transitioning over to cow's milk. Hopefully their little bodies can handle it and they won't have any adverse reactions to it. If all goes well, I will start decreasing my pumping as they increase their cow's milk intake and I think by August I will be done, for a total of 16 months of breastfeeding twins. Crazy! I never thought I'd make it and as we got closer to a year I started to set goals by the day rather than the week because I was just so exhausted.

Lastly, we took their one year photos with the same photographer from last time so I will be posting those shortly. They have both grown so much in the last 6 months, and are so much fun. We take them with us everywhere now, and they are such good babies. They eat, nap and play pretty much on schedule no matter where we are, so its been much easier to go places. We took them to get their first hair cut shortly after they turned one, which the little guy needed desperately (their photos are pre-haircut) and they didn't like it one bit! I was sad. They no longer look like babies, now they are little boys.

Operation "Get a photo with Santa" COMPLETE!

Yes we did it! We trecked our butts off to the mall at 9am this morning to get the boys a photo with Santa. I looked up what time they open so we could get their early and avoid a line, and would you believe there were already people there! Ugh! The nerve! Luckily we only waited about 20 minutes before it was our turn and aside from the lady behind us coughing up a lung, it was pretty uneventful. I just don't get why people feel the need to spread their germs.

The little guy had a bottle and fell asleep 10 minutes into our wait so we had to wake him up for his photo shoot, and he wasn't exactly all smiles about it. The big guy wasn't sure what the heck was going on and wasn't amused by the photographer dressed like an elf and shouting his name at him. It doesn't really help that I hardly call them by their names!

All in all, the boys enjoyed their first mall experience and well, I survived it. I really hate the mall, even pre-twins, I just don't like being around so many people. Therefore, I am thankful that our yearly trip to the mall is now complete and we don't have to go back until next year, when Santa returns.

Here are the photos we bought and a few my wife took with our camera. Is it me, or did my babies turn into little boys overnight??

First Family Photo Shoot

We got a sneak peek of our photos from Sundays photo session...and I really love them! This photographer was worth every penny! I could have bet good money that we would have had maybe one or two decent (not even good) photos. It was hot, there were nats EVERYWHERE (I'm sure she had to photoshop them off my face!) and the boys (mostly the lil one) were not in the mood! You would think after all the million photos we take of them everyday, they would be used to a camera in their face! Not so much!

Don't know how or when she got some of these shots, maybe I was too busy dancing like a fool to get the babies to smile or running away from the damn bugs that I missed them...either way, I was pleasantly surprised.

So without further ado, here are some of my favorites:

Changes...

We had an appointment with our pediatrican on Friday and he suggested we start mixing rice cereal and breastmilk a few times a day and slowly progress to oatmeal, solids, etc. The boys are 6 months old but again, with the adjustments for their early arrival, we are just getting to the fun parts!

So far so good with the rice cereal. I am pumping extra milk for their two snacks each and that is working out pretty well also. Everyday I thank my lucky stars that we still have enough milk for both babies. I don't think I'd be able to keep up if I had gone back to work as originally planned.

I'm hoping to breastfeed for a year, but I'm not writing that in stone. Since I will be going back to work in January, and the boys will be 9 months old, it will be 3 LONG months of pumping at work. Hopefully we can make it that long at least, longer if possible. I'm thinking they will be eating more food by then so their milk requirement won't be so high, but with their delays, who knows! I may have to pack a few milk gallons to fill up while I'm gone, cause I swear that is how much they eat!

One of the benefits of adding in this twice daily snack, is that it allows the big guy to practice drinking from a bottle again (since its been 3 months of exclusive breastfeeding and he swears the bottle is now some alien object!). He has been pretty good about it though... now if only I can get him to stay asleep without having to keep me within arms distance. That boy has some sort of radar going on!

In other news, the pediatrician also agreed that the boys DO need their full 6-7 RSV doses and that the nurse who told us otherwise was "misinformed". That is a one way of putting it! Whatever, as long as they get them.

Healthwise our pajarito is doing awesome in every way, and is now growing right along with his brother. They weigh approx. 14 lbs and are 23.5 and 24 inches long. Pajarito is getting better at tummy time, has now found his feet and is working on getting them to stay in his mouth. Now I get to look for 4 socks everytime they go down for a nap. =)

As for life with twins, it is finally getting to be more manageable. Its a ton of work, and somedays I'm not sure I'm gonna survive, but we do and at the end of the day, I'm grateful I've been able to stay home with them this long. Aside from the endless loads of laundry, things are definitely looking up!

P.S. I love Halloween jammies!

Photo Shoot

Today we took the boys to a park (which had A LOT of bugs, not the point but worth mentioning- did I ever say how much I hate bugs?) for a professional photo shoot. We found a photographer and I really loved her work, so we hired her for a family photo session and to get the boys at 6 months. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to get the boys to cooperate, but I hope she got some good shots (hopefully some where my boobs are not hanging out of my blouse).

We will get the proofs in a few weeks, so for now, here is the first shot of the day, this was actually taken by my lovely wife who is not a professional (although she thinks she is) but at least I didn't have to pay for it!

We were in the car waiting for the photographer to get there since the big guy was sleeping (see the mirror in the back seat). We do have two children, but the lil guy was outside wandering around with grandma.

6 Months

Half way through your first year of life...wow, time sure went by. Its been a crazy and wonderful all wrapped together, and I've learned so much about you, and even more about myself. Being your mama has been the most amazing gift, and I love it more than anything in the world.

Watching you wake up and realize I'm there, is the best part of my day. You have both grown so much and are making some fun discoveries. You have also hit some big milestones, and while I look forward to those yet to come, I am holding you close for as long as I can.

Lukey, you are healthier in so many ways, and have been catching up to your brother in both height and weight. I wish so much for you to be all better, and you are making your way there. You have rolled over, and have started grabbing things, you love your star, and are patient when you want to be. You have found your voice, and sometimes forget your brother is still sleeping! You love your baths and always splash around! You have been nursing regularly, mostly when you are sleepy. I love cuddling with you, and your sweet smelling breath. Your smile and your excitement melt my heart. I love you so much my lil Pajarito.

Drew, my honey papa, you are rolling over, trying to sit up, grabbing things, and yelling at me when I take too long to feed you! You sure are our spunky little one! You smile all day and have started laughing so adorably. You found your feet and they are making their way to your mouth, you pull off your socks when you are supposed to be napping, and you love going for our afternoon walks. You won't sleep without me, and that's ok. I can't think of a better way to sleep then cuddled between my baby boys. I love how you hold on to me while you sleep and I love you my honey papa bear.

Having you both has been the greatest adventure of my life, and I truly cherish every minute.

With all my heart, Mama

Who put this hat on me??

My wife wasn't happy about the outfits the boys had on for one of our walks the other day, more specifically, she wasn't happy with the hats they had on. Apparently, they weren't very happy about them either, and here is the proof! If his jibberish could be understood, my wife swears he was telling me: "WHO put this hat on me??"

He is going to give me trouble, I just know it! He is our spunky little one!

On the other hand, Pajarito looks like he is saying: "Ok Mama, I will wear this stupid hat if you want me to...lets just go already!"

Awww my cooperative, Mama pleasing, son.

Anyhow, I am no longer allowed to take them out in their jammies, and they are never to wear those hats again!

In my defense, it was nap time and it was a test run. I did eventually change them because it was warmer than I thought outside, but I liked the hats. They have a cute little monkey on them, and it was big enough to keep their faces shaded since they are so light.



My wife is putting her foot down on this one though, so I guess I will have to add them to the yard sale pile. :(

She's Back!

Yesterday was my moms first day back after taking a week off to recuperate. It was bliss!

Of course the boys were easy breezy! They napped for like 2.5 hours straight (a rare event) and were just so happy and playful! It also seems like all of a sudden they have gotten more patient and more independent. They didn't even cry once ALL DAY yesterday (another rarity), although I did get squawked at once or twice. I think they just missed grandma!

I was able to pump several times a day, without interruption, eat, clean and SHOWER! You wouldn't believe how nice it is to shower during sunlight hours! I even made dinner, oh and did I mention I took a NAP! *sigh* I love my mom!

As we do everyday, we took more pictures of the boys in their new jammies. We have been buying them different halloween jammies since they won't be going trick or treating this year, and while they do have costumes already, we decided we'd just take pictures of them all month long in their different outfits.

These pictures were right before nap time so the boys weren't amused, but I love the blue/brown combo and if you don't get a picture fast enough, you may miss your chance! They go through more outfits than JLo!

The fun parts...

Now, after that seemingly "all work and no play" schedule, I thought I'd highlight one of the many plus sides to having twins.

When the weather permits, and the boys are fed, changed and tired of playing, we go for a walk. Now that they are older, they love to go for walks and look around. We usually walk within our gated community and always make a pit stop at my moms house. Since she has been home resting for a week, she has been having "baby withdrawals", and when I mentioned we'd be swinging by, she and Nana were outside waiting with camera in hand!

The boys were excited to see them, and were chatting up a storm. I love to see them interact with her, and they love them some grandma! Its cute to see their little faces when they recognize someone. They just stare for awhile and then it hits them like "hey, I remember you!". I love it!

Walking serves several purposes but most importantly, the sun makes them sleepy which usually means we all get a little nap when we get back. (and nap time is another one of my favorite activites!)

Here are some more pics from todays walk.


Getting ready to go!

Back home: a little sunshine always puts them in a good mood!

He ROLLED!!

Today my son, the big guy AKA "Honey Papa" ROLLED. From his back to his tummy, ROLLED. To many people, no big deal, but for us its a huge deal. Usually most babies have rolled one way or the other by now, but with preemies you never know. Since ours were born 2 months early, everything is on a different timeline. Even between them two, they are different. Pajarito is a few weeks behind the big guy in some things but ahead in others, and they were only born a minute apart!

Either way, I'm excited and worried. Now I can't lay him on the ottoman while I run to the kitchen or else I will find him on the floor!

Here are some pictures of his reaction just after he realized what had just happened:

5 Months

Honey Papa & Pajarito

Today you are both 5 months old. I still can't believe you are here! You are smiling and cooing, drooling like crazy and laughing all day. You love to be in arms (and we love to carry you), and you fall asleep when you are in your Moby. You even have grandma wearing that thing!

"Honey Papa" is learning to sit up while "Pajarito" is making a new tooth! Everyday is a new adventure with you both and your Mommy and I love you to pieces. I take at least 50 pictures of you boys every day, and lots of videos too! I never want to forget how fun you are at this age, so I try and capture all the memories I can. I love holding you and watching you look at yourselves in the mirror and I love how you laugh so loud now, especially when you are supposed to be sleeping!

You have both found your hands and will stick them down your throat if we let you and Honey Papa, you are a step away from finding your feet. You can pull yourself up and can almost roll over. Pajarito isn't quite there yet, but getting close! You both sleep through the night with just one snack somewhere in between, and we really love this part!

I cherish everyday I get to spend with you, and have been trying to figure out how I can fit you in my purse to take you to work with me when I go back...God knows its big enough!

You have both grown so much since birth, I find myself wondering what happened to my lil preemies? We love you more than you know and we are so grateful that you are both here. Happy 5 month birthday boys, your Mommy and I are truly blessed to have had you.

Love you always, Mama & Mommy

Changing Perspective

I never thought of myself as a stay-at-home mom. I went to a big school here in So. California (Go Trojans!) and had big plans for a BIG career. I got a job right out of college and after several promotions, I still work for that company today. I love my job, even though it can be stressful and have long hours. I like having to think on my feet and get things done at the wee hours to make a deadline. I work extremely well under pressure and do better in a fast-paced environment. I always pick the big projects to work on, even though they are more demanding and I'm always up for a challenge.

Before I met my wife, I didn't even want kids. I wanted to have a successful career, travel, buy a nice house, and "enjoy" life. I never knew what I'd be missing.

Now that I'm a mom, alot has changed. I thought I was going to take the standard 3-4 months off and be SO ready to go back. Its now been 6 months, and I have no plans to go back for another 3 months. Even then, I think it is going to be heartbraking. If I leave for an hour to run an errand I can't get home fast enough to see my boys.

I have never been happier than I am today. Having them, as hard as it can be sometimes, is the best thing that has ever happened to me. If I manage to get upset over something, it only lasts a second, because seeing their two little faces takes it all away.

As the time approaches for me to go back to work, I get more and more anxious. I am even considering taking a "lesser" position, so that I don't have to be at work so much. If I could afford it, I would quit working all together and just stay home with the babies. Something I never even considered. I always thought "I worked so hard to get into a good school, do well, and get a good job. Why would I want to throw that all away?" funny how perspective changes.

Transitions

I haven't posted lately because we have been busy adjusting to our new routine. With the wife back at work its been my mom and I, and its been going very well. Although I am a little more tired than usual, I can't complain.

Our day goes like this: My wife leaves to work at 6:30am and usually the boys are eating when she leaves. When they are done we all take a nap until around 9am when I get up for the day. My mom usually comes around 7:30am while we are all asleep and finds something to clean or laundry to fold until we wake up. At 9am they eat again (I nurse the big guy exclusively and my mom bottle feeds the lil guy). Then I pump, which I hate.

Then we just hang out until nap time around 11'ish. Sometimes they nap and sometimes they don't, but I like to pretend we have some sort of schedule going! I generally use this time to take more pictures of them, have some play time and then, I pump.

They continue to eat about every 3 hours until the evening and my mom leaves around 4:30pm when my wife comes home. We try to have bath time at 7pm and then put the boys to bed, but again, it isn't always the case. Once the babies are asleep, I pump again.

They generally stay asleep until about midnight, when they wake up to eat again, but they go right back to sleep and then, I pump. I finally make it in to bed around 2am and then at 3am the little guy wakes up to eat, and since my wife is back at work, I have been nursing him so she can sleep. Once he is done the big guy wakes up around 4am to eat and then I nurse him and burp him and he goes back to sleep. At 5am I get up to pump and then get the little guys bottle ready for his 6am feeding. Sometimes I get a 30 minute nap in, and then we start again.

Its a crazy schedule but we are adjusting to it. I miss my wife when she is gone, and I know she has been missing us like crazy, its just different not having her home with us all day. I think I'm going to have a very hard time leaving the babies when I finally do go back to work. Its not for a few months but I am already dreading it. I am happy that at least I have my mom to watch them, making the transition easier on all of us. The babies absolutely love her, and she is so so good with them.

Speaking of the babies, they are amazing and I love every single day with them. They are such fun and happy boys! I love their smiles when they first wake up and realize I'm there, and its fun to watch them learn and discover new things. They have been growing so fast, the big guy weighs 13 lbs 3 ounces and 24 inches long, and the lil one is 11 pounds 15 ounces and 23.5 inches long. Not much of a difference anymore! The little guy has also been taken off another medication, leaving only one 5 min breathing treatment per day, and his reflux med twice per day. Much easier! We have also been working on breastfeeding and I nurse him twice a day now. Thursday we have a check-up with their pediatrician and I'm hoping he gives me the ok to nurse the little guy more often. I would love to be able to nurse them both exclusively and only pump when I go back to work.

They have also been learning new "tricks": the big guy understands "UP" and he makes his arms tight and pulls his whole body up for you to carry him and the lil guy has discovered how to splash in the bath. They have both been kicking like crazy and the big guy has found his feet! He can't reach them yet, but there will be some toe sucking when he does!

And now, pictures:

A Day in the Life...

The Big Guy getting ready for football season:

Changing:

The Twins getting ready for bed:

Hanging out:

I think I'm going to have to come up with new nicknames because the little guy isn't so little anymore and has caught up to his brother. I think he is even chubbier now!