No, I'm not talking about the daycare (for those of you I met through working there, you'll get it).
Mara is officially crawling and Davin is super close. He is moving around, but gets his chubby foot stuck underneath him. I feel bad because he works so hard to try to crawl, but it's just not working out for him yet. We have also brought the baby gate back into action to close off the rest of the rest of the house from the living room/dining room. It wasn't so bad when Jayna was a baby because we didn't have a toddler who wanted to roam the house freely. She will adjust eventually.
There's a little music toy the kids play with and they have started dancing to music. Davin sits like a chubby old man and kind of bounces up and down and Mara sits there and waves her hands in the air. It makes me smile every time.
The twins are also eating up a storm. I'm nervous about the daycare bills that will start in a few months, but what I'm more nervous about is once the daycare bills stop, is that the three kids will eat us out of house and home. The whole eating more food and feeding themselves just means a bigger mess as well. Jayna took it upon herself to share her hard boiled egg with Mara the other day (after she saw me feeding them one). Needless to say there was a bunch of cleanup after that.
I weighed the twins yesterday and Mara weighs 20 lbs 12 oz and Davin was 23 lbs 2 oz. Such little chubbers. Mara is definitely rockin the 18 month clothing and Davin can wear some 24 month clothing even. Soon they'll be wearing the same size as Jayna and she's no shorty. We have discovered that we will be putting size 4 jeans on her Christmas list since we've had a couple pairs on her recently and the 3s are not very big.
People would probably be looking at us funny if we had tiny children, with Derrick being 6'4" and myself 6'2".
Mara and Davin are interacting with each other more and more. At my parents' on Sunday, they were squealing back and forth to each other. Yesterday morning, it was fart noises. Even though it's a lot more difficult with two babies, but it's also a lot more fun!
Here's an annoying twin comment I've heard a lot lately. "Oh, their eyes are different colours." I just nod and say yes (Mara's are hazel and Davin's are very blue, like Jayna's), but what I want to say is.....they have different genitals, of course they can have different eye colours.
We got pictures done last week, so I'm hoping to have some great pics posted soon. I thought that it could be a total disaster with three little ones, but it actually went pretty smoothly.
I'm off to get some work done on this rainy day.
A blog about surviving parenthood with a set of twins and a three year old.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Thursday, 2 August 2012
New phase
We have entered the new phase of moving. The twins are by no means crawling, but they get to whatever toy they want or whatever item they shouldn't be playing with. I have been dreading this moment for a while now. People would always ask if they were crawling, and I would respond that I'm okay if they are late movers. The longer they stay still, the easier it is for us!!!!
I love watching them discover things and interact with each other. There is something new every day and it always makes me smile. On the other hand, it means that I have to be on my toes as to what is on the floor and what they can get at. We haven't worried about little pieces of food on the floor for a long time now, but now I have to be more diligent with the whole housekeeping thing (which is something that I feel I'm drowning in). The twins feed themselves some foods, which means there is a huge mess that needs to be swept up regularly. We also need to make sure that Jayna isn't leaving money (she's really into having change on her) on the floor. We have been spending more time downstairs, so that we can watch the Olympics, which means the carpet needs to be vacuumed as well.
This morning, I thought Davin was about to puke, but realized he had something in his mouth. Upon taking the item out, I noticed it was a little cardboard tag from one of Jayna's toys. He hadn't been playing with it for a while, so that had been in there a while. Oops!
The twins had a bath together for the first time ever last week and it was a huge success. Moments like that make all the difficulties worth it.
We are looking forward to a busy, but fantastic long weekend spending time with family and friends outside!!!
I love watching them discover things and interact with each other. There is something new every day and it always makes me smile. On the other hand, it means that I have to be on my toes as to what is on the floor and what they can get at. We haven't worried about little pieces of food on the floor for a long time now, but now I have to be more diligent with the whole housekeeping thing (which is something that I feel I'm drowning in). The twins feed themselves some foods, which means there is a huge mess that needs to be swept up regularly. We also need to make sure that Jayna isn't leaving money (she's really into having change on her) on the floor. We have been spending more time downstairs, so that we can watch the Olympics, which means the carpet needs to be vacuumed as well.
This morning, I thought Davin was about to puke, but realized he had something in his mouth. Upon taking the item out, I noticed it was a little cardboard tag from one of Jayna's toys. He hadn't been playing with it for a while, so that had been in there a while. Oops!
The twins had a bath together for the first time ever last week and it was a huge success. Moments like that make all the difficulties worth it.
We are looking forward to a busy, but fantastic long weekend spending time with family and friends outside!!!
Monday, 23 July 2012
Loving Summer
We've been taking full advantage of this hot weather and the short summers that we have. Over the last couple of weeks, almost every day, I fill up the little kiddie pool that our neighbour (who is now no longer our neighbour) bought for the kids. Jayna goes to town in the little pool and loves it. The babies also love sitting in it and Jayna loves watering them while they're in there. Mara and Davin also love sitting on the mat outside and watching what goes on. I'm very happy that our kids love being outside.
After a weekend like this one, where we've been outside for most of it, we are so thankful that we did our yard reno last year. After discovering we were expecting twins, I had originally said that we wouldn't have done it knowing that, for financial reasons. Now, we couldn't be happier that we did it. We love our yard, the kids have a place to play, and it's low maintenance. There is also a big patio where we eat dinner outside regularly and entertain with fires and drinks at night!
Jayna has been in her new daycare for three weeks now. She's doing really well and loves it.
The twins are now trying so hard to move and are being slightly successful in scooting around a bit. I'm not very pleased with this, as I know it will drastically change our lives. One moving baby is bad enough. I've seen my friend with her two busy boys, and I'm quite happy with our kids holding off on the moving for as long as possible, although it's only a matter of time.
Well, off to get a few things done around the house so that we can enjoy our company who's coming soon!
After a weekend like this one, where we've been outside for most of it, we are so thankful that we did our yard reno last year. After discovering we were expecting twins, I had originally said that we wouldn't have done it knowing that, for financial reasons. Now, we couldn't be happier that we did it. We love our yard, the kids have a place to play, and it's low maintenance. There is also a big patio where we eat dinner outside regularly and entertain with fires and drinks at night!
Jayna has been in her new daycare for three weeks now. She's doing really well and loves it.
The twins are now trying so hard to move and are being slightly successful in scooting around a bit. I'm not very pleased with this, as I know it will drastically change our lives. One moving baby is bad enough. I've seen my friend with her two busy boys, and I'm quite happy with our kids holding off on the moving for as long as possible, although it's only a matter of time.
Well, off to get a few things done around the house so that we can enjoy our company who's coming soon!
Monday, 16 July 2012
One year ago
Saturday marked the one year anniversary of us finding out that we were having twins. I will never forget that day and my reaction. To read the story of my reaction, go to my first blog entry. I will never forget this day as it was such a life changer. It was definitely not something that we expected in the slightest.
I remember thinking that maybe it was a mistake, or I was dreaming. It took me a long time to come to terms with it and sometimes I still think I'm dreaming.
When I think of this day, I feel like a terrible mother. I remember feeling terrified and wondering how this could happen to us. I knew it was a good thing in the long run, but I wondered about my abilities as a mother and if I'd be able to handle three under two years old. The part that bothers me is that I still look back at that day and have negative feelings. I'm watching the twins sit on the floor and play together right now and they are so cute. I can't understand why I feel this way. They are happy and healthy babies and watching the two of them interact is priceless and brings tears to my eyes. Watching Jayna interact with them is also amazing. It's like we have two moms in the house most of the time.
When I was pregnant, and people heard I was having twins, they would say things like "oh you must be so excited", "lucky you", "I always wanted twins". These are just a few of the things they would say. I always thought, "Are you freakin' crazy? No, I'm no excited about having twins, I'm shit scared." I knew we were very fortunate, but I wasn't excited about having twins. The reality was this....how were we going to afford daycare, diapers, sports later on, family vacations? How small will our house become? How will the kids like sharing bedrooms? How hard is this going to be????? One baby's challenging enough. I really wanted to ask them to come and spend a week with us if they thought it was so great. I have never met a mother of multiples who has said they would wish having multiples on anyone. Despite all the love, what does that tell you?
I think that par of me felt irresponsible in a sense. I felt like we were for sure going to struggle financially, and it was beyond our control. We didn't choose to have a third child. Most people get to decide whether or not they can afford another child (whatever the number may be) and then go from there. We had decided we were ok with two and hadn't yet figured out if a third was a responsible decision for us. I guess there's a reason everything happens.
July 14th will be a date that I will remember forever and feel overwhelmed and scared when I think of it, but December 5th is the day that truly changed our lives and I will remember that day for all the right reasons. Being so lucky to have three happy and healthy children who make us smile (and want to pull out our hair) every day is more than we ever could have asked for.
Here are some recent pictures
I remember thinking that maybe it was a mistake, or I was dreaming. It took me a long time to come to terms with it and sometimes I still think I'm dreaming.
When I think of this day, I feel like a terrible mother. I remember feeling terrified and wondering how this could happen to us. I knew it was a good thing in the long run, but I wondered about my abilities as a mother and if I'd be able to handle three under two years old. The part that bothers me is that I still look back at that day and have negative feelings. I'm watching the twins sit on the floor and play together right now and they are so cute. I can't understand why I feel this way. They are happy and healthy babies and watching the two of them interact is priceless and brings tears to my eyes. Watching Jayna interact with them is also amazing. It's like we have two moms in the house most of the time.
When I was pregnant, and people heard I was having twins, they would say things like "oh you must be so excited", "lucky you", "I always wanted twins". These are just a few of the things they would say. I always thought, "Are you freakin' crazy? No, I'm no excited about having twins, I'm shit scared." I knew we were very fortunate, but I wasn't excited about having twins. The reality was this....how were we going to afford daycare, diapers, sports later on, family vacations? How small will our house become? How will the kids like sharing bedrooms? How hard is this going to be????? One baby's challenging enough. I really wanted to ask them to come and spend a week with us if they thought it was so great. I have never met a mother of multiples who has said they would wish having multiples on anyone. Despite all the love, what does that tell you?
I think that par of me felt irresponsible in a sense. I felt like we were for sure going to struggle financially, and it was beyond our control. We didn't choose to have a third child. Most people get to decide whether or not they can afford another child (whatever the number may be) and then go from there. We had decided we were ok with two and hadn't yet figured out if a third was a responsible decision for us. I guess there's a reason everything happens.
July 14th will be a date that I will remember forever and feel overwhelmed and scared when I think of it, but December 5th is the day that truly changed our lives and I will remember that day for all the right reasons. Being so lucky to have three happy and healthy children who make us smile (and want to pull out our hair) every day is more than we ever could have asked for.
Here are some recent pictures
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| Mara's first time at the beach. |
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| Davin's first time at the beach. |
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| Jayna, Mara, and Davin meeting their new friend for life Payton (4 days old)!!! |
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
I spoke too soon
My last post was about how things were getting easier. At that point, I was getting sleep and I felt like a brand new person. I felt like I could tackle the world. Since then, Davin has become a monster at night and I'm about to snap. I just need sleep (although, finally last night was a little bit better).
Mara, on the other hand, has slept through the night for four nights. No bottles and no soother!!!! If there was ever a favourite, it's Mara right now.
While Davin's going through this brutal stage, I kept saying to Derrick that we have great babies (who aren't really little babies anymore), well that meant that they had to prove me wrong the last few days. Usually, during the day they are happy as can be, but the last few days, not so much. Not nearly enough sleep, paired with fussy kids during the day = one grumpy mom.
At one point, Jayna peed her pants on the stairs on her way up to the bathroom and I snapped. I proceeded to yell, "What did I ever do to deserve this?" As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I felt horrible. Derrick and I are so fortunate to have three healthy and pretty happy children.
I know that I'm in a bit of a "funk" right now and it will pass. I haven't felt like doing anything around the house lately, which in turn just makes things worse because there's so much to do. I haven't been overly nice to Derrick, but I keep telling him we'll get through this and things will get better. We have survived the craziest six months of our lives, I know we can make it through anything.
Last week didn't help all this as Derrick was in the emergency room on father's day and we found out he has a Hiatus Hernia. Everything's fine, it just means there are some follow up appointments, medication, and trying to figure out how to control it so that his throat doesn't swell up again. We also found out that Davin needs surgery in December. He has what's called Hypospadius. This means that what should be the urethral opening is actually just a pit and he actually has another hole a little lower down, which is functional. I once again felt like a great mother when I found out that he had another hole that we didn't know about. It's very small, but now it's glaringly obvious. It's a common procedure, but no mother likes to have their child have surgery. We will tackle that in December.
On a happy note, another milestone has happened.....the babies are officially sitters!!! Here are a couple of pictures of them sitting in restaurant high chairs for the first time yesterday
I'm feeling like today will be a better day and maybe it's the end of the funk. Hopefully Davin allows me to sleep a bit more and that will help. Right now, Mara and Davin are being super cute in their high chairs right now....looking all lovingly at each other and holding hands!
Mara, on the other hand, has slept through the night for four nights. No bottles and no soother!!!! If there was ever a favourite, it's Mara right now.
While Davin's going through this brutal stage, I kept saying to Derrick that we have great babies (who aren't really little babies anymore), well that meant that they had to prove me wrong the last few days. Usually, during the day they are happy as can be, but the last few days, not so much. Not nearly enough sleep, paired with fussy kids during the day = one grumpy mom.
At one point, Jayna peed her pants on the stairs on her way up to the bathroom and I snapped. I proceeded to yell, "What did I ever do to deserve this?" As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I felt horrible. Derrick and I are so fortunate to have three healthy and pretty happy children.
I know that I'm in a bit of a "funk" right now and it will pass. I haven't felt like doing anything around the house lately, which in turn just makes things worse because there's so much to do. I haven't been overly nice to Derrick, but I keep telling him we'll get through this and things will get better. We have survived the craziest six months of our lives, I know we can make it through anything.
Last week didn't help all this as Derrick was in the emergency room on father's day and we found out he has a Hiatus Hernia. Everything's fine, it just means there are some follow up appointments, medication, and trying to figure out how to control it so that his throat doesn't swell up again. We also found out that Davin needs surgery in December. He has what's called Hypospadius. This means that what should be the urethral opening is actually just a pit and he actually has another hole a little lower down, which is functional. I once again felt like a great mother when I found out that he had another hole that we didn't know about. It's very small, but now it's glaringly obvious. It's a common procedure, but no mother likes to have their child have surgery. We will tackle that in December.
On a happy note, another milestone has happened.....the babies are officially sitters!!! Here are a couple of pictures of them sitting in restaurant high chairs for the first time yesterday
I'm feeling like today will be a better day and maybe it's the end of the funk. Hopefully Davin allows me to sleep a bit more and that will help. Right now, Mara and Davin are being super cute in their high chairs right now....looking all lovingly at each other and holding hands!
Friday, 15 June 2012
Getting easier!
I have been saying now for the last week that things have been getting easier.
The twins have settled into more of a routine. They eat at 8, 12, 4 and then 630, before bed. They don't nap at exactly the same time every day, but I have a general idea of when they go down and I know what signs to watch for.
We have been quite frustrated with the twins' sleeping habits for the last few months. I wasn't sure how much longer I could handle being up 4-10 times a night sticking soothers in and doing one feeding. I'm happy to say that they are by no means perfect, but we took away the "dream feed" bottle, and they now sleep till about 1:30, get fed and then sleep till between 7 & 8. They still fuss a couple of times a night some nights, but I think that may be due to teeth trying to make their way through. I feel like a totally different person now that they are sleeping better. I think that that's why this week has seemed so easy as well. It's amazing what sleep can do for a person!
Davin and Mara are getting to be so much fun now. They are happy babies and love watching what's going on. We are now hitting a more challenging stage with Jayna as she thinks every toy in the house belongs to her. I'm thinking that if this keeps up, I'm just going to take all the toys and put them in the twin's room and then Jayna can have no toys she can't share. Jayna also loves playing with her brother and sister and she gets really close to them and they get excited, which means they kick their feet and pull her hair and she loses her mind. "No Mara!!! No Davin!!!" are regularly yelled in our house now.
On another note of craziness. I had someone over to talk about business this morning and while she was here, Jayna managed to miss the toilet somehow and pee all over the bathroom floor. Later, she went to the bathroom in the big toilet. She needs to use the stool to get up to the toilet. Somehow, she managed to get some poop on the stool. Of course, things tend to be a lot more normal when there isn't actually anyone here!
I took all three kids swimming this morning. This was Mara and Davin's first time at the pool and they were awesome. Thanks to a couple of friends for their help!! I wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise. Here's a picture of them after their swim.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will have a great weekend outside.
The twins have settled into more of a routine. They eat at 8, 12, 4 and then 630, before bed. They don't nap at exactly the same time every day, but I have a general idea of when they go down and I know what signs to watch for.
We have been quite frustrated with the twins' sleeping habits for the last few months. I wasn't sure how much longer I could handle being up 4-10 times a night sticking soothers in and doing one feeding. I'm happy to say that they are by no means perfect, but we took away the "dream feed" bottle, and they now sleep till about 1:30, get fed and then sleep till between 7 & 8. They still fuss a couple of times a night some nights, but I think that may be due to teeth trying to make their way through. I feel like a totally different person now that they are sleeping better. I think that that's why this week has seemed so easy as well. It's amazing what sleep can do for a person!
Davin and Mara are getting to be so much fun now. They are happy babies and love watching what's going on. We are now hitting a more challenging stage with Jayna as she thinks every toy in the house belongs to her. I'm thinking that if this keeps up, I'm just going to take all the toys and put them in the twin's room and then Jayna can have no toys she can't share. Jayna also loves playing with her brother and sister and she gets really close to them and they get excited, which means they kick their feet and pull her hair and she loses her mind. "No Mara!!! No Davin!!!" are regularly yelled in our house now.
On another note of craziness. I had someone over to talk about business this morning and while she was here, Jayna managed to miss the toilet somehow and pee all over the bathroom floor. Later, she went to the bathroom in the big toilet. She needs to use the stool to get up to the toilet. Somehow, she managed to get some poop on the stool. Of course, things tend to be a lot more normal when there isn't actually anyone here!
I took all three kids swimming this morning. This was Mara and Davin's first time at the pool and they were awesome. Thanks to a couple of friends for their help!! I wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise. Here's a picture of them after their swim.
Davin was tuckered out and fell asleep drinking his lunch time bottle in his high chair. I went downstairs to do something quickly and came up to see him like this:
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will have a great weekend outside.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
6 months already....really??
The saying, "the days are long, but the years are short" is never more true until you have children. There are many days when I am just struggling to get through the day so that I can say I've survived another one. Meanwhile, Derrick and I can now say we've survived six months!!!!!
I remember when Jayna hit the six month mark. In the past, I had never noticed how quickly six months goes by. You never really take note of a half year mark unless you have a child, or you're in junior high and you've managed to keep a girlfriend or boyfriend that long (in which case, it seems like 6 months has been an eternity).
It was six months ago yesterday when we got the call that would change our lives and make it more chaotic than we could ever imagine. I had barely gotten off the phone with the nurse who was telling me to come in to get induced, and Derrick was already in the van and ready to leave without me. I was taking my time because I knew that this was the end of our lives as we knew it. I also had no idea what labour had in store for me and I was terrified about having an epidural and needing a C-section. In the end, I can't complain about the labour and I didn't have a C-section!
And of course, at 4:19 am on Monday December 5th, 2011, Mara Jade made her appearance in the world. Davin Frederick just couldn't wait and he snuck in at 4:23 am. We were very fortunate that they were both perfectly healthy and never had to go to the NICU. At six months now, Mara is 28.25 inches long and 18 lbs 12 oz and Davin is 29 inches long and 20 lbs 11 oz. They are working on learning new things every day. Both babies are close to sitting up on their own, they both roll back to front (Davin more than Mara) and Mara popped her first tooth last Monday! They are both working on learning to grab food and actually get it to their mouth, as well as practicing drinking from sippy cups.
Life is still crazy and I'm sure it always will be, just in an ever changing way. I wouldn't change it for the world. It is a bit easier now that the babies have a regular eating schedule and a somewhat regular nap schedule as well.
I love my babies and I'm enjoying watching them grow and seeing them develop their personalities, which are quite different. I can only imagine how interesting the next six months will be.
I remember when Jayna hit the six month mark. In the past, I had never noticed how quickly six months goes by. You never really take note of a half year mark unless you have a child, or you're in junior high and you've managed to keep a girlfriend or boyfriend that long (in which case, it seems like 6 months has been an eternity).
It was six months ago yesterday when we got the call that would change our lives and make it more chaotic than we could ever imagine. I had barely gotten off the phone with the nurse who was telling me to come in to get induced, and Derrick was already in the van and ready to leave without me. I was taking my time because I knew that this was the end of our lives as we knew it. I also had no idea what labour had in store for me and I was terrified about having an epidural and needing a C-section. In the end, I can't complain about the labour and I didn't have a C-section!
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| Happy half year birthday my little man! |
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| Happy half year birthday Mara Bean! |
And of course, at 4:19 am on Monday December 5th, 2011, Mara Jade made her appearance in the world. Davin Frederick just couldn't wait and he snuck in at 4:23 am. We were very fortunate that they were both perfectly healthy and never had to go to the NICU. At six months now, Mara is 28.25 inches long and 18 lbs 12 oz and Davin is 29 inches long and 20 lbs 11 oz. They are working on learning new things every day. Both babies are close to sitting up on their own, they both roll back to front (Davin more than Mara) and Mara popped her first tooth last Monday! They are both working on learning to grab food and actually get it to their mouth, as well as practicing drinking from sippy cups.
Life is still crazy and I'm sure it always will be, just in an ever changing way. I wouldn't change it for the world. It is a bit easier now that the babies have a regular eating schedule and a somewhat regular nap schedule as well.
I love my babies and I'm enjoying watching them grow and seeing them develop their personalities, which are quite different. I can only imagine how interesting the next six months will be.
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