like parents, like children

Every parent's dream is that their child comes out with all their good qualities and none of their bad. Watching the twinfants grow, I'm more convinced of the strength of nature in the v nurture debate. I used to think that we were born with tendencies, but nurture had significant influence on our lives. I now think that I have really underestimated the power of nature. I still think nurture plays a big role, but also respect the genetic influence more.

One thing it looks like the kiddos have inherited from their parents is seasonal allergies. David and I both suffer from them and are now suffering from the kids having them. Sylvia was so congested last night, she couldn't breathe through her nose. Poor thing. Rafa hasn't had quite the nose congestion, but perhaps the itchy eyes. Either that or he's really tired all the time. Which isn't out of the question. But, you know, when a parent suspects an ailment in their child, they will start noticing that their child has all the symptoms.

I think the twinfants haven't dodged this bullet, but hopefully they can avoid their mom's coke bottle glasses.

look, ma, one hand!

zoo

Back in April, we took the twinfants to the zoo.  We definitely had more fun than they did.  But this way when they look back on photos of their childhood, they won't think we made them stay in one room and play with the same toys all the time.  Instead we made them touch goats.

Excuse me?  You want me to TOUCH it?!

rest

When was the last time you rested like that?  I could probably use a few reminders to pause and rest...

joy

When was the last time you laughed like this?

I have this photo set as my computer desktop background.  I love seeing them so happy.  It also reminds me to pause and embrace the joy of the moment.

uh oh

So far, we've really celebrated how NOT mobile our children are. Poor guys. Alas, our celebrations are quickly coming to an end.

banana

This is the video for "the girl can eat".

Watch those legs go!

big eyes

Rafa got so excited about dinner, he kept eating and eating and eating. And his eyes were bigger than his tummy. Truly. The excuse from these negligent parents who stuffed him is that I started feeding him, then had to leave for a meeting, so D finished. And we serve them out of the same bowl, because it's easier, so we can't tell exactly how much they've consumed. And they usually tell us when they're full. Rafa by screaming, Sylvia by buzzing her lips. Or whatever it's called that horn players do that involves spit and whatever food is in her mouth to go spraying. They should know to stop eating, right??! I hope this isn't a sign of intelligence... And not just because their mom does, on occasion, eaten until her stomach hurts... The apple doesn't fall far, and all that. Of course Rafa barely noticed his purging and happily went on playing. D was the one left with a world of mess. I received a text that said, "Rafa ralphed." I had abandoned D just in the nick of time, it turns out.

the girl can eat

After nursing, quinoa salad, mandarin oranges, and 1/4 of the banana cut up, D let Sylvia help polish off the banana.

(Sorry, still having trouble uploading videos. I'll look for another solution...)

it's time

to drop the cribs...

shoe shopping

I got a good excuse to buy more shoes, but unfortunately, it comes at a cost (and not just the cost of the shoes).  I, like Mario Williams, have plantar fasciitis.  And, that might be where the resemblance ends...  And, yes, kids, I'm writing this as another reminder of all the things I did for you.  The list is already long.

I started having soreness and pain in my left foot.  Guessing that it was probably from carrying around two adorable, yet chubby, babies, and often in heels, I thought I should probably cave in and wear flats more often.  Oddly to me, the pain was worse in the flats.  At first I thought it was because I consciously made an effort to wear the flats when I would be on my feet a lot and the pain was due to being on my feet.  After spending a long day on my feet in heels without pain, I realized, no, it's the flats.  The podiatrist later explained that aside from heels distributing weight differently, they also often  tend to have some arch support.  So, she gave me the green light on wearing my cute heels.  Not what I expected when walking into the podiatrist's office. 

Plantar fasciitis occurs when the tissue that creates the arch of the foot gets inflamed.  Interestingly, it is common in women with babies.  The hormone that the body produces to loosen up tissues in the body so that hips can spread for childbirth doesn't discriminate and only loosen the tissue around the hips.  It affects most all the tissue in the body (maybe all, but I'm no good at anything medical, so I'm leaving myself some wiggle room).  Many women's feet expand during pregnancy and they have to go up a size in shoes.  Unfortunately for me and many other women, this hormone continues while nursing.  Hence the foot problems.  Treatment includes exercises and stretching, anti-inflammatories and a cortisone shot (which hurt like #$^^), and orthotics and new shoes.  Fortunately, the shoes that are made specifically for women with plantar fasciitis are not completely hideous.  If you know anyone in need, I highly recommend Orthaheel.  I've now been wearing these shoes predominantly for a few days and the funny side effect is that my calves are completely sore.  The shoes align my feet differently, and even that slight change causes me to use the muscles of my body in a way that they are not accustomed to being used.  Doesn't quite make up for not going to the gym anymore, but I'll take what I can get. 

These are the special shoes from and my orthotics.  Not bad!

attention grabbing

Rafa has developed this funny little thing.  Whenever he wants our attention or is a little upset about something, but not enough to warrant his full out screaming cry, he coughs.  When he first started doing it, we thought he might have strep throat.  He probably just had a cold and a dry throat and did cough a little because of that.  Once he learned that he got our attention, he's continued using that technique to his advantage.  I've tried to get it on video, but the problem is that once I start taping him, he has my attention, so he quits coughing.  This isn't the best example, but you get the idea.  What a funny thing.

monitor addiction

When prepping for the babies, one of the hardest decisions for us was which monitor to get.  Like all things baby, the options are myriad.  Over the years, D and I have come to generally agree on what is valuable to our little family and how much to spend.  Generally.  The one thing that I wanted to spend on for the babies, but he doubted the value of was a video monitor.  They are insanely more expensive than audio monitors.  So much so, that it's really hard to decide to splurge on that.  Both of our cribs together (and then some) were cheaper than the difference between a decent video monitor and a decent audio monitor.  So, his hesitation was warranted.  Plus, we're in the more laid back, let them cry a few minutes and see if they really need something, it'll make them stronger camp.  We didn't think that our style of parenting required the ability to constantly monitor their every move.

I must have heard or read somewhere something about using a video monitor to check on whether your kid is crying because he woke up (or, SHE, as was the case for us most of the time) or because his leg is stuck in the crib slats.  And not getting out of bed unnecessarily seemed pretty valuable to me.  Whatever the reason, I had in my head that we NEEDED a video monitor.  I guess I'm lazier than D because that wasn't a particularly convincing argument for him.

In any case, as I continued to expand beyond what seemed humanly possible, we knew this purchase was something we needed to get before the arrival of the babies.  We're not sure why D eventually gave in (although it's probably because I didn't give any signs that I would), but we finally decided to get the Summer Infant BabyTouch™ Digital Video Monitor.

I'll admit I have checked a handful of times to see if they were still breathing when things seemed a little too quiet.  But, for the most part, we use the video function for our own entertainment.  And we are grateful to the US military every day for developing infrared technology.  This thing is incredible for its ability to show us our kiddos in the pitchest of blackness.  Pretty much every night before going to bed, we click on the monitor, gaze adoringly at our little ones, and go to sleep with an image of them resting peacefully in their cribs.  On one of those nights, as we enjoyed a particularly sweet moment of spying on our kids, D leaned over and admit that no matter how much the video monitor cost, it was worth it.  





Perhaps we're just products of the age and crave instant information and connect with others through technology, but whatever the reason, we've become a little addicted to our video monitor.  But look at those guys...who wouldn't be?!

piano four hands

happy mother's day

To all the moms, mommies, muttis, mamas, madres, mothers, and mamis out there, I now get it. I get the feeling that you would do anything for your children. I get that explosion of love in your heart that swells all the time and each time more even though it feels like there's no more room. I get putting aside my selfish desires. I get the joy and peace that your child's smile creates. I get the pride when others coo and rave about your kids. I get the pain watching your baby suffer. I get the fear that something might go wrong. I get the excitement for accomplishments and growth. I get the unconditional love. I get it.

Thank you, Mutti for being my perfect mother.

balance

One of the questions I get the most often is how the transition back to work has been.. Recently, I was asked why I haven't posted about it.  So, here goes.

My transition has been fairly smooth.  I've been busy enough at work that the days go by quickly and enjoyably, but not so busy that I have to constantly work late or bring work home.  The hardest thing for me about balancing work and family has been fatigue.  I've always operated on much less sleep than D, but lately that hasn't been the case.  And now when I'm tired, I feel sick.  Like headaches, nausea, weary sick.  Fortunately, that isn't a constant, but just something I've experienced maybe a handful of times since returning to work.  I'm certain we're doing it to ourselves to a certain extent because we're not willing to completely give up our social lives.  That means that we don't have many opportunities to catch up on lost sleep.  So, if like last night, one of the twinfants wakes up crying at 3, 3:30, 5, and 5:30, I wake up and don't get my full night of carefully calibrated sleep.  Since I don't have as many opportunities to make up that deficit, I eventually end up hitting the wall.

Each time I go to the endocrinologist (who is trying to find the right dosage of thyroid for my hypothyroidism), I always get asked if I'm tired.  HA!  I always tell them, Yes, I have infants twins.  It sounds like it could be that the fatigue is partially hormonal, too.  They keep increasing my dosage and my numbers continue to be lower than the normal range. 

The one thing we have given up that has helped with the balance is exercise.  Perhaps another culprit in the fatigue...  We keep talking about how to work exercise into our schedule, but there just aren't enough hours in the day.

I have to say that my sanity in this balancing act is LARGELY due to D, the nanny, my co-workers, and our amazing support network.  My family, friends, and the nanny have stepped up when I needed help to focus on work, and my co-workers have been very flexible and helpful when family responsibilities call.  D gets a special shout out for supporting me in a way that many, if not most, women only dream about.

the shoe fetish gene

I'm not much into fashion or shopping, but I do love my shoes.  Apparently both babies inherited that adoration, too.

8 months! (and 2 days)

mobility...sort of

Sylvia is our little active one. Still not crawling, she does spin and roll. Typically in search of something or someone more interesting.

more eating

Can you tell that the twinfants don't have many tricks? Eating, sleeping, smiling, there's not much more to life at 7 months. The posts might be repetitive, but they are stinkin' cute!

Yet, there are still minute details related to these few tricks that excite us. Somehow it's really exciting to see the babies grow and become more like us. Even though people enjoy them more than us...

I digress. Here is Sylvia learning to feed herself. Alleluia! Oh yeah, that's one reason we enjoy their developments, so they can do some things for themselves. Selfish? Maybe a little.




(posted by C on D's phone)