The twinfants are starting to take notice of the existence of each other. Of course, it's mostly so that they can keep up with whatever the latest and greatest toys are, which is always whatever is in the hands of the other. Our little extrovert, Sylvia, delights in other babies, just the sight of them make her giggle. So precious. We were enthralled to see that her brother can have the same effect, too (when he's not holding onto something she wants!)
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
twinfant fun
The twinfants are starting to take notice of the existence of each other. Of course, it's mostly so that they can keep up with whatever the latest and greatest toys are, which is always whatever is in the hands of the other. Our little extrovert, Sylvia, delights in other babies, just the sight of them make her giggle. So precious. We were enthralled to see that her brother can have the same effect, too (when he's not holding onto something she wants!)
dirt
I have a new relationship with dirt and all things dirty, icky, stinky, messy, filthy, grimy, and grubby.
I'm the girl who washes her hands at least 10 times in preparing a simple meal. Not to keep the food from getting contaminated, but because I like my hands to feel clean. Well, I WAS that girl.
Now I'm the girl who rinses poopy clothes by hand, who picks up food that's been chewed and spat, who licks her finger to clean dried up snot in a pinch, who has been drooled on, vomited on, peed on, snotted on, yeah yeah, enough. And, it doesn't really bother me. Most of the time. Now, that's love.
I'm the girl who washes her hands at least 10 times in preparing a simple meal. Not to keep the food from getting contaminated, but because I like my hands to feel clean. Well, I WAS that girl.
Now I'm the girl who rinses poopy clothes by hand, who picks up food that's been chewed and spat, who licks her finger to clean dried up snot in a pinch, who has been drooled on, vomited on, peed on, snotted on, yeah yeah, enough. And, it doesn't really bother me. Most of the time. Now, that's love.
Monday, July 30, 2012
coming home
Coming home at the end of a long day at work is an amazing delight. Sylvia and Rafael never fail to bring a smile to my face. They erase all the stress and challenges of the day in mere seconds. As soon as I am in sight, Sylvia turns to me with her signature grin. Sometimes a little giggle, but always at least the big, toothy smile. It's all I need. Rafa always looks up, but doesn't always smile. He watches me enter the room with his intent gaze, then after a few seconds takes off crawling to me, begging to be embraced. It doesn't get any better.
Kids are the greatest. Aren't they?!
Kids are the greatest. Aren't they?!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
independence
The struggle for independence is running strong in little miss Sylvia. She is starting to reject being fed and wants to feed herself. I think this a battle I'm not going to fight. Oh, you want me to just sit you down and leave you alone with food for 30 minutes? Done.
Rafa on the other hand can feed himself and can chew foods, but he would still rather eat purées fed to him by someone else. In his defense, Sylvia has four upper teeth and Rafa's top two are only just now coming in. So, chewing is a little more complicated for him.
But, he is also a total mama's boy. He starts crying when I stand up. Even if I'm just going to get him a new toy across the room. He even gets upset in the morning when I try to pass him off to papi. It's sweet, sad, and demanding.
Rafa on the other hand can feed himself and can chew foods, but he would still rather eat purées fed to him by someone else. In his defense, Sylvia has four upper teeth and Rafa's top two are only just now coming in. So, chewing is a little more complicated for him.
But, he is also a total mama's boy. He starts crying when I stand up. Even if I'm just going to get him a new toy across the room. He even gets upset in the morning when I try to pass him off to papi. It's sweet, sad, and demanding.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
we're in trouble
Double trouble. They're not just starting to get into things...
But they might also be colluding...
I went in for a closer look.
A good lesson in teamwork??
They might be small, but they're mighty strong. In muscles and in will. I'm scared...
But they might also be colluding...
I went in for a closer look.
A good lesson in teamwork??
They might be small, but they're mighty strong. In muscles and in will. I'm scared...
Monday, July 16, 2012
emergency kit
One great suggestion that I got while I was preggo was to pack an emergency kit for the car. Toss into a gallon ziplock bag diapers, wipes, a couple onesies, some emergency formula, a paci, a tranquilizer, you know, the basics. That way, if you forget the diaper bag or have a massive blowout or some other emergency, you'll have backup. Here's the emergency bag I just took out of the car:
Th onesies are too small, the formula has expired, the diapers are too small, and our kids don't use pacis anymore. At least the wipes could still come in handy... The crazy thing is, we did go to Oma and Gong Gong's once and forgot our diaper bag. I'm 99.9% sure the emergency bag was in the glove compartment with all the correct sizes and we forgot how prepared we were. Time to update the bag? Or time to abandon trying to be a girl scout and put more useful things in the glove compartment, like napkins?
Th onesies are too small, the formula has expired, the diapers are too small, and our kids don't use pacis anymore. At least the wipes could still come in handy... The crazy thing is, we did go to Oma and Gong Gong's once and forgot our diaper bag. I'm 99.9% sure the emergency bag was in the glove compartment with all the correct sizes and we forgot how prepared we were. Time to update the bag? Or time to abandon trying to be a girl scout and put more useful things in the glove compartment, like napkins?
Sunday, July 15, 2012
leaving my babies
The time had come when I needed to leave the babies for a whole night. Twice in one week. Ok, one was a need (work) and other was fun (our first night away for a quick vacay). I had a CLE a few hours away on Thursday and Friday. The plan was for me to wake up early on Thursday, load the car, feed the babies their first meal, then hit the road. That was the plan.
My boss said that the babies would get all messed up. Because they would know. I thought it was no big deal because D has had to put them to bed and do the whole night routine without me when I had meetings, etc. First time moms are never right.
Wednesday evening, as I picked Sylvia up to change her, I noticed that she felt really hot. Really hot. Took her temp 102.5. How did she know??? Doc said not to worry if she had no other symptoms (she didn't) until she developed them, her temp was 105, or if it lasted more than 3-5 days. Should I stay or should I go??...
D was a champ and was up with her in the middle of the night when she felt crummy and didn't want to go back to sleep. And D convinced me he had it all under control, that I should go. So, I did. And it was hard. It made me sad to leave them. Mostly because Sylvia was sick and I wanted to help comfort and care for her (and felt that as her mom, I'm uniquely capable of doing that). Also because I would miss them during my first trip away.
The next morning, we got to video call which was wonderful to see Rafa's face as he tried to understand why mama's voice was coming out of and face was on the little gadget that mama and papi carry around obsessively. He kept touching the screen as his brain processed it all. It was wonderfully heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
I was back Friday evening and then D and I got ready to go again Saturday morning for 2 days with great friends and our first trip away from the twinfants. We are incredibly fortunate to be able to do this because D's parents agreed to drive in for the weekend to babysit. Sylvia was doing much better Friday evening. So much better that she didn't want to go to bed until 10:30!! Three and a half hours past her normal bedtime. Maybe she knew and was just eking out those last few hours with mama and papi.
Saturday morning, at breakfast we put them in their high chairs and let Grandmother feed them while we escaped. And Rafa had the biggest sulking face you've ever seen. He knew. And just like when we put him in the stroller and he hates it but knows there's no way out, he sulks. Stares through us as if we don't exist. So, I walked out that door again.
And looked forward to the second night of glorious sleep in a week. But, of course, both times, I woke up at 6am, the same time that the twinfants wake me up at home.
We asked our nanny to help out with bedtime Saturday night, particularly since Sylvia was a little sick. Thankfully, her temp stayed down Saturday, although she was covered head to toe with a rash. Granddaddy correctly recognized that as roseola, which means she's getting better. All those days raising three boys gave the Grands experience and wisdom I wish I had rather than bumbling blindly through caring for kiddos who can't talk.
Sylvia has 6 teeth now and Rafa is working on teeth 3, 4, and 5. They've broken through, but are barely visible. People often ask if teething bothers them. I don't know. They cry sometimes and are fussy sometimes. Is it because of teething? Or they're tired? Or hungry? Or something else? We often don't know.
But, what I do know, now, is that I can leave my precious babies in the care of others for an extended period of time, 34 hours anyway, even while they're sick, and it will all be okay. They--and I!--will survive.
My boss said that the babies would get all messed up. Because they would know. I thought it was no big deal because D has had to put them to bed and do the whole night routine without me when I had meetings, etc. First time moms are never right.
Wednesday evening, as I picked Sylvia up to change her, I noticed that she felt really hot. Really hot. Took her temp 102.5. How did she know??? Doc said not to worry if she had no other symptoms (she didn't) until she developed them, her temp was 105, or if it lasted more than 3-5 days. Should I stay or should I go??...
D was a champ and was up with her in the middle of the night when she felt crummy and didn't want to go back to sleep. And D convinced me he had it all under control, that I should go. So, I did. And it was hard. It made me sad to leave them. Mostly because Sylvia was sick and I wanted to help comfort and care for her (and felt that as her mom, I'm uniquely capable of doing that). Also because I would miss them during my first trip away.
The next morning, we got to video call which was wonderful to see Rafa's face as he tried to understand why mama's voice was coming out of and face was on the little gadget that mama and papi carry around obsessively. He kept touching the screen as his brain processed it all. It was wonderfully heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
I was back Friday evening and then D and I got ready to go again Saturday morning for 2 days with great friends and our first trip away from the twinfants. We are incredibly fortunate to be able to do this because D's parents agreed to drive in for the weekend to babysit. Sylvia was doing much better Friday evening. So much better that she didn't want to go to bed until 10:30!! Three and a half hours past her normal bedtime. Maybe she knew and was just eking out those last few hours with mama and papi.
Saturday morning, at breakfast we put them in their high chairs and let Grandmother feed them while we escaped. And Rafa had the biggest sulking face you've ever seen. He knew. And just like when we put him in the stroller and he hates it but knows there's no way out, he sulks. Stares through us as if we don't exist. So, I walked out that door again.
And looked forward to the second night of glorious sleep in a week. But, of course, both times, I woke up at 6am, the same time that the twinfants wake me up at home.
We asked our nanny to help out with bedtime Saturday night, particularly since Sylvia was a little sick. Thankfully, her temp stayed down Saturday, although she was covered head to toe with a rash. Granddaddy correctly recognized that as roseola, which means she's getting better. All those days raising three boys gave the Grands experience and wisdom I wish I had rather than bumbling blindly through caring for kiddos who can't talk.
Sylvia has 6 teeth now and Rafa is working on teeth 3, 4, and 5. They've broken through, but are barely visible. People often ask if teething bothers them. I don't know. They cry sometimes and are fussy sometimes. Is it because of teething? Or they're tired? Or hungry? Or something else? We often don't know.
But, what I do know, now, is that I can leave my precious babies in the care of others for an extended period of time, 34 hours anyway, even while they're sick, and it will all be okay. They--and I!--will survive.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
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