This will be a very short post, hopefully with a longer one to follow in the next day or so.
We have been having some pretty good weather over the past month, and boy does that make a difference! Just being able to get all three kids out of the house, as tedious as that can be, improves ALL of our moods!
The babies are doing well. They are now smiling at us, which is wonderful. Keira smiles very easily and it transforms her entire face - it's magical. And Lyanna is much more conservative with her smiles, but when they do come, watch out! They are simply stunning.
And I think we have figured out that Keira at least (and perhaps Lyanna) has an allergy to the proteins in the milk I drink. So NO dairy for me for a while... I have been off milk for about five days now and their skin looks so much clearer. And Keira's spitup episodes have been cut in half. So here's hoping that's the cure for Keira's fussiness!
More soon - I hope to find some time to post photos (from birth till now) but I have to find the USB cord for the camera first :).
Love,
The Duncans
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Growing Like Weeds
Despite my best intentions, yes it has been since February 12 since I last posted here. Sorry!! The twins entered a more difficult stage, requiring a lot more active soothing to get them to sleep. They were also having MAJOR growth spurts where all they wanted to do was eat. Sean and I figured out that it tended to run on a 36-hour cycle...a day and a half of absolute craziness--tons of crying, fussing, grunting, burping, spitting up, and generally being unsettled--followed by a day and a half of some VERY sleepy girls. The cycle seems to be breaking up a bit now, so here's hoping!
They really are good sleepers for the most part, though. Some time a few weeks ago, they started sleeping longer stretches at night (when they were not in the crazy part of the 36-hour cycle, that is). We have had a couple of 6-hour sleep stretches and several fours and fives. I'll take it!!!
We also had a pediatrician appointment last week, and both girls are growing really, really well. As of March 1st, Lyanna weighed 9lbs, 9oz and was 23" long. Keira weighed 7bs, 14oz and was 22" long. That means they have each gained about three pounds since birth! Crazy!
I will do my very best to post more updates more often moving forward. The sleep deprivation has been really tough, but hopefully we're kind of on the downhill now from the peak of fussiness. I have also noticed that the first thing to go when I'm so sleep deprived is my creativity...so if the girls continue to keep me up at night you can expect some pretty boring and poorly written blog posts, like this one. :)
Cheers,
Alicia
They really are good sleepers for the most part, though. Some time a few weeks ago, they started sleeping longer stretches at night (when they were not in the crazy part of the 36-hour cycle, that is). We have had a couple of 6-hour sleep stretches and several fours and fives. I'll take it!!!
We also had a pediatrician appointment last week, and both girls are growing really, really well. As of March 1st, Lyanna weighed 9lbs, 9oz and was 23" long. Keira weighed 7bs, 14oz and was 22" long. That means they have each gained about three pounds since birth! Crazy!
I will do my very best to post more updates more often moving forward. The sleep deprivation has been really tough, but hopefully we're kind of on the downhill now from the peak of fussiness. I have also noticed that the first thing to go when I'm so sleep deprived is my creativity...so if the girls continue to keep me up at night you can expect some pretty boring and poorly written blog posts, like this one. :)
Cheers,
Alicia
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Just This Side of Nuts
I just got an email from one of my dearest friends in which she said she can't believe how I seem to be staying "just this side of nuts", having three kids under the age of two. I thought this was a really good description of how things are going these days. Yes, it's crazy. But we are learning. Some days, we are just managing. Some days we are thriving. Most days it's a combination of the two. There's a lot to figure out, logistically, about caring for twins. But I'm getting pretty good at multi-tasking. I use hands, elbows, feet, forehead--even nose sometimes--to hold up bottles, wipe spills with a burp rag, push buttons. It's a huge learning curve, but each small accomplishment is magical. It's like pieces of a grand symphony are coming together the more I practice. I won't be ready for opening night anytime soon, but we're getting there.
But oh, the sleep deprivation. That's the toughest part! We are working out some issues with nighttime fussiness in both twins, and boy do those middle of the night fussy periods make it difficult to function the next day. Turns out 1-4 hours of sleep night after night, usually achieved in about five separate spurts, isn't enough! But, while it is definitely worse with the twins, I do remember being SCARY TIRED in the first months of Arya's life as well. And I remember that it does get better.
So that's where we are right now! Wishing spring was here so the twins would have the go-ahead to make their big debut and Arya would be free to play outside and with friends like a toddler should. But until then, we are figuring things out together!
But oh, the sleep deprivation. That's the toughest part! We are working out some issues with nighttime fussiness in both twins, and boy do those middle of the night fussy periods make it difficult to function the next day. Turns out 1-4 hours of sleep night after night, usually achieved in about five separate spurts, isn't enough! But, while it is definitely worse with the twins, I do remember being SCARY TIRED in the first months of Arya's life as well. And I remember that it does get better.
So that's where we are right now! Wishing spring was here so the twins would have the go-ahead to make their big debut and Arya would be free to play outside and with friends like a toddler should. But until then, we are figuring things out together!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
A Good Day
After so many days that felt somehow happy yet discouraging in some ways...exhausting, confusing, emotional, today was a really good day.
Today was a good day. It was also, I believe, my first "solo day". My mom, bless her, has been here almost the entire month. She takes care of Arya, cleans and does household chores, organizes my chaos, and just serves as a calm, solid presence in all of this newborn baby mayhem. But this week she is with Casey in Spring Grove. We call her G4T for a reason...used to be G2T when she became a grandmother of two in very quick succession, but now she's reached SUPER GRANDMA status with four grandchildren to love and help care for. She truly is amazing. Sean has gone back to work after having used up the first week-plus of his two-week paternity leave, just with my extended hospital stay and the girls' time in the special care nursery. In addition, this crazy virus season we're having continues to remove many of my possibilities for help with Arya as I navigate the waters of dealing with newborn twins (a wonderful neighbor who watches Arya, and also Arya's "Auntie Em", my cousin Emily.) So today I was alone, and it was a great day. I know there will be many days in the future--the near future...maybe even tomorrow--that don't go this well, so I am choosing to really notice the small things about today.
1. I had a dance party with Arya. This means that a) I am feeling physically well enough to dance--not hugely prego, not in the hospital or home recovering from a very rough and complicated labor, and not barfing from an unfortunate bout of the stomach flu (see last post), and b) Arya is really getting back to her old self...the one who loves to boogie and spin around and who points at the iPod, asking for "dancing music" about four times per day. Happiness.
2. I took a nap. When you have to get up several times in the night to care for newborn twins it feels pretty rough to have that 6:30 a.m. toddler wake-up call, knowing that it'll be at least six hours until you can lay your head down again. Today I was successful in my attempts to synchronize all three kids' sleep so I could nap as well. Aahhhh.
3. I took Arya outside to get some fresh air. Winter sucks, but we've been lucky enough this year to have a very mild one. Today it was about 40 degrees, so we went outside and splashed in puddles for a little while. The fun didn't last very long because Miss Lou fell in a mud puddle and got cold, but we both got some of our wiggles out and inhaled some much-needed fresh air.
4. I washed the sheets, comforter, AND mattress pad off our bed. Yup, it's the little things. We kept the twins upstairs in our room until a few nights ago, and it just seemed like everything in there smelled like sour milk. As of this writing I still haven't gotten everything put back together, but once I do it'll be clean-sheet bliss for us tonight. Aahhh...it's the little things.
5. I ate lunch. Yes, this is an accomplishment. I spent the day alone with two 3-week-old babies and a 20 month old. #6 should probably be "I went to the bathroom", but I think that probably falls under the category of Too Much Information. And if you're wondering, lunch today was a liverwurst and ketchup sandwich eaten with Arya at her toddler table (turns out Arya and I both love liverwurst, and I lost so much blood during the delivery that I'm still trying to get enough iron in my diet to "catch up" on my energy.)
6. I remembered, and successfully administered, everyone's vitamins. Isn't this one of those things that tends to fall through the cracks when things get crazy? It is for me. But today, all three kids got their omegas, D3s, and iron, and I got all mine as well. I think I even convinced Sean to take an EmergenC as he was rushing out the door to go to a meeting. Strangely enough, Arya LOVES to take her fish oil straight from the dropper. Ugh...it smells like salmon belly meat. But getting the twins to take their cherry-flavored liquid vitamins is another thing entirely. Why do they make that stuff cherry flavored anyway? It's a totally foreign and disarming flavor for a newborn to experience.
7. I tandem breastfed BOTH twins several times today. With Keira finally starting to be able to get some of her calories from breastfeeding instead of a bottle of pumped milk, this accomplishment is absolutely the key to the rest of the day's success. Here's hoping she continues to improve so I can eventually just breastfeed both. That will mean I can drop the pumping, bottle feeding, bottle washing, pump part washing, and general asynchronous nature of the twins' feedings. That will be HUGE.
Tomorrow's a new day...let's see what it brings.
Today was a good day. It was also, I believe, my first "solo day". My mom, bless her, has been here almost the entire month. She takes care of Arya, cleans and does household chores, organizes my chaos, and just serves as a calm, solid presence in all of this newborn baby mayhem. But this week she is with Casey in Spring Grove. We call her G4T for a reason...used to be G2T when she became a grandmother of two in very quick succession, but now she's reached SUPER GRANDMA status with four grandchildren to love and help care for. She truly is amazing. Sean has gone back to work after having used up the first week-plus of his two-week paternity leave, just with my extended hospital stay and the girls' time in the special care nursery. In addition, this crazy virus season we're having continues to remove many of my possibilities for help with Arya as I navigate the waters of dealing with newborn twins (a wonderful neighbor who watches Arya, and also Arya's "Auntie Em", my cousin Emily.) So today I was alone, and it was a great day. I know there will be many days in the future--the near future...maybe even tomorrow--that don't go this well, so I am choosing to really notice the small things about today.
1. I had a dance party with Arya. This means that a) I am feeling physically well enough to dance--not hugely prego, not in the hospital or home recovering from a very rough and complicated labor, and not barfing from an unfortunate bout of the stomach flu (see last post), and b) Arya is really getting back to her old self...the one who loves to boogie and spin around and who points at the iPod, asking for "dancing music" about four times per day. Happiness.
2. I took a nap. When you have to get up several times in the night to care for newborn twins it feels pretty rough to have that 6:30 a.m. toddler wake-up call, knowing that it'll be at least six hours until you can lay your head down again. Today I was successful in my attempts to synchronize all three kids' sleep so I could nap as well. Aahhhh.
3. I took Arya outside to get some fresh air. Winter sucks, but we've been lucky enough this year to have a very mild one. Today it was about 40 degrees, so we went outside and splashed in puddles for a little while. The fun didn't last very long because Miss Lou fell in a mud puddle and got cold, but we both got some of our wiggles out and inhaled some much-needed fresh air.
4. I washed the sheets, comforter, AND mattress pad off our bed. Yup, it's the little things. We kept the twins upstairs in our room until a few nights ago, and it just seemed like everything in there smelled like sour milk. As of this writing I still haven't gotten everything put back together, but once I do it'll be clean-sheet bliss for us tonight. Aahhh...it's the little things.
5. I ate lunch. Yes, this is an accomplishment. I spent the day alone with two 3-week-old babies and a 20 month old. #6 should probably be "I went to the bathroom", but I think that probably falls under the category of Too Much Information. And if you're wondering, lunch today was a liverwurst and ketchup sandwich eaten with Arya at her toddler table (turns out Arya and I both love liverwurst, and I lost so much blood during the delivery that I'm still trying to get enough iron in my diet to "catch up" on my energy.)
6. I remembered, and successfully administered, everyone's vitamins. Isn't this one of those things that tends to fall through the cracks when things get crazy? It is for me. But today, all three kids got their omegas, D3s, and iron, and I got all mine as well. I think I even convinced Sean to take an EmergenC as he was rushing out the door to go to a meeting. Strangely enough, Arya LOVES to take her fish oil straight from the dropper. Ugh...it smells like salmon belly meat. But getting the twins to take their cherry-flavored liquid vitamins is another thing entirely. Why do they make that stuff cherry flavored anyway? It's a totally foreign and disarming flavor for a newborn to experience.
7. I tandem breastfed BOTH twins several times today. With Keira finally starting to be able to get some of her calories from breastfeeding instead of a bottle of pumped milk, this accomplishment is absolutely the key to the rest of the day's success. Here's hoping she continues to improve so I can eventually just breastfeed both. That will mean I can drop the pumping, bottle feeding, bottle washing, pump part washing, and general asynchronous nature of the twins' feedings. That will be HUGE.
Tomorrow's a new day...let's see what it brings.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Visitors and Meals
Hi all!
Many of you have expressed interest in bringing meals over as well as coming to hold some very snuggly twins. I thought I'd just post info on here instead of replying to folks individually.
VISITORS
We have to continue to limit visitors to adults only, at least until May...doctor's orders, due to the girls' preemie status and the fact that the RSV/influenza virus season is so bad this year. And any adults who do come to visit have to be sure that they are healthy, and that no one in their household is sick.
If you are healthy and want to come hold some very snuggly babies, though, send me an email and we will find a time for you to visit! We kind of have to spread the visits out because the girls are still so small and their immune systems are still vulnerable, so you may have to wait a bit for your "time slot" but I know many of you are anxious to meet our little angels!!
MEALS
Many of you have sent emails wondering if you can bring food or meals by as we navigate this crazy time. We appreciate any and all offers of assistance - especially food-related! :) Cooking and preparing meals just isn't in the realm of possibility most days. I think with a single at-term baby, a household can sometimes be in a pretty good groove. But I am finding that the complicating factors--twins, premature, some trouble with feeding, a 21 month old also at home, a mommy who had such a rough pregnancy and complicated labor that she's slower to fully recover, etc.--mean that we're still "in the thick of it" at this point! Both the pediatrician and the lactation consultant said it's truly remarkable what happens when a preemie baby reaches their original "term" date, though... things just start to fall into place!
I apologize for not having the chance to get back to you individually regarding your offers to bring food. Please feel free to bring stuff over - just call or email to let me know when. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many of you have expressed interest in bringing meals over as well as coming to hold some very snuggly twins. I thought I'd just post info on here instead of replying to folks individually.
VISITORS
We have to continue to limit visitors to adults only, at least until May...doctor's orders, due to the girls' preemie status and the fact that the RSV/influenza virus season is so bad this year. And any adults who do come to visit have to be sure that they are healthy, and that no one in their household is sick.
If you are healthy and want to come hold some very snuggly babies, though, send me an email and we will find a time for you to visit! We kind of have to spread the visits out because the girls are still so small and their immune systems are still vulnerable, so you may have to wait a bit for your "time slot" but I know many of you are anxious to meet our little angels!!
MEALS
Many of you have sent emails wondering if you can bring food or meals by as we navigate this crazy time. We appreciate any and all offers of assistance - especially food-related! :) Cooking and preparing meals just isn't in the realm of possibility most days. I think with a single at-term baby, a household can sometimes be in a pretty good groove. But I am finding that the complicating factors--twins, premature, some trouble with feeding, a 21 month old also at home, a mommy who had such a rough pregnancy and complicated labor that she's slower to fully recover, etc.--mean that we're still "in the thick of it" at this point! Both the pediatrician and the lactation consultant said it's truly remarkable what happens when a preemie baby reaches their original "term" date, though... things just start to fall into place!
I apologize for not having the chance to get back to you individually regarding your offers to bring food. Please feel free to bring stuff over - just call or email to let me know when. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
They're Bulking Up!
At our last pediatrician's visit this past week, we learned that the girls are both gaining weight really well! Well enough, in fact, that our doctor said they didn't need to return for any more "weight check" visits and could just be seen at their two-month appointment! Yay!
As of Thursday the 26th, Lyanna weighed 6lbs, 11.5oz and Keira weighed 5lbs, 15oz. And since Thursday, we have seen Keira get noticeably "chunkier" in the face, and Lyanna just continues to grow steadily. That means at this point they are both definitely more than a pound over birth weight - not bad for only 3.5 weeks old!
Keeping up with those growing girls keeps me very busy with feeding and pumping, but it gets easier as they continue to do better at feedings with less choking and spitting up. This is a natural consequence of them getting older and closer to their actual due date - they get more and more coordinated and their suck-swallow reflex gets more in sync.
Arya is doing well as usual. She loves helping with the babies, and her verbal skills have really blossomed in the past few days. I think she's also adjusting more and more to her new life as "big sister", i.e. the kid who no longer gets all of mommy's attention all the time :)
In other news, I came down with the stomach flu this past weekend. Ugh. Not fun when you're trying to keep up your milk supply and are already exhausted. Luckily, I have the best hubby in the world. He took over all of the twins' feedings for an entire day so that I could just sleep, only getting up every three hours to pump. And I also have the best mom in the world! Grandma stayed at our place past when she had planned to leave this time (sorry cousin Casey...Namma Kathy is going to be late to come get you!) It was a rough 24+ hours to be sure, but I'm on the mend now. Let's just hope no one else gets it.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading - your comments and emails really keep me going, so keep 'em coming!
Love to all,
Alicia
As of Thursday the 26th, Lyanna weighed 6lbs, 11.5oz and Keira weighed 5lbs, 15oz. And since Thursday, we have seen Keira get noticeably "chunkier" in the face, and Lyanna just continues to grow steadily. That means at this point they are both definitely more than a pound over birth weight - not bad for only 3.5 weeks old!
Keeping up with those growing girls keeps me very busy with feeding and pumping, but it gets easier as they continue to do better at feedings with less choking and spitting up. This is a natural consequence of them getting older and closer to their actual due date - they get more and more coordinated and their suck-swallow reflex gets more in sync.
Arya is doing well as usual. She loves helping with the babies, and her verbal skills have really blossomed in the past few days. I think she's also adjusting more and more to her new life as "big sister", i.e. the kid who no longer gets all of mommy's attention all the time :)
In other news, I came down with the stomach flu this past weekend. Ugh. Not fun when you're trying to keep up your milk supply and are already exhausted. Luckily, I have the best hubby in the world. He took over all of the twins' feedings for an entire day so that I could just sleep, only getting up every three hours to pump. And I also have the best mom in the world! Grandma stayed at our place past when she had planned to leave this time (sorry cousin Casey...Namma Kathy is going to be late to come get you!) It was a rough 24+ hours to be sure, but I'm on the mend now. Let's just hope no one else gets it.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading - your comments and emails really keep me going, so keep 'em coming!
Love to all,
Alicia
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Message from the Zoo
When I found out I was pregnant with twins, after the shock wore off I could often be heard saying, "Bring it on. Bring on the crazy." I think that's the right (read: only) attitude to have at a time like this, and let me just say the crazy has arrived! But in a good way. I'll miss these days someday, so I am trying to enjoy every minute and relish every challenge.
We are all doing well. Arya is adjusting remarkably well, in fact, and Lyanna and Keira are gaining weight and passed their first pediatrician visit with flying colors. The first 30 (okay, maybe 90) days with newborns are all about baby mayhem and sleep deprivation, so we're right on target!
The thing we're struggling with a bit right now is that Lyanna breastfeeds quite well, but Keira is not quite there yet. I continue to work with them with the goal of being able to nurse them at the same time eventually. Right now, though, with one baby nursing and another requiring a bottle, we use up a whole lot of our 3-hour between-feedings interval, well, feeding. And then I have to pump breastmilk. Add to that multiple diapers and some spit-ups, and we have newborn twin mayhem!
Bless her, though, Arya likes to help with the babies and is remarkably understanding that Mommy and Daddy are busy sometimes.
An apology to you all: I'm sure you've noticed how BAD I am at posting pictures... but I offer this explanation - I don't have enough hands to take pictures!! I'm trying to get better at that, but it's difficult to take photos when we can't just set a baby / the babies on a blanket on the floor to take cute pictures together because we have a very energetic bruiser of a toddler running around. And, see "3-hour between-feedings interval" above.
I hope you're all doing well, too! We would love to hear from you when you get a chance. Feel free to use the comments section or just send an email!
We are all doing well. Arya is adjusting remarkably well, in fact, and Lyanna and Keira are gaining weight and passed their first pediatrician visit with flying colors. The first 30 (okay, maybe 90) days with newborns are all about baby mayhem and sleep deprivation, so we're right on target!
The thing we're struggling with a bit right now is that Lyanna breastfeeds quite well, but Keira is not quite there yet. I continue to work with them with the goal of being able to nurse them at the same time eventually. Right now, though, with one baby nursing and another requiring a bottle, we use up a whole lot of our 3-hour between-feedings interval, well, feeding. And then I have to pump breastmilk. Add to that multiple diapers and some spit-ups, and we have newborn twin mayhem!
Bless her, though, Arya likes to help with the babies and is remarkably understanding that Mommy and Daddy are busy sometimes.
An apology to you all: I'm sure you've noticed how BAD I am at posting pictures... but I offer this explanation - I don't have enough hands to take pictures!! I'm trying to get better at that, but it's difficult to take photos when we can't just set a baby / the babies on a blanket on the floor to take cute pictures together because we have a very energetic bruiser of a toddler running around. And, see "3-hour between-feedings interval" above.
I hope you're all doing well, too! We would love to hear from you when you get a chance. Feel free to use the comments section or just send an email!
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