Oh, What A Difference

St Patricks Day, 2005
Picture with Chris Samuels, Washington Redskins
(Started drinking at 10:00 am)

St. Patricks Day, 2007
My sister and me
(Started drinking at 12:00 pm)

St Patricks 2009
4 days past positive HPT; anxiously awaiting first Beta.  Completely clueless on what was baking in ma uterus.

St Patricks 2010

My little leprachauns

Easter Bunnies

Milkawhaaattttt?

I just love the commercials for E-trade with the little baby who talks.  The newest one with his girlfriend cracks me up.  Milkawhaattttt?

Anyway, I think I have 2 milkaholics on my hands.  They are officially on "regular" formula and not the high-cal preemie stuff.  So far, so good.  In this post, I talked about Christopher and his gas/possible reflux issues.  I did ask the pediatrician at their 4-month check-up and he felt like it wasn't reflux based on my description.  So, I'm hoping some of his discomfort will ease up with the switch to this other formula. In the meantime, we're using Mylicon after every bottle and it helps but he does still have good and bad days.

The twins are now 5 months old and I can't believe how quickly time has gone by.  I look at them every day in pure and simple amazement.  They have gone from such fragile, little babies to hearty, thriving infants.  They now weigh about 16 lbs each so they have totally caught up to what a 5-month old should be weighing.  I was so proud when they actually charted on the growth chart for a baby the same age.

I've been back to work now for about 6 weeks and things are going fine.  The babies have adjusted well to daycare and they always seem both happy and exhausted.  I think 2 of my nieces play with them alot so I'm glad they are also getting that interaction with other children.  I'm still a little worried about my SIL and her workload.  She is constantly on the go and juggling multiple things at once (her PT job, her own kids and their activities).  I worry that she's spreading herself too thin.  If that's the case, something will have to give and I'm guessing it would be daycare.  She's a grown woman and I just have to trust that she'll know her capacity.

I do have a bit of other news.  I can announce it here because no one knows me IRL.  My sister is expecting their 2nd child.  I am absolutely thrilled!  She's almost 13 weeks and everything looks great.  She had her NT scan earlier this week and they saw a nasal bone so that's one point against Down Syndrome.  She turns 35 this year so she's technically "advanced age" (whatever) so she's having all of the tests to make sure.  

So, now the gender waiting game begins.  I've mentioned before that my Christopher is the only boy in the family.  So far, we have 6 girls and him.  I don't think I'll be one of those moms that freaks out if he starts to play with dolls but I'll be honest.  I want him to be a little boy.  I want to throw a football with him and I want him to play with trucks.  When my nieces started calling him "Chrissie" and talking about painting his nails, I thought, "Oh, poor Christopher.  We need another boy".

We need another boy.  C'mon boy!

Oh, Spring. Where are you?

I am absolutely, positively OH-VAH winter. I mean, seriously? Isn't 6 feet of snow in a month's time enough?!

Thankfully, we missed the bullet on a storm that is hitting the NE right now but it's still 32 degrees with snow showers and 60 mph gusts here. Tree limbs are falling faster than ma pants on embryo transfer day. All we need now is for the electricity to go out and then we'd be FAAAAAAN-TASTIC.

I am clearly so ready for spring. I want to take my babies for a walk in the stroller. I want to dress them in cute little summer outfits. Hell, I want to get them dressed in only one layer of clothing, for crying out loud!

The stores? They just mock me. "Come in, come in! We have cute little spring dresses and jumpers for spring. Come in and look at them but we have absolutely no frickin' idea of when you'll be able to use them".

I sooooo want to buy them. I do. But, I hesitate because 1) I truly don't believe that spring will ever come and 2) my kids are growing so fast that I don't even know what size to buy.

I mean, they could be in 2T sizes by the time it finally makes it up to 70 degrees.

And, so. I wait.

(but in the meantime, here's some photos)

4 month check-up

The twins had their 4-month check up and vaccinations on Wednesday.  They are doing terrific and the doctor seemed very, very pleased with their progress and development. 

Amazingly, they are still very close in size.  Christopher weighed 14 1/2 lbs and Kendall was slightly heavier at 14 lbs, 7 oz.  They were exactly the same height at 25 inches.  If you compare them to other 2 month olds (which is their adjusted age), they are in the 75-90% percentile across the board.

Suuuuuper babies!

He was so pleased with their weight gain that we get to take them off the preemie formula and put them on regular Enfamil.  I wish I could say it was a cost savings but I don't think it will be.  At least the good news is that we can buy it in larger cans now.  The Enfacare was only available in 12.5 oz cans so I was buying a case every week at $90 a pop.  We'll wait until they are 6 months old before introducing solids.  The doc said preemies' stomachs are more sensitive and generally can't handle solids quite yet.  So, that will start in April.

The other good news is that they received their last RSV shot.  He initially said they'd get one per month during RSV season, which typically runs through March.  But, because of their size, he felt they wouldn't need that last shot.  That's great news for us because this month's was pretty damn expensive.  One shot is $1,800 per child.  I have a $1,000 deductible and then I'm responsible for 20% of the cost so our out-of-pocket JUST for February was $1,500.   Crazy, huh?  Oh well, what are you gonna do?  It's only money and my kids' health is more important.

Developmentally, they are right on track.  Both are holding their heads up without any support and they are starting to sit upright more.  They still need a little help or else they face plant into the sofa.  Within the last 2 weeks, they have discovered their hands and are now starting to reach out for items.  Christopher is a drooling machine right now.  I don't see any tooth buds yet but they have to be coming.  Can anyone tell me how long the drooling goes on before they actually cut a tooth? 

I was driving the kids home from daycare the other day and glanced back into the mirrors that  I have set up so I can see them.  Christopher was rubbing his hand back and forth across the wool that lines his car seat cover.  He just kept stroking it and rubbing it and then he'd grab it and then stroke it again..  It was so cute.
Christopher is definitely the happy-go-lucky guy.  He thinks everything is funny and nothing bothers him.  His favorite game is to sit on your lap and play the drums on your stomach or touching his ears with his hands.  He just giggles and squeals.  I don't know why it's so much fun, but it is.

Kendall absolutely loves to swing.  The swing has 2 toys on the tray and she just talks and talks to one of them.  I think she has a thing for cows.  She just stares at the cow and coos and ahhs and oohs.  Her eyes get all wide and bright.  She isn't quite giggling out loud yet but she has the biggest grin and cutely crinkles her nose when she smiles.  I think Kendall is going to be a chatty Cathy.  If I imitate her sounds, we'll have a conversation for a good 5 minutes.  She has my personality and tends to be a little more serious.  She stares at and studies people.  You can see her little mind working as she watches and takes it in. 

I never really thought about how different boys and girls are until I started to compare mine.  Christopher masters the physical stuff quicker and Kendall is mastering communication better.  Hum?  It develops that early. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Snowmageddon

So, this is what the end of the world looks like.  We have blizzard conditions with 45 mph winds and we're expecting 8-12 inches today.  When it's all over, we'll have over 45 inches of snow.

Here's a few more photos.  They don't even begin to show what this actually looks like.  I just keep looking out the window and shaking my head.  It is absolutely amazing.

This is the sidewalk and snow trail leading from my front door.   

This is what I see out my back door.  The snow is almost up to the top of the deck railing, which is 5 ft tall.

This is what I see when I'm sitting on my couch.  The snow is higher than the couch in the picture.  Ignore the pile of trash, we can't get to our trash can so we've been piling it outside the door.  I know, it's classy.

Snow piled up on grill and trash can

This is DH trying to get to his car.  He's 6 ft tall and the snow is up to his mid-thigh.

View of my neighbor's cars.  The snow piles from shoveling and plowing are taller than the cars. 

And, since we're stuck in the house, of course I've been taking pictures of the kids.