8

Wow, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I think that's the longest I've ever gone. Needless to say, it's been a bit crazy around here.

The boys turned 8 months a week ago. I don't know how that's possible.

Grunter celebrated by getting sick and vomiting all night, followed by a day's worth of diarrhea and then 5 more days of loosey, goosey poo and diaper blowouts. I will say we've never had to deal with any of that in 8 months, so we are lucky. I sat up all night in the recliner, barely clothed and covered my chest with a receiving blanket. When he would throw up, I'd toss that blanket aside and grab a new one. Poor guy. He was so sick he didn't even want to nurse. But, by morning he was all smiles! The fever was gone and then he just pooped for a week.

He also choose that week to cut TWO teeth, learned how to get into a sitting up position on his own (he started sitting up last month) and truly crawling this past week. For the last month he's been army scooting along and now, he's really on the move.

It has been a LOT for him to deal with all with in a week/week and a 1/2 and it's all been a bit much. He can't stop himself from sitting up all the time and his sleep has been....well, sucky. With the teething and the new skills he wants to practice, we are not getting good sleep around here at all.

W2 celebrated his eight month birthday by cutting another tooth, sitting up on his own (but cannot get into a sitting position) and eating steel cut oatmeal and kiwi for the first time. He is an excellent eater and hasn't really met a food yet that he doesn't like or at least eat.

So far they have tried: avocado, bananas, applesauce, peaches, pears, pumpkin, acorn squash, butternut squash, carrots, zucchini, chicken, turkey, plums, nectarines, spinach, broccoli, green beans, corn, peas, apricots, mangos, prunes, raspberries, sweet potatoes, kiwi, baby oatmeal, Irish steel cut oatmeal and a few bites of yogurt just yesterday.

I'm making all of the food myself except for a few of the fruits like applesauce (which I buy organic in a big jar from Trad.er Joes) and pears (organic jarred from Earth's B.est). I just found it too time consuming to peel, core, poach and puree these fruits.

The baby food making is a full time job and I am going to be SO happy to move on to the next stage! I've tried giving them some 'finger' foods of fruits, but neither has master the pincher grasp and have no interest at all in feeding themselves. They mash it around their hands and look at it, but it doesn't end up in their mouths. Oh well, in due time.

They are both very mobile in their own way, with W2 laying on his back and rolling from side to side to get what he wants. He seems to be mostly OK with waiting around for whatever toy Grunter brings by. But lately, when he gets on his belly and 'swims' we can tell he's starting to get frustrated that he's not getting anywhere.

Grunter is now all over the place and he's just so cute to watch because he's clearly proud of himself. Even his facial features have changed and he's sporting this endearing grin most of the day. Well, part of the day.

They are both still pretty fussy babies and the teething and separation anxiety hasn't helped. Oh the anxiety! I now understand what mothers mean when they say they can't even go to the bathroom. Sometimes it doesn't even matter if they can see me, they need me to be RIGHT THERE with them and that's just not always possible. Having two wailing babies lose it multiple times a day so mommy doesn't get a UTI is really nerve wracking.

Grunter is also going through a lot of stranger anxiety and it's no fun to live in a place where well-meaning old ladies just have to stick their faces down close to his in the stroller. Nothing but screaming will happen lady!

Grunter really is having fun using me as a jungle gym and just wants to climb over me all day long and W2, well, I have to be honest: I don't always know what he needs. He fusses if I hold him, he fusses if I don't. He's either super happy and all smiles or fussing. I wish he had some sort of medium control panel, but he's all highs and lows.

I'm still breastfeeding them, but tandem feeding is getting nearly impossible. They are so fidgety and aware of everything. They pull each other's hair and I've already caught myself saying "stop poking your brother in the eye!" W2 also has this thing where he wants to reach over and squeeze my other breast and twist my nipple. You know, the one Grunter is nursing. Of course when he does this, it pulls the nipple out of Grunter's mouth--he screams and then I have to try to hold W2's hand so he doesn't do it again. But he tries--and succeeds--many times through a feeding session. He will NOT be deterred!

I feed them tandem first thing in the morning before breakfast while they are still sleepy and that goes well. Then I feed them again before each meal (lunch and dinner) and after each nap. It's a lot of feeding.... Plus they get a bottle of BM before they go to bed.

If they wake up from their naps at different times that is really nice because we get one-on-one nursing sessions. Otherwise, it's hard to only feed one while the other is there screaming.

The other day Grunter crawled over to me and tried to lift my shirt, so...wow. I never expected that. I couldn't conceive of a day my baby could do that. Most days I feel like a giant boob to them as they are always coming at me mouths wide open. It's absolutely adorable and I'm so happy to still be breastfeeding them.

My supply seems to have tanked a bit since they started sleeping through the night. That has me worried because I'd really like to make it a year.

I started setting an alarm for a middle of the night pump and while I'd rather be sleeping, I need to pump.

However, since the teething and being sick, I'm finding myself pumping at 1am, then being woken up by Grunter, nursing him in bed, then they are both up at 5 or 5:30am. This lasted over a week and it has been brutal. So brutal, that I can't do anything but fantasize how to get more sleep. Lately, I go nap everytime they nap which leaves me very little time to get anything done, but I can't get anything done without sleep. It's a vicious cycle.

The last two nights have been a bit better, I stopped the middle of the night pumping until Grunter starts sleeping better. There's no use to have that much fragmented sleep. And, they have been sleeping til 6:30am. I never thought that would sound late!

We keep very busy going on long walks, playing on the swings, going to family swim at the gym, Mommy and Me Yoga and Pilates, music classes (Grunter especially loves these!) and meeting up with other mom's in the neighborhood. In the past month or two, I have met no fewer than 10 other twins mom's. It's crazy! Now that the weather has gotten cooler we can all go out for walks with our babies. In the summertime, the only time anyone could get out was at 8am and you don't meet many people at that time. I have quite a few new mommy friends now and have even started up a babysitting swap so we can take turns with date night and no one has to pay for a baby sitter!

I only have HN here 20 hours a week now that she is back in school. I was so lucky and blessed to have her full time over the summer, but I'm managing on my own as well. There are good days and bad days. I never knew being a SAHM would be so hard. By the end of the day, I am just exhausted. There are so many posts I want to write, but just not enough hours in the day.

Every twin mom and dad I meet stops to say hi and tell me it will get better. Not necessarily easier, but better. Perhaps they see the fatigue in my eyes or perhaps they just know every twin mom needs a pep talk, especially in the first year!

Overall, this is an amazing time and we are thankful for these precious baby boys every single day. They are giving us so much joy and smiles. Every night when we go to bed we look at them sleeping in their cribs and just marvel how wonderful they are and that they are OURS. We love you boys. More than you will ever know.

If you've read this far, you deserve some pictures:)