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8/31/98
A day that will live in infamy. Lisa hit the wall, exhausted she was sent to bed for an hour at 7 pm, and then again at 9:30. I put up a good effort in keeping them happy until they fell asleep around 11:00. I then grabbed pillow and slept on the floor in the kid's room since I did not want to wake Lisa or turn the monitor on. About 12:30am
The Girl started figeting so I fed her and wanting Lisa to get more sleep, I fed
The Boy too. I got to bed about 2:00am and set the alarm for 5, hoping the kids would sleep until then. They didn't. But I had to ask Lisa to handle them since I needed at least 3 hrs sleep before going to work. She felt better after sleeping, no one is going to be 100%, but she felt better.
On the cool side, you can really feel the muscles in
Kristoffer's back no when he lifts and holds his head. Very strong.
And when I got home yesterday and went to say hi to
Lindsey,
she looked at me and smiled! WAY COOL!!
8/27/98 - 8/31/98
Long time no update. Sorry about that. Lets start with the 27th.
Well, Thursday night about drove us crazy. When it got to be about 4am and I had not had more than an hour sleep, I knew I wasnt going to be able to go to work that day. Babies 1 Daddy 0. This gas pain stuff, its so cruel , both to them and us.
Friday, they were so wiped out from the night before that they slept pretty well during the day. I used my time to get some shopping done, its someone's Birthday next weekend.
Friday night was another blur, I think Lisa handled a lot of the crying and didn't get to bed until after midnight. I just dont hear the crying or the alarm going off, if it wasnt for Lisa waking me up, I would sleep for a year straight.
Saturday was a nice day, I woke up feeling OK thanks to Lisa and took care of the late morning (formerly known as the 4am) feeding. We had to let them go as long as they could, for our own sake. Feeling good, I tackled a project that was overdue and got it finished. It took a little longer then I expected (dont they always?) and I had to help feed the kids between it.
Saturday we received the long awaited Crocker visit, Aunt Niece, Uncle Bryan and Cousin Lauren (Lorilli, y'all) cam over. Poor cousin Erin was not feeling 100% so they left her at home (or on the side of rt 18 I dont remember).
It was a nice visit, they liked the kids a lot, or pretended to. Niece and Lauren were huge helps with feeding, bathing and responding to "I dropped my pacifier" calls. Its nice to get a break like that, even for a little while (Thanks!).
They both actually fed them and I tried to plot with Lisa a quick escape, but she was too chicken.
Lauren was a natural, she needs more practice and I am thinking of kidnapping her and getting her as much practice as she can handle.
Saturday night, another blur, but I think it went OK. Lisa even got to church at 7:30 am (Almost normal!) despite
Kristoffer
having a poop explosion as his diaper was being taken off. Godo thing we can laugh about that stuff, otherwise we would have cried.
Oh and I turned on my Fire Co beeper and told the Chief I will respond during the day if there is not a feeding nearby. When it went off for the nightly test, it felt almost normal, like old times.
Sunday I got out in the morning after Lisa got home and got my filthy disgustingly dirty truck washed. It looks great! Unfortunatly the kids went through a horrible morning while I was gone and it wore Lisa down for the rest of the day. The sound of crying babies was in my ears all day yesterday, actual and imagined. But they did sleep during the afternoon.
We were visited by Uncle Mitch and Aunt Robin on Sunday, Aunt Robin did her best to feed
Kris
and he thanked her by pooping out the side of his diaper and getting her leg. Mustard anyone?
Somehow we got through Sunday night.
Lindsey did not want to go to sleep, I stayed up an hour putting her pacifier in her mouth, finally picking her up and rocking her. Luckily she burped and fell right to sleep, I will remeber that, trust me!
I never heard
Lindsey
cry, but Lisa swears she fed her at 12:00 am. Lisa then shook me awake at 2:somthing to feed the boy. He ate pretty good, did 5 ounces in 40 minutes.
I went back to bed after putting a bottle in the room for
Lindsey, who I felt sure would be awake shortly to eat, with the intention of telling Lisa. Well I never told her. I set the alarm for 5:00 am for me to get up for work. When I got up (5:24, opps)
Lindsey
still had not eaten again, and Lisa scampered (at 5:30 am scampering should be illegal) off to feed her.
I just hope we can continue letting them sleep longer. I dont think the girl is going to suffer from it. I think she is gaining weight really well and will continue to do so. (my professional opinion)
Happy September 1st!
8/24/98 - 8/26/98
Its been a pretty good couple days. First, on Monday
Kristoffer
almost rolled over. He got to his side and that was it. But that is pretty good for someone that doesnt know its pretty good..er..I think.
Lindsey has started to eat a little more. You know we were worried about that, so we are glad she is taking more. So is the Boy for that matter, he had a couple big feedings in the last two days.
We are going to check with the Dr about the formula though. They get bad gas pains (which we all know can be really uncomfortable) and it keeps them awake and US. If the Dr thinks we should change formula then we have a couple cases of Enfamil available.
The pictures are back for another limited run along with a new pic. There would be more but I haven't had a chance to look for the best of them yet.
Grandma came over to give Lisa a hand on Tuesday. This is a much needed help and I greatly appreciate it. I am sure Lisa does too.
My friend and colleague Scott lent us his video camara. I need to set it up, but when I do I will have some video, then maybe take on the challange of putting some video up here. No promises!
8/20/98 - 8/23/98
Sorry about the big gap in time, but hey, I'm busy lately.
Again, I gotta write this stuff down earlier.
Well the previous weekends plan didnt work out this week. I tried to give Lisa as much rest as I could, but it was not enough for either of us. We were both pretty irritable with me leading the way SLIGHTLY on Sunday morning.
With one baby, when you are on your own, if you get the crying to stop, you win. But with two, the next one starts up. This is what happened to me Saturday afternoon as I tried to let Lisa nap for a couple hours. Over and over I would get one baby's needs satisfied only to have the other need something. For hours! Lisa deals with this everyday. Ugh!
Sunday afternoon went much better. Lisa got out to the store and to see what the real world is like while I stayed with the kids. It turned out to be quite nice because, and I dont know how, they ended up sleeping almost the whole time.
Our inaccurate scale now puts the kids between 5.5 to 6 lbs for
Lindsey
and 8.5 to 9 lbs for
Kristoffer.
The amount they are eating is getting less and less lately. Sometime last week they were eating so much and then by Thursday and Friday they both had started eating less and we have no clue why, we haven't changed anything. Its almost to the point where we will call the Dr. because
Lindsey has started taking less then two ounces at a feeding.
Other then that, they are still cute and cuddly to look at and getting very attentive. They both have followed my finger in front of their faces which is a sign of them developing. They also lift their heads although
Kristoffer leads the way in that department, lifting and holding his head up and looking around.
Uncle Frank, Aunt Cyndi and Caitie came over, brining food very cool, and they loved the kids. They assisted in feeding and bathing and the help was much appreciated. Caitie did really well with them and will make and excellent baby sitter. Too bad school starts so soon, we could use her help.
8/17/98 - 8/19/98
When people say get into a routine and you will do well, especially with twins, they arent kidding. I cant imagine what would be going on in a household with twins that wasn't organized and in a routine.
As you probably know the kids get fed every 4 hours. They usually get fidgity during the day about an hour before they eat, at night, they sleep right up until we put the bottle in their mouths. I was thinking of how it would be if it got to be 4 hours and the bottles weren't ready, or if bath time was not at one specific time, or bright lights and noise existed for all feeding times (instead of low light and quiet during the late night and early morning feedings).
That said, the kids are doing well in their routine. Despite bouts of crankiness once in awhile they are thriving. They have started hitting higher levels in the food consumption,
Lindsey over 5 ozs and
Kristoffer over 7 ozs.
We still haven't had the nerve to see how long
Kris can go between feedings at night, but we will try, eventually. Given that he took over 7 ozs last night at his 8pm feeding and was asleep at both the 12am and 4am feedings, it might be worth a shot.
It seems that both kids are really taken with TV. I think its the flashing screen and changing color patterns. Last night
Kris kept looking at it and if I would turn him away he would keep turning towards it, to the point were he was looking back over his shoulder! It was pretty funny. Eventually he became interested in the hall light over my shoulder. They both loved Monday Night Football though and thought Boomer Esiason was a great addition to the broadcast team.
Lisa made her first venture outside the house with the kids solo. She went to the bank and went over to Grandma's house for lunch.
Everything went well and the kids were easy-going in the car, packing all you might need for two infants takes a little time though.
Its been 9 weeks since they were born, and back then with two tiny babies under bright lights in a hospital it seemed we would never get to this point, but here we are.
8/14/98 - 8/16/98
I gotta start writing this stuff down over the weekend. I forget what goes on.
OK, all you mothers, pay attention. We tried out a new "arrangement" on Fri and Sat nights. After the 8pm feeding, they went to bed and Lisa and I switched off for the next feedings.
One night I took the 12am feeding, we both did the 4am feeding, and Lisa did the 8am feeding. That got us a few extry hours of much needed (the preceding was a gross understatment) sleep.
The next night, Lisa took the 12am feeding, we both did the 4am feeding and I did the 8am (Even though the kids got up at 6:30!)
feeding. And despite Lisa saying "I have too much to do in the morning, I wont be able to sleep", she slept like a baby (one that doesnt eat every four hours).
The weekend was filled with nice distractions which after two months were much needed.
Uncle Lennie, Aunt Kathy and Aunt Kate came to visit on Saturday and loved the kids. They got to witness the whole thing, diapers and baths and feedings. It was nice to see everyone and good for the kids to start meeting everyone.
Sunday we went to Grandma's for dinner (unabashed appeal for free food - anytime anyone gives us a chance to NOT cook or eat fast food junk we will be there!) and it was a good time. GREAT to get out of the house!
Kristoffer &
Lindsey enjoyed being out as much as we did. This weekend we noticed how much bigger she has gotten and how much hair he is losing. They love their activity matt and instantly fall asleep on it, thus it has become dubbed the "inactivity" matt.
They both look foward to meeting all their other aunts and uncles (over those "allergies" yet Brian? hmmmm?) and cousins and teaching them about diaper changing!
8/12/98 - 8/13/98
All I have to say about the last few days is...wow.
OK maybe I have some more to say. First off, these kids were preemies? They are loud enough and eat enough to be Defensive linemen (or linewomen), if they werent so short, I'd get them a try out!
Their sleep is much less during the day, and mom gets them going on that way cool activity mat. Sometimes that wears them out for awhile. And that swing, it does wonders!
Last night, poor
Kristoffer had some problem, and poor Lisa stayed up with him (bless her heart!) and listened to him cry for a couple hours. Nothing would console him, not a pacifier, being held, new car, nothing. I didnt hear a thing, even with the monitor on, passed out. Later I came down (about 1:30am) and she said he had just stopped crying. I grabbed their formula while Lisa went to sleep and fed them. Its important to try and get as much in as you can so they dont keep getting up in an hour and cry for more. Of course, I dont know if that can be stopped anyway.
Later, the alarm did not go off (why I dont know yet. Broke? Maybe.) and we got up late, started feeding them at 4:45am this morning. They didn't take much.
Now for something other then whining.
Lindsey is still the bright eyed little girl. Still looks at you the same way, like she knows what you are thinking. She hasnt smiled yet, but when you are talking to her, her face noticably brightens. She is a sweetheart, and aside from getting hungry, she never complains.
She gets a bath now, no more sponge baths, well, she isnt actually in water, but in the netting above it. She didnt like it too much at first, but now she seems to like it.
Kristoffer seemed to, to me anyway, smile on the 13th. His face brightened, he was looking at his mom who was tickling him somewhat and poof, his mouth went up (without the usual accompanying sounds that indicate it was gas) at the corners and his cheeks got all puffy. He was looking right at his mom too. Hopefully it was the first of many!
Lindsey goes to the eye Dr this afternoon, hopefully everything will be peachy. Her's are still beautiful brown and
Kris's are still blue.
8/10/98 - 8/11/98
Things are going fine, the routine is well established and working well with some minor slip-ups. Things like
Kristoffer not eating much at 4:00 am and then being up in an hour and hungry, or
Lindsey being awake for 3 or 4 hours in the middle of the night just "talking" to herself. But these are easy to deal with and we are both thankful that they dont have any problems that would prevent them from sleeping or eating.
How bad is this? Picked up a swing on Sunday so we could amuse the fussy one (We have plans on borrowing another soon). Lindsey was the first to try it and she went in fussy and instantly became dazzled. What a great thing! Easy on our nerves and their attitudes!
We also got an activity mat or pad. I had been saying they need to be on their stomachs so they can practice lifting their heads (which in actuallity begins as you hold them with their head on your shoulder,
Kris taught me that) and moving around with their shiney new muscles. Using a towel on the table was not quite adequate (sp?) since sometimes they could smash their face down on the nose. So at first I picked up a changing table mat and then Lisa informed me that they acutally make things with patterns and stuff for the kids to look at and grab. What a great idea huh? I thought I was on to something, but someone beat me to it.
So Lisa returned what I bought and picked up this way cool pad with all primary colors (I love those colors, maybe this thing stimulates me more than the kids?) and little mirrors and things to grab and hold.
Their first time on the mat
Lindsey
looked around and fell asleep and
Kris
fidgeted and grunted and when Lisa flipped him over onto his back, HE fell asleep. So far so good!!
We had been waiting for the kids to make the next step in the food consumption department. Well it happened on 8/11.
Kris took more than 5 ounces at one time and
Lindsey took 4 and 4.5 ounces and is closing in on 5. It would be great to have them eating the same amount. Of course this also means more trips to the company store for formula!
8/6/98 - 8/9/98
How fast the days are flying! The kids are starting their 8th week in the world. They grow and change all the time, but we dont always notice it for a few days. Like my comments about the time they spend awake, its a steady thing now although never at the same time.
They had a Drs. visit on Friday and
Kristoffer now weighs 7lbs 14 ozs. Probably by the 10th he is 8lbs. He feels it too. He got a glowing report card from the Dr as did Mom and Dad.
Lindsey was 4lbs 13ozs, she gained 11ozs in the twelve days since she came home. Which if she continues, she will be 5lbs shortly.
We had another first, they both slept through their 12am feeding. I'm not saying they didn't eat, they just slept through it.
When we went into their room,
Kristoffer had all his blankets kicked off, his arms up over his face and he had slid down in the seat.
Lindsey was sleeping perfectly, with her little arms on top of the neatly tucked blanket.
8/4/98 - 8/5/98
Over the past couple days the kids have been doing well. With the exception of falling asleep before 12:00 am.
Tuesday night it was
Lindsey on her own, not wanting to sleep despite me clearing her nose so she could breath and making sure the diaper was clean and dry.
Wednesday night both of them were up, but it may have been our fault. They were awake after their 8:00pm feeding so they stayed up with us while we laughed and talked to each other and them. Then we expected them to go to sleep. Nope.
Kristoffer started it off, crying and fidgeting. I was able to let him go because I knew he was :
a) Dry
b) fed
c) Tired
But his mom, she couldn't take it and went down to try and cheer him up. Lindsey joined in with him for awhile too and what a chorus they made. There is a singing career there, I just know it.
Finally after their 12:00am feeding they went to sleep pretty comfortably and slept past their 4:00am feeding to 4:30. they probably would have gone further if we let them.
Friday is their Dr appointment, so we will see what they weigh!
P.S. Mom went to the Dr and got a clean bill of health, the stamp of approval, the Grade A inspection.
8/3/98
Things went well yesterday. Lisa kept things under control for the most part. It was a calm day for them, they even got to go outside in their stroller for the first time.
The only difficult part was sometime around 10:30-11:00 PM
Lindsey got fussy and no matter what Lisa did (She let me sleep, God bless her) she would not stop. Eventually when I went down to help out, I changed her clothes to something lighter. We think she may have been really warm, which is something we are learning can make them unhappy.
We are now equipped with "What to Expect the First Year" (Thanks to Dave and Darlene McGovern!) and it has already helped us understand what is going on with them. Fer instance
Kristoffer would be awake in the afternoon (as per yesterday's update), turns out that babies as they get a little older will spend more time awake and usually the longest stretch is during the afternoon (who knew?). This will help us plan to be there when he and eventually she is up.
This book is the closest thing to an owners manual you can get for kids.
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