2014 in Review

This year was an absolutely wonderful year. It's crazy to think that the girls weren't born this past year, they're already that old!

In January we survived our first sickness and fevers from the girls. I stopped letting Lucy sleep long stretches at night and started waking her up to feed her (we still haven't gotten those long stretches back consistently.) The girls really started to notice each other and would hold hands regularly while nursing. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary of our embryo transfer and Clara giggled for the first time.

In February we celebrated my nephews first birthday, Lucy rolled over for the first time, we attended some mama baby yoga classes and the girls really started playing with toys. We booked our trip to Mexico and met with a GI specialist for Lucy's reflux and oral aversion. The girls also had their first taste of pureed foods and took their first bath together. 

March brought our much needed family vacation to Mexico. During that trip I mostly stopped tandem nursing and Lucy started doing so much better. She suddenly became a happy and social baby. We almost didn't get to go on our vacation due to passport issues and W getting a stomach bug. Luckily it all worked out.

In April Lucy and Clara got to try out the swing for the first time and loved it! I also celebrated the girls being on the outside (34 weeks) as long as they were inside.

In May I celebrated my first Mother's day and the girls were baptized. We started swim lessons at the Y and both girls started sitting up independently. The got to start taking regular baths together. 

June brought the switch from purees to baby led weaning. Lucy being in control of her own food helped her with her eating so much. We went from 3 naps a day to 2 and got some not so great news about our dog Pepper.

In July we took another family vacation to Maine. We had a great trip and I loved watching Lucy devour lobster. We went strawberry picking with friends, took the girls on their first boat ride, went to the lavender festival, and had our first twin play date with friends. I supported my step sister through her first IVF cycle, stopped pumping (yay!!), and Clara got her first tooth.

In August we celebrated my 31st birthday at a Multiple Mom's family picnic. Unfortunately the next morning W slipped on the stairs with Lucy and broke her femur. August was a rough month with the spica cast and sickness for the girls. Lucy also got her first two teeth. Without the help and support from friends and family I never would have survived. Clara started crawling and took our first trip to the zoo. 

September marked Lucy and Clara's first birthday! We had a big party with tons of friends and family. My friend Tamara catered the party and it was so much fun. We celebrated keeping the girls alive for a year and me making it to my goal of a year breastfeeding. Lucy got her cast off on her birthday (best present ever!!!), the girls took their first trip to the New York State Fair, went apple picking, Clara got her upper lip tie clipped, and Lucy got evaluated and qualified for early intervention physical therapy. We celebrated W's 33rd Birthday and I decided I wanted to look into becoming a board certified lactation consultant. I'd still like to do this but am waiting for the hospital to approve it. We also had our family photos taken by my friend Stacy. 

In October we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary, went pumpkin picking with friends, went to a fall festival at MacKenzie Childs, I got my new Subaru Outback, and we spent as much time as possible enjoying the beautiful fall weather. We also carved pumpkins with our good friends Jesse and Caitlin (plus their two little ones) and Lucy and Clara dressed up as cabbage patch kids for Halloween. 

November brought the celebration of Friendsgiving and regular Thanksgiving. We went to Albany and drove through about 8 inches of snow to get there. I was able to see my best friend growing up and she met the girls. We also met up with a friend from high school to check out the museum of play with her son that was 3 days older than the girls. I worked quite a bit doing speech evaluations. 

In December I worked quite a bit and made lots of Christmas presents by hand. We had a play date with friends and exchanged gifts for the babies and then later in the month had a girls night out where we exchanged gifts with each other. Both girls took their first series of real steps and on the same night. We took Clara to a pediatric eye doctor. We celebrated Christmas Eve with my in laws and Christmas morning at home. The girls were really interested in opening presents and loved that they received stuffed Elmo toys. We also got them a play kitchen. We survived a stomach bug and rang in the new year at home on the couch. 

The past few years I answered the following questions and always enjoy reading back. I'm going to keep the tradition going. 

What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before? 

Flew on a plane and traveled internationally with twins

Got professional family photos taken

Made a majority of my Christmas gifts

Looked into pursuing certification in lactation consulting

Did you keep your resolutions and will you make more for this year?

For some reason I can't find where I wrote the ones for last year. I had said I wanted to branch out and make more mommy friends. That was a huge success and I hope to continue to spend time with these great mommies. 

This year I'm focusing on being healthier. I'm hoping to avoid/drastically cut my consumption of processed foods and added sugar. I'd like to exercise more regularly and get my PCOS under control. All of those things fall under maintaining and improving my health. A big drive to do this is for Clara and Lucy. I want to get them off processed food as much as possible and eating real, whole foods.  

Did anyone close to you give birth?

My good friend Caitlin welcomed a baby boy on the 4th of July. 

Did anyone close to you die?

My step mom's brother died but we weren't close. 

What countries did you visit?

Mexico. We went to the Riviera Maya in March with the girls. We're hoping to go again this year. 

What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?

It's not something that was lacking, but I'm hoping we can work on and improve our communication and marriage. It's much harder with the girls and having a good marriage means actually putting work into it. Life is stressful with twins but I'm hoping we won't take that stress out on each other as much as we did last year. 

What dates will be etched upon your memory, and why?

August 4th- Lucy broke her femur. It was one of the worst days of my life. 

September 3rd- We celebrated Lucy and Clara's first birthday and Lucy got her cast off. 

October 10th- Our 5th wedding anniversary

December 22nd- Both girls took their first real steps 

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Keeping twins alive for their first year. We didn't do it without any broken bones, but they're alive!

Reaching my 1 year goal of breastfeeding

What was your biggest failure?

Dealing with Lucy's oral aversion was so tough for me. I felt like a failure so many times because of it. 

Did you suffer illness or injury?

This seemed to be the year of the stomach bug. W was sick with it twice and I got it once. Clara also got a stomach bug on Christmas Eve. 

My cycles returned in the fall but were very long and my hormones felt like they were all over the place at times. 

What was the best thing you bought?

My Subaru outback

W got me an anniversary ring with diamonds and sapphires

Where did most of your money go?

Mortgage, bills, food, car, endless amounts of cute baby things

What did you get really excited about? 

A trip to Mexico with the girls, Lucy getting her cast off, a vacation in Maine, making new mommy friends, meeting developmental milestones, and celebrating Christmas with the girls. 

What songs will always remind you of 2014?

Shake it Off and Welcome to New York by Taylor Swift, Let Her Go by Passenger, and Counting Stars by One Republic. We sang a lot of Don't Worry Be Happy to the girls too. 

Compared to this time last year are you:

Happier or Sadder? About the same- extremely happy

Thinner or Fatter? Thinner. I've been staying at around 10 pounds below my pre-baby weight. 

Richer or Poorer? Maybe a little richer? W had a busy year at work! I also started working more. 

What do you wish you'd done more of?

Staying patient and embracing chaos, lol

What do you wish you'd done less of? 

Worring about Lucy's weight gain and progress. Deep down I guess I knew she'd be okay but it took changing pediatricians and not listening to what others said. 

How did you spend Christmas?

We went to my in-laws house for Christmas Eve but Clara was sick with a stomach bug so I had a hard time relaxing and enjoying myself. On Christmas morning we had my parents, their friend, and my in laws over. Unfortunately, a large chunk of those people got Clara's stomach bug as well. This past weekend my dad and step mom came out to celebrate with us and next weekend my sister, BiL and nephew will come. That reminds me, I still haven't gotten my nephew a present. 

What was your favorite TV program?

We started watching the Walking Dead on Netflix. I liked American Horror Story as well. 

What was your favorite book of the year?

I only read a few and they were The Fault in Our Stars, The Orphan Train, I Heart my Little A Holes, The Light Between Oceans, The Language of Flowers, Eleanor & Park, Heaven is for Real, and the Time Keeper. I think the Light Between Oceans was my favorite. 

What were your favorite films of the year?

We saw the Hunger Games last weekend and really enjoyed it. I also love documentaries and watched Forks over Knives, How to Die in Oregon, Happy, and Fed Up.

What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

We celebrated my 31st birthday at a picnic for mom's of multiples. It was a ton of fun!

What's one thing that would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Honestly, nothing

What kept you sane?

My mommy friends, especially those who also went through infertility. Also having lots of family support helped. 

Tell us valuable lessons you learned in 2014:

I was right when it came to trusting my gut most of the time. 

Getting the right doctor for your child is important. 

A marriage takes work to maintain and doing so while having young children is tough, but important. 

2014, like most years, certainly had its ups and downs. Luckily there was a whole lot more up than down. I'm hoping 2015 will continue that trend. I can't wait to see how much my girls grow and change this next year.