A Day in the Life: 18 Months Old

I did this once before, but wanted to do an updated version. This is just a sample of a day on my life as a stay at home mom with 18 month old twin girls. 

7:15- The girls are stirring so W goes in to say hi. Clara always wants to get in Lucy's crib and they hang out for a bit in there together. W gives them their Prevacid.

7:30- I jump in the shower while W changes diapers and brings the girls downstairs for breakfast. 

7:45- I finish getting myself ready, put my pj's back on (one of the perks to being a SAHM) while W feeds the girls oats and oranges for breakfast. 

8:00- I come downstairs and take over with breakfast. 

8:10- The girls are done eating so I clean them up and bring them into the living room to play. 

8:15- Daddy leaves for work so there are lots of hugs before the girls go back to playing. 

8:35- We start a butterfly sun catcher project I got from the dollar store. 

9:10- We head upstairs to get the girls dressed. 

9:25- Lucy sees the iPad and requests to watch Elmo. I turn it on for them in our bed while I get dressed. She's not happy she has to share with her sister. Lucky for her, Clara loses interest quickly and goes to find toys to play with. 

9:40- back downstairs for a quick snack before we leave. The snack gives me a chance to gather everything up to go while they're occupied. 

10:00- We are loaded in the car and off to destination #1: Panera for a chai

10:25- We arrive at our actual destination: the library 

10:25-11:10- we play at the library. We read books, play with puzzles, color, etc. 

11:30- We arrive home and I start to work on lunch. The girls are whining and clinging to my feet and legs so I put on a Signing Time DVD we just checked out from the library while I finish getting lunch ready.

11:50- We lunch! Matzo ball soup and carrots followed up by some applesauce. 

12:10- I clean up kids and highchairs, give plates to the dogs to lick, and put the girls down in hopes they'll play nicely together.

12:45- I cut some fabric for a quilt while they "help". This lasts about 20 minutes before I give up. 

1:05- Quick snack of banana with peanut butter before nap. I rethink how "quick" a snack is when peanut butter is involved and begrudgingly clean up peanut butter from everywhere. 

1:20- We head upstairs for a nap. We read a few stories and clean up their room. 

1:35- Girls are down for their afternoon nap. I go downstairs and heat up some lunch since I didn't get enough when the girls were eating. 

2:30- I lie down on the couch and fall asleep.

3:45- I wake up to the door closing and a baby over the monitor a few moments later. It's my FiL who had arrived and he offers to grab the baby. I slowly wake up while my FiL entertains Lucy. 

3:55- Clara starts making noise over the monitor so my FiL grabs her too. The girls are happy to see and play with pop-pop

4:10- W arrives home. 

4:20- the girls get an afternoon snack and then we all hang out together. My FiL is outside working on W's head light for his Prius. 

5:00- The head light project is complete and my FiL leaves. 

5:45- W works on dinner while I play with the girls. They're pretty grumpy at this time and require lots of attention. 

6:25-6:45- Dinner.

6:45- It's clean up time in the living room before bedtime. 

7:05- We all head upstairs. I start the tub and the girls play with W. 

7:15- The girls join me in the tub. I wash Clara and then get out. W finishes bath time while I get dressed. I get PJ's ready and wait for the girls to help get them dressed. 

7:30- bedtime story with daddy. 

7:40- Girls are in bed. 

7:45- We go downstairs and pick up some before we decide we're too tired and want to relax. I'm pretty sure I was asleep by 8:30 on the couch. 

8 Months

Not only is time flying and my girls are 8 months old already, but this is also my 400th post! I can't believe I'm still here writing and that people are still reading (I hope). It's amazing the transformation this blog has taken. I never felt like it was necessary to start a new blog when I got pregnant or when the girls got here. It's all part of our story. They wouldn't be here had I not gone through the 2 1/2 years prior. I'm so grateful I documented it all so closely. Looking back just makes it that much sweeter!

This past month was another great one. The girls love playing with toys and are super into each other. They babble and vocalize back and forth to each other throughout the day and especially before falling asleep when they are in their cribs. They roll all over the place and can sit for short amounts of time. This month was a huge one for sleep and both girls are now spending about 11-12 hours in their cribs each night. They've also started going down for naps without needing anything. We put them in their sleep sacks (we stopped swaddling) and give them their pacifiers. Some times they chat for a bit and other times they just fall right to sleep. It makes life much easier but also makes me a bit sad that they don't need me to rock them to sleep anymore. I'm still nursing about 5-6 times a day or every 3 hours during the day. The girls have fruit (apples, pears, mango, blueberry, prunes) in the morning and a veggie (sweet potato, green beans, carrots, peas) at night. We also give them some whole foods at times. We started swim lessons this month at the local YMCA. Both girls love it and they look so cute in their little bathing suits. There's even another set of twins in the class.

Lucy- You have been so relaxed since we got back from vacation. You've been eating well and really getting into solid foods. I think you'd rather feed yourself, but you aren't totally able to yet. You are so excited, but it led to you choking once and us slowing down on giving you whole foods. You are still very weary of strangers and have perfected giving dirty looks. You've also been working on a cheesy smile lately. It's like you know you should smile so give a fake smile instead. You love to do bridges, or as we call it, butt bumping. We have a song we sing and everything. You are rolling like crazy and have put a few rolls together a time or two. This prompted us to install a baby gate at the top of the stairs (right outside your bedroom) and to set up "baby jail" aka the play yard downstairs. Your cheeks have gotten so chubby and you are giggling more and more. You still mainly vocalize vowel sounds with occasional consonants thrown in. I think you recognize the sign for milk as your eyes light up and you smile when I do it. You love our animals and are so gentle with them. We've recently discovered you have a cry that means "Clara is touching me and I don't like it!" You are snuggly when you are tired and have been teething recently so you are a drool machine. You love the swings at the playground and the pool. You are very physical and active and I can't wait to do so many fun things with you outside. You still get up once a night to eat, but I honestly don't mind. I know soon enough you'll be sleeping all the way through the night. You love toys that dangle and hang, and especially love the strings.This past month has been another great one with you as my daughter.

Clara- You are our little social butterfly. You are so smiley and wiggly for strangers. You have the biggest, brightest eyes that are always looking around. You give away smiles and giggles so easily to almost anyone. You've also gotten quite physical this month and have started rolling both ways. You don't love to be on your stomach so as soon as you figured out how to roll, tummy time got a whole lot shorter. You'll even try to roll if I'm holding you against me and laying down. You are such a little nut! You've also gotten a bit grabby this month. If you see something you go for it without any sense of distance or danger. If I'm lowering you into your high chair and there's a toy on the tray, look out! You love eating and especially like fruits. I call you a little piranha when you go to nurse. You've even grabbed my boob with your hands a few times and pulled it into your mouth. You love your sister and light up every time you see her. You love to snuggle but also like to sneak some hair grabbing in there so we have to be careful. You've started babbling like crazy the past few weeks and we hear lots of "mamama, bababa, dadada, and nanana's". Once you figure something out there's generally no stopping you. You are getting stronger with your sitting but have to be in the right mood. You are so perfect and I feel so lucky to be your mama. 

It's so hard to believe my girls are 8 months old. They are just so much fun to be around and I'm so grateful I get to stay home with them every day. I've been trying to get together more with friends and have been very successful with the warmer weather. I have my friend Katie who has a son Jack who is 8 weeks younger than the girls. I also have a friend Natasha that I met through the local moms of multiples group. Her twin girls are 2 weeks older and our due dates were only 3 days apart. I have some other friends I've been trying to get together with but haven't been successful with so far. 

The other day W and I were talking about how amazing and great life is. I probably sound like a broken record, but I'll never fail to acknowledge how lucky we are. 

3 Months Old

The girls turned 3 months old on Tuesday. I honestly have no idea where November went. I can't believe how soon Christmas will be here. The babies are doing really well and I'm loving being their mommy. It really is the hardest yet best job in the world.

We are getting out and about more often with the girls. We've been to friends houses, the mall, restaurants, and lots of different stores. I'm getting out more by myself and working on my "twinceps" aka the muscles you gain from carrying 2 carseats. We have a double snap and go stroller that is a lifesaver. I can't recommend it highly enough for future twin mommies.

The girls get lots of attention when we go out and about. We went to a play date at a friends house and everyone wanted to hold them and get their picture taken with them. I'm always happy to have extra hands to hold them though.

My mom comes over most afternoons when I am home. She is a huge help and loves to cuddle with the girls. I've starting working a little bit doing evaluations. W and I went to a movie on Sunday and left the girls with his parents. It's hard to leave them but I also enjoy a little time to myself or just with W.

Lucy- You are still such a little peanut. You weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces on Monday at your appointment, were 20 1/2 inches long, and your head was 14 1/2 cm around. You open your eyes so wide and do it when we blow raspberries. It's one of the cutest and funniest things ever. You love your paci so much and won't fall asleep at night without it. The past few weeks you've given your mommy a lot of stress with your eating. It seems like we've solved the problem with reflux medication and you are making up for all those bad feedings the past few weeks. You adore your daddy and can't take your eyes off of him when he is within your line of sight. You will even crane your neck to watch him if he moves across the room. You track objects and faces, stand up on your feet, hold your head so high during tummy time, and smile at times. It's not consistent yet, but you've definitely done it quite a few times. You are cooing and are generally a very mellow baby. You love your mobile I made you above your crib and will stare and talk to it for quite a while. You are finally enjoying your carseat rather than screaming your head off and foaming at the mouth while in it. When you cry you have the saddest face ever and real tears often come out. You found your hands and are obsessed with them. They are almost always up around your face or in your mouth and you love to flail your arms around. Sometimes when I nurse you you will wave your arms around or hit me or yourself by accident with them. You are such a cutie and we love you so much!

Clara- You are getting so big! You weighed 9 pounds 7 ounces on Monday, were 22 inches long, and your head was 14 1/4 cm around. You are smiling like crazy and love when we kiss or squeeze your cheeks. You love peek-a-boo and music. Singing to you almost always calms you down. You don't like to sleep during the day but are a champion sleeper at night. You go right to sleep without any problem most nights. You love looking at faces and eating. Even if you are asleep you will wake up and pig out. No wonder you are gaining weight so quickly. Your eyelashes are so long and thick and we are hoping your eyes stay blue. You like your swing but prefer to be held. You aren't a big fan of tummy time and will often fuss when we put you on your belly. Your reflux is so much better and you are much happier. You track people and things, stretch your arms out and grab onto my clothes, stand up on your feet, smile all the time, and you lose quite a bit of head control when you are milk drunk. You look like a bobble head when you do that. You are starting to fuss when your diaper is wet and are so dramatic over little things. We call you a tea kettle as you squeal in such a high pitch when you're upset. You look almost identical to my baby pictures with your daddy's chin. You are so amazing and we are so lucky to have you.

The girls have very distinct personalities. They are definitely individuals. I can't wait to see how they will grow and change over time. 

We celebrated Lucy and Clara's first Thanksgiving surrounded by family. We hosted at our house and had my mom, step-dad, brother, sister, brother-in-law, nephew Benny, dad, mother-in-law, and father-in-law. My dad did most of the cooking but the guests also brought food. The girls got to meet their cousin Benny for the first time. He is 6 months older than them and I know they will all cause lots of trouble together in the future. We took the babies to a photo studio to get their pictures taken and they came out really cute. 

I've started to work a little bit here and there doing evaluations. When I go I'm only away for a few hours at a time and I miss the girls terribly. Getting a little break does help a bit with my sanity and it's nice to feel like I can contribute a little. 

The girls are sleeping pretty well at night. They go down around 10:30 after an extra long feeding. They then sleep for about 6-7 hours, wake up to eat again, and sleep another 3-4 hours. It so much better than at first. During the day they eat every 2-3 hours, typically closer to 2. 

Time has a whole new concept. For the longest time I wished for the days to pass. I counted down to the next shot, appointment, cycle, or test. I crossed each day off on the calendar. Now I wish time would slow down. The girls are already growing and changing so much. I want to soak up every baby moment because I know these days are fleeting. 

I'm a different person than I was last year. We were both at the bottom last year. I was ready to give up trying for a baby. Last Christmas was tough. I just read this post from last year and teared up. It's crazy how much things can change in a year. I find myself singing Christmas carols to the girls. Songs I haven't sang since I was a child. The magic of Christmas has returned. I have 2 beautiful girls in my life, something I really wasn't sure was going to happen last year. I'm really truly happy for the first time since W and I first got married. My heart is healed and I feel complete with my little family. It's amazing the difference a year makes. 

The girls with their friend Carmine. He's quite the ladies man!

Benny the ham

They weren't too into our photo shoot