Toddler Twins talking

I love our daycare.  They focus so well on infant through preschool intellectual, social and emotional development.  The hubs and I dropped the girls off for daycare the morning after tossing their pacis, and notified the lead teacher that they had done really well with dropping them off, and had processed it well.  She proceeded to tell us that toddlers can learn up to four new words a day.  Four.  Now I feel challenged to make sure I am introducing four words to them a day, in a context that they can understand the usage.

I don't want this post to seem braggy or preachy.  I know all kids are different.  But I also get tired of people who generalize that twins "talk late" or that twin parents shouldn't be worried if their twins aren't using many words by two "because they are twins".  A few weeks before SB and BW had their 18-month doctor appointment, I started writing down words that they spoke, because I wanted to have an idea of their word count if the doctor asked.  I had to keep pulling the list out frequently because they were adding words every day. By 18 months, they each were saying approximately 85-90 words, not counting animal sounds.

The downside?  They also easily pick up on my terrible speech habits and repeat them - most of which I am unaware of until two little minions in my house start using them frequently.  For a long time, SB and BW used "Yeah" as a reply instead of "yes".  I joked it was the German in them.  Now, when they are trying to assert their independence, they emphatically say "I do it, kay?" - apparently from the multitude of times they have heard me say, "Mommy will do it, okay?"  And my latest, least favorite, when I say their name, they will reply "What?" Argh. 

Bye bye paci/wubba/nukie

We bit the bullet and got rid of SB and BW's pacis Sunday night.  We planned to do it this coming weekend, when we didn't have big plans with anyone else and could sneak in naps if need be or put the girls to bed early.  But circumstances presented themselves, so we jumped off the cliff.  This was on my list of things to do before Nugget arrives, so I'm hoping it goes smoothly. 

Like most of my parenting choices, this is one that changed pre- and post-baby.  I had not wanted to introduce pacifiers, because i was concerned about nipple confusion with breastfeeding.  That lasted until our second night home, when we caved and offered the girls pacis.  It was a wonderful decision.  It did not interfere with our BFing relationship and SB and BW could satisfy their need to suck without being attached to me at all times.  By four months, we only gave the girls their pacis in the car and for sleeping time.  We also invested in Wubbanubs.  Best.paci.ever.  We rarely had to go in to give them the wubbanub because if it fell out of their mouth while sleeping, they could find it.  It was also nearly impossible for them to fall through the slats of the crib.   At five months, we took away wubbas in the car, and they only got them for sleep time.  Although I planned to take them away at a year, SB and BW were not ready.  They had only recently started consistently sleeping through the night, were getting their first molars...and it just continued from there.  There was always a disruption or reason to not take them away.  SB chewed through hers about six months ago...and we panicked and gave her a spare we had laying around after she wouldn't settle at all. 

About a month ago, SB's paci at daycare broke.  She's been napping without one at daycare since.

However, Friday night SB's home paci cracked.  The girls didn't take a nap Saturday, and I gave it to her Saturday night, but I didn't want to keep giving her a potential choking hazard.  I also didn't want to introduce another new one, when we were so close to giving them up.  So, we asked her if we should throw it away since it was broken, and explained this meant that there would be no more paci.  She agreed she wanted to throw it away.  BW doesn't like to be left out, so we asked if she would like to throw hers away too, and she said she did (she still has her wubbanub, so we cut the paci part off and she kept the animal part). So we had both girls throw theirs in the trash.

We put them to bed...and crying ensued.  I think the problem here is SB and BW are pretty smart, and SB knew that her paci was still RIGHT THERE in the garbage and someone could retrieve it for her, as we expected SB to transition much better.  It took them about an hour and a half to finally fall asleep.  But, once asleep, they did phenomenal.  Possibly because they were so worn out, but we didn't have to get up once to comfort/console during the night.  Of course, I slept terrible because I was EXPECTING it to be a disastrous night, so I couldn't seem to get into a deep sleep.  We heard a "paci broke" over the monitor, and a whimper here or there, but we didn't have to go soothe them once.  Go SB and BW!  Although they commented this morning about "paci broke" they did not ask for them.  Hopefully the trend continues. 

Another (last?) growth update

We had another follow-up u/s to check on baby's size recently.  Good news, baby is growing right on track in the 50th percentile, so the OB is fine with not continuing growth ultrasounds.  This ultrasound the tech was also not able to clearly visualize the circumvallate placenta on the scan.  I've been able to see it on the previous scans as well, and was having difficulty seeing the curved edges on the last ultrasound, so the OB is interested to see if the placenta is really circumvallate at all and has asked that if he is not there to deliver me, that I have them send the placenta to pathology to verify if it really is circumvallate.  Nugget has been very active, and I am almost certain she will have her nights and days mixed up when she arrives, as she loves to dance and kick away in the wee hours.

We're only about a month away from d-day now, which is still so hard for me to believe.  I've been trying to soak up time with SB and BW lately.  I remember not understanding when people who were having their second baby said they couldn't imagine how they could love another baby as much as they loved their first.  I get it now.  It's not so much that I can't imagine loving another baby as much as I love SB and BW, my concern is how will I possibly give them all the attention and love that they deserve?  Quality over quantity, right?

Another growth update

Well, I guess this is really more of the same growth update.  I had my ob appointment and my u/s results finally posted, so I could see where nugget is growth-wise.  Her weight is right at the 50%, and all the measurements are right on - the only one that is a bit strange since we have so many tall genes is her femurs are only measuring in the 37%.  But then I remind myself that these measurements are done in millimeters, so there is a reason they give a +/- for the measurements.  Otherwise, she is measuring right in between the measurements for SB and BW for the same timeframe.  If that keeps up, she will hopefully be right between them weight-wise at birth, which would put her at about 7 lbs.  OB also declared at my appt that nugget is still breech.  He said if she hasn't flipped by 36 weeks he will schedule a version to try and turn her.  She is also posterior much of the time.  I have another u/s coming up already - that should be the last or second-to-last one, I expect.  I am very relieved that I haven't had any complications from the circumvallate placenta so far.

SB and BW get very excited to say hi to the baby, touch the baby, kiss the baby etc. with my bump.  I'm fairly certain they don't actually get the concept, but it's fun to see them so excited.

I'm starting to get fairly anxious about 3 under 3. As I was doing bathtime for SB and BW the other night, and they were all giggly and goofy, I started thinking about how bath/bedtime will work once nugget is here.  I expect that the hubs and I will need to split bath and bedtime duties for a while, as I will be nursing and probably busy with nugget while SB and BW are getting ready for bed.  Hopefully once nugget is sitting up on her own bath and bedtime will become more of an assembly line and group activity and will be a bit more manageable.  I am so lucky that hubs is willing and able to help out, but I also love bedtime.  I have so little weekday time with SB and BW the way it is, I hate to also give up bedtime routine every night.

Circumvallate Placenta update

I have been impatiently waiting for the clinic to update my electronic health record so I can look at the actual measurements from our latest ultrasound, but so far, no dice, so I'll post a brief update on our latest ultrasound and I can perhaps fill in more info once the actual report is posted.  At 30 weeks, nugget is measuring a few days ahead, so no growth issues to be seen yet, which is such a relief! She is breech, but seems to be quite the gymnast, as she extended her feet down into my bladder and then pointed them up by her head several times during the ultrasound - all of the "pike" and "straddle" exercises that SB and BW love to do (carryover from toddler gymnastics) must be a favorite of hers too - this also explains why I have a hard time telling what direction she is.  I am a little concerned that she is so comfy being breech.  SB and BW were head down from 20 weeks on, so I'm hoping she gets the memo soon that the exit is the other way.

Doula indecision

I'm trying to decide if we should hire a doula.  We are very, very strictly budgeted right now because of some unexpected expenses, trying to eliminate our debt, as well as trying to make sure we have enough money set aside to cover expenses while I'm on maternity leave.

I had hoped for a natural childbirth with SB and BW, but my labor was an induction that I didn't handle very well.  I feel like I can honestly say I never felt a true contraction.  I went from not feeling anything, to feeling some dull period crampiness to feeling a constant, unrelenting pain.  There were no peaks and valleys, no breaks.  I made no progress the majority of the day (I was dilated to a 3 prior to the induction) and when I finally made it to 4, the doctor okayed the epidural and I asked for it immediately.  Once I received the epidural, I snuck in a little nap and went from 4-10 in about an hour. 

I learned from my labor with SB and BW that DH is a very passive birth partner.  I think he wanted me to ask for help and tell him what to do, and if I didn't say anything, I didn't need anything.  I'm very indecisive myself, so that last thing I wanted to be doing when I was in pain was giving someone else suggestions on how to help me.  We didn't receive any suggestions from the nurses on positions or anything to help with the labor process at all, so I felt very alone in the process.

This second time around, I'd really like to go into labor naturally and give birth without pain medication.  I have a reasonable chance of having a fast labor - I progressed very quickly once I started making progress with my last labor, and my mom had 2 quick labors.  So I'm debating the doula.  I'd really like one, but the cost is deterring me a bit, and DH doesn't really seem too on board with it yet.  I probably need to discuss it seriously with him again, but like most things, I'm procrastinating.  If we aren't going the doula route, I need to prep more for doing things on my own and giving DH more direction.

Unfinished projects

If you sift way, way back through my blog to the pre-kid days, I posted about a blanket I was making step-daughter, called the Babette blanket.  It is a beautiful pattern that I highly recommend, although I was lazy with switching yarn on my granny squares so I've had to do some remedial work on it and it isn't a blanket that can handle the wear and tear of everyday use because of the way I switched colors without tightly anchoring the yarn.  Lesson learned the (very) hard way after squares started to unravel.

In that post, I posted that I was probably going to make another, since I had to buy 17 skeins of yarn to complete the blanket.  I didn't make another, because it frankly was a really, really time-consuming blanket.  However,  I did have a large amount of leftover yarn that I was able to use to make crocheted blankets for SB and BW.  Neither of which is finished, and they are almost 2.  It's a good thing that I grossly overexaggerate the size that a baby blanket needs to be, because they will be able to use these blankets into their teens if they wish.  I have mostly finishing left on one blanket, and probably several more rows of crochet on the other.  one is a bubble pattern, that has the colors from step-daughter's blanket plus a few more, and the other is a wave pattern that uses 12 different colors.  I love them both and need to finish them so SB and BW can love them, too.

Now, I'm stuck a few months from nugget's arrival, and I haven't a start on a blanket.  Haven't even thought about a blanket, and don't really know what to do.  I think I may wait a few years, and start then.

Then there are the photos.  I wrote letters to SB and BW periodically through the first year, and I had grand plans to do photo memory books for them and incorporate the letters and other milestones.  I am 4 months into BW's book, haven't started SB's book, and SB and BW are quickly approaching 2.  We still don't have any, ANY framed pictures of SB and BW in our house, primarily because by the time I get around to printing pictures, it is months after the pictures were taken, and they feel out of date.  I don't know how other people do this.  Do they just survive on less sleep than me?  Should I be putting this stuff as a higher priority?  Do I just give up and try again in a few years?

I'm also feeling third-child guilt already because, in addition to not having any sort of baby blanket project in the works for nugget, I have taken like, 2 bump photos this pregnancy.  No weekly photos, no love for nugget-still-in-the-womb.  Don't get me wrong, I feel very bonded to her, I am excited for her arrival (although also terrified) but I have horrible pregnancy acne, and it's just work to remember to take the photos before I am comfortably ensconced in lounge pants and a huge t-shirt.