Initial reflections on 3 under 3...

As I type this, Nugget is snoozing on the bed next to me.  At just over a week old, we're still figuring some stuff out, but in general, life is good.  We may still be in the honeymoon phase, but both the hubs and I have confessed that things are going easier than we expected.  Which, of course, has probably jinxed us.

To start, Nugget has been a champion at breastfeeding.  She latched and even swallowed within the first hour after birth.  She dropped down to 8 lbs (from 8 lbs 7 oz) at discharge, and five days later had gained 11 oz.  Since it took BW 3 weeks to get back to birth weight, this gain is awesome.  No supplementing.  No pumping (although I did pump a few times when my milk first came in to relieve some engorgement, I was able to just pop that in the freezer right away).  We put the bottle drying rack back in the pantry, because we haven't had to wash pump parts regularly. Although I've felt I'm in unfamiliar territory learning how to BF a singleton, overall things are going very well.

Nursing one baby instead of two is quicker.  I have time to eat, nap, pick up, throw a load of laundry in.  I don't have to pick and choose and sometimes not accomplish any of them. I went to the store today by myself.  Things will be a bit more hectic once SB and BW are only going to daycare part-time for the remainder of my maternity leave, but the difference in caring for one newborn instead of two is very noticeable.

SB and BW love her.  They look for her in the morning; they look forward to seeing her after daycare.  Although we had a few days of transition after grandma went home and we settled in with Nugget when SB and BW were moody, cranky, and uncooperative, they are adjusting well.  We have to be very vigilant about Nugget, as SB and BW get quite excited and bounce around and there are sometimes limbs flying everywhere.

She's here!

I'm a few days behind, but Nugget has made her appearance, with a few extra days of baking.  My indecisiveness ensured that I delivered med-free, even after I caved and requested the epidural - too late for that.  Nugget came fast and furious, but has been pretty calm and laid-back since.  Nursing like a champ from the beginning.   The hubs and I apparently have a skewed view of baby size as a result of having toddlers, as we discovered later that we both thought she was tiny when she was born.

Stats: 8 lbs, 7 oz.  22 inches long. 14-inch head.  No growth problems due to the circumvallate placenta here. The OB did show the hubs and I the membrane on the placenta, which was quite sizable, and did say that it did appear from examination that it was circumvallate, but he sent it to pathology to verify as well.  It was so nice to have such a mundane outcome from something that Dr. Google suggested could be very concerning.

On enjoying summer....

Our deck was finished today. 

We moved several months ago.  Since our move happened in winter, the builder had postponed the deck until "spring."  Which, where we live, is a hit or miss season - 70s, then snow. 

But it's done, in all its maintenance-free glory (best part ever).  At our previous house, we never got around to building the deck (or the fence we planned, either) in the four-ish years we lived there.  We vowed that we wouldn't let that happen at the new house, and lucked out with a builder who doesn't believe in leaving things "unfinished."

The hubs is getting the patio furniture out of storage.  It's a beautiful day.  We're planning on dinner on the deck.  Hosting family this weekend.  Can't wait to use the deck this summer, at least until the mosquitos come out in full force.

Check one more thing off the "before baby comes" list.

Good friends, good food, good mood

In my last post, I mentioned that some friends were coming to visit for the weekend, and I was a little apprehensive since I still feel like I have a lot of unfinished projects and things to get done before baby arrives.  However, this weekend was a fabulous experience.  Our friends arrived after we had put the girls to bed, so we were able to enjoy a leisurely dinner with adult conversation and without any screeching competitions, repeated admonitions that we do NOT put our feet on the table when we eat, spilled milk, or banging of silverware.  It was so nice to talk and catch up.  Our friends were very low key and didn't bat an eye at taking two toddlers to lunch and not having any specific plans.  We rounded out Saturday with drinks and card games, and it was wonderful.  Sunday my mom came and watched the twins so the hubs and I could take a day and go out to eat and do some shopping for Nugget (with a little for SB and BW thrown in).  It was so nice to have another adult meal and focus on some new things for Nugget. I can't believe she will be arriving soon, and our whole routine will change.  Here we go....

The countdown is on, and twin laundry dilemmas

So, my last post whined about how unprepared I am for Nugget to arrive.  What do I do?  Agree to house guests a few weeks before my due date.  Then get sick two days before they are to arrive, when I would ordinarily be frantically cleaning before they arrive.  The hubs has (once again) stepped up and done the cleaning that needed to be done, and offered to help with SB and BW's laundry.  However, this is a realm where I am really on my own.  SB and BW are different sizes - about 5 lbs and 1.5 inches difference between them.  They are also built differently - BW has LONG limbs and a poochy tummy because her ab muscles still haven't closed; SB has a petite build with a longer torso.  Also, toddler clothing has NO consistency whatsoever.  It's worse than vanity sizing for adults, I think.  The only area where I can cleanly separate their clothes by size is pjs, and as they start to prefer two-piece pjs over footies, even this is getting blurred.  So, I know in my head what fits who and quickly sort through the clothes for each kid.  However, I can't say to someone else "BW gets all the 4T shirts (yes,4T - she is very tall) and SB gets all the 3T shirts" because BW still fits well in some of the 3T.  Pants are the same - some of the 3T are still too long for SB; some still fit BW but I have passed on to SB as she has outgrown her 2T pants.

I have also complicated this by getting hand-me-downs/buying used clothing for about a year, some from other twin parents, some not.  I would estimate about 85% of their clothing is used; I do buy them new stuff occasionally!  Which is great for my wallet, but usually results in trial and error for what fits when, since I buy ahead sizes figuring at least one of them will fit into it at some point - I think i have a few things up to size 6 already.   I miss when they were close enough in size that they could just have a completely shared closet, though - so much easier for other people to help with laundry.

Approaching D-day

I've come to the realization today that I am only a few days away from where I was when I was induced with SB and BW.  Days.  It's so strange.  I had a yucky day yesterday where I had some minor stomach ailment and it sent me into a panic for a bit that it might be early labor. 

I need to preface my next comment, because I don't want it to come across as flippant.  We were trying to conceive Nugget.  We wanted a third child.  But we weren't expecting to be successful SO quickly, if at all, so I feel like a part of this pregnancy for both the hubs and I has been a bit of...not denial, but...delay?  Like, we wish it wasn't going to happen quite so soon?  SB and BW have been going through some tough sleeping times as a result of DST and loss of the pacis, so the thought of adding a newborn on top of that is literally exhausting.  We're already exhausted.  I am, thanks to my chiro visit, sleeping blissfully well, considering I am quickly approaching single digits until my due date, aside from the multiple times a night when I woken by a crying toddler. The hubs has been a champ, he gets up often to tend to them so I can get more sleep since I'm huge and preggo and all, but there are also times when this mama can't resist getting up to comfort her babies.

So, we're sleep-deprived, and unprepared. The infant carseat is still in storage, so it needs to be retrieved, washed, and installed in the car.  I'm still trying to figure out the configuration for three car seats in our less-than-friendly for carseats vehicle. In the process, I've considered a minivan...gasp. I've got size one diapers stocked, but still need to snag some newborns. The nursery is closer to being done, but still needs pictures hung.

So, nugget - stay put for a little while longer.  Mama is still comfortable, and we have a lot more to accomplish before you are an outside baby.

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.