You're killin' me, Smalls.

Nugget is 8 weeks, and is giving me a run for my money. All confident statements that I had an "easy baby" are thrown out the window.

SB and BW started going to bed right around 7 pm once we instituted a bedtime routine around 6 weeks.  When they hit 8 weeks, they started sleeping an 8-hour stretch.  That promptly stopped around 4 months and they didn't sleep through the night until 9 or 10 months, but I was really clinging to the 6 and 8 week mark as a time that Nugget would hopefully settle into a more manageable sleep pattern.

In response, she gives me a big, gummy, silent laugh.

Nugget has a definite witching hour.  It starts around 5 or 6 pm, and continues anywhere from 9 to midnight. I've tried to put her to bed anywhere from 6:30 to 7:30, and she persists in staying up until 9 or 10 pm.  I could try for 6 pm, but that's also when, you know, we're trying to feed two toddlers or have some semblance of a family dinner.  Which, 50% of the time, occurs with Nugget attached to my boob nursing.  I start to get touched out at about 8 pm, and it's driving me a tiny bit crazy to not get any baby-free time until, you know, I need to go to sleep to have any chance of functioning the next day. DH always offers to help but I usually turn him down as there is a lot of nursing that happens in between her 5-minute cat naps before her eyes pop wide awake.

I'm trying to track all her sleep time to really try and ensure that she is getting adequate sleep.  It's a little tricky, especially on days that SB and BW are home, too. Since I only have a few weeks of leave left, I'm really hoping we get it figured out soon.

Enjoying summer 2.0

As I write this, I am watching two ponytails bob around the back yard picking clover (we need to spray for weeds and fertilize our lawn, clearly).  It's a rare moment when Nugget is napping so the girls are engaging in "unstructured free play," which gives me a free moment to pull out the laptop on the deck.  I read an article on facebook yesterday about how they are finding that unstructured outdoor play is key for children to get to use their imagination and assist in developing their brain, etc etc.  I think this is one of the great benefits to having twins for your first pregnancy - they have an instant playmate.  They are starting to engage in more pretend play and I enjoy observing from a distance.

This is definitely a benefit to being home on maternity leave and having SB and BW home as well.  I don't feel guilty or like I'm giving up some of our precious non-work time that I get with them to let them run around and explore on their own.  While I still know that being a stay at home mom isn't the best choice for me or my family, I would love to work part time if that was an option.  I suppose it would be with some lifestyle changes, but the availability of part-time jobs in my field where we are located is almost nil.  So, I'll savor what is likely my last maternity leave, which is already passing by much to fast.

Happy six weeks, Nugget

Nugget is six weeks old.  This means my maternity leave is half over.  Sigh.  After the twins were born, I was okay with returning to work at the end of my maternity leave.  I believed I was a better mom as a working mom.  I think it will be harder to return this time.  I've settled into being a mom, and I'm really enjoying the extra time with SB and BW.  I still ultimately believe that I am a better mom as a working mom, and SB and BW are in a great place socially and intellectually because of the wonderful daycare that they attend, but I wouldn't mind being able to take summers off and spend extra time with them. 

Nugget's reflux started ramping up, and she was starting to be very fussy in the evenings, very gassy, and had some projectile vomiting episodes, although not a ton.  At her one month appointment, upon discussing this with the pediatrician, the pediatrician said that the most common culprit for gassiness and reflux was dairy, and recommended eliminating it for two weeks to see if these improved.

I love milk. I love cheese. 

This was going to be difficult.

I drug my feet for a few days, as Nugget's symptoms didn't seem to be as severe as what I read a milk protein allergy would entail, but Nugget's evening fussiness, reflux and spitting up seemed to be ramping up, so I finally committed to cutting out dairy.  Within a few days, Nugget's baby acne, which had covered most of her face, completely cleared up literally overnight.  She was settling easier at night.  On Father's day, I decided to experiment with goat cheese, as I found a source on the internet that said goat milk protein was easier to digest that cow's milk.  Big mistake.  Nugget was agitated from about 6 pm to midnight the next night.  So, I'll continue to avoid the deliciousness of our cheese door (sigh) and work through the remainder of the two weeks, but I expect I will be committing to dairy free.

Reflections on three under three - a few weeks in

Since a few weeks have passed since my last post, I thought I'd do an update.  We've switched SB and BW to daycare just two days a week for the remainder of my maternity leave.  Things are still going fairly well, although we've decided we need to focus a bit more on getting SB and BW more one-on-one attention if possible.  SB in particular seems to be struggling a bit to gain attention from the hubs and I, even if it is negative attention.  Although I know defiance and independence is par for the course with her age, I think her defiance is connected more with wanting more attention.  She is still, all in all, a great kid, so I try to remind myself to be patient and work through these difficulties.  True one-on-one attention is difficult, especially for me, because Nugget is still so new, but hopefully an individual overnight with grandma will give both SB and BW some special time with me and the hubs.

I am still enjoying the ease of one baby versus two babies.  I feel like I am truly learning Nugget in a way I wasn't able to do with SB and BW when they were new.  I love being able to pop her in the Moby and still be mobile and get out with SB and BW.  She still is a relatively easy baby and is napping in her crib as I type this - a milestone that was really difficult to accomplish with SB and BW.  I think things will get more difficult as she gets past the newborn stage and is more alert and needs more stimulation

I am also really enjoying not having the stress of work hanging over my head all the time.  I feel like I can participate more in my household in the evenings, help clean up, not worry about SB and BW going to bed so I can get some work done.  I am less stressed and feel like I am able to more fully participate in my family.  I'm not looking forward to returning to work and shouldering that workload again.

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.