Stay-At-Home-Mom, Literally

We are emerging from the fog of sickness over here, finally. The pediatrician thinks Baby B might have had a bad cold or RSV, but at least we're at the tail end of it now. Sheesh, two weeks of two sick kids is a lot of sickness!

I realized that I've hardly left the house at all for the month of January. I am literally becoming a stay-at-home mom. Here is a list of times I can recall actually going anywhere since 1/1.

• Church - once
• Doctor's appointments - 4 times
• Target and UPS Store combined trip - once
• Kroger - once
• Batteries Plus - once
• Sam's Club (which was actually a trip to Walmart to return a Christmas gift that turned out to be from K-Mart...but I didn't want my drive all the way down to Winchester to be wasted...) - once
• Walks around the neighborhood - maybe 8-10 times
• Random drives to make the babies fall asleep - approximately 3
• Lunch at a restaurant with a friend! A real, grown up experience! - once

People keep telling me, "it's going to get better." I'm trying to believe them. I heard that 6 months is the magical age when life with twins suddenly becomes easier. If we're going by adjusted age, I have about 3 more weeks to go. Then it will be all rainbows and unicorns and butterflies, yes?

Actually, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just recently, the babies seem to have discovered each other, and I'm happy to say they think the other is pretty interesting. I put them both in the same crib for a bit the other day when I was doing something in the kitchen, and when I came back they were grabbing at each other and giggling. It was cute :)  If they are able to entertain each other, that will be awesome! I might be able to get something done every now and then.

As for leaving the house, well, if they stay healthy maybe we can even manage to get out and about once in awhile, too. I've got them on the waiting list for Mother's Day Out at church for the spring. Then I'd really be footloose and fancy free!

Sick Kids

Oh my gosh, how do parents of more than one kid deal when they are all sick at the same time? Baby A & B both came down with a cold last weekend, their first ever. I feel like all my hypochondriacal efforts at quarantining them for their first 7 months of life were worth it because taking care of 2 sick babies is EXHAUSTING. I read a parenting article that said most babies get 6-8 colds during their first year of life. Um, nope, that is not happening. I am not interested in spending the next 5 months as a human snot rag.

A is sicker than B. He was really being fussy and not eating well, so I took him to the doctor on Monday. Turns out he has an ear infection. Poor little guy :(  He is on antibiotics now and seems to be doing a bit better. But he has been demanding a lot of attention. Then I feel bad for B, because although he also is coughing and has a runny nose, he isn't being as fussy as his brother. So he's been spending a lot of time in the bouncy seat, watching me hold/console his brother.

Seriously, if I had more kids, what would I do? Keep with this same triage system and attend to the one who is squawking the loudest or coughing the hardest? During one feeding yesterday they were both having coughing fits and I wound up sitting on the couch trying to hold them both at the same time. That really doesn't work very well, but it did calm them down enough to eat a bit more.

Baby A has only been eating about half of what he usually eats. Maybe this will be B's chance to finally catch up to him, weight-wise! The doctor said that as long as he still has plenty of wet diapers not to worry if he's eating less. I guess it makes sense, since when I'm sick I usually lose my appetite, too.

They were doing pretty well with sleeping up until they got sick. Now they keep waking up all night from being stuffed up or coughing. Then I have to do my motherly duty and literally suck the snot out of their noses. It is gross! I can't believe this is what my life has come to.

Here's hoping they get well soon. But they've actually been taking longer naps that usual, so that's kind of a nice bonus.

Cooking, on Occasion

I'm a big fan of baking. Cooking, not so much. It takes a lot of effort to cook, but you only get to enjoy your labor for a meal or two. When you bake, the rewards last longer!

Now that I'm a mom, though, I feel like I should probably cook real food more often. When DF and I first got married, I tried to cook dinner fairly frequently because I thought that's what good wives did. Ha! Over the years, we've started going out to eat more and more. We like exploring new restaurants and eating a variety of flavors. Plus I got super lazy when I was pregnant.

Since the babies were born, I have hardly cooked at all. I mean, literally, I maybe cooked something for dinner like 10 times since June that wasn't a frozen pizza or similarly easy to make. I just haven't had it in me to plan a menu, buy the ingredients, cook, and clean up.

Some readers might be saying, "But Salmonista, why doesn't DF make dinner instead?" He is even less a fan of cooking than I am. He is in charge of going to pick up our take-out orders :)  And he's also a good grocery shopper. He also has been known to load the dishwasher.

One of my New Year's resolutions was "Try to cook something once in a while." Yes, I made it vague on purpose so it would be easy to accomplish! Well, I'm happy to report that I successfully made dinner last night, and I have tonight's dinner cooking in the crock pot now. I also made a weekly meal plan and wrote it on our message board in the kitchen so that I'm not left scratching my head every day saying, "What should we eat tonight?" Seriously, I was feeling like dinner kept sneaking up on me, and I was like, what? didn't we just eat dinner yesterday?

Now that I started a Pinterest recipe board, I'm hoping this will spur me on to action. I can save the recipes we like and put them into a rotation. After all, I don't want my kids to think that dinner always comes in a styrofoam container or a pizza box.

All this being said, in the last few months, I have managed to cook for other people a few times - friends from church who've had medical issues, new babies, etc. There were so many people who were kind enough to bring us meals while I was recuperating that I feel compelled to pay it forward. I certainly appreciated everyone's generosity, so I hope my friends appreciate my attempts as well! (even though I think I did overcook the chicken one time...)

A Day in the Life (with Twins)

I decided to write down everything I did for a 24-hour period because I thought it might make for interesting reading. This was a pretty typical day, so I'd say it accurately reflects my current reality. The babies get baths every other day. If it had been bath day, I would've tried to squeeze those in before Feeding #2, depending on how long they'd slept. They are 4.5 months adjusted age.

Now I'm thinking of making this log a tradition - wouldn't it be an interesting glimpse into history if I recorded everything I did on the first Friday of the new year (that wasn't New Year's Day)? Too bad I didn't start this tradition at my birth, because then it would be even cooler. I could write a book. Oh wait, I can write a book about it for my kids' lives!

January 8, 2016 
note: some times are approximate. It's hard to keep a super detailed log with 2 little ones screeching at you.

12:00a (asleep)

3:00a  Alarm goes off telling me to get up and pump. (Tandem nursing (two at once) hasn't worked out for us, so I pump breastmilk and feed it to the babies in bottles. And, I supplement with formula.)

3:40a  Go back to bed. Can't fall asleep because I have the "Hot Dog" song running through my head from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, although I've only seen the show twice.

4:10a Baby A wakes up, singing what we call the "4:00 song." He rolls around in his crib singing, "oooh, aaaah, laaaa!" until someone comes in to tell him to go back to sleep.

4:15a Try to convince A that he should be asleep. After multiple pacifier re-insertions, I give up and try nursing him. He dozes off, only to reawaken as I lay him down. I try to have peaceful thoughts and enjoy the moment because I'm not sure how much longer I will be breastfeeding them. Not super successful, though, as I'm verrrry tired.

4:55a Baby A finally goes to sleep

5:10a Baby B starts fussing. Give him a pacifier, he quiets down.

5:30a Baby B, same thing

6:00a B, ditto

6:30a DF's alarm goes off. A is singing again. I let him be.

7:00a Get up, make the bottles, get medicine ready (they take Zantac for reflux). Get babies up. Change them out of pajamas.

7:15a Say bye to Daddy

7:20a Feeding #1. I spend a good half of the feeding trying to convince B to keep his thumb out of his mouth. He doesn't seem to understand the concept of suction.

8:00a  Time to pump again. The boys have to sit up in their swing and bouncer after eating for 30 minutes (because of reflux). While I pump, I sing them songs, shake rattles, and make funny faces/noises to entertain them. I also eat a bowl of oatmeal. Then, pumping is over. Both boys have pooped, so I change them. They move to the next station, playing in the pack-n-play. I read them some books. They are particularly cheerful this morning. I snap a photo and text it to their grandparents/aunt/uncle in Oregon. Literally two minutes later, B starts wailing. Nap time!

8:45a Attempted nap. I think they are both asleep, so I hop in the shower. While showering, I use a shampoo bottle to ferociously kill a big black bug crawling around by the drain. Upon closer inspection, I find out it was a fuzz ball...probably off my toes as I was wearing new socks. Better safe than sorry! I get out of the shower and turn off the fan to hear squawking. Turns out B wasn't really asleep. Pacifier in, and he's out. I toss in a load of laundry and unload the dishwasher. Eat some lactation cookies. Then A wakes up. We play pat-a-cake for a few minutes before B wakes up, too.

9:35a Change diapers, make bottles

9:50a Feeding #2

10:30a Pumping time. Turn on the Sprout channel. It entertains them for about 10 minutes. I decide it's never too young to begin religious education, so I sing them the "Lord's Prayer" song. Then it's time to go to the playpen again.

11:00a Getting fussy already! A goes down for a nap. B isn't tired, so I put him in the bouncer and carry him out to the kitchen were he can watch me wash my pump parts. Make a cup of tea.

11:20a B looks sleepy. Nap time. He goes to sleep. I eat a burrito and make more bottles.

11:40a A is awake. He comes and hangs out in the living room while I research options for a new cell phone. My phone is getting old and keeps crashing.

12:00p B wakes up. Time to do our physical therapy exercises! They have a few exercises to keep them on track, developmentally.

12:20p Feeding #3. Still having thumb issues with B...

1:00p Pumping, then playtime. They go in the Jumperoo and Bumbo chair this time. A spits up all over himself. Wardrobe change!

1:30p Attempt to put them down for a nap. This takes 15 minutes of hopping back and forth between the 2 cribs, sticking pacifiers in mouths. They finally give up.

1:45p They are asleep! I eat more cookies. Reply to a Facebook msg from a friend, call pest control to schedule our next treatment, look up chicken tortilla soup recipes on Pinterest to make dinner for a friend tomorrow. Also try a homemade "hack" for the Swiffer wet mop, and it seems to work. Mop the bathroom floor, since I killed a cockroach in there yesterday. (Full disclosure: I was motivated to do the mop thing b/c I knew I was recording my activities for the day! I'd been procrastinating on that one.)

2:10p Both babies wake up screaming. Oh joy. Change diapers, play on the play mat, do tummy time, stall until it's time to eat.

2:40p Can't stall any longer. Feeding #4. I notice they both are crossing their eyes sometimes still. My baby development book says they shouldn't do that anymore after reaching 6 months. Make a mental note to observe their eyes in 1.5 months.

3:20p pump, clip someone's fingernails (can't recall who), watch "Sarah & Duck" on Sprout, a charming little British cartoon that I hope the boys will like! It seems calmer than the American shows.

4:00p Drag the pack-n-play out to the kitchen so the boys can watch me make bottles, wash my pump parts, and load the dishwasher.

4:15p Walk time! The weather is nice so we don't have to bundle up too much. I realize that if I put their blankets underneath the clippy belt thing that holds their car seats on the stroller, the blankets stay in place much better. Don't know why it took me so long to figure this out. They fall asleep about 5 minutes into the walk. I enjoy a peaceful stroll around the neighborhood.

5:00p Come home, change diapers, tummy time

5:15p Feeding #5. Daddy comes home and takes over with one baby. Both babies are fussy and I give them gas drops. I wonder, as usual, if I should try a different formula because maybe this Gerber stuff doesn't agree with them.

6:00p Pump time. DF goes to pick up takeout for dinner from Tokyo Grill. Then begins the longest stretch of the day, keeping them entertained until the final feeding and bedtime. We don't try to get them to nap so that they'll fall asleep easier at night. So, we use all the tricks we have - jumperoo, Bumbo seat, playpen, being held, dancing around, reading books, throwing blocks, singing, and making funny sound effects.

7:00p Get into pajamas, change diapers, make bottles (Dad does wardrobe; I do food)

7:15p Feeding #6 + medicine. They both get pretty sleepy and nod off while eating, but then wake up to finish their bottles.

7:45p Sit up time. Daddy entertains them wile I unload dishwasher and start a load of laundry. Then we sing quiet songs and read a couple books to get ready for bed.

8:15p Bed time. I rock them to sleep. While I rub their little heads, I think of when they were in the NICU and we were only supposed to place a hand on top of their head in a "comfort hold" but not rub, as it overstimulated their brains. I ponder how far we've come since then. It almost feels like that whole ordeal happened to someone else and those were different babies, not me and my kids. Weird.

8:35p Both are asleep! Victory! I notice the toilet bowl is looking dingy so give it a quick scrub. Transfer laundry to the dryer. Brush my teeth.

9:00p Final pumping session of the day. Check Facebook while pumping. Wash pump parts.

9:40p Bed time for Mommy. DF is still up playing games on his phone. I don't understand. If I could've, I would've collapsed into bed an hour ago when the babies went to sleep. Set alarm for 3AM and get ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Current Events

I came across a "mommy blog" the other day in which the author basically said she doesn't have time to follow the news because she's too busy taking care of her kids. Hmmmm, but she still has time to write a mommy blog, eh?

With only 6 months of experience under my belt (or 12 months if you count 6 x 2 babies), I'm no parenting expert. But it seems to me that I still have some amount of freedom when it comes to personal pursuits. It's all about priorities. And, it probably also has to do with what one was into before the kids came along. My suspicion is that the above blogger never really paid much attention to the news before she became a mom, and now she has a convenient excuse of "the kids need me."

Sure, I don't have time to read The Economist cover to cover each week, but I never did that anyway :) I do still check Facebook fairly often, and my friends are always posting links to newsworthy articles. Even if that's all the news I consumed, I would at least be semi-informed about what's happening in the world. As it is, I also have a news app on my phone where I can read the top stories. When I have a little free time, there are also a couple news sites I like to read.

Keeping up on current events is something that's important to me not only as a global citizen, but also as a mother. I want to teach my kids to be engaged in the world around them. How can I help them learn if I'm not informed myself?

Other parents have other priorities, whether it's practicing a musical instrument, pursuing a volunteer activity, staying fit, or keeping up with the latest Star Wars release. And that's a good thing! I have a feeling if we allow our children to become our sole focus in life, we're going to go crazy before too long.