Baybay & Baybee: Week 13

13 weeks old!

Sleep! It went better this week! We started paying close attention to how long the girls have been awake throughout the day, making it easier to catch their naps. They seem to get tired every hour and a half, and will usually fall asleep fairly easily if they don't get over tired. Their naps last anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending of where they are sleeping. Most of the time they sleep for about 45 minutes, but not necessarily at the same time. I think the daytime napping has paid off because this week was one of our best for night time sleep, too. Both girls have gotten a consistent 6-7 hour stretch (!!) in the first part of the night. After a feeding around 2 a.m., they are back to sleep again until about 5:30 or 6! We are still tired, and we feel like all we do in the evenings are get the girls to sleep and then go to bed ourselves, still, this is progress in the right direction and I hope it lasts!

Jenny cuddling a sleeping Maya before putting her down for a nap.

On Wednesday, the girls had one of their happiest days to date. They were smiley, content and just a pleasure to be around all day long. It was a nice way to start off the week and hopefully we can look forward to many more happy days to come.

Ella thinks I'm so funny!

I just love this picture.

This one is pretty great, too.

Ella, especially, has been very "talkative" lately. She has a lot to say. One of her favorite activities is being held while standing on our knees and looking into our eyes. She will babble away the whole time and try to imitate our sounds (or maybe we are imitating hers... either way, it's fun!) She LOVES when we pay attention just to her.

Ella's hair is starting to look more like a mad scientist's hairdo as the days go by.

Maya is quieter, but still tells wonderful stories when given the attention. Her favorite song is the ABC's, and she really follows our hands when we sign the letters along with words as we sing. She will listen quietly the whole time and smile with a delighted squeal at the end.

Thinking about reaching for toys occupies a lot of Maya's time these days.

Something different this week was splitting the twins up on two different occasions: one with me, the other with Brett. The first time was a car ride to Springfield and back for Brett and Ella, while Maya and I walked around downtown doing some shopping. The second time, I took Ella out to the grocery store (and to the voting booth because it was Election day) while Brett and Maya stayed at home. Both times I found incredibly relaxing! I felt strange about splitting them up before we did it, but after trying it, I really liked it. It is a weird feeling to be out in the world with just one baby. People still stop me to ogle over whichever girl I have with me, but we don't get stopped nearly as often and when we do, they have no idea that I have another baby at home who is just as cute.

In the beginning of the week, there was still some snow left on the ground from the Halloween storm. We took a lot of early morning walks this week because we made a pact with each other that we wouldn't go on the computer (even to check email) before walking around the block, at least once, first. It's been a great goal and it has felt great to get outside so much.

Frosty leaves.

Another walk with our pram stroller. We got this used from someone on Craiglist. Both girls fit in it still, but won't for much longer.

A neighbor came over this week with a huge box full of 3-9 month clothes that she was finished with. We both had fun sorting through them and Jenny had fun dressing the babies up in new outfits.

A story before bed: Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Out doing errands the girls take a break to rest in a chair at the bank.

I love these faces.

A race for purple doggy!

Some tummy time together on the bed.

Napping in the same positions.

Baybay & Baybee: Week 12

12 weeks old!

This week marked the first time that the girls looked at each other and smiled at the same time. They stared right into each other's eyes and smiled and smiled and smiled! It was so exciting to watch, and it has happened a couple more times since.

Look at that! It's another baby!

Along the same lines as noticing each other, we feel like they really started to respond to us more. Maya laughed at me for the first time! I was kissing her cheeks and she let out this beautiful laugh/squeal type noise. It was beautiful and I keep giving more kisses to see if I can get her to do it again, but so far no such luck. They are both "talking" up a storm and adore when we spend time making noises or sticking our tongues out at them. When I play with them, I find myself saying, "That's a good sound! How about 'Mama'? Can you say MMmm... mama!?". I have noticed that Brett does the same thing, only swapping mama with "da da". We wonder which word they will say first...

Aunt Anne came for another visit on Thursday. Again she brought a delicious lunch that we all enjoyed, complete with cranberry apple pie! It's such fun that she lives close enough to us that she is able to be a part of her great-nieces' lives. They are changing so quickly at this stage.

Aunt Anne with both babies!

I couldn't decide which picture I liked best!

We were really excited when we received a package in the mail from Amber, full of cloth diapers that she wasn't using. We are now totally set for diapers, hopefully forever! So Awesome! She also included some old clothes from when we were babies, including two shirts that say, "organically grown" on them. They won't fit Maya and Ella for long, but are very cute.

Maya wearing her new old shirt while siting in her new Bumbo chair. We got this at a kids-only charity/consignment sale on Saturday. The girls seem to really like sitting in it. It has been useful so far for taking cute pictures, and as another place to put a baby when we need free hands. It can also go in water, which we've tried in the bath. That was fun!

Brett was back and forth to the Springfield house almost every day this week getting the 3rd floor bathroom remodel going. We finally hired someone to redo almost everything in there to get rid of the leak once and for all. By the end of the week, the project was almost complete and we are looking forward to a less busy month of November. There were some pretty stressful days this week because we were both so tired and busy, me from so much time alone with babies, and Brett from driving and dealing with the house.

On Saturday, we had the first snowstorm of the year! Here are some pictures from that day and the few that followed:

Babies first snowfall!

The snow continued to fall all afternoon and into the night. Our power (and almost everyone else's for miles around) went off that evening around 6pm. It stayed off for two days! Above is a picture of us playing a game with Evan and Merry that night by candle light. We feel really lucky that our power was only off for two days, when some communities around us had to wait about a week.

The next morning.

We got over 10 inches!

It was beautiful (though a little eerie) to see the contrast of colorful leaves on the trees with the white snow on the ground.

Evan and Merry built a "stego-snow-rus" in our front yard!

On Halloween our power was still off, we were running out of clean diapers, and our house was getting chilly, so we headed up to Leyden to spend the day in the warmth of Brett's parents' house. I snapped this picture when we stopped for a break on the drive up.

The girls in their pink snowsuits.

Closeup of Maya.

We are so glad we spent the day in Leyden. Brett got to take a long nap; I got to carve pumpkins with Kathy!

I took so many pictures this month and 90% of them are of the babies. They are just so darn cute. Enjoy!

Maya's adorable grin.

She thinks purple octopus looks tasty.

And a big smile!

Ella has started trying to grab at things. Sometimes I think it's even on purpose. She also rolled over this week, while on her tummy, for the first time! Go Ella!

"Mama, you're taking so many pictures!"

Mama and Papa both had birthdays this week. Here is a sign that Maya and Ella made for their Grandma, to celebrate her special day.

Bath time! Not that I particularly want to remember it, but I think it's worth noting that Ella pooped on me while we were taking a bath together this week. Needless to say, next time she had a bath, Brett went in with her.

While Brett was doing his Pedal People route on Tuesday, the girls and I took a long walk down the bike path to the grocery store. It was a beautiful day. After shopping, we all got tired, so when Brett was done working, he came and picked us up with the car and brought us back home.

Maya caught a leaf!

Baybay & Baybee: Week 11

11 weeks old!

Notice the girls' spiffy new diaper covers? Benita and Sam generously passed along 7 Thirsties covers that they weren't using. This brand happens to be one of our favorite kinds and they are already getting good use. Thank you!

This was Brett's birthday week. On Wednesday he turned 31! We celebrated his special day with a nap, a walk, a fun evening at our Centering group reunion, and pumpkin cheese cake.

A birthday nap.

Through our pregnancy, the Centering group we were part of at the Midwifery Center was a great tool for us. Now that everyone has had their babies, it was time for a reunion! Everyone brought food and we sat around playing with our babies and sharing experiences.

What is everyone looking at?

Babies!

The whole group together.

Maya and Ella had their two month check up this week, along with their first set of shots. I was pretty much dreading the shot part all day, but it wasn't as bad as I had feared. Both girls screamed (they had to get three different shots!) and we comforted them and I nursed them soon after. Ella took it harder than Maya. She was so upset that she refused to eat for a good two minutes after the shots. Both girls fell asleep almost as soon as we put them back in the Moby's and slept the whole walk home. I think the crying knocked them out.

Maya was fascinated with the mirror at the doctor's office!

I went out to get some baby Tylenol later that day, in case we needed it for the evening. Having never bought baby Tylenol before, I found myself totally overwhelmed with the many different options in the medicine isle. There were so many different brands, all with varying amounts to be given and all saying to check with your doctor for babies weighting under 25 pounds. I called Amber for advice, and she helped me figure out the best thing to get. She also suggested that I bring the medicine I choose to the pharmacy and ask them to tell me the amount to give the babies. Brilliant! I felt really lucky to have a sister who has been through this before and knows what to do. Thanks, Amber!

In the evening, the girls did end up needing the Tylenol. It was so sad to see them feeling sick. They didn't seem to have a fever, but were both crying and upset and acting in a way we'd never seen before. Their cries weren't so much loud as just tired and painful. As if they were trying to say, "My body aches and I'm tired but I can't fall asleep because I just feel awful!" Giving them the Tylenol was a traumatic experience for the parents. Both babies swallowed the dose without any problem, but we were each (I gave Maya's dose and Brett gave Ella's) startled when the syringe shot the liquid into their mouth all at once instead of slowly like we had planned.

In the morning, both babies woke up smiling and seemed to feel all better! We were so relieved.

We did have a little bit of panic later in the morning. Brett started to doubt that we had given them the right size dose of medicine after reading in the little booklet from the pediatrician that the correct dose for babies this size is 40mg or .4mL. Suddenly, we started worrying that we had given them enough to damage their livers, having given them about 1.5mL! In the end, we called the poison control hotline, and they confirmed that we had given them the CORRECT amount. Brett had forgotten that the medicines come in different concentrations, and the one in the booklet was completely different and much more concentrated. A few tears were shed in the panic and a few in the relief, but the babies knew nothing of it.

Future rockstar.

Look at that hair!

We got a fun game of 7 Wonders in this week with Guy and Selena. Ella took a 3 hour nap in the Moby that day, including the whole time we played the game. Maya, who also slept a long time in the Moby, woke up in the middle of our game and helped Brett out.

Yay for getting to play a game with friends!

Which card should I play?

Later that same day, Kathy stopped by and had a fun visit with her grandchildren.

Sister fist-bump? The girls are really starting to look at one another these days. Every once and a while they will both do it at the same time. I think they are going to have a lot of fun once they really realize that they have a friend to play with all the time.

"That's what it's all about!"

All in all, not a bad week! We didn't get enough sleep, but that's nothing new. Enjoy the rest of the pictures!

Sharing some resting time on the Boppy.

Double duty.

Such cute babies!

We did great at taking walks this week. Here is a picture of us checking out a tag sale on our fourth straight day of taking a walk!

A butterfly we saw on one of our walks.