6 Weeks Old and Winterfest

The girls just had their 1 month pediatrician appointment this past Thursday. Both Hadley (top) and Cecilia (bottom) weigh 7 pounds 9 ounces and are 21.5 inches long. The only thing that separates them is that Cecilia has a larger head by 1/8 inch. I attribute all of this growing to Elise helping with some of their feedings. She can be such a great helper! 

 

 

Thankfully Cecilia's horrendous diaper rash is a thing of the past!

Cecilia

Hadley

All this growing has lead them to be awake more during the day... which is a blessing and a curse for a mommy who wants to get things done around the house too. They haven't coordinated their awake times which means that I am bounced from one baby to the next as the awake one eventually falls asleep only to have the other baby magically wake up at the same time needing attention. They almost seem to say 'Tag Me In Sis'!

The difficult thing with twins is that there isn't enough ME to go around. I want to hold everyone and enjoy each baby when they are both awake and happy yet also when they are upset and crying. I do my best and try not to be discouraged with myself when I can't do it all-- so far only the housework is suffering and mealtimes are less than gourmet. My goal is to at least serve a main course and scrounge up side dishes at the last minute! This is also because meal times are hectic as the girls are fussy and crying during this time of day. I can only imagine how it must be to be Jeff and walk into a hurricane of noise and fury after the end of a work day. But then again, I'm also happy to have another pair of hands. During the weekdays, Jeff is fabulous as he helps by holding and bouncing a fussy baby over dinner and gets Elise ready and off to bed. On the weekend, he's in the trenches with me.

Hadley- little smiling smirk!

 The girls have also started smiling although I have yet to catch a good one on my camera.  Funny how they reached this little milestone on same day a few days short of 5 weeks.

Hadley- 6 weeks

Little bit of floor time- Hadley and Cecilia 6 weeks

Cecilia- 6 weeks

 

Jeff and I have made it a point to carve out 'date time' with Elise. Being a big sister requires time to do Big Girl stuff with mom and dad alone... whether it be dinner out or a trip to Giant Eagle. This past weekend Elise and I left Daddy and the girls home while we walked up to Perrysburg's Winterfest.

In a heated tent they had free food, hot chocolate, crafts, clowns and face painting. We had a blast together!

Elise the Cat

Outside they had ice carvers from around the country. We liked the animals at the card table the best. It's amazing what you can do with a chain saw and over sized dremmel!

 

Afterwards we walked home and hung our birdseed pinecone in our front yard for our feathered friends... complements from the day's outing.

Favorite Photos

These are some of our favorite photos from the photography session we did several weeks ago. Kellie Allen (our photographer) took over 217 pictures on our cd! She is fabulous! Enjoy...

Big Sister Elise Paige

Cecilia Anne

 Hadley Katherine

Double Trouble

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors...

Elise had her 4 year-old well visit with her pediatrician last week. She is 32 pounds and 9 ounces and has finally hit the 50% mark in weight! I will always remember when we first took her to the doctor as a newborn and she wasn't even on the height and weight chart! Now she fits in with her peers.

Cecilia, on the otherhand, has been to the doctor 3 times for her diaper rash.. hence the sad, forlorn picture above...

She is currently on Keflex for a staph infection... that's on top of her fungal infection... that's on top of her  bleeding diaper rash. Poor thing. We are alternating between Nystatin and an antibacterial cream in addition to a myriad of creams on ointments. It's confusing even to me but I keep plenty of notes to know when to do what. But hurray! I think this is the first day it's beginning to look better. Thank goodness because I cringe at every diaper change- as does Cecilia.

We keep chugging along here.  Luckily there are few times that both girls cry at the same time. The days do start to blend together when you go from feedings, changings, napping and back around again. Oh yes, we also have Elise, laundry, cleaning, and cooking too! It definitely makes for a busy day and night. No time off but this is just a short phase (hopefully!). The girls go to bed around 11pm and make it until 2am and then 5am to eat. On good days they squeeze an extra half an hour sleep in there. I still feel like Hadley is confused between her days and nights. But last night was a blessing- a whole five hours between feedings. I'm sure it was a fluke but now I know it's possible. And yes, we do wake the other one to eat. 

I feel like I'm rambling-- or is that lack of sleep?!? Regardless, please forgive me!

Also, on a side note, Elise has figured out she can leave her room during naptime. Up until now, she always waited patiently in her room for us to arrive and rescue her at the end of a nap or in the morning. I guess this big sister stuff has given her a sense of independence! We'll have to work on some boundaries so mommy can have an hour or two to her self. But I know from friends that this will be more difficult than it sounds. We've been blessed up until now! Most four year-olds don't even nap!

(Yes, these are some of our professional pictures.... I'll post a bunch more very soon! Our announcements are heading out this week.)

Adjusting to Twins

We are settling into our new normal... babies! It's like riding a bicycle but I think this time it's a lot easier (knock on wood!). This time we know what we are doing even if we are outnumbered! The girls truly are good babies. They have such sweet dispositions and we are learning their unique personalities.

Nights haven't been horrible (again.. knock on wood!). Some nights they only awaken once rather than twice making for a happier mommy. And when Hadley or Cecilia does wake up, they quietly cry and wait patiently as I change and feed them both. Luckily I've always been good at multitasking. Feeding and burping two babies at once hasn't proven to be the challenge I thought it would be... thankfully!

We had our first family photos taken this past Saturday (a generous gift from our friends the Brujics). Big sister Elise also had some photos taken alone with the girls. We are anxious to see the final product but know that they will be fabulous... be on the look out for announcements in a few weeks!

It was an exhausting morning for everyone- including Elise. Modeling is definitely hard work.

Until we get back our photos, these are the newborn pictures that were taken in the hospital:

http://www.mom365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=c7b1d227-8d72-4024-816c-15412a3e789d&utm_source=wnshare&utm_medium=email&utm_content=wnshare_mom_babylink&utm_campaign=wnshare_button

Since we have been staying home and out of the way of flu germs, the Hebekas brought over dinner that night. Of course the evening ended with one of the infamous dance parties.

Big sister Elise is such a good helper. She's in charge of Hadley and Cecilia's wardrobe and is helpful in lending a hand during feeding time. She also has been reading books to the girls (making sure they see each picture) and helps rocking them in the swing. However, she isn't fond of them crying which luckily isn't that often. I did have to chuckle when I found myself home alone with all three girls and each one of them was crying! Luckily it was short lived and luckily I found it humorous!

Poor Cecilia (above) has had a bad diaper rash (causing an extra trip to the pediatrician). Unfortunately she hasn't yet been able to have her first bath like her sister, Hadley (below). Hadley loved her time in the tub and like her personality, was patient and  didn't cry once.

We've been blessed with so much help but I do find myself enjoying all the work that goes along with being a mother to our crazy clan. I don't mind the insanity and actually find it less work than when I was a new mother home with Elise. I finally had the opportunity to pick Elise up from school by myself. I was met with extra smiles and hugs since I had been missing out in this part of her life. It was worth all the work-- that's what raising children is all about... that you take time to appreciate little details to daily life. In the end, you are rewarded with love.

I friend recently told me this quote... and it is so very true:

"Yes my hands are full but so is my heart."