Ok, I am writing this summary almost 2 months late so I have to think really hard to remember back that far. Life is flying by! I feel like with Jace we were so excited to take new steps such as starting cereal, bring out new toys, etc. With these boys I am a bit sad by new advances because it shows how fast time is going by. Well, I will admit, I dreaded starting solid food a little because of the mess and time it takes to feed them but mostly, it is just another milestone that is zooming by. I was also a little sad as I packed up their outgrown clothes, because I know it was the last time we will have used those items. I am trying hard to just enjoy every minute and continue to be so grateful to God for these amazing gifts. Often at work, I am caught off guard by how small and fragile they could have been. The babies hitting 3 months meant that I had been out of the hospital the same length of time I was on antepartum. Looking back, I know God had really prepared me for my “life vacation”. I had gotten in good shape in terms of baby needs and getting Jace moved into his big boy room the week before I was admitted. I did start back to work at the end of April, just part time. My grams was able to come out to keep the boys while Stuart finished up his spring semester and worked nights. Of course I missed being at home all day with my boys, but it was good to get back into normal life again. I am definitely a better NICU therapist now with a different perspective on things after being the patient for so long.
Jace’s personality really developed over this month as he was able to express himself better. He started playing with his toys again, after abandoning them for the new and interesting baby toys last month. He carried Elmo around with him, calling him his “son”. Elmo had to have a plate at the table, a bottle and a diaper change regularly. Elmo even got spankings when he was bad. Jace, with his 2 year old attitude, got many threats of spankings and was even introduced to the “spanking spoon”, although he really could have cared less about spankings so that didn’t work so well. He also got brave enough to get out of bed in the middle of the night and began sneaking up into our bed without us knowing. Stuart often wakes up with a foot in his back or face. We tried potty training but the best result of that was when Jace pooped about 6 inches from the potty. He just is really not interested so we are sticking with diapers. This month he did get very picky about diapers and would continue to go through a whole pack to pull out the Elmo diapers. He has used his improving verbal skills to tell us what he wants. Some of my favorites are: “Stuart, fix it”, “Be nice to Jace”, and when he laid down on the gym entry mat and said “change Jace now”. He still isn’t the clearest with his speech and calls a banana a “bach mana” and nine is more like “nowine”. He still talks about himself in the third person and loves to spell words on shirts or signs. He has an amazing sense of direction, definitely a skill he did not get from me. He points out landmarks like school, the gym, and our friend’s street. I am afraid he has borderline unintentional kleptomaniac tendencies when we are shopping. He is very good about hanging onto the stroller, but when I turn my back he starts stuffing things into the basket. My biggest fear is accidentally not paying for something. He is still very good with his babies and loves to help give them a bath or play with them. His lovie, Horsey, was looking pretty ragged so I bought him a new one, which he looked at and said “no like new horsey”. So we still drag around the old, dirty one. And I think I have the only kid in the world who brings you the nose sucker when he congested. We sure love that kid!!
In terms of the twins, first off, God bless Pampers Drymax diapers. They are amazing and have truly cut back on leaks and diaper changes!! The little boys have also been full of personality. They have both stared batting at toys and smiling (Cole with a big dimple on his right side). I think Cole may be teething because of his constant gnawing on things. He is always on the move, whereas Lane sits so still and sleeps a lot more. At this point they were both sleeping opposite lengthways on their tummies in a crib in our room, though they pretty much filled it up. But… at least they spend most nights in the crib versus our bed. We can’t really use the lack of sleep excuse anymore, as both babies are sleeping from to . Cole loves to push up on his hands and we catch him raising up to watch TV- bad habits form so early!! We call Cole “the squeaky wheel” because he definitely tells you when he wants attention and thus seems to get it more often. However, he may also be left to fuss more than Lane because poor Lane rarely cries and when he does it is a softer, sadder cry versus Cole’s screaming. I usually call Lane “little Lane”, though he is by no means little. He is over 14 pounds and Cole is over 15 pounds. We also interchangeably call them “this one” or “that one”. Lane has been fascinated by his fist and will grab a hold of his monkey paci and play with it. Both boys did get to go to their first movie and did wonderfully, minus the slurping sounds they made when drinking a bottle. However, I think other guests would take that over crying!
After 2 complicated pregnancies, and currently on bedrest, I wanted to start this blog to document our journey through infertility, pregnancy and parenthood.
I enjoyed the update!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures Annalisa! You are getting better with my camera!
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