Valentines Babies, 2013!

[wamommy]

Oh no, Kellen! I'm so sorry about your ankle! How are you doing getting around with Teagen and a cast? NOT FUN!

Max has started in with the "No" big time. Tonight at dinner he threw an entire spoon full of food across the table and yelled, "no beans!" Sigh... What's funny is he also says "stuck" a lot. He's constantly trying to take everything apart, and if it won't come apart it's stuck. He does another weird thing. A long time ago he hurt his toe and it was his first experience of pain. Now whenever he gets hurt he says, "Mama!! My toe!" even if it's his head that got bonked.

 

[DragonflyWing]

That's funny! The twins first experience with pain was an earache, and now anytimes something hurts, they point to their ears and say "hurt!"

It makes it challenging to figure out what actually hurts!

Kellen, what awful luck with your ankle! Do you have to wear a cast?

 

[Kellen]

No cast for me. I have a reinforced brace that I wear whenever I am not sleeping. It hurts, but it isn't bad enough for surgery. There will always be a little piece of bone floating on the top of my foot. Lovely...

Teagen is obsessed with owies too, but she is more fixated on the fact that I had a sore on the inside of my lip than any owie she has ever had. I think it might be because she had to have so many heel pricks as a newborn.

All weekend whenever I would ask Teagen: "How old are you?" She would turn, smile at me and say: "THREE!" Lol, silly girl no growing up so fast. Finally I got it to where she will hold up one finger and say: "One." However, she is not as enthused about being 1 as she was about being 3.

 

[DragonflyWing]

Happy Halloween!





(Lily just wanted to hug and kiss the monkey hat! )

 

[Kellen]

What precious babies, Dragon. Lily is beautiful and Gunnar looks like he is all boy! What a stunning pair.

We don't typically do Halloween, but all the Downtown Merchants open their doors from 4-6 for the little kids to come by and get candy. So my grandmother wanted candy.... So I allowed her to take Teagen in the stroller and slapped my work polo on Teagen, gave her her stuffed puppy and a brush and said: TADA! She's a groomer! She came back with bubbles and was quite happy. I love my grandmother, but she is 89 so I felt that the stroller was a safer option than allowing her to just hold Teagen's hand and walk. Normally she walks with a cane for stability so I didn't want Teagen knocking her down.

We just found out yesterday that Teagen's dog has a potential heart murmer. What this means is that when it fully manifests we have around 18 months before she passes away. I'm kind of having a hard time with this because I know how absolutely devastated Teagen will be. This dog loves her beyond all else. On Wednesday we brought the dog to the shop for a bath. When Teagen laid down for a nap Sis refused to leave. About an hour into the nap Teagen rolled off the bed, but Sis had positioned herself as a slide and Teagen barely woke up and ended up taking a 3 hour nap. It was amazing. Then, this morning, Teagen was fussing (after sleeping for 12.5 hours... YES!) so Sis ran up to her room and snuggled her until I hobbled up the stairs.

But in other news Teagen and I have airline tickets to Texas for Thanksgiving. We also have a reservation for a rental car so I don't go crazy. Given I have no idea where I am going, but I have GPS on my phone. We will find things to do and other people to see...

 

[wamommy]

What gorgeous babies, Dragon! I love the pic of Lily with the monkey hat. Too cute! I agree that Lily looks so much like a little lady and Gunnar is growing up into such a handsome boy!

Kellen, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. She sounds like an amazing member of your family. We have cats (who are NOWHERE near as wonderful with my kids as Sis is with Teagen) and I worry that someday they'll get sick and I'll have to explain some really large concepts to some really innocent little creatures. I've already dealt with my 4-year-old's obsession with dying. She actually asked me once, "Mommy, how many birthdays do I have left?" Yikes...

We had a great Halloween, if not a little crazy. I went in to my daughters' school and volunteered at each of their classes' Halloween parties. I was at the cookie decorating station in Kindergarten and the popcorn-filled-glove station at the 1st grade party. I have SO MUCH respect for anyone who teaches young kids. I couldn't do it. I was exhausted after only 2 hours! We also went Trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Luca slept in his carrier and Max was in a hiking back pack on his Dad's back. He was able to say, "Teat-a-teat!!" and collected an amazing amount of candy. The girls would have gone all night but luckily the buckets got full and we came home, ate pizza and watched a bit of Halloween Dora, and crashed out. We did get the "BEST HALLOWEEN EVER!!!" exclamation from the girls, so I think it was a good day.

 

[SierraJourney]

Hi ladies! Quick question,.... have you transitioned your lo to a blanket and pillow in bed? We're still using sleepsacks and I'm worried about transitioning...I'm not sure when to and also, he hates it when we cover him with a blanket on the couch or anything. ..just never has an interest in one. Pretty soon the sleepsacKS will be too small though! What do you do?

Hope all is well!!

 

[Kellen]

Teagen is wearing nightgowns to bed and she loves them... However, I have to keep the heat on 73* at night because she too HATES to be covered. Tonight she is sleeping with a pillow for the first time because her nose is so stuffy she can hardly breathe. I managed to convince her that being propped up on her daddy's pillow will give her sweet dreams. But the covers are a mystery...

 

[SierraJourney]

Aww maybe they don't like being inhibited or something? Yikes on the heat! What we do for our babe's
!

 

[wamommy]

Max hates blankets, too! Weird. He kicks them off and freaks out. Right now he starts out in his crib and I sneak a blanket onto him once he's asleep. At somewhere between midnight and 2am he wakes up and comes to my bed, where he sleeps next to me the rest of the night. I think I probably radiate SOME heat, but maybe he just doesn't mind the cold? Our bedroom is only 67 degrees, and Max wears a thick sleepers (with the feet). No pillow yet!

How is everyone doing?

 

[DragonflyWing]

We've been using blankets for a long time...Gunnar usually kicks his off sometime during the night, but Lily loves her blanket. She actually drags a blanket around the house with her so she can lie down on it when she gets tired . Gunnar doesn't sleep with a pillow at night, but sometimes he naps on the couch with one. Lily occasionally asks for a pillow at night, and I give her a firm throw pillow that she can't smother on. I think the risk of smothering is very low now even with a normal pillow, but I still worry.

Anyone else having a growth spurt right now? I think we are...the twins are eating much more often than normal, and their sleep is awful. They haven't been going to bed until around 11pm most nights over the past week, and several times they woke up in the night and were up for hours. Lily slept the whole night in my bed last night because she absolutely refused to go in the crib. I hope whatever it is resolves soon, because I'm exhausted enough as it is!

I had my last OB appointment today, only 1 week until my c-section!! Baby is already measuring 8.5lbs, what a chubster!

 

[helena]

Hi girls!! It feels like it's been ages.

We are still using a sleeping bag too. I plan to stay that way until maybe next summer. Here they sell them for up to age 3 or more so there is no hurry. I do use blankets at nap time though, and she is fine with i, but they never stay over her. Might be a good way to transition, using the blanket at nap time first?

Oh dragon, not long to go, do you feel ready!? Do we ever!?

My diet is still on track, have now lost a stone so am very happy

Hugs all round. Xxx

 

[wamommy]

Well done, Helena!! I bet you look more fab than ever.

Round 2 of the flu came barreling through our house and I'm finally starting to recover. I am truly a zombie.

Max is speaking in full sentences now. It's so funny! He was kind of behind with talking and walking, but now he's having the most fun language explosion. He says things like, "I want a baba, too!" Or "Nina hurt my eye." It's really amazing to watch. This is such a fun age!

How is everyone doing? Dragon, is he here?? I'm so excited to find out his name and if he looks like the twins.

Hugs all around, ladies.

 

[helena]

I came on to find out about dragon and baby dragon too! Any news?..... X x x

 

[wamommy]

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

[helena]

Dragon???

Hoping all is ok and you are no doubt super duper busy busy busy. Thinking of you!!!
Xxx

 

[Kellen]

Never go to in-laws again. Toddler with food poisoning is no fun. I am a zombie too. Thankfully DH comes home in 13 days...

Dragon? Baby? Sending thoughts your way!

 

[SierraJourney]

Kellan, we came back with the flu from thanksgiving too... so far, 3 days of vomiting and other such nastiness. .. :/ hope you are surviving okay. Miss you all. Can't wait to hear from Dragon!

 

[Kellen]

Epic food poisoning at it's worst. Thankfully it wasn't the flu, just yuckies that Teagen had eaten from something. However, now, she is in peril of being murdered by me. She feels so much better that she can't keep her hands off of anything. It is driving me crazy!

Thankfully she is feeling better and is currently down for a nap. Her language is also exploding! Now she is signing and talking together. It is helpful as some of her words sound identical to other words, but the signs tell another story! Her new word for milk is "gukk." Mommee! Gukk! Guuuuuuk! Pease?

 

[DragonflyWing]

I'm so sorry for not coming on to update! I haven't had a single spare moment.

Anson Magnus was born on November 17th at 7:56am by scheduled c-section. He was 7lb12oz and 20.5 inches long, and in perfect health . He was wedged in my pelvis, though, and they had to use a vacuum to pull him out. He had a big bruise on his head for the first couple days...I didn't even know that could happen with a c-section!

We came home from the hospital on 11/20, and breastfeeding is going well. He initially lost 11% of his weight, and the doctor at the hospital insisted that we supplement with formula after each feeding, but as soon as my milk came in fully, he started growing in leaps and bounds. He regained his birth weight by 8 days old, and as of his 2 week appointment yesterday, he's already 8lb11oz!

He does most of his cluster feeding in the middle of the night, which wouldn't be so bad if I was able to nap with him during the day. However, with the twins, that's nearly impossible...so I'm pretty sleep deprived. DH is as well, and is currently down with a migraine triggered by too little sleep. By some miracle, all three kids are asleep right now, and I managed to get online for a few minutes while I shovel some food down my throat.

As for me, my recovery is going well. I was up and walking around about 8 hours after surgery, and it seems like my mobility came back much faster this time around. Yesterday I took the baby to his 2 week appointment, and I must have overdid it a little (it was the first time I'd been out of the house since we came home), because I was quite sore last night and this morning, but I think it's getting better now.

One funny thing I noticed...while I was on the strong pain killers, taking care of the baby seemed really easy. I didn't mind being up in the night with him, I didn't mind the twins swarming all over me, I didn't mind the cluster feeding. I felt really relaxed and maternal and extra affectionate toward all three kids as well as DH. As soon as I stopped the medication, though, things seemed to get a LOT harder lol. I didn't have that warm haze over everything anymore, and it all seemed really harsh. I'm still having a hard time with nights...cluster feeding in the middle of the night is really lonely and boring and bleak. All I want is to go back to sleep, but the baby wants to eat eat eat, and I have nothing to do and no one to talk to. I have to be quiet and sit in the dark so I don't wake anyone else up.

I'd like to figure out a way to nurse one handed so I can at least read a book or play on my phone. As it is now, my only option is TV, and that doesn't work at night because our only TV is in the room where DH is asleep.

Last but not least, pictures! Here are a few: just a few hours old, me and the baby, the day after he came home in his little santa hat, and just this evening in his default pose. This was his position in every ultrasound, and the reason we could never get a good picture of his face...he always had his hands up in front!