Valentines Babies, 2013!

[DragonflyWing]

The twins do have very similar profiles! They have identical noses, so they look a lot more similar from the side than the front (they have totally different eyes and mouths).

I just realized this morning that father's day is this weekend! I have no idea what to do for DH! He's SO hard to get gifts for, because he doesn't want anything. He actually dislikes receiving gifts, especially if I spend money on them. He doesn't even want time to himself...for his birthday in April, I offered to watch the babies while he went out and did whatever he wanted, and he said no. He preferred to be home with us, and apparently doesn't crave any alone time. I'm not sure what that's like, I always want to have some time alone!

Anyone have any suggestions for what I can get/do for him? What are you doing for Father's day?

 

[Kellen]

DH is working on Father's Day, but gets his birthday off next Friday. I am going to bake him a cheesecake. It is his favorite dessert and I don't make it for him very often. Other than that I have cards from both Teagen and I commemorating his first Father's Day. I will also be getting him a book on the Kindle that he's been talking about non-stop for the past week.

Wamommy - You have given Max an amazing gift by persevering this long. I don't know if I would have had the courage and strength to continue for as long as you have. If you are beginning to hate the pump and dread it then I would say go ahead and enjoy snuggles with your beautiful, healthy formula baby and dispense with the pain.

It was always our plan to donate our extra milk whenever Teagen began to wean herself. However, we did not plan to do it this early. But I'm on a FB group that allows mommies in need to post and ask for help with milk. I had seen a post by this lady earlier, but figured that someone else would be able to step up and if the need was still there later we would help. However, she posted twice yesterday and seemed to be becoming increasingly desperate. DH and I talked it over and decided that since we could help, we would.
Every day I feel so blessed that I am able to nurse Teagen. Each time she latches it seems like a minor miracle to me. My mom wasn't able to BF me due to issues with supply and no support, and it still bothers her to this day. Being able to see Teagen grow and flourish is nothing short of amazing. I feel blessed that this family is giving us the opportunity to contribute to their little girl's development.

Dragon - He doesn't want alone time? I agree with you... that would be the best gift of all.

 

[helena]

Kiara and I packing for her second trip to the UK to visit my fmily tomorrow. Hoping she screams less this time on board..

Feeling anxious about going back. As much as I can't wait to see everyone and show off the baby it is a stressful time, seeing mum so changed.
As sad as mum and dad may be right now I am sure Kiara will cheer them up though. She is so full of smiles now, no one can resist a baby grin and big wide eyes. We don't have to try hard at all to get her grinning now. I love that.

Since I am away ad DH will be at home with our boys, DH wil be getting very little for Father's Day...will probably buy him some of his favourite English chocolate and bring it back for him on Monday.

 

[Kim2012]

I usually read the posts. No time to reply or post. Today os the first day i have had to have some 'me time' since going back to work!!going back to work sucks!!!DH has the kids and am sitting here with my first glass of wine mmmm feels good. Feel normal again


Georgeous pic of babies!! They have grown to think we are already on the 4 th month since their births!!Briana's eczma is much better i bet having a bit of sun in the uk is helping as well.
Brianna has started on baby cereals and ... She loves it. I guess you can never overfeed an infant but i am alarmed at the way she is eating. She is growing chubbier by the day.....here she is

 

[wamommy]

I don't think we are doing anything special for Father's Day here either. My Mother's Day was pretty awful (thanks to DH) so I don't think he expects me to put on a big show. We'll probably go out to eat and I'll have the girls make him a card. Other than that, not much!

Thank you ladies for the support in quitting breastfeeding. I feel quite guilty about it, but also proud that we've come so far. I'm secretly more than a little excited to pack up the pump and put it in the closet

Helena, I hope your trip to see your Mom goes well. I know it's so terribly hard, but I hope Kiara is able to lighten the mood and bring everyone joy in a difficult time. It's great that you're able to go see her, though, because I'm sure it means the world to her.

Kim, glad to see you have some time to yourself to relax! Brianna isn't too chubby at all, I'd say just right So cute!

 

[helena]

Thanks wamommy. I am so nervous of how things will be..

Oh Brianna is adorable!

 

[Kellen]

Kim - She is such a cutie, and looks so very grown up. Hooray for a glass of wine and feeling normal. I am pleased to see and hear that she is doing so well.

Helena - I hope for your sake and Kiara's that the plane trip is less stressful. I am glad that you get to go visit your mom again. I can't even begin to fathom how terrible this separation must be.

We are having a bit of the dreaded 4 month sleep regression here the past two nights. Teagen has been much too busy during the day to nurse properly except during naps. I think she is also experiencing a growth spurt that is causing her to be more hungry at night. Two weeks ago we made the bed safe for co-sleeping so thankfully it isn't costing us too much sleep. Also her teeth seem to be a bother again. I wish the darn things would just pop through already.

At our 4 month check up our pediatrician told us to wait until 6 months to start introducing solids. Well, today Teagen thieved a large strawberry from my plate during lunch and started sucking on it. I think she's ready to be introduced to some real food. We're going to get the baby-safe mesh bags and let her chew/suck on some fresh fruits or veggies from the garden.

 

[wamommy]

Kellen, those mesh bags on a stick are amazing. We used it mostly for teething. Try a frozen banana inside!

 

[Kellen]

Awesome! It is on my to-do list tomorrow. Along with going to the Saturday morning growers market. I'll see if I can pick up some nice local fruits for her to nosh on.

 

[Kim2012]

Kellen we are having a combination of sleep regression, growth spurt and 4 mnth immunisations ahhhh its a recipe for disaster when it comes to sleep. I normally breastfeed only during the night but i have had to supplement with formula because she is using breast to soothe herself and she is on it the whole night. I have had to completely remove the dropside of the cotbed to make it better for night feeds

Helena hope your journey to see your mum isnt too stressful. Am sure Kiara will make cheerful moments with a smile. Just treasure those moments with her and your mum

 

[Kellen]

Last night was good. She slept from 8:30pm to 5:30am, and then again from 5:30am to 8:00am. I think the trick was DH had been putting her on her side because that is how he would pick her up from the bed, then she would accidentally flip onto her tummy, scare herself and wake up. So last night I positioned her hips so that if she rolled it would on to her back. Worked like a charm!

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Hi everyone. Have been reading back but not managed to reply! We have started weaning jade though shes having a ww grumpy weekend with teeth and what not xx

 

[DragonflyWing]

Dragon - He doesn't want alone time? I agree with you... that would be the best gift of all.

I know, isn't that weird? Especially since he always valued his alone time before the twins were born. I treasure every moment I have to myself, but I haven't gotten much lately because DH has even started following me into the bedroom to talk to me while I pump. Come on, DH, that's the only alone time I have!

We're having some sleep regression with Gunnar- For the past 2 months, he's been sleeping consistently 10-12 hours at night without waking. He goes to bed between 7 and 8, and usually wakes up around 7am. Lily goes to bed between 8 and 9, and usually wakes up at the same time as him.

For the past week or so, Gunnar has been waking up sometime between 4 and 5am, and he lays there moaning and yelling (not crying or upset at all). When we check on him, he's completely wide awake and wanting to play, and nothing we do can get him back to sleep. Eventually he takes a bottle, and goes back down for a long nap, but he's awake for an hour or more before he even wants to eat. The worst part is that he's so loud that he's been waking up Lily as well...and she's super pissed because she hates waking up before she's ready. So she's all cranky and whiny at the same time as he's bright eyed and smiley, thinking it's time to get up.

Silly DH keeps staying up to all hours of the night working on the computer, so he's usually still awake when Gunnar starts his shenanigans...which means DH gets no sleep AT ALL. This whole weekend, he felt like crap because he's been getting next to no sleep. I keep telling him that he needs to go to bed at the same time I do, so he's had at least 6 hours of sleep by the time the babies wake up...but he says he has too much work to do and he can't. He doesn't seem to understand that he's not going to get any work done at all if he's completely burned out.

On Sunday, Gunnar got up at 4:30am and woke up Lily with his "singing," and DH and I took turns trying to get them either back to sleep or quiet enough to give us a little more sleep ourselves...I ended up getting up at 6am (I hadn't gone to bed until 1am) because DH was so frazzled that he was almost yelling at the babies, which of course was making them even more upset. I sent DH to bed and he slept until 1pm! Happy Father's day

 

[wamommy]

I'm sorry to hear there's some sleep regression going on! At least it's supposed to last only a couple of weeks, right? I hope so, for you guys' sake. It sounds like Teagen is coming out of it, and hopefully Gunnar follows suit!

Max is on a schedule that (for me) is pretty good right now. He goes to sleep around 9pm and sleeps until 1:00am when he wakes up for an hour to play before eating and going back to bed. He sleeps again until 4am, eats and goes back to sleep. He wakes for the day at 6am. DH takes him at 8am so I can go back to bed for an hour or 2. If I actually went to bed at 10pm I would get way more sleep! Like your DH, DragonflyWing, I treasure that quiet night time when all of the kids are asleep, since it's the only time I can get anything done. I tend to stay up WAY too late (1-2am), and then wonder why I'm so tired

Midnight_fairy, glad to see you're doing well Another teether? Poor Jade. I hope it passes quickly!

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Sleep regression here too. Bahh!

 

[DragonflyWing]

I have mastitis again

It's in the exact same place as last time, and it's only been 2 weeks since I finished the antibiotics, so I'm thinking the original infection wasn't entirely eliminated. Woke up in the middle of the night with a fever, major pain and tenderness in the breast, and terrible body aches. I took some ibuprofen, which must have broken the fever, because I woke up again, this time completely drenched in sweat. I had to get up and change the sheets, pillowcases, and my nightgown because it was all soaked. Gross.

Now I'm going to have to take more time off work to go to the doctor

In happier news- the twins are 6 months old today!

 

[SierraJourney]

Oh Dragon! I'm sorry! That's awful! Can't the dr just call in the antibiotic for you so you don't have to take off work? My dr will do that sometimes. I hope it gets better soon!!

Happy half birthday Lily and Gunner!

 

[wamommy]

I'm so sorry about the mastitis, Dragon I hope the Dr can just call it in. What a pain!

Happy 6 months, Lily and Gunnar! Wow, how time flies!!!

I'm going to cut off my hair. I'm really going to do it this time. I'm not going to chicken out!! I'm going shoulder length and cutting long, side-swept bangs. I'm terrified. I've had hair almost to my waist for a few years now. When I was 21 I went on a tv show where they did a makeover and cut my hair shoulder-length. Looking back, it was so much more flattering! I've been hiding behind my hair for way too long. Is it terribly obvious that I'm still trying to talk myself into it?

 

[helena]

Go for it wamommy!! I bet shorter will be slightly more glam.

I am continuously cutting and regrowng my hair alternately. Snce i was about 20. Lol. i just cant find my true style.
am currently in the re growing phase. Mine isn't even down to my shoulders, its a short ish bob.

I want a before and after pic please

 

[DragonflyWing]

Thanks ladies. The doctor wouldn't call in a prescription because she was afraid I had developed an abscess, or that I had a resistant form of bacteria. This time is quite a bit worse than last time; my fever shot up to 102, and the red area of my breast was twice as big (14cm across). The doctor gave me an antibiotic injection, which hurt like hell... and I have to go back tomorrow to make sure it's improving. If not, I may need IV antibiotics. Meanwhile, I'm just laying in bed because I'm too weak to do much. *sigh*