cha-cha-cha-cha-cha changes!

"one year" has brought on tremendous transition with our silverboys. it's been happening for the past month now, but seems to keep picking up speed as they move past the 12 month mark. if your first birthday isn't a big enough milestone, why not just go ahead and throw in walking, moving to one nap, and weaning yourself off the boob?!

let's start with breastfeeding. first of all, HOLY CRAP! i've actually, officially, nursed these guys for 12 months. i NEVER thought i would get to this point. geez, there were times i barely thought i would get to 3 months. but as most of you know who read this blog, we found a way to work through our challenges and breastfeeding became a fantastic thing for us. it's really been a team effort. i've almost exclusively tandem fed these guys, and most of our really amazing intimate moments have happened in these close quarters. i can remember when the guys would run their fingers over each other's faces, giggling mid gulps, then reach up to touch my face. after nursing, one of their favorite things to do was to grab my hands (one for each boy - perfect!) and study my palm, then flip my hand to the back side, then flip it to my palm again, and then start laughing hysterically. the marvels of "the other side!" breastfeeding has served us well, and maybe served me even better than them. i have to say it's been a great "tool" to have in my back pocket through these past 12 months. when things got real hairy, and i just didn't know what to do, nursing them would always seem to do the trick. well, times have changed.

over the past month we've scaled back to three feedings. first thing in the morning and then after each nap. the day sessions have, for lack of a better word, "deteriorated" in a major way this past week. so much so we're down to 1.5 feedings now - meaning abel is still willing to nurse for about 90 seconds during the day. oz just can't be bothered, and as soon as abie sees ozzy running around playing with toys, he begs to join him. so in a very short time, we've gone from three squares a day to one. it's a good thing the boys really like their sippy cups and have gladly accepted plain soy milk (we're not doing the bovine thing). so far, so good. and the boys are clearly NOT undernourished. so really, i think this transition is more about me. in the back of my mind, i guess i kinda hoped the boys would continue to nurse a few times a day, especially since we decided not to do regular milk. but now that i'm faced with the boys weaning themselves, i have to quickly process all of this. the hardest part so far is seeing the boys literally squirm away when i position them on the enormous nursing pillow. something that used to be so welcoming to them, such a comfort, is now a major disturbance and cramp in their style. and that comfort is attached to ME! so tomorrow, all we'll do is the first morning feed, which continues to be a good thing for everyone, but i think we'll phase it out over the next few weeks (and hopefully not dramatically sooner), as my body and mind continue to adjust to this huge change. and, of course, i am thrilled with the prospect of getting that massive pillow out of our living room, wearing bras again, and banishing those darn nursing tops with a bazillion internal straps and openings. the one thing i'm not so thrilled about is having to cut out that nightly ice cream (among other calories)!

onto naps. today was the first time in, say, three weeks that the boys took two naps. we've rapidly gone from two wonderful 1.5 hour stretches (minimum), to one measly 45 minute nap...if i'm lucky. granted, the boys have recently started walking, and both are getting another round of teeth (abel has one popping as we speak and two more in the works). so there's a lot going on that can interfere with good day zzzzs. but i'm increasingly wondering if the boys are telling me they need to transition to one nap. this has been a major source of frustration for me, maybe because these two nice naps have always been my respite during the day. a time when i cleaned up, prepared food for them and me, took a shower, did laundry, blogged, and if really efficient, rested for a few minutes. as the boys gab, poop, jump and scream (w/ delight and sometimes not-so-much-delight)...anything but sleep...i have started to get impatient and even angry sometimes. i HATE feeling like that towards my guys, as any parent would, especially because i know so much is going on with them. so i'm working on it. as well as a transition strategy to one, long nap. haven't figured it out yet, but i'm reading about dawn's experiences over at the joys of twins with great interest! and if anyone has any suggestions...i will be eternally grateful.

to end the post on a high note, the boys are both transitioning to being on their own two feet. it's beyond exciting and possibly the cutest thing i've ever witnessed! oz took his first steps about two weeks ago and is getting more confident by the day. he's now somewhere in between walking and crawling to do the things he wants. if it's within 10 steps, he'll walk. anything longer than that and he's all about the speed crawl. he LOVES to be on his feet though, so i imagine that this transition will go pretty fast. he's such a little drunken sailor walking around - i love it! and abie is making good progress from his first steps just a few days ago. he has this great way of studying oz and figuring out what works and doesn't, then whipping out his version in a much more proficient way than his bro. when he walks, he is so solid and purposeful. i promise i'll get some video and post that soon.

this one year mark, amidst all the change, has been some of the funnest times i can remember. the boys keep us laughing and smiling all day long with their antics, silliness and cuddles. our little brute, oz-man, has developed such a soft side. he'll stop whatever he's doing to crawl as fast as he can over to us, climb into our lap/onto our chest, and snuggle into us for a minute, and then he's off again! and abie dances his butt off all day long and is just the gentlest being i have ever met - he still strokes my face with the sweetest smile, and loves to pet matilda with the softest, most respectful touch. we love these boys with every inch of our soul and thank god, every single day (multiple times), that abie and ozzy are in our lives!

sleep update update

j and i toasted to ferber tonight. it's that good. last night and tonight the boys went down with ease. not a peep from ozzy both nights and he was sound asleep within minutes. abie fussed for a few minutes, which turned into talking for a minute, which turned into sleep. 5 minutes tops for both of them to reach dreamland. since we started doing this, the boys are eating like champs and napping better. my breastfeeding challenges from the past few weeks have all but vanished and they are back to tandem nursing. they aren't even spitting up as much! it makes me think that all along they may have been sleep deprived.

we love sleeping babies!!!

three month turn

we can't believe the boys turned three months old last friday. i never quite understood the cliche, "how time flies" until we had these boys. it has truly been a glorious whirlwind and i can't wait for the next 3 months.

the boys are now 10 lbs. we had a bit of growing "pains" over the past month where ozzy put on very little weight. we have it under control now and he's back on track. two weeks ago, abel had him beat by 6 oz. now, he's upped abel by an once. i have a feeling this is only the beginning of many competitions between the two!

feeding has been our biggest challenge to date. i'm nursing them still, but they're just not getting/taking in enough. so we're supplementing a few times a day with either pumped milk or formula, depending on what we have on hand. i've made it my goal to breastfeed these guys until 6 months, and after that, all bets are off. i feel very ambivalent to breastfeeding these days. sometimes i love it and i feel an incredible intimacy with them during. other times i just don't think i can do it anymore.

sleeping is where most babies/parents struggle, but this is one department where the boys really shine. they've been sleeping 5-6 hour stretches since they were 8 weeks old and it just keeps getting better and better. they switch off who can sleep the longest, many times going for 7 hours!!! we struggled with when to stop swaddeling them, and finally kicked it about a week ago. the first two nights were tough, and thank god we had my best friend and her boyfriend in town, as they helped out tremendously. the boys just didn't know what to do with their arms, after sleeping the past 3 months with them burrito-ized. they would flail about doing crazy kung fu arm thrusts and wake themselves up every few minutes. by the third night, though, they were used to it and back to sleeping like champs. now they snooze in sweet little sleep sacks, which keep them cozy warm without the risk of a blanket. we just now instituted a bedtime ritual consisting of a bath, massage, a few books (which they usually sleep through), and then a bottle of either breast milk or formula. they usually zonk out before we even feed them (typically around 9pm), so we are going to move up their bedtime to an earlier hour and hopefully it will all make more sense. it's funny doing this whole routine that is intented to get a baby to fall asleep with two babies who crash out right after the bath!

the boys are also great companions to go out with. we try and get out every day, either to run errands or visit friends, or just to go for a walk. we also take them out to eat with us all the time. j and i enjoyed a lovely dinner at the south congress cafe on friday night and the boys just snoozed away next to us in the booth. we are also part of a new moms/babies class every friday morning. there are about 7 moms and babies and we sing songs, swap stories and talk about the joys and challenges of being a new mom. i love being part of this group and it makes it so much easier to soothe a fussy baby (or two!) when you are with a community of other moms and babies. i just don't understand why we have this culture of "doing it alone" here in the states.

the boys are doing all the typical 3 mo. stuff like clasping their hands, grapping-swatting-smiling at their toys, drooling a lot, putting things in their mouths, making lots of noises, laughing and smiling at every thing, etc. they're also doing some atypical stuff like consistently rolling over from tummy to back, mastering a pretty mean cobra and upward dog, wiggling their way arcoss the mat on their bellies, and being able to do awesome leg squats. these boys continue to be the scrappiest boys around.