poo stinks!!!

i know, i state the obvious. but i'm at my wits end and so i must vent. the crapiness has been going on for months now, but i've withheld writing about it because, well, it's an overdone subject. but i just can't hold it in any longer.

i believe my boys, one (abel) in particular, strategically poos. meaning that we have a poo at every nap. every. single. one. and most of the time, he poos within minutes of me laying him down. yesterday he pooed twice in one 45-minute period. there have been naps where he's pooed four times, i kid you not. and it doesn't matter what time i put him down. oh trust me, i've tried that. i've varied the kid's nap time all over the map. the poo never fails. i've tried feeding them at different times. i've tried prunes to entice some movement before the nap to no avail.

it's driving me bonkers. what can i do? i'm contemplating not changing it so he learns that it's not a way to get me to come in. but then i think of the rash-repercussions and i cringe. he's got one sensitive tush, if you know what i mean. he knows he's got me beat.

he's a clever one, that abie. at six months he figured out the art of diversion. when oz would steal his toy, he'd look for the nearest, coolest object, start playing with it, oz would then steal that one, and...wallah! he'd have his original toy back. but i'm smarter than that! i can figure out this catch twenty-poo!

okay, so maybe he's smarter than me. but he can't be smarter than the collective wisdom and experience of the world wide web. so i implore you, dear readers, for some advice. what's a poo (i mean girl) to do?


the poopetrator flees the scene of the crime

trendsetters

this morning we all woke up to the news that j lo gave birth to twins. you actually couldn't avoid it. it was the headline on yahoo, for cripes sake. you'd think royalty had just arrived. well maybe that's true - the heir and heiress of pop culture?

the ridiculous media frenzy aside, i actually took some interest in this story. first off, i noticed that j lo's twins were born about 10 minutes apart, indicating a vaginal birth. way to go, girl! c-sections are so common with twins (and for some very good and necessary reasons), some doctors won't even deliver twins the good ol' fashioned way. in an era when celebs, and many others, elect for a surgical delivery (and most of those are single births), it's refreshing to see that j lo was able to choose a vaginal birth. or so i assume...after all, with my boys being born 71 minutes apart, you'd think they were both born vaginally. i got the best of both worlds (or so i've convinced myself)!

but even more interesting than how j lo delivered these bundles, is that having twins is, for better of for worse, becoming trendy. rumor headlines run rampant, "brangelina having twins!" (or better yet triplets!); "jessica alba preggo with two!" the list goes on and on. whether these rumors are founded on any actual fact is beyond my psychic abilities. but they're obviously founded on the media's knowledge that the public DEVOURS anything regarding multiple births. and celebrities aren't immune to the larger statistical picture that says there are more twin and multiple births now more then ever before.

so what will come from the "trendiness" of twins? maybe some relief from all the ludicrous comments from our adoring public (ahem, double trouble, you've got your hands full, better you than me, etc.)? i doubt it. or maybe all the twin celebrity parents will rally behind us in lobbying congress for an annual "bonus" for families with multiples? i double doubt it.

shopping for immunity

no, this is not some weird twist to the new survivor: fans and favorites. this is about how we've made it priorito numero uno to whip our defenses against sickness into shape. pronto.

you see, we're been pretty germ friendly around here. once we made it past the first month and out of the psychotic wash-your-hands-every-20-minutes-and-sterilize-everything-phase, i have to admit we've been sorely lax on the anti-germ front. binkies go back in the mouth after dropping on the floor, hands don't always get washed before meals, we let people touch the boys when we're out in public, the list goes on and on.

however, after the recent RSV attack and the major cramp it put in our style, we're thinking twice about how hospitable we are to those pesky germs. i know illness is inevitable, but i also know that we don't do diddley to try and prevent it. and that goes for j and i, too. what was i thinking eating yogurt from the same spoon as my kids who have snot coming out of their eyes (i know, it was really gross)! i had some perverse notion that i was immune to whatever ailed them. and guess who laughed in my face.

so what's a girl to do? go shopping for immunity! and even better...go to costco! here's what was on our list:

4 pack of clorox disinfectant wipes
anti-viral kleenex
3 pack of lysol
immune defense emergen-c
komboocha green tea (yogi brand)
probiotics (jarrow brand for the lads)
and, the all important vitamins (i know, i'm a mega slacker and have been off my prenatal for, hmmm, 6 months now. bad mama.)

i was a little worried after all these great germ-killer/illness-preventers sat on the counter for a week. did we have it in us? could we change our ways? after some thought and discussion, i'm proud to say we've initiated an implementation plan. i transfered the industrial-sized roll of wipes to a slim travel wipes case for the diaper bag. better yet, this weekend i even used them. twice! once at the playground where i wiped down the "tree house" that the boys play all over. i could feel the parents staring at me like i was some kind of freak. i felt like a freak, too, however i felt better knowing that i was preventing a future outbreak of flu in my home. the second time came tonight at ikea where we wiped down the carts, the table and the highchairs. i boldly wiped this time and felt less freakish and more empowered. i think i'm really going to get into this (as i sip my emergen-c while writing this)!

project germ slash-and-burn underway! now watch, the boys will wake up tomorrow morning puking in their cribs.

launch!

i'm so excited to announce that there's a new website in town for twin parents (and higher order multiples, too)! here's a blurb from the site:

How do you do it? is a website for some of us to share what we’ve figured out (or what we haven’t). We invite you to read along, make comments (we love to know someone’s reading!), ask questions. We’ll have weekly features, including product reviews, food talk, and an ask-the-moms segment. Please feel free to visit our features page and use the comments to ask your questions, and we’ll address any topics we can. Our goal is to have something new for you to read nearly every day, so check back often and bring your friends!

i'll be a regular weekly contributor to the blog, and you'll see many of my blog friends posting too, including adventures of carrie, goddess and two are better! i have to give major snaps to goddess, as this whole venture was her idea and she got us all together and set up the site. you'd think with us all having twins of varying ages, this type of launch would take a while. no sir-ee! it was all of two weeks from a "test the waters" email to up-and-running...seriously impressive!

visit often and ENJOY!

perfect winter day

table manners

we're back, baby!

as you can tell by the photos just taken, the boys are back to their fun, happy (but still with lots of boogers and coughs) selves. thank god, because lee-lee flew back home to chicago last night. she got us back on our feet in a major way, for which i am eternally grateful. oh, and i'm even feeling better, too!

on another note, the blog has become incredibly useful for feeding my wonderful, handsome, attentive and very generous husband great gift ideas. yours truly received the sigma 30mm/1.4f lens she wanted for a very special valentine's day gift. so fantastic, as you can tell by the photos above! looking forward to posting lots now that we are all back up and running.

hugs and kisses

happy valentine's day!

with love,

matilda

i want my mommy!

there's been plenty of that sentiment expressed in our house lately, with the boys being sick and all. but after four days of caring for our ill babes with jordan, with none of us seemingly that much improved, i found myself wanting and needing my mom more and more.

it's tough when your family lives far away. in moments like these, i've realized why people make it such a priority to stay in their "hometown," close to a network of family and friends who can be there in a moment's notice to help with the hard times. you take it for granted how important this is until you hit a major glitch, and no matter how hard you try, those glitches happen.

and so it was on sunday when i called my mom in chicago, on the verge of tears, with a healthy dose of snot about to pour out..."mom, i need you." and that was all that needed to be said. eight hours later, at midnight, she arrived in austin.

jordan picked her up from the airport and somehow i managed to be sleeping when she came in. i think the double dose of nyquil finally gave me enough relief to rest, which i desperately needed. we awoke the next morning at 7am to the sounds of talking and laughter in the boys room - sweet, sweet sounds given what we had been hearing for many days. i almost thought i was still sleeping. could the boys be back to their usual morning gab fest with each other? we put on our robes and walked to the nursery to find abie, ozzy and my mom sitting in a circle playing with the stacking ring and reading a book. there were smiles all around. and those smiles were huge!

having my mom, and the boys' grandma, in our house yesterday was like a shot of relief i haven't felt in a long time. peace and calm were restored. we all felt better, instantly. you could tell the boys were sick, but man, were they excited to have their lee-lee back. you can tell they love her that much.

i managed to get a doctor's appointment for myself that afternoon and jordan came home to help my mom with the boys. when i came home 2 hours later, i found everyone in the living room playing contentedly. jordan looked at me with utter bewilderment and said, "it's like they have never been sick. they have been happy as clams this whole time." they proceeded to eat more for dinner then all the food combined over the past 5 days.

i hope that the boys have finally turned a corner. sure, they are still congested and coughing like crazy, but i so hope the misery is over. and sure, you can say that my mom came just in time to see them turn that corner. but i choose to believe something different. something more powerful and innate about what a mother, and now a grandmother, brings to a home.

i think this past day has taught me, in more ways than what i've experienced this past year, what it means to be a mother. that no matter what happens, no matter how old i am, i always have my mom. she will always be here for me. and feeling her embrace, no matter how old i get, is one of the best feelings on earth.

sick baby/sick baby/sick mama

the boys have RSV. i know, it SUCKS! we brought them to the doc today after three miserable days and oz just getting worse and worse. abie is just at the start of it, oz is knee deep. in addition to RSV, oz has an ear infection and conjunctivitis. abie has the start of an ear infection. so they're on antibiotics, eye drops and motrin. and we got a nebulizer just in case breathing becomes labored (pray that it doesn't). i'm sure i have the adult version of RSV, which consists of a bad-ass cold. all i can say is "thank god for jordan." he's left work early the past two days and today went in at 6:30am so he could be home by 9am to help with the boys. i honestly don't know how moms or dads (or other caregivers) attend to two sick children at once.

it seems like there are a lot of sick twins out in blog land right now...i hope everyone's kiddos get better - STAT!

baby fish mouth

oz-man loves to make fish face. it's his new favorite expression when
he's trying hard to do something.

well baby/sick baby

we had the boys' one year well baby exam this morning, and unfortunately oz attended as a sicky. he got jordan's yucky cold, which around here they call the strain "the crud." it starts with a cough (that doesn't quit) and progresses to a head cold. fun. back to the stats, though.

abel weighs 21 lb 4oz, is 29 inches tall and head size is 46.5
oskar weighs 20 lb 15 oz, is 29 inches tall and head size is 46

they both look great! our doctor is very progressive when it comes to giving vaccinations, and with oz being sick and the threat of abie catching it, we all decided it best to wait. we'll do a round at 15 mo. and another at 18 mo. (which will include the MMR, which he waits until 18 mo. anyways to bypass the whole MMR/autism controversy).

poor oz-man, the doc wanted to check for strep and bacterium because his fever was over 102 and he had a red throat. everything came back negative, so it's just an old fashioned cold, which we knew anyway. i appreciate how concerned our doc is and wanting to rule things out, but when you've got a miserable kid with snot running down his face, the last thing you want to do is prick his finger, draw blood, and then stick a q-tip down his throat! let's just say i couldn't tell where the tears ended and the snot began. keep your fingers crossed that this passes quickly for oz and that abie (and mom) weathers the storm unscathed.

greenbelt delight

lovin' lee-lee

my mom, grandma lee-lee, left yesterday after a wonderful week-long visit. man, do these boys have some amazing grandmas or what?! it was non-stop fun, going to the playground, hiking along the greenbelt (w/ auntie anne, too!), exploring the children's museum and then lunch at our fav bbq hotspot lamberts. and i can't tell you how nice it was for me to have an extra set of helping hands for the past two weeks with nana nan and then lee-lee's visit. the boys' miss you lee-lee...come back soon!

lee-lee and abie

lee-lee and abie at the playground

hi-ho silver! abie is a true texan and loves him some rocking horse.

all of us at the barton creek greenbelt

ozzy using lee-lee as a launch pad

getting ready for our hike: lee-lee carries oz in the ergo

morning milk

scrub-a-dub

nana time!

the boys have been in grandma heaven the past few weeks, starting with nana nan's visit. abie and oz love how animated and fun their nana is, how she describes everything they are doing in such wonderful yet simple detail, how expressive she can scrunch her face, smile or be silly serious, and how she doesn't skip a beat playing peek-a-boo or hide and go seek. here's just a small sampling of all the fun the boys had with their nana. you'll notice that in true nana fashion, most of these pictures have to do with food!

classic story time - brown bear was never so exciting!

nana lets oz steal bites of her breakfast yogurt (he was worse than matilda begging for food!)

nana gives abie his morning milk in his chair

nana gives abie a ride around the living room in the laundry basket. oz helps.

feeding frenzy! the boys got their favorite snack of kashi waffles and fruit from nana by crawling all over her!

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!

light and shadows

on monday i received my awesome "mother of one-year-old-twins" present - a nikon d40x digital slr! wow, what a difference a camera can make! i've only been able to futz around with it a few times with all the activity going on here (grandmas in town, etc). but i can already tell i'm going to have A LOT of fun with this camera, especially when i get the right lens. right now i'm using the "kit" lens, which is a zoom. it's lightweight and actually does pretty well, but has a very small maximum aperture. so i'm crossing my fingers for a sigma 30mm fixed lens for valentines day! the sigma is fairly affordable and has gotten good reviews.

on other fronts, our sweet abel took his first two steps on wednesday. yesterday he was up to four! oz has become quite the walking machine and can make it half way across the room now. so much happening and so much fun!

BIRTHDAY BOYS!

happy first birthday boys! we love you the mostest!