Finn Laughing

Update (5 months+8 days)

1. Olivia turns over from her back to her belly many times every day. Finn can't do that yet.
2.  Finn can bounce and jump in his Jolly Jumper or in the Jumperoo, Olivia can't do that yet.
3. They both smile a lot now.
4.  Finn laughed first, and giggles more (still uncommon at this point), Olivia laughs a little but it's very rare. (video above this post)
5. They are both ticklish and we can use this to get giggles out of them. (Kiss attack)
6. They both grab pretty well now, especially my hair!
7. Olivia discover her feet first, two weeks later Finn discovered his. They love grabbing their feet, so I cut off the feet on one of Finn's sleepers.
8. They love playing with anything that makes a crinkly sound.
9.  The swing is still fun, but they are starting to prefer more active stuff like the Jolly Jumper.
10. Olivia can get out of a swaddle better than Finn.
11. Olivia is so stubborn! If she wants to do something she'll never give up. Determined.
12. They both drool so much. It's unbelievable. Olympic, world-class drooling.
13. As a result of the drooling, Finn makes a gargling sound when he lies on his back. He just lies there and gargles away.
14. They sleep in separate rooms upstairs, still swaddled.
15. They nap at 10 am and 2 pm and then in bed at 8 pm. They wake up many times through the night (3 times) but just to get food. They get up sometime between 6 and 7:30am usually.
16. They are both in a lot of pain right now with the teething. We use Tylenol, Hylands Teething tabs, anything that might help. Tylenol helps a bit, but they are still in pain a lot. I am dying for them to get those teeth!
17. Olivia has an appointment on January 3rd to get her under-tongue snipped. We hope she'll gain weight fast once eating is easier.
18. Finn had physio-therapy weekly for his crooked neck (congenital torticollis). He hates the stretches we have to do with him. We stopped doing them while he had his cold.
19. They are still on only breast-milk, mostly expressed. Finn breast-feeds occasionally but Olivia can't due to her tongue-tie.
20. They both went bald in one little patch on the back of their head where the head lies on the mattress.

TEST 2

TEST

Finn Jumping 1

Finn Can Jump!

Jolly Jumper fun! Finn is good at jumping. I figured out a way to post video here, via You Tube.

Let's see if it works. 2 videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThVDmyE2j5k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD33nVd_nrk

Fever

Finn got a fever of 39.3 C (or 103 F). We went to the ER with Olivia. That was two nights ago, in the middle of the night for 3 hours. His temp. is normal now, 2 days later. I was already sick, now Finn and Olivia are sick. David's been doing extra because of this, and now that we are starting to get better, David is feeling terrible.

Even so, I'm glad Finn isn't feverish anymore. I was worried. This afternoon, I walked Jack, fed him, did my last Christmas Cards, pumped, ate dinner and took care of both babies.

I'm tired.

Baby's First...Cold

My baby Olivia has a cold. Poor thing doesn't know what's going on. It scares her. I can't help feeling a bit mad at a friend who didn't inform me that her daughter was sick when I visited. I should have just left when I saw it. I guess I wasn't prepared for that. It would have seemed so rude and I was so happy to be out of the house. Then a few days later, I got sick, which was hard enough, as we are in our second week sans nanny and are already barely keeping up with the demands. But now, just as I am starting to emerge from the fog of congestion and the itchiest nose ever. (My first cold in ages that I didn't firebomb with cold medications.) Now she is sick! So she has the humidifier, even though we got it for Finn, who gets a blocked nose from the dry heater. And I need that thing too! As I am still pretty clogged up. So we need three humidifiers! Oh well, we'll survive. After taking two hours to get Olivia settled and pumping and then Olivia part two and then Finn, I can't sleep. Oh there's a baby. I knew it.

Olivia is an Angel

Crafty Mama1

I made these!

Who are you? You look like me!

They've finally noticed each other! Now they look at, talk to, and touch each other. It's the beginning of a long glorious friendship.

I'll copy this from my Facebook conversation

(FROM MY FACEBOOK GROUP):

Krista Vo

I think sleep training is in order ASAP. With daddy away, Madison is now refusing to be put down at night - falls asleep in my arms but when I try to lay her in her rock n play wakes up screaming. All night long. So the last 2 nights she slept in bed with me all night. I'm not a fan of co-sleeping because I don't get any sleep normally and it's hard to stop once you start (my almost 4 yr old niece still sleep with my BIL and SIL). But...last night Madison slept through the night and didn't need any bottles. So if she can do it in my bed she can do it in her own. First need to figure out how to get her to let me put her down.

Like · · · Yesterday at 4:18am near Cypress, TX

• 
  
• Seen by everyone

  Sara Garcia and Michelle Kirby like this.
• 

  Heather Newman Good luck! So great she didn't need a bottle. I'm terrified of co sleeping. I have a huge down comforter and tons of pillows. A baby would get lost! I'm a big fan of sleep training.

  Yesterday at 4:27am via mobile · Like
• 

  Kate Massey Yes! When I was really nearly losing it I went to the Ped and she said maybe you should do something more formal, like sleep training. So I went and got a bunch of books from the library. I adjusted my expectations and created a plan with DH and suddenly things are way better! EVERYONE is sleeping more, including the babies. I think I really didn't think they could get put down awake in their bassinettes and go to sleep and they've both done that more than once, we are still working on a bunch of stuff (cutting down on giving milk at night for example) but I'm shocked how much better things got once I educated myself, got a plan and put it into action. Ferber wasn't such a bad guy after all. I don't follow him to the letter, but I was surprised how nice a guy he seemed in his book!

  Yesterday at 5:43am · Like · 1
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  Krista Vo Which books do you like the best? I need to get some.

  Yesterday at 5:44am via mobile · Like
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  Kate Massey The sleep section of "Bring Up Bebe" helped me adjust my expectations, that book is awesome anyway, more entertaining than any other baby book I've read. And "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber was very informative about sleep. Like what is actually going on. There were some others I looked at too, but they're up in the bedroom with sleeping DH and LO.

  Yesterday at 5:49am · Like
• 

  Kate Massey I mean my expectations and what they were giving me was here (hand at waist level), as soon as I raised my expectations (ie. found out babies actually can sleep well at night and that it's not just luck of the draw, which is what I thought when I saw FB posts about my baby slept this long), the babies changed their behavior, in a way that was like - wow - crazy - fast - weird. Like me and DH were looking at each other with confused looks like, what happened? They're both napping? What happened

  Yesterday at 5:54am · Like
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  Tara Converse Rigg Good luck!!

  Yesterday at 7:44am via mobile · Like
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  Nicole Porter Bowlds I also used the Feber book - and I agree with Kate Massey it was much more humane than I had heard. We had two very painful nights with a lot of fussing (babies and me too) but they have been great sleepers since! They now go to bed smiling and awake at 7:15pm, and we feed them once at around 4-5 am, and they go back to sleep until 7am! We feel like new people - I was absolutely exhausted at work and at the end of my rope when we were still getting up every 3-4 hrs to feed all night long.

  Yesterday at 3:48pm · Like
• 

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No Video for now, unless I find a workaround

Google Video Stops Accepting New Content

This weekend, many blog owners are discovering a possible change in Google service.

I cannot upload videos to my blog, and I get an error message.

Sorry, there was an error uploading your video. Please contact support and include the following information:
Blog Id:99999999
Video Id:

This would suggest that Google finally decided to end the schizophrenic confusion of Google Video vs YouTube, and go with YouTube for non business video hosting.

Right now, some blog owners will be using Learn how to upload your videos to YouTube. You can add your video to a gadget, or to a post, if you can host your video with YouTube.

Blogger is working on the problem, as you read this. If you're seeing this problem, and a choice of post editor version is optional for you, try using the new post editor, to upload videos.

My Dear Husband

My girl is tongue-tied

I visited the lactation consultant at BC Women's and Children's hospital. She watched me feed Olivia and attempt to breast feed. She said she might have a posterior tongue-tie. I'm not sure there's anything that can be done about it but it explains a lot. She needs a particular type of nipple to feed successfully. She hasn't had much success breast feeding. She isn't gaining weight quite as fast as I'd like. She's still only 11 lbs. I'd love it if the doctor said there was an easy fix for this condition that would make it easy for her to eat (and breastfeed)!

Here's a link that gives information and shows pictures of these "sneaky" tongue-ties.

http://www.cwgenna.com/qhcontent.html

It's not showing up as a link, I'm not sure why.

Another great site: (Olivia: check check check)

http://thelogicallady.blogspot.ca/p/posterior-tongue-tie-information.html

In the (above) blog it says:

Identifying and Diagnosing a Posterior Tongue Tie

The following symptoms have been noted anecdotally by mothers of babies diagnosed with a posterior tongue tie. Remember that not all of the symptoms must be present in order to be considered a posterior tongue tie. There are varying degrees of ties.

• Inability to achieve latch to bare breast
• Clicking noises while sucking, more notable during bottlefeeding
• Loss of latch on breast or bottle nipple
• Loud gulping noises
• Choking on milk or gasping for air mid-feed
• Short and frequent feedings (grazing/snacking)
• Noticeably strong suck
• Decreased saliva production
• Inability to effectively remove milk
• Milk dribbling out of the mouth during feeds

to antibiotic or not to antibiotic

The bogeyman in the corner is autism. There are some who say that antibiotics are in some way related, maybe causally, to autism. I don't know if that is true. I also don't know if that would be true in the case of a mom who takes antibiotics while breast feeding. Nobody knows what causes autism, and it is so common now, it is like this scary monster under the bed. I am afraid that if I have a child who has autism, I am afraid that I will blame myself.

I have taken antibiotics (orally) twice for an ear infection. Once the doctor said it was an ear canal infection and used drops. I went back to the doctor (a different doctor) and he said the infection was still there. He said I need to take antibiotics (oral) again. He also gave me a nasal spray to help clear the "material" from the ear.

So here I am, I filled the prescription, My ears still ache, deep in there. I haven't taken anything yet.

Other (minor) concerns: 1. Finn's stomach seems to react badly to the antibiotics 2. the last antibiotics made me feel very tired and headachy

Today this issue was hard to ignore because of the crappy way I was feeling. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better.

brain fog

I need to cut down on my Internet/Facebook time. I am using this computer to go into a kind of trance. La La La Zombie AAAARLGH...

mornings with goofballs

Mornings are the best. My babies are morning people! How is that possible? They both squeal and smile and laugh and talk a lot in the mornings. I love this cuddle time.

Baptism and Halloween

I'm exhausted today. Thank goodness for my mom and David, I was just






 (haha that's all I wrote!)

3 months old today!

It's the end of the "4th Trimester".

New skills:
(Mental Note: get a video of these.)

- Olivia can slide herself across a surface with help. (I put my hands behind her feet, and she pushes her legs straight)
- Finn is great at playing "the tongue game". I stick out my tongue (or Grandma does), and then he sticks out his, he matches you each time, it's very communicative! 
- lots of spit bubbles, and drooling
- lots of smiling and almost laughing
- both good at standing/jumping with our hands under their armpits
- a lot more baby-babble
- they can hold their soother in their mouths (with their hands)
- Olivia seems to do a lot of flirting, sly sweet smiles and a coy tilt of the head
- still no holding things in their hands
- they are good at holding their heads up, doing baby push-ups, tummy-time
- Finn's still better at breast-feeding, but Olivia occasionally acts like an expert

Great visit from Brothers

We had a great visit from Reuben and Glen. They love the kids so much it fills my heart up with joy! I see them - looking at Finn and Olivia. I'm so lucky to have them in my kids lives. They are so great with them.

Glen gave me some good advice, so I took it. I sat down today and added up all the expenses and bills going out, all the money coming in. I feel proud that I did this. I hate dealing with money. It was actually not too hard because everything is done with debit or pre-authorized payments. It's pretty easy to see what we're spending on.

Olivia's smiling more, she's trying to catch up with her brother on that count. It's the charm Olympics! Another milestone is their neck strength. It will soon be good enough to get them a jolly-jumper. I know Olivia will love that./ I can't wait to see her bouncing around.

The whole family got together to practice the baptism on Sunday. It's in 2 weeks. It's a beautiful ritual. I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry! Farmor is getting the Christening party catered. What a delux event. Creme Brulee!!

September 28th - My best birthday present ever (my babies)

Happy Birthday to me! 38 years young

24 hours free of babies. At first I couldn't stand it and I went over to grandma and grandpa's house to visit them. Once I started sleeping though, I just woke up to pump and then back, etc. Breakfast, relax, T.V., Facebook, coffee, CHILL. Ah...

Then the car broke down. David's getting it fixed now.

Sleeping

They are sleeping in their crib. On their bellies and with blankets (verboten by the medical people), but I'm happy to see the little angels dreaming away. I read a website tonight about not "baby training", respond to the baby and he will be mentally healthier. I had a responsive mom and I still got a bit crazy later, but it's no guarantee. 

I found the Kids Music station on Shaw T.V. yesterday! We did a lot of dancing. It was very fun.

I am still more tired than I should be. I need to go out more! Of course I'm motivated now, at 5:50 am.

3rd day without a Nanny

 It's Friday, the 3rd day of the nanny vacation. My mom and dad have been helping a lot. My mom comes at 8am and my dad takes the 12 to 3 shift. David and I handle 3pm to 8am. (We are also available while my parents are here too of course.) The days blend together. Lately David and I have both been dragging ass. Me with my physical issues (mostly breast related), David fighting off a flu. The babes have both been doing more crying without a real reason that we can see.This is really frustrating because I don't know why they are crying, and my mind goes to - what if he is hurt, what if I pulled too hard on her arm, what if I'm missing something - or I just get frustrated with him or her. In general everything's fine. I really want more smiles though! They are like money in the bank that I can spend on those grating crying jags. They are getting nice and big which is awesome. They must be about 10 lbs now. I don't know. I did some scrap-booking today, got their hospital wristbands taped in. I also sent off a form to the CRA because they didn't know about Olivia, and put together some thank-you cards. We got the sweetest pink/blue quilts from the Dawsons, with their names on (see picture)! We got our first delivery of groceries from SPUD today so I've been drinking lots of delicious almond milk. Finn is swinging away and Olivia is murmuring in her sleep beside me. I'm here, blogging, and hoping I get another hour before I have to face them crying.

Finn swinging:

Mom Doesn't Need to Be Cool

This pic is for the new greeting card with the babies. I love these new photo products you can get, like photo books, cards, calendars, etc.

The babies are getting more expressive. More smiles! Still too few, though. I want more smiles, and I can't wait for the laughter to begin.

I'm still eating very little dairy, but I am allowed a little and one coffee per day. I was really feeling terrible for a while there, not sure why, but diet was part of it. I can't have gluten, and so adding dairy and caffeine was too much. Especially since we don't get to the grocery store as often as we need to and the choices in house are often quite minimal.

I'm also doing what I can to keep my "ladies" healthy. Making milk for two takes quite a toll and I am often sore, they are also hot and look bruised a lot. And big and heavy! I feel I'll never jump or dance again. I'm basically fighting off mastitis continually. I express after pumping and try to use heating pads and baths when I have time.  Ouch! They just feel like NOT part of my body, or not a part I want. It's depressing, sometimes. But nothing replaces the feeling of breastfeeding. When their little faces look up and suck suck, big eyes, connection. Worth it.

I'm trying SPUD, an online grocer that sells all the healthy organic stuff. Why don't all grocery stores deliver? The first delivery is Friday.

The babies are getting lots of visitors! My students (4 of them) came on Sunday, and Julie (also an ILAC teacher) came on Thursday. We've also had Tanya and BJ from my Courtenay days, Kelly, and many more.

The main thing happening here, other than the day to day grind of feeding, pumping, diaper changes, burping, cleaning (mostly other people doing that), trying to sleep, the main thing happening is that I am constantly in love with these darlings. Just in love in a very deep way. It's impossible to describe other than to say that I look into a little face and promise to love him/her and to do everything in my power to create a happy life for him/her. They will never know about these monologues. I tell them also how much I love them, how adorable they are, the cutest cutest cutest.

They are truly the best drug in the world. They make everything make sense. I'm pretty OK with being a cliche at the moment. Corny is fine with me. I'd rather be here than be cool and ironic and unhappy. Coolness is for people who need it, and I don't.

I mean look at this!

the dairy/colic connection = HOPE

OK. It's day 2 with no dairy. Well, I had cream in my coffee and tea, but other than that, no dairy. No: butter, yogurt, cheese, milk, ice-cream, etc. No good stuff.

Tonight...I think it's working... Finn and Olivia have been calmer, sleeping more, seem more content, less screaming. I dare not hope, dare I?

I have been checking Facebook, updating to-do lists, doing laundry, watching TV, making a photo-book online. David is up there sleeping. If I can have 50% of my nights like this I'll thank my lucky stars.

time has lost all meaning

change, feed, burp, change, rock/swing, put down, pray for sleep, rinse, repeat

then go pump 

note to self: buy earplugs for Finn's grating scream. He is very alarmed by the inner workings of his gastrointestinal system.

Medicines:

1. gripe water
2. Ovol
3. Zantac

In The Beginning...

In the beginning...  there was a very big belly, and a very uncomfortable Kate. My back, my hip, my everything hurt! I was measuring at something like 46 weeks pregnant if it had been a singleton pregnancy. I was proud of that number because I wanted something to point to to illustrate how uncomfortable I felt. I had gestational diabetes. I was on bed-rest for one month. Bored and sore! And trying to eat often to make the babies grow. Finn (called then "Pudding Pop") was in the 4th percentile so we were worried about his growth. I tried to eat as much as I could, and as healthy as I could, because I read that that (my weight gain) would help the babies not be premature, and be bigger when they did come.

In the beginning... there was pre-eclampsia and a surprise C-section.  Even though I was planning a C-section at "twin term" which is 37 weeks, the twins arrived 1 week early because pre-eclampsia is a serious condition that can have dire consequences for mom and babies. So I went in on a Monday to get my blood checked (based on the advice of the ante-partum nurse who visited me that day and noticed my blood pressure) and had them at 10:06 and 10:08 that night.

In the beginning... there were tubes and the NICU. The nurses were kind and funny and knowledgeable. We have good memories of those women. It took us until Saturday (5 days) to get the babies home. They began with feeding tubes and monitors stuck on their little bodies. Olivia had some breathing problems and Finn had some blood sugar problems. I wish I had a photo of his little foot. It was covered in scabs from the many many pokes he got in his heel. That's where they get stuck to take infant blood. Every two hours they pokes him! Poor guy. Not a nice welcome to the outside world.

We finally got home on Saturday evening. They were put in the cradle that David slept in as a baby. They were together again!

Olivia can spit!

I love "Gripe Water". Before now the babies would have to swallow whatever we gave them. Gripe Water is this great mix sodium bicarbonate and herbs and water. It is a miracle cure for hiccups, which Olivia gets after many feedings. But now she is refusing at will!

Both of them are also grabbing hair and holding on. They seem to calm down when they have a fistful, and it certainly gets my attention.

Finn is loving sleeping on his stomach. He can't flail like when he's on his back. And someone's watching him 24 hours a day, so I'm sure it's safe.

Also swings are great! The baby swing often help settle a fussy baby.

First Entry: New Babies! New Kind of Memory Book

Well, The babies are 5 weeks plus, and own our hearts. I don't know how much time I'll have to update this blog, but I'll do my best to put in news as it develops. They are Finn and Olivia. They went to the doctor today and are average size, so that means their growth is good as Finn started out quite little (he's gone from 4th percentile to 50th percentile. Now they are about the same size. They are both about 8 lbs 5 oz. We found out that Olivia's "bindi" is called a strawberry hemangioma, and may get bigger before it goes away, but should be gone before she reaches 3 years old.

They are starting to smile a little. It is still very rare though.