Month 4, Week 3

Whew! It's been a busy week around here!

Last Sunday we all went down to Wayne and Nina's for a visit. The boys were pretty good for the first couple of hours but their tiredness caught up to them. Both were crying and my only option was to put them down for naps. I felt bad to leaving Nina with all of the nephews, but I knew the crying wasn't going to stop. We hijacked their bed for over and hour while the boys slept.

I thought there was a Mother's of Multiples meeting on Tuesday. Everyone brings a snack, so the boys and I went to Publix to get chips and the materials to make dip. This was the first time I took the boys anywhere by myself and it went pretty well. Now, we were only in the store for about 15min and I fed them before we went, so I had stacked things in my favor.

When we first walked in, one of the deli workers was leaving. She saw the boys and got this huge grin on her face. She stopped and asked me if they were twins (yep!). I was kind of worried that standing and talking to this lady was going to make the boys fussy, so I started pushing the stroller forward a little, to kind of rock it. I guess she understood (or thought I was in a hurry), so the next thing she says is "I'll walk with you!" Uh... Ok. hehe So here I am, walking through Publix with her while she asks me questions about the boys. Apparently a co-worker is expecting twins, so she wanted info I guess. The whole thing was pretty funny.

We made it through the whole trip with no crying - not even any grouchiness in the van. I was surprised. When we got home, I put the things away and we took a nap. About 2hrs later, we got up and started making the dip. I put the boys in their bouncy chairs and stuck them up on the island in the kitchen. I showed them all of the utensils I was using and talked them through the chopping and mixing. They really liked the red bowl I used and gave it big, wide eyes every time I held it up. We also sniffed all of the ingredients (except the onions!) and talked about what color they were. I don't think they like parsley much.

Dip in the fridge, we took another nap and woke up just as Jim was getting home. The plan was to divide and conquer. I'd take one boy to the meeting while Jim took the other to the mall. We got everything packed up and headed to the Greenville Hospital (they use a conference room there). Jim dropped me and Alex off. I head to the room and it's empty. Ugh. I come to find out I was a week early. I called Jim to come get us. Alex had a good time looking around, though. We headed to Target instead, our default destination when plans go awry.

Jim and I increased our life insurance policies so the boys are covered if either or both of us get mowed down by a turnip truck. To be sure we're not playing the system, they sent over a nurse on Wednesday to take some samples. The boys were on their playmats and were streeetching their necks to see her. It was pretty cute.

Thursday was a big day for me and the boys. Publix earlier in the week was kind of a practice run. This was the real deal. I took the boys to the mall by myself. We met another mom there who had 9mo boy/girl twins. We walked around for about 30min while the babies chilled in their strollers. After that we met up with the Greenville Attachment Parenting group, who were also walking the mall that day. All in all, we spent 2hrs walking around. Both boys were pretty good. I got some minor fussiness from Zach about 1.5hrs in. By then Alex was asleep.

I was really surprised at how well they behaved, considering they had been up for about 4hrs total before we headed home. Normally they start getting cranky after 1hr at home, but I guess there's not as much fun stuff to see here. We also walked briskly, which they prefer to slow grocery store walking. We were quite the sight, too - a caravan of about 5 strollers and 8 kids doing laps. Luckily there's not much traffic on a Thursday morning.

We're on week 2 of The Bedtime Routine. They know that a bath is coming and as we walk towards the tub they get all squirmy with excitement. I fill our garden tub with a couple of inches of water, put a towel down, and stick them both in. Their initial reaction is to give me big eyes and pee. hehe After getting used to the water, they'll kick and splash around. Tonight Alex got fired up and really went for some full body flailing. He ended up splashing himself in the face, which stunned him. The look on his face was hilarious, like "Who just did that?!?!"

They both still cry during the post-bath diaper/moisturizer/dressing part. Man, do they really hate moisturizer. I've read all of this stuff about baby message and it's obvious they weren't talking about our boys. They LOVE having their heads and cheeks rubbed, but apparently that's their limit. Zach even took it up a notch with some good screaming tonight as I tried to rub him down.

The next step in the sleepy time saga is getting them to sleep in their cribs for naps. I wanted to get them back to their normal sleep schedule first and we're almost there. Hopefully Jim will be able to help me kick start crib napping this weekend. In other sleep news, they've started waking up at 4am-5am and not going back to sleep unless I hold them. After rocking them for 30min, they still pop their eyes open when I try laying them down. So... I take them back to bed with me and Jim is banished to the floor. This needs to stop before it becomes an expectation.

They've been working on their development to-do list. Zach has decided that sitting is his preferred method of contact with the floor. Laying down is for babies. He's been practicing all week with a Boppy pillow around him for when he falls over. I'll sit in front of him with Alex on my lap. They'll just coo and laugh at each other, although Alex does try to reach for his face. After a few minutes, I'll switch their places so Alex can practice. They're getting ok at it but still tend to lean on an arm or two for support. They expect to be able to sit up anywhere, so there's a lot of grunting when they try to sit up in their car seats. The bouncy chairs have lost some of their fun since they don't want to lean back as much.

Both boys have also been working on their outside voices. I had them on the bed, facing each other this afternoon. They were only about 1ft apart but you would have thought it was a mile with all of the yelling. Alex will just let out a big, gleeful yelp every once in a while. Zach was practically shouting in return. They find each other HILARIOUS and constantly laugh. Like I mentioned before, Alex will try to reach for Zach and I'm careful he doesn't grab his face or anything.

Alex in general likes to reach and grab for things, while Zach likes to just look at it for a bit first. Someone told me that Zach is the one to watch out for - he's a planner. hehe Both boys will grab and chomp toys pretty well now. I gave Zach his peacock toy this afternoon. What I got in return was a much wetter version. While Zach munched on it, Alex was watching with a sort of jealous look, even though he had a toy of his own. When I swapped their toys, he still was watching Zach's toy more than his own. I don't think this was full on jealousy, just a grass is greener situation.

Both boys are almost constantly chewing on a hand. Alex is up to 3 fingers at a time, while Zach prefers 2. They'll suck their thumbs but not very often. A game Alex likes to play is to hold out a fist. Jim or I will give it a big, squeaky kiss. He'll laugh and pull it back for a minute before extending it again. They also love having their cheeks kissed. Sometimes it's a way to get them to stop crying, even.

I've been telling them the story of the Three Little Pigs. I considered having the Big Bad Wolf catch Swine Flu at the end, but Jim thinks that'll mess them up once they go to school. hehe