So Many Ideas So Little Time

The world is hooked on Pinterest.com. It’s a fantastic place to get sucked into for hours upon hours. Much like Facebook. At least with Pinterest there is an end product. I’ve made a couple different things I found there and have a laundry list 8 miles long of things I want to make, foods I want to try, deserts I want to bake, pictures to take, ways to organize, and a hundred other things that make you go “OOOoooo!” Here are just a few things I’ve Oooed and Aaahed over in the past couple months.

So who is up for a day of nothing but fun and creating, organizing, cooking, and baking?

Justin and Lana: 15 Weeks

Again, with the slacking. Slacking, or being a mom of three. You choose. I’ve taken no less than a million pictures of Collin, Justin and Lana in the last several weeks. (Well, two years, but those were just of Collin…)

Lets see, at birth:

• Justin: 6lb 2oz 19 inches long
• Lana: 5lb 8 oz 19 inches long

At two months:

• Justin: 11lb 7oz 22.5 (25-50%) inches long (25%)
• Lana: 11lb 5.5 oz 22 (50-75%) inches long (25%)

I love these babies more than I ever thought that I could. Each day they get cuter and cuter. Some days I think I seriously may burst with joy.

Justin still remains to be the fussier of the two. Although, he has calmed down immensely. They have both started sleeping much, much better. I have gone from getting up every two hours to every three hours to twice a night, to now we are up (unless it’s a bad night) only once. It’s a nice surprise. I honestly didn’t think that I would get any sleep for at least eight months. Collin was eight months old before he was only up once a night. But, I have learned that I should really not compare them to Collin. After all, they are all individuals. Three separate children. And I love all three of them more than I ever thought possible.

Since their two month appointment, Lana has really chunked up It’s absolutely fantastic. She’s got these cheeks and thighs that are so squeezable it’s ridiculous. She now weighs a little more than a pound more than Justin. The strange thing… I’m pretty sure he eats more than she does. Poor girls metabolism just isn’t what Brother’s is. I love it though. Babies are suppose to be chunky. Here I go comparing again, but Collin was a chunk-and-a-half and now I can’t even find pants to stay around his waist. I’m sure Lana will slim down when she starts moving. Justin, on the other hand is just long and lean. We have a bunch of size 1 diapers that are going in the closet for the next diaper cake I’ll make. They/Lana definitely needs to go up a size. They are wearing 3-6 month clothes. I feel like they should still be in their newborn clothes, but at the same time sitting up and rolling over. Silly mommy.

Justin enjoys being on his tummy a lot more than Lana. Lana will hold her head up for a minute or two before she starts to get lazy and puts it down and pitches a fit. Justin, however, will just chill and check out what’s going on around him for up to 15 or 20 minutes before he gets tired of being on his tummy.

Both will roll over from their tummy to their back and are desperately trying to roll from their back to there tummies at some points.

We’ve started sitting them in the Bumbos for short amounts of time. Because they don’t hold their heads up consistently without giving up we sit right next to them and they only sit for 5 or 10 minutes.

I get smiles from both of them when I go in to get them from bed. This makes me so incredibly happy.

Both enjoy their bath time.

Both have had their first colds. And their second. (Gotten from Collin, passed back to Collin, and then Collin shared again, he’s so sweet…) I took them to the doctor this week and both have the beginning of an ear infection, both in their right ears, so both are on amoxicillin for that.

They made it through their first birthday party (Collin’s not theirs ), Halloween carnival, trick-or-treating, Mom to Mom, play date, and Thanksgiving. I really couldn’t be happier with them and how well they are doing.

 

Their first photoshoot

First day in church

 

Newborn “Littles” Onesies and pants

Starting to get that chunk!

Little Brother and Little Sister

All three of my babies have been escape artists

So glad I’m able to catch their smiles on camera

 

Most days I can’t get over how pretty this girl is

Collin’s Birthday/Halloween Costumes

Lana’s fist Big bow and headband

 

Justin chillin’ at Collin’s doctor’s appointment

“How you doin’?”

LOVE SOME CHUNKIES!!!

Bumbo Babies

3-6 month “Littles” onesies and pants

2 Year Old Collin

I honestly don’t know what to say about this kid. He is my world. Every day is something new and a new adventure with him. I love it.

His two year stats are:

• 26 pounds is the 25%
• 34 3/4 inches tall puts him in the 50-75%
• This explains why is pants are always falling off his waist. They have to be long enough but are too big in the waist :)

I lost count a LONG time ago of the words that he says because he’s talking in full sentences now. First it was just things like “there’s the ball” but now I can ask him a question and get a real answer. If he’s coughing or choking on something and I ask “Are you OK, Collin” he’s response, even though watery eyes and catching his breath, is always, “I’m fine, Mama.” I remember the first time he said it, I was driving and I chuckled to myself, “I’m fine, Mama.” Not, “OK” or even “OK Mama.” It was “I’m fine Mama.”

He is such a polite little boy. He has been saying “Please” and “Thank You” for six months or so. With his complete sentences, he will now ask specifically for something, “Please, cookie, Mama” and then “Thank you, Mama” Every time he does it I smile and can’t help but tell him how much I love him. To which he replies “Love you, Mama.” Seriously, I could just squeeze him all day long.

He’s adapted really well to having a new brother and sister. It was touch and go there for a couple weeks in the beginning, but I really think he loves them. I think for having his solo world bombarded with two new little babies he’s done amazingly well. There have been several different occasions that I’ve seen/caught him “taking care of” them. The first time I saw him try to help, Justin was in the swing crying, Collin tried to give him the pacifier. Just last week I was folding clothes on the floor and had Lana in my lap at the same time. Justin was, again, in the swing, but it wasn’t swinging. Justin started to cry and before I could get up and get to him, Collin was there. He started to swing him, after a couple pushes he reached up and pulled the mobile over Justin’s head so he could see it, then he turned on the music and walked behind the swing and pushed him for about a minute and said, “It’s OK Justin.” I watched in awe as Justin fell. back. asleep. and Collin went back to doing what he had been doing. That moment I teared up and was so happy.

There is so much I could write about this kid but I don’t have the time for that, so here’s the usual bullet list

• Trying to give up afternoon naps
• Opening doors he can pull open (Pushing a door open is serving a problem at the moment)
• UNLOCKS the doors – I’m getting nervous he’ll unlock the front door to go to the park
• Climbs on the playground equipment like it’s no big deal
• LOVES animals, shapes, colors, and number
• His favorite shows are Pocoyo, Team Umizoomi, and Blue’s Clues. He’s also recently taken a liking to VeggieTales. It’s affectionately known as “Bobby” 
• Answers the questions when the shows ask a question
• Loves to be outside – I wish I could take him out more.
• Says his prayers before we eat and bedtime
• Gets excited when I tell him we are going to church
• Learned what his birthday was and gets excited about parties and presents now :) It was really cute to hear him say “OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY!” when he opened presents
• He’s learning to dress himself
• Loves trains, airplanes and building with his blocks

I suppose I should try to make more time to sit down and write more because there is just too much to talk about. This kid is absolutely amazing. So cute, smart, and funny. He’s got it all  

Living Life

Well, I still have twins. I also now have almost three month old twins AND a TWO YEAR OLD! I can’t believe where my time is going. I have a monumental list of things I want to blog about, including an update on Justin and Lana, Collin’s two year update and his birthday party. I’ve also got to cover our first Halloween experience too. The thought about finding the time to do all this is exhausting in itself. I have sat down to write no less than 15 times. But every time I do, someone is crying, hungry, needs a diaper change, the phone rings, a text comes though, and life just gets in the way. It wasn’t so difficult to find the time to blog when I had just Collin. But for some reason it’s slightly more difficult with added children in the mix. As I sit here typing now, I can hear Justin waking up.

“Living Life” is all I can really say to sum up what I’ve been doing lately. I’m learning all the planning in the world doesn’t mean I’ll be prepared for anything and my days will almost never go according to plan. I’m over the moon happy with the way my life is going these days though. Some days I sit and ask God WHY He thought I could handle three kids. And other days I am all day long thanking him for these kids. When Collin is having a conversation with me, or Lana giggles and Justin finally smiles at me, my heart skips a beat and I feel my cup running over with joy. I may not have time to do the things I would like to do. My house might be a mess and I might be on the verge of a meltdown, or in the middle of a meltdown, but at the end of the day, I couldn’t ask for anything better than what I’ve got right now. I know watching Justin and Lana grow is going to be just as fun as it has been with Collin and watching Collin grow into this new little person amazes me everyday.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go Life my Life. Both Justin and Lana are waking up. There are children to be fed, diapers to be changed, fun to have, joy to experience and a life to live Eventually, I’ll get around to the other stuff.

We have Twins

On one hand it’s hard to believe that I have twins, never mind that they are already more than a month old. On the other hand, I can completely believe I have twins and they are more than a month old because I’m having a time learning how to juggle two infants and a toddler plus, I think I’ve been awake pretty much nonstop for the past month.

Anyway, here’s how it all went down:

8/17/11 – Wednesday

Devin had been working from home because I just hadn’t been feeling well and he wanted to be close by in case something happened. I had two doctors’ appointments on Wednesday. The first was my regular weekly OB check and the second was at ROC for the fetal monitoring test. Neither my mom nor Devin liked the idea of me driving, or being alone at all, so my mom went with me (and Collin) to my OB appointment and Devin was going to meet me for the long appointment at ROC.

At 11:15 I got called back for my appointment. Collin had shown no interest in waiting with me and was running around the lobby being a little boy. So I thought I would be smart and not draw attention to the fact that I was leaving the room. Well, that was the wrong thing to do. As soon as the door closed I heard him run over and bang on the door yelling “Mama! Mama!” Thankfully my mom was there and he is easily distracted by her. So I’m walking back to have my BP and weight taken and Collin is just tugging at my heart strings. Once I got to the room and was waiting for my doctor I was thinking about Collin and not having much more time alone with him, I started crying. When my doctor got to the room she was empathetic but also knew how miserable I was. So she did was OB doctors do and asked if I wanted to have babies today because I was 3 centimeters dilated already and was actually in labor.

So, over here I have myself getting every excited that I’m not going to be pregnant anymore and don’t have to go to the other doctors appointment. But over there I’m panicking because I know I REALLY have no time left with Collin. My doctor sent me straight across the street to the hospital. I told Devin what was going on and luckily we already had bags packed so all he had to do was throw everything in the car van. When I walked out into the lobby area I hugged Collin as tight as I possibly could, knowing it would be the last time I would get to do so him being my only child. At this point I was only excited about not being pregnant. I wasn’t happy about anything else. I wanted Collin to sit with me forever, and at least go have lunch with him. Mom drove me across the street and I cried as I gave Collin one last hug in his car seat before I walked inside to register. He started to cry because he wanted out of his seat and to go with me. Talk about killing me.

I got checked in, admitted and was in triage waiting when Devin got to the hospital to be with me. Because I had a donut at 8:00 that morning we were going to have to wait eight hours before they could consider my surgery. Seriously? It was a donut, it was probably already completely threw me by that point. I didn’t have a four course meal for breakfast and hadn’t eaten lunch. Whatever. The nurse told us it would probably be about 5:00 before we headed back for the C-Section. It was going to be a long day, it was only about noon at this point. I was hooked up to all the monitors for heart rates and whatnot and the nurse mentioned that Lana’s heart rate was a little low, but wasn’t anything to worry about yet. Luckily for us the triage was filling quickly and they wanted the bed I was in, so they rushed all my blood and paperwork and we headed back for surgery at 3:00 instead of 5:00.

I really thought I would be more scared than what I was going back. I don’t do needles, hospitals, or blood, and I was in the epicenter for all three. The anesthesiologist was great; I never knew anything was going on. When I was numb and couldn’t feel anything my doctor said to bring Devin in. I asked if they could get him a chair because he nearly passed out when I had Collin, I didn’t need him actually passing out while I was on the table being sliced open. He got in and within minutes I felt a “huge” weight lifted off of me and I took a big breath and thought “I can breathe” simultaneously my doctor said, “Justin’s out first!” and we heard a very large-little cry. A nurse noted the time, “3:51 PM.” Within 30 seconds Lana was out, I could breathe even easier, my doctor commented that the cord was around Lana’s neck (which explained her lower heart rate earlier), we heard yet another large-little cry, another time note of “3:51 PM” and my doctor say “and here’s Lana!.” At some point in there she also asked Devin if he wanted to see something. So he stood up and looked over the curtain. Not gonna lie, I would not have done that. What he really saw is still a mystery to me, and I’m ok with that. As my doctor was doing what she needed to do the nurses were tending to these two crying babies. I couldn’t help but think, “how are we going to handle that!?” Because we knew I was going to have a C-Section and we are done having children, we decided I was going to have my tubes tied. My doctor leaned over the curtain so she could see me and says “Erin. You have beautiful ovaries. And such long tubes” I told her “Good. Double-knot them!” She and the nurses giggled as they brought Justin and Lana, all bundled up, over to see me. Devin got to walk over and take pictures and see them while they were being cleaned up.

It was at this point that I wasn’t thrilled about the whole C-Section process. I didn’t get to hold my babies right away. Collin was placed immediately on my chest after I had him, but my twins had to go to the NICU for several hours and I had to go to recovery. After I left recovery I thought they would be brought to my room. But my bed was wheeled into the NICU were we got to hold them for a grand total of about 5 minutes. They were so tiny, all I wanted to do was snuggle them on my chest and nurse them. But I couldn’t. They stayed and I was taken to my room. My mind was taken off of that a little when my mom came back and brought Collin. I was so happy to see him, but he was scared to walk into the room. He saw me, in the bed, IV in my hand, and fell to the floor saying “oh mama!” I told him I needed a hug from him, so he eventually warmed up to the idea of being in the room and that I was OK. He definitely wasn’t sold on the fact that I was “fine” but he took that Mama was “ok.” It was so good to hold him in my arms again. I say that like it had been days or weeks since I had seen him, when in reality it was only like 8 or 9 hours. Devin took my mom back to the NICU so she could see the babies, they didn’t let anyone but me or Devin hold them, but she got to hold their tiny hands for a minute, and I got some alone time with Collin. It was rough saying goodbye to Collin again, but he needed to go; it was way past his bedtime. FINALLY about 6 or 7 hours after they were born, our babies were brought to our room. We could hold them and I could nurse them.

It was a long day. I cried more about how Collin was going to feel and not getting to spend more time with him than anything else. The only thing I would change about the day is that I wouldn’t have eaten breakfast and I would have spent much more time with Collin the night before and that morning. But I was/am definitely glad to have my two new babies there with me also.