Catching Up

Wow, it's been a busy week! Here's what we've been up to...

On Monday the girls enjoyed their first trip to the pool! They enjoyed the water, but not the bright sun. We'll have to go back again after we invest in some sunglasses! Cassidy had lots of fun splashing and Candace enjoyed being pulled around in the water.

We spent all day Tuesday in the ER. Cassidy had a fever of 101.7 all night, even after two consecutive doses of Tylenol. After a phone call to our pediatrician in FL and our insurance company, it was decided our best option was a trip to the ER. They checked her ears, lungs and urine, but found nothing. They gave her some ibuprofen, which finally helped her fever subside. It kept returning the rest of the day and night, but by Wednesday morning it was gone.

Unfortunately, now both girls are battling a cold passed on to them by their cousin Logan. This is their first cold and it is so sad to hear them sniffle and cough. I just want to be able to make it all better! It certainly doesn't help that Candace is also about to break her second tooth. Needless to say, the girls have NOT been sleeping very well and have been fussier than usual.

Yesterday we finally got to see my mom, Grammy, and other sister Hannah! The girls ate up all the love and attention, and of course, awed everyone with their cuteness. We went out for a belated Mother's Day lunch, and with three babies we were the center of attention at the restaurant!

The rest of the week we have spent mostly here at the house. It is extremely difficult to get out and about with all three babies, so we spend most of our time juggling three babies on three different schedules and enjoying the endless entertainment provided by having three infants interact. They all have such wonderful, unique personalities. It has been such fun and it has been awesome having my sister here to help with the girls! She is amazing!

We plan on staying here with my sister for one more week and then we'll go stay with my parents. I'll try to post more frequently, but there just never seems to be any time!

Here are just some of the gazillions of great pictures we've taken...

Swimming






Eating






Cousins





Playing

We Made It!

Woo hoo! We finally made it to Arizona!

The trip here was better than anticipated, but I am glad we have six weeks before we have to do it all over again. The girls did pretty well from Tampa to Dallas. They slept in the airport before we boarded and Aidan and I were able to keep them happy and entertained during the flight. Our three hour layover wasn't too bad. After a lengthy walk around the terminal and a bit of crying, both girls went to sleep and Aidan and I had time to grab some dinner. The flight from Dallas to Tucson did not go well. About 30 minutes into the flight both girls were way overtired and had simultaneous meltdowns. They finally went to sleep after about 30 minutes of crying and lots of juggling of babies (since only one had a seat.) Thankfully everyone was very understanding. In fact, it was amazing how helpful and sympathetic most people were throughout the trip!

The girls took to their Aunt Jenna, Uncle Chris and cousin Logan right away. Cassidy already reaches out her arms for Jenna to hold her, and Candace thinks Chris is hilarious. It has been so neat to watch all three babies playing and interacting. Logan is about two months younger than the girls, but already a little taller than them. He is absolutely gorgeous with the most amazing blue eyes! They are all three so adorable and have such unique personalities.

Unfortunately, we are still struggling with getting the girls adjusted to the time change and back into a routine. They woke up for the day at 5:30 am the first day we were here and then around 6:00 am the other days. Each day seems to be better than the last as they gradually adapt to the three hour difference, but nights have been a nightmare! They are sharing a room with us and have reverted to waking every 1-2 hours, and at least one girl each night has an hour or so where they refuse to go back to sleep. Needless to say, I am VERY tired! Thankfully, I do have a little more help during the day, and my sister and Sean took care of the girls for about an hour this morning so I could sleep.

We haven't really done anything exciting or post-worthy. It is very hard to coordinate around three babies naps and needs! We are mostly just enjoying being together and letting the babies play. The weather here has been beautiful so we did go to the park today. We also went with my sister to her baby group on Saturday. The girls got lots of attention and we enjoyed meeting other moms and babies. It made me realize just how small our girls are compared to singleton babies!

The girls turned 7 months on Friday so I will try to post again soon with their 7 month update!

Three Amigos!





Aunt Jenna & Cassidy playing peek-a-boo.




Logan with Candace's foot




Time to Eat!

Trip Day... Take Two!

Well I am supposed to be writing this post from Arizona, but here I sit still in my own living room. Things obviously didn't go according to plan.

We got to the airport yesterday just fine, with plenty of time. After unloading our five suitcases, two carry-ons, two car seats and with all three kids in tow, we made our way to the ticket counter to check-in. The attendant, who was very insensitive and unapologetic) informs us that the flight is delayed two hours, which would cause us to miss our connecting flight in Dallas and the last connecting flight for the day! So our only option was to postpone our trip and take a flight leaving today.

Now for a family with one child or older children, this would probably be an irritating inconvenience... for me it was cause for a mini-meltdown right there in the middle of the airport. By this point the girls are getting cranky, Aidan and I haven't eaten, we have to lug all of our stuff back to the car, I have to unpack everything we need for the night, do another load of laundry in the morning, and then repack. Additionally, the flight we are now taking is about an hour after their nap time, which is a nap they will probably not take since we will be at the airport, so by the time we board they'll be overtired and super cranky. On top of all that, we also now have a long three hour layover! Ugh...

So wish us luck... and here's hoping my next post really will be from Arizona!

Twin Friends!

Yesterday we had a play date with our very good friends Arjun and Indira, Damiane's twins. They are about one month older than the girls. It was so cute watching them all play on the floor together and "share" toys, LOL! Cassidy and Arjun "talked" to each other and exchanged silly looks while Candace and Indira played tug of war with the toys. Candace even decided to finally sit! Just as I was telling Damiane' that she couldn't stay up for more than a few seconds, that little stinker went and proved me wrong! She sat for a couple pretty decent stretches! Damiane's babies are so fun to watch. Indira is amazing the way she can crawl and pull herself to stand and Arjun is a little flirt! We will miss them while we are in Arizona and look forward to getting together when we get back!

PS We fly out tonight so my next post will be from Arizona! Wish us a safe and "easy" trip!

Sleep & Solids

Thanks so much everyone for your support and kind comments on my last post. Exhaustion was really beginning to take its toll. The CIO sleep training is going well! The girls never cried more than 30 minutes, and the past two nights they have gone to bed with NO crying at all. They have each had 5, 6, and even 7 hour stretches of sleep! Unfortunately, my longest stretch is only 4 hours because they, of course, do not sleep for the same long stretches, but four hours is still better than two! They also are no longer staying up for hours in the middle of the night, thank god! I have not eliminated all night feedings, but I have begun spacing them out at least 3-4 hours, so they are only waking 2-3 times each. They really do seem to be eating at these wakings, so I am hesitant to push them to go without. When we get back from our Arizona trip I will probably start dropping the night feedings.

The girls have been eating solid foods for two weeks now. The first week they weren't too sure about it, but this week they have gotten the hang of it. Candace eagerly opens her mouth and tries to guide the spoon to her mouth and Cassidy will eat between distractions with only the occasional spitting episode. They are eating two meals a day now, rice cereal with a veggie mixed in for dinner and oatmeal with a fruit mixed in for breakfast. They have tried carrots, peas, and bananas and their favorite surprisingly is the peas!

Their different personalities really come out during meal times! Cassidy has a shorter attention span, is very messy, makes funny faces, bangs her hands on the tray, and makes lots of silly noises. Candace is focused on the food, rarely makes a mess, wants to be in control of the spoon, and "shouts" at me if I take too long between bites. Meal times are quite fun and amusing!

Notice how clean Candace's bib and tray are in the first picture compared to Cassidy in the second pic? LOL!




Aidan wanted to help feed the girls!




Daddy playing with his girls.

Oh SO Tired!!!

I'm tired, SOOOO tired, physically, mentally and emotionally tired, tired of how terribly the girls sleep at night, how long it takes to get them to go to bed for the night, how frequently they wake, how they refuse to go back to sleep in the middle of the night, how they have completely opposite daytime sleep patterns. I am tired of feeling like a failure after trying and failing at multiple sleep strategies, tired of reading books and articles by so-called "experts", tired of watching as all other babies the girls age sleep through the night. I am tired of being a sub-par mother, wife, and friend because I don't have the energy or motivation to put my all into these roles. I am just SO tired!

Including the final uncomfortable months of a twin pregnancy, I have not had a full, uninterrupted night of sleep in about 9 months. The longest stretch I have had was five hours... and that was only once. I consider it a "good" night if I get at least one 2-3 hour stretch of sleep. Most nights I am up every hour or two with one baby or the other. I cannot even imagine how it would feel to sleep the whole night through.

I am so tired I cannot think straight and I don't know what else to do....
I guess this post is to help convince myself and any other doubters that it is time for full-blown "cry it out" sleep training. My one feeble attempt at this a week ago was a disaster, but this time I think I can be much more committed. I have hit rock bottom. So wish us luck tonight.....

Who could imagine that these adorable, sweet, silly girls could be the source of such frustration and exhaustion?

Post Weekend Post

Saturday we went to our first twin picnic! There were five other twin families there, all members of an awesome twin support site, twinstuff.com. The park was gorgeous and the weather was nice. We had a really great time. Kudos to Damiane' for organizing it!

On Sunday I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I got to take a long morning nap while Sean took care of the girls. Then Sean made me my favorite breakfast, french toast. He did all the dishes, cleaned the kitchen and was extra helpful with the girls all day. The day ended with a much-needed back & neck rub. I hope all you other mothers out there had an equally relaxing day!

Twin Picnic - Swinging Twins
(L to R: Jake & Ryan, Candace & Cassidy, Arjun & Indira)




Trying to get the "perfect" swing picture.... it was impossible to get both girls to look at me and smile! We had a whole crew of people trying to help and still couldn't get "the" picture. Oh well, these are still pretty cute!







Candace





Cassidy





All 3 Kiddos



Our Family