Babies First Chaos (opps...I mean Christmas)

Wow...we survived. I am not exactly sure what I expected the girls first Christmas to be like, but the reality was a bit more challenging than I had anticipated. Christmas is usually a stressful time for me (as it is more many) even without the care of twins on my plate. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the whole holiday hooplah was a bit overwhelming.

Don't get me wrong, it was wonderful to get the chance to spend time with extended family (although it is always too brief), eat all those forbidden treats, and share in the spirit of giving. But fitting in all the feedings, diaper changes, and makeshift naps amongst all the ribbons and wrapping flying around at break-neck speed was a tall order to fill.

I am pleased to report that the girls despite the somewhat chaotic atmosphere around them, fared rather well and maintained mostly delightful dispositions throughout the various holiday gatherings. And they just looked too cute for words in their little Santa suits! I can hardly believe they will be running all around contributing to the chaos at this time next year...truly amazing!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

As of Friday, December 16th Maya and Zoe have been in my care taking charge for exactly 100 days! That would make them 14 weeks and 1 day...whew...where does the time go? Over these past 14 weeks the girls have acquired many new skills (i.e. breast feeding on their own, holding their heads stable, tracking me with their eyes, smiling, laughing, and cooing to name just a few.) In retrospect, they have grown by leaps and bounds since the day I first held them in the hospital (when they both were able to sleep comfortably in the same baby isolet.) In spite of all these achievements, (and because I am with them most all the time,) the changes are mostly subtle, progressing in development over the course of consecutive days, even weeks.

But on occasion there is a day that sticks out like a sore thumb. A day where baby masters a skill for the first time when clearly yesterday it was too great a challenge. Today is one of those days!!! Today is the day that Zoe successfully pushed her head and chest up off the floor with her adorably delicate arms all by herself. Not just once, but at least five or six times. This all occurred during our ritual of "tummy time" (that I try to schedule successfully at least twice a day - although sometimes Mommy blows it and forgets all about "tummy time" in her flurry of domestic activities...but not on this momentous day...no siry Bob!)

We had just finished with the girls morning snack when I gingerly placed them both face down on their usually beloved red/black/and white playmat (what would we do without that thing???) Normally it takes both babes a moment or two to acclimate to the fact that they have, in fact, been turned upside down and they are now face-planted into their suddenly less than favorite mat. Maya often quickly regains focus and begins her flying routine (this is where she lifts both her arms and legs simultaneously off the ground so that she is now supporting herself entirely with her rapidly increasing belly and her face.) Although this is very cute from Mommy's perspective it seems to make her quite peevish after about three or four minutes (I can't imagine why???) So I usually take pity on her as her disgruntled wails increase in both volume and urgency. It is most amusing how a quick flip into the familiar back resting position can produce an almost instant full faced grin - complete with sparkling eyes and protruding tongue.)

Now Zoe's "tummy time" experience usually takes a different route. She usually transitions rather well onto her belly and quickly turns her face to the side (a maneuver that hasn't quite occurred to Maya yet,) and either kicks her legs sporadically, sucks on any available fist, or takes a convenient belly snooze. But today she decided to throw Mommy for a loop!... Today is the day she must have been thinking "Hey let's see what these arm things can really do!" So rather quickly, she proceeded to use her precious little saliva-soaked paws to push up not only her head but her chest off the mat (just like they describe in all those baby development books!) Well, I could barely believe my eyes after watching her do it the first time. After all, she is the baby with the delicate frame and very little baby fat. Her sister is the one sporting the Big Guns not to mention her Thighs and Buns of Steel! Who would have thought that little Zoe would be the first across the push up finish line...YOU GO GIRL!!! While all this happening, I became aware that this was indeed one of those special milestone moments never to come again...so...appropriately I began frantically thinking..."Where the 'heck' is that 'darn' camera???!!!" Fortunately, Zoe was good enough to keep the body building show going until Mommy found the camera and could snap a few shots for posterity. Unfortunately, by the time that "darn" flash went off she was usually on the down swing of her upper body lifts....(Why can't they make those camera flashes go any faster...huh??? Oh, well that is a problem to be dealt with on another day.)


For now, I am simply in awe of the fact that my little one is growing up so fast. I mean today it is a head lift, but all too soon comes sitting, standing, and I just know all hell is going to break loose when the walking starts! Funny, they are only 14 weeks and 1 day but already I feel a tinge of melancholy about them growing up too fast. Each day, as I cuddle them before their naps, I make sure to nuzzle their heads and take in a deep breath of their delicious baby smell because I can already feel that these delightful days of blissful carefree baby cuddles are numbered. I do realize that they will soon be replaced with other wonderful experiences like reading together, helping them learn to ride a bike, and their first trip to the beach. But there is nothing like the angelic caress of a sleeping baby on your shoulder who flashes a heart-melting toothless grin as she dances playfully through her baby dreams.

Holiday Photos with the Miyamotos!!!

Well you know the holidays are approaching when you find yourself scrambling small infants in and out of multiple "First Christmas" outfits in hopes of preparing them for the perfect holiday greeting photo. Typically my intentions are good when it comes to sending out holiday cards, but my results... never measure up. Time always seems to get away from me. (I must have a whole desk drawer full of holiday cards whose potential to spread seasonal "Good Cheer" has been unjustly stifled.) Ahh, but this year I have adorable sweet children to pose for the camera, so the motivation has been ratcheted up several notches.

On Saturday morning we find ourselves at the house of our favorite resident photographer (Grandpa Ken). The great thing about his venue is that it comes fully equipped with decorated tree and many presents already under the tree (which is alot more than I can say for our own house at this point. I think the last time I actually got all the Christmas finery up was about 7 years ago...sad, I know. Holiday cards are to be this year's focus - Christmas tree and decorations...hmm that sounds like a very good goal for next year! I wouldn't want to get too carried away for fear of getting way too behind in the previously mentioned loads of laundry.) But I digress... :)

Once clad in our family holiday picture attire, we pose for what seems like a minimum of 300 flashes (gotta love digital!) in hopes that there is at least one or two in the bunch where both babies are not only looking at the camera at the same time, by have some sort of delightful "I am so excited it's Christmas" expression that will stand the test of time. (Note non-example at top of entry. Even though I believe Maya is actually midyawn in this one, she appears to be fully possessed by some kind of other worldly creature.) However, after much primping, shifting, and repositioning of the babies we managed to land a few pretty good shots. Many thanks going out to Auntie Kathy and Grandma Judy for making utter fools of themselves in an effort to captivate the little ones' attention toward the camera. (I am amazed to what lengths grown adults will go to in an effort to get babies to "smile for the camera". I just keep thinking of those poor baby photo studio workers - how exhausted they must be at the end of each day.)

But when all was said and done we were left with what I think is a pretty nice family photo, an amusing family memory, and one step closer to getting those holiday cards into the mail before December 24th...YEAH...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

The Art of the Nap

The Nap: A critical ritual that seems to be the constant thread throughout my days. If naps go well, a high percentage of the time it will be a fruitful day that produces happy mommy along with happy babies. If they don't there is the potential for very unhappy mommy by the end of the day. Fortunately, the nap fairies have looked down on me kindly so far and blessed me with two fairly good sleepers (for 3 months)... as long as I am attentive to the "Rules of the Nap".

Rule number 1 - naps must be the cornerstone of daily planning. Now this is not to say that I am a prisoner in my own home. But I have already learned the hard way that naps need to occur without fail and they need to occur within a particular window of time. Attempt to veer outside this window and the nap fairies will find "gentle" reminders of Rule Number 1. So as I plan out each day, I must coordinate which outings can realistically fit within the napping window (approximately 2 hours max.)

Rule number 2 - Respond promptly to the sleepy signals. I must forever be on the lookout for the initial sleepy signals so as to maximize my potential for smooth nap transitions (boy do I love smooth nap transitions). They occur when everything is in perfect sync, you, the baby, and the all important napping environment (darkened room, precuddling, soft music in the background, the comfy green glider chair.) So at 3 mos. the girls eat approximately every three hours. So after about an hour and a half of wake time the sleepy signals begin to reveal themselves. (But they can frequently fool you and arrive early if you are not paying careful attention. If you miss them...you are sure to miss the Smooth Napping Boat.) At first, they are subtle (a slight increase in cooing volume, an occasional squak - mainly from Maya). Then, if not heeded in time they will ramp up to an intermittent alley cat howl and overt yawning. Now most of the time, I, the dutiful mother, have successfully launched the napping routine into motion, but on the rarest of occasions I will miss the window, only to be met with all out screaming. This usually only occurs when I foolishly attempt to take on a household project that requires more than 7-10 minutes to complete... live and learn. :)

Rule Number 3 - Swaddling makes for happier naptime for everyone - although sometimes babies don't think so initially. Whoever invented swaddling was simply a genius to behold. And I will be forever thankful that I jumped on the opportunity to have sweet Dr. Wilder teach me his simple swaddling technique, when prior to discharge from the hospital he innocently asked, "Any Questions?" My instant response, " Yeah, you must teach me how you do that swaddling thing, you make it look so easy!" I simply cannot imagine putting two babies down for 4 naps a day plus bedtime (that is 10 count them 10 sleep transitions folks!) without the art of the swaddle on my side. When the little munchkins are in their coordinated yellow and pink Hawaiian print swaddle blankets (thank you to Auntie Elaine in Oahu - what would we do without them) the thrashing and squirming usually comes to a halt within a minute or two. And they just look so very adorable snoozing away in their little tropical burritos.

Rule Number 4 - Anticipate and allow for the 10 minute drop off period. After many a nap ritual I have come to find that even in the very best of circumstances it takes both our babies (in the best of moods) a good 10-15 minutes to complete the full nap ritual - which for me must be multiplied by two and carefully coordinated. So I have given up hoping to try and rush it...for that never works in the end. Once swaddled, we partake in, the 2-3 minute calm down cuddle while we make our way into the darkened nursery. We start the lullabies - (most of which I could recite by heart now), and we proceed with approximately 5-10 minutes of shushing and patting of the back. Finally, when they start to feel a bit heavier and their breath has moved to a softer pace, I gingerly place them down into their cribs, braced for any twitching or fussing.

If I am lucky, they will retain their blissful sleepy faces, with bodies serenely poised for little baby dreams (I do wonder what they dream about as the flashes of smile shoot across their toothless mouths...a beautiful mystery indeed.) As I linger, watching the little sea turtles and Hibiscus flowers rise and fall under their angelic baby breath, all is right with the world. At least for a few precious moments...

All in a Days Unpaid Work

For the last couple of weeks I have been experiencing what I hear many new moms go through...the "I work so hard and what do I have to show for it " syndrome. The days just seem to fly by now that the twins have made their little nests in our hearts and in our home. Day after day the sun just seems to dart across the sky like in those movies with time lapsed filming. When I worked full time I was always on the run, buzzing all around town from appointment to appointment and the days mostly clicked on by at a rapid pace, but nothing like they seem to now. Although I must admit that the last 13 weeks have been a bit of a blur of feedings, burpings, changing of diapers, putting down for naps, getting up from naps, baths, and baby laundry, lots of baby laundry. I never knew such little people could produce such gargantuan quantities of laundry. When I think about how our mothers (or possibly grandmothers) had to hand-wash cloth diapers...well it just makes my head start to spin.

But on the wonderful upside are the gazes into those amazing umber and chocolate brown eyes, the cuddles, the coos, and the increasingly intense love for these two very special and very little people (although they are approaching a whopping 11lbs. at only 13 weeks when they were born at just over five lbs.

But today I am feeling rather successful (I have also had to start to reshape my definition of success.) I fed the girls at 7:30, put in a load of laundry, ate breakfast, and then loaded the girls in the car. I made it to Bed, Bath, and Beyond by 9:00 where I surveyed the kitchen section for "must haves" to add to my poorly equipped kitchen. Then off to Vons - boy is grocery shopping a "different" experience while pushing a double stroller. Then onward to Costco to get gas for "only" 2.20 a gallon. ( I remember when I was appalled when gas hit 1.30...those were the good old days.) Then back home to feed the girls by 11:00.

After that feeding came the burping, changing, playing, and napping cycle, oh and of course more laundry. However, I did manage to eat a frozen lean cuisine pizza before the girls got up again.
And then I really decided to challenge myself by making homemade pasta sauce for dinner (well I at least added sauted onions and mushrooms and ground turkey to the sauce from the jar). So I could make dinner for Jeff. With twins, making anything more grandiose than a frozen dinner means it has been a very good day.

Well as we look at the items for tomorrow, I am a bit excited because my mother-in-law has agreed to watch the girls while I go for a most badly need cut and color. It is so long overdue and I am feeling a bit adventurous so I may just decide to cut most of my hair off. That is how I live on the edge as a stay-at-home mom. :)

Starting somewhere...

Well you have to start somewhere so I might as well start here. For all too long I have wanted to begin to write more just for me. But there were always too many excuses in the way, including my latest "I can't start writing for me until I finish writing all those overdue 'Thank You' notes." But hooray for me, I finally finished the last of them this past weekend.

So today is the day I make my first attempt at writing for no other reason than to simply write. I must admit another road block to this endeavor has been my own insecurites, for whatever reason - I think my perfectionist tendencies have been a big part of why I have continued to put this off for so long. But over the years, after having read many great books on writing written by writers, Annie Lamott's advice always lingers..."Don't be afraid of shitty first drafts." So that is what I plan to wear as my motto here on this blog of my adventures in motherhood and other stay-at-home experiences.

My first profound observation as a stay-at-home mom is the overwhelming amount of things there are to be done around a rather large house containing two small infants, and the "stuff" two grown adults have accumulated over 34 years times two. It is bizarre that now that I am at home, the to-do list wraps around onto several pages, whereas when I was working full-time, we simply turned many a blind eye to all the projects - probably out of sheer exhaustion. Things that never seemed to bother me -or that I was oblivious to, now stick out like a very sore thumb waiting to be attended to. I think part of this phenomenon is due to the fact that I feel much more obligated to maintain a pristine home now that I am not pulling in a paycheck.

Well there goes the baby crying...and so it goes...