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Hey Cassandra.. good luck with the baptism.. I too am not religious so we are trying to decide on a "ritual" which will keep my parents happy... mom keeps bugging me to have Annabel baptised.. we shall see.. let me know how it goes!!!

6 mos.. wow... here I am at 2.5 weeks with sleepy eyes and a milk stained shirt and my baby in the front carrier pouch so I can type e-mails...I am sure you remember these days fondly!!!!!

Hi Cassandra,

Congrats on the baptism and reaching the 6 month mark with the twins!! My twins are going to be 11 weeks tomorrow. They were born at 35 weeks. Can you let me in on your secrets with sleeping through the night and getting on a schedule???

My twins are either colicky or just very fussy. They both cry every night from about 6 pm until 10 pm and are difficult to comfort. We have no schedule now as their eating and sleeping is so random. My son eats only 1-2 ounces of formula at a time and therefore is hungry every 1-2 hours and my daughter (who is smaller) eats pretty much every three hours. Sometimes they sleep after eating and sometimes not until the next feeding and then only 10 minutes or so. My doctor is not fond of putting them on a schedule at 2 1/2 months, but I am going nuts with no sleep, no schedule and constant crying. I cried last night because I haven't even been able to calm them down enough at night to give them a bath without needing 3 people to assist.

Did you experience any of this and then magically it gets better at 3 or 4 months?? That is what people tell me and I find it hard to believe. I know I sound down on them, I am just tired and cranky. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Sue

Sue, I absoltuely know what you are going through. I think I blocked out the memory of their first 2 months because of the extreme stress. I felt like a walking zombie. I remember the coffee pot on 24/7.

As far as the schedule goes, It is pretty much on demand for the first2 mo. then I started the closely monitor their intake. Lauren was smaller and drank less. My suggestion is..
1.) Know exacly what they drink at each feeding and try to make sure they finish all of it. (I think Matt had 4 oz. and Lauren had 2)
2.) Time it. From the time they start, not finish.
3.) Exactly or close to 3 hours later, feed again, same amount, they will probably take a little longer to finish. If they finish all again I would gradually start increasing the amount they drink(over days)
4.) This is the hard part but it doesn't last too long(maybe a couple days) Do not feed them inbetween. I don't know if you are using pacifiers( I did) they helped me but aren't for everyone. I also used the vibrating bouncers and swings a lot.
5.) At night try to start stretching the feedings out to 4 hours. Then 5.
6.) They will cry. But they are learning how to eat. You have to teach them. I think now is the perfect time to start but.. I'm no pediatrcian. ;)

I hope this helps a little. The payoff is huge! This doesn't happen overnight but you should start noticing a difference pretty soon. Take care and good luck!

cassandra

Me again. I forgot something important. I would wake them to feed them during the day but not at night. If I thought Mathew needed more rest. I would let him sleep through a feeding, but Lauren was so small, I had to wake her. If they sleep through a feeding do not give in. This is The Hardest Part. They have to wait. This seems harsh, I know. What no food for 6 hours????But, they will learn to drink what they need and nap accordingly. Of course I gave in once in a while but like I said before the payoff is wonderful. Be strong! You can do it! ;)

cassandra

Hi Cassandra. Good to hear from you. Wow, they are 6 months already! Time flies! I really like your advice on the feeding. It is true that you have to teach them. I'm glad that they are doing well.
I'm in my 24th week. The belly is here, nowhere to hide!
I'm feeling good, tired some days, heartburn some others but all in all, so much better now that I'm not nauseous any more.
I 'd love to have another baby, even if this one is not even born yet, but if we have to go through all the treatments again.... it's been so tough to get to this point, but still....!
Glad everyone is doing fine. Baby4us, a big kiss to little Annabel!
Fiso

Thanks Cassandra. I'll let you know how it goes...

Sue

Sue,

I remember when our twins were that age and they were fussy from about 5:00pm until about 10:00 at night. There wasn't a night that didn't go by that either of us got to eat dinner w/o a baby on our laps. I think that lasted until they started spoon feeding.

Do either of the babies have reflux? That could cause them to want to eat more b/c the continual feeding keeps the terrible feeling at bay. Ainsley and Patrick both had and have reflux. Patrick slept in a swing and bouncy chair for the first 2 to 3 months of life, b/c he had reflux. Now after being on Zantac he is a much happier child. How does your Dr. feel about rice cereal in a bottle? My Dr. reccommended it for Ainsley and also for our new baby b/c of the reflux issues, and I have friends that put their children on cereal b/c they wanted to give them something heavier to get them through the night.

We scheduled our twins to eat at the same time, even if one wasn't hungry, just b/c it was easier. I also began to give them baths in the mornings and afternoons, just b/c it sometimes seemed so hectic at night.

I know that it seems that it is very difficult now, but trust me as a mom of twins that are 2 and half yrs. old somethings do get a lot easier - feeding, sleeping, and other things get much more difficult, (I will spare you those details :)) Once they hit 6 months, life will get so much easier, they will be doing so many things that these difficult days will seem like nothing but a passing memory.

You are doing a GREAT JOB; no one said having twins was easy :) :) Try to get a little down time from the twins if you can. A little "me" time makes all of the difference, even if it is just running to the store to get diapers by yourself. Take Care - you will survive this hectic time of life. Just think, when they are teenagers having crying babies will seem like a piece of cake :) At least that is what I tell myself, when our 2 year old daughter is having a full blown meltdown tantrum :)

Meg

Fiso, glad to hear you are doing well. Try to enjoy these last weeks of pregnancy and I hope dh is giving you the princess treatment!

Meg, How are your twins doing with the new baby? You must have your hands full! I forgot about adding the cereal to their bottles. I don't remember exactly when I did that, I think at around 3 months, thank you for telling her about it!

Mathew and Lauren are almost on the breakfast, lunch and dinner schedule. Yesterday was their 6 mo. checkup and Mathew weighs 19.9 and Lauren weighs 14.7! 5 lbs. difference! Mathew is only 2 in. taller though. Doc said Lauren will be a tall skinny girl. They are both in perfect health and had their shots. Did pretty good with that though. Lauren cried more getting dressed than the shots! :) Anyways, gotta run....

cassandra

Hi everyone, Congrats on the baptism. They must have been cute. I am doing another ivf July 21. I had surgery to remove a septum in my uterus and the new doc is really excited. Take care all. Darcie

OMG! I missed you 44! I posted a while back looking for you! I am so anxious for you! Babydust to you! I wish you the best with the IVF. Please keep me posted! I will be on VACA then July 16th to Aug 3rd. and will be staying home for most of it. I'll be checking for you daily. Again, loads of babydust to you!

cassandra

Hi Meg,

Thanks for the support. The twins are 12 weeks old today, but they were 5 weeks early, so the dr said I have to adjust for that in some aspects of their development...like the evening fussiness ending and not needing to feed them through the night. Jake is 11 lbs. and Lily is 9 lbs. Jake was tested for reflux in the hospital and didn't appear to have it. I am not sure why he fusses so much while eating. He has been taking more at each feeding now, so we'll see. My dr said we can talk about cereal at their 4 month checkup in August.

Over the last week or so, they have been better, crying for only an hour or so at night and going to bed at 9 - 9:30. My dh and I had started eating dinner separately before 6pm otherwise we didn't get to eat. It creates tension between us too at times.

I am going to put their bouncy chairs in their cribs tonight as a first step to moving them out of our room. Then after a week or so, take the bouncy chairs out and put them on the mattress. Right now, we soothe them to sleep and put them down. I hope to be able to put them down awake, although I am not fond of the crying methods... We'll see what works. The dr wants them in their cribs by their 4 month checkup.

I am not going back to work until October, so I have some time to get a schedule in place. I do look forward to getting a 6-7 hour stretch of sleep...

Again, thanks for the advice and support.

Sue

Cassandra, congrats on the Baptism. We are not very religious either but I feel that I want them baptized so that they can make their own choices and I want them to believe in God so that they have hope and someone to comfort them. I just have to find a Church that will do it - so far you have to be a member or they won't. (I asked 3 Churches) I can't believe how big your little girl is now! that is wonderful. Your boy of course too but I just mean since Lauren was so small. I hope my Hailey gets there soon. People still think she's a newborn all the time and look at me funny when I say she's 5 months! She's 9 lbs 1 oz now.

The feeding advice you gave Sue was great. I keep my two on the same schedule all the time. Whoever cries first at night I take to bed with me (they share a crib in my room still) and I hold him or her (usually Hailey) and wait for the other one to wake up. It usually works to hold them close and use a pacifier. I've done this for a while now and it's working. They now sleep from 9:00 at night until about 5:00 am so it's a nice stretch. I too woke them up if necessary during the day in the beginning.

Jayden cried every night all night for 2 weeks straight when he first came home after 1 and 1/2 months in the hospital. I bought a glider chair which he slept in for a month. It helped very much.

Hailey has has rice added since day 1 because of vomiting issues (not reflux) and I just started adding rice to Jayden's bottle 2 weeks ago because he's starving all the time. He's now eating 6 oz with a teaspoon of rice per ounce 5 times a day. Doc said not to feed baby food yet but I gave him a bit of bananas yesterday because he's just so hungry all the time. Hailey is at 4 ounces 5 times a day with the same rice addition.

Good luck, Sue. It does get easier and all these things that have been mentioned sure help. Hailey is the tough one for me since she vomits many of her feedings but the doctor insists it's not reflux. This past weekend I cried over it since I went out and she threw up in the carseat and all over herself once again. But now she's fine again. HOpefully she'll just grow out of it. She's happy most of the time so they say it's not reflux. And boy does that tiny smile light up the room!

Darcie, I wish you SO much luck!!! I'm so glad that you are hanging in there....I am so anxious to hear good news from you. You are in my thoughts often. Karen

Cassandra,

Life is very hectic with 3 children, especially when 2 of them are twins. They both still take up the bulk of our time, so that leaves little time for Patrick, who is just the most low maintenance baby ever :) He is such a lovey :)

Gavin adjusted pretty well to having a little brother; he likes him well enough, but Ainsley hasn't adjusted as easily. She takes out her frustration on the baby by hitting him and such, much to our dismay. She has been having some other issues also. I have paper work to be sent so that she can be evaluated by a developmental pediatrician. Unfortunately the wait for an appointment is 4-8 months at DuPont Hospital, which is not that bad, considering Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is a 2 year wait for an appointment !!!! I actually spoke w/ our pediatrician today about what we can do in the mean time. Ainsley can be very, very physically and mentally draining... Other than being extrememly busy, life is very good to us, and we are very blessed :)

Fourtyfour,

It was so great to hear from you :) I still always think about you and how you are doing. You and WantsBaby2 are perpetually on my prayer list. I am glad that you are doing another IVF. I hope this is your time - you deserve it more than anyone. I will be thinking of you and praying for you especially in these next couple of weeks. Be strong and know that you are always in my thoughts :)

Meg

Meg, I am sorry to hear of Haily not taking too well to the baby. Your twins are 2 years old right? Is the developmental ped. for her anger? A 2 year waiting list? That's ridiculous! I'm glad you found one that will take her sooner. My very best wishes to you on getting to the bottom of what's going on.

Karen, has your doc tried to change her formula? Lauren used to do the same thing. Constantly getting sick on her formula, even with rice. We changed her to Enfamil gentlease. It works great. My ped. office has given me 4 cases of the stuff for free. We also noticed that once made, we let it sit in the fridge for a longer time and she did even better. Don't know if it's too late in the game to switch, just a thought.

Meg, I'm so curious now of your twins being toddlers. Do you gate them? I am just wondering how I can keep them safe. They are just starting to sit up on their own a little and I know the rest is coming soon! Oh boy!

Take care everyone!

cassandra

Cassandra,

We have Ainsley and Gavin and Patrick :) I believe that Karen has Hailey and Jayden :)

In answer to your question to gating the twins - DEFINITELY YES !!!!!!! Once they started moving around we began gating them off. Even in the new house we have gates everywhere, especially b/c we have 2 staircases. Luckily we were able to do that w/ the configuration of the house. I think I would be a raving lunatic chasing after them all day long up and down steps. We also have a finished basement in this house which is a Godsend :) Too bad they won't play by themselves down there !!!! We also have the squeeze doorlocks on every door in the house, otherwise they would be escaping or constantly helping themselves to the pantry.

Anything that toddlers are supposed to do, Ainsley and Gavin have done it or will do it. They went into drawers, touched the oven, climbed on furniture and tables, touch the TV, touch the fireplace (of course it was not on) They love the bathroom and toilets... Run into the street. If you give me time I could think of so much more..... Don't worry about losing weight, you will loose it in another 6 months chasing after twins !!!!!! There is absolutely never a dull moment in our house. Boredom is never a word that enters our vocabulary.

As I am sure people have told you there is never, ever, a dull moment with twins in your life :) You will forever find joy and laughter mixed with some tears and frustration, and be filled with so much intense love you won't know what to do with it . Happy twins everyone :)

Meg

Meg, please forgive me for mixing up your names! I think sometimes when I start to type I am not quite awake yet! :)

I had to work yesterday from 11-8 and dh is out of town so my sitter had to stay for 10 hours. She was a champ considering the day she had. I wrote a 3 page letter on the usual day around here. The children were quite fussy she said but they were asleep when I got home and woke at their usual time this morning. I brought her home a 12pk. and she had 4 before she left. ;D Telling me all about the day and I laughed soo hard. She seemed to take it all in stride.

Anyways a woman came in last night and told me about her twins (they are 38 now) telling me about when they were infants and how everyone admires them. She goes on to say they had no idea how hard it was! I hear ya lady. I have to say, now that they sleep through the night things are so much better! You definately need your sleep to keep up the pace! Well, I gotta run. I have errands today and work tonight so I better get rollin around here. Have a great weekend everyone!

cassandra