As I look back on pictures, I feel sad that I was so focused on the stress and didn't take the time to enjoy the newborn moments... But, then again, I probably didn't have a whole lot of time to. Either way, the one thing I've learned this year is: It wasn't NEARLY as bad as I thought it would be.
At first, I just took one day at a time, tackling one milestone at a time... Nursing was the hardest, at first. My friend, Nicolle, was my lifeline and I swear I texted her 50 times a day, asking questions on how to nurse two babies at the same time. She was always so sweet and very detailed on what to do. I couldn't have done it without her help! The first three to six weeks, when I was teaching them how to latch, was really hard. I wanted to give up so many times, because it took so long and I was the only person who could feed them. Eventually, thanks to Nicolle, I was able to feed them at the same time, and then things became MUCH easier! I had to use a nursing pillow (thanks, Maria!!!) for multiples and sit on the couch with two throw pillows behind my back, so the nursing pillow was snug around my waist. Also, I needed the space of the extra couch on either side of me to put the babies while I got situated. Night feedings weren't too bad, as long as I made sure to feed them both at the same time, which meant I had to wake up a sleeping baby often. Otherwise, I would just fall back to sleep when the other one would wake up, and then I wouldn't get much sleep.
Next was teaching them to sleep through the night. I had to learn to feed them a LOT before bed, so I started pumping through the day and give them a bottle at night. BUT it had to be done just right... They couldn't be too sleepy, or they would fall asleep during their feeding and not get enough to eat and wake up hungry at night. Then, I put them to bed when they were still awake, so they could learn how to fall asleep on their own. Eventually they began sleeping through the night and I began to feel normal, again.
I also learned that I had to keep my house tidy everyday. I heard often, that I'd need to let things go and learn to live in a messy house. But, I found it was too much work to do things that way. If I kept things picked up, they were easier to find the next day, and there was more room to complete "baby tasks."
Nap time is done differently with Lydia and Addie than it was with Mack. I had the idea that I wanted him to be able to sleep through anything, so I tried not to be quiet, or darken the room. He didn't nap very well. The kids' room now has dark curtains and a humidifier, which makes for some cozy naps! Addie and Lydia take three hour naps, sometimes.
Fun Stories (some of these might be repeats, but I don't want to re-read every post form this year to prevent it):
- As newborns, Lydia and Addie woke up crying in the late evening. I carried them against my chest, into the living room. They both had their heads turned in the same direction and were so hungry... Lydia latched on to the back of Addie's head and tried to eat.
- In that same week, the girls were laying in their bouncy seats on the living room floor, when Chad sneezed. Both of them became startled and threw their arms up in the air simultaneously and slowly brought them back down. It was so funny to see four little arms waving in the air!
- So, I swear that babies can see things beyond this world. And I wouldn't have realized it, if it weren't for having twins. One night in my room, I was nursing the girls and they were looking around with their little eyes. At one point, they both caught sight of the same spot on the ceiling and tracked it along the same line, to the point that they both turned their heads. Nobody else was in the room and I couldn't see anything along the area they were tracking. There wasn't a bug, or light, or anything that I could make out with my eyes.
- They have learned how to fight and share at a very early age. A lot of times, they trade toys. When one of them starts tugging at the other one's toy, the second baby just grabs the toy from the first baby and they are both happy. BUT, they fight over crazy things, like sitting on a little box. They both want to sit on it, so they push, shove, pull, all while screaming, until they are both situated on the box. Then they are both happy.
- KayLee (my niece) was here this week and Addie kept going around the room collecting toys for KayLee to play with. Lydia did the same thing for Addie when Lydia was crawling and Addie couldn't even roll over. I love they've learned to take care of others.
