March Tummy Checkup

Ahhh it's been forever since I updated and I have soooo many pictures I have yet to download. Sorry! This is just a quick update to say the girls' appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist went fine today.

Apparently exercise is keeping them slim (I'll update on their activities in another post). They haven't really grown in length at all since their six month checkup with the pediatrician. We were kind of surprised because they looked longer - but we all figured it's because they are a bit leaner now.

Frances is 19 pounds and 27 inches. (75th percentile for weight and 50th for height).
Grace is 18 pounds and 27 inches. (50th percentile for weight and height).
[Updated to correct Grace's weight stat.]

We're going to start phasing out the Pepcid. And we're going start upping the amount of solids they eat. Apparently they are getting just the right amount of formula. So all is good.

When we go to their 9 month pediatrician appointment we have to get a referral for them to see an allergist. They have to get the skin test for the milk and soy allergy before we head back to see the pediatric GI again in June. I didn't delve into what would be the procedure going forward if they still have the allergy - I don't want to worry about it now if they get tested and it turns out they've already outgrown it. So we'll see....

I'll try to update more frequently, it's been really busy and now I'm wayyyy behind. The babies have changed so much too!

6-Month Checkup and Illness

Well, first thing's first, the girls had their 6-month checkup today. All is well. Here are the stats:

Frances
Weight: 17 lbs. 13 oz. (80th percentile)
Length: 27 inches (90th percentile)
Head: 43 1/2 cm (a bit above the 75th percentile)

Grace
Weight: 17 lbs. 15 1/2 oz. (80th percentile)
Length: 26 1/4 inches (70th percentile)
Head: 44 cm (80th percentile)

I honestly think they'd be weighing a bit more, but we all lost some weight after a recent bout with stomach illness (see below). They received their 6-month rounds of vaccinations as well as the flu shot. We also have to schedule an appointment for hearing screening. They passed it before they left the NICU. But I guess the state of Maryland requires that they get tested again before a year old, simply because they were in the NICU and received antibiotics in their first 24-hours of life. So I gotta schedule that. Their next pediatrician appointment is at 9 months. (Nine months... I can't even imagine!? Time is flying by!)

Some developmental things to note this past week:

• Grace and Frances both have their bottom two teeth coming in. Grace's have completely broken through, and Frances has one that has broken through and one simmering just under the gums. Yay! At least this explains the hours and hours of screaming. I'm hoping that subsequent teeth will break through sans as much drama. Please!!!
• Also, we were reading "I am a bunny" - well we don't actually "read" it, we just say "where's the bunny?" and point to it each time. This time Grace pasted her slimey hands on the bunny. We thought it was a fluke, that she was just favoring the left side of the book, but when the bunny was on the opposite page, she was slapping her slimey hand right on him. Frances loves to "turn the page" when we read books. Everyday they are changing. So cute!

Last week was our first experience with a full family stomach virus. We've had the full family cold before, but this really sucked. It hit me at work. Richard had felt sick almost at about the same time I did - but at least he was working from home since his office was closed due to weather. So about a 1/2 hour after Richard and I had complained about our symptoms - he calls me at work and puts the nanny on the phone. She says that Grace and Frances are throwing up and have fevers. Initially Richard and I thought it was food related - at this point, we realize that since the babies are sick too, it's a virus. My co-worker had been out sick for two days with the same symptoms. So yea, I brought it home - nice mommy! Doh!

Anywho, I had to leave work a 1/2 hour early. And SOOO glad I did because the full force of the illness pretty much hit as soon as I walked in the door. Grace wasn't keeping ANYTHING down. Frances and Richard were faring a bit better than Grace and I. Richard had to take Grace to the ER. But they told him, just to keep trying to give her pedialyte - and hopefully she keeps it down - if she doesn't, then we have to worry about dehydration. By night time they each got about 2 ounces they kept down. I was in the same boat. And with the fever and aches and pains. Blah! We all felt like we'd been hit by trucks the next day. Richard and I called off work. But, as my mom says, "there are no sick days for parents." And believe me being sick and taking care of two sick babies - not a walk in the park. The nanny was with us, which helped immensely since we were definitely NOT functioning at 100%. Case in point, I was so weak, dizzy and distracted, that I FELL down the stairs. Seriously. What the heck? I was sooo pissed at myself. Thank GOD I did not break anything. Disaster. So as you can imagine, I'm still feeling a bit sore, but the stomach bug was gone for me by Saturday evening, as well as 4 pounds of weight! Seriously, gotta work on replenishing those fluids! The rest of the family felt pretty okay by Friday evening. And no, the nanny is not sick, she's super human.

Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned...

So Many Changes!

So many changes in less than a week! Seriously, time IS flying by.

So just since their birthday last Tuesday:

• Grace is rolling over to both sides now (before she tended to favor rolling to her left side). And she's figured out how to combine the back-to-stomach and stomach-to-back rolls!
• Frances is also officially rolling from her back to her stomach! I was so surprised when I turned for a split second and the next thing you know, she was on her belly, smiling at me! I had to stop for a second and make sure it was really her, and that I didn't get the girls confused haha. But now she's a rolling machine. We're kind of panicking - picturing them both moving around like crazy! Baby proofing time is here!
• The girls finished their week of carrots - now we're on to squash - and LOVING it! So yay, carrots and squash on the menu :-)
• Frances has been kicking it up a notch this week, along with the rolling, she can now hold her bottle. They both still prefer that someone else do it, but if left to their own devices they will grab and chug away.
• AND, Grace has been super cranky lately. Not taking naps as easily as she used to (she was our clinch napper!) and today was a particularly inconsolable one. So I checked her gums to see if she was cutting any teeth and voila! There's a little tooth starting to poke it's way through. I can even feel the sharp little edges! Oh my girls are getting bigger every day! (FYI - I did check Frances' gums as well, since she's been having a lot of symptoms too, but I didn't "feel" or "see" anything yet - doesn't mean something's not brewing under there.)

Anywho, a week from Monday will be their 6 month check-up, can't wait. In the mean time, some more videos for your viewing pleasure.

Frances Laughing
Context: Grace had hit herself in the face with her giraffe teether so I said "Pow! Right in the kisser!" and Frances started laughing. The nanny and I figured out it was the "Pow!" that she thought was hilarious. So here's my video of it cracking her up. (This was taken this week.)




Frances Watching Dora.
Context: Frances was watching Dora, and completely zoned in. I was talking to her and she was ignoring me. So I picked up the camera and proceeded to film it. You can see she gets annoyed with me in the end. Already, acting like a teenager. (This was taken Dec. 12, 2010)


The girls are Six Months, Four Days Old today.

Happy 6 Month Birthday!

Yay! The girls are 6 months old today. Crazy how time is flying by. So much has changed in just the last month. Lots of rolling (which I haven't taken any video of yet, since I'm wrangling babies hehe). Grace is all about holding her own bottle. Frances isn't really doing it yet, the chub gets in the way! hehe. We had been trying spoon feeding since they turned 5 months, but no doing. Last week the GI said to try some vegetable - and skip the cereal from a spoon (they are getting it in their bottles anyway). And sure enough, Saturday we gave them some carrots and yum-o, they loved it! So now we're going through a jar per feeding, twice per day.

Below is a video of Gracie holding her bottle and below that is a video of the girls eating carrots for their birthday. Sra. Esther and I called it their "carrot cake" - Richard said they should get half a candle for half a year old :-) Enjoy...

Gracie holding her bottle...


The girls eating carrots on their birthday...

A Surprised Gracie!

Here is a video from back in December. Auntie Amy was over and we were playing with the girls in their Bumbos. Grace got surprised when I said, "Get the froggy!" - referencing the rattle Amy is holding. It's a bit grainy because I wanted to add the slow-mo effect, and had to do it in Windows Movie Maker. Anywho, I think you still can see well enough.

Enjoy!

Our Tootsie Roll - Gracie

I forgot to post that Gracie is a roller! They both have been rolling from stomach to back for awhile now. But now Gracie loves going from her back to her stomach. She first did it when my parents were visiting. My dad said "Gracie rolled over!" And we didn't believe him - she had always come close - but just not close enough. Then she was crying in her crib and my mom went to check on her and voila she was face down screaming into the mattress. Yikes! So yea, now we are (overly) concerned every time we hear her cries get muffled (but at least she's still crying right?!).

It's just a challenge putting on lotion or clothes. Oh and you can imagine what fun rolling is when you are trying to change a poopy diaper - yea, not so much. You turn your back and Grace is gone, rolling away. Yesterday we were changing both girls on the floor, and Grace rolled on her belly, and promptly returned to her back - thudding her head on the hardwood floor in the process. Doh!

We are already worried about Frances getting as agile. We know it will happen soon because she gets real close to rolling herself over to her stomach. With this added mobility it is a bit harder being home alone with the girls. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when they are both crawling....... and walking! Omigosh! I'll admit I'm very afraid.

Hopefully we'll survive ;-) Thank God for the person who invented baby gates (aka baby jail hehe).

January Tummy Check-up

The girls had their check-up for their tummy troubles today. They are both doing great. The Similac Alimentum is working like a champ. And the girls are still gaining weight, although not as much this past month as they gained the month before.

We could have sworn Grace looked taller and thinner than Frances but they both measured out equals. They both are 25 inches long and 17.1 pounds. They are between the 75th and 90th percentiles for weight, and around the 50th percentile for height.

I told the doc that I cut out the rice cereal in their formula the last week of December. They were getting one tablespoon for every two ounces of formula. So three tablespoons at each feeding, for each girl. The girls were having such a hard time drinking it through the bottle - and still aren't eating from a spoon yet. They were gulping a lot of air that would get trapped in the bottle. And we had to widen even the cereal nipples for it to flow through - and that would cause gulping of air as well. She said we shouldn't cut out the rice cereal completely. So now we're doing one teaspoon for every 1-2 ounces. But I think cutting out the cereal may have slowed down their growth some. We told the GI we've been trying the spoon feeding every weekend, just to see if they are ready. We had been trying just the rice cereal and oatmeal - but she said we could try other stage one foods - since maybe the babies are just being picky. Who knows...

Frances is suffering from really BAD eczema. Even the GI doctor felt so horrible for her. We went to the doctor and she said to apply 1% hydrocortisone cream, she said no lotion will heal parts that are already cracked and oozing. And I bought some Aquaphor to maintain flare-ups behind her knees after the hydrocortisone treatment. So we just have to be stingy so as to not overdose her on the hydrocortisone. Poor baby. She's all scabby and raw - it really does look painful  - and she definitely let's us know when it's bother her. :-(

Anywho we have another follow up with the GI in March. And we have their 6 month check up at the end of this month. Crazy how time flies!

First Christmas and New Year!

"Team Santa" - Frances and Grace, Christmas morning 

The girls survived their first Christmas! My parents and brother came down to visit. The girls had their initial "stranger danger" episode. Although, I think the over stimulation of various activities just added to their crankiness. Christmas morning they lasted long enough for us to get a couple shots of them with a couple gifts (see above) and then they passed out again. Therefore, I opened all the presents - they were able to marvel at them after their nap.

In the evening we had Christmas Dinner. Richard's dad came over and Uncle Edgar, and Rhonnie, as well. And two cute little girls, Katie and Abby. Like I said above, the girls and their "stranger danger" came to the forefront. They cried A LOT. I tried to explain to the two little girls that came over, that the babies weren't crying because they didn't like them, it's just something babies go through. Richard and I ended up having to escape upstairs to get the girls quieted down.

I would say by Sunday they became accostomed to the added company. It was just a lot of "new" people all at once. My brother headed back Upstate early Sunday morning - to avoid the predicted snowpocalypse - which actually didn't hit anywhere relevant - but ya never know with those things.

My folks stayed the rest of the week! Since Richard and I both had to work, and the nanny was still on vacation - my parents took on the baby duty (doodie hehe). They did such an awesome job! It's A LOT of work. It was nice to have 4 adults around at night, man were we able to get A LOT more done.

Grace and Frances in their New Year's outfits

Richard and I both had New Year's Eve off from work. In the morning we had a New Year's photoshoot with the girls. I had bought these flower headbands that were adorably hilarious (see above). Afterwards, Richard and my dad loaded up a bunch of furniture and etcetera to donate to Goodwill and Salvation Army. Seriously we are crunched for space with two babies! So that was a nice weight lifted off our shoulders (again, my parents are awesome!). And Richard cleaned the girls room and I cleaned our room.

Aunt Sig and Uncle Freddy fought off the jet-lag from their recent trip to visit Glenn in Paris -- and came to visit us. They brought over some gifts for the girls, which promptly entered their mouths - as everything does hehe. After they left we did what we always do, take care of babies haha. We had our New Year's cheer around 9:30 p.m.-ish, since we were all dog-tired from a long day (and week, and month -- let's make that 5 and 1/2 months......).

New Year's Day my folks left to head back Upstate. I'll admit I cried after they left. Richard and I both were depressed. Seriously we felt the weight back on. It'd had been a long few weeks. With the nanny being gone and trying to juggle work, and the holidays, it had been nice to have a couple extra hands around to help out. We can't wait for them to visit again, but they might enjoy the "freedom" for a bit longer hahahaha.

So a BIG THANK YOU to Auntie Amy, and Grandma and Grandpa for helping out with everything in December! We couldn't have done it without you guys.

Happy(?) 5 Month Birthday!

The girls with their ears pierced.

If they appear "off center" it's because I haven't tightened the earrings yet.

(Grace on left, Frances on right)

Okay, so I'm posting a day early... tomorrow will be the girls' 5 month birthday, woohoo!

Today Auntie Amy and I took the girls to the Piercing Pagoda at the mall. The lady said most babies cry for a few seconds and then forget all about it (like with shots). Well, Grace went first. Auntie Amy held her since I was nervous. We figured she could pass her off to me for consoling while they did Frances. They had both ears pierced at the same time (thank GOD!). Well Grace is screaming of course, so I take her and walk her around and she doesn't stop. I'm starting to get nervous. It "seems" like everyone is looking at me like - why did you torture your child!

In the meantime Frances is completely unphased. And gets her ears pierced as well. She cried for all of about 10 seconds and then was back to laughing and giggling. Grace on the otherhand - screamed the whole rest of the way out of the mall. And she continued to cry off and on in the car. And when we got to the house she commenced the screaming again. Even after giving her a bottle, she still cried. But fortunately all that crying tuckered her out and she fell asleep pretty quickly.

Man I felt sooo bad for Gracie. If I hadn't seen how Frances had a fairly easy reaction - I would have completely thought I was torturing her! I'm so glad we decided to take them at the same time. If I had taken Grace alone, and first, I never would have gone back with Frances. Frances was still all smiles afterwards - she must feel really pretty :-) She was looking at Grace like, "what's your problem chick?" hahaha. Anywho, I gave them some baby tylenol. By tomorrow, a lot of the warmness, soreness, and throbbing should be going away. Now, cross fingers they don't get infected!

A thank you to Auntie Whitney whose Christmas gift for the girls paid for the earrings! We got a sweet "buy one get one free" deal on the earrings and free piercing with the earring purchase. I went with 14k gold (yellow gold for Frances, and white gold for Grace). I read gold was less likely to result in an allergic reaction. So with the BOGO deal, we really lucked out on price! Woohoo!

A HUGE thank you to Aunt Amy for helping me out. Seriously I can not say THANK YOU big enough!!! Not only did she do the "dirty task" of holding them for the piercings,  she also helped keep me sane (and from passing out from nerves).

So I was thinking about how Carrie felt bad for scheduling Ben's shots for his birthday... I can completely empathize now! Although, honestly, shots are a necessity... earrings are purely cosmetic. They look completely adorable though!

And on a side note - the lady that pierced their ears has a 5 month old son (born 3 days before the girls). She had a c-section at Howard County Hospital too - so we gather we were probably in the maternity ward at the same time. Fun!

Soooo happy birthday girls, I hope you will not have PTSD and will forgive me when you're older :-) Love you lots!

Gracie Rolled Over!

Wearing the sweaters Auntie Amy knitted

(Grace on left, Frances on right)

Frances has been rolling from her stomach to her back for awhile now. We were worried because Grace hadn't even attempted to do it. The doc said that Frances was actually ahead of schedule and that we shouldn't worry about Grace - she was right on target for her milestones. Well sure enough, the other day she was really trying to launch herself from her back to her stomach, so we were assisting her, and she was having fun. Well one of the times, we just left her on her belly, and voila! She rolled onto her back. Yay! We all cheered and she was happy as a clam.

Auntie Amy has been coming to help with childcare this week. WE LOVE AUNTIE AMY! Our nanny is on vacation for 3 weeks. I have to work from home since I don't have any paid time off left (maternity leave ate it up) so it's nice having the help between and during feedings. :-) Anywho, after work on Monday, we were playing with the babies on the gym - giving them play time on their tummies. Frances demonstrated her rolling skills. AND she even did it on command! We thought it was hilarious.

They will both be moving in no time... yikes!

On a side note, my previous post about the babies "sleeping through the night..." yeah - not so much. I guess it was just a fluke. It's frustrating. I know eventually they will, but it seems like it will be just in time for teething. Blah. Actually Frances had progressed to sleeping from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. But Gracie was waking up every hour to half hour starting at 1 a.m. It sucked. Then the past two nights, all of a sudden Gracie is sleeping but now Frances is waking up! You can't win for trying. I wish they would have identical patterns - since they are identical twins! Come on, give mommy and daddy a break. hahaha. Ah well.

Also, we had to call the pediatric GI to ask about upping their Pepcid dosage - since they had gained quite a bit of weight from the beginning of November to the end, at the 4 month checkup. So now they are ate .8 mL. Seems to help them at feedings. We'll see though....

Grandma and Grandpa are coming back at the end of next week, with Uncle Tommy - so the girls will have more entertainment. Should be fun :-)

New Jersey Family Visit AND 1st Turkey Day

Okay so I forgot to update on a couple things that have happened in the past month (aside from their 4-month checkup).

First, our relatives from New Jersey came to see the girls for the first time. Grace was chatting away with Great! and Auntie Judy. While Frances hung out with Uncle Howard and Auntie Ingrid. We had fun. And then we left Richard with the gals so that we could get some Indian food. Delicious!

 Uncle Howard and Auntie Ingrid entertain Frances

Then for Thanksgiving we headed to Great! and Uncle Freddy's house. Grandma and Grandpa Parry were there too. Aunties Barbara and Marina joined the festivities, as well as Uncle Raw-knee.

Uncle Raw-knee feeds Gracie and daddy feeds Francie Pants

Yum - formula and rice cereal!

Here are a bunch of pictures of activities and visitors from the past month - click here.

4-Month Check-up

Our chubettes - Grace and Frances

Wow it's been a looooonnnnnnngggggg day. We're whipped!

The girls had their 4-month check-up today. They are both doing great.

Frances:

• 15 lbs. 10 oz. - the 90th percentile!
• 24.5 inches long - the 50th percentile
• I can't remember her head circumference but it's in the 75th percentile

Grace:

• 15 lbs. 7.5 oz. - just a teensy weensy bit below the 90th percentile!
• 23 inches long - the 10th percentile
• And same as Frances, with head circumference in the 75th percentile.

So basically, they are short and fat with big ol' heads. hahaha. The doctor is not concerned about their length yet, so that's good. But wow, coming from not being even on the charts when they were born, to almost being off the charts on the other side. My big girls!

Developmentally they are doing great. We were nervous that Grace seemed "behind" Frances on a lot of milestones. But it turns out that Grace is right on target for her age - and Frances is ahead of schedule. Whew! Good to know. So "yay" for the girls!

The only unfortunate revelation from the appointment is that both girls have eczema. The doc said it's common with allergies. They'll most likely have asthma issues as well. All three tend to come as a package. Probably inherited that crap from me. Ah well. Anywho, there is no "cure" for eczema so all I can do is keep the vaseline on hand. Poor little gals.

They got their vaccines again, albeit with lots of consolling. They were fussing for awhile. I'm sure their legs are sore. Have to keep an eye out for possible fever. Hopefully they will be fine in a couple days. The next check-up is at 6 months.

Sleeping Through the Night... Could it Be?

Okay the girls have changed their eating, sleep and wake time routine just in the past few days. As a result, last night we put them to bed at 8:45 p.m. and they slept until 6 a.m. They didn't completely "sleep through" the night. Grace woke up around 11 and fussed for a bit. I gave her some saline drops and she eventually fell back asleep. Then they seemed to alternate waking up every hour after that. But it was only for about 5-10 minutes at a time, maybe 15 max. So I'm looking forward to the complete sleep.

4 months, 5 days old

Tummy Time

I'm trying to give the girls more "tummy time." Of course, they don't like it. Ah well. Anywho, yesterday after their morning feeding we were playing on the gym. And it was Frances' turn for some tummy time. I put her on her belly and not 5 seconds later she rolled over on her back. I was so surprised. She did it once before, when she was REALLY angry, but this time she was perfectly happy. So I put her back on her belly and she rolled over again! I couldn't believe it. And she was giggling. Definitely having fun :-) I think Frances is a bit stronger than Grace right now. Sometimes Frances even pushes all the way up on her hands. Grace is still only raising her head about 45 degrees. But I'm not worried. I think Frances is just a bit ahead and Grace is right on schedule. I just keep encouraging both of them. As long as we're having fun, we're good :-)

Last weekend we had some more visitors. Auntie Amy came over with Uncle Joe's mom. They helped by feeding the girls and joining in play time! Later on, Howard and Ingrid came over with Judy. Their first time meeting the girlies. Aunt Signe joined us as well. And Grace practiced her talking! We all had fun. And then left Richard with the girls so we could go and get some eats - yay for some delicious Indian food :-)

This will be the girls first Turkey Day coming up. Can't wait :-)

4 months, 3 days old

4 Months Old!

Wow! The girls are 4 months old today. I keep thinking, only 8 months until they are 1 year old. I'm happy and sad at the same time. They are just growing and changing so fast.

They have made so many developmental milestones (as mentioned in the previous post). And now we feel they are getting more on-track to sleeping through the night. Cross fingers! We put them down between 10 and 11 p.m. And they wake up between 4 and 6 a.m. Two mornings this week we actually had to wake them up. I'm just hoping it gets more consistent. It turns out that getting the humidifier back in working order was the trick. Isn't it funny how one little thing you'd been avoiding (i.e. cleaning the humidifier) could have avoided you all those sleepless nights for the past two weeks! Darn hindsight! Wouldn't it be just our luck that they'd figure out this whole sleeping thing just in time to start teething. hahaha. I laugh in irony.

Their 4 month check-up will be more like 4 1/2 months. It's so hard to get back-to-back appointments, a necessity with twins. They didn't have any until Turkey week - which wouldn't work with my co-workers taking off, so we had to push it to the Monday following Turkey Day. Yay for more shots! hahaha.

Happy Birthday Girlies!

Ladies Gaga... and Googoo

Frances and Grace have both been "talking" for awhile. Frances has been by far, more vocal. She'll talk non-stop. Grace was hit or miss. Some days she wouldn't say a peep. And then other days she'd have a couple really good vocal sessions.

Well, this past weekend came and Grace just sprung right out of her shell. She's been talking sooo much her sister barely has time to get a word in edge-wise. It's so crazy when they both are just talking non-stop at the same time. It will be fun when they start babbling to each other. Oh, when they squeal and giggle it makes all the work worth it.

Also, just since last week, they've been grabbing at things a lot. The nanny gave them a soft rattle and they grab and fling it around. They grab their little burp cloths (blankies) and fling them around too. And at times, conveniently wipe their own mouths. hahaha.

They are both getting very strong. I was craddling Grace in my arm yesterday and she pulled herself upright into a semi-seated position. It surprised me! We are waiting for their sitting and head holding to get a bit more steady and then we'll begin trying the other Stage 1 solid foods.

The nanny was just as amazed as I was at how much they've changed in just the past week. We were both so excited!

The girls turn 4 months on Thursday. Time is flying...

Girls and Self-Confidence

Living in today's society means lots of challenges for my girls growing up. Girls are notorious for having poor self-images. I want to be sure my girls remain level-headed. Not too down on themselves and not too full of themselves either. It's hard though, because many children are shaped by their peers. And even us girls/women with the most supportive of female counterparts - still have self-image issues. I read this article on MsNBC today: "Is Your Daughter A Self-Loathing 'Body Bully?" I definitely recommend it. The book it references sounds very interesting: Good Girls Don’t Get Fat: How Weight Obsession Is Screwing Up Our Girls and What We Can Do to Help Them Thrive Despite It. I think the body image thing applies to girls who think they are too fat and those who think they are too skinny - someone hates their curly or straight hair - someone hates the color of their eyes - and everything else in between.

I'm hoping the fact that they are identical twins will be an asset, at least body image-wise. They have someone else in the world that looks exactly like them, and that hopefully they will be besties with. Viewing their sister in that positive light should reflect positively on their view of themselves. We can only hope though, and try and provide an encouraging, happy and healthy environment.

And the Baby Bump Lingers On...

I'm a bit peeved. I ordered the BioGaia pro-biotic drops for the babies and when it arrived, the box read, "may contain traces of milk protein." Say what?! The girls pedi GI was not aware of that - she only mentioned that she had heard the drops worked for some parents in alleviating colic symptoms. And I looked all over the BioGaia site and no where did it mention the milk protein thing. I have to call and complain. And definitely demand a refund - $35 for a teeny tiny little bottle. In the meantime I inquired on my Multiple Moms (CAMOM) food allergy subgroup forum about other pro-biotics. One of the moms recommended Culturelle - I checked out the website and it says "dairy and gluten free." So I'll have to order some and try it out.

I'm frustrated. I'm 1 pound BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight. I should be happy right? Well it's this stupid belly. It's stuck there like a ball. I have diastasis recti (abdominal muscle separation) from the pregnancy. Basically, leaves your stomach bowed out like you are still pregnant. Since my belly is pronounced I've had people still asking when I'm due. It's helpful in some respects - people still offer to carry my groceries and such. But I'm sure the novelty will wear off the further I get post-delivery. Yesterday, I asked the other mothers of multiples in the CAMOM group what they recommend as a "fix it" or "cure." I had read varying accounts over the Internet. Some claiming you can "fix" it by doing abdominal workouts wearing a binder. Others saying DON'T do ab workouts, because they make the diastasis worse. And others saying do Yoga, or don't do Yoga. So many different things. Well I received a plethora of responses and everyone said there is no way to "fix" it without surgery. Unfortunately, it's considered plastic surgery, so insurance won't cover it. Many of the moms who had insurance cover it, had suffered hernias through the diastasis -- hernia repairs are covered by most insurances, and the docs just fixed their diastasis during the hernia operations. So looks like I'm going to be stuck looking preggers forever or until I get a hernia - and who the heck wants a hernia? On top of the diastasis, my belly button is herniated, which just adds to my appearing preggers.

I'm trying to keep it all in perspective though. I have two relatively healthy and occasionally happy babies (hahaha) - so a lingering baby bump is really not the end of the world.

This weekend we are hanging out with family. Should be fun. And hopefully Frances and Grace will be in a jovial mood.

Tummy Check-up

The girls had their check-up with the pediatric GI today. She said they are doing really well. Gaining weight like champs! They both weighed in at 13 pounds 8 ounces -- and that's before eating! Gracie was about 22 inches and Frances was 23 inches long.

She upped their Pepcid dosage since they weigh more now. And she also recommended BioGaia probiotic drops - so I just ordered some online. We'll see if it helps with their painful gas issues. Cross fingers.

We're also increasing the rice cereal in their formula. She said at 4 months we can start other stage 1 solids, one at a time. Yay!

Otherwise, all is well. We follow up with her again in 2 months. Their next allergy test is at 11 months old.

Happy Halloween!

Gracie and Francie Pants

Okay, so I took that picture last weekend (thanks Auntie Amy for the "I Love My Mummy" Halloween t-shirts!). We did not take the girls out trick-or-treating. We didn't even dress them up on the "official" day. Chalk it up to being lazy, we don't mind. It was an adventure in multi-tasking last night. Our evenings are usually pretty busy juggling baby feedings and baby chores (making formula, prepping bottles, doing laundry), and trying to get a second to feed ourselves as well -- all while the babies take turns screaming their heads off -- then throw trick-or-treaters knocking on the door every couple minutes, and you have a pretty crazy evening.

We survived though. And it was worth all the hassle to see the cute little kids all dressed up. I can't wait for the girls to be old enough for trick-or-treating. How cute!