It's a Spring Wonderland!

Hey, I thought it was Spring! And it's snowing like crazy here in RVA. Enough to close school for tomorrow! I'll take it.

I am going to use the day to pack up the twins' 6 month clothes, clean, and love on my babies!

Twins Twice.

Second time around

Ok so you have already won the "Twin Parent lottery" once. What are the odds of you having a second set of twins?

• If your first set of twins were fraternal, then your chances of having another set of fraternal twins is multiplied by four! That's 1 in 12!
• If your first set of twins were identical, then your chances of having another set of identical twins drops way down to 1 in 70,000 or so.
• If you are using fertility treatment, then the chances are the same as with your first set of twins.

http://www.whattoexpect.com/preconception/ask-heidi/twins.aspx

Your chances of seeing double (or more) go up if:

• You have twins in your family. Heredity plays a role in conceiving twins — but only on the mom's side. Even if your partner's family tree is loaded with dynamic duos, that won't increase your own odds of conceiving twins.
• You're African-American. Black women are a bit more likely than Caucasians to have twins; if you're Asian or Hispanic, then you're a bit less likely than Caucasians to get two-for-one.
• You're an older mom-to-be. As you age, your chance of conceiving twins increases. Researchers have found that women over 35 produce more follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) than younger women, which may cause more than one egg to be released in one cycle.
• You've been pregnant before. With each pregnancy, the odds that you'll have twins go up.
• You've had twins before. Lightning can and does strike twice! If you've already given birth to a set of twins, look out — you're twice as likely to do so again.
• You're undergoing fertility treatment. ART, as I mentioned, is a big contributor to the increase in multiple births. About 20 to 25 percent of women taking ovary-stimulating drugs or undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) will conceive twins or higher-order multiples.
• You're overweight. Recent studies have shown that obese women are twice as likely to give birth to fraternal twins as those who aren't obese.
• You're tall. The same studies found that taller women tend to face higher odds of having fraternal twins.

5/8 are true for me. hmmm...

Family Brunch

Yesterday we dared to take a trip to Cracker Barrel for brunch. Eating around the babies has been hard lately. But even with a 30 minute wait to be seated... it was a huge sucess! It was so exciting. Mike and I love Sunday Brunch but havent dared it in a while due to the stress of trying to keep the twins happy.

The twins ate pancakes and tried eggs and grits.... this was also a sucess!

A side ntoe, Craker Barrel, is not the best place to go with twins if you dont want to talk to a bunch of old people about your babies. Also they like to touch. We knew this from past experinces... but embraced it this time.

Pictures! Only took a few bcause I didnt want to be "that" person... or press my luck with how good the trip was going.

Fisher Price Toys!

Kmart had their Fisher Price Toys on sale for 50% off this week. Coupons.com has a number of  Fisher Price coupons on their website, that made for some pretty awesome deals. The closest Kmart is 30 minutes from our house, but I decided to take a trip out there. As an added bonus the weather was beautiful and I enjoyed the drive, being alone, windows down, music playing.

I really wanted the Fisher Price Music Table because I know the twins will love it. I checked online before I made the drive and it said it was stock. When I got there it was NO where to be found.

I did pick up the Laugh and Learn Ride to Stride Puppy on sale for $24.99 (50% off) - 10.00 manufacture coupon, price $14.99. Fisher-Price-Laugh-Learn-Stride

 I picked up a push activity music walker on sale for $13.50 (50% off) - 2 manufacture coupon, price $11.50. Fisher-Price-Musical-Activity-Walker

Then I took the Kmart ad to Target and had them price match the music table (since this was the to I actually wanted. I should/would have done this to start with and saved myself the drive to Kmart, but I did not have a paper Kmart add. Target's price match policy says they will price match from the Kmart printed add, but does not listed Kmart as a valid online competitor for price matching. While I was at Kmart I took a printed ad and this is what I used to price match with at Target.

So Target priced match the Musical Table to $21.49 - 10.00 manufacturer coupon - $5 off $20 purchase coupon making the total $6.49 plus tax.

Fisher Price Music Table

Spring Afternoon

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Richmond, Va. The high was 67 and it was a nice and welcomed change to the cold, rainy, snow days we have had here lately. So when Mike got home from work we took a walk around the neighborhood with the babies and dogs. We stopped at the elementary school in our neighborhood to play fetch with the dogs. It was so nice. I could literally feel both the babies and the dogs happiness! It was so nice.

Here are some pictures
J

Sad that we can’t do it again today… .because 1. It’s raining 2. I have to work late.

1st Bath in the Tub

A couple of weeks ago, for-what-ever reason, Mike and I decided to give the twins their first bath in the tub together. Well the twins had a great time. Us not so much. It was scary. They were excited and splashing and playing because of this they were slipping and sliding under. Of course we were right there making sure to not let it happen, but it was hard. So we decided we are going to wait a couple of months before we try it again. So we are back to doing baths one on one in their baby bath tub.

I did however snap some pictures of this first!

Books

Here is a little post on what books we are reading around here lately. Well to some it up... touch and feel books. P is crazy about them! N likes them but does not sit still for them like P does. P loves books.

I was changing the twins today in the nursery, and normally I sit them in their crib while I change the other. Today I sat P in the floor while I changed N. She crawled right over to the bookshelf and start flipping through books.

These are the books we are reading right now. The first 6 are all touch and feel books.

Couponing Triping

Just got back from a little couponing trip at Target and picked up some great deals.


Started with Gerber Graduates on Sale for $1.50 each. I had 1 coupon for buy 3 save $1.50. So they broke down to $1.00 each.

Laugh and Learn Puppy price $19.99. Used 1 manufacturer $5 coupon and 1 $5 Target Coupon. Price $9.99

Want this deal? Coupons below
$5 off Target coupon Laugh and Learn Puppy

$5 off Manufacture Coupon Laugh and Learn Puppy

Target Crib Sheets. I noticed last week that Target has a line of sheets that are knock offs of the PBK Harper sheets, they have navy blue polka dots and hot pink polkas just like the ones we have from PBK. They were on sale for $7.99. I used 1 $5 Target coupon I got some yellow chevron sheets for $2.99.

Want this deal? Coupon Link Below

$5 off bedding


Granier Fructis Hydra Recharge Shampoo regular price $2.99. I used 1 $1.00 Manufacture Coupon and 1 $1.00 Target coupon... price 99 cents.

Want this deal? Coupon Links Below
$1 off Target Coupon

$1 off Manufacture Coupon



24 count Ibuprofen 99 cents. Used a buy 2 save $1.00 Target coupon. Paid  48 cents each bottle.

Want this deal? Coupon Link Below

$1 off 2 Up and UP Target Coupon

Hope this helps you get some deals!

XoXo,

Heather 

Mommy Story

Author is Unkown


We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.

That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her
baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.

That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.

I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.

I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your girlfriends who may someday be Moms. May you always have in your arms the one who is in your heart.

9 month Pumping Update

*need to edit

I have been Exclusively Pumping for the Twins for 9 months and counting. Sliver boobies with gold nips!   EP means I only pump for the twins I do not breastfeed. But not because of lack of wanting  or trying. But because breastfeeding did not work for me and  my preemies in the end pumping did.

With the babies being born prematurely breastfeeding wasn't even an opinion but pumping was! The babies were born with no suck, swallow, breathe reflex and had to be fed my breast milk through a feeding tube. After they were discharged from the hospital, weight gain and knowing how much they were taking at a feeding was so important -- so I took the doctor and LC's advice to hold off on nursing while the twins gained weight.

A couple of weeks passed and I was “allowed” (I am generally a rule follower) to nurse the babies. They had latch issues and were used to the bottle so I had to wear nipple shields. They were able to nurse but it was so much harder for them.  Nursing took them about 20 minutes to drink 30cc or 1 oz when they needed to drink 2oz. They would get tired and quit and then about 30 minutes later I would have to nurse or bottle feed again. I was also only “allowed” to nurse them once a day while the doctors monitored their weight gain. In the end as a frizzled new mom I pumped and bottle fed. At 3 months I was told I could nurse… at this point the twins had no interest and I was returning to work… and they had teeth poking through the gums.

I felt the twins need to gain weight was more important than my desire to nurse so I pumped as a comprised. I was able to feed them all breast milk and had a nice freezer stash when I went back to work. Going back to work and not having the time to pump is when things got hard.

 I have had to supplement with formula and the twins now get formula on a regular basis. They get about half breast milk and half formula.

I really started struggling with EP around 6 months (I went back to work at 4 months) at this time my extra freezer stash was used up and I was not making enough for the twins and noticed a real drop in my supply which caused a lot of stress in my life! ...Come to find out my pump was broken… I got a new pump and I started producing more and my supply was back up, but it still wasn’t enough to keep up with the twins demand. If I had a more flexible work schedule I may have been able to keep up with the demand. I only have one real time a day I can pump at work.

At around 7 months I dropped a pump from 5 pumps a day to 4 pumps a day (return from winter break). At 8 months I dropped to 4 pumps a day. When the twins hit 9 months two weeks ago I dropped down to 3 pumps.

It takes a while for the dropped pumps to affect your supply but with each dropped supply you produce a little less.

Now two weeks after dropping down to 3 pumps and add being sick with the stomach bug for 48 hours… I am only pumping twice a day. Morning and Night, and it has been ranging from 16-24 ounces total. I am not sure how long I will be able to maintain that supply at only two pumps a day. I have been thinking about adding the 3rd pump back in to help me make it to year mark but I don’t know if I will. I have already been through the process of re-establishing my supply, it takes a lot of time and work, and in the end I will still have to supplement. 

So right now my twins are still getting 2 bottles of breast milk a day. The rest formula. It’s not what I originally wanted for them. But now that I am okay with this… my life is so much easier in so many ways.

I am probably repeating what I have already said about this in other pumping posts but pumping is an emotional thing for me. So accepting dropping pumps was not easy.

My pediatrician made me feel good about my efforts. By saying they are getting “the best of both worlds,” like all the iron and other vitamins from the formula that I may not be able to give them from my breast milk alone.

Add in two other important health factors that have led to my pump weaning.

1.      I have had my menstrual cycle every month since July and that effects your production. Leading to two weeks (ovulation week and menstrual week) where I was not producing as much.

2.      My hypothyroidism leads to low production. Pumping also makes it hard for me to get healthy. My Endo suggested that I wean sooner than later because the sooner I do the easier my levels will be able to control. I need to be completely done by 1 year. So I can start getting myself healthy for these babies!

I could have quit pumping when my supply dropped. I could have quit pumping when I had to start supplementing with formula. I could quit pumping now that my babies are only get two bottles of breast milk a day. But they still get the benefits of breast milk from those two bottles. I will pump and give them breast milk as close to a year as I can.

At 1 year if I am still producing on two pumps a day I will stop. So I can get my thyroid levels regulated.

Pumping as for sure been a crazy, stressful ride, but I am happy that I have been able to do it for my babies.

Pots and Pans

A baby activity that they loved! Old fashioned pots and pans banging. It kept my crawling monsters still, entertained, and happy! They had so much fun. If you can stand the noise and the beating on your pots and pans pull them out and let those babies have some fun!

You can see in the pictures that they are going to town and screaming with excitement!

Notice I sat them far away from each other so they couldnt hit each other with spoons!

The Children’s Museum

 So that babies are getting older and wanting and needing more entertainment. But sometimes it is hard to think of baby friendly activities. Of course there is always the go on a nice walk activity. But lately that has not been an option here because the weather has been crappy, cold and we have had so many back to back weekends of snow, ice, and rain. The snow and ice keeps us in the house! People do not know how to drive in it.

Last weekend however, the weather wasn’t too bad so we set out of a family/baby friendly-ish activity. We took the babies to the Children’s Museum of Richmond the Short Pump location. I visited the website and stocked the exhibits and  found out they have a “toddler” area for crawlers. This was the only exhibit that the twins could really enjoy. The twins had such a great time. When we walked in both of their eyes lit up with excited and P clapped her hands with joy!

N was all over the placed and was obsessed with the bigger kids and wanted to know what they were doing!

All in all it was a great outing for the babies. I look forward to going back again soon!

Pictures from the day (taken via iphone)

9 month Update

9 month update

I can’t believe my little babies are 9 months old. Times goes by so fast and this seems so old to me. I know I will continue to say this and feel this way over the years. It is crazy how much they are doing these days.

We will visit a development specialist every 6 months until they are 5 years old to track their development/process due to their prematurity. We had our 2^nd visit this month (well in February). The Doctor was very impressed with them. The twins have met all their “adjusted” age milestones and are even reaching many of their “actual” age milestones.

For premature infants they look at their development in these two terms: what should they be doing if they were born at their full term date and what they would be doing if their actual birth date was full term. When they reach their milestones based on their adjusted age then they aren’t considered delayed even though based on their actual age they are delayed.

For example they didn’t sit up on their own until 7 months the average for a full-term baby is 6 months. But based on their adjusted age they were only 5 months when they did sit on their own. After they sat everything went so fast and they were both crawling army style by the end of 7 months. Now at 9 months they are both crawling on all fours.

The pediatrician agreed with the specialist notes at their 9 month check up and said they are much closer developmentally to a 9 month old than a 7 month old. The specialist believes that by the time the twins are 18 months old there should not be a difference between them and a full term 18 month old. Of course this information makes this mama happy.

The twins are still on the small side but have made it on the chart.

P weighted in at 16lbs 4oz and was in the 3% for height and weight and the 75% for head size. I don’t remember the exact measurement right now for height and head, but hope to come back and edit this info in later.

N weighted in at 17lbs 1 oz and was also in the 3% for height and weight (boy) and was in the 90% for head size.

So they have big deals and little bodies! This is actually another normal thing for preemies something about gravity and being born early that makes their heads grow a little faster than a full term body.

So….what are they doing!?

P is saying Hi, Dadda, and yes. We also swear she can say “I love you.” She tries to repeat so many things we say to her and this one she really is working on! She can crawl on all fours. Clap her hands, wave hi and bye, and will also copy hand motions. For example, if we wave our hands in the air and say “yay!” (ROMP N ROLL THING), she will do it too. We get some baby sign language at Romp N Roll and I think she would copy the hand motions but because of our Development Specialist strong feelings about not doing baby sign language we are not practicing them. I read the pros and cons about it. But with preemies everything is different. So no baby

sign language for us, which is okay since it seems like she will be an early talker anyway.   

N can say Hi and Dadda and copies many other words. But he is not a talker like his sister. He is much more of a do-er. He is crawling on all fours, fast, and getting into everything. He pulls up on everything (including his crawling sister’s back) and is so proud of himself when he does. He pulls up like crazy in his crib… and even decided to eat his crib one afternoon. Yes he chewed on it. Paint everywhere. I really wonder how soon he will walk. P is trying to pull up but hasn’t really done it yet.

A couple of weeks ago they were taking a “nap.” I heard constant giggling on the baby monitor so I decided to go check it out. They were playing peek a boo with each other across the cribs. It was so cute!

It is so fun to watch them interact. They talk to each other, hold hands, smile and laugh at each other, hug each other… beat each other up, pull each other’’ hair, climb on each other, take toys from each other, and take food from each other. Oh the life of having a twin!

I have some other updates to blog about which I will do later and hopefully soonish. Pumping update, Romp N Roll update, and Schedule update.  I have been really overwhelmed recently so haven’t blogged like I want too.

So let me do a quick personal update and you will know why. Things have been a little out of the ordinary because of the little “extras” I have going on that are making my plate more full than it normally is. I teach 4 semester classes and 1 year-long internship class. So I got 4 new classes February 1st which means about 100 new students, to lay down the law with and get the ball rolling. My year-long class starts their internship experience March 18^th which means I had to find internship placements for 16 students. This is a whole lot of work. Once you find the placement there is the additional placement packet and information you have to set up with each placement.

I’m the junior class sponsor so have been busy with Prom details, finding a Dj, meeting with event coordinator, picking the menu, etc. Since I am the junior class sponsor I also have been busy planning for Student Talent Night, which is the fundraiser that helps pay for prom. This means a week of auditions (next week) and other random things that are taking up my “free” time. Lastly I am the sponsor of another club that hosts Read Across America (Honors Dr.Suess and his birthday) in our school’s library, planning crafts and activities and baking 200 cupcakes for the event that is tonight. Ahh just writing all this down stressed me out and I know I forgot things! But you get the idea… more is going on than the usual.

And I will also update with some pictures added in!

XOXO,

Heather

Peek a Boo nap time...











Pull up monster!


I want to play with it like this!



Silly girl




Telling N to Stay out!








Daddy's girl

Shopping End of the Season Sales

I started this last year at the end of the summer. I started buying clothes for the twins at super low discounted prices. I got a couple of shirts as low as 70 cents. Most things averaged out to be about $5. They basically have a full summer wardrobe all bought at the end of the year. There are some pieces I am sure I will have to buy as the summer comes near or "want" items I will buy, but I think I have the basics and cute extras covered.

So I was at it again today. Shopped for next fall/winter. I got some pretty good deals, not quite as good as mentioned above that is rare and those finds were so far into the end of the season sale there was slim pickings. Today, I got 11 items and 2 pairs of socks for $81.60.  So not including the socks it was about $7.41 an item and cheaper than that if I cared to try to figure in my ebates savings.

Purchase included:
3 dresses
2 pairs of jeans
1 cardigan
1 sweater
2 long sleeve shirts
2 polo shirts
2 pairs of socks

Where did I do this shopping? The Children's Place. This was one of my favorite places to shop for baby gifts before I had kids. At the time I had no idea how good of deals you can get from this place. Its sales make it, IMO the cheapest place to shop for children's clothing and it's a win because they have super cute stuff.

They are having a huge sale right now, plus when you spend $50 or more you save an extra 25%, when you spend $75 you get free shipping, and for every $40 you spend, you get $20 "cash" to use towards your next purchase of $40 or more.

So I spent $81.60 .. to get all the 25% off, free shipping and 2 - $20 cash coupons, as well as used my  Ebates account to get another 2.5% back!

What's Ebates?

Joining this website can save you so much money! It’s called Ebates… if you are an online shopper like me you will love… and save a lot of money.

How it works… if you are going to make an online purchase you simply go to Ebates first… you then type in the name of the store you wish to shop at… Gap, Amazon, CVS (etc most stores are on ebates!)… once you type in the store you wish to shop at it will show you all the coupons codes currently available for the store that you want to shop at and it will give you cash back on your purchase. They mail you a check every 3-4 months for all your cash back purchases.

Please click my referral link to sign up!

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=2BAxp9I3GqoiNAaIn8uwAQ%3D%3D

Snow DAY!

It's snowing like crazy here in RVA and that means a snow day from school! A extra day to play with my babes and perhaps clean my house per last night's post. Reason # 219841239023 I have the best job ever!

When I went to bed last night they were only calling for rain only. When my alarm clock went off this morning I got up like it was a normal day and then I saw the miss call and message from the county saying school's closed! I looked outside and it was insane. They are calling for snow all day long with 5+ inches.

If it wasnt still coming down like mad, I'd run outside to snap a picture... I did a few from the window but it did it no justice.


Updated 3/7/13: My backyard... taken from the window... never went outside to get one! And with the 60 degeree weather today... all melted!

A Clean House.

I used to think I would always have a clean house. As mess, clutter, and junk tend to make my headache. I just spent a hour trying to straighten up the house and I am looking around going damn it's still messy. I was sick the past two days (crazy stomach bug that sent me to the ER to get fluids) and tonight my husband didnt get home from a work meeting until 9:45. So I didnt have time to clean or tiddy up. I never have time to clean and tiddy up and there is toys and baby crap everywhere. My crawling monsters know how to empty the toy basket as soon as I pick up everything... it's a endless cycle and battle.

I remember a friend once saying she never wanted to have kids because she didnt want to have a messy house. I remember thinking I am going to have a lot of kids and I am still going to have a clean house. Now I am saying... HAHAHA!

My OCD tends to keep my house on the cleaner side... but it is not how I want it.

Any who... after running around like a crazy woman, picking up toys, vacuuming  sweeping, swiftering, cleaning the toilets and bathroom sinks, kitchen counters... and still feeling like it didnt make a difference... I had to blog about it.. and now to bed!

Maybe my house will be clean again one day... and when it is I really probably miss the toys and baby clutter.