Totally Inappropriate Vent

I have to say this b/c it gets on my very last nerve...I am so tired of reading about moms (on bbc) that "don't make enough milk" to breastfeed their babies. Do I actually care how you feed your baby? Not at all. All of my boys have used formula at some point and I am really glad there are such great ones out there. I choose to breastfeed b/c I subscribe to The Lazy Mom's Guide to Feeding which involves no prep work & no clean up (& hands-free feeding so I can type this! ;) . Anyway, I really get tired of reading about mom after mom who "doesn't make enough milk". Apparently, this phenomenon is pretty exclusive to the United States. I think it stems from TONS of pressure to breastfeed, but not really having the desire (or whatever) to actually stick with it for the recommended year. I totally understand that frustration also...in the beginning it can take a TON of time and have many hurdles to overcome. [I do understand supply problems can occur with working moms who have to pump...I truly feel bad for them b/c pumping gets old so fast & it is so difficult.]

BUT again my problem comes with the claim...

First, I have to say in about 99% of the cases it is probably completely untrue. It is pretty rare for a woman not to be able to exclusively BF a single baby (even twins) and generally involves some type of medical disorder that the mother would be aware of before giving birth. Seriously, there are women in Ethiopia living on 500 calories a day that are nursing their babies so really you don't need much to be able to nurse.

Second, I think it scares new moms and prompts them to give up too soon. If they continually hear from other moms about how hard it is to have a good supply, they start to doubt themselves and then get into the whole supplementing/weaning pattern which just creates a self-fufilling prophecy. I had a friend (who has no kids yet) ask me how in the world I made enough milk to feed twins when 3 of her high school friends couldn't make enough to feed their singletons.

Third, I think it is disrespectful to those who choose to formula feed from the start. It creates this whole vibe of "I only formula feed now b/c I physically couldn't nurse."

Anyway, there are a million legitimate reasons why people choose to stop nursing and I just wish people would stop using this "party line" excuse and actually open up and discuss some real issues that can come about when nursing. I think that would benefit everyone!

Warm Fuzzies...

Yesterday, while we were all getting ready for the zoo, I needed a quick place to entertain G while I was getting dressed. I decided to put him in his exersaucer since it has been set up in their room since about October of last year! (Okay...we actually just folded it up and stuck it in the closet when it was still C's room and then of course he discovered it and wanted it back out so he could do crazy things to it...) Well, he isn't quite big enough to actually exersauce so he basically dangled there, but while he was dangling his big brother decided to entertain him. As I was in the hallway getting my clothes & shoes on I heard C telling G about all the animals on the exersaucer...

Here is an elephant G...we will see an elephant at the zoo!

Here is a monkey...monkeys are at the zoo!

This is a LION...it says RRRRROOOARRRR!

My heart just melted!!! It was soooo sweet to see C being such a wonderful big brother...not only entertaining his brother, but actually teaching him and sharing his excitement with him. I am still all warm and fuzzy all over.

ZooBoo!! Saturday, October, 18, 2008

Today we were supposed to meet some friends at the Zoo for a special Trick or Treat event that they were holding. Unfortunately, our friends were unable to make it, but we did! C dressed up as a bat. When I brought home his costume for him to try on I instantly knew it was perfect. I have never seen him happier about putting clothes on! He did not want to take it off. Plus, he is the cutest bat I have ever seen! E & G were pumpkins...also the cutest things I have ever seen! I am so happy with their costumes! I got them at Carter's and they are perfect for 3 1/2 month old babies. They are basically supersoft fleece sleepers with hoods and they were just soft & warm and didn't have any extra annoying parts or things that needed pulled down or snapped on or moved around! I LOVE THEM! We got tons of compliments on our cute little bat and adorable pumpkins. I carried G in the wrap in the "hammock hold" and he peeked his little face over the top and held on with his tiny, chubby hands....he did look like a little round pumpkin! C loved looking at the animals. When asked about his favorite, he told us he liked "the giraffe with its TALLLL neck that eats the leaves at the very top of the TALLLL trees". We were amazed at how smart he is and how descriptive he was when describing the giraffe! I am so proud of my little man! J is going to take him back another day when it will be less busy so he can see the animals better...I am campaigning to take everyone back, but it might be nice for it to be a Daddy & C day.

Good Days and Bad Days....

Well, lately I have been posting about our good days...I guess I was due for one of the other kind. Today is Jack's birthday and I needed to run to the grocery store to get a few items for dinner. I asked him to leave me the car so no big deal, right? Wrong. I was a little stressed out right before we left b/c C was taking his usual sweet time and I wanted to go RIGHT THEN b/c I had just fed the boys so I thought they would be good to go. Finally, I convinced him that going to the store was more fun than driving his new taxi repeatedly off the bridge. So I get the boys buckled in and they are happily looking at their little wrist rattle things and I think "Woohoo! This is going to be cake!" Ummmm....not so much. G decides to completely meltdown in the car. Still no big deal. I figured he was tired and I was planning on wearing him in the store which would put him right to sleep. Yeah...not quite. I get him in the wrap and he immediately stretched out into standing position and started crying again. I shushed and bounced him a little and he calmed down so in we went. I thought for sure he would fall asleep in the store. Nope again. He pretty much cried off and on through the store. It made things a little harder b/c he kept wiggling in the wrap so I had to keep one hand on him most of the time. You would think people seeing me with a toddler & baby in the cart trying to comfort a crying baby in the wrap would have the courtesy to at least not deliberately steer their carts in my path. Apparently, I was doing such a good job juggling everything I should also have to steer around an obstacle course complete without annoying people peering into the cart or telling me that G "must be hungry". Yeah...thanks...I've only taken care of him 24/7 for the last 16 weeks...I'm sure the 3 minutes you've heard him cry qualifies you as an expert. Anyway, we finally get back to the car and C's GIGANTIC new shoes get stuck in the cart leg holes. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Finally, I get him free but by this time BOTH boys are now crying in the car b/c if they are in their seats they MUST be moving. I had my own huge meltdown on the way home telling the boys they are freaking ridiculous & they are ruining Daddy's birthday and C never acted like that in his whole life...etc...etc... Of course, it didn't even make me feel better. I just felt worse for losing my patience, raising my voice, and just being mean.

BUT I didn't let that stop me. I decided that I needed to try again once every was back in good moods. We needed diapers so I made the executive decision to try WM this time. After the boys were fed and had played for a little while, I loaded everyone back into the car. E & G both protested until the car was moving so I decided that this trip was only going to happen if they were calm. I wasn't going to push it AND I was going to keep my patience this time if it killed me! Well, VOILA! The change in attitude and the lack of urgency about the trip made all the difference. When we got there, E got pissed that the car had stopped moving so he went into the wrap. [ I did make the discovery that the boys are too big to sit "froggy" anymore and put his legs to the sides (that might have helped earlier with G). ] I put G in the cart with C and off we went. No problems at all except they were all out of size 2 Swaddlers. We even walked around to find C a scarecrow. The funniest part was when we were standing in line...a lady 2 people back came up and asked me if the person directly behind me could go ahead of me since she only had 2 items (I only had 3 but apparently that 3rd item is the real time-killer). I said "Of course!" and she peeked in the cart and said "Oh my! There is another one in there!" Yep! There sure is. I think she might have thought the baby seat was items in my cart or something?
Anyway, I am moving today from the bad column back to the good one. :) We'll see if it stays there...

Full of Joy

On Facebook, there is a place to update your status and let people know what is going on at the moment. One of my friend's status read "_____ is full of joy." I just loved that b/c the instant I read it I was full of joy too. I hadn't even clicked on the profile or anything to find out why she was full of joy...it just made me happy to read and made me reflect for a minute on why I would be feeling the same way.

4 Big Reasons (and about 10 million little ones):

Science Questions...Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

So...when you have twins one of the most common questions you hear is: "Are they fraternal or identical?" And it really sucks to answer "I don't know!". During my pregnancy, I assumed the boys were fraternal b/c they had two separate sacs and two separate placentas (di/di twins). As I did some more research, I found that knowing that information meant ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! The only way to know one way or another was f you had identical twins sharing a chorionic sac (mo/mo twins) anything else was fair game. After I delivered, I felt like the boys looked fairly different and we picked little differences to help us tell them apart. Unfortunately, in the first few days those "little differences" changed everyday...thank God for the bracelets! When we got them home, I was fairly sure I knew who was who, but to avoid any major Mommy guilt, we painted one of G's toenails a manly shade of blue. By the time that wore off, I was easily able to tell who was who but J & other family members are forever mixing them up. It baffles me b/c I feel like although they look remarkably alike there are still enough differences to easily tell (unless they are wearing matching jammies and blankets and it is the middle of the night! Sorry guys!!). Most strangers automatically assume they are identical whenever they see them, but I NEED to know! I think we are going to spring for the DNA test sometime after Christmas...

Slacker... Monday, October 13, 2008

Yep..that's right. I'm a blogging slacker. It really has nothing to do with the fact that I have 3 month old twins b/c I am still online all the time if I am pumping or nursing. I did deliberately take off a few weeks right after the boys were born b/c it was a difficult transition and I really didn't want to post anything. Its not that the boys themselves were particularly hard it was just that there were so many changes...

I have definitely noticed some great changes in our household the last few weeks though:

*I am no longer a clock-watcher if I am home alone! That is a big one for me! I remember clearly when C was a newborn I would watch the clock all day and count the hours until another adult would be there to help me. Then, on one magical day...it stopped. We just did whatever all day and managed just fine on our own. This has finally happened with the boys too!

*C is taking his "Superman Juice" (iron supplement) like a champ! Giving us no trouble at all even though as J says "It tastes like chewing on a nail!"

*E & G are ROLLING OVER!!!! and LAUGHING!!! and TALKING!!! E is a HUGE flirt who just charms everyone he meets...G just doesn't care...if he is in the mood he will talk non-stop... or not. Whatever he decides. LOL!

*We are joining the church we have been attending since Easter. Hopefully, I can get more involved & really become a part of it. We LOVE the new pastor and his wife.

*Sleep has been decent. I will say no more since I don't want to jinx myself!

* I have started back into the Couch to 5K running thing. I feel sooo much better when I have a chance to workout but it is still difficult to get out more than the 3 days required for the program. I really want to do at least 5 days per week but it gets dark so early. I am looking into getting a Y membership for our family. That would definitely help!


Neat Fact: We went out to brunch after church last Sunday and ran into a famiy with a 6 year old boy, 4 year old twins, and the mom was pregnant with #4. I told J it was a sign. ;)