Jun 09

Quick update

Well, here we are, three months into being back to work and three months since I have been able to post an entry. Ugh! Even now I am sneaking this in on the last 15 minutes of my work day.

Boy oh boy have my little boys grown! Our little U, who was so tiny at birth, had an ear infection and needed to visit the pediatrician last week. He was a whopping 15 lbs 5 oz! And his “little” brother O is even bigger. My biceps and shoulder muscles are really getting some definition from carrying them one in each arm every morning. They are both eating well. Still getting over 80% of their liquid intake from me. (I add about an ounce of formula each time they have a bottle.) We also started cereal which has been an adventure.

Big brother A-Man is just too awesome for words. He has started the summer program at his daycare and just moved to a new room. Luckily his teacher is the one he has had in the afternoon so it wasn’t too much of a change for him. She is focused on getting her kids potty trained. He has done well with this at school so we are going to try and focus on it at home this weekend.

And finaally, we got custody of Little-E which is great! (Challenging, but great!) He has totally brought his grades up in the 5 weeks he has been with us and is adjusting to our “new” schedule. We go back to court in August to finalize things.

Out of time for now. No promises on finding time to write again soon!

Mar 09

My love affair with sleep

So here we are, day 2 of being back to work.  We have actually done pretty well in the morning.  Yesterday we managed to be out of the driveway by 7:27 and I was at work by 8:07.  Today we left at 7:18 and I made it to work before 8:00.  Whoo-hoo! 

Of course, to do this, I have had to adjust my sleep habits — and not for the good.  I will admit, I am not too happy about this.  As long as I can remember, I have loved to sleep.  I am a die-hard 8-hours-per-night kind of girl and it used to be that I would never turn down the opportunity for a good nap on the weekends.  Now, I am lucky to get 5 hours.  That’s 5 hours total, not just 5 hours straight.   Right now our last feeding is around 10 or 11 pm.  While Big-E has offered to take this one on his own so I can go to sleep earlier, so far I have not been able to actually get to bed earlier.  When you have 8 bottles to prepare for the next day, a toddler to care for, and a breast pump session to attend to, time seems to be scarce.  And one can’t pump too early in the evening if one wants to make it to the morning without soaking the bed.    Sigh…

On the bright side, little O is sleeping until around 6 am.  Little U gives it his best shot and wavers between 3:30 and 5:30.   Both are eating like champs and doing well at daycare.  A-Man is having some Mommy withdrawal and gets up with me when he hears me in the bathroom.  Poor guy is going to end up wit his own sleep deprivation issues!  

This morning we had the following conversation:

Me: A-Man, how did you get to be such a sweet boy?
A-Man: Mommy.
Me: Mommy taught you to be sweet?
A-Man: And Daddy….You make me happy.

And I have 2 more just like him!  Guess it makes it all worth it in the end.  I can sleep later.

Mar 07

Is it really worth it?

So tomorrow my babies will be a whopping 10 weeks old.  They are getting so big.  At their doctor appointment last week (at 9 weeks and 2 days), U was up to 10 lbs 3 oz. He has almost doubled his birth weight of 5 lbs 5 oz.  O is a big boy.  He is 11 lbs 10 oz, up from his birth weight of 6 lbs 15 oz.   The newborn clothes that they were swimming in just 10 weeks ago are getting to be too small.  (Sigh…) 

And tomorrow is also the day that I return to work.  Still trying to decide if it is worth it.  Emotionally and psychologically there is no question that it is totally NOT worth it. Financially, well, let’s just say that we are going to have to find some extra cash in the budget  to cover daycare for 3 kids.  But, we did the math, and it would take even more for me to stay home.  So for now, I will return to work.  (Double sigh….)

I think the biggest challenge will be getting everyone up and out the door in the morning.  Big-E is very used to waiting to the last minute to get his shower/bath, get dressed, and head out the door.  I am going to need him to be ready to help get the kiddos fed, dressed, into car seats and into the car — which means him being ready earlier than he is used to, even earlier than he has been getting out of bed lately.  This should be fun.   Wish us luck!

Feb 08

6 weeks old already

Boy oh boy. U and O are 6 weeks old today and today is the first post I’ve logged since they arrived. So that either means that I am such a great mom that all of my time is dedicated to caring for my boys, or that any “spare” minute I get is spent trying to catch up on my sleep.   Hmmm…..perhaps a balance of both?

I’ve decided to be a little less “planned” in what I want to write about and just go with my gut at any given time. It’s not like this blog has a big group of followers (or ANY followers for that matter) who are waiting to hear my next bit of wisdom.  So if I want to be a bit more casual, I think I will be. 

But for now, I have a couple of fussy babies who are calling for my attention.  Until later…

Dec 13

Twins Day

I found this link on a parenting forum I follow.   I thought it was interesting. 

We live maybe 30 minutes from Twinsburg.  I grew up not an hour away from Twinsburg.  My mother and aunt (twins) and my 20-year-old neices (twins) have NEVER attended a Twins Day Festival.  Perhaps 2011 will be the year to change that?

http://www.americanwaymag.com/olivia-claire-ohio-technician-cleveland-kate

Nov 29

Where does the time go?

Wow.  Blogging is harder to keep up on than I thought it would be.  One would think that since I am not working, I would have all the time in the world to write.  I suppose I do.  But at the same time, there are so many other things that need to happen as well.  Perhaps with the holidays, birthdays, and the pending arrival of 2 babies my timing on starting a new blog was a bit off?

Oh well.  Here’s a quick run down of what we’ve been up to!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend.  Big-E’s brother, B and his wife M were in town with Baby C.  They came over for dinner on Wednesday and it was a full house.  Thursday we spent at my mom’s.  Last year was supposed to be the last year for holidays at the house, but since it hasn’t sold yet, we went ahead and had Thanksgiving there.  Christmas will be there as well. 

Friday was a slow day.  Little-E and A-Man spent the night at Grandma’s on Thursday so Big-E and I could go to Sears early and order a new washer and dryer.  No, we didn’t go for the 4 AM doorbuster!  But we were there by 8:00.  After a nice breakfast we headed out to pick up the boys.  Later that evening we had a message that the furniture we had ordered 10 weeks ago was finally in.

SO, on Saturday morning, Big-E and Uncle B took off for Amish country to pick up the furniture while Little-E, A-Man and I went to music class.  After class, E went back to his mom’s.  A-Man and I went home and he took a nap while we waited for Daddy and Uncle B to get home with the furniture.  New washer and dryer were also delivered that day.

Sunday was spent organizing new bedrooms and breaking in new appliances! 

So, I guess while the weekend was pretty uneventful, it WAS busy.  And with Daddy busy with furniture and laundry, that left lots of time for Mommy to spend with A-Man, which is exhausting even when one is not 32 weeks pregnant with twins!  Hmmm….maybe I didn’t have as much time as I thought I did for writing! 

Hope to catch everyone up on the status of the babies tomorrow!  Happy Thanksgiving (a little late!).

Nov 15

House confined

So, this is my third week on “home confinement.”  I’ll admit, I wasn’t too thrilled when the doctor told me that I needed to “cut back” on my hours at work.  But trying to cut back ended up being a more stressful process than just working a full 40 hours each week.  After 2 weeks of “cutting back” the doctor decided that “no work” was a better approach.  My last day at work was October 28. 

But here I am, and I must admit that as much as I was in denial — I was planning on working until these babies were born — being at home has been the best for both me and the babies.  At our last appointment, both had grown 12 ounces.  I had a non stress test last week and we passed with flying colors!  I am able to function in the evenings, where before I would get home from the office so tired and in so much pain that my husband and baby were paying the toll.   I am still able to drive and DO run the occasional errand, but no more than an hour or 2 out of the house at a time.   We have another non stress test and an ultrasound this Thursday and I hope the progress continues to be positive!

In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy my rest and the feel of these two babies moving around in my belly.  (And boy do they MOVE!)  And try and figure out this blog stuff and how to get it all to look the way I want it to.  Stay tuned!

Nov 12

November 12, 2010

Welcome to Abode Full of Boys.  This is my first post, just to get us started.  I’ll start filling in more of the “general info” as time passes.  But for now, I just wanted to say that this site has been created as a way for me to share my journey as the sole female in my household.  Where it goes from here will be part of the fun!