Jason smiles and Lily has a friend.

Just a quick post to share some fun pictures... my friend Suzanne stopped by today w/ her daughter Lily and I got some cute pictures:


And look what else I finally caught on camera: (still working on Lily)

Confession time!!!

Before I became a parent I thought it was ridiculous how much crap parents had for their kids, I mean SERIOUSLY people!!!!!!!

Now I get it. I have a double Snap N Go stroller for the car seats, a jogger (which I can't even use yet), and I just went out and bought the mercedes benz of strollers.. the Maclaren!!!! My babies are a mere 2 months old and I ALREADY have THREE strollers!!!

My apologies for my past judgements!! I was wrong.





This is on the way out for the walk from HELL!!! We walked to Whole Foods (1.8 miles each way)... I had to carry Jason the last bit on the way there.. on the way back we had to stop in a bitof shade to nurse them. Mom sat close and I she held Jason's body while I tandem nursed them. Then Lily would NOT be put back in fir quite some time so I carried her. We left at 10:30am & didn't get back until 1pm.... babies are NOT ready to walk that far. I was exhausted when we got back.

8 weeks old

They are 8 weeks old.. or as regular folkswould say.. 2 months!!!



and again for comparison... 5 weeks


their faces are filling out and they are both chubbing up... Jason at a more alarming rate than Lily.

We have friends!

My friend Darcy and her son Gabe came for a visit today.. SEE I have friends! :)

I know I"m not supposed to compare... but her baby eats every three to four house.. didn't cry at all while he was visiting and is sleeping well.. he's only 5 weeks old.. WTH!? Why aren't my babies eating nicely like that.. ha ha Nice work Gabe and Darcy! :)

Here are some pics:

Darcy and Gabe


The babies:


Isn't Gabe's rock star hair adorable??? He'll be using product soon! ha

Also here are pics of the cute outfits Grandma and Grandpa B got the kids...

Lily:


Jason:


Gotta run... apparently 6 - 10 pm is when I am to be stationed on the couch as the milk truck.. :)

Happy 7 weeks!

they are 7 weeks old today.... PHEW! i think we made it through the first two growth spurts... though they nursed a ton yesterday!

There isn't much new to report... Tom and I are off to the DMV today to become official Wisconsinites... we were supposed to get new licenses w/i 90 days... oops. Tom's expired on his bday so now we HAVE to get it done. :) W/ the new van we automatically got our car licensed... the Subaru still has Washington tags. I'm not really ready to let go of my Washington drivers license, but oh well. It's a double bummer b/c this is the only "good" DL photo I've ever had.

Mom and dad have agreed to stay for Tom's first trip out of town.. thank god. I've said it a million times I know, but I would be DYING if they weren't here. I can only hold one baby at a time.. and when they both scream... ugh.

Here's some photos... do I look tired?

Mommy and Lily (technically I am holding two babies here.. Jason is in the sling.. but I really don't like to do it.. makes me nervous... but if you could only hear lily's screams!)


Jason sitting up w/ help from Papa Mills (I think he's watching TV.. ugh!)


Lily and daddy:


Meltdown... and daddy making funny faces:

AGAIN!!!

They are napping AGAIN.. in one day. Jason went down after nursing and mom rocked Lily to sleep! I just don't know what to do w/ myself!!!



Also.. check out Lily's dress...

OMG they are napping!

Oh my.. they are napping.. and I'M NOT HOLDING THEM... NO ONE IS!!! Lily is in the pack n play and Jason is in the bouncy seat! I'm thrilled!!! :) This is the FIRST time this has happened!!!!

Here are some pics from this a.m....

Lily striking a pose:


Jason being cool:


Gotta go get ready our errands today.. Jman has a chiro appt and I've got to hit the post office.. mommy's dressed and ready! It's supposed to be 99 degrees today (not including the humidity/heat index) so you NWerners who think it's hot GET OVER IT! haha

It'sonly fair.....

Jason had one of these pics... thought it only fair that Lily have one too...

Flood warning...

for those of you that have never lived in the midwest or have never been here during a thuderstorm warning.. it's crazy. They inturupt all of the "regularly scheduled" programing to alert you every two seconds that there is a thunderstorm warning. It's SO annoying!

On Thursday mom and I were starting to think about mobilizing the troops to get going to my OB appointment.. I had showered and dressed and was doing the last fueling session (nursing) before heading out the door when the skys opened up and it just started dumping. We were watching TV and there hadn't been ONE peep out of the stupid weather people. Not one bit of warning at all. So we thought it would most likely pass in about 20 or 30 mins - as it usually does. NOPE!!!! We got FIVE inches of rain in an hour!!! When I say we I mean just our immediate area. It was so strange.... we had a flood! First mom and dad started going around and closing storm windows... and sucking the water out of our window sills (between the window and the storm window)... I was buried in very fussy babies ... all I could do was sit there.

then they went to check on the basement to find a waterfall coming down the back stairs and water seeping through the walls... SHIT! The started sweeping water toward the big drain (not a sump pump) in our basement. Then went outside to see what the hell was going on.. water had pooled up right outside our basement door... up above my ankles I discovered later after I got out from under the babies.

Here are some pics I took... unbelievable.

Right outside our basement door:


The stream in our driveway:


Our neighbors yard:


My feet just off our drive way in our neighbors yard:


Our flooded garage:


A close up of our garage flooding:


We got lucky though.. only about a mile away (if that) cars were under water up to the roof and some apartment buildings were nearly floating away.. the cars under the buildings in the parking garages fully imersed and totalled!

The water was all gone by that evening, but damn! We've heard that this hasn't happened in nearly 20 years!

Again, thank god my "staff" was here or 1) our basement would have still been filled w/ crap and we would have had a lot of stinky wet cardboard and whatever was in the cardboard to haul out (instead of just an old smelly rug) and 2) I wouldn't have been able to get up and check on things so I wouldn't have known the basement was flooding and Tom would have had to deal w/ it when he got home and most likely into the weekend! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!!! To the rescue again!

Jason smiled yesterday!

Jason smiled yesterday... I got one and a half smiles and Gpa got a couple big goofy ones! I didn't get it w/ the camera, but I did get this beauty:



I think it's hysterical! Tom gave me a disapproving grimace when I took it.. ha ha A good one for the first date scenario! (Those are my nipple shields)

We've had some good nights in a row, but I don't want to go on about it b/c every time I talk about it things go south that night.. so that's all I'll say...

Here's the scene when Tom leaves ... Phoebe isn't usually in his spot, but we thought this was pretty cute!



She stayed there till I booted her out so I could try to feed miss Lily lying down. She actually went for it! :)

I have my six week postpartum appointment today.. I'm expecting the all clear to start working out again, but who am I kidding.. the walk mom and I took yesterday wore me right out... must be the heat! ha

We are working on redecorating our bedroom.. I'm really excited. Mom's going to make a giant headboard so I can sit up and nurse w/o worrying about falling out the window behind our bed. I'll post pics when it's all done. We are painting the walls chocolate brown and the headboard will be covered in light blue fabric - like our sheets above. Should make it nice and cozy and dark in there! She's going to make us some end tables too.. wow, we will have an adult bedroom! So exciting!

This shit is HARD!

Damn... being a mom is hard work! ha ha this morning both babies were screaming thier heads off for apparently no reason;.. I am forced to choose which one to hold... just breaks my heart! Pacifying two is tough. i can't just throw my baby in a sling and walk around... They don't both fit in one... not that I've been able to manage anyway! They hate to be in there together.. and one has it's head out.. w/o head control.. and they are both still screaming;... so it kind of defeats the purpose. All I can do when they both cry is nurse them.. which I guess works.. but parks my ass on the couch for the millionth time that day.. I guess what else do I have to do right?

What on earth will I do when my "staff" leaves? Who will do the laundry and cook and clean and get me snacks when I'm parked on the couch. I had a hard enough time getting downstairs so I could get some breakfast before my mom got here.. and even so she walked in to Jason screaming bloody murder while I had Lily in the sling and attempted to make some oatmeal.. as we speak right now Lily is in a sling and mom is shampooing a carpet w/ Jason in the Bjorne... what if I was alone. Hopefully they will be on a bit of a schedule by the time they are 3 months and I'll be able to keep up with everything else while they nap... TO ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE: When do I start working on a nap schedule?? Shit I just need to get them to the point where they don't ALWAYS want to be held before my mom leaves or I'm in deep shit. I can't imagine how frazzled I'll be by the time Tom gets home from work if I don't get that worked out.. guess I'll be walking w/ them outside a lot.. hmm that will last until around mid/late November.. then I'm screwed... hopefully those snow suits I have are as warm as they look!

I'm trying really hard to relish the current moments and not sit and here and day dream about milestones to come.. things will get easier and harder all at the same time.. at least the stuff on my fridge stays put (referring to Karen's trials).

Well.. here's a cute pic of Jason sitting up in the sling.. he doesn't like to lay down in it anymore.. he arches his back and screams, but this worked last night...(just look at Jason.. I'm looking not so great.. haha)

I've arrived!

So what makes you arrive more as a mom... actually having the kids or getting the minivan... after trying to get all loaded into the Subaru in a terrential downpour (which we have frequently in the midwest) we decided it was time to take plunge and get a minivan. Okay, so Tom has ALWAYS wanted a van!

We got a Toyota Sienna.. picked it up today. It's AWESOME (shh don't tell anyone I said that!) I feel a new sense of freedom.. I know we could get our whole family and acutraments (including the willis) loaded in one vehicle and go somewhere.. Along w/ being able to get the Grents in the car w/ the famdamily!

Here we are at the dealership..


And it looks like Jason and Lily like it too... they show their appreciation by sleeping!



So stop laughing.. my driving a minivan is not THAT funny!

Thankfully dad was in need (well next summer) of a vehicle.. so in reality he purchased the minivan for Tom and I in exchange for the subaru... we are still a one car family! :)

5 weeks old

Oops.. I missed the 4 week shot.. so 5 weeks will have to do..

Do they look bigger? I got the memo and added the bear so we could all watch them grow bigger and bigger w/ some perspective.



I'm not sure if you can tell in the photo, but they are definitely growing!

Here's their 2 week photo for reference:


Things seem to be getting a bit easier - just in time for the next growth spurt - though I'm not sure if it's really getting easier or if I've just lowered (I mean changed) my expectations.

Both babies are more alert during the day and we are practicing our tummy time! :) We've gotten out two nights in a row (evenings are usually particularly hard) to look at mini vans and it's gone pretty well... well, last night they both screamed at the top of their lungs on the way home.. I guess that's not so great! :)

I added some pics and am working on uploading some videos.. not sure if I'll get that done before the wee ones need to eat. One is of Lily all out screaming (am I a bad parent for videoing it instead of picking her up)... I wanted to share w/ everyone and save it for the day she says, "you don't love me" I can then pull out the video and tell her that if I didn't love her I would have given her away the first time she did this! ha ha

Here's the link to the PHOTOS and VIDEOS!

We had a great visit

We had so much fun with Lynda and Larry.. it was just such a short trip.

I have a rare moment where I am not nursing two babies and wanted to get a few pictures up from their trip out...

We went out to eat!

Sorry I've been MIA for so long.. they've been giving us a go of it.. meaning we're getting very little sleep b/c the kids are just not cooperating at night! For the most part they are great during the day (w/ the exception of one hellish day last week).. even though they are nursing about every hour the second half of the day... when we TRY to go to bed all hell breaks loose and they (particularly Lily) act like they haven't eaten in a week. We're up all hours of the night feeding and consoling.

I'm worried about Lily's nursing future. She's gotten really lazy when she nurses, falls asleep and as soon as I put her down she screams and wants back on... nurses weakly for about 5 mins and repeats it... especially at night.. it's about killing me! I gave her a bottle the other night.. she pounded 2 oz.. I got more... she killed 2 more oz... Tom fed her more and she ate between 1 and 2 ozs of breast milk mixed w/ formula... this is all consecutively not throughout the night! Damn am I starving the kid or what!? This is all after she had been at the breast - off and on - for an hour or so. I'm worried that my supply will dwindle and won't be able to keep up with two babies.

We all - mom, dad, lynda, larry, jason, lily, tom and i - went out to lunch/dinner yesterday! First time in a restaurant w/ the wee ones. It went pretty well. There was a bit of screaming from Jason as I got him settled. He wouldn't take the breast so I had to bust out my prosthetic nipple (what I call the breast shield) and he nursed as I ate. Lily woke up shortly after that and Tom gave her a bottle of formula. It breaks my heart that Lily is getting so much formula lately, but the kid's gotta eat right? UGH!

I'm hoping we pull through this and she ends up nursing more soon! Jason is slowly weaning off the shield.. I can't wait. He even took the bare nipple in the side lying position last night. I'm so jealous of you ladies w/ one baby that can side lie feed at night.. I can obviously do one at a time.. but then the other would be screaming bloody murder. Last night Tom was up w/ a fussy Lily so I just nursed Jason.. it was heavenly. I just went to sleep and let him eat as much as he wanted!

It's been great to have Lynda and Larry here.. I can't believe that they are heading home today... they just got here. We got out for a walk every day and Larry got to see the neighborhood. We've taken to calling him the baby whisperer b/c he can put them to sleep when they are cranky!

Well I just wanted to let you know we are still here and alive - barely. Yesterday I looked at my watch and to my surprise it was already 5pm. I was about to say to Tom, "well at least we get to go to bed soon." ... then I realized I don't really like the night time as much as I like the day time.. b/c all I want to do is sleep and two little people won't let me! If I could just stay awake for 3 months I think I would.

I ran a little.. a VERY little!

I've been getting out for walks pretty consistantly now w/ my mom and went by myself today - well w/ the babies - and decided to try running a bit just to see what it felt like.

There have been many changes in my body for sure and it was slow going, but felt great! The biggest thing (no pun intended) I noticed was the change in my boobs.. damn! Kudos to all you large breasted runners out there! I'll definitely need to invest in some more supportive bras.. I don't think I could even get my old sports bras on! It didn't hurt for the short bit I ran, but I could see how it would after a while!

I only ran for short spurts, but I hope to be back to running 3 miles before the big chill hits.. then we'll see what happens.. I will have to get more creative about getting out.. depending on how well I can bundle them! :)

Okay.. Jason is fussy... gotta go!

Happy Due date to me

Okay.. I started to post this yesterday, but was unable to get back to the computer the rest of the day.. let's see how today goes!

I can't believe that today (well yesterday) was my due date and my babies are already 3 weeks old! I can't believe that only 3 short weeks ago I was PREGNANT! Feels like forever ago!

I've been getting out for walks every day the last 4 days or so.. Mom comes w/ me so we can take Phoebe... she needs her exercise too. It feels GREAT to get out and it's the only time the babies get dressed... it's just silly for them to have clothes on here around the house.. 1) they are too big for them and 2) they just barf on them.

Here is a pic of them dressed and ready to go for a walk yesterday! And what a treat ... both of their eyes are open.



Okay.. they are squaking.. gotta go nurse them... :) I think we are STILL in a growth spurt! ha ha I'll post some more pics to our photo album later today.

Happy LATE 4th of July!

How tired am I? Let me count the ways!

Oh goodness we had a long one last night! The babies stirred quite a bit and wanted to eat every 2 hours.. that's 2 hours from start to start... equals not a lot of sleep for mommy and daddy!!! Fingers crossed that this is the three week growth spurt!!! :)

We headed out for a walk to the local custard stand last night.. the babies did great and so did Phoebe..

It's July and my babies are already 2 weeks old

Everything is going well and we seem to have settled into a semblence of a routine.. of course I say that knowing I'm quickly approaching a 3 week growth spurt where all hell will break loose, but I'm enjoying it for now.. we've gotten out for a walk three days in a row now and that helps me to feel a bit more human! :)

Both babies are still packing on the OZ. and eating well. Jason actually latched on w/o the shield all by himself.. I was getting situated w/ Lily and the next thing I knew Jason was helping himself! YEAH! He's only done it once since then, but I'm still very excited that we will get off these things eventually. Today we are going to try at each feeding.. w/ him anyway.. one step at a time. :) Then we'll work on Lily!

Lily and Jason are both a bit more alert with each day... it makes me feel sad some days that I can't hold them both all the time when they are both awake, but we are doing our best to get some good quality time in with both.. but damn a girl's gotta eat ya know!? ha ha And sleep.. and go to the bathroom.. showering occasionally is a good thing too! :)

Here's their 2 week pic..



I added a few more pics to the June folder: HERE... :)

Two week well baby appointment.. HOLY SMOKES

We had our two week well baby appointment on Monday and HOLY SMOKES did these kids pack on the oz... :) Comes w/ nursing every two hours I guess.. though they seem to have slowed down today.

Jason went from 6lb1.5oz on Wed to 6lb12oz on Monday... and Lily from 4lb9.5oz to 5lb2oz.. they are gaining great and all looks great w/ them! Today is our first day home without daddy... we had a rough morning.. after a LONG night.. I had a baby on the boob from 8 am to 10:30am.. back and forth... and they've been peaceful ever since. i can't wait until they get the memo about night vs. day.. I'll go wake them when I'm done here and spend some time keeping them up.. then do it again in the evening and HOPE TO GOD it works. I wonder how Tom is coping at work today.. he didn't get too much sleep!

Yesterday we had two appointments - first my 10 day post op appt.. all is well and I've lost THIRTY lbs since delivery... so in about 12 days! Not a bad weight loss plan.. pop out two babies.. nurse non-stop.. drink tons of water.. and never have time to get to that pint of ice cream you've been trying to eat for the last week and a half! :) My incision looks good and I can now pick the babies up in their car seats and continue about life as a normal person.. though he said I should wait to resume and exercise routine (routine?? RIGHT!!) until my 6 week post partum check!

Then we had the babies 2 week appointment.. so the first appointment was at 11am and the second was at 2:45pm. We had some errands to run in between so Tom would stay in the car while I ran in. By the time the errands were done we decided to go to a coffee shop and relax while I nursed (yes, WITH the shields - in public) instead of rushing home to nurse then rushing back out again. Jason nursed at the coffee shop, but Lily was too sleepy. Amazingly it went well and no one screamed while we were there... much less screaming at the same time! ha ha We were out for a whole SIX hours and the babies did great.. of course life is a bit slower now.. we nursed for 40 mins at the OB appt after my appt.. then nursed for only 20 at the coffee shop b/c Lily wasn't intersted and then nursed again while we were having our Well Baby appointment.. so I am getting a good lesson in patience and won't be over scheduling my life anymore! :) ha

Okay.. off to enjoy my little bundles... they are growing so fast! I'll work on getting some new pics up soon!