Catching Up

Wow! It’s been over 2 months since our last real post (before the twin-daddy’s post 2 days ago). So much has happened in that time, and Dominic and Alexander have changed so much! Here are some of our experiences from the past 2 months (Warning: It’s an extremely long post!):

Nov. 7, 2010: Boys with Swords

With our boys just over 3 months old, we took some photos of Dom and Alex with Puck’s favorite sword. We were pleased that they would hold onto it and that we were able to get photos of the two of them together with the sword. We also got some close-ups of our boys in blue.

Alex (left) and Dom

Alex (left) and Dom

Alex

Dom

Alex (top) and Dom

Dom (top) and Alex

Our family

Nov. 22, 2010: Shakti

Our beloved Great Dane Shakti passed away Monday afternoon while Puck was home taking care of Dom and Alex. She was a treasured member of our family and a gentle soul. I was pretty amused this past year to discover that our lovely Dane trumped the hugely pregnant woman and even the twins for attention when we were out on walks. Shakti had just turned 11 years old in early November. I am so grateful that she lived long enough to meet Dom and Alex, give them a few kisses and have some photos with them. She is still greatly missed, and every time her bell on the back door jingles, I imagine her here watching over all of us.

Thanksgiving with the cousins

Thanksgiving Week

Grandma Myrtle flew home to spend Thanksgiving with Papa, and my sister Linda and her family came to visit. Dom and Alex really enjoyed getting to meet their cousins, aunt and uncle, and Uncle Brian and the twin-daddy cooked us up one amazing Thanksgiving dinner with lots and lots of delicious leftovers!

Nov. 30, 2010: Crib #2

We decided to set up the second crib for Dom and Alex. I brought in the mattress earlier that day, and we set it on the floor in the bedroom and let Alex take a nap on it. Alex had quite a surprise when he managed to roll off the side onto the floor (a very short drop of a few inches). Grandma Myrtle almost immediately came to his rescue, and when she couldn’t help laughing, Alex decided it was a pretty good joke too. Fortunately, the twin-daddy set up the second crib that night. Amazingly, the boys only woke up once that night – at 1:30 AM.

Dec. 1, 2010: 4 Months Old

Dom and Alex turned 4 months old, and we had another appointment with the pediatrician. We thought the boys’ vaccinations would be the hardest part of the visit, but we were wrong. They had to have blood drawn, but the technicians couldn’t see their veins. Tourniquet on one arm as it turns purple, then on the other, then sticking the boy blind in the hopes of hitting a vein. First on one of our sons, then on the other. No luck. Then, they decided to take the blood from the boys’ feet. They pricked their heels , then squeezed out the blood and scooped it up for what seemed like hours and was at least several minutes. Dad held Alex and Mom held Dom as they cried throughout the whole process. Poor little fellas. Dad and Mom needed a treat from Starbucks after that before heading back to work and home.

Weights:
Alexander and Dominic: 14 pounds 10 ounces

Dec. 3, 2010: A Night on the Town

Dom and Alex stayed with babysitters for the first time! Our friends Pieter and Lucy brought their 18-month-old daughter Lola over to watch our boys. The twin-daddy and I took Grandma out to hear a Christmas concert sung by the Sacramento Gay Men’s Choir to thank her for all of her help. We had a lovely evening at the concert, made all the more pleasant by being confident in our babysitters’ ability to love on and wrangle our two little boys. (Plus, Lola is simply adorable!)

Dec. 5, 2010: Auntie Billie

Our family friend Auntie Billie arrived to help take care of the boys while the twin-daddy was in Boston for a week of work-related training, and we replaced our old and dying minivan with a new one. Billie also came to drive home with Grandma Myrtle.

Dec. 7, 2010: Grandma’s Birthday

Mom with Dom, Auntie Billie, and Grandma Myrtle with Alex

For Grandma Myrtle’s birthday, Billie took us all out to Panera Bread for lunch, and we had a pleasant day with the boys. A few things Dom and Alex love about their Grandma:

1. Her hugs (they’re the best!)
2. Their conversations in the morning!
3. Listening to her sing to them!
4. Storytime!
5. Snuggles and cuddles!
6. Seeing her smile!

Alex (left) and Dom - Jan. 15, 2011

Dec. 8, 2010: Rolling Over

Both boys rolled over twice on their own (Alex first, then Dom)! Dom started hitting buttons on their carousel toy! Both Dom and Alex enjoy trying to roll their RRRRs (they blow bubbles). Plus, Alex slept from 9 PM until 7 AM, and Dom only woke once at 3 AM!

Dec. 10, 2010: Hungry Little Boys

On the way home from picking Dad up at the airport, Dom and Alex really let us know they were starving…and Alex downed 7 oz. of milk. (They typically drank 4 oz. or less just a few days ago.) Dom and Alex have almost doubled what they usually eat at meals during the day. This has meant nursing and then bottlefeeding in the short term plus some extra pumping. Those are some hungry boys!

Dec. 11, 2010: Grandma Heads Home

Grandma Myrtle and Auntie Billie headed home. They are both greatly missed. Grandma gave a truly amazing gift to the boys and us by coming out to help us for so long. I don’t know how we would have survived the Twinsanity Interval without her tremendous support. Dom and Alex were able to get a lot more personalized attention, and we were able to get lots of good advice and more sleep. Plus, I just really enjoyed having this time with my mom. Thank you so much, Mom!

Dec. 16-19, 2010: Christmas in L.A.

Dom and Alex get to meet their cousins, aunts, uncles and paternal grandma in Los Angeles. They enjoyed their time with family – including their relatives from Down Under, and they loved the Pacific Aquarium and watching all those fish! Alex also started to pick up a ball using both his hands on the 16th.

Dom with Mom

Alex with Dad

Dec. 24, 2010: Proto-Steps

Dom takes his first proto-steps while holding his father’s hands! Dom and Alex get their photo taken with Santa Claus (see the previous post).

Dec. 25, 2010: Look, Mom, No Shield!

Alex started to nurse without a nipple shield during our flights to Oklahoma and seemed to really take a liking to it. Dom followed his example that night.

Dec. 25, 2010-Jan. 3, 2011: Christmas in Oklahoma

The boys mostly slept on their flights to and from Oklahoma, but getting through security with all our stuff was a headache. On the way there while juggling a baby and balancing the car seats, the security wanted me to help push the bags and trays through. What to do? I balanced on one foot and used the other to push our stuff into the X-ray machine.

Papa with Alex (left) and Dom

Grandma and Papa’s dogs liked giving the boys kisses, and Alex took his first proto-steps. The boys also started to play together more and continued to hold hands a lot. Alex was fascinated with his feet and started to suck on his toes – taking a particular liking to his left foot. Alex learned to sit on his own by leaning forward and supporting himself with his arms, and Dom also started working on sitting up.

Dom (left) and Alex: Brotherly Love

During the big family Christmas weekend, Dom and Alex loved getting to meet their family, and they were very smiley and talkative. They spent little time in their parents’ arms as they were passed from aunt to uncle to cousin. Their cousin Kirstyn particularly enjoyed holding the boys, and Dom and Alex looked particularly adorable in the suits that their Great Aunt Mary Jane and Great Uncle Jerry bought them.

Alex (left) and Dom: 2 Dapper Lads

Unfortunately, Alex and Dom were both sick during their trip with runny noses and sneezing. When we headed back home, they had also picked up a cough (especially Dom). Their congestion meant that they spent most nights sleeping on us, and their sleep patterns were completely thrown off. They were waking up a lot during the night.

Jan. 4, 2011: Dr. Appointment

The day after we got home from Oklahoma, we took the boys to the pediatrician to check on their cough. The verdict: just a virus. We did get a chance to weigh our sons, and Alex had pulled slightly ahead again.

Dominic: 15 pounds 14 ounces
Alexander: 16 pounds 2 ounces

Jan. 5, 2011: New Tricks

Alex started using his hands to play with toys hanging down from the play gym. (Before the boys would both just kick the bars to make everything shake.) Alex also started to play with the carousel more – turning the little carousel animals and hitting the buttons (Dom had started playing with the buttons Dec. 8). Both boys liked to talk, smile, stand, grab and pick up items, and stand in the exersaucer. The boys’ ability to roll over has improved, and we started letting them sleep on their tummies. This has helped Dominic sleep better, and even Alex seems to prefer sleeping on his tummy. (Oh, it would be wonderful to get back to their sleep patterns of early December!)

Alex (left) and Dom

Jan. 12, 2011: The Routine

Dom and Alex have continued to work on sitting on their own, and they have started going 4 hours between feedings at night (still not as good as early December).

During the day, I have begun settling us into a schedule. We all get up between 6:30-7 AM. Dad takes his shower and gets ready for work, and I start changing diapers and outfits. Dad often finishes getting the boys diapered and dressed while I shower and make a quick bite to eat. Next, Dad heads to work, and the boys and I play in the living room. They rotate time in the exersaucer, jumparoo, 2 bouncy chairs, a sitting station made with boppies, the baby Bjorn carrier, 2 gyms and a blanket on the floor. They typically spend some time lying on their tummies, practicing with unsupported sitting, standing supported, doing baby and mommy exercises with Mom, playing peek-a-boo with a blanket, dancing to music (kicking, waving their arms and shaking their rattles), and reading with Mommy. Some of their favorite toys are Ollie (an O-shaped squeaky toy with legs and a face that belonged to their cousins Brenna and Savanna long ago), crunchy books, rattles, music-maker toys, and their Shakti-like stuffed animal dogs.

They usually go down for a nap every 2-3 hours, and they generally sleep around 45 minutes, though occasionally one or the other will sleep for 1-2 hours. They’ve been wanting to nurse a lot during the day, almost every 2 hours. We’ve started working on putting the boys down for their naps and at night drowsy but not completely asleep to help them learn to put themselves to sleep. At present, Alex finds it easier to settle into sleep by grunting and flopping his head from side to side. We’ve been having more problems getting them to sleep at bedtime with them sometimes staying up until 10 or 11 PM, but we also haven’t established a bedtime ritual yet.

Recently, Dominic had a new laugh that has surfaced three times when he was really happy. It was sort of a hee-haw laugh but cuter. Dom has also started playing with his feet the last few days, and both of our sons suck on their hands a lot and drool prodigiously. Dom tends to talk a bit more than Alex, but Alex has started talking more too.

Jan. 13, 2011: Bedtime Ritual

We finally started setting up a bedtime ritual for the boys on the 13th. During the hour before bedtime, we dim the lights and try to do more relaxing activities. As bedtime approaches, we change diapers, nurse, sing a few songs and read “Goodnight, Moon.” This first night Dad was coaching fencing, but I was able to get them both to bed by 7 PM, and they slept pretty well. We sleep-nursed them around 10:30 PM and changed their diapers before putting them back to bed. Dom is still waking up a couple of times in the night, and Alex is usually waking up just once, though sometimes he also wakes up a bit before 6:30 AM. So far, we’ve been able to get both Dominic and Alexander to sleep within an hour of starting the bedtime ritual.

Jan. 14, 2011: Alex’s Teeth

Alexander is getting his first two teeth! (See the Twin-Daddy’s post.) Dom managed to turn 180 degrees in the exersaucer today! I took the boys to Davis with me today. We had lunch with Dad, and then we went by the UCDavis library. On the walk back to the minivan, we strolled by a stream, and Alex and Dom got to see real ducks for the first time.

Jan. 15, 2011: On Our Own

We’ve completed our first month on our own. It has been a bit chaotic with our travels for Christmas and the boys’ colds, but it has also been a very exciting time – getting to introduce them to our extended families and watching them as they develop new skills. Now, I look forward to continuing to settle into a semi-stable routine and meeting our new challenges as they come – like mobility, baby-proofing and solid foods. I also continue to dream of nights filled with hours of uninterrupted sleep (just 4-hour blocks would do!).

Alex (left) and Dom with their carousel