Time with My Brother

Dominic and Alexander enjoyed each other’s company yesterday. As the day wore long and they turned into fussy monkeys, I helped them stand to play on their LeapFrog musical table. They had so much fun that I took the legs off and let them play with it on the ground. They happily experimented with the buttons and knobs for quite awhile. After a bit, they started moving around more and bumping their heads and faces on the plastic toy – a different (and more unpleasant) learning experience, so I moved them on to other things.

Dinner Antics

We had another prunes and sweet potato dinner, but I upped the amount of prunes and reduced the amount of sweet potato. Alex has started developing a rather messy eating habit. He takes a bite, turns his head and spits it out on the back of the chair and then smears it across his face. I finished feeding him yesterday while holding onto one of his arms to hinder him from turning his face all the way into the back of the chair which seemed to help, and he didn’t complain. Other than the new quirk, he is generally eating better. He also drank an ounce of watered-down apple juice today, though Dom only drank about 10 mL.

Dom: Are we done already?

Alex: Ah, truly a masterpiece! Wait until you see what I have planned for tomorrow!

Bedtime

Since the boys are still having trouble with solid poo (and Dom had tried unsuccessfully to poo while eating dinner), I decided to give the boys a warm bath even though the Twin-Daddy had to head off to fencing practice. Afterward, I nursed Dom, then Alex. After Dom finished, I laid him down with a blanket and played Sesame St. low on the TV. He chilled and watched sleepily, and he smiled at Elmo and when Queen Latifah sang about the Letter O. When Alex finished, I laid him next to his brother and let them watch a song or two together before taking them back and putting them to bed. This is the third night in a row that we’ve gotten them to bed late – around 8 PM, so I’m going to try very hard to have them in their cribs by 7 PM today.

Enjoying a little brother time before bed.

They did take 2 good naps yesterday though. 2 hours in the morning (with neither of them waking up in the middle) and an hour and a half in the afternoon. This morning Alex only slept for an hour and Dom for an hour and a half.

Wednesday, the 23rd

Our morning started early with the Twin-Daddy driving Papa to the airport, and our home feels emptier without him here. As my nephew Eric said after Papa visited them this past summer, “It just doesn’t seem like home without Papa!” When Grandma left in December, we felt her absence as well. As a silver lining, our home is full of memories of Grandma and Papa. They have left their touch and their love on so many things and spaces in the house as well as with each of us. Even now my eyes brim with happy tears.

Well Rested

Yesterday, Mom was outnumbered once again, but that goes easier now than in the past. Both Dom and Alex are sleeping through the night most of the time. Sometimes one or the other will wake briefly in the night, but fortunately, it is getting more and more rare. They often wake a bit early in the morning, but usually they play quietly in their cribs until pretty close to 6:30. With their new curtains keeping out the sun, they seem to be napping better too – 1.5 to 2 hours look like it is becoming more common. Mom has stopped forgetting words…well, mostly, and I can make it to the evening without feeling braindead. Of course, we’ll have to see if that lasts with Papa gone.

Dirt!

Wednesday afternoon after their nap, I whisked the boys across town to a play date with other mothers of multiples – their first play date. Alex and Dom had a good time. I put down a sleeping bag for them to sit on as the ground is still drying out from all the rain, and I had a few toys for them. However, the boys were much more interested in exploring the world around them. Dirt, grass and dried leaves drew them to the edge of the sleeping bag and fascinated them for some time. Clearly I need to take them out in our backyard more!

At the play date, the moms were outnumbered at least two-to-one, and there was a nice mix of new and veteran moms as well as adventurous children, toddlers and babies. I wish we could have stayed longer to chat more, but it was wonderful to see everyone.

Tuesday, the 22nd

Tuesday was both a joyful and a sad day. It was filled with laughter but also haunted by the upcoming departure of Papa. Plus, we continued to wage our war on solid poo (which seems just a little crazy since it is sooo much easier to clean up, but it is definitely not better for our little ones).

The Poo War

Ah, the things we talk and worry about as parents. The boys are still struggling with solid poo. Alex has had only one normal poo since Saturday, and poor Dom has had a harder time of it.

1st line of attack: We gave them water in sippy cups when we started solid food; however, they were more interested in chewing on the sippy cup spout than drinking.

2nd line of attack: We gave them water in bottles. Unfortunately, they quickly refused to drink more from the water-filled bottles.

3rd line of attack: On Tuesday, we upped our game with two new strategies. We bought some prune baby food, and I mixed a little with water to make a light “prune juice” for the boys. We tried bottle-feeding it to them, and with encouragement, I got Alex to drink around an ounce though Dom was not thrilled with it. We also started the boys on prune baby food with sweet potato to thicken it.

4th line of attack: Since Dom won’t drink the water or prune juice, he’s getting watered down breastmilk to up his water intake.

What next? If we haven’t won the war on poo by tomorrow, I’ll be calling the pediatrician back and continuing with our current plans of attack plus whatever else the pediatrician recommends.

A Little Laughter

When Papa and I were in line at the register waiting to pay for groceries, I was wearing Dom in the carrier and had Alex in the cart’s seat. Our two little boys looked at each other and started to giggle and squeal and laugh. It was contagious. All the customers around us took notice. They started to smile, and a few even joined in the laughter. I’m not sure what inspired the joy, but they certainly had a great time spreading cheer.

Later that evening we had the boys in their exersaucers with some Sesame Street songs playing on YouTube. Soon, Dom and Alex were chatting away with each other, squealing and laughing. We caught a bit of it on video, so perhaps some of it will make it to our blog. I absolutely love watching our sons interacting and laughing.

Farewells to Papa

With Papa leaving in the dark, cold hours of the morning, the boys’ goodbyes were said Tuesday night. They got to share a little time on Papa’s lap in addition to all the rest of the attention they received during the day. We’ve all really enjoyed and appreciated having Papa out for a visit, and Dom and Alex have loved being teased by him as well as playing and chatting with him. Alex will especially miss untying his shoelaces, and they’ll both miss pulling clothes pins off his shirt pockets, learning to give high-fives, and hearing his rich, deep voice. Their little lives were enriched by all the new experiences he introduced them to and the additional one-on-one time.

Mom’s life was also made easier with another person to help care for the little ones and run errands. In the evenings, when Papa and I would sit in the living room with him reading a book and me working on my dissertation, it reminded me of my high school years when my dad always seemed to have something to do late into the night until I finished my homework and headed for bed – the companionship of presence. We’ll look forward to your next visit here or our next visit to Oklahoma!

Dom: Let's hide his shoes; then he has to stay!

Monday, the 21st

In the morning, Papa and the Twin-Daddy watched the boys and sent me back to bed after the 6:30 AM wake-up call and nursing. I was more than happy to oblige and drifted into a very deep sleep for at least 2 hours. What a wonderful way to start the day! (Though I did miss getting to see the boys play.)

In the afternoon, we took the boys to the Sacramento Zoo for the first time! The Sacramento Zoo is pretty small, so we were able to see almost everything in an hour and a half of leisurely walking around. Dom and Alex mostly rode in their stroller, and they were pretty laid back about their new adventure. They looked at a number of the animals, but I think the flamingos were their favorite – so colorful and near the fence – with the otters a close second. They also got to see lemurs, chimpanzees, giraffes, a lioness, a hyena and some reptiles.

Alex (left) & Dom hang out with an orangutan.

Papa, Dom (left), Alex and Dad watch the otters playing.

Alex and Dom liked watching all the flamingos.

(Papa and Alex) We may be wearing Papa out!

Monday night, the Twin-Daddy snapped some shots of the boys with their mom too since she is usually behind the camera. Then, we put them to bed. Papa watched the boys and fed them their 10 PM sleep-feeding while Mom and the Twin-Daddy headed off to see a movie, “True Grit.” It was fun to catch a flick in a theater as it has been quite awhile, and we picked a good one. We’ll have to rent the version with John Wayne to compare them!

Kisses!

Adoring looks!

Sunday, the 20th

Each day brings new adventures for Dominic and Alexander. On Sunday morning, the Twin-Daddy caught Alex using his crib rails to help him stand and reaching for his brother’s crib. We had been procrastinating lowering the mattress, but after that incident Papa lowered it before his next nap. The boys have been learning other new tricks as well. Alex is finally starting to get the hang of eating, and both have begun intentionally shaking their rattles – especially Dom. They have started using their teeth on their toys too – scraping them across things to make noise, so you have to be extra careful about what they put in their mouths!

Alex gives Papa a snuggle and Dom laughs at his daddy.

They are each working on their own methods of moving around. Alex uses his sitting skills to slowly shift closer to items: sit, sprawl, sit, sprawl. Dom gets on his hands and feet and then uses his head as an extra limb. Every once in awhile one or the other will make it up on their hands and feet and move a hand forward (they’re good at moving their feet already). We expect them to take off any time now.

Alex: That's our Papa! He's lots of fun!

We had planned to head to the zoo, but instead Papa and the Twin-Daddy worked on various projects around the house. They put in dolly-like shelves in the two large, corner kitchen cabinets which definitely helps with kitchen storage space. While here Papa also put a curtain rod in the nursery which lets the boys now take naps in a dark room and covered part of the back porch so we have an area that will stay dry even while it’s raining. He used materials that still let plenty of sun through. He got our minivan set up to open our garage door, and as always, Papa fixed a number of other things. Thanks, Papa!

Alex: Can I play with your iPhone again?

For their dinner, we mixed sweet potatoes with the carrots, so they wouldn’t be so runny. Both Alex and Dom ate well, and it looked a lot less like a carrot massacre at the end of the meal. Our little guys finally got to go out and enjoy their swings again too since the sun had come out.