From the Twin-Daddy:
You know you are a twin-daddy when:
The Family Dinner
- You make certain to use the bathroom at work because you may not have time at home.
- You have the “baby sway” and will rock any object, anywhere, anytime to make it sleep.
- You can open a childproof medicine cap one-handed.
- You can feed a baby, read a book, and rock the other baby with your foot at the same time.
- You typically reheat your coffee more than twice.
- Any watching of television occurs while pinned to the sofa by sleeping babies. If you can’t reach the remote, you could end up trapped watching America’s Top Model. After several months, you may actually enjoy it.
Even Shakti has babysitting duties
- At the end of every day, you have a collection of baby drool on your shoulder and chest.
- You count a day without getting peed or pooped on as a pretty good day. If you only got peed on, really… that’s still fairly good.
- In order to get at your dinner while it is warm, you eat with a child strapped to you in the baby bjorn carrier keeping the plate over his head so you don’t get crumbs on him.
- You walk in on your wife singing a song and the lyrics are, “You have explosive poop!”
Alex and Dom (front): Exploring new frontiers
Both Dominic and Alexander continue to fascinate us with just how adorable they can be. It makes it much easier to forget their fussy moments. They are both enjoying their swing now, and Tranquility Base (Dad’s chest) is a coveted spot to hang out and fall asleep. However, their all-time favorite place is The Changing Table. Their love for this oasis of joy started with their Twin-daddy playing games with them whenever he whisked them away to wipe their little mustard butts, and soon they also discovered the wonders outside the window. Now, this magical table has the power to dry tears, hush cries and call forth smiles. (Our friends Jim and Wendy didn’t mention The Changing Table’s mystical qualities when they offered it to us after several years of loyal service in their household.)
Alex: The peace following a draught from the elixir of life
Nursing
Nursing continues to go fairly well. While the breastfeeding versus formula controversy tends to be intense, we have found a middling ground that works well for us. Mom nurses the boys (or provides breastmilk) 90% of the time with usually 1-2 bottles of formula out of 10-11 feedings a day. Sometimes Dom and Alex show a preference for the bottle and other times only Mom will do.
Dom: Conversations with the Master of Bottles, Burps and Bottoms
Out-of-Diaper Experiences
Our boys have the occasional out-of-diaper experience with ensuing mayhem. I remember one particular night when Dom had a truly impressive poo that managed to shoot up out of his diaper and up his back. We quickly decided it was bath night, but as soon as his wiped bottem settled into that warm water, a stream of pee arched out of the ducky tub in the sink and hit the lines of freshly washed bottles on the counter with precision aim!
The Family: Ready to go out on the town (or around the block)
Stroller Joys
We returned from a recent meeting of the Sacramento Mothers of Multiples with a Snap-n-Go stroller that another twin mom had generously offered to us since her little ones had just outgrown it. We immediately came home and took the whole family out for a walk together. The stroller makes our whole family unit much more mobile, and with the boys getting bigger all the time, it is much easier to take them out and about.
Alex: Dreaming of milk fountains and afternoons on The Changing Table
Sleep
A few hours of uninterrupted sleep have become a truly precious commodity for Mom and Grandma. The Twin-mom tries not to wake up Grandma Myrtle for the first night feeding (shhh, little ones), and the Twin-daddy and Grandma conspire to give Mom some extra hours of shut-eye in the mornings and on the weekends by keeping the boys quiet, contented and well fed. Dad even took the boys to fencing practice one morning and stayed out until the afternoon!
Dom: Enjoying the calm of Tranquility Base
Back to Work
The Twin-Dad and Mom headed back to work at the end of September. While I’m only out of the house for a few hours each day to teach, Puck is back on an 8-5 shift. Every day when he comes home, he immediately comes to see his boys and to whisk one or both off for some daddy time. He is so good at coming up with new games and at inspiring them to give him their biggest, happiest grins. We are all so fortunate to have Grandma Myrtle here too. She cuddles, cradles, diapers, feeds and sings to Dom and Alex, plus she does so much to help Mom and Dad too. I have truly enjoyed getting to learn to mother from mom – singing lullabyes together, late night chats while Alex or Dom nurse, and facing new challenges with her advice and experience as a guide.
Alex: On The Changing Table
Dom and Alex
Alexander and Dominic engage a lot more with Dad, Mom and Grandma – smiling, laughing and cooing at us, and they’ve continued to work on holding their heads up high and looking around, especially while being burped. They’ve each had some fussier phases in the last few weeks, and the lessons from “The Happiest Baby on the Block” video and the Miracle Blankets have been a life saver for soothing them. Dom and Alex have been getting some tummy time every day, but we’re having to work on convincing them that tummy time is fun.
Dom: On The Changing Table
Both Alex and Dom enjoy walking Shakti around the block, but they let us know if we stop and dawdle too long chatting with the neighbors. They also like the backyard and outings to see new places – though they often sleep in the car and sometimes don’t wake up until we’re back home again. We’ve even managed to go out to eat a few times with the boys. If one starts to fuss, Dad heads outside with him to swing or rock him in his carseat. The plan is that as soon as Grandma or Mom finish, they can relieve him, but so far, Dad has always returned quickly with a quiet and happy baby. We are enjoying our adventures in parenthood and loving on our two little angels.
From the Twin-Daddy:
Today is Dominic’s and Alexander’s 2-month birthday!!
Geek Learning
Our boys are learning at an incredible rate, and I compare what they are doing to the scientific method in some sense. Which is:
- Use your experience
- Form a conjecture
- Predict the outcome based on your conjecture
- Test by experiment
Our boys have no experience, no conjectures, and no predictions. They live in a heightened form of the scientific method in which they experiment randomly and use the results to form a model about how the universe works. For example, Alexander doesn’t know whether or not his brother is made of chocolate ice cream so it might be okay to taste his head.
Is Dom edible? Science needs an answer!
Alexander doesn’t know if Shakti is edible either so it might be best to bite her just in case.
Are Great Danes edible? We must experiment on the dog!
Growing
Our little guys were born almost 6 weeks early and were massive for their gestational age. One of the NICU nurses used the term “enormous”. The good news is that they appear to be growing at a pretty good clip and may overtake or even pass the median growth for a full-term baby very soon. Today Dominic weighed in at 10 pounds 14 ounces and Alexander at 11 pounds 6 ounces. Since their last appointment on September 3rd, they’ve gained roughly 1.75 ounces a day.
- Dominic’s Weight over time
- Alexander’s Weight over time
- Average baby weight (at gestational age)
- Average baby weight (after birth)
Being Born Is Tough
Our Boyos Are Big for Preemies
Other Milestones
We’re also seeing developmental milestones such as increased strength, control over the head and neck, eye contact, social smiling, and limited arm control.
Today they got their vaccinations at the doctor’s office, and we started by stripping them and playing with them until we got their weights. After that it was examinations and bottles to reward the boys for being mostly patient as patients.
Then came the vaccinations.
Dominic got his shots first with two nurses popping syringes into each leg and then covering the injection sites with band-aids. We tried to distract him with his bottle, but when he was stuck he turned beet red and let out a heartbreaking wail. His brother was nearby and for the first time ever Alexander actually gave Dom a bit of a sympathy cry as if to say, “I don’t like it when you hurt my brother!”
I soothed Dominic, and Mary took Alexander to get his shots next. Both boys agreed that this was a horrible experience, but getting milk and being held made it easier to get over it.
The most adorable milestone however is that the boys like it when you play with them now.
From the Twin-Daddy:
Spending time with two newborn boys you start to develop parenting shorthand which leads to creative uses of the English language. Here are a few new words or phrases we have been using lately:
Baby-Wrangling
Baby-Wrangling
The art, science, and practice of handling a baby (or babies). Baby wranglers can be identified by their sleep-deprived faces, their tendency to rock anything they are holding to sleep (babies, backpacks, grocery bags, the neighbor’s cat), and their desire to feed milk into whatever nearby orifice is convenient. This may lead to the burping of the DVD player, and the family dog may promptly sit whenever she sees a bottle nearby. In order to keep a baby-wrangler at rest, place a baby on the wrangler’s chest, and the wrangler may drift off to sleep.
Baby Coffee
Baby Coffee is like regular coffee in many ways. It is served hot and then allowed to cool over a period of time as the parent waits for it to reach room temperature. In order to pass time as the coffee reaches the correct temperature, the parent will probably engage in baby-wrangling. I have speculated that iced coffee drinks were invented by parents whose children are grown and no longer get to enjoy Baby Coffee.
Father Food
Father food is prepared in the same way that Baby Coffee is prepared. Like revenge, it is typically served cold.
Yours and Mine
When the mother is holding a baby, it is **her baby**. By definition, the other baby is **your baby**. When the Twin-Daddy is out of eyeshot and a baby shrieks, he knows if he needs to come running when his wife yells, “That’s your baby!” The Twin-Daddy certainly does not suspect that the Twin-Mommy quickly trades the noisy-shrieker baby for the quiet angel-baby when the husband steps out of sight.
Her Baby
My Baby
Butt Surfing the Mustard Wave
This activity brings each of our children a special joy coupled with intense expressions and grunting. Their joy is so manifest that they often wish to share the experience with you by producing butt mustard in such a quantity as to exceed the load capacity of a regulation-size dumptruck.
Milk Vampire
The milk vampire is a creature that awakens and immediately and spontaneoulsy shrieks at 200 decibels. When presented with a milk source, the creature will briefly wave his head from side to side and then vigorously attack the nipple (plastic or otherwise). While feeding, the milk vampire will make contented and happy noises after each swallow. They also like to look up at you with their big blue eyes, and sometimes they even hold hands with the other milk vampire across Mommy’s tummy. Really, milk vampires are pretty cute.
The Cuteness of a Milk Vampire
The Countdown to Grumpytown
This is the time interval during which a baby’s desire to eat is initially expressed in friendly and cute ways up to the final and dreaded shrieking and wallering.
The Holding Pattern
When a boy wakes up hungry but Mom isn’t ready to feed yet, he goes into the holding pattern. This is a heightened form of baby-wrangling in which the Twin-Daddy practices all his most hardcore soothing tactics to reassure the hungry child that his parents are not intentionally starving him, warm milk is coming soon, and his mother has not been kidnapped by aliens. This may be accompanied by irrational pleading with the child.
The Pit Crew
Breastfeeding two newborns at the same time is much easier with a helper we call the Pit Crew. When the boys get hungry, the pit crew grabs boy-1, strips him out of his clothes, changes his diaper, and then may enter the holding pattern (see above) while Mom gets ready with her nursing pillow and various boob-related tools. When Mom is ready, the pit crew drops off the first boy and repeats the pattern with boy-2. When both boys are latched, the pit crew then brings the mom water or food as needed and checks on her needs. Then the pit crew will burp boy-1 followed by boy-2. When he is finished, boy-1 is burped again, has his diaper checked, and then is dressed for sleeping and put down. We repeat that with boy-2. People laugh at us when we say, “We are going to breastfeed the boys,” but the laughing ignorati don’t typically have twins.
The Code of Silence
Rather than an actual admonishment towards secrecy or quiet, this actually refers to the precautionary practice of keeping your mouth closed while changing the diaper of a newborn boy. The Code of Silence is typically paired with the Code of Cover up the Dangerous End of the Winky, and the suddenly remembered Code of Hit the Deck if you forgot the other codes and are about to get sprayed.
From the Twin-Daddy:
Yesterday I posted a video with Alexander as the sole star and it is only fair that tonight I publish a video of my other boy, Dominic. When starved for food, he may attempt to feast on human flesh!