Bully

Ugh, when one stage is over, another is sure to start! I think we are getting over the biting stage. Now we are starting the - I'll just walk behind you and push you when you least expect it or slap you when I'm mad stage. Fun times!

K is a very independent child. He could sit by himself for half an hour and play with stacking cups. B on the other hand is a lost puppy without his brother. You would think it would be cute, well it's not. B has decided he is taking the bully role. K will just be walking to go get a toy and minding his own business & B will walk up behind him and just push him. Or if B gets punished he takes it out on K. Honestly I'm at my wits end. Nothing I say or do will make him stop. I have tried time outs, ignoring him, explaining be nice, etc. The boy is stubborn...I wonder where he gets that from? He is truly becoming a devil child. Is it normal to love your child but not like them? This wouldn't bother me so much if it wasn't happening all day. I think it is starting to turn K into a 'crybaby'. He used to be able to handle his own and would push back. Now, he just falls and cries. I'm not sure if it's because it is all the time or if he wants my attention after the attack.

Needless to say, I am on a mission today. I am going to see if google can help. I refuse raise a bully. Isn't he too young for this!?!

Parents of Twins & Divorce

So I know everyone is sick of hearing about Jon & Kate. Believe me, so am I. But when she was discussing separating with Jon, something she said got my attention. She said that the divorce rate for parents of multiples is triple the national average. Well, as I recall the national average is somewhere between 40-50%. Is it just me or does that not make sense?

Anyhow, this started to make me think. If I had a singleton right now, would my marriage be any better? I'm not saying my marriage is anywhere near divorce, but I'm not going to lie and say it is even close to perfect. Having twins is stressful, but having kids in general is stressful. I think having twins is definitely more stressful than having a singleton, but there are also a couple of advantages. One of the most difficult parts for me with twins was the schedules! Keeping twins on the same schedule is like trying to do one of those rubix cubes. How do you try to keep the same schedule for two different babies? Some babies require more sleep, some require eating more often, some start sleeping through the night sooner. I could go on & on but I think you get my point. What a lot of parent of singletons don't realize (mostly my mother-in-law) is that getting out with twins is twice as hard. Not only do you have 2 babies to prepare, but again, they are not on the same schedule! One might be getting up from a nap and the other getting ready to go down for one. My mother-in-law never seemed to get this. When the boys were younger and we would visit she complained that we were only there for an hour. Well it took us forever to get there because one of the boys was napping and by the time we did get there, the other one was ready for a nap. She has 2 sons and they are 4 years apart. Well, dang she had one in preschool when the other was born...how much easier can that be? Sorry...that is a whole different post or book. Honestly though, I don't know how I got through the first couple of months.

Well the boys are finally on the same schedule. They get up around the same time everyday (give or take a half-hour) and nap at the same time. It is a little piece of heaven. I also have a slight advantage now because they play together and keep each other entertained. However, notice I said 'slight advantage'. They certainly don't play nice very often. There is a lot of screaming, biting, pushing, and smacking going on. And 9 out of 10 times if it is quiet and it sounds like they are playing nice, they are into something they shouldn't be. And ironically, they are into it together. You would think one of them would be the daredevil, 'bad boy'. No, both of my kids get into trouble together. If one figures out a way to stand on the dining room table (yes that has happened, and now no one can eat in my dining room because all of the chair are tied together), they both stand on the table. I know, I have a long road ahead!

So if the divorce rate is triple with multiples, my husband and I aren't doing too bad! We are almost 2 years out. Honestly the kids are a huge stress on our marriage. But so is our house, our dog, our families and a ton of other things. I think people just want something to blame when they are facing divorce. All I know is that God forbid divorce ever knocks on my door, I will never blame my kids. They are my entire life and always will be. Everything I do is for them. Marriage is a separate entity. It needs to be worked on constantly. If you are both willing to work for it (with or without kids) and compromise, it will survive. If everything else in your life outranks your marriage, it will not.

Nesting

So I know I should be totally depressed now that fall is on it's way, which invariably means winter is around the corner...but I am kinda excited. I know...I'm nesting (as my mom would say). I know by the end of January I will wonder what in the heck is so great about winter. I'm excited about the changing leaves, lazy Sundays watching football (go Cowboys!), my electric blanket, all the wonderful holidays coming up, and decorating. I'm excited that this year my boys will be thrilled to open Christmas presents, rather than just eating the paper. They will get a kick out of seeing themselves in their Halloween costumes, and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.

With all this excitement also comes some stress. Last year was the boys 1st everything. So of course both sets of Grandparents wanted to be there for everything. They all live in our hometown about 2 hours away from our house. During the holidays we stay at my parents house with the boys. This is not only my decision, btw! Well Thanksgiving last year we went to both houses, and that seemed to work out fine. Christmas was a whole different story. Last year Christmas eve fell on a Wednesday. So we decided to celebrate that with D's parents because his mother doesn't work & his father runs his own business and all of my family had to work. Besides, D and his family always opened presents on Christmas Eve. Also, when I was young we used to open presents at my Grandparents house on Christmas Eve & I loved it. So I figured we would start that as a tradition. Christmas Eve at his parents house & Christmas at mine. Well, things didn't work out as planned. There was a lot of jealousy and drama going on so we never went over there Christmas Eve. So we spent Christmas morning at my parents house then took the boys to D's (I was inches away from not going). Well lets just say I was not in the 'holiday' mood because of all the drama and I was very upset most of Christmas day. That night I cried realizing this was the boys first Christmas, and that will never happen again, and it was not what I expected. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday & I look forward to it every year. Well, I wrote my mother-in-law quite an extensive letter about how I felt and this will NOT happen again and if it does there will be consequences. Needless to say, I am still nervous about this year. I have put down my foot this year & we are splitting up the holidays. I want to be able to relax all day (without having to drag kids around) and let the boys enjoy their presents. I will have drama-free holidays this year even if some people are not included! My family & our happiness is number one and I refuse to let anyone ruin it this year.

Oh boy

When I was working (before I got pregnant), I was very unhappy with my job. I was working 45+ hours a week, had a 40 minute commute, and very little paid time off. I was actively applying and interviewing for jobs. I interviewed with a local college for an executive assistant to the CFO. I wanted the job sooooo bad. The pay was really good, the benefits were free, the commute was only 15 minutes, the hours were 35 a week, and the paid time off was unheard of. I would have gotten the week of July 4th & Christmas off on top of 10 holidays and 3 weeks vacation. Well, sad to say I didn't get the job. He really wanted to give it to me but I had no experience working in a college and he had no time to train me because he was so busy. It sucked. Well a couple of months later I got pregnant and realized that after paying for 2 infants in daycare I would only bring home about $50/week. So I quit my job and decided to stay home for a while.

Financially it is hard, but we are somehow making it. However, I miss being able to splurge on myself once in a while. We had planned that when the boys turned 2 I would start looking for a job. I knew it might take a while because I was going to be very picky on the position I took. I want to be happy in my career. Well the other day I got curious and looked at the colleges website. They have an opening that would be perfect for me. I'm going to apply...but I'm so nervous. What if I get offered the job? Am I ready to put the boys in daycare? Will I regret my decision? Ahhh Decisions! So I put in my resume and coverletter today. They might not even call me, who knows. It just makes me wonder, will I ever be ready to leave my boys?

Meltdown Free!

On Wednesday we took the boys to the Central Park Zoo. It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive to NYC for us so we left after breakfast in hopes that they would take their nap on the way. Mission accomplished minus the fact that they finally fell asleep when we arrived in the city and only slept for about 30-45 minutes. So I'm thinking...not good. A full day in the city with such a small amount of sleep = meltdown central! Oh, and just a side note - it was only $10/person for the zoo & the boys were free! I was really proud that I planned a fun outing for such a small amount of money. Stupid me....nothing in NYC is cheap. Parking was $42!

The zoo has a whole section just for kids so that is where we spent most of our time. The boys loved getting out of their stroller for a close up of the animals. They really wanted to pet the sheep but I wouldn't allow it. Overprotective? No. My boys don't 'pet'. They grab, pull and yank. If our cat is stupid enough to let them get close enough he ends up loosing a couple of chunks of hair. But yet, he never learns.

On the way home, the boys took another short nap and it was nice to have some piece and quiet. All-in-all the day was great. I finally feel like we are starting to get back to an active lifestyle. Most people we know have no idea how restricting having twins can be. At certain points B was taking 3 naps a day but K was only taking 2...not to mention the 6 times a day they were eating or taking bottles. So their schedules were completely off and I was doing feedings all day which made it impossible to do anything. I'm looking forward to the future and all the fun activities we will do!

Running on E

Last Tuesday I started coming down with a cold. You know, feels like you got hit by a bus type of cold. Whatever, no biggie I'm a big girl and can handle the world! Then a wicked cough started setting in - again no biggie, I can handle the world with no sleep from being up all night coughing! Well by Saturday I was running on E. My throat was extremely tight and then the nausea started. You would think 5 days later the cold would be getting better not worse. So I threw the towel in and went to an urgicare. By this point I was doing all I could to not puke in the waiting room. Saw a doctor told him all my symptoms. They did a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia and stuck the long q-tip down my throat until I really almost puked on the nurse. I was given an antibiotic for possible strep (couldn't get the results that day) and was told I was probably nauseous from a post-nasal drip. Ummm...I'm no doctor but I don't think its from a post-nasal drip. So I'm sent home with some Robitussin with Codeine and an antibiotic. We didn't even pull out of the parking lot before I puked. I got home, puked some more and layed in bed all day feeling like I was dying. I am not kidding when I say giving birth to twins, naturally no less, was easier than the feeling I had on this day. Finally at around 8:00 pm (after puking all day and not being able to eat or drink) I went to the ER. They gave me 2 iv bags of saline for severe dehydration and some anti-nausea medication. This worked similar to an epidural...I felt like a new person after it.
Well, of course since I was out of commission the entire day, D had to watch the boys. Now I remind you they are over 18 months now. He has never in their entire lives watched them a full day. The day proved how men are clueless with schedules, routines, and chores. I didn't pay much attention to what he was doing all day (again, I thought I was dying) but I do remember he was giving them a snack at quarter to five (should have been at 3:00 pm) and even tried laying them down for a nap afterwords because he 'needed a rest'. Haha! Sorry dude, but they are down to one nap a day...too bad for you! He loaded the dishwasher with dirty dishes and assumes he has completed all the chores for the day (meanwhile the laundry basked is overflowing on the floor).
When he gets home from work everyday at 5:00 pm and I tell him to watch the boys because I need a break his reaction is 'from what, it's not that hard'. So after he reflects from an entire day with the boys, he decides I need more help. So he says from now on he will feed the boys dinner so I can eat one meal in peace. Ummm....almost 2 weeks later, still hasn't happened. Surprised - NO!

Spilled Coffee

Literally. Do you ever get that bad feeling when your husband is leaving for work and tells your kids 'you be good for mommy today'? Translation: 'try not to be so horrible today'. During breakfast this morning I put the boys in their boosters at the table and went to grab their pancakes...seconds later B has grabbed my coffee cup (full nonetheless) and it spilled everywhere. Thank God it wasn't hot...actually I don't remember the last time I actually had a hot cup of coffee. We have a round nook table & it seems like if I have anything on the table they can reach it. The other day I had B at the table eating lunch & I ran upstairs to grab K from his nap and when I returned he had grabbed his sandwich & food was everywhere. Moral of the story...keep your beverages out of the reach of your kids.

Boys vs Girls

I often hear parents say that raising boys vs girls is different. I won't lie, I was a skeptic. Doesn't it really depend on the environment you raise them in? Final answer is, NO. Have you ever noticed that boys at a playground are usually throwing dirt, climbing up the slide instead of going down, and chasing each other with sword sticks? Then you look over at the girls and they are building sandcastles, holding their baby dolls down the slide and playing hopscotch. I now realize my life will be complete chaos raising boys.

I come from a very traditional family...the whole respect your elders yada yada yada. I have an older sister who is my best friend. She has two girls ages 6 and 4. I absolutely adore them. The other day we are on the phone and of course I can hardly hear her with the boys screaming and carrying on like normal. I hear nothing in the background on her end. So I ask her 'where are the girls'? She says they are in their room playing barbies. I tell her 'I can't wait until my boys are that age so I can be sitting on the deck with a nice glass of wine while they play quietly in their rooms'. She starts laughing hysterically and says 'that is never gonna happen'! I now realize I am screwed.

Day off

Waking up this morning I felt like I got hit by a truck. My entire body aches, I have a monster headache, I cannot stop coughing, and I feel like I have 2 collapsed lungs. I do not get sick very often, but when I do it's no joke. It all started yesterday and by last night it was pretty unbearable. So I told D if it is this bad you might have to take the day off. Well it was actually worse this morning than last night. D gets out of bed at 8:30 am (which means he is going in late so he is going to be staying late at work) and just starts getting ready for work. Hello...I'm dying over here?!?! Needless to say I know he doesn't want to waste a day off on watching the kids. I suppose I don't even get a day off when I feel like crap. I drag my butt out of bed and go get the kids and bring them to the living-room. Whatever, I can handle this I'll just take some cold medicine and not worry about any chores today. So I'm downstairs getting the kids their morning snack with milk and he is just standing there. Um...can I help you? Yes, I'm waiting for you to make my coffee. WTF!

Overachiever cleaner?

After starting this blog, I realized I really wanted to share any valuable information I had for parents. The problem with that was...did I have any? Cooking in my house is hard to come by, scattered toys are weapons, and I feel like cleaning is a foreign term. My boys are now 18 months & surely I will start being able to 'run a tight ship'. So I went on a mission. First, I wanted to start with dinner. Dinner at our house is 6pm. Usually at about 5:30 I am running around the house like a chicken with my head cut off trying to figure out what I can fix. Needless to say it is complete chaos. So I found a site called simplifysupper.com. I must say it is great. You can plan out an entire month of menus...or you can take baby steps like me and just plan for the week. After you set up your menu you can print out your grocery list along with the recipes. How much easier can that get? I started that last week and so far so good. My only gripe is that the menu options are not that large and only include dinner recipes (it turns out my kids also eat breakfast & lunch). I must say this lifts a huge boulder off my shoulders and I enjoy eating a variety of food opposed to pasta every night.

This is going so good that I decide if I actually have time to cook maybe I can clean! So I found a website that actually tells you exactly what to clean everyday to keep a tidy house. Wow...a manual on cleaning. So I printed that out last week. The website is called www.flylady.net. She gives a list of little chores to do every day and a couple of larger ones. The way I look at it is if I cleaned things more often, it wouldn't take me so long to clean. Makes sense right? Wrong. I realized after the first step that this is not the program for me! The first step is getting up in the morning and showering, getting dressed and putting on make-up. I almost peed myself when I read that! I have 2 toddlers at home under the age of two. I consider it a good day if I can brush my teeth by noon.

In all seriousness if you are a neat freak this is the website for you. If I had more time I would definitely follow her routine. Before kids my house was spotless. Now at the end of the day if the sink is empty and the laundry is put away it's good enough.

What is wrong with men!

I am not your typical 'man hatter' but sometimes I really wonder where their heads are at! Maybe it's just my husband but, hello they are your kids too! We just got home from an exhausting weekend with the boys and I am almost passed out on the floor with 2 toddlers jumping all over me and I get a whiff. Someone has pooped. I'm pretty good at knowing who it was just by the smell. I change diapers all day every day. So, I figure it's not too much to ask that my husband change one at least every other day. He tries to find anyway out of it. He actually takes longer scheming on how to get out of a diaper change than the time it would have taken to just change it.

So here is his new line "You should change it, you do it so much better". Seriously???

Traveling Update

Ok, so we got home early yesterday afternoon from a weekend visit for my MIL surprise 50th birthday party. As expected, the trip was beyond stressful. If K & B would just take a normal nap and go to sleep on time it would be easy peasy! However, they prefer to scream at the top of their lungs and take at least an hour or more to finally fall asleep. Ugh! Last night when we put them down in their own beds...nada, not a peep.

To add to the stress my husband thought this was his weekend off...now that's a knee slapper!

I'm a teeny bop

Ok this is hard for me to admit. I am an avid reader. No, that is not what I'm admitting. Lately I am addicted to the most childish books imaginable. Here is what I am admitting. I am 29 years old and I loved the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. There I said it.

Although I love to read, I will also admit I do not normally read scholar-worthy type books. I've been known to dabble in some Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Grisham, and Greg Iles (looove him). After reading Twilight I got into some Jodi Picoult books...she's okay. I even read the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I figured her vampire books are better suited for my age...not as embarrassing. I just cannot seem to find my Twilight fix.

Looking around in Target last week, I saw some flashy vampire series. It is The House of Night Series by P.C. Cast. So I bought the first book. Again, it is a teeny-bopper book. But...I love it! What is wrong with me?! I think a 8 year old could read it. In only a little over a week I'm on my 3rd book.

I am accepting any suggestions for good, page-turner ADULT friendly books.

Poop there it is!

A nurse in the NICU once told me that changing diapers would eventually get harder. Stupid me I didn't believe her. How can it get harder than trying to put on a diaper that is too large on a screaming wiggling baby that pees on me all time? It does. Now the baby can scream louder, wiggle better and pee in larger quantities. But that isn't even the hard part. Now I have to hold down a screaming wiggling peeing toddler that is trying to put his hands in his (excuse me...) poopy penis while his brother is picking up the soiled diaper and running around the room.

p.s. Do not let your toddler walk around in just a diaper. They do know how to get out of it, you just won't know it until you find them peeing in the corner.

Traveling - Ugh!

So this weekend we are traveling with the boys to our hometown about 2 hours away...and I am dreading it worse than if I had to go to the dentist for 10 cavities. We are throwing a surprise 50th birthday party for my mother-in-law. We will be there Friday - Sunday. We always stay at my parents house (they live in the same town) and have all the necessities (pack-n-plays, etc) there. Well my parents are away for the weekend so we will be staying in their house alone - with no help. It is only Tuesday and already I am having trouble sleeping & completely stressing over this trip. Am I the only parent with twins that dreads traveling???
The worst part for me is putting the boys down for a nap or bed. We have two pack-n-plays set up in one room (at home they are in separate rooms) and we also sleep in that room. I don't know if it is because it is an unfamiliar room or what, but when we leave the room they scream. To make matters worse, they keep each other up crying. It breaks my heart to listen to it. At home, we put them in their cribs and they go to sleep, no crying.

We had the same issue when we went on vacation in April. We all had to share a room and they would scream when we left. They were both miserable the whole vacation because they were so overtired.

I am not looking forward to this, to say the least. I love going home to see all of our family (his grandma, my grandparents, my sister & nieces, our parents), but we hardly ever go because it is so stressful on me. I cannot wait until they are old enough to be excited about going to sleep over at Grandma & Grandpa's.

It's also hard for me because I feel like I am completely overwhelmed away from home with them. Nowhere we go is baby proofed like at home so I have to chase them around everywhere. Feeding them is a whole-nether story.

Well this will be the first time we put them in separate rooms at my parents. We will see how that goes. Someone please tell me traveling with twins gets easier???? Any advice on the sleeping situation??

Belly Pics

Everyone wants to see the belly pictures of someone pregnant with twins. I still cannot believe I got that big!

New Cooking Idea

With two kids under the age of 2 I find it extremely difficult to plan & execute meals. I have run out of ideas and cook the same things over and over again. I realize most of my problem starts with the grocery shopping. I always make sure I buy the meats (pork, chicken, beef) but I never know what to do with them. I usually resort to pork chops, cheeseburgers and chicken and rice. I never have enough ingrediants to cook anything from any of my cookbooks.

So I went on the internet searching for some idea's. I hit the jackpot with a website I found. It is called simplifysupper.com. The have menu's set up for the entire month. Most importantly you can search through all of their recipes and customize your own menu. Another great part of this site is that when you are done setting up your menu (or using theirs) you can print out the grocery list & recipes for the week. I love this idea! This way I know what I'm cooking every day, I have all the necessary ingrediants, and the best part is that I don't waste food because everything I bought is being used!

I am attempting to start this tomorrow & I will post an update at the end of the week on how I did.

Scrapbook

A lot of people ask me about the boys baby books. Well, honestly I feel really bad that I never made them but I guess I was too busy with diapers, feedings, laundry, cleaning and things that had to be done. So now that they are getting older and I have a little more spare time I wanted to do something. I realized I cannot do a baby book because I never wrote down dates for their first tooth, step, etc. So I found this really nice online scapbook that you can make and then have it printing. My idea was to take pictures from their first year. So their first halloween, Christmas, Birthday, etc. I just received it in the mail a couple of days ago and I love it. It is beautiful and I must say I like the idea more than just writing dates of 'firsts'. You can access it through photobucket.com.

Timeout

The boys are getting to the age where they definitely need some discipline! Naughty behaviors include biting, smacking, pushing, screaming and whatever else they can do to cause some drama. I don't believe in 'spanking'. At this age they mimic behaviors and how confusing is it to a 18 month old for me to spank them for smacking their brother? Any person with common sense should see that. I also feel like people who spank their kids are doing it for their own gratification. They are frustrated that their toddler is not listening to them and they take out their own frustrations on the kid.

Enough with the rambling. So we did start timeouts. So far, I think they understand why they go there. Of course, they don't understand when I say 'don't do that our your going to timeout'...they just give me a smile and see how far they can go. After doing this for a couple of weeks, they will walk themselves over to time out when told. We're still working on the staying there part. I have realized three problems with trying to do timeout with twins. One is at this age it is impossible to put them both in timeout at the same time. They won't stay there so all you are doing is chasing them around. Two, while one is in timeout the other wants to entertain. Third, a lot of times I tell one to go to timeout and the other one will go. It is confusing at this age to associate their name with a specific action.

I have noticed a decrease in biting episodes since we started timeout. The smacking and pushing we are still working on!

Terrible Two's Early?

Ok my boys just turned 18 months a couple of days ago. My goodness they are demanding. If one has a toy the other one wants...get ready for a tug of war screaming match! It's kinda funny because you can tell how devious they are getting. For instance, if Blake is playing with a toy that Kameron suddenly decides he wants, Kameron will throw another toy at Blake as if to say 'here take this' so he can swipe the toy. It is hilarious.

The eating situation is also getting frustrating. Now if they don't want a certain food, they just open their mouths and let it fall all over their laps. Oh joy...people told me this would get easier HA! They also think it is funny to play simon says with each other at the table. If one throws food, the other starts doing it also. If I tell one to stop banging their sippy cup on the table, the other one starts doing it.

I am beginning to think that whoever came up with the quote 'it will get easier' either never had children, or is a liar!

What to buy 2 of??

This is another question I get asked a lot. What do I definitely need 2 of?

I would say you definitely need 2 of the following:
*Cribs
*Pack-n-plays (if you travel a lot eventually they will not fit in one together)
*Infant seats/bouncers
*Boppy's
*Monitors (if you move them to separate rooms)
*Exersaucers (lifesavers!)
*Highchairs/booster chairs
*Car seats (duh!)

Dealing with babies in the NICU

The absolute hardest part of giving birth was not being able to hold my babies right after. Because they were premature the NICU team was in the OR for delivery and rushed them out as soon as they were born. I feel like I never got that first *moment* with them.

Blake who was actually born second and weighed less, went home first at 9 days. Kameron shortly followed at 12 days. It was extremely difficult leaving them at the hospital when I got released. It was weird but I felt like a horrible mother and I must have not done something right because my babies were not healthy enough to go home with me. In addition, I couldn't drive yet and my husband worked all day so it was hard to get quality time with them. Breastfeeding was impossible because I wasn't there for every 3 hour feed. So I pumped and brought in my milk every day.

While they were in the NICU I didn't really even feel like a mother yet. I honestly felt like a student. The NICU nurses had to teach us everything from keeping their body temperatures stable to hooking up their feeding tubes. I never got alone time for just me and them. Also, during their stay no one will tell you when they are expected to go home (I guess they say they don't want to get your hopes up). I tried to take it day by day, but it was really hard to picture your first days home with your babies for nine months of pregnancy and then bam you have no idea when you will actually bring them home. I felt a lot of guilt for not being with them enough at the NICU. I longed for them to know who I was more than the nurses.

It was hard because I had imagined how I would bring them home from the hospital and they would sleep in the same crib together snuggled like they were in my stomach for so many months. I imagined how we would all be lazy in bed together in the morning. Honestly I still get jealous watching Baby Stories on TLC because most of those moms get to hold their baby first and get to bring them home healthy and happy.

Now that I look back on all of that, I realize how truly lucky I am. My babies were 6 weeks early, had very low birth weights and both were home within a week and a half. To this day they are happy healthy little boys.

My Story

I found out I was pregnant with twins on June 28, 2007. Yes, it is shocking (I get asked that a LOT)! During my 16 week level 2 ultrasound I found out it was boys. My husband & I were ecstatic. He was happy he never had to play with Barbie dolls (hopefully), I was happy that some day I could kick all the men out of the house and have a 'me' day.

The pregnancy was not smooth by any means. I went into pre-term labor at 28 weeks and had to go on complete bed rest. Not as fun as it sounds! I made it to 34 weeks (a huge milestone for me) and the doctors said I could start moving around a little more. So my mom finally set a date for my baby shower.

The baby shower was about 2 hours away from my house (how is it the pregnant lady has to travel for everyone else??). On the drive home from the shower, I started feeling a lot of pressure. I thought it was just from being more active after laying in bed for 6 weeks. So I got home and started organizing some of the gifts and it started getting worse. I went and laid down in bed and I suddenly felt a gush. So I ran to the toilet thinking...maybe I peed a little. Then I had a bigger gush. I yelled for my husband and told him and he replied with 'maybe you just peed and didn't realize you had to'. I immediately called my mom since my husband was clueless and she has done this twice, and she confirmed it was my water breaking.

I showered really quickly, grabbed my bag and off we went. I started getting pretty strong contractions on the way. When the checked me I was 3 cm dilated. Soon after that I got an epidural...whoever invented that is a complete genious in my book (had to be a woman lol). About 13 hours later I delivered Kameron who was 4 lbs 8 oz. About 50 minutes later I delivered Blake who was 3 lbs 15 oz. Thank God I had a relatively easy labor and they were both delivered natural.

Questions from Newbies with Newborns

Biggest questions I get from new moms with twins or expecting twins are-

How do you feed them at the same time?
Answer: you just do it! I did not breastfeed because apparently I am not that coordinated. I took a shortcut and pumped. When I heard the first baby start to stir, I would get up and start warming the bottles. I had these little propped feeding beds I set them in, and I put them on my bed on each side of my legs (I don't think this is possible with anything other than a King bed if you have your lazy husband sleeping next to you), and fed them. Just a little hint...I wouldn't change the diapers until after you've fed them because that is when they usually decide to load a diaper.

How do you go shopping alone?
Answer: you don't! I know lots of moms with multiples that would put their babies in a stroller and pull a cart behind them. It just is not worth the trouble. Between trying to get around people in the store and praying that your babies don't flip out for some reason (because you have no hands left!) it is not worth the stress and aggravation. Wait until someone can go with you or someone can watch the babies. Or you can do what I did, make a list and make your husband go.

How do you sleep?
Answer: again, you don't! Everyone you know will tell you 'sleep when the babies sleep'...but most chances are these are not people that were taking care of two babies at one time! No offense but they are clueless! When your babies are sleeping during the day, you are cleaning bottles, doing laundry, trying to take a much needed shower, etc. You just have to get by until they are sleeping a little longer. If you are lucky enough, your husband can take a night shift (I sadly was not lucky enough lol).