Life with the twins!

So it only makes sense that it's taken me 5 months to write any updates on the twins, right? I'm actually using this blog post to avoid doing laundry. I have two loads on the bed that probably have to be re-dried... I shoved way too much into the dryer. AND a load in the washer and the dryer. What the heck?? 

Babies make a lot of laundry.

I always tell Matt that if I kept the kids alive, it was a successful day. But then there are two subcategories of a successful day. Thrive days and survive days. I'd like to think that I have a lot more thrive days where I actually get on the floor and play with the kids, there is more giggling than screaming and crying, and that we take all of our naps. But we have had quite a few survive days. Where I am literally counting down the minutes until their next nap, or I had to rock and hold one of them (cough cough, Kaylee) to sleep, and I almost cry with relief when Matt walks through the door. 

Motherhood is hard work! 

Matt is still working 60 hour weeks. This makes life even harder. We keep being told that this is abnormal and that the hours will decrease. But I call bullsh*t. Sorry - I do. They've been telling us the hours will decrease for forever. We know we aren't the only ones pissed because an abnormal amount of people have quit recently! (The turnover rate is pretty high I believe). And to top it all off, he has worked many a Saturday and then is the ward financial clerk on Sundays and doesn't get home from our 1pm church time (naps suck those days) until 5:30!

Rant over. I love my life. Honestly I do. In Relief Society a couple Sundays ago someone asked if anyone could raise their hand because they were content with where their life was at. And I'm not saying that I'm content, but it made me realize that I am literally living my dream right now. I work hard all day long, but doing something that I love! The kids make it quite easy and enjoyable let me tell you. 

Oh my gosh they are beautiful. 

They LOVE tummy time. And they love it so much that they actually sleep on their tummies! Kaylee hasn't gotten quite good at rolling over. Caleb is probably a week or two from really getting it down but it's so fun (and sometimes nerve wracking) to see them succeeding in different areas. 

Caleb Matthew was 12 lbs 10 oz at his 4 month appointment and Miss Kaylee Jo was 12 lbs 9.9 oz! We are still in very low percentiles for our gestational age, and the zero percentile for our actual age. But they are both following healthy curves and eating well. Caleb has turned into such a talker. He had a week or so after they turned 3.5 months where he was constantly squealing and mumbling. It was cute and then got quite persistent, haha. He is really good at making eye contact with people, and after he does he will give you one of his million dollar smiles. 

Kaylee is such a goofy girl. Like I have said before she is either completely happy or really mad, so she has actually lost her voice a few times from screaming and crying. It didn't help that these instances occurred after getting a little cold. But it was really pathetic to hear her try to coo and babble with a raspy hoarse voice, but then as her voice healed we started to realize that she was continuing to do it?! She thought it was fun to play with her voice and make herself all raspy!

The twins have been sleeping through the night since about 2.5 months old! Our schedule is around a variation like this.

5:50am: Mom gets up and pumps 23 oz of milk (I know, I'm a cow. Moo)

6:15: Babies wake up/changed/fed and everyone goes right back to sleep

9:30: Babies wake up/fed/changed and dressed and then have play time and/or a bath

10:45: Morning nap while Mom pumps, gets ready for the day, does laundry, cleans bottles, eats breakfast (you get the picture)

12:00: Babies wake up/fed (I wait a little while for this diaper change... they always poo after or during this feeding) and then play

If I need to run any errands for the day this is the best time to do it. The babies are the most happy and can last the longest before needing to go back down. I do a lot of shopping on Amazon now a days and I am so fortunate to have family that can bring me groceries or Matt will grab something like milk on the way home. 

2:00: Back down for a nap while mom pumps, eats, cleans bottles, etc. etc. 

3:30: Babies wake up/fed/changed and then we either play at home or go on a walk with the dog. 

*Charlie, our dog, is still young and so he can really be another kid to look after sometimes. But he is learning and adapting to having two new family members. I just need to remember to be patient and that I like him ;)

5:00: Back down for a short nap. Mom pumps, yada yada yada.

6:00: Babies wake up/fed/changed and have play time! I will usually put them in their high chairs and have them in the kitchen with me while I make dinner. 

7:45 (or later...*grumble*): Matt gets home!!!!!!!!!!

8:30: Bed time routine - everyone goes upstairs, gets changed into PJs, and then fed in a rocking chair. 

9:00: Asleep!

So there are a few tricks to the Gregson twins that I feel like make for much easier days. 

Sleeping: So putting the twins to bed is something I am quite proud of. We put them down awake and they usually don't cry or fuss for longer than 5 minutes. They will cry longer if I have kept them up too long (the struggle is real). I will lie one in the crib and distract them with the mobile while I rock the other one. Then we switch! Tada!

Bottle feeding: Upstairs we sit in our big rocking chair and I criss cross my legs and prop them up on the outside of my thigh - sandwiched between the sides of the chair. Downstairs I will put a couch cushion at a 45 degree angle in front of me. 

Out in public!: Holy moly the Baby Jogger City Select double stroller has saved my life. We also have the car seat adapters so when I'm by myself I don't have to unbuckle and then buckle both of them. Car seat bases are a godsend. 

The only twin specific items I could think of that we have loved has been our twin Z pillow. The twins quite literally lived in it their first month. We had it just set up on the couch and so whenever they took a nap or I was alone and couldn't be holding both of them, they went into the pillow. 

I feel like I need to keep writing because the twins are taking an absurdly long nap right now. But I won't jinx and maybe go deal with that laundry... boo.

Tell me what I should write about next time. I feel like when I'm not sitting at the computer I have all these ideas and then I sit down and poof, they're gone.

bye.