Mom of Farm Boys!

Last night I think I found worst time of day... And maybe one of the biggest downfalls of having boys. Let me paint you a better picture...

It's 4:00am and you know who wants his bottle... I come downstairs to get it, and instantly went down--- I repeat "mom down!" My sweet and loving baby boys decided to leave the farm animals out on the carpet last night instead of putting them in the barn. You'd be amazed what horrible pain a plastic Little People Piggy causes on a bare foot. That's it... That's the big down fall--- if they were girl's it may have been a dolly. BUT in our farmhouse there's a 50/50 chance... 50% chance it'll be a cow, pig, horse and the other 50% could be a tractor, baler, combine.... Ah, raising farm boys--- ain't life great! 

Speaking of my "farm boys"--- is our house the only one that the cow doesn't "moo". Yep, in our house we have a stuffed bull and a baby calf. Both make different sounds... Thank you politically correct farm dad. I look forward to our boys going to preschool and arguing about what sound a "cow" makes :) and better yet, I would like to apologize in advance for the day they will explain the difference between a cow and a bull.--- quite possibly it'll be in front of the whole class. BUT--- I have a plan for that too. EMERGENCY CONTACT will be listed as Dad or Grandpa, they can explain. 

That's today's trials and tribulations: being a mom of farm boys... And it's only  just begun. 

Celebrate life's little victories...

Celebrate life's little moments. Moments that tell you that everything is truly in God's hands... Tonight my blog is going to be expanding a little bit on my 'baby A'...

Landon was attached perfectly throughout my pregnancy (to my placenta) so honestly, he was what I considered my "easy" baby. However, when he was born-- that all seemed to change. I nursed my boys exclusively in the beginning, and Landon had troubles figuring that out. The big concerns came as he got older and we started supplementing with formula. Landon was throwing up, a lot. I saw many local doctors, and heard many times that it was: "normal" or a "virus"... But watching my identical boys grow further and further apart size wise... I knew something wasn't right. 

 Finally I had enough, shed some tears (alot of tears) and after many phone calls, loaded Landon back up and took him to the city once again. I was seen by our peditrician who reminded me that, I'm the mom, and I will always know what's best for my baby. I knew in my heart, something was wrong with my little man, and I was NOT going to shut my mouth until someone helped. We were referred to a gastrologist, and finally I heard that "no, it wasnt normal". First off, an upper GI... it turned out good. After a few months of trying different formulas, and medicines... Landon was diagnosed with MSPI. (Milk Soy Protein Intolerance) this meant that the formulas that had soy, were making him sick. We crossed our fingers, and hoped that at about 12 months he might grow out of it. 

Fast Foward

12 month appointment was today:

Landon is only a few ounces less than his brother, and is back on the growth chart... at a perfect weight for his height! Yay!! I'm also happy to announce, we are 100% medicine free! Small steps now, trying to introduce milk back into hos diet. Tonight he had a bottle with 1 oz of whole milk mixed with his 7oz of formula--- and--- he didn't get sick! Yay!

I understand that this is really early, but for me this was the greatest sign that we are maybe on the right track! After months and months of blaming myself, I have finally realized that everything is in much bigger hands than mine. But, God  choose me as his Mom and it is my job to protect him and be his voice. 

Moral of this blog:

Celebrate the little victories in life everyday, those little things add up to big things! 

Teething Babies

Teething babies!

Another glorious moment as a momma of twins, teething! Fortunately for us, our boys were late getting teeth... I sure hope the old wise tale is true, that the longer they wait to get teeth, the better & healthier they will be! Well Mr. Tooth Fairy, sign us up! 

Logan got his first tooth at 11 months old. That tooth made him fussy, he had a fever--- the whole works! And after that, Sir Logan has decided to just get all of those things in at once so, not only are we cutting our top tooth, we are getting BOTH our top teeth AND our second one on the bottom! Our day was great, but tonight-- he wanted to be held, and wouldn't eat a thing, and don't even think about trying to touch his gums. For a person with just one baby teething, sure you can hold him... but when you have a brother the same age teething--- that is when a daddy comes in handy! A pedialite popsicle seemed to do the trick at first (it will also be at the top of the list for cleaning tomorrow, sicky sicky everywhere!) But, ultimately a little tylenol calmed him down enough to get him to bed! 

As if one baby isn't "fun" enough teething, don't forget we have the pleasure of having a second little boy teething too! Landon thus far is the exact opposite of Logan. He has a top tooth just in, and another on the top coming AND one on the bottom. However, you would NEVER suspect it. He is just so happy go lucky! He ate steak tonight, some potatoes.... mmmm mmmmm... life is good. (Yes, I knocked on wood)

So, as their daddy pointed out tonight, a few down... only about 40-some to go! Wowzy... this is just the beginning :)

Running errands...

I'm not one to stay at home just because I have kids. Actually, I'm a firm believer in taking the boys out and about often, the only way they'll learn to act good in public is to take them in public.

Since they were a few months old I have taken them along to grocery shop, run errands, and for dinner out. How do I do it... Here's your answers:

Grocery Shopping:

1) I do a lot of shopping at Sams Club (cheapest diapers & bulk formula)

The glorious part about SAMs is that they have double seats in their shopping carts! Hallelujah! Simplest place for me to shop... 

2) when shopping local: I take my double stroller in, what I can't fit in the bottom of that stroller, I don't buy!

3) I take backup, grandma usually... She takes a boy, and I take a boy. Divide and concur!

Eating Out:

1) pretty simple, put the boys across the table from each other and they'll entertain   One another. Oh, and bring lots of snacks to get by til dinner is served! 

Actually, come to think of it--- snacks is the answer to everything... Just feed them snacks, they're happy doing anything!

It's all in how you look at it!

There are a few advantages of having twins... I mean, yes... we do get to be the lucky ones to buy double the formula, and double the diapers.... BUT, when it comes to buy one get one free sales-- they were made for our family! Another big advantage of having twins is our bedtime routine.

Having two babies, I wasn't able to really rocking them to sleep for very long. You see, they've never been to big on being held together. I guess they think they just had way to much quality snuggle time for 9 months that they're just not interested. They learned at a very young age to soothe themselves... Landon sucks on his middle finger & ring finger, Logan is a thumb-type of kid. Landon also puts his free hand on the back of his head at the same time... the great thing is, at 8:00, my boys get put down for bed. I literally put them into their cribs (yes, they are in separate cribs) and walk away. 99% of the time I don't hear a word. THAT is fantastic!

Another "advantage" about having two is when one gets sick, the other gets sick... BUT, the way I see it, I know it's coming! So, unlike parents of just one baby, I get a forewarning. It's all in how you look at things!

But by far the biggest advantage of having two is the number of volunteers I have to babysit! I kind of figured it would be hard to find sitters when we had 2... that's not at all the case. SO, if you have volunteered --- I haven't forgotten about you, and I'll be calling just as soon as "more of their daddy" comes out in them.

Once again, it's all in how you look at it!

What a year...

What a year! I can't believe it's been a year, nor can I believe we have officially survived 1 year. One year of total chaos... but a good chaos!

I still look at my boys every morning wondering how I got so lucky. How'd God choose me to be the Mom of not only one healthy baby but two?! Honestly, in the beginning of this whole journey I felt selfish about having two. I was sad because there are those women who want a baby so bad and for reasons we can't explain they just can't... And here I was with two 'surprise' babies, perfectly healthy.

I also had a moment while pregnant that I asked myself how would I ever have enough love for two babies...Thank You, for a very special person telling me to relax, thank you for reminding me that God has a plan... and although it doesn't seem possible--- you can and will love both of them! My heart has never held so much love as the day the boys were born. Every day while pregnant and the long long days once they arrived, I told myself a few things day in and day out...
1) Everything happens for a reason...
2) If he brought you to it, he'll bring you through it...

This year has been pretty tough for our family as a whole, and I firmly believe God gave us these boys when he did because he knew we'd need them. No matter what life would throw at us, as long as we had each other -- we'd figure it out! As long as we had two little boys to make us smile at the end of the day.

This year has tested my patience, has made me laugh, lots of memories and a few moments of tears...

All in all, I'd never change a single thing! Those long nights, those moments of doubt, none of them mattered when I saw my babies smile. So, when I say cherish each minute... Do. They grow so fast. It seems like just yesterday that I was up ALL night long, and now I'm up only once (thanks a lot Logan)... Who knows maybe by this time next year I'll sleep ALL NIGHT. 

As for this mom, I'm going to hold them close, put a book on their heads (to slow down the growing a little) and pray to God that the world treats them right. 

Happy Birthday my most amazing surprises, you two are loved more than you can ever imagine. 

Never be out numbered! Doctor Appointments with two!

Turning a year old means another round of those fantastic shots that every baby loves so much! So, my topic for today... doctor appointments with two...

The first doctor appointment I really can't remember... I had practically 0 sleep, and was a walking zombie! Having two little guys that need shots is the not-so-much-fun part of having multiples. The first few go arounds dad came with.... On the "normal" growth chart my boys have always been in the lower percentages, but it's really not a fair comparison....(40 week, 8 pound baby compared to 38 week 6 pound twins---not even close) If you compare them to other twins, they are growing perfect. Our peditrician is a mother of twins also, so she knows exactly what we're going through. Because we doctor in the city, they have the staff to do all shots at one time! Two nurses, shots go in each leg at the exact same time... Which is great, however that also means two babies crying at once. So, I NEVER go alone! That's the key, never be out numbered!! 

So, the funniest thing that has ever happened to us during a doctor appointment: (read cautiously)

The boys were young, maybe a month old... The first thing you have to do is get weights, so you gotta strip them clear down.... Diaper was off--- then a little toot came out, then the explosion happened!!! All over the room, Super Dad had deflected it with his hand, and... Wait, something was on my neck. Yep! You guessed it, Landon - 1 Mom - 0

The nurse came in as we were frantically using wet wipes everywhere, and of course she said "oh, that happens all the time"........

At 1 month we knew our lives were just beginning to get interesting.....