I can't seem to find the time!

Life is busy and I'm getting nothing done! That's not completely true, I'm taking care of my girls, and it requires so much time! I'm trying not to let the messy house get to me, but it does. I do take the time to get the kitchen cleaned up every night, but the rest of the mess seems to accumulate so quickly! That's not what's important right now. If I have a few minutes where the babies don't need me, I try to spend them giving Maddie my full attention.

Maddie started preschool again on the 24th. I know this will help her - she's done really well with all of the big changes in our lives but she's struggling none the less. She really enjoys school and having time of her own. Apparently that's very important to her because she's not sharing anything about preschool with anyone. When I ask her what she did she says she knows but she doesn't want to tell me. Too funny.

Cami and Brie are doing so well! They are BIG!!! Both of them are over 12 pounds, possibly close to 13 at this point. They are full of gummy grins and they're trying hard to giggle. Cami seems to have a personality somewhat similar to Maddie. She's ready to go places and do things. She's not real patient (I know, what baby is?) in comparison to Brie. She does aim to please though, she's full of smiles and will interact with anyone who givers her some attention. Brie is mellow, content and peaceful. I often catching her staring at me with a smile on her face, she tries to get my attention with a sweet coo. They are such good babies. They don't fuss or cry unless they're hungry.

Going out is a bit of a challenge. I'm on my own 3 or 4 days of the week while Aaron works his 12 hour shifts. It's just not possible to save errands for the times when he is home, we usually end up leaving the house once a day. It is becoming increasingly difficult to haul the girls up and down the stairs in their carseats at the same time! I'm glad we'll be moving before they get too much bigger. No more counting 19 stairs each trip!

Grocery shopping is an adventure in and of itself. I put the babies in their stroller
and pull Maddie in a cart along side of me. It's almost funny how many sympathetic looks I get when we're out. As long as I can keep Maddie happy and the babies have full tummies, going out with them by myself isn't too bad. It's just become the new normal!

I'm still up with them several times a night. Because of Aaron's work schedule, I often don't go to bed until after 1 a.m. I could change this if I went to bed after the babies 9:00 (approx) feeding, but it would leave me with next to no "quiet time" without Maddie up and running about. Most nights I'm lucky and the girls wake up at about the same time. Other nights they're off just enough that it totally messes up my night. Last night I didn't get to sleep until almost 2, Cami woke up at 3, Brie woke up at 4, Cami woke up at 6 and Brie woke up at 7. I look like death warmed over today! Nights like that happen about once a week.

The biggest challenge so far has been breastfeeding. With as chaotic as the first several weeks with twins was, I became accustomed to pumping and giving the babies bottles. This was nice because I could get help with the kids when I needed it, I wasn't attached at the hip to them. Not to mention that nursing two very small babies at once was very difficult. I was determined to make it work and made myself nurse during the day and still gave bottles at night (while I pumped). I don't always get enough milk during a pumping session to give both babies a full 4 oz. bottle so I have been supplementing with formula a bit. Not the best, but for us it works. I look at it as the way that I'm making breastfeeding work for us. Overall I'm satisfied with how it's turned out. The babies are 3 months old and they are getting the majority of their nourishment from mom's milk. That's a big accomplishment for me!

I will try to update my blog more often. Thanks for reading!