Our oldest twin is doing things first!

It happened while we were back in Minnesota for Christmas. We were at Grandma and Opa Thron's house. Lucy was in the crib and she dropped her toy and she started turning to reach it, and over she went! She has done it a few times since.

Lucy figured out breast-feeding first, she laughed first, started grabbing for toys first, and now she has officially figured out how to turn over at almost 5 months on the nose. No more hanging out on the bed just in case she has multiple rolls! In the last few days she has also figured out how to get her binky back into her mouth if it falls out (she takes it our herself frequently as well). She will even drop it next to her and turn over to grab it and pop it back in!

Now, Stella usually emulates her big sis and begins doing things shortly after Lucy does. It's kind of neat that she is learning from her 'older' sibling. I guess 7 minutes makes a difference!

I should mention that Stella was the first to find her feet and to 'talk' ; when she gets going, she just wants to be heard- and I'll tell ya, we can hear her throughout our entire 3-story house!

This video is of Stella... and her feet.

Sleeping through the Night

I did not believe it would ever happen. The week before we left for MN, so Dec. 18ish, the girls BOTH slept through the night. I am talking a good 8 hours. Of course I woke up several times to make sure they were OK, but after a couple weeks now of mostly sleeping through the night, I am actually getting a normal amount of sleep (in a row) again!!

It makes a difference how much they eat during the day I found. If I feed them every 2-3 hours during the day, they will sleep through the night. When they are home with Daddy, they eat less and I notice that they are more likely to wake up in the middle of the night.

They are still on our room in the pack and play, the plan is to move them into their own space after my parents visit in January!

Eggnog, hot buttered Rum, and invisible Christmas trees

Last weekend (first weekend of December) was Fells Point's annual eggnog tasting and tree lighting ceremony. We decided it would be worth packing the girls up and going for an outing. We went to the tasting in 2009 as well- we tryed around 10 different eggnogs (including egg nog cookies); and the bars had spiked nog- which I couldn't try since I was newly pregnant at the time. So this year, with babies in carriers, we were looking forward to tasting a bunch of nogs and maybe even a few spiked samples too. However, for the life of us, we could not find any store that was participating this year- or they had already run out- bummer!

We did manage to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus on Thames Street. They were not your traditional merry pair;they were sitting in a tent drinking natty bohs, smoking skinny cigars, and handing out egg nog with brandy to bundled pedestrians. Needless to say, we did not plop either of our new children in St. Nick's lap.

We wondered over to the pier and watched the Christmas light laden boats in the harbor; and then watched the grand (or not so grand) lighting of the tree- but wait!- I see lights, but where is the tree??!! I know times are tight, but a few strands of lights hanging down to kind of look like a tree was a pretty sad sight.

We decided to stop in Max's for a beer to warm us up; however, when we got to the door they wouldn't let us in- no kids allowed. Now, I know babies in bars are frowned upon by some, but it was 6PM, and it's not like Max's is a crazy party joint- they sell food and have a nice fireplace in the back. Well, we didn't fight it, we just didn't go in. It all turned out for the best as we ended up in Bertha's Mussels (bar) listening to Irish music, sharing a hot buttered rum, with babies sound asleep in our lap (it still amazes me what they can sleep through).

I have never had hot buttered rum before, it tasted good, but extremely rich. I had to ask what was in it. I think one of the owners is the one who told me this- so hopefully it's not a secret recipe or anything!

1 pint dark rum; 1 lb butter; 1 lb sugar; cinnamon, nutmeg and boiling water; and then to serve they add more rum plus the above mixture- wow, sounds healthy eh? I did not have anymore after I heard that!

Twins and Sleeping : The Crib Conundrum

During our hospitable stay at Mercy, (is it coincidence that hospitable and hospital are essentially the same word?) we received two bassinets, labeled Baby A and Baby B. They were so tiny we just couldn't put them in two separate 'bins'! Afterall, they did just spend the first 37 weeks of their lives smooshed right up next to each other! So, we had them both in "Baby A's-aka Lucy's- bassinet". Apparently there is a reason for separate sleeping quarters; when the numerous nurse staff, tech staff, or pediatric staff came to check on the girls, or do tests etc., that was how they could determine, who had what, and when. It didn't matter however, we still kept them together, and just made sure to clarify who was who and who had what.

We got home. We have one bassinet. We weren't sure if we needed another one, but as it turns out- we did not. The girls slept in the same bassinet from July 24 until approximately October 10 ( I only remember this because we had just arrived back from Boston:)). However, at some point in September, they absolutely had to be swaddled (not just in a blanket, but a "SwaddleMe velcro blanket so they couldn't escape) while sleeping, otherwise the smacking ensued... and if they were not swaddled, ensured waking up a sleeping sister.

So the bassinet was awesome; it fit perfectly next to my side of our queen sized bed in our baltimore-rowhouse-bedroom- and, with good advice from my sis, it was one that rocked- not just figuratively. I was sad to see it go in October, but babies do grow, and Stella and Lucy were 8 1/2 and 10 lbs respectively (as of their 2 month appt), and the max in the bassinet was technically 15 lbs.

In comes the Pack N' Play; a lot larger all around, however, the bassinet portion still only technically holds 15 lbs, but it has worked fine. And-it still fits in our room-- unbelievable!

So, to date, the star light girls are sleeping in the pack and play in mom and dad's room- they are 4 1/2 months old. They still wake up to eat every 3-5 hours, so it is very convenient for mama.

However, their mini-mattress is starting to cave inwards a bit and we know its time for them to move into their own room soon. It's somewhat comical when you think about how crazy new parents go when trying to set up the nursery and then don't even really use it for a few months. We have a cute nursery, but with the girls sleeping in our bedroom, all the changing diaper materials are in here too-- for now. And, we have TWO diaper pails- one for cloth, one for disposable... and let me say that we can't smell a thing. GO Diaper Champ, and GO free diaper pail that we got from Modern Diaper Service for use with our cloth dips.

Currently, we have one crib set up in the nursery. We figured, we only needed one for at least the first 6 months. Well, that's a bit over 1 month away now, and we only use the crib for playtime. I have noticed that, in order to have them both in the crib, we would have to place them vertically- the short way- in the crib. We couldn't really do head to head or feet to feet since they would ultimately knock boots, or noggins. The problem is, when they are in the crib this way, they can push off one side and hit their head on the other- they are just too long!

So... maybe its not really a conundrum... maybe we just have to set up the second crib... but we were hoping to stretch it out a bit longer!