Trippy Dippy Times

Day trips, date nights, and even intercontinental travel - it's all beginning to happen!

Aside from the fact that I try, as much as possible, to get the three of us out of the house regularly, it has to be said that it's an energy draining exercise!  Take today's expedition, for example.  A first trip out to the office. So proud to introduce my girls to my coworkers and that of my husband.  Such a proud poppa.  Such a proud momma. Such a peaceful, sedate and special time...

Yah, it was special alright!  Let's see.  Poop bombs, monumental spit-ups, leaky boobs (yes, really, I forgot the breast pads, and ended up with a very dark, wet circle over my right boob) and a special - there's that word again - trip to the store by my coworkers to buy (yes, buy) a new outfit for the second twin, since the first had soiled her original outfit so bad that she already took the backup clothes and left nothing for the Spitup Queen. And that was just at MY former office...

What have I learned?  That my diaper bag, although great, will not house all the supplies I need for a day trip.  Also...I need to take a look at myself before I leave the house and make sure, you know, that I won't have obvious and strange side-effects visibly prevalent to all around me at awkward times. Aaand...perhaps it was ambitious to try hit two offices on the same day when I still have issues with breastfeeding and satisfying my little sweethearts.

I also infered - quite correctly I'm sure - that travel of a more elaborate nature will require some HEAVY planning.  Such as the trip down to Arizona to visit Grandma and Grandpa this spring.  I'm going to start thinking about how to coordinate and plan for it all now! Got tips?  Know of websites that help? I know they exist...

Also of note...and speaking of getting out...tomorrow night is the first night I will be without either or both of my babies for any time - it's DATE NIGHT and we have a friend and her daughter coming over to babysit. A big moment.  Wonder what that will feel like? What did it feel like the first time you left your baby home with a sitter/family member?

Trippy, I bet!

Slaphappy quiches and more breastfeeding woes

I want breakfast options...savoury breakfast options, and so this morning I quickly slapped together what I think are quiches.  No, folks, I have never made a quiche before - it's not my first choice - and I didn't have time to be painstaking.  Thus, I looked up 'quick quiche crust' online, slapped that together.  I doubled the recipe, ripped it in half, dumped it into a pan, and instead of rolling, pressed it into the pans.  I don't think I have enough dough (barely went up the sides) and it looked awful, but whatever, right?  Babies were fussing already in the playpen and I wanted to get it done!  Then, I 'guessed' at what the egg mixture should be, what the milk ratio oughtta be, and dumped a bunch of other ingredients in it.  Ham, asparagus, cheese, onion, mushroom and red pepper.  A real mashup. 

They are in the oven. I have no idea if they will work out.  Should be interesting.

Also interesting (or not, if you are sick of hearing about it) is the ongoing breastfeeding struggles.  Some days I wish I was just bottle feeding them.  Some days I hate breastfeeding. Some days I wish my baby hadn't been stuck in CHEO, stuck with so many tubes in her mouth, stuck until released to try learn to breastfeed after almost a month. And then other days I love breastfeeding.  As I've said before, it's the hardest job I have ever done.

Yes, I continue to struggle in two big areas.  One, I continue to have flow issues.  I don't have enough milk to satisfy my very voracious Alex, and certainly don't have enough left over for Hailey, whose suck is very light, very ineffectual, and who delatches if the letdown is too heavy, leaving Mommy to scramble and sop up the flowing milk pouring all over my clothes, the couch, the babies.  It's good times, I tell you.

And now, as you know from my last post, I have a baby who loves to hate breastfeeding. There's no telling if she will latch and when and for how long, and if she will instead freak out, crying that wailing "I'm so angry" way and beating her little fists against my breast.  It's NOT COOL when your baby is that upset. 

But still I persevere. And eat quiche. And ask for, and get, help.  Thank god for the help.  You are all fantastic resources and cheerleaders.

This morning, we had lovely skin-to-skin time in the ongoing effort to make this not only work, but make it enjoyable for all. It was lovely...pix to come.

Starting over - Another round of breastfeeding training

So this morning I took my daughters to an appointment at the hospital with an ear, nose, throat doctor who specializes in frenectomies. That is, she snips the little band of skin under the tongues of certain babies who have what they have nicknamed 'tongue-tie'.

First, can I just say that getting them fed, cleaned up, MOMMY cleaned up, packed up and out the door in time for a morning appointment is suicide with one person?  I got er' done, but we were a few minutes late, needless to say...

Back to the procedure.  A teeny bit traumatizing.  Blood coming out of your babies' mouths is never fun to see.  They were upset. I could only hold one baby to breastfeed/soothe at a time. Thankfully I had Daddy with me (good call Mommy!) and eventually we got them settled down.

Now the fun really begins...again.

By again, I mean that I feel like we have a clean slate again and it's time to give it one last college try to get my milk in at the level I need, get my two little girls feeding on the breast almost exclusively (I will never eliminate the bottle completely - are you crazy?  A little potential freedom is necessary my friends!!!), and see if we can get to the point where I can tandem feed.  This little last point is a biggie. 

Why?  Well, because when you are by yourself at home, there are inevitably many times during the day when both girls are fussy and hungry at the same time. It is not fun to know that you are picking and choosing which babies to make happy first, and leaving the other to cry.  Not fun at all.  I'd understandably like to eliminate this from my daily diet.

Now, a few hours after the procedure, I have an inconsolable baby on my hand.  Both, actually, have been highly fussy, but I'm being rejected by poor little Hailey, and in fact, she won't take a bottle either.  Nothing in her mouth at all, actually.  She's angry, she's upset, she's red and blotchy and has tears streaming down her face - she's fed up.  Just totally over being poked, prodded and cut. Mommy feels rejected, helpless and unable to help her baby. It's been a long afternoon...

Thank god for Daddy who came home, calmly rocked her, soothed her and has, after a good chunk of quiet time (and a little bit of baby Tylenol), succeeded in getting her to take the bottle I had prepared a good hour ago...She's taking it now, and I can feel the tension seeping out of my shoulders. Man, I am emotional these days...

This breastfeeding stuff, I have already said, is the hardest job I have ever taken on in my life.

I hope tomorrow is better, and every day after that is better and better. I really want this to work...

Connectivity and cool people

So a few weeks ago I caught a tweet from a twitter contact that said something to the effect of "I'm in the Christmas spirit.  I will give a free photo shoot to the first person who replies."

To which I, of course, replied..."am I too late?"

This woman, @cornPuppies on Twitter, agreed to come to our home (house call !) and take family shots of the four of us using natural light.  All I can say is WOW.  She took some incredible shots, and even one or two flattering shots of my husband and/or I - a feat that not many people can claim they have managed!!! What's really incredible is that she just loves photography as a hobby and doesn't want to move into any sort of paying gig, so this is sheerly for her fun - and our very appreciative benefit!

I have added some of the shots to the photo slideshow on this blog, but here are a couple faves:

More to come, as she is willing to come again and again to snap some photos as desired.  I will surely take her up on this. 

I cannot understate how beneficial it has been, for a variety of reasons, to be connected to wonderful people on social networks. It amazes me that anyone would NOT be on here, meeting great brains, lovely comedians, local artisans and personalities, and friends. It's truly a rewarding experience.