Tuesday was the girls 1m check up. I scheduled it for 10am. Perfect time so that Ava could be awake, fed and ready to go and early enough that she could nap after. Ava isn't on any strict schedules for her naps, but I generally try to lay her down around 12/12:30p.
Lola woke me up Tuesday around 5:30a after a good 4 hour stretch of sleep. I fed her and cleaned her up. Just as I was finishing, Hubs woke up and came in to help. He got Mila situated while I showered. I think I almost fell asleep standing up. It was a really chilly morning so standing in the hot steamy shower was like a sleep aide. When I finished I immediately woke up because of the cool air in the bathroom. Apparently I didn't shut the door all the way so I was instantly at attention!
I told Hubs not to get the girls dressed. I would just do it after their next feeding to make sure they didn't spit up on their clothes. I was feeling ambitious getting out of the house at 9:30a for the appt at 10a. He left for work at 8am. I got Beebs up since she was still sleeping. She LOVES going to Doctor's Appointments, so once I told her that was our plan for the day she was gung ho to get ready. She was dressed and cleaned up in a few minutes. We went downstairs and it was time to feed & dress the girls. I started with Lola again. Ava said she was ready to eat and since my stepdad was still home he made her breakfast. After Lola ate I started on Mila. I finished about 9am. I REALLY needed to pump, but I just didn't think I could fit in a 10min session and leave the house by 9:30a, so I had to skip it. Beebs helped me get everything ready and I snuck some grapes in her bag for a treat at the Doc office in case she got a little cray.
The girls were ridiculous easy. I got them loaded and we were out the door at 9:31a. I didn't count it as 100% victory bc I didn't pump before we left, but I'll take it! We got to the appt early and it went pretty smooth. I've mastered declothing the girls relatively fast. Ava was really well behaved and I didn't have to say much to her about not doing something. We got into the tiny office room that was mostly occupied by my long double stroller... which btw, I will take with me EVERYWHERE. I just wish it had more space underneath for the diaper bag instead of shoving it in a space it doesn't really fit. Dr. C came in and surprisingly the appt went quickly despite having two babies. Her & I worked as a team. Hubs was planning on coming, but I told him I wanted to fly solo on this just to see if I can handle it and "learn" for future trips I need to make without him. We talked about the babies and any concerns I had. All that bothered me was that Lola makes this "clicking" type of quiver noise a lot... whether she's awake, sleeping or eating. I recorded it on my phone bc of course she wasn't doing it while we were there. Dr. C said it sound more nasally, like a flap was being pushed around by mucous. I just have to give her some saline to open her passages and see if that helps. We also noticed Lola has a pretty major flat spot towards her left side. Dr. C WAS concerned about it. She said it was very severe and we needed to start little exercises & things to get her off that side. She said if it continues, it could cause permanent cosmetic issues to that side of her head/face. WOW. I feel like I'm at blame for that. I've been doing those exercises a little already bc I recognized the signs from Ava. I guess I'm not doing enough :( She didn't make it seem like a dire situation, but her talk and tone about Lola's flat spot compared to Mila's were night & day. Lola also has a hernia in her belly button. I guess all babies have a "hole" there, but by 1m they are usually healed up. Lola's is still present, but the doc said it was small and probably closing. If by their 2m appt its still open, she would need surgery to close it. WTH... After rereading this paragraph it seems like Lola's got a lot going on! Good thing is, everything can be fixed, quickly!
My only concern about Mila is that she's not a great burper. I sometimes try for 5mins, 2 positions repeatedly and no luck and when I give up and put her down she spits up like old faithful. She showed me a new position to try across my thighs and said she probably just isn't a burper and its common, but we'll have to keep her upright longer post feeds to help reduce the spit up.
So, despite some things to work on.. the girls both look great and 100% healthy! They got their 2nd dose of the Hepatitis Vaccine and although they both lost it for a few seconds, they recovered well. Here are their stats:
Lola- had a slow gain, but she is really chunking up!!
- Birth: 5lbs 5oz, 19in
- 5days: 5lbs even, 18in
- 13days: 5lbs 3oz,
- 1month: 7lbs 10oz, 20 1/2in
- Birth: 6lbs 2oz, 19 1/2in
- 5days: 5lbs 10oz, 19 1/4in
- 13days: 6lbs 6oz
- 1month: 8lbs 13oz, 21 1/4in
So after the appointment wrapped up, I was feeling like super mom. The girls still had about an hour before they needed to eat and were fast asleep once I got them back in their car seats. Since we were in the area we stopped by my Mom's work. She was happy about the surprise and all her co-workers loved seeing Beebs & the Tweebs. It was an exhausting 20mins. Once we got in the car I figured I had about 30mins to get home before they needed to feed. A part of me thought about feeding one or both in the parking lot before pulling out, but I knew Ava was getting hungry and I doubt she would be thrilled about doing nothing for 30mins.
We drove out just in time for rush hour lunch traffic. I decided to stop at Burger King since it was a little away from the hustle & bustle and on the way back to my mom's house. Ava immediately knew we were getting food and started asking for fries. I gave her a couple and called my Aunt Mary. Since today is Hubs & my anniversary I wanted to see if she could watch the girls. So while driving, I was talking to Mary (using hands free of course) confirming plans and Ava is the background yelling "MOM- more fries please" continuously until I bend my arm backward to give her more. Then the squeaks start from the girls. No big deal I thought, we're almost home. After talking to Mary I wanted to call Hubs quick since I knew I'd be in a rush once we got home. I gave him the cliff notes version of the appointment and hurried him off the phone bc the girls started fussing.
The minute we pulled up to my mom's they both stopped... AWESOME!
Well that didn't last long. I take one baby out of the car, then unstrap Ava and walk around, put one baby in the passenger seat while Ava disappears into the garage to play while I get everything together. I pull the other baby out, grab the diaper bag and then get the other baby. I take them in the house and put their car seats up on the island. This may or may not be considered a good idea? My mom has a harmless black lab, but I needed to run out and get the food so I didn't want to leave them on the floor. I was probably gone 5.3seconds. When I open the door... the twins are going berserk. I kick my flats off and get Ava in her highchair and her food together as fast as I can. Then I decide I should probably feed Mila first since she's the fast eater. I keep Lola in her car seat and set it on the couch. Luckily the bottles were ready. Lola was not having it. I start rocking her car seat with my knee- no bueno. The pacifier wasn't working either. She was seriously losing it. I had her bottle handy also, so I laid Mila on my legs, facing me with her head on the boppy. I'm feeding her with my right hand and start feeding Lola with my left. Instant happiness.
My arms are starting to get a little tired, but I push through. Lola starts playing with her bottle so I take it out and set it on the couch and clean her up. This makes me unknowingly move bottle out of Mila's reach. So she starts going nuts. I reinsert for her and then Lola starts. She's pushing the bottle out with her tongue. No way she wants to burp already?!!? So, I stop feeding Mila- try to get a burp from her. Nope. So I just lay her down so I can get Lola out of the car seat. Mila is now losing her mind. I burp Lola & remember I have a 3rd child and turn around to check on Ava. She's lost in Elmo world eating her lunch, thank goodness. I put Lola back in the car seat and try feeding them both again. Its like they realize my attention is split between the two and they are not happy. Lola is arching her back and since she's not strapped in she has slouched all the way down in the seat. No way that can be comfortable let alone while trying to eat. So again I stop. I put Mila in her rock and play and decide to hold Lola. Mila realizes she's not being held so she starts losing it again. I switch them... Lola in the RnP and Mila on the ground supported by the boppy. Neither one of them are really latching on to the bottle. What gives? I'm starting to get REALLY HOT.
I rock Lola in the RNP while I feed Mila. I realize she probably needs to burp so as I pull her up from the boppy she burps on her own... YAY, but NOT... out with it comes warm milk over my shirt. I realize I can't do this alone. I text hubs "I need you to come home early", he texts back if everything is ok. Somehow I manage to text back, I need help. He responds he has one meeting to wrap up and then he'll be home. I sink a little inside. That means it could be an hour or longer. So I take a deep breath and realize I HAVE to do this on my own and that I can do it... I just need to figure out how.
By now, Beebs is yelling "all done" and she wants out of the high chair. I'm trying to find a moment between a baby scream and a generic feeding to get her down. She's picking her nose and getting louder. So I stop the feed and get up. Her face is covered with ketchup. I wet a paper towel and I look back at her and she is being all weird. Looking side to side but not moving her head. I notice the right side of her nose looks swollen. I look inside and see what appears to be a larger booger? That's weird, why would it make her nose swollen. I get out the nose bulb and start suctioning it out and slowly it's making it way down. Each suction makes Ava giggle extremely creepy. Then I realize... holy crap this is big. I finally get it to the surface and I realize it is no longer a booger, instead its a soggy burger king French fry with specks of ketchup and/or blood mixed in. I scold Ava about putting things, even her finger, inside her nose. She's smart, but does she even know what I'm saying?! I snap out of my trance on Ava to realize the babies are both still crying.
I look at the clock... it feels like its only been 10mins since we got home. I snap a pic of the French fry and send it to hubs so he can see how crazy my day really is. I go back to the babies and finish their feeds. They are still protesting something, possibly me, and crying non stop. I'm trying to console them together, not working, separately, not working either. So I tuck them in their PNP and I realize I smell poop. I unwrap Lola & she is the owner of the stench. Awesome, onesie blow out. I'm seriously about 30seconds from tears. Ava luckily is playing, but both babies are not happy. I strip her off and wipe her down, balling the onesie up and dropping it on the ground. I get her resituated and back in the PNP. I look at the clock again, ok, its time for Ava's nap. I take her up, give her extra hugs and kisses and for a moment I dread going back down to the screaming, but I have to. I take a deep breath and shut Ava's door behind me.
As soon as I get downstairs I notice something odd... silence. What in the what!? I don't believe it. Both girls are passed out. They look as though they have been sleeping for hours. I just stand over them in disbelief. How??? I quickly tell myself to stop thinking and be happy. I round up the dirty onesie, the wet burp rags and some other items and start a load of laundry. I keep looking at them... perhaps I imagined the whole thing? How did they just stop? They are there, breathing softly, eyes closed, so peaceful. I wash the dishes, but the car seats away, clean up Ava's highchair, discard the burger king bag and empty contents, put Ava & my shoes away and clean up the few toys Ava had out. I sit at the kitchen table... still in awe that this rough moment just ceases on its own. I'm sitting at the table when Hubs walks in... I immediately think I should have left the mess so he would see how crazy it was and then I feel guilty for not calling him back and cancelling the S.O.S. But I realize I feel emotionally and physically drained. He hugged me hard and asked what happened. I gave him the cliff notes version and told him what time Ava went down for a nap, that I needed to pump and needed a nap. He said Ok and smiled :) I wanted to smile back, but I felt so defeated. I told him Thanks and headed upstairs for a much needed 3 hour nap
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