Logan & Taylor are 3 months!

Logan and Taylor are 3 months old (and 2 days)! I can't believe how much they've grown! They've almost tripled their birth weight!

Logan weighs approximately 11 lbs, according to our not-so-accurate scale.

At 3 months, he can:
- lift up his head for a few seconds while laying on his tummy.
- smile, especially when he sees mommy and daddy.
- laugh out loud, and sometimes even in his sleep.
- talk a bunch, with "ooo", "aaa", "agoo", and "arooo".
- follow objects and focus on faces.
- sleep as long as 5 1/2 hours at night, but usually more like 4 1/2 hours.
- stand on his feet while we hold his hands.
- almost roll over (he stays stuck on his side).

This month, Logan also:
- discovered his toes.
- started eating his fists.
- started wearing some 3/6 months clothes.
- started wearing 1/2 size diapers.
- started really enjoying bath time.
- discovered what rain feels like on his feet.

Taylor weighs approximately 10 lbs.

At 3 months, he can:
- lift up his head for a long as a full minute while laying on his tummy.
- smile, especially when I say "Hi!" in a high pitched voice.
- laugh out loud.
- talk a bunch, with "aooo", "ooo", "aaa", and "arooo".
- follow objects and focus on faces.
- sleep as long as 5 hours a night, but usually more like 4 hours.
- stand on his feet while we hold his hands.
- almost roll over, but is not as close to it as Logan.

This month, Taylor also:
- put his hands together.
- started eating his fists.
- started wearing some 3/6 months clothes, but they still look big on him.
- started wearing 1/2 size diapers.
- started really enjoying bath time.
- does not pee on me as much as he used to during diaper changes.

What I'm looking forward to this upcoming month: better eating, especially for Taylor!

Dilemma

Yesterday, Billy received an e-mail accepting him into an anesthesia rotation at Doctor's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, from April 19 to May 14. It is a wonderful opportunity that will be very beneficial when the time comes for applying for residency. The only problem is that he will be gone for a whole month. I am considering going out there with him, but there are a few things I need to think about.

If I go with him,
We will be able to spend our anniversary (4/28) and my birthday (5/6) together.
We will see each other every night.
I will be able to visit the area and decide if this is a place we might want to consider living in.

If I stay here,
We will save money on food, since we receive help from the government.
We will save money on rent, because it would cost us $52 a night to stay close to the hospital.
Billy could stay with a resident, who could possibly help him to get into the residency program.

So, I don't know what to do... Any suggestions?

Unlearned mistake

Logan and Taylor still tire easily when they breastfeed, so I still breastfeed them for 10-15 minutes at each feeding then supplement with a bottle (filled with pumped breast milk).
Last night, after I had breastfed him, I put Taylor down on his Boppy pillow so that I could get his bottle ready. When I got back to him after a few minutes, he was asleep. Thinking that if he wasn't completely full, he'd wake me up before his normal 1 a.m. feeding, I woke him up to feed him some more. He resisted it for at least 10 minutes, but I kept insisting, so he gave in and ate a little. After 20 minutes, he had only eaten 1 oz., so I kept insisting until he had eaten 3 oz. He took him over an hour, but he did it.
I should know by now that if he resists eating, it usually means that he doesn't feel good or is simply not hungry. While I was burping him, OF COURSE, he spit up A LOT. So instead of spending 15 minutes feeding him until he was obviously full, I ended up spending close to two hours trying to get him to eat more, changing his pajamas, holding him until he felt better, and cleaning up the mess. Talk about getting more sleep, huh? I should really know... since it's not the first time it has happened... hopefully this was the last...

P.S. As of Oct. 10, I AM BACK TO MY PRE-PREGNANCY WEIGHT!

Ready to be potty-trained already?

These last couple of weeks, I have been giving Logan and Taylor about 15 minutes of "tummy-time" every day.

Logan doesn't seem to really "get it" yet. He just kind of lays there, with his head down, or licking the blankie.

Taylor really "gets it." He raises his head to look at everything that is going on around him. He can keep his head up for up to a minute, at least.

With a little bit more head and neck control, we figured we'd try out these Bumbos we bought a little while ago. Cute, right?

A few minutes into it, Logan's head dropped to the side, so I walked over to him to replace him and noticed a little bit of poop on his onesie. This happens quite a bit (Logan is our little pooper), so I wasn't surprised. So I lifted him up a little, and when I did, I noticed that his entire behind was covered in poop. More than just his onesie, the Bumbo was covered in poop, too. (Sorry if this grosses you out.)

To make things even funnier, while I was changing Logan, Billy stayed in the living room with Taylor, who had been sitting across from Logan. All of a sudden, Taylor started gagging, and Billy had to pick him up and take him out of the room. Interesting that they can sit in their own poop but can't stand each other's, huh?

Anyway, we'd like to think that Logan thought he was sitting on the potty, and that's why this little "incident" occurred. Could he be ready to be potty-trained already?

Complaining

I hate to complain to people, so I'm going to complain to my blog.
Everywhere the babies and I go, we get stopped by random people asking the same questions and giving the same comments.
"How old are your babies?" "Oh my, twins! Do you get any sleep?" "You look really good for having had twins!" "Double trouble!"
I didn't think I would mind, but it is getting really old. And now people are getting sick, so I just don't want them talking to me.
There is no room for my bulky stroller inside certain stores. Grocery stores are fine, but clothing stores, and even Babies 'R Us, have no space for us to travel.
And not every store/office has automatic doors, which makes it really hard to go places. The worst are probably my apartment and the church building, but I can't expect them to replace the doors for my convenience.
Wow, I feel much better letting that out. Thanks for listening.

Nope... still not sleeping through the night...

Sometimes I think that Taylor could sleep through the night,... if it wasn't for Logan waking up because he wants to eat. And then sometimes I think that Logan could sleep through the night,... if it wasn't for Taylor waking up because he wants to eat. The end result is the same, though; no one is sleeping through the night, not Taylor, not Logan, not Billy, and not me.

I have to say that there has been some improvement, though;
6:30 p.m. Logan took his bath.
6:45 p.m. Taylor took his bath.
7:00 p.m. I fed Logan, changed his diaper, and put him down.
8:00 p.m. I fed Taylor, changed his diaper, and put him down.
9:00 p.m. Billy and I spent some hubby-wifey time.
1:00 a.m. Logan woke up to eat, then Taylor. We were finished by 2:45 a.m. (They're both slow eaters.)
4:30 a.m. Taylor woke up to eat, then Logan. Billy was finished by 6:30 a.m. (There was some spitting up.)

So yeah, they slept for 5 hours that first part of the night. It's a whole lot better than 3 hours. I think we're getting there. Hopefully by the end if the month they'll sleep through the night. I can't let myself be too hopeful, though.

Baby #3

No, I am not announcing that baby #3 is on the way... but someone did ask me the other day when I think I'd be ready for another baby. Are you serious?!?! I have two 2-months-old babies!!! I think it'll take me twice as long (if not more) as any other mom to get newborn/pregnancy amnesia - you know, when you forget what it's like to get up every 3 hours to feed, try to calm down an inconsolable baby, or throw up as soon as you get out of bed for 3 months.
When Billy and I got married, we decided that we wanted all of our kids to be 1 1/2 year apart... We are now rethinking our decision... Maybe 3 years (or more) would be more reasonable. At least Logan and Taylor would be a little more helpful. We also decided that since he wanted 8 kids and I wanted 4, we'd settle for 6... Once again we are now rethinking our decision... Maybe 2 wouldn't be so bad after all. Logan and Taylor will be BFF anyway, so they won't need another sibling.
I'm sure that as time goes by, I'll laugh at how ridiculous this blog entry sounds. Of course I'm going to want more kids, eventually. It'll just take me a while, a long while. But I can't be thinking about this now. There is plenty to keep me busy now.

Logan & Taylor are 2 months!

As of today, October 1, 2009, Logan is 20 inches 3/4 (2.32%) and weighs 9 lb 10 oz (11.98%). He is on his way to triple his birth weight, which was 4 lb 13 oz.

As for Taylor, he is 19 inches 1/2 (0.04%) and weighs 8 lb 5 oz. (2.45%). It seems crazy to think that just 2 months ago, he weighed a little less a gallon of milk, at 4 lb. 4 oz.

Logan and Taylor love these Boppy pillows. They would be the happiest babies on earth if they could sleep in them all night long - sorry, babes, but that's not gonna happen.

Logan is starting to really look (and even stare) at the people who care for him. It's cute!

And yesterday, Taylor smiled in response to my smile. It was adorable!

What I'm looking forward to this upcoming month: more sleep (for them and for me)

Blessing

This weekend, my family and most of Billy's family came into town for Logan's and Taylor's blessing. It was so fun to have some company and help with taking care of the babies.
My family was here for 3 days and Billy's family for 1 day. Needless to say, time flew by. I already miss them a ton.

I was totally prepared for the worst during the blessings. I thought maybe they'd cry, poop with that really juicy sound, or fart with that super loud sound. None of that happened. Logan and Taylor were angels during their blessings and during the entire Sacrament Meeting.

Billy blessed Logan and Taylor with everything we could ever want for our boys.

• to have physical, mental, and spiritual strength
• to have a desire to search and understand the scriptures
• to have faith and a testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ
• to prepare and to serve a full-time mission
• to make wise choices in choosing a spouse
• to have a desire for education and lifelong learning
• to make wise choices in choosing a profession
• to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost
• to prepare to make covenants in the temple
• to recognize and resist temptations
• (...)

Labeling

While I was studying elementary education, I learned a lot about children and labeling. And that is when I promised myself that I would never label my children or my students.

After finding out that Billy and I were going to have twins, I realized just how important it would be not to label them because so many other people would. People always compare twins to one another. Which one is the quiet one? Which one sleeps better? Which one is fussier? Which one eats most? Even as they get older, people will ask, which one does better in school? Which one does better in sports? As hard as it may be, I don't ever want to compare Logan and Taylor to each other because I want them to be treated as their own person, not as a twin.

Taylor cracks me up. He is so funny. Whenever we lay him down next to Logan, he keeps trying to reach out to him, getting closer and closer every time. But because he doesn't have full control over his hands yet, he often scratches Logan in the face, which freaks Logan out. Then when Logan starts crying, Taylor gets this very cute but innocent look on his face, like, "What?"
He is also the champion when it comes to getting unswaddled. I swaddle him, put him down, and start hearing grunting sounds. So I walk over to him, and he is kicking the blanket with all his strength. I'd say he can probably get out of his blanket in less than 2 minutes, no matter how tight I wrap him up.

And Logan is the farting and pooping champion. I keep thinking that he'll rip one in the middle of the passing of sacrament. He might even rip one during his blessing. He also likes to poop in clean diapers. It usually sounds very juicy, like pure liquid.
His facial expressions are hilarious, too, especially when I am about to feed him. He just gets so excited that he almost loses it. And then he opens his mouth really wide and goes for it. It is hard to describe but it is really funny. I swear he smiles, too. I know some people will say it is impossible and too early for him to do so, but I really thinks he smiles.

I love being a mommy. No matter how many times I have been peed on, pooped on, and spit up on, I love my baby boys and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.