A Day in the Life...

After the first month of having the twins home G and I were saying things like, "I thought his was going to be a lot harder, it's really not so bad" and couldn't understand why everyone warned us that the first few months would be "hell." Recently it dawned on me that the reason it hadn't been so bad was because the babies were asleep most of the time! And when we'd think the twins were being "good" it's really that the were SLEEPING! But boy have things changed. Now they are awake ALL the time and holy crap is it exhausting! I still never feel like it's "hell," but it sure is nonstop! 

During the week, except for the couple days my parents come out to help, it's just me and the twins home all day while Daddy is at work. I wake up and change/dress/feed the babies and then it's on! Aside from waking up once in the middle of the night to eat, they sleep through the night because we keep them active during the day (with a few naps in the mix), especially those few hours before we go to bed. So when they wake up in the morning they are bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take on the day. And by "take on" I mean wear Mommy out. River acts like he's been away from me for a week and wants to be held for most of the morning. If I attempt to put him down he flips his lid so I'll hold him with one arm while I clean the house. But then there are mornings where Riley is being the same way and I spend the next few hours juggling babies. Hold one for a bit while other one whines or cries then switch. Sometimes I'll just concede that I'm not going to get anything done and will sit on the couch with both of them draped over me. 

This also only works if the issue is they just want to be held. There are often times when they want me to walk them around the house to look at things, which is fine by me, but as I'm no magician they just have to wait their turn. In that case it's whoever cries the loudest that gets the first tour!

I try to offer them several options for activities throughout the day to foster physical and cognitive development. They have activity mats with different hanging toys I change out, although there's one that is both their new favorite! It's a Lamaze toy specifically designed for baby development called Freddy the Firefly. He's pretty big and the twins seem to love playing with the dangling rings, which is coop because it's helping them with hand-eye coordination...

 I also give them tummy time on either their activity mats or their yoga mat in order for them to strengthen their muscles, although sometimes they fall asleep!

Recently I've added Bumbo chairs to their regimen, as those help them to sit up right and practice head control. River is a bit better at it than Riley. She can hold it up but has a bit of a drunken wobbly look to her...

Half the time I stay down there with them and interact with them, but I also have times that I let them explore and entertain themselves when playing on their mats. They have gotten quite good at batting at the toys and seem to really enjoy it!

Every so often they fall asleep at the same time and the countdown begins. People say to sleep when the baby sleeps but realistically that's never going to happen. Those brief miraculous moments where they are both unconscious is the only time I have to either get in a workout, do laundry (which is seriously never ending!), clean the house or prep bottles so as soon as I see they are both napping I scramble to get things done! But then there are days they rotate who gets sleepy between feedings and I'm "on" all day long and feel like I get nothing done around the house. Those days can be pretty exhausting but I also look at it as time to spend with each of them individually. They seem to alternate who is going to spit up the most each day resulting in a formula shower on me and themselves, usually immediately after I just change them into a fresh outfit. I swear each day we go through more wardrobe changes than a Cher concert! 

I had started taking them for walks in the stroller around the neighborhood, especially if either of them are in a cranky mood, and they are instantly out like a light. 

I have a fun setup where I strapped a portable speaker to the stroller handles (it's one I usually have on my bike) so I plug in my phone and play Pandora as as walk. I try to mix it up each day to give the twins some variety. From reggae/Sublime, to 70s/80s light rock (my personal fav), Motown and 90s hip hop, they listen to something different each day. Music is a huge part of my life and I want to be sure it is for the kids as well! So every day we jam out and take one or two long walks (45-90 min) and it's been great. However, while living in FL must seem great when others are stuck in snow storm after snow storm, the downside is it gets unbearably hot very early and just keeps getting worse. So after two attempts to go for walks this week that ended with River crying and two sweaty unhappy babies, I realized unless there's a cold front or overcast day I won't be taking the babies out for a walk. That sucks because it was breaking up my day and getting me out of the house so I don't go stir crazy. We've been going for walks when Daddy gets home and it's cooler out so they still get to go outside, but I really wish I could go during the day. I see now that future visits to the beach, pool or otherwise are out of the question, especially since it gets to be Africa hot over the summer.   :-(

Anyway, the rest of my day is pretty much the same as above. Eat, play, maaaaybe they nap, then repeat. I've definitely established a routine which is good for the babies AND myself. 

I foresee this being the schedule for quite sometime now until they reach the next phase. It'll be interesting to see how they change and grow in the future although I won't lie, I'm a bit nervous about once they start moving. Right now they just stay where I put them and it's still exhausting keeping up with them. I can't imagine once I'm chasing them around the house!