The Search is Over!

Jim and I have been desperately searching for a nanny since the daycare situation hasn't been working well at all this month.  We knew from the start that the babies would pick up a ton of germs at daycare and would be sick occasionally.  But I guess when I think of the word "occasionally," I think of every once in a while, like maybe every couple months; not every couple days. Seriously, both Abby and Jimmy have been sick every week, with something new each time.  One sickness even led to the hospital for poor Jimmy (no worries, he was fine). 

The daycare facility was fine and the teachers were nice, it's just since Abby and Jimmy were only there part-time, which means they never really got used to it and weren't able to nap well at all - which lead to cranky babies at night.  Plus with my work situation and the added pressure to get there by 6pm, it was turning into more of a stressful thing then a helpful one.  So, that lead us to search for a nanny.

And we found one!  Woohoo!  I sure hope it works out ok, since we really have no other options right now.  Jim and I are both pretty optimistic and excited about our nanny and feel that she and the babies will bond well and have fun together while we are away.  So she starts tomorrow. I will be taking a half day from work and will introduce her to the babies and show her the "ropes" around the house.  And if all goes well and everyone "gets along," then we will be so happy!  Wish us luck!

Oh - and as I type this, Detroit metro area is preparing for the winter storm of the century - ha!   According to meteorologists, we are supposed to get 2-4in of snow tonight and then Tuesday night the BIG storm starts and they are forecasting another 12-18 inches by midday Wednesday.  Yikes!  We will see...

Yep, We've Almost Done This...

January 26, 2010...

...was the day we learned our lives were going to drastically change!  One year ago today, we learned that we were expecting TWINS!  Two beautiful little heartbeats were seen flickering away on the ultrasound machine during my first doctor's appointment.  What an unbelievable surprise and blessing.   Read about our reactions here and the details of the day we found out about our twins!

Here are Abby and Jimmy at just 7weeks, 6days gestation:

And here they are now:

We are so very blessed and couldn't be happier!

"Enjoying" Some Rice Cereal

Jim and I have been slowly introducing Abby and Jimmy to rice cereal.  It is a slow process for us, not because the babies aren't ready for it, but because we just haven't found the time to do it.  By the time we realize it, it's already near the end of the day and we didn't get to it, again.  We have been regularly giving the babies some pear juice mixed with water to help combat any constipation issues that are brought on by the formula, so since we give them the juice at night, we are trying to work in the cereal in the morning/early afternoon. 

Prior to even given them the cereal, we tested out their willingness to try new things by introducing them to the spoon.  The both wanted to grab it and chew on it, so that was a good sign.  And when we brought it up to their mouth, they both opened right up. 

The first time we gave them rice cereal, Jimmy was all about it, but Abby wasn't much of a fan at all.  Well, now the tables have turned and Abby LOVES it, and Jimmy, well, he seems to HATE it.  The faces Jimmy provides us with while "eating" the rice cereal are priceless!  We think he is fine with eating off the spoon, but just can't get used to the taste of the rice cereal.  Once we move on to some other foods, I bet he will love them.   See below for his priceless reactions to the oh so tasty rice cereal!

Abby is a champ and is loving the rice cereal.  She will reach out and grab our hands to pull the spoon to her if we aren't quick enough. I can not wait to see when she gets to have some tasty food... which I hear are the bananas and applesauce.  She loves the pear juice, so I am sure she will love the fruits! 

Happy Five Months!

 Where is the time going?  Happy 5 month birthday Abs and Jim! 

We love you!

Look What's Going On Over Here...

We've got sitters!  I can't believe it!  Both babies can sit on their own, though it is only for a very short period, but it's a start.  See, here's proof:

Abby sitting all by herself! 

Jimmy's sitting too - and reaching for toys!  This boy has got some great balance already!

Daycare - the first day (and some others)

Well, it has happened.  The time has flown by and I am now back to work.  Where did the past four and a half months go?? It went by way too fast, that's for sure.

The first day back to work went well.  And surprisingly the first drop off day to the day care went ok too. Jim was able to go with me to drop off Abby and Jimmy, so it was great to have his support and distraction during the morning and then during the big moment. 

I was very impressed with how I handled the drop off. If you read my earlier post found here, you will see that I was already emotional about leaving the babies.  So I was very surprised that I made it through the drop off without any dripping tears.  Yes, I did have watery eyes and "almost" teardrops falling, but I scooted myself out of there quickly so the tears wouldn't fall.  Once I got out of the center and on the road with Jim, I felt ok. Not great, but ok.

My first day back to work was great. It was so nice to see all of my coworkers/friends and it felt really good to have some interaction with everyone (read: adults) I used to spend every day with back in the early part of 2010.  I missed the babies terribly, but felt like my old self again. I was even able to go out to lunch. OMG - Jim and I haven't had a meal out at a restaurant in a long time.  It was nice.

Picking the babies up went ok.  They were both TIRED and overstimulated from all the activity during the day, so they mostly fussed/cried the whole way home.  It was pretty upsetting and I felt sad that they were so unhappy. 

Well, so far, Abby and Jimmy have been to daycare approximately 8 times. They aren't usually there the full day since Jim will drop them off before he gets ready to go to work (usually around 12 or 1pm), so they only spend 5-6 hours there.  But OMG, they are a mess when I pick them up.  Twice, when I arrived, I noticed Jimmy crying/screaming while sitting in the swing.  I don't like to see that since then it leads me to think that they are left to scream often. :-( 

But what is really upsetting to me, is that the last couple times I have picked them up, they both start crying when they see me.  It's almost as if they are crying to show me that they think I abandoned them and they are mad at me. Ok, I know this is just a silly thought, and most likely it is from the lack of good naps and the over stimulation.  But I still feel this way.  Especially the one time when Abby was fine when the daycare worker was holding her, and then BAM, as soon as she hands her over to me, Abby looks at me and SCREAMS. 

Poor babies.  Poor Mommy.  This daycare stuff is hard!

Where did my little babies go?!

*Pictures to come soon**

Where did my little babies go?  I started this post in December but haven't had time to finish it.  So now I can add even more since Jimmy and Abby keep learning new things everyday and it's so fun to watch them these days!

So what are they up to?  The are both, rolling, sitting and standing - and no longer interested in laying around. Both Abby and Jimmy love to be in a sitting position now, but neither one of them have any balance yet to stay in a seated position without help.   Jimmy LOVES to be pulled up to a sitting position.  It is adorable, he will put his hands out to grab ours, then start to try to pull himself up (like he's doing an ab workout), while lifting his legs off the ground.  Ha! And if we don't catch on quick enough, he will start whining - which will stop immediately after we pull him up to a seated position.  It is quite cute!

They also LOVE to be held standing up.  After I change their diapers, I will say, "stand up" and they pretty much now expect to be held in a standing position.  They get so excited when they are "standing" and Abby will give us the biggest smile ever while standing!

Jimmy loves his paci. When we give it to him, his eyes roll back and he lets out a little sigh of contentment. So funny and cute.  His is ADDICTED - it's basically like baby crack!

They are both smiling and laughing all the time now!  Jimmy all out laughs/giggles now - especially when I sing the Pink Panther theme and trace a path up his body with my hands, ending with a chin tickle!  He loves it and laughs a lot!  Abby laughs too, but she still doesn't all out laugh yet, just usually one or two "ha, has."

One thing I miss: my snuggly cuddly babies that used to lay on their bellies on our stomachs and snuggle up to us, putting their heads tucked under our chins...they don't do that anymore, and it makes me sad.  They are getting too big, too fast.

Abby is still sleeping like a champ, and has gotten even better once we started swaddling her in SwaddleMe fleece blanket. She does.not.move.  - which causes panic and makes me chech on her a couple times to make sure she is still breathing! Jimmy isn't the best sleeper.  He usually will wake at 1 or 2am, then every hour after that...We figure it is due to his paci addiction.

Jimmy rolled over, front to back, on 12/12, but we were unable to get on video.  He doesn't seem to roll front to back anymore, now that he....
Rolled back to front on....12/27!  Jimmy is always trying to roll over, but usually gets stuck on his side.   He fusses non-stop until we help him sit up and/or hold him in a standing position. He rewards us with the biggest of smiles when we help him sit and stand.

Abby rolled back to front on... 12/28 and now she won't stop rolling over.  Apparently she hates her back with a passion now.  When she is tired and cranky, she will get stuck on her belly, so we will roll her back to her back.  Then one second later, she is back on her belly fussing away.  When she is tired, she is TIRED!

We are consistently putting them to bed between 7-8pm.  They should probably go to bed even sooner, but it just seems to work out pretty good for us now to put them to bed then.  They still wake up at 5:30am though - which is torture for me.  When I start back to work, it would be really great if they would sleep until 6:30am so that I could up and get ready before I am up with them feeding them.  But so far, no luck.  5:30am comes all too soon!
Both grabbed frog toy (on their green bouncer) and pulled it to make noise on 12/28/10.  It was so startling and unexpected.  We associated the frog toy music with us pulling it, but all of a sudden, I heard the music go off and was startled - then I look down and see Abby (she pulled it first, Jimmy pulled it later in the day) with her little hand wrapped around the toy with the cute frog music playing.  Awww... no longer will they need me to pull the toy to make the noise. Awww...my babies are growing up! ;-)