Wednesday, May 30, 2012
ENT check up
Today Ruby had her 2 week check up at the ENT. All looks good! Swimming Pool, here we come!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sippy Cup Bootcamp
I would have never, ever, thought going from Bottles to Sippy Cups would be this hard! Maybe God is preparing me potty training?
Yes, the girls are 16 months, and were up until Saturday drinking out of a bottle. The reason we are just now making the switch is because as some of you know, Mable lost her ability to suck at 4 months old. The Doctors told us that when a baby is born they naturally know how to suck. At 3 months old, this was her adjusted age at the time, their body's natural sucking reflex stops and the baby just knows to pick it up by this time. This did not happen for Mable. We had upper and lower GIs, sucking test and lots of therapy. She was put on a $90.00 a can formula, that smelled horrible and we were told that in time she would get the hang of it again. I wish I could have told myself not to stress, but when you have a tiny baby, who is at times is not even on the charts, it's scary. We soon found that feeding her when she was a sleep worked really well. Over time she got better at taking her bottle. Close to one year old we made the switch to organic whole milk. This helped tons! Mable started loving her bottle! We had never seen her actually want to drink milk. We were so excited! We also started putting 2-3 ounces of Pedisure in her bottle to help with her weight.
Starting at 6 months I introduced sippy cups. I would put juice in them, something they normally would not get. They might put it in their mouth at this time, but thought it was more of a toy. As the months went by we bought many different cups and would give them to the girls throughout the day. Ruby has always known how to suck out of the cup, but Mable would only get juice/milk out if she bit the nipple. This is another reason I did not make the switch over until now, because Mable did not know how to get the liquid out. Finally, last week, as we counted down to actually taking the bottles away, Mable found a cup that she would suck out of instead of biting.
Saturday morning Bootcamp started. We went in their room to get them out of their crib and handed them their sippy cup of milk. They were heartbroken! There were lots of tears and falling on the floor. They did eventually take some sips. We are noticing they are eating more food than they normally do, since they are drinking less. Even though they are upset, they will drink their milk or juice when they get thirsty. Mable has done better than Ruby. Ruby is still having trouble with it and seems to be more upset. The crazy thing is she would always drink more out of her cup than her sister.
This whole transition period has been hard! I hate seeing my girls upset, but I know it's the best thing for them. I am hoping they get the hang of cups very soon and there is no more crying over bottles.
Again, I feel like potty training is going to much easier than this! I am sure one day I will look back on this post and laugh from that sentence.
update- Today it has been 10 days since the girls have had a bottle. They are doing great! I am so proud of them! It does make me a little sad to think that this is just one of the phases of growing up. I want my babies to be babies forever! I guess it's time to pack away the bottles and put them in storage.
Yes, the girls are 16 months, and were up until Saturday drinking out of a bottle. The reason we are just now making the switch is because as some of you know, Mable lost her ability to suck at 4 months old. The Doctors told us that when a baby is born they naturally know how to suck. At 3 months old, this was her adjusted age at the time, their body's natural sucking reflex stops and the baby just knows to pick it up by this time. This did not happen for Mable. We had upper and lower GIs, sucking test and lots of therapy. She was put on a $90.00 a can formula, that smelled horrible and we were told that in time she would get the hang of it again. I wish I could have told myself not to stress, but when you have a tiny baby, who is at times is not even on the charts, it's scary. We soon found that feeding her when she was a sleep worked really well. Over time she got better at taking her bottle. Close to one year old we made the switch to organic whole milk. This helped tons! Mable started loving her bottle! We had never seen her actually want to drink milk. We were so excited! We also started putting 2-3 ounces of Pedisure in her bottle to help with her weight.
Starting at 6 months I introduced sippy cups. I would put juice in them, something they normally would not get. They might put it in their mouth at this time, but thought it was more of a toy. As the months went by we bought many different cups and would give them to the girls throughout the day. Ruby has always known how to suck out of the cup, but Mable would only get juice/milk out if she bit the nipple. This is another reason I did not make the switch over until now, because Mable did not know how to get the liquid out. Finally, last week, as we counted down to actually taking the bottles away, Mable found a cup that she would suck out of instead of biting.
Saturday morning Bootcamp started. We went in their room to get them out of their crib and handed them their sippy cup of milk. They were heartbroken! There were lots of tears and falling on the floor. They did eventually take some sips. We are noticing they are eating more food than they normally do, since they are drinking less. Even though they are upset, they will drink their milk or juice when they get thirsty. Mable has done better than Ruby. Ruby is still having trouble with it and seems to be more upset. The crazy thing is she would always drink more out of her cup than her sister.
This whole transition period has been hard! I hate seeing my girls upset, but I know it's the best thing for them. I am hoping they get the hang of cups very soon and there is no more crying over bottles.
Again, I feel like potty training is going to much easier than this! I am sure one day I will look back on this post and laugh from that sentence.
update- Today it has been 10 days since the girls have had a bottle. They are doing great! I am so proud of them! It does make me a little sad to think that this is just one of the phases of growing up. I want my babies to be babies forever! I guess it's time to pack away the bottles and put them in storage.
Monday, May 21, 2012
For MOMS by MOMS- Baby Gear
Today I am linking up with the MOMs by MOMS post on Baby Gear. I have been meaning to write this post for a while. What our favorite baby items are and why.
One of the first items that come to mind is our GRACO sound machine. We love it and so did the girls! The girls have a bedtime of 7, so having the sound machine on cancels out the noise that might be going on in other parts of the house. When we first brought the babies home we used our sleep sheep. It was great, but only lasted 45 mins. After the 45 mins. a baby would wake up because the sound had gone off. I soon this fabulous machine! We still use it today. It also plays lullabies and you can hook your MP3 player up to it.
Bouncer- The girls were not a fan of their swing. It might have had something to do with the horrible reflux they had for the first 6 months (if not more) of their life. We used the Bouncer everyday, up until they were sitting up on their own.
Recently, I got one out for a friend of ours baby when they came over for dinner. The girls loved it so much, again, that I got the other one back out and they now sit in them to drink their milk.
Space saver Highchairs- even if you have a huge house, why give up the floor space? I would suggest getting one that has a vinyl cover so you can wipe it down. We have ones that do not and they are constantly getting dirty.
BIBS! Lot and Lots of bibs! Especially if your child has reflux. There were days that I would 4 times and change the babies just as many. Babies R Us sells a 10 pack that covers well and soaks up a lot.
GRACO Nasal Suctioner- We actually just bought this a month ago. We use it so much the first one broke and yesterday we bought another. This thing will clean the babies nasal passages out! I, like most baby items, tried it on myself and it does not hurt at all. It actually speeds up the process. We had been using a bulb, but now we will never go back. It also plays music, but I stopped playing it because my kids are smart and would run as soon as they heard it. :) I did not want them to be afraid of music. I think just the whole process of suctioning is not a fun experience for them, or us as parents.
12 hours of of Sleep by 12 weeks- This would be my number 1 favorite baby item. This book allowed Eric and I to get the sleep we needed to be better parents and our babies the sleep they needed to grow into the active girls they are today.
A twin Mom friend of mine came to visit us when the babies were about 5 weeks old. I was completely exhausted and did not see sleep incite for years to come. She told me about this book she read that had her boys sleeping through the night at 12 weeks. I thought she was lying. She told me she thought the twin mom who told her about it was lying as well.
I swear by this book! At 8 weeks old our girls were sleeping 7am to 7pm without waking up a bit.
Strollers- A snap n go is always best for when the babies are little. We did also buy a jogging stroller that we use for walks and anywhere that we might go where we are on grass. My favorite stroller is the Maclaren Double. It's an umbrella stroller. I keep it in my car and use it all the time! I could have really just used this stroller the whole time, instead of buying the other two.
Jumpero- The one toy that my girls loved was the Jumpero. They would jump and jump and jump! Jump so much sometimes they would even jump themselves into a cat nap.
Bottle Holders- We borrowed these from a twin mom. These were a lifesaver when I was by myself. I always kept the girls on the exact same schedule. They were such slow eaters! Feeding one and then the other would have taken over an hour if not more. You can buy them at www.bellababydesigns.com
Merlins Sleepsuit- Same twin friend told me about these suits. Again, thought she was crazy, but they work! The girls loved to be swaddled, but would break out in the middle of the night. These suits are the same idea as being swaddled. They help make it so the sudden movements that babies make in the middle of the night do not wake them. As soon as we put the girls in the suits each night they would turn their head and go straight to sleep.
I am sure there are many more items that I am forgetting, but so far these are our favorites.
One of the first items that come to mind is our GRACO sound machine. We love it and so did the girls! The girls have a bedtime of 7, so having the sound machine on cancels out the noise that might be going on in other parts of the house. When we first brought the babies home we used our sleep sheep. It was great, but only lasted 45 mins. After the 45 mins. a baby would wake up because the sound had gone off. I soon this fabulous machine! We still use it today. It also plays lullabies and you can hook your MP3 player up to it.
Bouncer- The girls were not a fan of their swing. It might have had something to do with the horrible reflux they had for the first 6 months (if not more) of their life. We used the Bouncer everyday, up until they were sitting up on their own.
Recently, I got one out for a friend of ours baby when they came over for dinner. The girls loved it so much, again, that I got the other one back out and they now sit in them to drink their milk.
Space saver Highchairs- even if you have a huge house, why give up the floor space? I would suggest getting one that has a vinyl cover so you can wipe it down. We have ones that do not and they are constantly getting dirty.
BIBS! Lot and Lots of bibs! Especially if your child has reflux. There were days that I would 4 times and change the babies just as many. Babies R Us sells a 10 pack that covers well and soaks up a lot.
GRACO Nasal Suctioner- We actually just bought this a month ago. We use it so much the first one broke and yesterday we bought another. This thing will clean the babies nasal passages out! I, like most baby items, tried it on myself and it does not hurt at all. It actually speeds up the process. We had been using a bulb, but now we will never go back. It also plays music, but I stopped playing it because my kids are smart and would run as soon as they heard it. :) I did not want them to be afraid of music. I think just the whole process of suctioning is not a fun experience for them, or us as parents.
12 hours of of Sleep by 12 weeks- This would be my number 1 favorite baby item. This book allowed Eric and I to get the sleep we needed to be better parents and our babies the sleep they needed to grow into the active girls they are today.
A twin Mom friend of mine came to visit us when the babies were about 5 weeks old. I was completely exhausted and did not see sleep incite for years to come. She told me about this book she read that had her boys sleeping through the night at 12 weeks. I thought she was lying. She told me she thought the twin mom who told her about it was lying as well.
I swear by this book! At 8 weeks old our girls were sleeping 7am to 7pm without waking up a bit.
Strollers- A snap n go is always best for when the babies are little. We did also buy a jogging stroller that we use for walks and anywhere that we might go where we are on grass. My favorite stroller is the Maclaren Double. It's an umbrella stroller. I keep it in my car and use it all the time! I could have really just used this stroller the whole time, instead of buying the other two.
Jumpero- The one toy that my girls loved was the Jumpero. They would jump and jump and jump! Jump so much sometimes they would even jump themselves into a cat nap.
Bottle Holders- We borrowed these from a twin mom. These were a lifesaver when I was by myself. I always kept the girls on the exact same schedule. They were such slow eaters! Feeding one and then the other would have taken over an hour if not more. You can buy them at www.bellababydesigns.com
Merlins Sleepsuit- Same twin friend told me about these suits. Again, thought she was crazy, but they work! The girls loved to be swaddled, but would break out in the middle of the night. These suits are the same idea as being swaddled. They help make it so the sudden movements that babies make in the middle of the night do not wake them. As soon as we put the girls in the suits each night they would turn their head and go straight to sleep.
I am sure there are many more items that I am forgetting, but so far these are our favorites.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Bare Belly, Anyone?
While pregnant I did not post any bare belly pictures. I did not think anyone wanted to see them. But now that my girls are here and it's 16 mos. later I am darn proud of that belly! I know one day R&M are going to want to see what my bare belly looked like. So babies, here are some pictures of you in my belly. Mable, you were up top and Ruby, you were on the bottom. You kept my belly moving constantly! I loved to feel you move and watch you do summersaults in my belly.
Here I am a couple days before Christmas. We already had our bags packed just in case we had to head to the hospital. I was about 34 weeks.
I just had to add this picture. This was Christmas eve. Daddy and I had a tradition of opening gifts in our Christmas Pjs. I was determined to fit in mine! Ha!
For months I had been talking about how I could not wait to workout and sweat after having you. Daddy was a sweetheart and got me new tennis shoes. This is a picture New Balance would never indorse! Ha!
My swollen ankles in my tennis shoes! I could not even tie them all the way! This was the reason I got put in the hospital on the 27th.
In the hospital I would take pictured of the bottom of my belly because I could not see it. I wanted to make sure I was not getting stretch marks. I would ask Daddy and he would always say, no, but that's what he was suppose to say. I did end up with one tiny mark on my side. You really can not even see it, but it does not bother me, because I would have done anything for you to get here safe and sound!
This was taken maybe 3 days before you were born. Of course I added the art. :)
I'm glad I took these pictures! They are always fun to look back at and think, how did my body ever do that?
Here I am a couple days before Christmas. We already had our bags packed just in case we had to head to the hospital. I was about 34 weeks.
I just had to add this picture. This was Christmas eve. Daddy and I had a tradition of opening gifts in our Christmas Pjs. I was determined to fit in mine! Ha!
For months I had been talking about how I could not wait to workout and sweat after having you. Daddy was a sweetheart and got me new tennis shoes. This is a picture New Balance would never indorse! Ha!
My swollen ankles in my tennis shoes! I could not even tie them all the way! This was the reason I got put in the hospital on the 27th.
In the hospital I would take pictured of the bottom of my belly because I could not see it. I wanted to make sure I was not getting stretch marks. I would ask Daddy and he would always say, no, but that's what he was suppose to say. I did end up with one tiny mark on my side. You really can not even see it, but it does not bother me, because I would have done anything for you to get here safe and sound!
This was taken maybe 3 days before you were born. Of course I added the art. :)
I'm glad I took these pictures! They are always fun to look back at and think, how did my body ever do that?
Ruby's Surgery
Tuesday, Ruby had surgery to get Tubes, adenoids removed and her tongue clipped. The surgery was very easy and everything went great! The Doctor said there was a lot of "gunk" in her ears and on her adenoids.
Prior to the surgery she was given "happy juice". She was so funny! She could hardly keep her head up. She started talking a lot and drooling everywhere! When they took her back she said hi to everyone in the hallway. The surgery only took about 15 mins. When we went back to see her she was screaming! I tried to calm her down by holding her, so did Eric, but she was still screaming. They finally took her IV out and that made her a little happier. She was still pretty upset though. They decided to give her some additional medicine. We were discharged not long after and put her down for a nap once we got home.
She slept on and off the rest of the day.
Ruby is already talking more and her walking is less wobbly. So far so good! We have a check up with the ENT the 30th.
Thank you to all of our family and friends that checked on her. Also thank you to Aunt Jen who stayed with us the night before, to watch Mable and take her to school. It looks like they had fun!
Prior to the surgery she was given "happy juice". She was so funny! She could hardly keep her head up. She started talking a lot and drooling everywhere! When they took her back she said hi to everyone in the hallway. The surgery only took about 15 mins. When we went back to see her she was screaming! I tried to calm her down by holding her, so did Eric, but she was still screaming. They finally took her IV out and that made her a little happier. She was still pretty upset though. They decided to give her some additional medicine. We were discharged not long after and put her down for a nap once we got home.
She slept on and off the rest of the day.
Ruby is already talking more and her walking is less wobbly. So far so good! We have a check up with the ENT the 30th.
Thank you to all of our family and friends that checked on her. Also thank you to Aunt Jen who stayed with us the night before, to watch Mable and take her to school. It looks like they had fun!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Mothers Day Weekend
Thursday Mom and Tim, also known as Nana and Pop came in for the weekend. We started the night out by having dinner. It was the first time we let the girls eat chips. They always grab for them, but I was worried they might be too sharp for their mouth. Ruby loved the tomatillo sauce! She kept dipping and licking the sauce off the chip.
They also ate their share of tortillas.
Mable enjoyed cheese dip for the first time.
The next day, Friday, the girls went to school for a bit while Mom, Tim and I went shopping. We meet Eric for lunch at Tommy Bahamas. Later on that night we went down to the waterway. We had pizza and let the girls play in the fountain.
Ruby was the first one in, very surprisingly, since Mable is the one that normally goes full force into everything.
Once she figured it out she was all about it!
Saturday we had a great day relaxing at the house. The girls stayed in their pjs all day. Grammy, Papa, Jen and Shawn came over and all the guys cooked dinner for us.
Rue and Mae watched Elmo on the iPad 500 times!
Played outside with their new watertable.
And went to bed wearing new Elmo pjs.
Mother's Day morning we had brunch with the family. The girls gave their gifts to the grandmothers. Eric and the girls gave me two hydrangeas to plant in the yard, bloom picture frames and cards. I was able to sleep in late and was woken up by 2 babies waving cards in the air screaming wow, wow, wow!
I love being a mommy to these two precious angels!
Later on in the day we went to the park. It was a bit hot so we did not stay long.
We decided to grab something to eat and go to DSW. Rue and Mae love shoes and seemed to enjoy themselves. They kept saying, shoes, shoes! Sssssss! We ended the day shopping at Sam's. We went just to waste time and left with a buggy full.
I had the Best Mother's Day! Each year it keeps getting better and better! I thank God everyday for making me a Mom!
They also ate their share of tortillas.
Mable enjoyed cheese dip for the first time.
The next day, Friday, the girls went to school for a bit while Mom, Tim and I went shopping. We meet Eric for lunch at Tommy Bahamas. Later on that night we went down to the waterway. We had pizza and let the girls play in the fountain.
Ruby was the first one in, very surprisingly, since Mable is the one that normally goes full force into everything.
Once she figured it out she was all about it!
Saturday we had a great day relaxing at the house. The girls stayed in their pjs all day. Grammy, Papa, Jen and Shawn came over and all the guys cooked dinner for us.
Rue and Mae watched Elmo on the iPad 500 times!
Played outside with their new watertable.
And went to bed wearing new Elmo pjs.
Mother's Day morning we had brunch with the family. The girls gave their gifts to the grandmothers. Eric and the girls gave me two hydrangeas to plant in the yard, bloom picture frames and cards. I was able to sleep in late and was woken up by 2 babies waving cards in the air screaming wow, wow, wow!
I love being a mommy to these two precious angels!
Later on in the day we went to the park. It was a bit hot so we did not stay long.
We decided to grab something to eat and go to DSW. Rue and Mae love shoes and seemed to enjoy themselves. They kept saying, shoes, shoes! Sssssss! We ended the day shopping at Sam's. We went just to waste time and left with a buggy full.
I had the Best Mother's Day! Each year it keeps getting better and better! I thank God everyday for making me a Mom!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Craft
For Mothers Day gifts the girls painted bird houses.
They did a really good job!
At times they painted their hand, because they had just finished a project at school with hand prints.
Luckily we had finished painted all the houses when Mable decided to put a paint in her mouth. Even though the paint was non toxic, she threw up instantly. Eric went inside to run bath water while I got the babies naked.
Mable tee teed on the newspaper. I cleaned it up quickly, but the girls still got ink on the bottoms of their feet, which in turned stained the bathtub. We eventually got the stain out.
Craft time at the Martin house is always an adventure!
They did a really good job!
At times they painted their hand, because they had just finished a project at school with hand prints.
Luckily we had finished painted all the houses when Mable decided to put a paint in her mouth. Even though the paint was non toxic, she threw up instantly. Eric went inside to run bath water while I got the babies naked.
Mable tee teed on the newspaper. I cleaned it up quickly, but the girls still got ink on the bottoms of their feet, which in turned stained the bathtub. We eventually got the stain out.
Craft time at the Martin house is always an adventure!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Tyler Weekend
Last weekend we traveled to Tyler to visit Grammy and Papa, Eric's parents. Saturday afternoon Nana and Pop, Jen and Shawn came over for a Cino de Mayo dinner. We had a great time! Here are some pictures from our visit.
The girls Mexican dresses were bought way before they were born, well one of them was. Eric and I bought it in Cancun when we went down after being married 10 mos. I hoped and pray we would have a little girl oneday to wear the dress, little did we know we would need two! We had friends pick up the other dress after finding out we were pregnant with twins the following summer.
First popsicle!
I think they enjoyed them!
The girls Mexican dresses were bought way before they were born, well one of them was. Eric and I bought it in Cancun when we went down after being married 10 mos. I hoped and pray we would have a little girl oneday to wear the dress, little did we know we would need two! We had friends pick up the other dress after finding out we were pregnant with twins the following summer.
First popsicle!
I think they enjoyed them!
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