Makes My Monday: Super Daddy and Super Auntie!

This weekend, my Mother of Twins Club had their Spring tag sale and I was a seller for the second time. I didn't have too much but was eager to rid of some baby items as well as a plethora of plastic toys that my parents dump on me with each of their weekly visits. The sale is quite the undertaking and sellers have to set up Friday night and work from 6am Saturday morning until about 3pm that afternoon. In my absence, Daddy and Auntie Kim stepped in to look after the kiddos - Kim in charge of Matteo and Daddy with Sebastian and Collette.

Daddy took the kids to the mall and reported back that they behaved PERFECTLY! He braved the Rain Forest Cafe where they politely ate their whole lunch and, as a special surprise for me, got their picture taken with the Easter Bunny! Apparently, they loved him and each gave him a hug before saying good-bye. Figures, right? But I'm glad they are good for him because then he'll take them out solo more often.

Auntie Kim was stuck with Matteo. I say "stuck with" because, contrary to what I thought, he is just not that into his new sippy cup. I was able to nurse him right before I left in the morning but he still nurses every two hours so he had a hard time going down for his nap without me. When he woke up, Kim brought him down to the sale (thank goodness it's just down the street from my house!) and I filled up his little tank. Then she decided to show him off and met up with a friend of hers at a cafe in Davis Square. With a full belly, he behaved like the little angel he is.

Meanwhile, I had a great time at the sale. Saw all my big stuff go off to new homes and hopefully a lot of my little stuff sold, too. I donated everything that didn't sell because Billy would've divorced me if I came back with anything. I also picked up some new things for the kids - summer clothes, rain coats, a T-ball set, sand and water table, toy lawn motor (to match the one they already have and CONSTANTLY fight over), a few books and a toy car ramp. All in all, I know I made out on the plus side by quite a lot. Definitely a success all around.

Also, to propel myself back to regular postings, I am going to commit, here and now, to an overdue post for Matteo (he's 8 months old now!!!) and a Flat Twins post - all this week. Some of you know where the Flat Twins are but for those of you who don't, stay tuned! I have some very cute pics coming :)

Matteo at 4 months

Matteo hit the 4 month mark on Saturday. This is the age I swore I would do CIO with him if wasn't already sleeping through the night. But, now that it's here, I'm not quite ready. he just seems so young. I did CIO with the twins closer to 6 months so perhaps that's why. Either way, I will probably wait until after our vacation to El Salvador for New Year's to bother with it. Feeding him at 2am is not ideal but it's not so bad either. With the twins, I had to feed them both which took longer, even if I did it at the same time, and I had to pump afterward. With Matteo, I just feed him for 5 minutes and then stumble back to bed.

Other than nighttime sleep, here is what's going on for Matteo these days:

He is napping better, although his morning nap is still shorter than his afternoon nap which surprises me. Usually 1 -1.5 hours in the morning vs. 1.5 - 2 (sometimes more!) in the early afternoon. Most days he usually needs a third nap but if he naps for a very long time in the afternoon, he can make until bedtime without it.

He still nurses almost every two hours during the day. A lot of this has to do with the fact that I nurse him before naps. On the bright side, he only needs to nurse for about 5 minutes so I don't really mind how often it is.

He smiles and laughs so much. He loves to watch his brother and sister play. And the dog, too. He loves when I talk right to him and tickle his belly.

He does not really love his exersaucer yet but tolerates it. He much prefers to playmat with the light-up star. ANd his bumbo so he can get in on the action at meal times. He tolerates tummy time but doesn't enjoy it for more than a few minutes.

My boy is still growing fast. He is in size 3 diapers but I still have so many size 2 diapers left that I am using those during the day and 3s at night. He is in 9 month clothes for the most part but can still squeeze into some of his 6 month stuff.

He is a hand-sucker. I may have my first thumb-sucker with this one once we ditch the swaddle. And he won't take a paci - an endeavor a gave up on a while ago, actually. I don't want him turning out like his big brother, addicted to that thing like baby crack.

And here is, all 4 months of him!

Matteo, 4 months old
(Sebastian and Collette at 4 months)

Two vs. One: Part 2

More on my thoughts about how my one baby is, as expected, way easier than two. Part 1 here.

Nursing vs. Bottle Feeding/Pumping

I hope I don't get any grief for saying so but nursing your baby is way easier than bottle feeding and especially easier than bottle feeding AND pumping. Now, don't get me wrong - I know that getting good at nursing can be really, really hard. Especially with twins. Especially with baby(ies) born early who won't latch. That being said, once you have figured things out, it is so much simpler to just pop a boob in a baby's mouth than prepare a bottle (pump and/or mix formula) and then have to worry about cleaning said bottles. So much of our time in the first month or so was devoted to those fucking bottles. And pump parts. I felt like I was living in a sea of plastic. After two months, when I finally became fed up with things and realized I would need to manage my time better once I was on my own with the twins, I figured out some short cuts to the bottle/pump madness. But even then, it's way more work than nursing a baby.

There are the downsides. No one else can feed Matteo for me. (He has only had 3 or 4 bottles in his little life). There is just a bit of anxiety over nursing in public. He still eats more often than the twins ever did. There is no real way to do it in the car, which has been an issue more times than I would have expected. But on the whole, life is so simple this way. I don't have to worry about being out too long with the twins because I don't have a bottle for the baby. I never have to run to the store because I ran out of formula or bottle liners.

I don't know how I would feel if I had the experience of nursing twins to compare this to. I imagine its very difficult to do that out in public, if only that it takes twice as long which might be uncomfortable for some. But in the first few months with the twins, I was inside most of the time anyway, just getting out for quick errands like Bjs or going for long walks, usually right after they ate. I would love to hear what moms of twins think about their successful nursing experience. Did you often feel like it was harder than bottle feeding would have been? Or did you think you had it easier because you were able to nurse?

Bad Habits?

I have a mommy confession to make.

I have been trying so hard to get Matteo to take decent naps. I follow the two-hour rule, a la Dr. Weissbluth. I use white noise, room darkening shades. Swaddle. Routine. But my little boy still wakes up after 45 minutes, wanting to eat, or play, or just hang out.

So. I've been doing something else. I've been nursing him to sleep. Not that he needs it to fall asleep. He's pretty darn good at that part. But, miraculously, nursing before a nap help stretch that 45 nap into an hour and a half, two, even two and half hours! It's blissful and he is so much happier for it.

But I have to wonder - am I starting a really bad habit? Will I regret this down the line? For now, I don't nurse him to sleep for the night. He nurses before I change him and bathe him and swaddle him and rock him. The nap thing is different, though. I think part of the problem is that he wants to eat every 2 - 2.5 hours. If he eats when he wakes up, then is up for an hour and a half, he'll want to eat again in less than an hour. So, I am hoping this is only temporary, and won't be necessary when he starts to stretch out those feedings. Lord knows when that will be. In the meantime, I just hope I'm not creating a little monster.