Seven month update - we've survived!

Miss E and Mr A have just turned seven months, so it's about time for an update on how they're getting on. That old chestnut, 'the first six months are the hardest' is so very true, and the last month has felt like the fog is lifting at long last. No doubt this has something to do with the weather improving as Spring finally arrives, and the clocks changing so it's light after the babies have gone to bed in the evening (makes me feel like every daylight hour isn't taken up by being mummy), but I think there's also been a marked change in the babies who are definitely now 'settled babies' rather than 'newborns'.

We're racing ahead with traditional weaning, with a bit of baby-led weaning thrown in for good measure (Mr A loved devouring every broccoli floret he could get his little fists on yesterday at our Easter lunch). Last week saw us introduce protein for the first time, and chicken seems to be a big hit with both babies. I'm still finding feeding two babies stressful, but am finding strategies to manage the difficult moments (mainly the TV and. Miss E has joined Mr A in being bottle-fed after she rejected the breast, and life is definitely easier with both babies fed the same way.

We took the plunge and dropped the dream feed a few weeks ago. Although it was my favourite feed as it was a quiet and intimate moment with the babies, it has left us feeling much more free as the babies sleep from 7pm to 7am, and I think the babies sleep better and are more rested in the morning without it. It also means they're much more hungry for their breakfast.

Both Miss E and Mr A (Mr A claimed the prize for doing it first) easily flip from their backs to their fronts now, though they're not as proficient at rolling from their fronts to their backs. The first night they started doing this in bed happened to be my birthday, and I spent a sleepless night worrying about them sleeping on their fronts. Having done my research I'm not at all concerned about it anymore, and Miss E now sleeps on her front pretty much every night.

Their ability to sit up unaided has been a real revelation. They can now occupy themselves and are happy to sit and play with toys for increasingly long periods of time while I pop in and out and get on with blogging and twitter chores.

Miss E cut her first two teeth without any fuss this month (bottom front), both Mr A is still toothless. He's been pretty grizzly for the last few days (unusual for him) and is sucking his bottom gums like crazy so I hope it's not too long before a toothy peg makes its first appearance.

But the biggest and best thing this month is the fabulous little people I can see them becoming. They are sociable and happy (most of the time), greeting us, each other and strangers with huge smiles and laughter. They love practising all the things they've learned to do over the last month, especially sitting and rolling, and look to us for a round of applause when they do something they know is clever. The balance has finally tipped and we have many, many more good days than bad days and I just can't wait for the summer when we can get outdoors to play.

Happy birthday babies xx

Dear Diary...

My mum shamed me last week by showing me the notes she'd kept while I was a baby. They were so detailed - keeping record of every tiny development and milestone I reached. I've been a bit slack about this (the 'development' section in the babies' red books that I'm supposed to fill in, is conspicuously blank) so I've decided action is required.

I've been treating this blog as a kind of diary - I did lots of 'diary' posts when I started writing but they seem to have tailed off a bit, so I'm reinstating them, and sooner or later I may go through the blog and try to put together a notebook as a keepsake, though somehow I doubt I'll find the time! These diary posts are probably not of much interest to anyone but myself (and grandparents) but if I don't make a note of all the little changes I know I'll never remember them.

So this week we've been:

Rolling over: Granted it seems to have been something of a fluke and not occured since, but both Miss E and Mr A have rolled from their fronts to their backs.
Interacting (fighting?): When you sit them close to each other, the babies get really excited and kind of shout/growl at each other (especially Miss E). They open their mouths wide and lunge at their sibling as if trying to eat them. I'm sure it's affectionate. Possibly.
Dream feeding: For the first time this week, the 11pm feed has become a true dream feed for Miss E. She doesn't open her eyes during the feed at all, simply finishes her bottle and goes back to snoring softly. It's lovely getting to hold her when she's sleeping - it's a rare treat.
Sleeping with one arm free: They are successfully taking their morning nap with one arm unswaddled. It may seem like a small step but I'm hopeful that both arms will be flying free before we know it.
Sitting up: Miss E and Mr A can sit up like little pros now. It's just a shame their sense of balance is worse than Young Daddy's on an icerink. A Bumbo is on it's way (courtesy of ebay) so that should help.

But by far the biggest and bestest thing in the Young house this week without a doubt? Thumb sucking. Apparently it's The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread (not that these little lovelies have had the pleasure of sliced bread yet). We managed to ditch the dummies during their colds (they wouldn't take them then so we jumped at the chance to send all the dummies to the Dummy Fairy), so their thumbs are a great replacement. And they look super-cute when they're doing it so it gets a thumbs up (boom boom) from me...

Making the move

I had mixed feelings last night when we put E and A down for the night in the nursery rather than in our bedroom. I was actually quite surprised how sentimental I felt about having them in the room with us, and I really really missed them when I went to bed. I didn't realise how much I liked waking up and hearing them sleeping. On the flipside I'm very keen to reclaim our bedroom and it'll be lovely to be able to potter around our room in the evening with the light on, and read my book before I go to sleep.

Another dilemma we had was whether to sleep them in separate cots in the nursery (they sleep side-by-side in one cot at the moment, separated by a rolled up towel), but we decided to leave them together for now. One step at a time!

We toyed with the idea of having the monitor in our room, but as the nursery is right next door we decided to rely on hearing them naturally in the night. I woke to hear A chatting to himself about 4am and was getting myself ready to get up and feed him but he settled himself back to sleep and woke crying an hour later. He needed comforting a bit before I gave him his bottle - I'm not sure if he was upset about waking up and not hearing us sleeping? - but he was fine after that and greedily downed his bottle. Unfortunately E woke at the same time so Young Daddy had to get up too, but both babies settled back to sleep and amazingly didn't wake again until 8.15am - a record lie-in for us! I hope it wasn't because neither of us heard them crying earlier, but I'm pretty sure one of us would have stirred if one of the babies had been screaming. I'm totally prepared for the lovely lie-in to have been a one-off, but it was much appreciated today and I'm sure we'll get another one at some point in the future....

A white Christmas for E and A

Snow and ice didn't stop us making the journey up to County Durham on Christmas day to spend the day with the Young family. We had an amazingly quick journey - not many people on the roads at 5.45am on Christmas morning! The sun was shining by late morning when we arrived and the snowy views were absolutely stunning!

Predictably, E and A got the largest haul of presents under the tree and behaved impeccably all day, going down for their lunchtime nap in time for us to eat our lunch, and being very good-natured while we opened our presents. The only part of the day that they didn't enjoy was bathtime - I think it was one new thing too many for them. When they went down in the evening I was concerned that the long sleep on the journey up in the car would interfere with their sleep, but they did really well and each only woke once in the night. E even let Young Daddy give her her bottle at 11pm (I gave him my cardigan to drape over his shoulders so she could smell me and either that worked or she was just so tired she couldn't be bothered to argue!). The babies were in bed when we had a new dusting of snow, but it still means that their first Christmas was officially a white one.

Today was another gorgeous day and so we headed out for a walk in the snow this afternoon. Young Daddy and Uncle Sam took a baby each in the Baby Bjorns, and E and A both loved it, and stayed awake taking in the views for almost the whole time we were out. The fresh air also wore them out so they went down for an hour's afternoon nap, meaning their good moods lasted right up until bathtime (we opted to top and tail this evening rather than do a full bath, which seemd to work much better).

Scheduling nightmare

We committed the cardinel sin of twin care today by letting E and A start their day at significantly different times. Young Daddy got up with A at 6.30am this morning, and I tried to get some extra shut-eye while E slept - she didn't wake 'til 8.15am in the end. It was a bit short-sighted as I was then stuck with two babies on vastly different schedules for the day. E and A have been pretty well-behaved all day, but they have stuck to their normal routines (awake for 1.5-2 hours at a time and then a nap) which has meant that they haven't really slept or eaten at the same times all day - leaving me no time to myself.

On the upside, in a way I've quite enjoyed the day because I've had the opportunity to spend some really nice one-on-one time with both my babies. E and I had fun with Tuhami Mummy and baby Jacob when they popped round at lunchtime, and A and I had lots of smiles and laughs while E napped at lunchtime and this afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa Powell have always offered to look after one baby, while we spend quality time with the other but we've never really given the offer serious thought. I would definitely consider it after today so we'll have to plan in a time in the new year.

Christmas parties

We've had a full weekend of Christmas parties. Yesterday, Grandma and Grandpa Powell had their annual open house, and Young Daddy, E, A and I went along for the afternoon. The babies did pretty well, but E got a bit overwhelmed by the number of people. When I went upstairs with her to a quiet room she was all smiles, but grizzled when she was back downstairs and wouldn't be held by anyone else but Young Daddy or me. But we really enjoyed introducing them to lots of new people - it was lovely to be able to show them off.

It was an early start today, as E woke at 5.15am for a feed and then decided she really didn't want to go back to bed! Mr A rose at 6am to join her so Young Daddy and I have been feeling a little jaded all day, although E did give me her first ever proper chuckle to make up for it. We were back over at Grandma and Grandpa Powell's for our family Christmas celebration (we're off up north to see the Young family for Christmas itself). Great Uncle Brian and Great Auntie Irena were visiting from Oxford, and it was great to see Adam (A and E's first cousin once removed). We missed his wife Alex as she was poorly at home, but A and E are looking forward to meeting her in the new year.

It was a lovely day and A and E got some fab Christmas presents - our favourites include their sheepskin booties, and a JellyKitten comforter for A. And Grandma and Grandpa Powell and Uncle Will all did a fantastic job of helping with A and E - thanks guys!

The importance of naps

I had one of those days yesterday that kept veering between being terrible and being lovely! The morning definitely fell into the 'terrible' category. After the morning feed, I packed E and A into their car seats and we drove over to meet Uncle Will for the first time. He's back from New Zealand on a flying visit and I couldn't wait to introduce his new niece and nephew to him. Unfortunately E and A didn't seem so keen to make a good first impression and spent almost the whole time we were there screaming, or threatening to scream! I popped out to fill the car up with petrol, leaving E and A with Grandpa and Uncle Will, but apparently A cried the whole time I was gone. The problem was that neither of them had had a long enough morning nap so they were exhausted. They were also hungry but were too tired and wound up to feed properly so we were caught in a miserable cycle. Eventually I managed to calm A down enough to get some milk in him and then he settled for a nap. E was rocked to sleep by Grandpa.

I drove home, but the babies woke when I stopped the car and then both of them treated me to full-on red-faced incandescent screaming at the same time. It's been a while since I've had to deal with this, and it brought my sense of panic and distress back immediately. I had to sit both babies on my lap, with E propped up on a cushion while I fed A. Faced with them still grizzling I decided to go to Baby Clinic to get them weighed so at least I was out of the house.

They behaved really well at clinic. Mr A went first and then fell asleep in his car seat while I was getting E weighed. E was looking sleepy so once we were back in the car I drove around a bit to get her off to sleep, then parked up outside the house and read my Grazia until my feet and hands were going numb (oh the joy of looking after babies in the winter!). I was convinced they would wake when I carried them into the car but someone up there was smiling on me and they didn't stir. When they eventually woke up they were in a lovely, happy mood and we had no tears at all until bedtime.

It really does go to prove how much they need their naps. I'm sure that when they were kicking off it was because they were exhausted. I need to work extra hard to make sure they get enough sleep and then hopefully we'll all be much happier.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We hosted a Christmas party today for our NCT friends. Although it meant quite a lot of cleaning and baking (we didn't do a lot of food, but I baked some brownies, gingerbread Christmas trees and melting moments and then we also had mince pies and mulled wine), it's been nice to get the house cleaned properly and fully decked out for the festive season. Once we'd got the Legends of Christmas album playing and my Jo Malone pine and eucalyptus candle burning, I was definitely feeling the Christmas spirit!

As a little extra, I bought some Mamas & Papas baby socks from Ebay to make a stocking for each of the babies. We filled it with a candy cane, chocolate and the other sock. The looked really cute hung under the mantelpiece and everyone loved them. We even managed to get a picture of all the babies together.

Swaddling here to stay

We experimented again on Friday night with putting E and A to bed without swaddling them. Cue two hours of screaming! A eventually settled, but E just got more and more worked up until she actually made herself sick. As soon as we swaddled her she calmed right down and we were able to put her to bed five minutes later. We weren't keen on the prospect of repeating the experience after every night feed so we swaddled A as well after the 11pm feed and the rest of the night went better.

I think we'll be sticking with the swaddling for a while longer. A manages to get his arms out of his, but it's pretty clear that they both need to be swaddled to get themselves off to sleep, and I don't see any harm in it for now.
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No tears before bed

Mr A gets the 'best baby of the day' medal today for his exemplary behaviour at bathtime. I can officially announce that he has achieved his first tear-free bath ever! We've come close a number of times in the last few days, when he didn't cry until Young Daddy dressed him but today he didn't shed a single tear. So we're one step closer to swimming classes. Just E to crack now...

My NCT broodsheet (newsletter) arrived today and in it is an advert for underwater photographs. So cool - I'd love to get pics of E and A underwater. But the next photo session is in January and I think it's a bit too soon. I've decided to hold off booking swimming classes (due to start in January as well) as I don't think they'll enjoy them yet. So I'll wait for the next photo session, when I'm sure E and A will be happy water babies.

West End babies

E and A made their first trip up to the West End today to do some Christmas shopping. Young Daddy carried Mr A in the baby bjorn, and I wheeled E in the single buggy, so that we didn't have to try to get the double pushchair round the shops! They were perfectly behaved throughout, and slept for the whole trip.

A has been giving us bigger and bigger smiles everyday and we're loving it. At the moment, the smiles come at slightly random moments, but he definitely treated Young Daddy to some beaming grins today. He's also a really chatter - he natters away to himself, especially after a feed. His favourite word at the moment is 'goo' and I just love it when he says it - it's just so cute!

We bottle-fed A all day to see if he was happier (I usually breastfeed him for a short while and then give him a top-up bottle as soon as he starts fussing,but this often leads to prolonged bouts of crying) and he did seem to be calmer in general. E, on the other hand, has decided that she'll do the fussing instead and hasn't fed well all day. I think my milk supply has been a bit low today (maybe because I'm tired? I hope it's not drying up), so E has had to work extra hard to feed, and she has not been impressed. We picked up some more of my special 'Mother's Helper' tea yesterday (supposed to aid milk production) so hopefully that will help get it going again. I got really emotional when Young Daddy questioned if E is starting to reject the breast like A has. I'm so keen to keep breastfeeding, but it's hard to know if I'm being selfish by keeping going. Would E and A be happier babies if I just switched to bottles? It's the question that goes round and round in my head constantly, but I haven't come up with an answer yet...

Sickness strikes

Young Daddy has come down with a nasty stomach bug. Luckily for him, E, A and I were out most of the day today - we went up to Southbank again to meet a couple of NCT friends and visit the Christmas market. That meant that Young Daddy could sleep all day, although he was still feeling very poorly when we got home. He did his best to help with the evening routine - we skipped the bath and instead I gave E and A a quick sponge wash, but as soon as the babies were in bed, he quickly followed them.

I tried a different route up to town today that was much more successful than the one we took on Sunday. I ended up getting a train to City Thameslink (totally accessible, with a  lift from the platform to the concourse), and then walked through the City where I stuck out like a sore thumb in my parka and boots next to all the suits. The walk over Millenium Bridge to Tate Modern was so windy today I was a bit worried the whole pushchair would take off!

We all had lunch at Strada and the staff were really helpful and friendly, considering there were four babies to be fed, and three pushchairs to be accommodated. It was funny - I actually felt much more embarrassed getting out my bag of expressed breastmilk (to make up a bottle for A), than breastfeeding E. Silly, eh?

The market was a bit disappointing, and the most exciting stall was pick 'n' mix (we all indulged ourselves), and it didn't help that the babies were grizzling. Unfortunately E had not had a very good feed in Strada so her grumbling just got louder and louder on our way back to City Thameslink. I ended up having to feed her on the platform, whilst rocking A with my foot to try to keep him from crying. It was an interesting experience to say the least, but we made it home in one piece without any major meltdowns, so I think the trip can definitely be classed as a success.

London calling

We made our first trip up to London yesterday so that Young Daddy could come with us. Our local station has no stair-free access so we walked to the next one down the line. E and A slept through their first ever train journey - I was definitely more excited than them!

It was strange walking along southbank, but having to negotiate a step-free route - my usual shortcuts are redundant for now. I'd seen online that Tate Modern has a baby room, so we headed there to feed the babies. Unfortunately it seemed to be a single room, and there was a long queue of people waiting to use it. I think the Tate could and should offer better facilities. I started to panic but we made our way back to Leon (where we'd had lunch) and fed E and A there over coffee in nice, relaxed surroundings.

The time flew and it was time to get the train home. It was here that my research let me down. We got off the train only to discover there was a flight of stairs to exit the station. Good thing Young Daddy was with us, or we'd have been stuck with my bad back. Next time I'll try a different route....

Under the sea

Met up with Hackers Mummy this afternoon for a trip to the Horniman Museum's aquarium. The babies seemed to love the dark of the aquarium and the lights and shapes in the tanks. A slept through the whole tour, but Max and E enjoyed looking at the fish. It would have been rude to have left without treating ourselves to the cafe and a slice of cake. A perfect afternoon out!

A was hungry when we got home, so I settled down to breastfeed him, fully expecting to have to give him his usual top-up bottle as soon as he started screaming (generally around five minutes into a feed). He didn't want to settle, so I tried a slightly different feeding position, where he was almost sitting, and he happily fed until he was full. No top-up bottle required. Of course we shall have to wait to see whether this was a lucky one-off or if I've managed to find a solution to his feeding problems. I'm sure he'll be back to his usual fussing tomorrow morning, so I'm trying not to get too excited about it.

Artists' temperaments

I'd been looking forward to our trip to All Fired Up ceramics cafe since we's first discussed it a few weeks ago, and the visit was timed perfectly as Granny Jill could come along to hold one of the twins. There was a huge choice of ceramics available to customise and I assembled a huge pile of things to do.

Max and Hacker Mummy went first and Max seemed to really enjoy getting his feet painted, as did Harris who went next. So even though Iris, when it was her turn, did not seem amused by the whole activity, I was still feeling pretty confident that E and A would do ok. The problem probably started when I had to wake them up from their nap for their turn, so already they weren't in the best moods, and as soon as the wet paint touched their feet they went ballistic! Granny Jill held A while I tried to persuade a screaming E to print her foot, and then we swapped over. We managed to do two tiles and a photo frame before giving up - the twins were really losing it. Once the babies had finally settled down (a feed did the trick!) and reassessed my pile of ceramics and opted only to attempt one more item - a mug for Young Daddy. We did this quickly, but gave up after that.

Unfortunately then we had to say goodbye to Granny Jill, who had to leave to get her train home. We miss you lots, Granny Jill! With E and A settled back down to sleep (E got comfy on Mummy Williamson for the afternoon, after Harris went off to spend the afternoon with his daddy), we had a really nice few hours chatting and decorating our pieces.

It was strange heading home on my own, as it's been so nice having someone else around for the last few days. It was all going well, and the twins (or 'The Dudes' as Young Daddy calls them) seemed to enjoy my rendition of various nursery rhymes for a while, before they decided that each of them would much prefer to have an all-out paddy. Nat King Cole, earplugs (for me), a couple of sips (swigs) of red wine (also for me), and one running hairdryer later I managed to calm them down, and we waited for a late Young Daddy without self-combusting. Just about.

Granny Jill lends a hand

We've had Granny Jill to stay for a couple of nights. She hasn't seen E and A since they were about six weeks old, so it was great for her to come and visit and she was amazed at how much they've changed in a month. I've loved having someone around during the day, both to keep me company and hold a baby when they're both crying.

We've had a busy day today. First thing this morning we went out with the pushchair to the shops to pick up some essentials. Then after the 10.30am feed, we go ourselves bundled up and headed over to Crystal Palace Park to see the dinosaurs. It was a beautiful morning, and the park looked lovely - I hadn't been there for years (used to go lots as a child), and both Granny Jill and I were really impressed.

We got back home in time for the 2pm feed, and as the babies were a bit grizzly after eating, we thought we'd prefer to go out than stay in and listen to them grumble! We took the single buggy and a sling over to East Dulwich and indulged in a bit of retail therapy. Young Daddy was having a terrible day at work, so we got him some floral gums as a bring-back from Hope & Greenwood. I personally can't stand them, and think even the smell is horrid so I'll be steering well clear of him this evening!

Being entertained by Grandma Powell

With the weather so horrendous outside, we were keen to get out of the house and drove over to see Grandma and Grandpa Powell this afternoon. Now E and A are so much more alert, it's great that they are much more interested in everything, and Grandma did a great job of entertaining them with rattles and toys from my childhood. We even managed a couple more half-smiles from Mr A himself...

When twin babies become twin toddlers

Got a scary glimpse of life 12 months down the line yesterday when E, A and I spent the afternoon with Cavalli Mummy and Jack (14 months). Jack is so into everything and was on the go the whole time - pulling magazines and books off shelves, climbing into cupboards and dancing on the window sills - all the time with a gorgeous cheeky grin on his face. Imagining how it will be with two toddlers is definitely rather daunting! It also got Young Daddy and I thinking about how un-child-friendly our house is, but I guess we've got a year to try to childproof it.

Last night I did a deal with Young Daddy. In response to his request to be excused for the evening to meet Tuhami Daddy down the pub, I used the 4am feed as a bargaining chip. I absolutely hate the 4am feed - it's so hard to wake myself up, and then I find it difficult to get back to sleep before one of the twins wakes for their morning feed at 7am (or 5.30am, or 6am, or 6.30am!), so I was more than happy to let Young Daddy do it in exchange for him being given an evening off. In fact I was so happy, I'd actually like to do it every Friday!

A shows me up

Went to baby clinic this afternoon to get the babies weighed and talk to the health visitor about A not smiling. It was my first solo trip to the clinic but E and A were very good - Esme only screamed a little bit when she was weighed (they have to be naked - something neither of them are that keen on), and A didn't let out a squeak when I undressed him, weighed him or dressed him. Unbelievable!

After getting them weighed I was waiting around to speak to the health visitor. Both babies were fussing a little bit, so I was holding E and the healthcare assistant offered to hold A. While she was holding him I was chatting to her about him not smiling so she made some faces at him and he prompted smiled three times in a row! How stupid did I feel? So thank you very much A for making your mum look like a total fool! I had spent the whole day really making sure I made loads of eye contact with him and smiling lots and lots (my face is aching), as I realised that often when I talk to him I mirror his facial expressions. So there was no more mirroring from me today, just lots and lots of smiles and it obviously worked.

After that I decided not to wait around for the health visitor - if the smiles don't develop over the next week I'll go back to talk to her, but hopefully there'll be no need.

Seeing double

E, A and I went to our first mother and baby group today. Our health visitor posted us details of a local twin club. I would probably never have ventured there on my own, but my new twin mum friend from down the road was keen to give it a go with her four-month-old twin girls, so I went along with her. We were really nervous before going in as we had no idea what to expect but people were very welcoming.

A and E were the youngest twins there - there was one set of five-month-old girls and then the other twins were toddlers. It's nice to see older twins as it gives you a little glimpse into the future, when the twins will play with each other. I think E is starting to be aware of A and she really stares at him sometimes, but it will be great when they start interacting properly.

Amazingly A and E were on their best behaviour and behaved like the little angels I know they can be (sometimes!). A settled himself into a bouncy chair and promptly fell asleep, while E was enthralled, and just gazed round intently. She has become so much more alert and aware over the last few days, so much so that she doesn't seem to want to close her eyes and go to sleep, there is just so much to see!