SeVeN is the number

Tom is off changing Kiley's diaper... but he'll want the computer back soon so I'll make this quick.

Our morning started off with Tom changing Abby's diaper. I'm not sure of the exact turn of events, all I know is that they were in the bathroom, Abby came out naked, pee'd on the floor, and went back INTO the bathroom to sit on her potty chair. She refused to let Tom put her diaper on for awhile.

I cleaned up one bodily mess.

Naptime. Kara, Kiley and Tom are sleeping in the living room. I hear Abby crying off and on so after 45 minuets I decide to check on her. (I'm wearing Kiley in my Beco) so as we open the door just a crack I catch a wiff of... poo. Ugh... seriously. I saw the diaper in the corner of the crib. Poor Abby woke up with big tears streaming down her face saying "Mooommy" So I called up to Tom who promptly pulled Abby from the crib and gave her a warm bath. I of course ...

cleaned up bodily mess number TWO.

****
But onto the fun news. Kiley slept SEVEN hours straight from 11:30 pm- 6:30am. Kara had me up every two hours so I had plenty of opportunities to check Kiley and make sure she was still breathing. Because as if there aren't enough worries about SIDS, when your baby goes from waking up every 2 hours to not waking up for seven... you worry. So, she slept for seven hours straight. I certainly did not.

I'm wondering if....

• Kara might have MSPI worse then Kiley which gives her tummy aches
• The Prevacid might be starting to work for Kiley (it's been a week
• If I will get a night where they both sleep that long in one shot ever again?

It's hard to know....

******
Abby's corner: (As if she wasn't having enough fun today already) The other day when I had run out of entertainment ideas for Abby, I took a small bowl and filled it with freshly fallen snow. She sat and ate it for 15 minuets. Then splashed in the rest of it. She loves her snow.

I've also discovered that different sized cups make for fantastic toys.... as long as there is water involved. Again, I placed her in her highchair with several different cups, a spoon and one cup filled with water. She loved it and I loved the break from craziness.

We are working on colors right now. She can say orange but yellow seems to escape her. Right now she enjoys letters and numbers more than anything. The other day she knew that when we spell her name y came after the second b. She makes us write it for her a lot.

Kiley's corner: 
Kiley rolled over the other day. Well... sort of. She was laying on her tummy and kept flipping over onto her back like a little turtle, waving her arms and legs in the air. While she isn't as apt to smile as quickly as Kara she will give you plenty of sweet smiles when she is in the mood.

Kara's corner:
Lately whenever Kara gets excited she draws her knees up to her body and flings out her legs. There are so many times that I look at her and I see glimpses of Abby when she was a baby. She loves to smile and coo at us, especially as we put her to bed. I hope that she will sleep better tonight... or maybe she just knows that if she wakes me up enough she'll end up snuggling with mom and dad. :o)

(P.S.... I'm naughty and cheated a little on my diet. I ate a candy bar... I just couldn't resist the call of the Milky Way... I promise I'll be better tomorrow)

BECO!!!

IT CAME!

And I love it....  So does Kiley. She's sleeping in this picture.

Day 2 MSPI diet... Status: Hungry

Kara is propped up on my chest, pacifier in her mouth, swaddle blanket snug. Kiley is right next to the bed in the bassinet with the pacifier in and out and in and out of her mouth. Every time it falls out she gets upset and then Kara gets upset and we start the whole thing over.

There are times I seriously think that having one baby was a piece of cake compared to two. Because having two babies is like having 100.... and I can't imagine having three or even eight. Don't get me wrong they are an amazing blessing and I love them to pieces but it really is an entirely different style of parenting. Especially with a toddler in tow too! Those clowns juggling balls up in the air.... I think I'll give them a break for a bit and they can come juggle my life for awhile!

Someone asked me the other day why I blog. Why... hmmm. Well part of me does it because it is a way to document those little things that my children do during the day. How we are coping. What little things matter during those times. Another part of me wants to share things with family and friends that I don't get a chance to talk with or meet up with often. And finally the other part of me does it just for myself.

I have officially decided that: it is a lot of work to take photos of the twins. Which shouldn't surprise me that much, everything else has been more work! Every time I got Kiley propped up on her tummy, Kara would roll down the pillow I was using to prop them up. Then Kiley would roll down. So I would hold them up, quick pull my hand away and snap the shot. Most of them at the end involved two babies rolling away. But I got a few good pictures. (This is what I do with my free time that I should be cleaning, or doing homework or *gasp* showering.... hmmmm)

This afternoon around 2 I decided to go check on Abby and see if she was awake. A few times I had caught glimpses of sound but she hadn't started screaming at least. Well she wasn't screaming... because she was bouncing--- in her crib. But oh was she having fun. The diaper stayed on with the help of the onesie!

I finally put Kara down into her bed next to Kiley and finally Kiley kept her pacifier in and went to sleep. She made this contented little sigh as if she were telling me that she had been waiting for her sister to come. I can't wait to see their bond grow and develop. Abby has already become such a good sister and helper. It's hard to believe she has grown up so much already herself!

Well everyone else is asleep and that is my cue. Tom is home tomorrow and I'm so excited. I love having him home!

MSPI Day 1

Abby and Feebee are chasing eachother around the house. Abby has an orange ball that Feebee wants and they take turns playing. It's pretty cute to watch, though a little hectic. I had been thinking about getting Feebee a new home because I thought she would just be too much work. This probably won't happen now, her and Abby entertain each other too well. Abs likes to be chased... and I don't always have time to be the chaser.

We are on day 1 of the MSPI diet.

Breakfast: Quaker Oatmeal with frozen blueberries and a tsp of brown sugar; rice milk
Lunch: Fish Fillets and a cup of applesauce
Snack: Apples, Carrots & Fritos (had to have at least ONE good junk food) oh... and of course my coffee with a little rice milk and sugar.
Supper: Sweet Scrumptious Skillet Chicken , Rice and Peaches.

I attempted to make some home made, bread machine ... bread... but I'm not sure if my yeast was old... or if the recipe I used just wasn't good... but it didn't really rise as well as it should. It has been awhile since I made fresh bread so it's possible I just 'messed it up'... it couldn't possibly be because I was taking care of 2 infants & a toddler... while getting supper ready...

My mom came and watched the girls this afternoon while I went and got my oil changed. My brother works at a local shop and he did it for me. It was nice, we were able to have a decent, uninterrupted conversation for 20 minuets. I haven't had such a nice chat in a long time. Guess I should get my oil changed more often!

When I came home I went to get the mail and GASP! New mailbox! Tom hadn't told me that he bought & installed a new mailbox. I literally did a double take and had to check to make sure I was looking in the correct mailbox! The mailman was probably equally pleased. Our old one had a nasty habit of opening up and blowing in rain, snow and other things into it. I once found my CPR recertification card a block away... eep.

***Drumroll***................ I got my Beco!!!!! I haven't been excited about something I've purchased in so long! I hope it gets here soon! I managed to find one on sale for 100 dollars (shipping included in that price) ... a whopping 50 bucks cheaper then  the original price. (if you don't know what a Beco is... it's an infant/toddler carrier) It will help me feel closer to each baby, and the best part is that we can use it with Abby too if needed! It can hold up to 45 pounds and is a back and front carrier. The print below is what I got. As soon as it comes I will take a picture of us using it so that you can get a better look.

Well babies cry... as Abby says. I might have to continue this little entry after Tom gets home. I think Kara is done eating and wants to go to sleep now.

Peek!

For a moment I thought to myself "If only there were more hours in the day"... wait... am I crazy? I'm tired enough as it is already! Things around here these last few days have been a little tough and though I came on here to write I just couldn't seem to put a few thoughts together. I know there will be hard times with this journey, and I guess that is how we appreciate the good times.

We have a new garbage disposal and programmable thermostat! (How is that for rough transitions...) No more leaking nasty, stinky water into a bucket under the sink! Tom installed both of them last night and he did a great job. Abby kept bringing him tools so that she could 'help.'

My mom and I had taken the girls shopping yesterday afternoon. I didn't get much but oh was it nice to just browse around the mall, show off my twins... spend 20ish minuets in a dressing room trying to get the babies fed. You can about imagine how funny it was to see me shove a double stroller in a tiny dressing room. But I got the door closed! (victory) The small victories are important. We also stopped for a quick snack in the mall food court and we enjoyed Moolattes while Abby munched on a hotdog. I tried to enjoy mine as it will be my last one in awhile.

Yeah .... I admit it. I went on a bit of a dairy favorite food binge. I had 2 cups of coffee, several glasses of milk, cheese... butter on my pancakes... you get the picture. Tomorrow I start the dreaded diet.

Well K&K are crying and it's after 11. I should get to bed so I can get some sleep. They've been sleeping with us the last few nights which can get quite crowded. It's allowed me a little more sleep though which made for a better day today for me. But... it's bedtime...

Abby was playing peek a boo in the car with me on the way home...she was so cute... and even with how tough things have been at times. Being a mom is the greatest job ever.

Feeling Trapped

I wish I were stronger.

It's just hard right now.

Badgers Badgers Badgers

Well here is the 2nd go around on this update thing. Yesterday I was just so exhausted from lugging around two 10 pounders around in their car seats and not getting a good night's rest.

I'm working hard on trying to get myself excited about this MSPI diet thing. I found two great blogs where other moms have posted recipes without soy, dairy and even options for other food allergy mommas. Right now I'm making a list of Main Meals, Breakfast, Snacks... etc that I can make. Then I'm making up next weeks meals so that I can go into the grocery store with my list, grab exactly what I need and then work on making those meals on Sunday when Tom is home to help me with the kiddos. At Walmart we found some containers that Ziploc makes with separate compartments where I can put together whole meals and then put them in the freezer if there is something we like!

The positive outlook: We will be eating hardly any processed and/or junk foods.
The negative outlook: I have to be very careful that I eat enough calories to provide enough milk for the girls and so that I don't lose too much weight myself ,AND the foods that I buy will be more expensive and harder to find.

Kiley found her fist the other day :o) She was sucking away on it and had this excited look on her face that screamed "Look what I can do mom!!" They were both just completely exhausted from all of our adventures yesterday. We tried the Neocate formula bottle last night. Kiley fell asleep before she could get her chance at it and Kara only drank an ounce. They aren't as happy with the Dr. Brown bottles as they were with the Soothie ones (The Soothies are shaped like their pacifiers). I hate to throw away the extra formula because the cans cost 50 dollars a piece. Dr. D wrote me prescriptions for each girl so that if we decide to move them onto the formula our insurance will help pay for the special stuff. We would be in trouble if we had to pay for it ourselves. It could cost 200 dollars a month per girl! (How do people do it?)

I even managed to get their Prevacid down into them this morning... of course it's a tricky timing issue. They need to take it on empty stomachs, and not eat 30 minuets after they take the medication. Kiley & Kara eat every hour to 2 hours usually so finding that time gap in the morning is hard. We need to give them the Prevacid twice a day. It could take up to two weeks before we see any real results with it either. *sigh*

They are both a little more fussy today, perhaps they are getting back at me for messing up their schedules yesterday. Hopefully they won't be fussy all day! I need to get some work done around here. I have homework that is due tomorrow, baptism invites to send out, cleaning to do... plus I need to get next week's food schedule done. Phew!

Well I suppose I should get a few things done while Abby is napping. Grandma Renae brought Feebee home and I need to give her a bath and a slight trim. I think Abby will enjoy having her home to play with. If she gets to be too much she might go back to the farm again... but we'll see. Right now she is laying on a rug by the door and is being good. At least we have a backyard fence!

Cute Abby Story:  Abby has a little pink pig that walks, snorts and wags it's tail. She was playing with it like it was her best friend today. Calling to it "Here piggy piggy!" and carrying it around with her all over the house. She probably played with it for 20 minuets! (which for Abby is a loooong time)

And for some strange reason she always wants me to play this song for her... I caught a few of her dance moves... she also sings to it but wouldn't do it while I had the camera on her.

GI Appointment

Well I just got back from the GI specialist that Abby had seen when she was younger. The girls both passed their Video Swallow Studies (VSS). I'm SOOO happy with this! The Upper GI study showed reflux, which I knew it would. The girls are both 21 inches and 10lbs!! Kiley was 3 ounces heavier at 10lb 5oz. So they are growing great and we have no issues with that.

Dr. D thinks that the coughing and choking is stemming from the girls trying to drink the milk down, the reflux coming up and trying to breathe. He said that otherwise they should be ok. We are going to start them on Prevacid twice daily to see if we can cut down on the acid coming up into their throats. He also wants them on a vitamin supplement.

Annnnd.... the icky part. I need to start on the MSPI (Milk, Soy, Protein Intolerance) diet. ICK. To give you an idea of what I need to look for on labels....

Ingredients that mean contains soy:

• hydrolyzed soy protein
• miso
• shoyo sauce
• soy flour
• soy grits
• soy nuts
• soy milk
• soy sprouts
• soy protein concentrate
• soy protein isolate
• soy sauce
• tempeh
• textured vegetable protein (TVP)
• tofu
• soy lecithin
• soy oil

Other possible sources of soy or soy products:

• flavorings
• hydrolyzed plant protein
• hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• natural flavoring
• vegetable broth
• vegetable gum
• vegetable starch

(most babies will not react to soy oil or soy lecithin, but the very sensitive baby may still react)

Ingredients that mean contains dairy:

• Acidophilus Milk
• Ammonium Caseinate
• Butter
• Butter Fat
• Butter Oil
• Butter Solids
• Buttermilk
• Buttermilk Powder
• Calcium Caseinate
• Casein
• Caseinate (in general)
• Cheese (All animal-based)
• Condensed Milk
• Cottage Cheese
• Cream
• Curds
• Custard
• Delactosed Whey
• Demineralized Whey
• Dry Milk Powder
• Dry Milk Solids
• Evaporated Milk

• Ghee
• Goat Milk
• Half & Half
• Hydrolyzed Casein
• Hydrolyzed Milk Protein
• Iron Caseinate
• Lactalbumin
• Lactoferrin
• Lactoglobulin
• Lactose
• Lactulose
• Low-Fat Milk
• Magnesium Caseinate
• Malted Milk
• Milk
• Milk Derivative
• Milk Fat
• Milk Powder
• Milk Protein
• Milk Solids
• Natural Butter Flavor

• Nonfat Milk
• Nougat
• Paneer
• Potassium Caseinate
• Pudding
• Recaldent
• Rennet Casein
• Skim Milk
• Sodium Caseinate
• Sour Cream
• Sour Milk Solids
• Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Sweet Whey
• Whey
• Whey Powder
• Whey Protein Concentrate
• Whey Protein Hydrolysate
• Whipped Cream
• Whipped Topping
• Whole Milk
• Yogurt
• Zinc Caseinate

Is that enough??? Can you see why shopping might be a little exhausting? I'm going to try it for two months and see if it works. This time I'm going to be better prepared though. I'll look some good MSPI diet meals that I can make, devote one day where I will make a bunch of food and then freeze them. This way it will be taken care of and I won't need to stress about it or devote a bunch of time to the diet. I'm not going to start today, I'll probably start this weekend on Sunday so that I can start at the beginning of the week.

Well I have to go... I'll write more on this when I have a little more time.... But thats the update for now

Handprints

Hello all. I found a few moments to blog while I'm feeding Kiley (there just isn't a whole lot else to do when you're feeding babies). We finally made it home from my parent's house. We actually drove down Sunday afternoon to watch the Vikings game (heart sigh) and got snowed in. There was no warning at all about how awful the conditions were going to get. 1-3 inches of snow sure became a headache! Whiteout conditions and drifting were the real problems. Our snow drifts had sank a little but are now nice and tall again....

Still no Jeep. :( I hope we can get that back this week so that I'm not confined to these four walls. Kiley & Kara do have doctor's appointments tomorrow and the way things are going I'm really really glad we are going in. To give you an idea of what I've done today...

4am-7am: off and on feeding of Kiley, Kara, Kiley, Kara...
8am- present:  Ate breakfast, changed Kiley, changed Kara, came home... fed Kiley, fed Kara, fed Abby, fed Kiley (again), put in a roast for supper,  changed Kiley, changed Kara, changed Abby, put clothes on Abby, put new clothes on Kara, fed Abby lunch, fed Kara, fed Kiley, put Abby down for a nap, fed Kara, did homework, took a shower, ate lunch of spagettios, put a load of laundry in the wash,  feeding Kiley now... Kara is screaming again...

And I wonder why I'm so exhausted... It's 2 o'clock right now and that is just a sample of what I've done this morning. Abby is still sleeping thankfully which allowed me to get a little more homework done and a load of laundry. The shower helped... is it bad the coffee pot is calling me again?

Tom's mom is coming up to watch Abby tomorrow morning when I go to my doctor's appointment. Abby will really enjoy having another person to entertain and I will love having the extra help. An extra pair of hands is always a huge help.

Well I need to finish up some things before my break is completely over. I leave you with this poem that I try to remember as I go throughout the day...

My Handprints
 
Sometimes I might upset you
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
on furniture and walls.
 
But everyday I grow a bit
And soon I'll be so tall
That all those little fingerprints
Will be so hard to recall.
 
So here's a special handprint
Just so that you can say
This is how my fingers looked
When I placed them here today

Picture Perfect

It was still a lot of fun... even if it didn't last as long as we might have hoped...

I wanted to write more but the girls might actually be going to sleep... and I'm running incredibly low on sleep right now. So for now goodnight... (and Abby still makes a cute Viking fan)