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ONE
Brodie and Lucas BOTH slept through the night.  This was the first for Brodie.  They slept from 7:30 PM to 5 AM.  What a nice treat...extra sleep for me.    

TWO
This afternoon, both Brodie and Lucas opened their mouths while eating their oatmeal and apple sauce.  They ate all their food and acted like they wanted more.

Two major improvements in one day!  I wait in anticipation to find out what tomorrow will bring!
 

After nursing the twins, I left the house early this morning for a bike ride by myself.  My husband stayed home with the twins.  As I rolled out the door, the three of them were playing on the floor.  I mentioned that if they get hungry, he can feed them rice cereal or apple sauce.  But not to worry because  I would only be gone 2 hours. 
I enjoyed the two hours I had to myself, pedaling along the bike trail.  This was the first time I had ridden by cross bike without having the bike trailer with twins in tow.  I was amazed at how easy it was to pedal and how fast I could go.  The two hours flew by, but were long enough for me to feel relaxed and rejuvenated.  Two hours without my kids felt like a mini vacation!
When I arrived home, Lucas was sitting on the floor jabbering, while my husband was in the nursery changing Brodie's diaper.   When they came out to greet me, my husband said the twins did great!  They played on the floor together, he fed them rice cereal, and had changed their diapers.  I laughed when he said he fed them rice cereal.  Feeding the twins is still a challenge.  Eating solids just hasn't clicked for them yet.  He further explained that Brodie wouldn't open his mouth for the spoon, as usual.  So he gave him the bowl like it was a cup and he drank it.  Since that worked, he went ahead and let both twins drink their cereal from the bowl, as if it was a cup.  He said they loved it so much that they drank all of it!    

Last week was our  first camping trip with our 8 month old twin boys.  Getting packed for our trip was a feat in itself!  We left on Thursday morning with intentions of camping until Sunday at Laguna Seca, in Monterey CA.  The drive to Monterey was uneventful.  We arrived at our campsite and the wind was blowing strong, along with dust and debris.  We had most of the gear unloaded before we realized we forgot the tent poles.  We stayed unusually calm.  Staying in a hotel was not an option considering the expense.  All of our food for the next 4 days was in the ice chest, and our meals were planned around our Coleman stove.  We were already paying a premium for the campsite for 4 days.   The 4 of us could not fit in the Element to sleep.  Our planned events including bike racing, volunteering, cycling expo, and International Mtn Biking Associate Summit (IMBA), were all within walking distance from our camp. After some quick thinking, we decided we would have to buy another tent.  This would be cheaper than staying in a hotel, eating out, and still having to pay for our premium campsite.
Rather than reloading the Element, our friend volunteered to drive my husband to Target to purchase a tent.  While they were gone, I was invited by our camping neighbors to stay inside a travel trailer with my twins.  There were so many people hanging out in their trailer, that we sat on the floor.  The kids were hungry , tired, and just plain fussy.  They had been traveling in their car seats all morning, and now they were lying on the floor of a trailer filled with loud people they didn't know.
It started to get dark, so we thanked our new friends and left to hang out in one of our other camping neighbor's tent.  It was cold, windy, but quiet.  I was able to nurse the kids, but they wouldn't fall asleep. 
My husband finally returned with a tent.  Yipee!  At least we had a place to sleep.  The tent was a summer tent....very airy, complete with a mesh top and fly to keep the rain off. THANK GOODNESS it didn't rain.  We had enough WIND and FOG!  Thursday night both kids fell asleep in their car seats.  Lucas slept there all night.  It was so cold, all I could do to keep the kids warm was pile blankets on top of them.  When Brodie woke up, I layered him in warm clothes, nursed him back to sleep, and placed him next to me in his PEA POD tent and piled him with blankets.  He woke about one more time to nurse and then it was morning.  
Friday at the event was WINDY and dusty! My husband watched the kids for a couple hours while I went for a mtn bike ride and took a much needed shower.
So the rest of Friday, we walked around the cycling expo  looking at "everything" cycling related.   I was able to nurse the kids every few hours, sometimes sitting down to rest, sometimes while walking.  The entire time it was WINDY!  In fact the wind never stopped.  Evening arrived, the FOG rolled in, and the WIND continued.  Our little tent was whipped around all night long.  At times I felt like we did have any protection from the wind.  Some how, I got both kids to fall asleep next to me in their PEA POD tent. I layered tgem with walk clothes,  but still piled them with blankets to make sure they stayed warm.  Lucas woke up a couple times to nurse.  Brodie woke up every 2-3 hours.  At 4AM Saturday morning, Brodie decided he was done sleeping and would not stop crying.  In order to keep him quiet, i walked around outside the tent in the freezing WIND.  All of our camping neighbors had to wake up early to race.  But a 4AM wake up call from Brodie was not what they had in mind. I finally woke my husband up, who was sick with a head/chest cold.  He took Brodie while I tried to get Lucas back to sleep.  Finally it was 6AM and our neighbors were waking up to get ready for their early morning cycling races.   The WIND was still blowing, the FOG was  hanging around making us all cold.  I knew then that we would not be spending another night.  My husband decided not to race.  Not feeling well, and then being woken up early to hold a crying baby was not what he had in mind.  So the rest of Saturday, we visited with friends, walked around the cycling expo again, made a few visits to trailers of camping neighbors to get a break from the WIND, and by 6PM our Element was packed and we were driving home.  Between getting gas, stopping to nurse kids, getting dinner, and our Element being tossed around by the strong WIND while driving on I-5, we didn't get home until almost midnight.  We were all asleep within 30 minutes of arriving home.  AHHHH!  Our own beds! No WIND.  No FOG.  No DUST.  We were all warm and comfy. 
Overall, our camping trip was a success!  We dealt with extreme weather conditions.  The kids slept in their PEA POD tent together.  There can only be improvements from here on. 
Our next camping trip is next weekend May 3-4 in Cool, CA.  My husband is racing solo at a 24 hour mtn bike race.  I'm coordinating the kitchen for our cycling race team.   The kids are part of the team support crew.   As soon as they can walk, we have bikes ready that are just their size.  They'll be riding in no time!

Both my nipples are sore, and I have one small scab as a result of Brodie continuing to bite while nursing.  There has been some improvement.  Now he mostly bites during the day.  At night he wakes up 2-3 times between 7PM and 7AM  to nurse.  I usually only nurse Brodie, now that Lucas is sleeping through the night.  Brodie focuses on nursing and then goes back to sleep....most of the time.  Now that Lucas is sleeping through the night, my breasts are engorged with milk, sore, and uncomfortable.  Brodie alone can't empty my breasts.  My breasts are leaking again, and I'm having apply heat and pump to prevent clogged milk ducts. 
During the day when Brodie bites, I continue to tell him to stop biting, he just smiles, and Lucas cries.  I followed up with a Lactation Consultant  (LC) today.  She suggested when Brodie bites to continue to tell him "No biting, that hurts Mommy", remove him from the breast, and set him on the floor as far away from me as possible.   Then ignore Brodie and focus my attention to Lucas letting him know he is a good boy.  So I'll be soothing Lucas so he can continue nursing, and hopefully Brodie will learn to stop biting.
Brodie may be getting a couple more teeth, which may increase his need for something to bite on. I've tried the Hyland Teething tablets.  I don't believe they were effective, as I didn't notice any change in behavior.  I am going to try the Hyland Teething gel next.    When Brodie's gums are really bothering him, I give him Children's Tylenol, but usually only at night to help him sleep.  The LC suggested I treat him for teething pain during the day, which may also reduce his urge to bite while nursing. 
The LC also suggested rather than pump at night, which I usually do around 2AM, I should just wear a breast pad to bed and get more sleep.  She said that within the next 48 hours my milk supply will adjust itself to nursing one twin rather than two at night.  When I expressed my concern that I didn't want this to negatively effect my milk supply, the LC explained that my milk supply will lessen at night, but it will adjust itself  because Lucas will probably nurse longer, taking in more milk during the day to make up for his missed feedings at night. 
Change makes me feel a bit uneasy, but I have to make some changes in order to continue breastfeeding my twins.  We've been through a lot already.  We've made it 8 months, and I'm not giving up!

At 8:30 this morning my twins and I began our bike ride from Watt Avenue access along the American River Parkway.  There was a bit of a breeze, but it felt good.  As we rode up the bike trail the breeze quickly turned into a strong, gusty wind.  We rode against the wind all the way to mile marker 20 near the Fair Oaks Bridge.  On our way back home, the wind constantly changed directions, which made riding a bit of a challenge.  Sometimes the wind was at our back, pushing  us along.  Then suddenly it was at our side, pushing us sideways.  Even though it was a windy ride, we had a great time.  The twins took turns napping.  The temperature was perfect.  The wild flowers are in bloom.  The trees have all their leaves. The grass is tall and green. We saw a heron hunting just about 6 feet off the bike trail.  The male turkeys were strutting around showing off their feathers to all the ladies.   We saw several deer.  The ground squirrels were sun bathing along the side of the bike trail.  We also saw several different kinds of birds and water fowl.  I heard hummingbirds, but never saw them.  The butterflies were flying haphazardly through the air due to the gusts of wind.  There were quite a number of other people riding, running, and walking this morning.  The wind did not seem to deter them from enjoying the beautiful scenery along the bike trail.   Round trip, my twins and I rode over 23 1/2 miles today.   

I am still breast feeding both my twins.  Everything has been going well, except that Brodie won't stop biting my nipple.  I've tried numerous tactics attempting to get him to stop.  I've tried flicking him on the cheek.  This worked once, and now he just ignores me.  I've tried pushing his mouth into my breast.  All this accomplishes is him letting go.   I've tried pressing down on his chin to get him to let go.  I always tell him, "No, biting that hurts Mommy."  He just smiles or grins at me.  I take him off the breast until he acts like he is ready to latch on again.  Most of the time he bites me again.  He has become a very quick nurser which means I have to pay attention so I can take him off when he is finished to avoid being bitten.  He is also easily distracted.  The whole situation is frustrating and painful.  My concern is that he gets enough to eat.  I would like to continue breast feeding at least one year or until both of my twins wean themselves.  I am at a loss as to what to try next.

We are leaving Thursday morning to go camping for 4 days to attend a cycling event at Laguna Seca in Monterey.  My mom was going to come over at Noon to watch the kids, while I packed, but she called to say she couldn't make it until late afternoon because her morning did not go as planned.  Her project took longer to finish than expected.  While she was emptying her trash she accidentally tossed her purse into the dumpster along with her trash.  Then she had to go dumpster diving to retrieve it.  Luckily it did not open, so her belongings stayed intact.  When she drove her car out of the garage, her garage door would not close.  At that point, she called to tell me what was going on.  I told her she didn't need to worry about coming over to help out today.  But she insisted that she would come over once my dad got home from work sometime after 3PM.  I gave in knowing she was right, I needed the help.
My husband is at work and he won't be home to start packing until after 7PM.  Plus he is sick with a cough and cold.  Our plan is to be packed and ready to leave Sacramento by 10AM Thursday morning.  At this point, I haven't done much packing.  In fact, I've made more messes than progress.  I unpacked the Pea Pod tent we just bought the kids and assembled it in the living room.  I let them play in it this morning, so when we are camping and it's time for them to go to sleep, I hope they will be somewhat familiar with it.  Then I went on a 2 1/2 hour bike ride this morning with the kids.  The bike, trailer, and random cycling and kid gear is strewn all over the garage.  The now clean laundry is in piles next to the dirty laundry I sorted earlier.  After reading todays SacMomsClub.com poll on whether I prefer to make cookies from scratch or from a mix, I took out all the ingredients to make peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies "from scratch".  Now I have 2 bowls of cookie dough to bake, a stomach ache from all of the chocolate chips I ate while making the cookie dough, and my kids are over tired and hyperactive.   Hmmm, could it be all the sugar I just consumed?  The kitchen is now a mess, and I still have way too many cookies to bake.  Lucas nursed, but Brodie was way too distracted and wiggling all over the place.  So I put them down for a nap wide awake.   It only took them 20 minutes to stop crying and fall asleep.  I better go and take advantage of both of my kids napping at the same time.  If I focus, I should be able to get something accomplished. 

When are you considered grown up? 

My definition of grown up doesn't mean I'm getting old.   I've been growing up ever since I was born.  I remember when I turned 18.  I thought I was grown up.  Then I entered my twenties.  Every year of life brought new experiences and challenges.   Instead of my life getting easier, it just got more complicated as I took on adult responsibilities.  Now that I am in my thirties, happily married, and a new mom of twin boys, I am very content.  Each new day is filled with adventures of both the known and unknown.   Is it true that  grown ups know everything?  If that is the case, I don't think I will ever be grown up.  I am continually learning something new.   No matter what my age, I'll always be a kid at heart.  

What does it mean to YOU to be grown up?

This week was our first visit to the Sutter Developmental Clinic.  I knew before we attended, that my twins were somewhat delayed.  They just started sitting up without support last week.  Lucas will only roll from his back to his belly to the right.  Brodie will only roll from his belly to his back to the left.  Each twin was examined by a pediatric physical therapist and nurse practitioner to assess the extent of any developmental delays resulting from their premature birth.  According to the physical therapist, Brodie is significantly more delayed in his physical development than Lucas.  Brodie was and still is the smaller of the two.  The good news is that even though they have some delays, both twins are developing within the low range of normal statistically for their corrected age of 6 1/2 months.  We were shown a physical therapy program to implement at home in order to help our twins develop their upper body strength, increase their flexibility, and learn the proper body movements so they can roll and transition to crawling.  Part of the program requires avoiding the following:  They aren't allowed to stand more than 15 minutes per day.  We should avoid using Exersaucers or Jumperoos.  We aren't allowed to pull them up to a sitting position by their hands.  We can't carry them around in any type of front pack, ie. Moby Wrap, Baby Bjorn, etc.  The program recommends  the twins spend a majority of their awake time playing on the floor.   When we place them on the floor, we are suppose to put them down on all fours, giving them the opportunity to use their arms.  We are suppose to help them practice the proper way to roll from their back to belly and visa versa, using their arms to push up from lying on their belly, and learn how to transition their movement from their belly and back to a sitting position.
All week I worked with my kids, following the recommendations of the physical therapist.  At first the kids were really upset.  They weren't use to spending so much time on the floor.  But  by the end of the week, the  were use to it.  They have already improved.  On Friday, Lucas rolled from is his back to his belly and then rolled from his belly to his back all by himself!  Brodie is using his arms more and holding his head up higher when he plays on his belly. 
At first I was in shock and very upset about the outcome of our visit.  But now that I've been working with my kids all week, and they are already improving, I am really encouraged.  Plus we are having fun playing on the floor.  I realize how important floor time is.  Before long, they'll be rolling and crawling just like the rest of their baby friends.  I love watching my kids grow up!

In order for me to get any sleep at night, when one twin wakes up to nurse, I wake up the other twin, nurse them together, and then we would all go back to bed.   Lately, Brodie has been the only twin waking up.  So Tuesday night I did an experiment.  I decided not to wake Lucas up.   Lucas went to sleep at 6 PM and did not wake up until around 6AM the next morning.  He slept 12 hours. The most amazing thing is their cribs are right next to each other, yet Lucas slept right through Brodie crying, screaming, fussing, and kicking.  Even though Lucas slept 12 hours, Brodie woke up and cried every 2-3 hours from 6 PM - 2 AM.  From 2 AM, he woke up and cried every hour until 6 AM the next morning.   Yes, I was up with Brodie every hour.  Exhausting! 

Last night I was skeptical that Lucas would repeat sleeping 12 hours.  He did great!  He woke up once and went right back to sleep after I changed his diaper and nursed him.  He slept in until 6 AM again. 

I hope Lucas keeps up the good sleep habits.  Then I will only have Brodie to take care of at night.  Plus it will give me the opportunity to help Brodie learn to sooth himself back to sleep.  This week I gave Brodie a small, soft "LOVEY" blanket to nurse and sleep with, hoping this will help him.

I keep telling myself to be patient, with time they'll both be great sleepers!

My twins are nearing 8 months, and seem to really like sucking their thumbs.  Lately they've added a new challenge for me.  While nursing them at the same time, they try to suck their thumbs and feed simultaneously.   Now not only am I trying to keep them focused on nursing, I have four hands to keep pulling out of their mouths.  I can tell when Brodie is done nursing when he grabs my breast like it's a bottle and blows raspberries with the nipple still in his mouth.  I can tell when Lucas is done, when he starts talking with the nipple still in his mouth.   They both make me laugh.  I enjoy their different personalities.  There is never a dull moment with the two of them.  Every day brings new adventures!

Five days ago my twins ate prunes for the first time.  They seemed to like it.  They didn't have any allergic reaction.  Nothing different happened, except for some unknown reason, Lucas went on a 5 day poop strike.  I wasn't too worried until we neared the 4th day and still nothing.  My husband was so concerned that he suggested if he still hadn't gone by the 5th day, I should call the advice nurse.  Well, no such phone call was needed.
This morning just as I dropped my twins off at my mom's house so she could watch them for a couple hours,  Lucas decided to let it loose!  It was a big, stinky, fruity mess, that had squished out of his diaper through his onesie into his overalls, down his legs, and up his back. Thankfully my mom and I were both together when it happened.  We got him undressed and in the kitchen sink for a quick bath all in a matter of minutes.  While my mom bagged the mess, and changed Brodie's small poopy diaper, I changed Lucas into a new outfit.  My mom was then out the door to meet her friend for a walk with the twins, and I was out the door to meet my friend for a trail run.
After returning to my mom's house around Noon, the twins were still napping.  They slept from 10:15 AM-1:45 PM.  What a nice break for my mom and I.  And what a nice nap for my twins! 
We arrived home and spent the afternoon playing, while I took occasional breaks into the kitchen to clean up.  It had been neglected for a few days and needed some special attention before dinner.  Around 4:30 PM, Lucas started fussing, and Brodie followed suit.  I let them fuss for a little while so I could finish emptying the dishwasher.  Once Lucas increased in volume, I picked him up and OH, NOT AGAIN!  Another stinky poopy diaper!  As I unsnapped his outfit, I just as quickly re-snapped his outfit.  It was just as bad as the prior diaper earlier in the day.  This time I was all alone.
The only solution I could think of was to put him in the bathtub clothes, diaper, and all.  I finally got him cleaned up, the tub cleaned, and by then Brodie was really fussing.  Not thinking clearly, I put Lucas down on the floor to play, while I went to change Brodie.  OH, NOT AGAIN! Another poopy diaper!   Apparently, Brodie was feeling left out, so he decided to give me the works!  What I thought was going to be a quick diaper change, turned into a repeat into the bathtub clothes, diaper, and all for the second time.  By this time, Lucas was screaming.  He had rolled over to his belly and was stuck.  He still hasn't figured out how to roll from his belly to his back.  Nothing I could do now, I had Brodie in the tub. 
Well, it is now 6PM.  My twins are all clean inside and out!  Brodie is napping and Lucas is sitting on my lap while I type this blog. My husband just walked in the door from work.  I am hopeful our evening will be calm and relaxing. 

Today after our walk around McKinley Park, we all stayed for a picnic.  We spread out blankets and tarps on the grass underneath the large trees.  It was quite a site to see at least 13 moms, their kids, strollers and gear gathered together in a large circle.  The kids ranged in age from 8 weeks to nearly one year.  The kids played and ate, while a few napped.  All the moms enjoyed the time to relax, socialize,  and grab a bite to eat, while our kids played.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect, not too hot and not too cold.  The sun kept peeking through the clouds every so often keeping the mood bright and cheerful. 

The last two nights my dreams have been about my son Lucas.  The first dream he was sitting in a small chair in front of a laptop computer listening to music, shaking maracas to the beat.  I was so amazed that he had such good rhythm.  I just knew he was going to be a natural musician some day. 

The second dream he was laughing hysterically and I could see in his mouth.  I saw all these teeth coming in.  They were all shapes and sizes.  He even had teeth coming in underneath his tongue.  I was horrified at the thought that there was something wrong with him.  I remember my husband saying, "Oh,don't worry, this happened to me when I was a baby.  It's nothing an oral surgeon can't fix."  I felt terrible that he was going to need oral surgery at such a young age. 

I have no idea why I had these dreams.  Nor why they were only about Lucas and did not include my other twin.  The good thing is I'm dreaming again.  I haven't had a dream since my twins were born.  I'm always intrigued by my dreams.