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My husband and I watched Brodie as he sat nearly falling asleep in his high chair during dinner.  He wouldn't eat anything.  He took less than an hour nap today, and he's still not feeling well.  The few seconds I took staring at Brodie made the deciding factor as to whether or not we would make it to the sink or leave him in his high chair with a tray.  I wasn't sure if he really was going to puke or not, since he hadn't for the past 72 hours.  A few seconds too late, I pulled him out of his high chair, and leaped to the kitchen with him in my arms.  Brodie laid his head down on my shoulder, and held on tight as he puked three times, soaking both of us with warm regurgitated Cheerios, crackers, Kashi Mighty Bites, mixed with water that seeped down the front of us, and then dripped down our legs onto the kitchen floor. 

I had 30 minutes before my husband had to leave for a meeting.  Brodie had never taken a shower before, but now was time to jump right in whether he liked it or not.  There wasn't a 'Zower in the shower', but Brodie liked the shower anyway.  Lucas read books with Dad, while I got Brodie ready for bed.  Then I gave Lucas a quick bath, while Brodie read books with Dad.  Dad headed out the door, and I was left with two clean kids, who were really pissed off. 
Brodie was feeling nauseous, hot, and probably thirsty, but he wouldn't drink anything.  Which was smart on his part.  Lucas just wanted to keep reading books until he passed out asleep on the floor from exhaustion. Neither of them liked my idea of going to bed.  Too bad, so sad.  To bed they went, crying all the way.  There was nothing more I could do to make either of them happy.  Sleep was the answer.  Less than 10 minutes of crying, and they were both asleep. 

Peaceful and Quiet.....

 

Lucas and Brodie are napping once a day.  The only problem is, Brodie doesn't always take his one nap.  If he does nap, it's late in the say after he has completely worn himself out.  Yesterday he took a 15 minute nap.  This make for a LONG day and fussy day for everyone. 

I finally took the advice of another Twin Mom, and it worked, just like she described.  The advice:  Stager their nap times.  (Thank you Amy C from SMOM.)  

I put Brodie down for his nap.  It took about 15 minutes for him to fall asleep.  Waiting 15 minutes for him to stop fussing and talking seemed like forever.  I was worried the entire time that he wasn't going to fall asleep.  I kept wondering what I was going to do with Lucas who had fallen asleep in my arms while waiting for his brother to nap. 

Finally, the house was silent.  I walked quietly down the hall carrying Lucas in my arms, hoping when I opened the door, Brodie wouldn't be staring at the door, waiting for me, with his eyes wide open.

Ah, luck was on my side.  Brodie was fast asleep, curled up in a ball sleeping peacefully.  Lucas was happy to get into his bed, and snuggled up with is blankets, and fell into a deep sleep. 

Twins napping at the same time!  It worked today.  I'm going to try it again tomorrow.       



 

Friday morning 4AM, I woke up to Brodie puking in his bed.  I should have taken this as a sign of what was to come, but instead kept a positive attitude, that things would get better than worse.   He didn't have an appetite, and continued to throw up throughout the rest of the day and night.  What little he did eat and drink, came right back up.  To make it worse, he also had a fever and diarrhea.  Oh what fun for both of us!  This being the first time Brodie has ever experienced throwing up, it was like getting to know a new child.  At first I had no idea what signs he would give me, so I would know in advance he was going to puke.  But after the first couple of times, it became obvious.  All would be calm, then suddenly he would get hysterical, starting whining, and up, and out it would come! 

Lucas is a pro at dealing with this.  Not too long ago, he was throwing up for nearly a week.  But now, he had no sympathy for his brother.  Whenever I was holding Brodie over the sink, or just sitting with him on my lap, as he was quite lethargic, Lucas was demanding my attention.

We did a lot of sitting on the floor reading, reading, reading, and reading some more.  Not to mention, I also had errands to run, as my husband and I were planning on leaving at 4AM the next morning for an 8 hour mountain bike endurance race near Cobb, CA.  I had Mommy guilt about leaving my sick child, but my parents were more than willing to continue to watch Lucas and Brodie even though they were taking the chance of catching the illness themselves.  And my husband and I had been training for this race since January.   

My parents came over Friday evening, spent the night, and we left at 4AM Saturday morning for our race.  We raced our tandem mountain bike from 8:45AM-4PM, stopping every 1 - 1 1/2 hours for a 5-10 minute break to eat snacks and rehydrate. 

Abruptly at 3PM, during the race, my stomach began to cramp.  I thought it was something I had eaten.  We had planned on doing 6 laps, but due to my stomach pains, we stopped at 5 laps or just over 40 miles.

I thought all I needed to do was eat some Tums, drink some milk, and I would be fine.  I was wrong.  By 5 PM my stomach quit aching, but I was puking and had diarrhea.  This continued through the awards ceremony.  (We took 2nd place, or last place in the tandem category.  There were only two tandems racing.)

The first hour of our drive home was on windy and twisty roads.  I sat with my head between my legs puking and dry heaving the entire time.  I finally got to lie down in the back seat for the 2nd hour, until we arrived back in Sac.  If I moved the slightest bit, I would dry heave.  Once we arrive home, I was so weak and dehydrated, I could barely walk into the house.

My parents said, "Brodie is on the mend.  Still not feeling himself, but eating a little and keeping water down."  I have to say, I am very fortunate.  My parents came back over on Sunday to help my husband take care of Lucas and Brodie.  And  they kept a watchful eye on me.  From the time I got home Saturday night, I layed in bed until Sunday morning.  Only getting out of bed on a rare occasion, as any movement made me nauseous. 

It was really strange being home, hearing Lucas and Brodie, and not being there for them.  I knew they were in good hands, as all their favorite family members were taking care of them.  I felt so helpless, yet so weak, even if I wanted to pick one of them up and hold them I wouldn't have been able to.  Sunday evening, Brodie melted down at bath time.  He was tired, and didn't want to take a bath because he had a case of the miseries.  My husband brought him into me.  Brodie layed right down on top of me, held me tight, and immediately stopped crying.  It was a very sweet moment. 

4:45 AM Monday morning, Brodie is awake and crying. My husband tried to get him to go back to sleep, but he said, "All he wants to do is read books."  Luckily, I am on the mend because my husband is back to work today, and my Mom called to say now she is throwing up. So no help today.  I get up, still dizzy and weak, but feeling so much better than the day before.  Brodie and I read books until 6:30AM when Lucas wakes up.  Our day has begun.  A little earlier than I expected, but at least I can take care of my kids.  I hope my Mom feels better soon, and that no one else in our family catches it. 

(arkyark:  I feel for you.  I hope you had a good race at Boggs.  You are very tough to have had the flu and still raced all day!)

Lucas and Brodie are growing up before my eyes.  They hold my hand and walk with me.  They kinda of hold each others hands and walk together.  They sit on my lap and read book, after book, after book.  They listen and follow directions.  The help clean up.  They laugh, giggle, and give hugs and kisses.  They share, trade, and take turns while playing together.  They are perfect little angels.  Okay, not all of the time.  But I have to admit, they dazzle me every day with their sweetness.  I take what I can get, because one moment they are two sweet little darlings, the next they are two terrible somethings.  At the end of each day, all the good and the bad even each other out.  No matter how the day goes, we are all equally exhausted at the end.     

When Lucas and Brodie woke up the morning of March 23rd, they sat on their potty chairs before getting dressed for the day.  Nothing happened, no pee, no poop.  I didn't expect anything to happen.  They think its fun to sit on them, so I figure I'll let them start getting use to the whole process.  What could go wrong?  They are still wearing diapers.  Sitting them on their potty chairs when they wake up in the morning, periodically throughout the day, and before bed at night will just become part of their daily routine.  So hopefully they will just become more interested and then the potty training will come naturally.

A few hours later, I had to go pee.  So we all headed to the bathroom together.  I took off their pants and diapers.  They sat on their potty chairs, while I peed in the toilet.  Lucas got right up and walked out of the bathroom, down the hall, half naked.  Brodie kept standing up, sitting down on one potty chair, and then the other.  The first time he stood up to change chairs, I asked him if he was finished.  He said, no,no, no, and sat back down.  I left Brodie sitting on his potty chair to check on Lucas who was now wandering through the house without a diaper.  I quickly returned to the bathroom to check on Brodie who was now excitedly stomping around pointing, and talking in his own language. He had peed in his potty chair.  Good job Brodie!  Then he put his hand in the pee and swished it around.  He even tried to step in it. I continued to praise him, poured and flushed his pee down the toilet.  Lucas was back to see what all the commotion was.  Brodie threw a fit when I put his diaper back on. 

About 30 minutes later, we were getting ready to go bye-bye in the car to run an errand.  I thought I might as well, give them another chance to go potty before we leave.  They had just had a snack, and nap time was nearing.  Pants and diapers off, Lucas did the same thing as before.  He got right back up and took off down the hall half naked.  Brodie insisted on closing the bathroom door.  He would get up, close the door, then sit back down on his potty chair.  Lucas would then throw a fit each time the door shut.  I'd open the door, Brodie would stand up from his chair while saying no, no, no, and close the door.  It was chaotic.  Who could possibly pee or poop under these circumstances.  Finally, Lucas came into the bathroom, and Brodie shut the door.  I quickly put a diaper on Lucas, and the next thing I knew, Brodie had changed potty chairs again  I glanced at Lucas, and the next thing I saw when I looked back at Brodie was poop.  He had pooped!  Completely missed the potty chair.  It was all over the floor, his leg, his feet, the toy he had grabbed out of the bath tub, the bath tub, his shirt, and now on Lucas, as he proceeded to step in it.  There was poop on both potty chairs, and now on me because Lucas insisted on standing on my feet, as I took his poopy shoes off. 

I was in Mommy survival mode.  Once Lucas's shoes were off, he was locked out of the bathroom so fast, he didn't even see it coming.  Of course being locked out of all the fun caused him to melt down.  I picked Brodie up and put him in the tub so he was contained along with his poopy self. 

Once I got the poopy floor covered, but not clean, I let Lucas back in, so he would stop crying.  Lucas watched Brodie take a bath, and kept trying to crawl in with him the entire time.  I finally got Brodie cleaned, diapered, and both of them dressed. 

They played together in the playroom, while I cleaned up the potty chair/bathroom disaster.  Almost a hour later, everything was cleaned up, and we were out the door leaving to run our errands.

Brodie peed twice in his potty chair today.  Coincidence?  Who knows.  Lucas prefers to sit on his potty chair fully clothed and read a book. 

Mama's lap is like sitting in the front seat of the car.  Everyone wants it, and will do just about anything to get it.  Thankfully I have two legs.  One for Lucas, and the other for Brodie.  Having two legs, doesn't solve the problem completely.  Sometimes they just don't want to share.  They'll both be sitting on my lap, each with their own book.  They each want me to read their book.  They don't want the other to help turn pages on their book.  They don't want to touch each other.  Pushing and shoving can quickly escalate to biting.  But sharing Mama is the only option because there will always be two of them, and one of me.     

Over the past 1 1/2 year, my goal each day has been to get and/or keep Lucas and Brodie on the same routine, or at least napping, eating, and going to bed at the same time.  So in order to maintain my sanity, I have been journaling detail after detail, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Over the past 18 months, I've kept track of every time they fall asleep and wake up in the night, what time they awake in the morning, their nap times, feeding times, what they eat, what they drink, how much they drink, what medications and over-the-counter remedies given, and how many wet and/or poopy diapers each day, just to list a few of the things I kept track of in my journal.  I was completely overwhelmed.  My brain just couldn't keep track of everything, so I wrote it all down. 

My journaling changed right along with Lucas and Brodie, as they transitioned from breastfeeding to eating solid foods, napping twice a day to once a day, waking up every 2-3 hours through the night to sleeping through the night (most of the time).  Days turned into months, and months into a year.  At 18 months, I realized Lucas and Brodie were finally on the same routine. 

As for my journaling, on 02/23/09, I stopped.  That day, I let go of the very thing that had held my hand, and calmed my soul for my first 18 months as a twin mom.  Letting go was hard to do, but it also set me free.     

In order to maintain my sanity, I make every effort to keep Lucas and Brodie on the same schedule.  For the most part, they are, with the exception of napping.  I use to get a break in the middle of the day, while they both napped.  But now, only Lucas naps, and Brodie keeps right on playing like the energizer bunny.  Brodie has refused to nap for the past 3 days.  At first I thought he was just changing his once a day late morning nap to early afternoon. But apparently I was wrong.  He has just stopped napping.  If he had it his way, he would stay awake and play all day, and then nap around 4PM.  I made the mistake of letting him do this on Monday.  The result, Brodie had a horrible time going to sleep that night. 

So no more late afternoon naps!  If either of them refuse to nap, and 4PM rolls around, they are out of luck.  I'm keeping them awake until its bedtime.  After they go to bed each night, I have at least 2 hours kid free.  If I have a choice, I'm not giving that up! 


 

There's a hole in the top of the TV cabinet, not too small, not too big.  But apparently just the right size for 21 toys to go down the hole.  It seemed like a few toys were missing, but since they were small ones, and mostly pieces to large toys, I wasn't too worried.  But then Brodie lost his shoe in the playroom.  I searched everywhere.  No shoe. 
That's when I discovered the hole.  I tried peering down into it, but it was took dark to see much of anything.  One bright sunny day, I took another peek.  Ah ha!  There was his shoe, along with one of their phones.  When I moved the cabinet away from the wall, I discovered 21 toys, and Brodie's shoe. 

Lucas and Brodie, 19 months, and small for their age have no concept of their size.  Brodie sees the big kids playing, and he follows right after them.  Lucas joins in on the fun, keeping a safe distance.  This morning, while at the playground, Brodie was doing his favorite loop: up the stairs, through the tunnel, across the swinging bridge, climb up to the platform, and slide down the slide.  Except there were big kids playing there too.  When I say big kids, they were probably only three and four years old, but bigger than Brodie by far.  Brodie was climbing through the tunnel, ad three big kids crawled right over him, rather waiting for him to crawl through.  It happened so fast, I didn't have a chance to say anything, or rescue Brodie from being trampled.  He screamed in irritation as they scrambled over him, on their way through the tunnel.  Needless to say, these three girls continued to bully their way around the play structure, as their Moms stood in the distance chatting.  Brodie kept right on playing.  He didn't give in.  The next loop, he was in the tunnel, and the three girls came running up, and I said, "Brodie's in the tunnel.  Say excuse me as you crawl around him."  Another time, they actually tried to pull him out of the tunnel by the pants.  I said, "Don't pull on him!  Brodie was in the tunnel first.  You need to take turns."  They all turned around and looked at me with wide eyes, like they were shocked I had caught them doing something they knew they should not have done.  Once Brodie climbed out of the tunnel, he would run across the swinging bridge.  A few times, the three girls ran across at the same time, sending him bouncing off balance left, right, left, and then he would catch he balance and continue running.  I said, "Be careful, don't knock him over.  Say, 'here I come', 'excuse me', or 'passing', so he knows you are coming by."  The girls just ignored me.  Their Moms continued to chat, not paying attention.  Brodie finally got the courage to climb to the top of the tallest slide.  The three girls climbed up, and one at a time slide down.  I stood at the top of the slide with Brodie.  Brodie was wiggling, trying to get free so he could slide down.  I said, "It's not Brodie's turn.  Wait, let the girls go.  Then you can go."  Brodie waited.  The last girl was the youngest.  Before she slide down, she said to Brodie nicely, "You're waiting for me.  It's you're turn after me."  Well, at least one of the girls had some manners.  This was her way of saying, "Thank you for waiting."
Lucas had a great time, keeping his distance from all the commotion.  He was standing at the bottom of the steps, when out of nowhere, a boy who looked older than a 5 year old, came running full speed toward Lucas, knocked him over as he grabbed his hat he had left hanging on the stair rail, and immediately turned and ran off, leaving Lucas crying in the bark.  I was standing right there when it happened.  I walked over to Lucas, helped him stand up, and brushed off the bark, and gave him a hug.  He was alright, just frightened from being knocked over.  Both of the big boy's parents were also watching.  They didn't do anything.  They didn't say anything.  I know they saw it happen.   It was the perfect opportunity to teach or learn compassion.  If one of my kids knocks another kids down, I would be right there to make sure my kid says he is sorry.  I would make sure the kid who was knocked down is alright.
Lucas and Brodie, being siblings, have numerous opportunities during the day to learn compassion.  When Brodie body slams Lucas, lays on top of him, and bites.  I don't just soothe Lucas.  Once Lucas is no longer crying, sobbing.  I bring Brodie to Lucas and say, "Say your sorry. Give Lucas a pat, hug, or kiss."  Usually Brodie gives Lucas a gentle pat on the shoulder, sometimes a small hug.  And it goes both ways.  When Lucas pushes Brodie, causing him to fall over, I bring Lucas over to Brodie to say he is sorry, and give a pat, hug, or kiss. 
Manners, compassion, concern for others, sharing, taking turns, just to name a few, are so important.  The time to learn is now.

Hands, spoons, sporks.  All throughout dinner tonight, Lucas and Brodie shrieked in excitement and frustration as they attempted to eat everything on their plate with a spork.  Soy nuggets, apple sauce, dried fruit, kiwi, yogurt, and peas.  Use their hands, no way!  If it was going in their mouth, it had to be by way of spork.  By the time they were finished eating, Lucas and Brodie were both a mess, along with the floor.      

To potty train or not to potty train....Now? Wait? When?  Twins, boys, nearing 19 months, and very independent.  They show some interest in the process.  They sign “potty” when I use the restroom.  They say “dirty diaper”.  They say “poop”.  After talking to several other moms, researching on the Internet, and SacMomsClub.com ‘talk’, I’ve decided to wait until they are at least two years old.  In the meantime, I am going to buy two potty chairs, and have them start using them when they first wake up in the morning, and before they go to bed at night.  I’m not going to push the issue during the day.  With the exception that I am going to continue to talk about the subject, and give positive encouragement to any interest they show about using their potty chairs.  Personally, I would LOVE not to have to buy diapers anymore, but I’m not sure if our household is ready to deal with potty training twin boys. 

Awake at 6 AM.  As soon as Lucas and Brodie were dressed for the day, they raced down the hall to the playroom, and climbed up on top of the TV cabinet.  Their newest, favorite thing to do.  No matter what I did or said, they wouldn't stop climbing up.  As soon as one would climb down, the other one would climb up.  Each time they used a different toy to step up onto to help them climb up.  A different toy because every time one of them climbed up, I would take the toy.  The other one would get a new toy, use it to climb up, while the other one was climbing down.  Sometimes they would climb up together.  I was fighting a losing battle.  I still had their breakfast to make, my husband's lunch to make, and the rest of the day ahead of me.  Within just a few minutes, there was a pile of toys across the room.  They were getting frustrated.  I was nearly at the end of my rope. 

I walked out of the room.  Out of sight, kind of, sort of, out of mind.  At that point, there was nothing more I could do.  I tried redirecting them, but nothing seemed to work.  They were intent of climbing up, and hanging out on top of the TV cabinet.  Lucas and Brodie were in full view, like two gold fish in a fish bowl.  My neighbors driving and walking by were all probably wondering, "Where is their mother?!" 

Several days have past since I walked out of the room.  I decided to take the approach that eventually they'll get bored of it. Hoping the thrill will wear off.  After all, just last week all they wanted to do was climb up on the couch, run back and forth, and throw all the cushions off onto the floor.  Now they still do this, but they alternate between the couch and the TV cabinet.

Lucas and Brodie are two motivated little dudes.  I've learned to pick and choose my battles. 

It had been 3 hours since they last ate.  Their last meal was a snack.  They fell asleep and napped nearly 2 1/2 hours, then woke up within 10 minutes of each other, crying.  They both hungry, thirsty, and wanted to be held.  They did not want to share Mommy.  They did not want to be near each other.  So holding them both was not an option.  If I held Lucas, Brodie would cry.  If I held Brodie, Lucas would cry.  By the time I got their meal together, they were both on full melt down.  Everything they wanted, wasn't what they wanted.  They knew what they wanted.  They didn't know what they wanted.  Everything made them cry, scream, and kick.  I gave up on trying to buckle them into their high chairs. I gave up on trying to feed them.  I opened the garage door, put on their shoes, and out we went.  Lucas saw the tandem tricycle, screamed with excitement, pointed, and then climbed on.  Brodie was right behind him.  I put on their helmets, and we were off rolling down the driveway on a bike ride.  Finally they were both happy! 

All was well until Lucas, mid roll decided to get off the tricycle.  Lucas wouldn't get back on.  He wouldn't hold my hand. He wouldn't walk along beside me.  Brodie didn't have any patience for sitting still on the tricycle, so he started to get off.  We were three houses away from our driveway, on the sidewalk.  I was losing control of the situation quick, which I couldn't let happen.  I only had two hands, but was now responsible for the empty tandem tricycle, and twin boys who were on the go at toddler speed. 

I quickly grabbed Brodie and loaded him onto the front seat of the tricycle.  Turned the tricycle around, and some how manage to coax Lucas into walked down the sidewalk towards our house.  Lucas walked along, SLOWLY, but just fast enough to keep Brodie entertained riding along on the tricycle behind him. 

When we reached our driveway, Lucas veered off onto the rocks to play, Brodie got off the bike and started run-walking the opposite way down the sidewalk toward the park.  At this point, I had to run to catch him.  Brodie then adamantly refused to turn around and walk back home.  I had to pick him up and carry him, kicking and screaming back home. 

Exhausting!

Sunday morning, 8:15 AM in the pouring rain, my friend and I pedaled along the dirt trails, as the rain showered down, on us.  Within a few minutes we were soaking wet.  Our bodies covered with dirt and sand as our bikes splashed through puddles on the trail.  We enjoyed the peaceful silence of nature, as we rode the twisty single track up and down hills, around and through trees, over rocks and roots.  We passed by bright green grassy fields, and hillsides.  The rain never stopped.  It continued falling steadily, heavier at times.  The puddles grew deeper, and the mud slicker.  The squirrels and birds didn't seem to mind.  My friend rode along with me for about an hour, then left to go do errands before picking her kids up from their grandparents house.  My goal was to get a 4 hour ride in, or to ride until at least 12 Noon.  10:15 AM the riding alone on the trail started to get lonely.  The wind picked up, and random branches were falling from trees.  One more loop around, and I headed out of the park.  I got back to my car at 12 Noon, just when people were getting out of church.  One lady parked next to me took one long look and said, "Oh, you like nice!" and then got in her SUV and drove away.  All I could do was smile, my body was too frozen to make a comment back.  I was so sandy & muddy I couldn't unzip my vest.  I couldn't unzip my shoe covers, but had to get them off...I finally got them unzipped by squirting water on the zips with a water bottle. I was so cold I could barely lift my bike up on the rack.By the time I got undressed down to my vest, I was shaking and could barely move, so I called my parents (who live 10 minutes away) told them I was freezing, covered in mud and needed to come over to take a shower.  I ended up driving my car, sitting on my leather seats, soaking wet, muddy and sandy to my parents house.  My parents opened the door and let me walk right in and hop in the shower muddy clothes and all.  Ahhhh :) where I had a warm shower.  The water from the shower cleared the sand out of my zippers, and they finally let loose.  A warm shower, clean clothes, a cup of hot tea, and I felt great!  Some of you may be asking, WHY ride in the rain?  Sunday was my kid free day, and it just so happened to rain on the only day I had to ride my bike.  So out into the rain I went by choice.  I love to ride my bicycle.   

It's snack time before nap time.  Usually a happy affair, today not so.  I ended up wearing more yogurt, than Brodie ate.  The rest of the yogurt ended up splattered across the floor.  The rest of the food smashed into crumbs which he threw off his highchair tray.  Believe it or not, Brodie did eat, a little.  After being cleaned up, he screamed all the way to his crib, and continued at full volume after they were both tucked into bed and I left their room.  Lucas went down for his nap willingly, repeating "night night, night night", in a soft voice while snuggling with his 'lovey'.  Thirty minutes has past.  Brodie just fell asleep.  Silence fell upon the house while Brodie was in mid sentence, saying something about, "Mama."

Sing the following lines....Baa baa black sheep; Twinkle, twinkle; A B C D.  Have you figured it out yet?  All three nursery rhymes have the same music, just different words.  I had no idea.  I should have figured this out, considering I play the piano.  But honestly, even though I've been singing these nursery rhymes with Lucas and Brodie for over a year, I haven't yet played them on the piano. How did I figure this out?  My friend's 5 year old daughter told me one day while she was over at our house playing the piano.  Silly I know, but fun to share, for those who care.